The Different Shades of Gratitude

"Gratitude is a disposition (trait) or a state of feeling thankful for what we have in our experiences or circumstances. Gratitude interventions are activities you are encouraged to do to enhance your gratitude. They include the following:

1. Count your blessings: Write down what you are grateful for once or three times a week.
2. Provide rationale: Write down what you are grateful for and explain why.
3. WWW (what went well): Reflect on what went well for you, especially if you had a bad day.
4. It could be worse: Reflect on what could be worse about an adverse event and what you are grateful for about the event.
5. Letter of gratitude: Write a letter of gratitude and send it to someone or visit them and read it aloud.
6. Share your gratitude: Thank someone who did something good and explain what you are grateful to them for.
7. Gratitude coaching: After conducting a gratitude activity, discuss what you are grateful for with your coach.

Expressing gratitude is associated with such benefits as reducing mood disorders and suicidal ideation. In addition, it is beneficial for physiological health as it reduces heart rate and improves sleep quality. Many patients diagnosed with cancer, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disease, and palliative care found gratitude helpful.

It doesn’t mean everyone should practise gratitude at all times. When people are not ready to do it, it may lead to resentment, anger, and frustration.

Whether gratitude is helpful depends on the depth of its expression. We can express it on cognitive and emotional levels.

To help people engage deeper with their gratitude, my colleague Panagiota Trom and I designed experimental research with 45 participants, all of whom were asked to practice gratitude for one week. In addition, half of them were also given a half-hour coaching session during which we helped them make sense of what it means to be grateful and delved deeper into what they are grateful for.

Our results showed that those who practiced their gratitude without coaching reported feeling more positive. However, it did not affect other aspects of their well-being. On the other hand, the coaching group reported experiencing improved overall well-being at a higher level.

While more studies are required to confirm our findings, they offer preliminary guidance on maximizing gratitude expression and highlight that gratitude comes in different shades.

If you don’t have a coach, ask a friend to spend time with you and discuss what all these things mean to you. The more you reflect on it, the greater the benefits."

Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!

Reflection:

What are some ways that you express gratitude? How often do you reflect on it?

*I usually try to express gratitude everyday when I wake up. Sometimes, if I'm in a rush, I won't have the time but I try to be consistent. It has made my mornings way better. For certain things, I would reflect on my gratitude a lot and it has made me so much more appreciative and happy!*

#Gratitude #Appreciation #Reflection #MentalHealth