Being grateful, expressing gratitude can have a positive effect on mental health

THANK YOU CHELSEA. WELL, AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, MANY OF US THINK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR. BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT BEING GRATEFUL AND EXPRESSING GRATITUDE CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON YOUR MENTAL HEALTH? THIS IS OUR TOPIC ON PEACE OF MIND IN MARYLAND THIS MORNING. AND HERE TO EXPLAIN IS DR. LAQUITA CARTER, LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST IN PRIVATE PRACTICE IN BALTIMORE COUNTY. HELLO. SO THERE ARE ACTUALLY STUDIES ON THIS SUBJECT OF GRATITUDE AND MENTAL HEALTH. WHAT DID THEY FIND? YEAH, THERE WAS A REALLY WONDERFUL STUDY IN 2017 THAT LOOKED AT GRATITUDE AND ADULTS WITH LOW LEVELS OF DEPRESSION. SO MILD SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS. THEY DIVIDED THE ADULTS INTO THREE GROUPS. ONE, A GROUP OF ADULTS PRACTICED AN EXERCISE IN MINDFULNESS OR GRATITUDE. LIKE WRITING A LETTER TO THE NEWSPAPER OR A LETTER TO OTHERS TO EXPRESS THEIR GRATITUDE. ANOTHER NEWSPAPER SHOWED THEIR NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES OVER THE PAST WEEKS, THEN THE THIRD GROUP DID NOTHING. AND THE RESEARCH STUDY HAS FOUND TRULY INCREDIBLE FACTS. ARE REALLY COOL INFORMATION. ONE WAS THAT THE GROUP WHO ACTUALLY PRACTICED JOURNALING OR LETTER WRITING GRATITUDE HAD LOWER DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AT FOUR WEEKS AND 12 WEEKS, AFTER THE STUDY. AND THEY ALSO FOUND THIS REALLY UNIQUE PART OF THEIR RESEARCH, THAT PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE THIS DO NOT HAVE TO SEND THEIR GRATITUDE LETTERS. SO SENDING IT WAS NOT NECESSARILY ONLY ABOUT A THIRD OF PEOPLE WHO WRITTEN LETTERS. IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THEY EXPRESS GRATITUDE. WHAT THEY DO AFTER THEY WRITTEN THE LETTER WAS ACCORDINGLY. WELL, SURE, I CAN SEE HOW IT WILL WORK, BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO THINK AND THEN IT TAKE IN YOUR MIND. AND EVEN IF YOU PUT IT ON PAPER, NOT NECESSARILY SENDING IT IS THE PART. BUT POSITIVE EMOTIONS LIKE RECOGNITION? CAN THEY CHANGE YOUR BRAIN CHEMISTRY? ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE EMOTIONS. WE HAVE RESEARCH TO SHOW THAT POSITIVE EMOTIONS CHANGE YOUR BRAIN CHEMISTRY. WE ALSO KNOW THAT GRATITUDE BUILDS JUST AS NEGATIVITY BUILDS. RIGHT. SO IF YOU ARE IN A NEGATIVE SPACE, THEN IT SEEMS YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND THE NEGATIVE THINGS HAPPENING IN THAT SPACE. BUT SO IS GRATITUDE. WHEN YOU ARE IN A GRATEFUL PLACE, YOU CAN FIND OTHER THINGS TO GRATEFUL FOR. Well, it’s like the old adage that misery loves company. SO IT CAN CERTAINLY WORK THE OTHER WAY TOO. SO THE MORE NEGATIVE YOU ARE, THE UNHAPPIER YOU ARE. YES ABSOLUTELY. AND THAT MAKES MENTAL HEALTH NEGATIVE. MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS. RIGHT. AND SOMETIMES THESE CAN get worse and worse in that they stay with us too long or are too severe. SO WE CAN END UP HAVING A NOW NOT JUST NEEDING TO SEE SOMEONE. AND THAT’S GOOD TOO. BUT IF WE CAN PRACTICE GRATITUDE, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WE CAN KEEP BEFORE THESE NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ARE TOO DEEP. WE CAN REALLY HELP RAISE THEM. AND TALK ABOUT SEEING SOMEBODY, THIS PRACTICE OF WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU ARE GRATEFUL, DO YOU RECOMMEND TO YOUR OWN PATIENTS? YES, 100%. SO GRATITUDE IS A CONSCIOUS ACTIVITY. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU JUST DO BY THE WAY. IT IS A CONSCIOUS THING YOU DO AND YOU CAN DO IT IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. YOU CAN PRACTICE GRATITUDE BY JOURNALING. YOU CAN STOP AND MEDITATE ON THINGS FOR WHICH YOU ARE GRATEFUL. THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS YOU CAN DO. BUT THE POINT IS TO DO THEM CONSCIOUSLY AND TO RESERVE TIME TO DO THEM. BUT IT MUST NOT BE A LOT OF TIME AND SO I SUGGEST YOU WILL SAY ALSO FOR THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING. GRATITUDE AND THERAPY CAN HAVE A GREATER IMPACT ON THEM THAN THE PRACTICE OF GRATITUDE ALONE. THIS IS WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS, THAT GRATITUDE IS USEFUL. PRACTICE OF GRATITUDE IS USEFUL. THERAPY IS USEFUL. WHEN YOU COMBINE THEM. THEY HAVE AN EVEN GREATER IMPACT THAN THE PRACTICE OF GRATITUDE ONLY. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY FIGHTING MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS, PLEASE DON’T WAIT. PLEASE CALL SOMEONE. CALL A THERAPIST. TODAY. AND YOU GAVE SOME TIPS ON HOW PEOPLE CAN START THIS JOURNEY OF GRATITUDE. IF PEOPLE FEEL A LITTLE DIFFICULT ABOUT THIS, IT’S NOT REALLY DIFFICULT. IT’S NOT HARD AT ALL. YOU CAN KEEP A POT. I KEEP A JAR OF THINGS I AM GRATEFUL FOR AND STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF A DAY AND JUST WRITE SOMETHING AS SMALL AS I AM GRATEFUL THAT I HAVE NO PAIN IN MY BODY RIGHT NOW . RIGHT. WE OFTEN THINK ABOUT BEING GRATEFUL FOR HUGE THINGS, RIGHT? LIKE THE SHELTER WE HAVE OR THE FOOD WE EAT. AND THESE THINGS ARE TO BE GRATEFUL. BUT WE CAN ALSO BE GRATEFUL THAT THE WEATHER IS GOOD TODAY. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE. YOU ARE YELLOW BRINGS ME JOY. IT IS SO BRIGHT AND JOYFUL THIS MORNING. I LOVE IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US. IT WAS GREAT TO BE HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AGAIN. YES, ABSOLUTELY. AND A REMINDER, IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEED HELP WITH MENTAL HEALTH, WE HAVE LINKS TO RESOURCES DIRECTLY ON OUR WEBSITE. JUST SEARCH MERILYN PEACE OF MIND TO GET A LIST OF CURATED OPTIONS AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH OPTIONS

Being grateful, expressing gratitude can have a positive effect on mental health

Updated: 12:05 PM EST November 27, 2022

This time of year, many people think about all the things we’re grateful for — and being grateful and expressing gratitude can actually have a positive effect on your mental health. Dr. Lakeita Carter, a licensed psychologist in private practice in Baltimore County, explains.

BALTIMORE—

This time of year, many people think about all the things we’re grateful for — and being grateful and expressing gratitude can actually have a positive effect on your mental health. Dr. Lakeita Carter, a licensed psychologist in private practice in Baltimore County, explains.