Happiness (without the Side Effects of Prescription Drugs)

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, what better time to focus on the benefits of gratitude - and there are many.

I was doing some research online on the topic of gratitude and ran across a reference to some intriguing work by psychologists Michael McCullough and Robert Emmons, The Research Project on Gratitude and Thanksgiving.  The purpose of the project was to see if deliberately focusing on gratitude improved well-being.  In one experiment, several hundred people in three different groups kept daily diaries.  The first group kept a record of the events that occurred during the day; the second recorded their unpleasant experiences; and the third made a daily list of things for which they were grateful.

Those who focused on gratitude and thanksgiving reported significantly higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy.  McCullough reported, "In just two to three weeks they reported being happier. People close to them could see the difference too."  They experienced less depression and stress, and better sleep duration and sleep quality. They were more likely to help others, exercised more regularly, and made more progress toward personal goals.  They were also more likely to feel loved, perhaps because gratitude encouraged a positive cycle of reciprocal kindness.

Emmons concluded, "If you want a strategy to increase your happiness, there's a lot out there that will help. You can take pharmaceuticals like Prozac, but gratitude is something that doesn't have side effects."

Source: Cultivating Gratitude by Tom Moon, MFT at www.tommoon.net