RMC Wishes You a Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to remind us to give thanks and have gratitude for all the miracles in our lives every day.  The more grateful we are, the more likely we are to default to positive reactions rather than negative reactions despite stressful circumstances or hardship.  Living our everyday lives in a state of gratitude promotes health, well-being, and can bring calm into the world.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” [JFK]

Emotion is energy in motion.  Where we invest our energy is thus exceptionally important for our individual well-being.  Gratitude is a powerful but simple practice.  Implementing a gratitude practice in our lives every day can transform emotions on a daily basis.  The positive relationship between gratitude, well-being and health benefits have been established.  It stems from an awareness something good happened to us, even in hard times.  It is an appreciation for something greater than ourselves.

The simple and quick activity of writing three to five things you are grateful for each day has been shown to increase positive affect, life satisfaction, happiness and result in decreased stress and depression symptoms.  Discussed in a previous RMC blog was the practice of gratitude as we entered the holiday season one year ago.  Several studies showed individuals who practiced gratitude reported feeling better about life, were more optimistic and spent more time exercising than those without a gratitude practice.  These people demonstrated a more positive affect and were more determined, enthusiastic, joyful, energetic, attentive and strong.

A recent study entitled “Positive Psychology and Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” assessed the effect a gratitude practice had on adults’ well-being and mental health.  There were three groups who recorded the following via online daily questionnaire for 14 days:

• Gratitude group: Wrote five things they were grateful for daily
• Hassles group: Wrote five hassles or annoying situations they faced daily
• Neutral events group: Wrote five events that affected them in any way daily

Outcomes were assessed on 410 out of 1337 participants using scales pre- and post-intervention:

• positive and negative affect,
• depression scale,
• subjective happiness scale,
• satisfaction with life.

There were 927 participants out of 1337 lost to follow up.  Interestingly, those who dropped out had higher scores for negative affect and depression and lower scores for subjective happiness and life satisfaction.

The findings of this study showed:

• The gratitude group had increased scores of positive affect, subjective happiness and life satisfaction while reducing negative affect and depression symptoms.
• Similar changes were shown in the neutral events group which the researchers hypothesize could be explained by the two groups assigned a similar task.
• Positive affect was greatest in the gratitude group.
• The hassles group assigned writing down problems from their day led them to relive negative emotions associated with the unpleasant events.

This is yet another study to support the practice of gratitude in increasing life satisfaction, happiness and positive affect.  Developing a practice of gratitude is transformative, turning a state of lack into one of abundance.  Practicing gratitude can be a catalyst for increased motivation, general well-being, less stress, less fatigue and more meaningful relationships.

Remember to count your blessings and make every day a day of Thanksgiving.

RMC is grateful and thankful for you!  Have an awesome day!  Dr D and Drew Chernisky, PA-C