Gratitude isn’t pretending it’s fine. It’s noticing what held while other things broke.

Thankfulness does not require the situation to be good. You can look clearly at what has gone wrong, name it properly, and still notice what stayed upright through it: a friend who kept calling, a routine that held, a part of your life that was untouched. Pretending is something else entirely, and it tends to collapse at the worst moment. Noticing survives contact with the facts.

If this is a hard stretch, you might list what is still standing. Keep the list honest and short rather than encouraging.