The impact of gratitude can be powerful.
Whether you’re browsing social media, reading through blogs, or listening to a podcast, you’ll likely be hit with the expression “Gratitude is the attitude.”
Although it can be a bit cliche at times, gratitude can have a real effect on our lives.
Developing an attitude of gratitude can be highly beneficial in all areas of life.
Think about any moment in your life when you were struggling. At those moments, sometimes even the smallest ounce of gratitude can lift us out of the murky waters, whether you appreciate the smile of a stranger, the gentle rain hitting your roof, a morning cup of coffee, or a call from your best friend. Gratitude can enhance our lives in a profound and meaningful way.
But aside from the obvious benefit of making us feel good, what other effects does gratitude have on our brains?
This was a question I had been pondering a few years back when I first began implementing gratitude into my daily life.
WHAT IS GRATITUDE
Gratitude, by definition, is the state of being grateful.
While coming as no surprise, gratitude can give us a sense of peace because it forces us to look at the positive in our lives instead of falling down the trap of focusing on the negative.
Gratitude often accompanies happiness, since while we are thinking grateful thoughts and experiencing the emotion behind them, happiness is usually one of the byproducts.
Gratitude also offers a level of perspective not often felt in the stressors of everyday life. When we pause and reflect on what we are grateful for, we illuminate the people, places, and experiences that mean the most to us, which gives us perspective on what is essential and what is not.
If you’re struggling at work and find it tough to be thankful for anything, take a moment to reflect on your family and friends and the people in your life who are there for you and who bring you joy. Once you learn how to do this consistently, your mood will begin to improve on gratitude alone.
And although some people have more in their lives than others, whether it be material wealth, friends, family, or experiences, we all can think of at least one thing in our lives that brings us a feeling of gratitude. Even if it’s as simple as being thankful for being alive today, there’s always something you can lean on with gratitude.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH GRATITUDE
Over my almost four decades of life, I have dealt with many mental health obstacles. Starting with my youth, I began experiencing symptoms of OCD, severe anxiety, and even bouts of depression. It took me over thirty years to finally realize that my old patterns of thinking were at the root cause of most of the significant problems in my life.
At that point, I began dissecting my internal and external self – diet, exercise, thoughts, feelings, friends, family, career, and where I was living at the time. I was forcing myself to be as honest as possible about my current life situation and where I wanted to go from there.
One of the discoveries I made during this time in my life was the practice of being grateful. It’s not that I hadn’t been grateful in the past, but I hadn’t put my focus on gratitude as much as I did other emotions such as anger, jealousy, and regret.
As soon as I started adding gratitude to my life, I could feel that some of the emotional weight was lifted off my shoulders. Gratitude made me feel content, alive, and abundant. I could sit down and smile at the beautiful things I had in my life that were right in front of my eyes.
Gratitude began to change me.
GRATITUDE CAN IMPROVE SYMPTOMS OF PTSD
In a study conducted at the University of Toledo and George Mason University, gratitude was found to be inversely related to several emotional disorders, including PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). The results of this study showed that gratitude is related more strongly to PTSD’s negative alterations in mood and cognition (NAMC) factor than to other PTSD factors.
This study showed that the higher an individual ranked on a gratitude questionnaire, the fewer depressive episodes they experienced than their peers who scored lower. Understanding this can be helpful to therapists and psychologists who work with people with PTSD. Gratitude can be another resource that people can implement to help tame their symptoms.
GRATITUDE DECREASES TOXIC EMOTIONS WITHIN US
There have been some interesting studies done on gratitude and its effects on mental health. One study analyzed patients who were suffering from anxiety and depression.
The study was performed as follows:
“We randomly assigned our study participants into three groups. Although all three groups received counseling services, the first group was also instructed to write one letter of gratitude to another person each week for three weeks, whereas the second group was asked to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about negative experiences. The third group did not do any writing activity.”
The patients that participated in the gratitude writing experienced significantly better mental health four weeks and twelve weeks after the writing had ended. And the study brought to the surface other fascinating details about the potential benefits of gratitude.
Interestingly, study participants who used more words that expressed positive emotions and more “we” words in their gratitude letters didn’t have any better mental health. It was only the participants who used fewer words that describe negative emotions in their letters that were increasingly more likely to report better mental health. So the takeaway was that the lack of negative emotion words—not the number of positive words—explained the mental health differences between the gratitude writing group and the other writing group.
One explanation for this could be that when we take our focus off of negative and toxic emotions, it changes the way we view our lives and, therefore, our long-term mental health.
GRATITUDE CREATES A STRONGER SENSE OF WELL-BEING
In 2010, researchers identified gratitude as one of the major characteristics for determining a person’s well-being. Research shows that gratitude stemming from appreciating the positive things in your life and helping others can increase happiness. The theory behind some of this is that practicing gratitude forces you to acknowledge the good in the world.
Sarah Kopelovich, Ph.D., is a Clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She says that even with the challenges of looking at the bright side of life for people who suffer from anxiety or depression, “We have more and more evidence that the practice of gratitude can both make someone less vulnerable to distress and it can predict greater psychological well-being.”
GRATITUDE IMPROVES SLEEP
In this study conducted in the UK, researchers measured gratitude and its effects on sleep. Those participants who rated higher for gratitude had not only fell asleep quicker but also had greater sleep quality and duration. These researchers say that grateful people are more likely to think positive thoughts and less likely to think negative or worrisome thoughts as they are falling asleep.
GRATITUDE TAKES TIME TO SHOW BENEFITS
In the earlier study on gratitude writing, one of the observations that came from that study showed that gratitude writing’s effects gradually occurred over time. Participants who did the gratitude writing showed better mental health long term than the other participants who didn’t perform the gratitude writing. It appears that gratitude has a positive long term effect on the brain and takes a little while to show up fully.
As Joshua Brown and Joel Wong of Great Good Magazine wrote, “These results are encouraging because many other studies suggest that the mental health benefits of positive activities often decrease rather than increase over time afterward. We don’t know why this positive snowball effect occurred in our study. Perhaps the gratitude letter writers discussed what they wrote in their letters with their counselors or with others. These conversations may have reinforced the psychological benefits derived from the gratitude writing itself.”
GRATITUDE REDUCES STRESS
Stress is one of the leading causes of some major health issues, including heart disease. We all experience stress on some level, but some experience it much more intensely than others. Some studies show how gratitude can have a positive influence on stress. One of the reasons is that grateful people tend to have the psychological resources to manage stress more productively. In this particular study, people who practiced gratitude were more likely to manage stress by looking for the positive in negative situations, seeking others for help, and actively coping and planning.
GRATITUDE ENHANCES EMPATHY
In a 2012 study at the University of Kentucky, researchers found that grateful people are more likely to behave in a socially acceptable manner, even when others behaved less kindly. In addition, the study participants who ranked higher with gratitude were less likely to retaliate against others, even when given negative feedback. Lastly, these same study participants experienced more empathy toward other people and a decreased desire for revenge.
GRATITUDE TECHNIQUES
There are many different ways to express gratitude. When you are depressed, it can be a challenge to stay afloat mentally and emotionally, so you have to make a concerted effort to practice these techniques. If you are seeing a therapist, consult with them on this topic. They should have methods they can share with you as well. Below are three that have worked for me.
GLAD (Grateful, Learned, Accomplished, Delight)
This is one my therapist recommended to me. It expands beyond just gratitude and has an extra layer of perspective for the day. First, you write out GLAD vertically on a piece of paper. Then, next to the G, write down one thing you are grateful for that day. Next to the L, write down one thing you learned. Next to the A, write down one thing you accomplished. And next to the D, one thing that fille you with delight. Then go back and read them. You’d be surprised how much this little list can make you smile.
Gratitude Journaling
Gratitude journaling is the simple act of writing down what you are grateful for daily (or at times of your choosing). This can be people, places, things, events, whatever you are grateful for that given day, write it down in a journal. Whenever I do a gratitude journal, I typically write down three things. This is a quick and easy way to stay on top of gratitude.
Letters of Gratitude
As discussed above, with the study performed, writing letters of gratitude to the people in your life you are grateful for can have positive effects. I would start with any immediate family members or close friends and then branch out to others. These letters can be as long or as short as you desire. The act itself can be therapeutic.
IN REVIEW
Gratitude is a powerful practice that can enhance our lives and improve our mental health.
It can be challenging to change our thought patterns from constant worry and negativity to gratitude. Still, over time with a little persistency, you can direct your energy towards the good in your life instead of the bad.
Gratitude goes beyond just feeling good momentarily in the present moment; it has long-lasting health benefits. And the more time that passes, the more benefits gratitude seems to have on our mental health.
There are many ways to practice gratitude, so experiment and decide which form best suits you.
Start small, pick anything around you, even the most insignificant thing if need be. Gratitude is like an avalanche of good feelings – the more steam it picks up, the harder it is to stop.
Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for any kind of professional advice, and you should not rely solely on this information. Always consult a professional in the medical and health area for your particular needs and circumstances prior-to making any medical or health-related decisions. For your health-related questions, please seek the advice of a licensed physician or any other qualified health care provider immediately.
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