Develop an Attitude of Gratitude this December with the AE Alliance
November 9, 2022
Whether you are living with AE, are a caregiver, family member, friend, physician, researcher, Board Member, MAB Member, program partner or sponsor or this is your first time ever to the Autoimmune Encephalitis website, we are excited you are here and ready to develop an attitude of gratitude!
This program is inspired by a year of listening and learning with the AEA community and a strong commitment to doing good. Here are a few reasons for offering mindfulness as our 2022 Living with AE program.
- There is an abundance of scientific research explaining the benefits of mindfulness practices. For people living with AE, a mindfulness practice can assist with recovery from brain injury associated with AE. For caregivers and family members, as well as people diagnosed with AE, mindfulness aids in recovery from the trauma associated with the sudden onset of a rare brain disease.
- The personal benefits of mindfulness and gratitude practices are often mentioned in support group meetings. We can all benefit from the exploration!
- During our October AEA Family Day, both presenters mentioned the benefits of mindfulness in AE recovery as well as in their own personal lives.
- Everyone can participate! Let’s do good together and spread awareness about AE and the benefits of gratitude! Let’s build a mindful community with an attitude of gratitude.
If you are a skeptic, this is your opportunity to conduct your own research project. Join us for a month of mindfulness. Let us know what you learn.
How Does It Work?
Developing an Attitude of Gratitude is a rather simple challenge, but that does not necessarily mean it’s easy. Creating a new habit takes time. There are two types of activities – Daily Activities and Weekly Activities. You receive instructions for each week’s activity the Friday/Saturday before the next week.
Daily Activities:
Every day you (1) show expressions of gratitude and (2) complete acts of kindness.
Weekly Activities:
These activities require a bit more time and are completed only one time each week.
The Specifics:
- Rules: There are no rules, only activities to explore.
- Terms to Define:
- Expression of gratitude (What does that mean to you?): _______________________________
- Act of kindness (What does that mean to you?): ______________________________________
- Tracking What You Do: (Not required but helpful. A few suggestions are below.)
- If you like to journal, write about your experience with the activities in your journal.
- Email or text your progress to yourself.
- Invite a friend to join the month of mindfulness and share your experiences with each other.
- Don’t track. Simply explore each activity.
How Do You Sign Up?
There are two ways to sign up and receive your activity instructions.
- Facebook: If you are a Facebook User, click here and request to join the Attitude of Gratitude group. Activity instructions will be posted in the Facebook group. This is also a great place to share about your experience.
- Email: Send an email to info@aealliance.org and ask to join the Month of Mindfulness. Activity details will arrive in your email.
Summing It Up
This is the 2022, Living With AE, Month of Mindfulness program. The goal is to Create an Attitude of Gratitude that extends into 2023 and allows us all to experiment with exercising our brain!
Each day YOU express gratitude and complete acts of kindness. Throughout the week the Alliance sends you reminders and inspiration to keep you going. It’s that simple. No cost and tons of value. Share it with your friends and family. Let’s see if we can influence ourselves, each other, our community and the world. Do good things!
