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Gratitude and Mental Health
Psychologists have found a promising treatment for clients with mental health problems. Gratitude. There have been many studies on gratitude which have shown that people who are grateful are less depressed and happier. Gratitude can help people who are struggling with mental health issues. Indeed, gratitude does have psychological benefits.
It unshackles you from toxic emotions
Toxic emotions are one of the contributing factors to mental illness. As a person harbors more and more feelings of self-hate, anger and bitterness, they become vulnerable to depression and suicidal thoughts. When you are grateful, you shift your attention from what may be causing all the pain to what is positive. As you concentrate in these things over time, you will eventually find that you are no longer depressed or suicidal. Psychologists have used gratitude as a way to treat college students who are facing these kinds of challenges. Students who kept a gratitude journal show greater improvement in their mental health after several weeks of practicing gratitude.
It is still helpful even if you don’t share it
Writing in a gratitude journal does not mean you have to share it. Even when you don’t communicate to another person what you are grateful about, you still become a better person. The mental benefits of gratitude are not depedent on sharing your grateful moments with others. You can still be grateful in your own space. While sharing does increase the joy of the practice, it is not a necessity. You can even write a letter of gratitude to someone without giving it to them. Writing will bring to your attention what you need to appreciate in that person.
It has lasting effects on the brain
In a study, MRI scans were taken on people who write gratitude letters and those who do not. The idea was to compare how the brain processes information in the two groups. Brain activity was measured by an fMRI scanner. First, the participants were given some amount of money and told to pass it on if they felt they were grateful. Secondly, they were told to decide what amount of money to give to a worthy cause. The purpose was to distinguish donations that were motivated by either gratitude or other feelings.
The participants were also given questionnaires to measure the level of gratitude in their lives and how much they wanted to help the worthy cause. Across the participants, brain activity was different in those driven by gratitude and those driven by guilt or fear.
People who are more grateful gave more money to the cause and had a neutral sensitivity in the medial prefrontal cortex which is the area in the brain associated with learning and decision making. This means that people who practice gratitude are more attentive to how they express their gratitude.
The conclusion of the study was that people who practicing gratitude has a lasting effect on the brain. Over time, this could contribute to improved mental health.
Are you struggling with stress, depression or suicidal thoughts? Try practicing gratitude and see the improvement it will have on your mental health.
