The Holiday Season is here, and it is a reminder to pause long enough to appreciate all our blessings. Research shows that an attitude of gratitude matters. It matters to our mental health, physical well-being, and helps us get through challenging times. (APA)
According to PositivePsychology.com, there is evidence supporting the relationship between gratitude and anxiety. In a 2011 study conducted by Lau & Cheng, adults were divided into three groups, and all were given journals to write in. The first group was asked to write in their journals all the things they were grateful for and write some affirmations. The second group was told to write in their journal about their worries and concerns, and the third group was assigned to write about a neutral subject in their journal.
After the task was completed, the groups were exposed to a stimulus around death – a topic we all struggle with. The results showed that the participants in the first group, who wrote about things they were grateful for and added encouraging words, showed fewer symptoms of death anxiety than the other two groups. The conclusion that can be drawn from the experiment is that when we have an attitude of gratitude, we can reframe adversity, find meaning behind painful experiences, and become less fearful of the future.
Need more proof?
The following is a parable, famously told by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, about concerned parents who take their identical twin sons, one an incurable pessimist and the other a constant optimist, to a psychologist for help.
The psychologist devises the following experiment. He puts the pessimistic child in a room overflowing with brand-new toys and lots of candy. When the boy was left alone, the psychologist found the boy sobbing and heard the child complaining that the toys would eventually break if he played with them, and if he eats the candy, he will get sick.
The inquisitive psychologist puts the optimistic child in a room full of horse manure. When the boy is left alone, the psychologist observes the child digging through the manure with excitement. When the boy was asked why he was so excited, the boy declared, “With all this manure, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”
The moral of each tale highlights that, regardless of the events in our lives or the Holiday we celebrate, a grateful heart turns little into more than enough, AND that is something to be thankful for!Josette Veltri, a Boca Pointe resident, is a certified educator and coach on loss and transition. Her purpose, to assist clients with healing and move forward so they can go from I Can’t to I Can, One Step at a Time. She can be reached at [email protected] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josettejveltri/).
