Gratitude for your Health

Since all this social distancing has started I have been trying to find ways to keep me healthy physically and mostly emotionally.  One way to keep your spirits up and keep thinking happy positive thoughts is to look for the things in which you are grateful.

I have mentioned before in this blog that I teach at a local college.  For many years I gave an assignment called the Gratitude Inventory (I still use it occasionally when someone needs some extra credit).  The assignment was to “Make a list of 20 things for which you are grateful.  Think about your family, friends, and talents as topics of gratitude.  Look at your life.  Respond to something in the news that you are grateful happened or didn’t happen to you.  Gratitude does not have to be something dramatic and life changing.  You might just be grateful that it is Friday”.

 

Good idea, right?  But how does this help your health?  For one thing studies show that if you are consistently grateful for the things in your life, you see your life as something to take care of and so you develop habits which provide good health.  Studies also show that feeling thankful helps us cope with stress better.  All the positive feelings that gratitude brings boosts our immune system so we are less likely to get sick.

 

In situations like Covid 19 or any other tragedy, expressing gratitude develops a sense of community and belonging and that also helps when experiencing stress. Gratitude also gives a sense of empathy toward others.  You know what other people are going through so you are more likely to connect with other people.  This lessons your loneliness.

 

It is also hard to be unhappy when thinking of positive thoughts.  Positivity and optimism has also been shown to enhance your health.  People who express positive thoughts about a surgery for example tend to have a speedier recovery than those expressing negative thoughts or no thought at all about the surgery.

And have you ever noticed how when you are happy time seems to fly by.  That is definitely needed now when we face days or maybe weeks of social distancing. 

 

What is great about expressing gratitude is you don’t need any special time or tool to do it.  You can express gratitude in your mind or sharing it with others.  I post a daily gratitude list of 5 things each day on my personal Facebook page.   It makes me look for the good that happened that day and I am told it helps my Facebook Friends be reminded of what they are grateful for.

 

So if you haven’t already, start thinking of the things that you are thankful is happening to you or just in your life.   And especially do it when you begin to feel sad or that the situation feels hopeless.  It won’t fix everything but it will help you feel better.

 

(PS- Just so you know I wrote this as much a reminder to me to keep doing my gratitude lists as to tell you about gratitude.)

©2020 Cheryl Fillion