Gratitude’s Impact on Health

Gratitude, thankfulness, or gratefulness, from the Latin word gratus "pleasing, thankful" 

Robert Emmons, perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, describes that gratitude has two key components, First, “it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.”

In the second part of gratitude, he explains, “we recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves. We acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”

Many studies over the past decade have found that people who consciously count their blessings and practicing gratitude sharing activities tend to be happier and less depressed.

More recently studies have also suggested that gratitude sharing activities can be beneficial not just for healthy, well-adjusted individuals, but also for those who struggle with mental health concerns. In fact, it seems, practicing gratitude on top of receiving psychological counseling carries greater benefits than counseling alone. Interestingly research has also shown that gratitude practices might actually work not only to improve our minds but the overall health of our bodies. 

The following are four insights suggesting what might be behind gratitude’s psychological benefits.

1. Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions

Perhaps this suggests that gratitude sharing activities or letter writing, produces better mental health by shifting one’s attention away from toxic emotions, such as resentment and envy. When you write about or share how grateful you are to others and how much other people have blessed your life, it might become considerably harder for you to ruminate on your negative experiences.

2. Gratitude helps even if you don’t share it

If you are thinking of writing a letter of gratitude to someone, but you’re unsure whether you want that person to read the letter, write it anyway. Even if the intended recipient never reads it the mere act of writing the letter can help you appreciate the people in your life and shift your focus away from negative feelings and thoughts.

3. Gratitude’s benefits take time

If you participate in a gratitude sharing activity, don’t be too surprised if you don’t feel dramatically better immediately after. Be patient and remember that the benefits of gratitude might take time to kick in.

4. Gratitude has lasting effects on the brain

Studies suggest an fMRI scanner used to measure brain activity shows people who are generally more grateful or gave more money to a cause, showed greater neural sensitivity in the medial prefrontal cortex, a brain area associated with learning and decision making. These MRI results show actual scientific evidence that gratitude practices make an significant impact on the brain. 

Much of our time and energy is spent pursuing things we currently don’t have. Gratitude reverses our priorities to help us appreciate the people and things that we do have.

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/gratitude