Gratitude. We hear it often, especially as the holidays come up. We feel this expectation of experiencing and vocalizing a heart of gratitude. However, sometimes it can feel difficult to feel gratitude when life is throwing what feels like punches in all different directions.

What are the benefits of having gratitude?

Gratitude boosts the immune system as it increases the immune response, ultimately assisting your body in fighting off illnesses.

Gratitude also helps improve mental health as a study done in 2020 shows regular incorporation of gratitude eases symptoms of anxiety and depression by fostering positive feelings. Another study found that a gratitude intervention was a successful tool in reducing negative effects and increasing resilience in older adults.

In addition to improvements within one’s physical and mental well-being, gratitude also assists in improving relationships. Relationships that vocalize gratitude have an increase of satisfaction and happiness. When you think about it, it makes sense. Who doesn’t want to hear that someone is grateful and sees them?

Other studies have shown that practicing gratitude helps to improve sleep quality, improve emotional regulation, increases positive mood, fosters hope for the future, mitigates stress, boosts one’s self esteem and increases resilience. 

We see there are a lot of benefits of gratitude so…

Fake it til you make it?

Nooo. Pretending you’re grateful when you are actually not is burying your true feelings.

Practice validating your emotions alongside gratitude. A reminder that you don’t have to choose gratitude or being unhappy. Both can co-exist. Your feelings are real and complex. You can hold both or all of the different emotions that you experience.

If it’s difficult to find things you are grateful for (which is okay!), try reflecting on small things you may be grateful for that is easy to take for granted. For example, a warm cup of coffee on a cold day, a car filled with gas, the sun, flowers, your laptop, etc.

When you look at your life under a microscope, the dissatisfactions or stressors in your life are magnified. But if you take a step back and get a bird’s eye view of your life, you may be surprised at what you notice. Here are some ways to practice gratitude in the midst of your busy lives:

Create a note on your phone and throughout the day, jot down things you are thankful for especially as they are associated with mundane tasks, events or familiar people you oftentimes see.

Remember the bad. To be grateful for your current state, reflect on something hard you had to overcome. Maybe you thought you wouldn’t be able to come out of that difficult experience or that it would last forever. Take a few minutes to reflect on how far you have come in comparison to that experience. You are resilient.

Share with others what you appreciate about them.

Here are some additional articles about gratitude:

How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain

How to Practice Gratitude

https://www.mindful.org/an-introduction-to-mindful-gratitude/