As things start to wrap up for 2022, it has certainly been quite a year for many of us. 2022 has been a year of uncertainty, challenges, fear, hope, encouragement, and community. Around this time of the year, many often look back and reflect on the wins and losses, or for the spiritual-minded, count the blessings ones had throughout the year.
Many scientific pieces of research that emerged in the past decade discussed the benefits of gratitude. According to a world-leading psychologist, Dr Robert Emmons, gratitude has two essential components. “Firstly, it is an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we have received.” [1] The second part states that “we recognise that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves …other people, or even higher powers, if you are of a spiritual mindset – gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.” [2]
A randomised controlled trial conducted in 2015 investigated the effects of gratitude writing [3]. 293 psychotherapy clients were assigned into three groups – the first group received counselling services only (control group), whereas the second group received counselling and practised expressive writing (writing about deepest thoughts and feelings about stressful experiences), and the third group received counselling and practised gratitude writings. After 4 weeks and 12 weeks the gratitude group reported significantly better mental health than those in the expressive writing and controls groups, whereas the ones in the expressive and controls groups did not differ much.
Other research into the physical effects of gratitude also reports tangible findings. A 2015 study suggested that level of gratitude correlates to better sleep, less fatigue, more self-efficacy, and a lower level of inflammation in asymptomatic heart failure patients [4]. Another research explored the neurobiological effects of gratitude by inducing gratitude in 23 participants while they underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging on brain activities. The results revealed that levels of gratitude correlate with brain activities in the anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, the area associated with moral cognition, value judgment, and empathy [5].
This led to the conclusion that the emotion of gratitude may support a positive attitude towards others and a feeling of relief from stressors.
In times of hardship or stress, it may seem difficult to be grateful. But if you think about it, we all have something or someone we could be grateful for. Here are three easy ways to put yourself in the mindfulness of gratitude.
Keep a weekly journal of things you are grateful for – list at least three. The best time to practice this would be first thing in the morning or at night time before going to bed.
Make it a daily habit to show people your appreciation – at home or work.
When you look into the mirror, give yourself a moment to think about a quality you like about yourself or some task you have recently accomplished.
Written by Benson Huang
[1][2]https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/gratitude/definition#why_practice
[3] Wong, Y. J., Owen, J., Gabana, N. T., Brown, J. W., McInnis, S., Toth, P., & Gilman, L. (2018). Does gratitude writing improve the mental health of psychotherapy clients? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Psychotherapy Research, 28(2), 192-202.
[4] Mills, P. J., Redwine, L., Wilson, K., Pung, M. A., Chinh, K., Greenberg, B. H., … & Chopra, D. (2015). The role of gratitude in spiritual well-being in asymptomatic heart failure patients. Spirituality in clinical practice, 2(1), 5.
[5] Fox, G. R., Kaplan, J., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. (2015). Neural correlates of gratitude. Frontiers in Psychology, 1491.
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