It has taken me a while to land on what to share in this newsletter. There are so many important topics that could be discussed, ranging from the obvious pandemic related issues and the burgeoning mental health crisis, to the importance of inclusion and strong home/school partnerships. But as I talk with more and more students, staff, and friends from around the world, the most common word I hear and feel in those conversations is…Blah. Stand-ins for blah could be lost, overwhelmed, languishing, or low.

Many of us have become used to the uncertainty, but the current state of the world continues to take its toll on our health and well being. So what can we do to help ourselves feel a little better? I emphasize the ‘little’ here, because there is no one thing that can fix things, but rather a collection of little changes that can amount to a noticeable difference in how we feel. 

Positive Psychology research has demonstrated that focusing our attention on things that we are thankful for – expressing gratitude – leads to greater overall happiness. Gratitude is appreciating what we have and not continually wishing for more or focusing on what we lack. Better yet, it is expressing that gratitude in an intentional way.

Researchers over the past 3 decades have established a connection between gratitude and good health. People who use various gratitude strategies report less stress, improved sleep, and better emotional awareness. (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). 

Gratitude is consistently linked to increased resilience, energy, and enthusiasm to work harder. This is essentially the antithesis of Blah. 

While it may seem contrived at the beginning, Harvard Medical School has identified the following strategies to cultivate gratitude:

• Write a thank you note – The positive effects of showing gratitude through a written note have been replicated in research studies time and again. The University of Texas researchers report positive emotional effects are felt by both the sender and the recipient (Psychological Science, Sept. 2018 Issue). Simply put, saying thank you improves your own happiness. 
• Thank someone mentally – If you don’t have the time to write a note, just focusing your attention on thanking someone will yield positive effects.  
• Keep a gratitude journal – This one can be challenging, but if you can pull it off and document the things in your life that you feel grateful for, most people will report they feel better over time. 
• Count your blessings – Recent research from the University of California-Riverside has found that counting one’s blessings once per week boosted happiness, but doing this practice three times per week reduced the effects, indicating that overdoing it can backfire (Lyubomirsky et al, 2017). Pick a time each week and reflect on what you are grateful for or what went right for you. 

Showing gratitude is not a panacea, and it’s important to find what works and feels right for you. For me, writing in a journal doesn’t work, but I do mentally take stock of what I am grateful for each week. I think it works and would encourage you to give it a try. The science tells us it should help, if even just a little. 

Matthew Johnson
MS Counselor