🌿 How to embrace the power of gratitude this November
Things we're finding helpful this November
Photo: Assorted colour leaf changing, from UnSplash
Well hello friends! 🌿
It's lovely to be here with you again this November. 🍂
We've had many, many new people joining us here in this community recently, I am so glad that you are here.
If you're new in this space, know that you are very welcome. This post is where, once a month on the first Sunday, we bring you our thoughts on what we're working on right now in terms of our own worry and anxiety. It's also where we share our plans and progress with the WorryTree app and our other tools. And it's where we'll share any helpful resources that we've come across recently that we think might help you too.
Last weekend the clocks turned back an hour here in the UK. The mornings are a tiny bit lighter, and the evenings are now considerably darker. I'm writing this letter to you on Hallowe'en, it's 6:30am and the sun is just starting to rise.
It's this time of year that often leads us to be more reflective. We tell each other how quickly this year has gone past already (hasn't it though?) and that we can't believe another year is drawing to a close. It's very easy to focus on all the things we haven't achieved that we had planned to. That we're not where we wanted to be when we stood at the beginning of 2023.
It's a time of year that can also lend itself to making a deeper effort to focus on what we do have as well. How much we have achieved this year. I'm not talking about the big shiny things. The new job, new car, new baby, although all of these are of course things to be grateful for.
Often the smallest of things make the biggest impact, particularly when you're struggling.
And so here I am today encouraging you to use this time of year to remind yourself of what you have to be grateful for. Below, we have shared some resources for embracing gratitude - from taking on a 30-day gratitude challenge (and November is the perfect month for this) to just making enough space in your day to think of three things every day that you're feeling grateful for before you head to bed.
And if you'd like to use our WorryTree gratitude journal for free right up to the end of January next year, scroll down for a code for three months' free access to WorryTree Plus.
So, what are you feeling grateful for right now? Here's mine.
I'm grateful for the peaceful 15 minutes first thing in the morning, when I come downstairs to make a cup of tea and the house is quiet
I'm grateful for my family and that I feel safe with them to be honest and share my truth
I'm grateful for sunny, frosty mornings and the fact I have heating that I can put on to warm our home.
What are you feeling grateful for today? Comment on his post and let me know. 🍂
xx
PS, if you know someone who would find this helpful, please share this email with them too, I know I'd appreciate the thought from a friend. 🙏
Behind the scenes at WorryTree
Photo: Image of our WorryTree app, January 2024
Let's talk about what's new at WorryTree and what we're working on next:
WorryTree Version 3.0.11: By the time you're reading this, you should have received our latest update which released this week! Honestly, you shouldn't notice any difference at all as this time all of the changes are behind the scenes. We've updated some of the tools and plugins that we use in the background, which means that we're using the latest technology to keep WorryTree running smoothly and to keep your data secure.
Coming next: We're already planning our next update to WorryTree which hopefully will be available before the end of the year. In this release we're hoping to bring some helpful new content just for our WorryTree Plus community, as well as making some big improvements to the information you receive when you download your worries using the Download button.
Clinical Trial Plans: We are still in the early stages of planning a trial in collaboration with some doctors' surgeries in the UK. Our goal is to work closely with General Practitioners to introduce WorryTree to patients who are waiting for a referral to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy services.
New ways to use WorryTree tools: By the end of this month our new 30-day WorryTree tool delivered via Whatsapp will be created and ready for testing! We're really excited about this new way to use the WorryTree toolkit and to share it with some of you for testing.
We're committed to helping you feel more calm and in control of your overthinking, by using effective tools that you can practice anywhere, because we believe that worrying gets in the way of you making the most of this one, precious life.
If you have any questions or ideas, please get in touch by replying to this email.
HELPFUL THINGS JUST FOR YOU
Photo: Forest against sunlight at daytime, from UnSplash
Here’s a few practices, podcasts, blog posts and videos that we’re finding helpful:
Join our brand new 30-day programme for gentle daily prompts delivered by SMS or Whatsapp to your phone every morning: click here.
Read this 10-minute read - explore how to be more appreciative in a mindful guide to gratitude.
Listen to this podcast episode about an entirely new way to find peace that may surprise you.
Watch this TED Talk about the power of saying ‘thank you’.
In the news…Research shows gratitude can help to reduce stress, improve relationships, and make us happier overall.
Ready to download WorryTree?
If you haven’t already tried WorryTree (and the basic worry tree technique tool is free for everyone to use as many times as you need) then you’ll find the links below.
Remember…
If you're struggling at the moment, then know that asking for help is a sign of strength not of weakness. Contact someone you can trust like your Doctor, a friend or a relative, or text SHOUT to 85258 (UK) to start a conversation with a crisis support volunteer.