Let’s give gratitude a chance all year
We’ve all felt down, stuck, overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, bitter. The list goes on. But what to do during these times, especially while we’re in the process of changing our circumstances or if we can’t change them? Gratitude is an oft-hidden gem, a silver bullet, if you will, that can make a dramatic difference in many areas of our life.
November is National Gratitude Month, and for good reason. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and this has traditionally been a time to consciously focus on our blessings. We all have a sense that gratitude is a good thing, that on some level we feel better and more fulfilled when we focus on the positive and what we have, instead of the negative and what we don’t have.
If gratitude is so good for us, what exactly is it, how does it positively impact us, and how can we get more of it? I would like to share some hidden benefits of gratitude, to offer a perspective that practicing gratitude is not another “should,” adding pressure to our to-do lists, but a simple and powerful way to bolster our well-being in many tangible ways and build resilience against tough times and negative emotional experiences.
The American Psychiatric Association defines gratitude as “the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to oneself — it is a general state of thankfulness and/or appreciation.” Gratitude is both a feeling and a state. The bad news is that this doesn’t come naturally for most of us. The good news is that both this feeling and state of gratitude can be fostered by intentionally practicing it. Just like our physical bodies get stronger when we exercise, exercising the gratitude “muscle” produces more of it.
Practicing gratitude takes intentionality but not an undue amount of effort. There are many ways to do this. I’m a big proponent of writing things down, whether pen-to-paper or electronically with our fingers or voice. First, our hand can’t keep up with our brain, so it forces us to slow down and form conscious, coherent thoughts. Second, the act of writing is cathartic, taking all the swirling, ethereal things going on in our heads and putting it down in concrete form. Third, writing connects brain to body and helps form new neural connections faster.
So, write down what you are grateful for! Make a gratitude list, or journal more extensively about those things. Write thank you notes or send texts. This can be an effective practice for concretely articulating those things in our lives we’re thankful for, and it can build relationships with others by routinely expressing thanks to others. UCLA Health encourages “hitting pause,” and instead of “reflexively” saying thanks, taking a moment to think about what exactly it is that we’re thankful for and feeling those feelings. We can express precise thanks and describe why, again feeling those feelings in the moment and conveying these meaningfully to others.
Finding the silver lining is another way to practice gratitude. For example, when I get sick and it throws a wrench in my life, I can practice gratitude by being grateful for all the comforts I have: a warm home to be sick in, a nice bed to rest in, hot and cold running water with modern plumbing to shower with, medicine to ease symptoms, and friends and family to check in on me.
Finally, gratitude can absolutely be practiced for the big things, but, as Mental Health First Aid USA points out, it’s easy to be caught up with the big things and miss out on the everyday opportunities for gratitude. In fact, the so-called little things make up the bulk of our lives, and these are gold mines of opportunity. Someone once told me that being grateful for the little things is actually the quickest way to gratitude, and while it might sound silly, I have found it to be true. Noticing and feeling grateful for the sunshine on my face, my car starting, my morning cup of coffee, even feeling grateful for chairs at my table, cozy socks on my feet, and electricity, have been life changing.
So, what are the benefits? Believe it or not, gratitude has a real impact on our physical health. As Mayo Clinic states, “Behavior changes biology.” Practicing and demonstrating gratitude, even mentally, lowers blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and halts the effects of stress due to adrenaline and cortisol production. Importantly, gratitude improves sleep quality, and reduces inflammation and pain, even chronic inflammation and pain.
Psychologically, practicing gratitude reduces depression and anxiety, and improves life satisfaction and that ever-elusive feeling of happiness. It’s easy to gloss over something like this, but think about that for a moment, gratitude actually reduces clinical symptoms and makes us feel happy and satisfied. Who doesn’t want that? Like exercise, to grow and maintain these changes, we have to be consistent in our practice, but benefits are immediate too. “In fact, studies have found that a single act of thoughtful gratitude produces an immediate 10% increase in happiness, and a 35% reduction in depressive symptoms” (Mental Health First Aid USA, 2022).
Socially, gratitude strengthens our relationships and helps us feel more connected with others and the world around us. It inspires empathy and motivates us to give back and get involved, making our communities and world a better place.
So, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, and to celebrate National Gratitude Month, let’s be intentionally thankful and reap all the benefits gratitude has to offer!