Learn more about how gratitude can affect your mental health
Friend,
The holiday season can be a time of year loaded with high expectations of both joy and anticipation of stress, sadness, and anxiety. LGBTQ youth may face unique challenges that might amplify this experience. If you or someone you know needs support this season, please remember our counselors are always available, 24/7 and for free.
Mental health plays a critical part in our mission to end LGBTQ youth suicide. In addition to connecting young people with crisis counselors, we provide resources and support that help young people thrive. This season, we’re highlighting the power of gratitude. Practicing gratitude can be helpful this time of year as we process all the complex emotions that get tied up with the holidays.
Many studies have found that reflecting on what you’re grateful for can have a positive impact on your mental health. Practicing gratitude can even help reduce feelings of depression and anxiety.
I’d like to practice gratitude right now! Thank you for being a part of our community. Our supporters fuel our work and I’m incredibly grateful to have you with us. Supporting LGBTQ youth is incredibly important to me, personally, but also to the over 1,400 staff and volunteers who work alongside me. All of us are honored to have someone as dedicated as you on our team.
You have made a direct and tangible impact on our ability to expand our work. Because of you, we’ve been able to connect more than 200,000 young people this year (and counting) directly to trained counselors in times of crisis. I cannot thank you enough. Your support helps transform young lives every single day.
I’m glad I had a chance to practice gratitude for you just now! I also want to share a few ways you can practice gratitude from wherever you are:
Set 5 minutes aside in the morning and think of two things (or however many you can think of) that you’re grateful for. Sometimes joy is in the little things, like "my bed is wonderfully warm on this cold morning," or “I’m grateful I made time to think about things I’m grateful for.” Other times, it's about something big like mine: “I’m grateful that so many wonderful people support the mission of The Trevor Project.”
Write it down. It can feel silly but there's something powerful about writing it out. Use whatever is easiest—a journal, a post-it note, a scrap of paper. You could even write a thank you note or letter to yourself.
Go back to your writing. If you’re able, later in the day or the next day, revisit what you identified as points of gratitude in your writing. Reflection can be just as important as identifying gratitude in your practice.
It can be overwhelming to think about what's going wrong or isn't working out like you'd want. But there are bits of good in each day. I hope you'll have the time to give this a try this holiday season. And if you or someone you know needs us, our counselors are here to listen.
Friend, one thought that consistently lifts me up is all the good work that's possible because of the Trevor community and supporters like you.
Grateful for you,
Amit Paley he/him/his
CEO & Executive Director
The Trevor Project
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The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people.
