Exercise 1: Gratitude for Positive Events

Take 10-15 minutes to complete this exercise. Use this time to write down three positive things that happened this week. The things you list can be relatively small in importance (“I enjoyed my lunch today”) or relatively large in importance (“I’m feeling much better after seeing my neurologist.”). They can be related to your multiple sclerosis, or completely separate.

As you write, please follow these instructions:

1. Give the event a title (e.g., “sister remembered my birthday”)
2. Write down exactly what happened in as much detail as possible, including what you did or said, and if other people were involved, what they did or said.
3. Record how this event made you feel at the time. Use the most specific positive emotional words that you can think of to describe how you felt: Joy? Satisfaction? Relief?
4. Record how this event makes you feel now as you remember it.