Practising Gratitude: Benefits for your Mental Health
By Elizabeth Granby, MACP, RP (Qualifying) at KS Therapy Services
October is a month for thanksgiving and reflection. On the Thanksgiving long weekend many Canadian families gather together to enjoy the bounty of the harvest season. Pumpkins adorn doorsteps, and table tops. Vibrant fall colours are bursting in every direction. The smell of fresh baked goods, and roasting turkey fills the air. But holidays can be extremely challenging for many folks, and Thanksgiving is no exception, making this a great time to examine the benefits of practising gratitude. In preparation for all of the stress and anxiety that can accompany family holidays this article will provide you with 3 practical tips to get you started practising gratitude today.
Gratitude has gained popularity in part due to social media and popular culture. Have you ever wondered what all the hype about is all about? Maybe you’ve read something online about the benefits? Or perhaps you’ve had a loved one or therapist mention gratitude in passing but you’ve never really understood the concept, or how it has anything to do with improving your mental health. There is research to support that giving thanks and engaging in a regular practice of gratitude can have many benefits for your health, especially your mental health (Harvard Health, 2021).
Have you heard a version of the saying “if you go looking for trouble you’re sure to find it?” The reverse is true for positivity. When we turn our attention away from negativity, and instead focus on positivity we are sure to find it too! Practising gratitude helps us to feel connected to other people, and other forces in our lives. Practising gratitude can improve our mood, increase feelings of happiness, improve relationships with others, and increase our resilience (Harvard Health, 2021). Practising gratitude can have a snowball effect. You may find that once you get started sharing gratefulness you can’t stop...and that’s actually the point! Gratitude helps bring awareness to the good things in our lives, and in turn helps us decrease our focus on the challenges. According to UCLA Health (2023) by making gratitude a recurring part of everyday life you can decrease symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Here are 3 gratitude practices to get you started on your journey of thanksgiving.
Look for the Glimmers
Glimmers are these wonderful little reminders that life is good! Sometimes described as the opposite of triggers, glimmers are the small pleasures we find in everyday life. For instance that first sniff of coffee on a cold morning, the sound of rain as it hits the window, or the feel of a soft blanket against your skin. There is no right or wrong way to experience a glimmer because they are personal to you! The important thing is that it’s something pretty typical in your life but that you enjoy or that brings you a sense of peace. By focusing your awareness onto these little moments of pleasure you are helping your nervous system to feel calm and relaxed. By acknowledging the glimmers in your life you are practising a form of gratitude. Taking a moment to enjoy the experience of a glimmer is a way of showing your appreciation and thanks for it’s presence in your life at that moment. In this way, you will also be practising mindfulness by focussing your mind on this little piece of wonderful instead of worrying about future stressors or anxieties.
Start a Gratitude Journal
There are many benefits to journaling, not just for writing down the things you are grateful for. It’s a wonderful tool to help clear your mind of anxious thoughts, organize your mind, and regulate your emotions. So it only makes sense that combining this powerful tool with another effective one like gratitude will result in a powerhouse resource! A gratitude journal is even easier to use than a traditional journal. There is no need to write anything long, or deep or meaningful for it to to be effective. Simply writing down a few things you are grateful for once a day is all the time and energy needed for this task. The process of reflecting on the things you are grateful for allows you to engage in a process of positive self-reflection. Similar to glimmers, gratitude journaling focuses your attention on the positives and moves your awareness away from the challenges of the day. Over time, as you practice gratitude journaling, your mind will automatically start to look for things to be grateful for. It’s like setting your brain to gratitude mode. Gratitude has the potential to become your default mode. Remember there is no right or wrong way to complete a gratitude journal. The only thing you have to remember is to to do it regularly to experience a positive impact on your mental health
Express Gratitude to Others
Start making a point of saying thank you and expressing gratitude to others as often as you can. At a minimum try to do it at least once a day, but I bet you can do better than that! Expressing gratitude for others benefits both you, and the person you are grateful to. Making an effort to express gratitude to others is another way of bringing awareness to the positive things in your life. It forces you to be mindful and conscious of things that you may not otherwise notice. For instance, a work colleague might regularly start the coffee when she arrives at work and make enough for everyone to enjoy a cup when they arrive. She’s been doing it so long that it has just become the regular office routine. By taking a moment and recognizing this lovely gesture it helps you to see beyond the monotony of the act. It will make you feel good realizing she does this kind gesture because she knows you really enjoy coffee. The next step is to tell her how grateful you are to her for doing it. She will probably be surprised to have it recognized, but will feel really appreciated by you for saying something. This will help her to have a positive day too. Who knows she might even pay the gratitude forward and keep the trend going?? Before you know it the whole office will be practising gratitude and feeling more positive! Expressing your gratitude to others also helps to strengthen your relationship with the other person.
From all of us at KS Therapy Services we wish you and your families the very best of the fall season. We are grateful to you for taking the time to read this blog post! We encourage you to get out and enjoy the sunshine and fall foliage, take some deep cleansing crisp air breaths...and look for a glimmer or two along the way!
References
Stay tuned for other resources, including trainings for therapists and book recommendations.
