Resourcing: Deepening Your Gratitude Practice
- Nov 18
- 3 min read
By Karina Barretto
As the year draws to a close, many of us reflect on the year and identify what we are grateful for. Maybe you create a gratitude list, or perhaps you’ve attended a Thanksgiving dinner where each guest shares what they are grateful for.
You may be wondering how to deepen your gratitude practice this year. In my work as a trauma therapist, I guide my patients in a process called resourcing. Resourcing can inform gratitude practice. And bonus- you can also use resourcing to cope with holiday stress as well.
What is the connection between resourcing and gratitude?
Resourcing involves developing visualization tools with the help of a therapist. I help patients identify their needs- for example a need to feel calm. Then I help them imagine a place where they have felt that way before. That is, I help them get in touch with a “felt sense” of calm.
This is where there are parallels between resourcing and practicing gratitude. We identify past experiences and how they have touched our lives in a positive way. When practicing gratitude, we often list the things we are grateful for. This activity alone offers many mental health benefits.
In resourcing, we take it one step further by embodying the experience in the present. We can transport to the place we are grateful for again. You can use it as a tool during stressful times.
Why does resourcing work?
You may be wondering how just using your imagination can have a positive impact on your mental health. Researchershave found that when we imagine ourselves in a place, our bodies start to respond as if we were physically there.
Visualization taps into the mind-body connection. For example, when you imagine yourself in a calm environment, your breathing will get deeper and your heart rate will start to slow. In this way, it really is possible to re-live positive past experiences in the present.
How do I resource?
You can engage in elements of resourcing at home. First, identify the positive state you want to experience. We have been using the example of feeling calm, but you might also want to feel confident or loved. Then, identify a time in the past when you have felt that way. At this point, you want to try to transport yourself back to that moment.
Maybe you close your eyes or take a soft gaze. Try to involve all your sense in setting the stage. What could you see, hear, smell, and touch? Maybe you picture yourself in a cozy cottage from your childhood- seeing fire crackle in the hearth, hearing the murmurs of your family in the next room, smelling soup cooking, and feeling a soft quilt on your lap. Perhaps you can even pull in your sense of taste- was that soup butternut squash?
Also pay attention to how you are feeling. What emotions does this scene evoke? What changes do you notice in your body?
Know that you can come back to this resource anytime you want to.
It’s important to note that if you are a trauma survivor or are living with a serious mental health concern, it is safest to complete resourcing with a trained therapist. Even if you don’t have one of these conditions, working with a therapist can help deepen your practice.
Resourcing is a beautiful way to deepen your gratitude practice this autumn season. It can also be a way of coping during challenging times. It builds on your positive past experiences, so that you can experience the benefits again and again.
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