This is a rather strange piece for me. Gratitude isn’t always something that I find particularly helpful in lifting my mood. In my article about helping those with depression, I explained:

Believe me, one of the things I find the most frustrating when I’m very down is the fact that there’s nothing wrong with my life. I know everything is good, and I should be happy, but I’m not. I hate it! You listing all the numerous things the person should be happy about will make them feel worse. They will not suddenly leap up, saying, “My God, you’re right! My depression is cured! Hallelujah!”

So usually, I would say that comparing our lives to others who have it much worse is pretty unhelpful. However, I recently read a great article by LK Smithe, who wrote about a friend who is always going off the deep end. We all know someone who can turn a chipped nail or being seated 10 minutes late for dinner into a disaster akin to Hurricane Katrina.

While most of our perspectives are not so wonky, we can become so caught up in our lives and problems that with the best will in the world, we blow issues up far bigger than they really are. That’s why I had an epiphany that sometimes we need to take a step back. We need to consider if the problems that seem so huge now will still be so in a year’s time. If not, then it’s probably not worth worrying about now. We have a lot to feel gratitude for.

If you live in the first and even the second world, it’s likely you have:

• Access to clean water
• A roof over your head
• Affordable food
• Benefits if you cannot work or need help with housing
• Proper health care. Yes, America’s system isn’t great, but the majority of people have access to at least emergency cover
• Free education until the age of 18 regardless of your gender. Again, the quality of the education can vary, but it’s still a blessing
• Freedom to practice your religion safely
• Relative freedom to express your gender and sexuality. Not perfect, but try being gay in Russia, for example
• Freedom of speech, even if what you’re saying is hateful

Choosing Gratitude

Of course, all of these good things do not negate our problems, and we do all need help from time to time. However, I found that thinking about how lucky I am and feeling gratitude does help me put my life and my struggles in perspective. Few problems are insurmountable and if we give it time we will find a way to solve them.

I feel gratitude that I live in a country where my loved ones and I are safe, where we have access to healthcare, education, clean water and benefits if we get into trouble. I love that I can post unpopular opinions here on Medium without fear and get into a good debate about it without censorship. So, even though I’m struggling with depression, for today at least, life is good. I’m going to take my own advice. I’m going to quit whining and suck it up, buttercup! Who’s with me?