It’s Thanksgiving weekend and a time to pause and think about what we’re grateful for. Getting in the gratitude mindset takes time, but feels oh so good. In my struggle with anxiety, I’ve tried many things like practicing gratitude. I meditate to gratitude recordings. I started a gratitude journal a decade ago that lasted a few days. But I haven’t tried gratitude letter writing. Research shows this practice creates lasting positive changes in the brain. Now, that’s something I like to hear!
In a study published Greater Good Science Center, those who wrote gratitude letters reported significantly better mental health four weeks and 12 weeks after their writing exercise ended. This suggests that gratitude writing can be beneficial not just for healthy, well-adjusted individuals, but also for those who struggle with mental health concerns (like depressions and anxiety). In fact, it seems, practicing gratitude on top of receiving psychological counseling carries greater benefits than counseling alone, even when that gratitude practice is brief.
- Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions.
- Gratitude helps us even if you don’t share it.
- Gratitude benefits takes time.
- Gratitude has lasting effects on the brain.
Regardless of whether you’re facing serious psychological challenges, if you have never written a gratitude letter before, we encourage you to try it. Much of our time and energy is spent pursuing things we currently don’t have. Gratitude reverses our priorities to help us appreciate the people and things we do.
So what is gratitude?
Robert Emmons, perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, argues that gratitude has two key components. “First,” he writes, “it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.”
In the second part of gratitude, he explains, “we recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves. … We acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset—gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”
So consider writing some gratitude letters. You don’t have to send them, but imagine the joy you can give someone while lessening your anxiety and changing your brain. Remember the Hallmark commercials that made you cry? Some unexpecting person would receive a Hallmark card and be touched by kind words? This season, let us create our own Hallmark moments!
I’m going to start by writing letters to the people that live in my house. My spouse and children. I don’t tell them enough how much I appreciate them. It’s a good place to start and I encourage you to do the same.