While gratitude may seem like something only reserved for Thanksgiving, practicing gratitude in your daily life has several mental health benefits. In fact, gratitude has been shown to reduce stress hormone cortisol levels in the body, while also helping people become more resilient in the face of negative experiences and emotional setbacks. In this article, we want to go over some of the mental health benefits of expressing gratitude and some methods you can use to do so in your life during the holiday season and beyond.

Improves Mood and Attitude

Just about everyone knows of the cold-hearted and grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge from the many iterations of The Christmas Carol. Whether we like to admit it or not, it’s easy to become a little bit like Scrooge ourselves and end up becoming blind to all of the joy in our lives. Expressing a little bit of gratitude can help prevent us from becoming so negative and adopt a more positive attitude.

Helps Build and Strengthen Relationships

Expressing gratitude is a great way to build stronger relationships. For instance, giving a gift to a new coworker can make them feel closer to you and encourage them to want to pursue a deeper relationship with you. Similarly, expressing gratitude within a relationship can help couples feel more comfortable communicating concerns about their relationship and help foster positive feelings toward each other.

Ways to Practice Gratitude

There are several ways you can practice gratitude in your daily life: writing a thank you note, creating a list of things you’re thankful for, even just bringing someone to mind and thanking them mentally are all ways you can practice gratitude in your life. Whatever method you choose, practicing gratitude has positive mental health benefits that will help you through the holiday season and well past the New Year.

This week’s podcast:

On this episode, Lindsey Steffen, LMHC and Beth Assis, RMHC talk about Gratitude and the impacts it can have on your mental health. They also give some practical ways to incorporate gratitude into your daily life!