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As the year comes to a close in the midst of the busy holiday season, it is often difficult to make space and time to reflect on the previous 12 months and all that you’ve done, seen, grown into, and accomplished. Change is constant. Even if you don’t feel like you’ve improved or grown in the last year, slowing down to deliberately contemplate on what all has happened in your life is a fantastic way to prepare yourself to close the year with a Season of Gratitude.

What is gratitude?

Gratitude as a mindful practice means regularly and consistently acknowledging, focusing on, and then appreciating the beneficial things in your life. It is the act of being thankful for what you have, both material and tangible as well as abstract and intangible. It all comes down to recognizing anything that provides you value or meaning.

Of course, it is easy to begin with gratitude and quickly delve into what you don’t have or wish you had. Comparison snuffs out compassion, and compassion fuels gratitude. Remember to focus on thankfulness while steering away from envy. Start with the little things that so often go overlooked, and let those slivers of positivity brighten up your day.

As a more sustainable and practical mindfulness habit, simply spending a few minutes each day to reflect on something that brought you peace, joy, excitement, wonder, calm, and/or purpose. But before we delve into what that can look like, what will all these little moments of deliberate thankfulness actually amount to? Buckle up – it’s a lot!

How Gratitude Affects Mental Health

Psychological studies have shown the many exceedingly positive benefits of expressing and receiving gratitude, which include enhanced physical health, boosted life satisfaction, improved affectivity, better mental health, higher self-esteem, increased sociality, and even progress in the quality of close relationships. Furthermore, gratitude decreases anxiety, depression, negative affective behaviors, suicidality, and symptoms of PTSD. Apparently, a little thankfulness really does go a long way (and creates a lot of helpful hyperlinks!)  😀

Grateful people tend to be healthier people due to how practicing gratitude affects the brain and body. A thankful disposition slows the effects of neurodegeneration, decreases inflammation, lowers blood pressure, and causes the body to release more oxytocin. This hormone expands blood vessels, thus reducing blood pressure and protecting the heart. Research also found that the areas of the brain associated with emotional processing, interpersonal bonding, moral judgment, and empathy are activated during and after expressions of thankfulness.

Other studies show that grateful people tend to eat healthier, exercise more, and are less likely to struggle with substance abuse. Now this isn’t all to say that one moment of gratitude will instantly bring all these things to fruition simultaneously in your life. Like all good things, the results will take time. Consistency is key in seeing the worthwhile, multifaceted benefits of gratitude really improve your life.

How to Express Gratitude this Holiday Season

Expressing gratitude does not need to be a complex or grand display, although it certainly can be; there is no limit to the bounds of expressing gratitude! One study found that people who specifically practiced gratitude writing reported significantly better mental health than those that did nothing. Perhaps it’s time to grab a new journal to dedicate to gratitude! Take just five minutes before you start your day or before you get into bed to write down at least three things that you are grateful for at that moment. 

Another way to cultivate gratitude into your daily life is by writing a thank you note to someone you are grateful for. It could be a handwritten card or even a simple text message. Social media can even be a great place to instill a little gratitude! Perhaps a visit or phone call can allow gratitude to be expressed.

Words are powerful, but sometimes hard. If you’re struggling to write or say how thankful you are for someone, acts of kindness or gifts without intent of reciprocation can help you express gratitude. Don’t overthink it; if you’re feeling grateful, let it be known. You may spark someone else to experience gratitude and start reaping its benefits. And if your gratitude isn’t directed at another person, let your thankfulness come out as you pay it forward, volunteer somewhere that resonates with you, or donate to a cause you believe in. 

Other ideas to incorporate daily gratitude include practicing self-appreciation (verbally saying at least three positive things about yourself that make you happy) as well as gratitude accountability partners (regularly chatting with someone else to explicitly share what you are grateful for). Truly, there’s no right way or formula to express gratitude. Aren’t you thankful that we can all be thankful in many different ways?! But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Culitvating a Life of Gratitude

Opting for gratitude is difficult because it goes against the grain of our modern world. In the busy, constantly moving society we live in that is so obsessed with instant gratification, social media, and materialism, little room is left for gratitude. To bring stillness into the chaos so you can center yourself on expressing thankfulness takes effort. That’s why making it a regular habit is key. Give yourself permission to experience and feel joy. And then make time to share that with gratitude!

One final thought: blind optimism is toxic. Cultivating a life of gratitude does not mean ignoring the negative parts of life. Instead, the effects of gratitude are best experienced during those hard times. That’s when we need hope the most. Seeing and acknowledging the positive things in your life will help you traverse through the dark moments when they come. 

Happy holidays from your friends here at Simply Psych! We hope that as you make space to reflect on the past year and practice thankfulness as a daily habit, that this Season of Gratitude will turn into a Life of Gratitude and all of its benefits. We are thankful for you! Now go and share the love and joy.

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Written by real people, for real people.