Managing the Complexity of Trauma, Emotion, and Gratitude

Gratitude is something we hear about a lot in the mainstream personal development literature…and it’s also a topic that gets simplified and manipulated in mainstream media. We’ve all seen the pretty social media posts that urge us to think positively, but those simplistic posts ignore the complexity and nuance that occurs within our emotional response.  

So, in this special episode of the Building Psychological Strength podcast, Ashley and I talk about the complexity surrounding gratitude and the ways that it can be misconstrued. 

In particular, we talk about the role of gratitude:

1. In the good times 
2. When we, ourselves, are going through something traumatic. 
3. When others are going through something traumatic 

We hit on the importance of precisely labeling our emotions to help tease them apart and understand them. And, most importantly, we talk about ways to use gratitude and our emotional response to catalyze action in a direction that aligns to our goals.  

You won’t want to miss this episode if you’ve ever felt like the emotions you’re feeling are confusing or complex. You’re not alone. We’re here to help. Listen to the end for some practical tips for sorting through complex, competing emotions.