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Counseling and Human Services Why is gratitude important for Mental Health?
That’s an easy question. According to Carpenter (2019), “People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they're thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems” (para. 1). So, how about that? There is science related gratitude, and it shows that there are significant positive mental health effects! In fact, according to psychologist Robert Emmons (2008), consistent and intentional gratitude can increase happiness by as much as 25 percent! So, take a moment each day and think about for what and whom you are grateful…
How do you incorporate thankfulness and gratitude into your everyday life?
Another easy question. As a person blessed with health, love, vocation, and family, there is no lack of gratitude in my life. Often, if not each day, I consider all the wonderful things life offers and think about how grateful I am to have them…and at the same time consider those who do not have such blessings. The latter more so than the prior is what helps propel me to be a man for and with others, as Ignatius teaches us.
Dr. Datti, CHS Program Director Why is gratitude important for mental health?
I believe that gratitude is important for mental health because it allows us to take inventory of the sources of happiness we have in our lives, no matter how large or small they may be. If we don't take the time to acknowledge these positive things in our lives, it can be very easy to become wrapped up in the negatives, which in turn can be detrimental to our mental health. I think it is important to take a step back every now and then from the immediate moment and appreciate your journey.
How do you incorporate thankfulness and gratitude into your everyday life?
I try to practice a lot of self-reflection, not necessarily in a formal way, but just thinking about where I am currently at. I read a quote recently that said something along the lines of "you once dreamed about being where you are now," and I think that can be conceptualized in many ways. For example, when I find myself wrapped up in the stress of internship and classes, I think about how being a college student and fully engaging myself in a field that I love is something I always wanted as an adolescent. My "future plan" in my high school yearbook was actually to find a job in a field that I love, and I know that I have definitely found this field through the counseling department. While it's easy to become overwhelmed with internship hours and upper-level course work, I try to remind myself that this is exactly where I am meant to be and that the stress can be managed. Conceptualizing my current position in terms of my younger self helps me to be so thankful for all of the amazing opportunities I have been afforded, and for all of those opportunities yet to come.
Meghan Pratt, CHS Internship Student
Why is gratitude important for mental health?
A significant part of working on one’s mental health is establishing a positive attitude and mindset. This is where gratitude comes in, focusing on things one is grateful for can help shift their mindset to become more positive, which can be very impactful when a person has known nothing but negative thinking for so long. While one cannot wish the negative aspects of their life away, the way in which one perceives their life can make a huge difference on their mental health. Gratitude is helpful in this way because it encourages one to focus on the positive aspects of their life, regardless of how many negative aspects there may be.
How do you incorporate thankfulness and gratitude into your everyday life?
Each day I try to think of one thing that my life would be different without, and one thing that my day would have been different without. Identifying one thing my life would be different without, reminds me to be especially thankful for those "guaranteed" aspects of my life. Doing this keeps me grounded and reminds me that the aspects of my life I subconsciously consider basic or standard, are not so for so many others in our world. Thinking about one thing my day would have been different without reminds me to be grateful for every positive aspect of my life no matter how small. The girl from class who bonded with me over our shared stress of the semester and made me feel less alone, sharing a well needed laugh with a coworker, getting a "thinking of you" text from a high school friend or relative about a memory that made them smile. At the end of a particularly difficult day, these small habits allow me to use gratitude as a tool to achieve a more positive outlook and put things into perspective when it seems like the negatives of life are starting to permeate my thinking and attitudes.
Carly Dugan, CHS Student
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