Appropriately for Thanksgiving, a cardiologist friend has sent (via my sister) a link to an article about the benefits of learned gratitude, written by two friends from the parish, Drs. Blair and Rita Justice. Excerpt:
In one of his first studies on gratitude, conducted with colleague Mike McCullough at the University of Miami, Emmons randomly assigned participants one of three tasks. Some were encouraged to feel gratitude indirectly [by writing down five things each week for which they were grateful], others to be indirectly negative and complaining, and a third group to be neutral. * * *
- Participants in the gratitude group felt better about their lives as a whole and were more optimistic about the future than participants in either of the other control conditions — a full 25 percent happier.
- They reported fewer health complaints and even spent more time exercising than control participants.
- They had fewer symptoms of physical illness than the other two groups.
- The gratitude group exercised 1.5 hours more than the hassled group.
… There was evidence that the daily [gratitude note-taking] led to greater increases in gratitude than did the weekly practice in the first study. * * *
The participants weren’t the only ones believing life was better. According to the researchers, “Spouses of the participants in the gratitude condition reported that the participants appeared to have higher subjective well-being than did the spouses of the participants in the control condition.” * * *
Gratitude, with practice, can become not only a habit, but a way of viewing the world. “Ain’t it Awful” is as much learned as “Ain’t it Grand,” and not nearly so much fun. No doctor’s appointment needs to be scheduled to practice gratitude, no deductible on your insurance, no personal trainer required. This amazing health remedy is yours for the taking, right now. So, say, “Thank you!”
Leave a Reply