By now I’m assuming that we’ve all heard of the term gratitude even if it’s just in passing. Those of us within the mental health community may even practice gratitude on a daily basis as suggested by professionals or, simply, as part of our own self-care routine. But what is the purpose of gratitude and just how reliable is it as a means of improving our happiness?
Gratitude is basically giving thanks or appreciation for what we have and receive in life. When things seem nigh impossible there is always something to be grateful for, even if we can’t see it. While going through difficult times in our lives it’s often hard to see the ‘sky for the trees.’ We shield our eyes from the world around us and tend to focus only on the pain. For example, when we lose a loved one it’s easy to fall into a hole of anger and despair. When my beloved grandparents passed last year I had several days where I could see nothing but the bad in my life. It’s only now, a year later, that I’m able to feel grateful for the time I had with them. I’m no longer angry at the world or with the Gods for taking them. Instead, I’m happy they’re at peace and eternally grateful for the many years of happy memories.
Positive psychology research has long associated gratitude with improved feelings of happiness. Its thought to improve the positive emotions we feel, allows us to hold onto good experiences, enables us to better deal with adversity and even helps us to build and maintain healthy relationships.
A study was carried out on three hundred university students seeking mental health counseling for a variety of reasons. Before beginning their therapy they were split into three separate groups. Group one was asked to write one letter of gratitude to another person every week for three weeks. The second group was asked to write about their thoughts and feelings in regards to negative experiences, and the final group was asked to carry on as normal. All three groups attending counseling throughout.
Compared with the groups who wrote about negative experiences or did nothing, those in group one reported better overall mental health and feeling more positive. They even reported significant positives changes to their mental health in the weeks after their writing exercises had ended. This proves that gratitude can have a major impact on not only our mental health but our general health as well. Although an excellent outlet for healthy individuals it can also be an invaluable source of positivity for those who struggle with their mental health on a daily basis. [Taylor & Francis. 2020.]
You can practice gratitude on a daily basis by keeping a gratitude journal. Each morning when you wake, or before you go to bed, write down three things that you’re grateful for. This can be something as simple as a morning hug from your partner, a cuddle with your pet, or even just how lovely the weather is.
Gratitude doesn’t have to include extravagant things like vacations or a new car. It’s found in the simplest and smallest of ways. Calvin Holbrook of Happiness.com shows us how living a simple life can improve our happiness and overall mental health. Not only does simplicity prevent us from overspending in order to feel better, but it allows us time to focus on what we already have. All in all, it removes the continuous need for distraction so we can better deal with what we’re trying to avoid.
Need a gratitude journal? You can sign up for the mailing list and get the free gratitude journal printable. Alternatively, I suggest using Evernote or getting your hands on a motivational notebook.
As proven by the above study giving thanks to the people in our lives can help stir and nourish positive feelings. Take the time to send a letter to someone who has been there for you through a difficult period. Or you could send a letter, text, or email to check in on someone who you admire. Let them know how much you value them as a person. Not only will this benefit you but it’ll also provide a much needed pick me up to the recipient.
I love sending and receiving messages of thanks. They help to remind me who I am and motivate me to continue to do and be better.
During COVID-19 I’ve been taking more time to explore the surrounding countryside. I’ve walked up country lanes, through fields, along abandoned paths and under canapes of trees. Prior to lock down I didn’t take the time to walk through my local countryside but now I’ve found some beautiful places to spend time with nature, something I could never do in the city.
Take some time to give thanks to mother nature. Listen to the sounds of the country. The trees rustling, the birds chirping and feel the sun on your skin. Even if it’s raining we have something to be thankful for.
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Practicing Gratitude is a huge help for me in tough times. The more I do it the more I look for the little things in life to be grateful for.
Thank you so much for reading. I love hearing about people's experiences with gratitude.
I've found this practice to be very helpful for my mental health. Just shifting our though pattern to focus on all we have instead of have not is truly transformative. Thanks for your insight.
Thank you for reading :)
Amen to this, it's why I do Happy Friday. This week has been rough on me, but sitting down and thinking about the things that made me happy this week definitely helped.
I think that we have to practice gratitude everyday. We have to be grateful for all things we can experience even the bad experience art lessons.
I love your Happy Friday series! It gives me an opportunity to mull over my week and what I'm grateful for!
This is something I am actively trying to work on. I do have a gratitude journal, but find that I don't use it very much.. but I have been using a plain notebook and exploring gratitude and what I am grateful for. I've been struggling so much lately, going through another medication change, and I am finding that keeping focused on the good in my life and having it written down is helpful when I'm feeling crappy. Thank you so much for another amazing article.
Sending you so much love pet. Medication changes on top of everything else can be so, so awful. Thank you so much for taking the time to pop in and read this. I hope it was helpful. x
An exercise that I am learning to do is to give thanks every week, it is true that gratitude has a great power over happiness and calmness.
Thank you for reading :)
I love practicing gratitude. I think even my happy days moment each day could be classed as gratitude because some days it seems as though there may be no reason to feel happy but when I look back on a day, it doesn't take me long to realise that actually I have a lot to be thankful and grateful for.
It is definitely a mindset changer!
Thank you so much for popping in and reading Claire!
Great post Nyxie! Showing gratitude is so important. It really can change your life
Thank you for reading :)
I totally agree! Gratitude is so important and can really help us to view the positives over the negatives in our lives. Such a great post, thanks for sharing!
I am a firm beliver of gratitude and being thankful for whatever I have, be it the nature around, my family or friends or my profession and sometimes very small and negligible things. I truly feel its a major reason for me being content and happy.
I always practice gratitude when I am saying my prayers. Thanking God is my first step.
This is so important! Practising gratitude can make you feel so much appreciative of what you have and can keep your grounded. Thank you for sharing!
Yes I couldn’t agree more! The more time I spend feeling grateful for the things around me, the things I already have, the skills I possess, etc. the happier I feel! Thank you for sharing 😊