Science Behind Expression of Gratitude and Its Impact on Wellbeing

At present, the world is in the middle of a global health crisis where the most helpful thing a lot of people can do is remain home and stay away from others.

Schools, restaurants, business establishments, movie houses, and malls are closed, and many individuals feel disoriented, disconnected, and afraid.

In this hard time when there are rising infection rates, scarcity in medical supplies, and economic crises, there are many different examples of individuals finding ways to show gratitude to other people on the frontlines of combating the pandemic.

In a lot of European nations, for instance, people experience gratitude for the work of the medical professionals by clapping from their balconies.

Recently, a similar practice has migrated to New York City. And, relatively, psychology researchers have been working to examine the link between gratitude and wellbeing.

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Psychologists describe gratitude ‘as both appreciating the good things in life’ and acknowledging that they are coming from other people and circumstances.

Investigating the Link of Gratitude to Wellbeing

In 2013, two psychologists Robert Emmons and Robin Stern, described gratitude "as both appreciating the good things in life" and acknowledging that they are coming from other people and circumstances.

Reports on this finding indicate that there is a strong connection between gratitude and wellbeing. Researchers have discovered that people who share feelings and expressing gratitude more present a level of positive feelings, including happiness, optimism, and joy.

At the same time, these people are found to have a lower level of negative feelings like anger, distress, depression, and embarrassment. They report a higher satisfaction level in life, as well.

In addition, grateful people report a greater sense of life's purpose, more forgiveness, and higher quality of relationships. These individuals even appear to sleep better.

In other words, grateful individuals appear to have more of the ingredients humans need to succeed and flourish. There are many probable explanations for the seeming link between gratitude and wellbeing.

Weak Impacts

There is an essential caution to this study, though. It shows that gratitude is associated with wellbeing, although it does not prove that expressing such, in fact, improves wellbeing.

To achieve that result, psychologists have conducted several research to find out if giving thanks results in greater wellbeing. For instance, people may be asked to take part in gratitude exercises at home and then report on its impacts on their wellbeing after.

These exercises comprise writing thank-you notes or writing on a journal of things an individual is thankful for. A number of review papers for the last four years, which include the psychologists' recent paper, specify that such gratitude exercises have relatively week impacts on wellbeing.

The said review papers integrate the results from multiple different studies, allowing study authors to be more certain that the results are consistent and can be depended on.

More so, researchers found that such gratitude exercises only boost happiness, as well as life satisfaction, just a little bit. Similarly, the impact on symptoms of anxiety and depression was minimal.

Researchers have not suggested though that expressing gratitude does not have any value. Instead, they contend that gratitude need not be thought of as "a self-help tool" to boost a person's own happiness and wellbeing.

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