Being Thankful is Healthy


by Bob Curley on November 23, 2010



Gratitude provides a cornucopia of physical, mental, and emotional benefits, but Thanksgiving should be more than a once-a-year event in your life if you want to reap the rewards, the Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 23.



Frequently feeling grateful for the good things in your life has been shown to give you more energy, optimism, social connections, and happiness. Grateful adults also are less depressed, envious, and greedy, less likely to be alcoholics, earn more money, sleep better, exercise more, and are more resistant to viral infections.



Children also get many rewards for a grateful outlook, including better grades in school and fewer headaches and stomach aches.



It’s not easy to be grateful: researcher Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis said that gratitude is a demanding, complex emotion that requires “self-reflection, the ability to admit that one is dependent upon the help of others, and the humility to realize one’s own limitations.”



Some people are naturally prone to look on the bright side of life, but gratitude also can be learned and nurtured by:



■literally counting your blessings by keeping a gratitude journal

■reflecting daily on the people who touched your life in a positive way and how you reciprocated

■making a conscious effort to talking about what you are grateful for and who deserves credit rather than bonding with friends over gripes and annoyances

■avoiding negative, derogatory words

■imagine what your life would be like without blessings like a good partner, children, or a job — an exercise in “mental subtraction” than can boost your feelings of gratitude for what you have