Hello hello, and welcome to Episode 74 of Life On the Brink!
Here in the U.S. we’re entering into the week of Thanksgiving, a day set aside to be grateful for those around us and, let’s be real, eat a delicious meal. It’s also a special time because it really marks the official beginning of the Christmas season! I will be spending this Thanksgiving with Josh’s family this year, but no matter where I am, I always look forward to this day.
This season has made me think, though, about the act of being grateful, the practice of gratitude itself. I’ve heard of “gratitude journals” and whatnot, but I became curious about what the act of “thanksgiving” actually does in your mind and body. With that, I hit the books. I’ve done some research into gratitude and some very interesting findings. Not surprisingly, it’s actually incredibly beneficial and can help reframe our whole perspective!
If you’re interested, let’s dive in…
What’s in my teacup? Trader Joes' Organic Ginger Turmeric Herbal Tea
Here at Life On the Brink, I try to emphasize the enjoyment of the everyday. My guests and I share a Little Joy at the end of each episode, hopefully to cause us all to pause and reflect on all the good things from the past week. You, also, as a listener or reader of this blog also understand the value of such reflection, so as we dive into a bit of “the science of gratitude,” I hope it simply brings another level of clarity regarding the importance of practicing Little Joys.
First, I’d like to present a study published in Psychotherapy Research in 2016.
“Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions:
(a) control (psychotherapy only),
(b) a psychotherapy plus expressive writing, and
(c) a psychotherapy plus gratitude writing.
Participants in the gratitude condition wrote letters expressing gratitude to others, whereas those in the expressive writing condition wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings about stressful experiences.”
All of the participants in this study were adults seeking university-based psychotherapy services and, as the abstract suggests, all received psychotherapy. This study was conducted simply to find out the effects of writing down things you’re grateful for on a regular basis.
“About 4 weeks as well as 12 weeks after the conclusion of the writing intervention, participants in the gratitude condition reported significantly better mental health than those in the expressive and control conditions, whereas those in the expressive and control conditions did not differ significantly.”
This is in addition to therapy, and that kind of blows my mind! Also, in this article published by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Joshua Brown and Joel Wong, two of the psychologist/professors from IU who conducted the study above, mentioned something very interesting about the study. Here’s a quote from that article:
“...it was the lack of negative emotion words—not the abundance of positive words—that explained the mental health gap between the gratitude writing group and the other writing group.
Perhaps this suggests that gratitude letter writing produces better mental health by shifting one’s attention away from toxic emotions, such as resentment and envy. When you write about how grateful you are to others and how much other people have blessed your life, it might become considerably harder for you to ruminate on your negative experiences.”
Essentially, the act of not focusing on what Brown and Wong called “toxic emotions” greatly improved participants mental health, and over a long stretch at a time. I find this clarity very impactful, because sometimes I think gratitude gets a bad rap.
In today’s world, the need to be “informed” is pressed upon us often. We must take in all the bad and stressful goings on in order to understand more of the world around us. I would even venture to say that these days, if you’re not moved to anger about one injustice or the other, you are “part of the problem.” At least in the U.S. right now, the sign of a well-informed, active, responsible individual is one who is angered, urgent, stressed, and cynical.
What place has gratitude in the face of that? Let’s revisit the subject of “toxic emotions.”
The practice of gratitude is not ignoring the negatives (the tragic, the abhorrent, the chaotic), but rather to take them and process them, and then also acknowledge the positives (kindness, goodness, simplicity) that often don’t get the same level of air time. This is not keeping your head in the sand, this is a full perspective shift. This is embracing the full reality of our lives. They are filled with challenge AND victory.
Consciously or not, we all frame the world in some perspective or other, but looking at the world through a negative lens is not inherently responsible
On that note, I want to highlight Dr. Robert Emmons, a research professor who has done a lot of work examining the science of gratitude (I’ve linked one of his talks below if you want to see more). In one of his books, “Gratitude Works!: A 21-Day Program for Creating Emotional Prosperity,” Emmons speaks about this same perspective shift, or ‘reframing’:
“Gratitude maximizes happiness in multiple ways, and one reason why gratitude works is that it helps us reframe memories of unpleasant events in such a way that it decreases their negative emotional impact…Our mind often latches on to what is wrong. There’s no need to ignore the negative or say life is perfect. But once you have the skill of coping gratefully, you can find a new redemptive frame of reference.”
As we enter into this holiday season, it’s only fitting that we begin with giving thanks. No matter where you are, whether or not Thanksgiving is a dedicated holiday, we can all take time to practice gratitude. There is much joy to be found if only we pay attention to it. With that, I’m putting forward three simple ways to begin practicing gratitude
GRATITUDE PRACTICES:
1. Make mental or physical lists. Take time to regularly pause and reflect on the blessings in your life, either by writing them down or simply cataloging in your mind. Perhaps right before you get out of bed or before you get ready to work, or maybe before a meal. It can also be a lovely way to reflect at the end of the day.
2. Write a gratitude letter. As we saw earlier in the research study, writing a letter of gratitude to someone else can positively impact your mind. Brown and Wong mentioned in the article above that “only 23 percent of participants who wrote gratitude letters sent them. But those who didn’t send their letters enjoyed the benefits of experiencing gratitude nonetheless.” Think outside yourself and practice conscious gratitude for those in your life.
3. Keep a gratitude journal. Perhaps this is a step to take after trying out the previous two. This journal would not only provide an avenue to consistently ponder the positive moments in your life, but would also catalog the different people and experiences in your life, which is so special to look back on. Even if it’s not an everyday thing, I think the notion of having a journal specifically for expressing gratitude is beautiful.
Though not without challenges, your life is a gift that can be cherished every day, not just on Thanksgiving. I hope that some of these thoughts or articles have provided some inspiration to start giving thanks regularly, and to look for the good.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
MORE RESOURCES:
This Week’s Little Joy: This week there are two!
1. Josh and I just closed on on house! It's a crazy crazy thing and it all happened so fast, but we're now homeowners. The next couple of months are going to be a little wild, which may or may not affect the frequency of the podcast, but it also means that I am inspired by home decor right now. Get psyched for home podcast episodes!
2. I made this cranberry orange loaf this week, was has been very nice to snack on with a cup of tea. The past week has been thoroughly crazy, so I've really been enjoying moments of quiet, watching Gilmore Girls (I'm finally to season 6 and going to finish this show soon), working on this crochet baby blanket, and enjoying a little bit of loaf and tea. Just lovely.
What I’m Listening To: It's called “I Love Being Here With You” by Cait and the Critters. There are some old jazz tunes on this list, and all are simply arranged while honoring the original style, and Cait's vocals are silky smooth. This album is very easy to listen to, and is happy and comforting all at once.
Thank you so much for listening! If you haven't had the chance yet, go ahead and leave a star rating or (even better!) a review over on Apple Podcasts to let others know what you like about Life On the Brink.
Be on the lookout on my Instagram stories, as I'll be looking for input on this year's holiday episodes.
Until December, Happy Thanksgiving and have a great week!