The Different Shades of Gratitude

Gratitude is one of the most frequently recommended and practised positive psychology interventions worldwide and represents a national holiday in some countries–Thanksgiving.

Happiness apps propose it as their primary tool for enhancing well-being; therapists send their clients home with a “count your blessings” activity. It is recommended for anyone who wants to boost their well-being, reduce depression, or cope with life adversities.

In other words, we work on the principle that if you are sick, well, or somewhere in between, you can’t go wrong with a bit of gratitude. However, gratitude comes in different shades; depending on how we practise it, gratitude can impact different aspects of our well-being.

Gratitude is a disposition (trait) or a state of feeling thankful for what we have in our experiences or circumstances. Gratitude interventions are activities you are encouraged to do to enhance your gratitude. They include the following:

1. Count your blessings: Write down what you are grateful for once or three times a week.
2. Provide rationale: Write down what you are grateful for and explain why.
3. WWW (what went well): On the way from work, reflect on what went well for you, especially if you had a bad day; reflect on what went well for you or your team since your last meeting.
4. It could be worse: Reflect on what could be worse about an adverse event and what you are grateful for about the event.
5. Letter of gratitude: Write a letter of gratitude and send it to someone or visit them and read it aloud.
6. Share your gratitude: Thank someone who did something good and explain what you are grateful to them for.
7. Gratitude coaching: After conducting a gratitude activity, discuss what you are grateful for with your coach.

Expressing gratitude is associated with such benefits as reducing mood disorders and suicidal ideation. In addition, it is beneficial for physiological health as it reduces heart rate and improves sleep quality. Many patients diagnosed with cancer, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disease, and palliative care found gratitude helpful. However, it is also essential to understand the limitations of some of the gratitude studies to help us engage with gratitude more effectively.

While research may find an association between improved health outcomes for people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses and gratitude or having a grateful disposition, it doesn’t mean everyone should practise gratitude at all times. When people are not ready to do it, it may lead to resentment, anger, and frustration.

Whether gratitude is helpful depends on the depth of its expression. We can express it on cognitive and emotional levels. For example, when you write a list of the things you are thankful for, you may realise that despite challenges, your life is good; thus, gratitude may give you the perspective you need to feel more balanced. However, despite this, the benefit from your gratitude expression may not be as profound as another person, as spilling out a list of good things that happen in our lives is not the same as profoundly believing in them.

To help people engage deeper with their gratitude, my colleague Panagiota Trom and I designed experimental research with 45 participants, all of whom were asked to practice gratitude for one week. In addition, half of them were also given a half-hour coaching session during which we helped them make sense of what it means to be grateful and delved deeper into what they are grateful for.

Our results showed that those who practised their gratitude without coaching reported feeling more positive. Realising the good things in their lives made them experience more positive emotions. However, it did not affect other aspects of their well-being.

On the other hand, the coaching group reported experiencing improved overall well-being at a higher level. Within one week, their life meaning and dispositional gratitude have increased. Life meaning is one of the most challenging aspects of well-being to improve.

Many people engage in a range of long-term interventions or therapies to see an increase in their meaning in life. The same applies to dispositional gratitude, which offers a more profound change than state gratitude which is fleeting. Thus, discussing what we are grateful for amplifies well-being, compared to merely listing things we are grateful for.

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While more studies are required to confirm our findings, they offer preliminary guidance on maximising gratitude expression and highlight that gratitude comes in different shades. Don’t expect your life to change if all you do is list the good things in your life.

If you don’t have a coach, ask a friend to spend time with you and discuss what all these things mean to you. The more you reflect on it, the greater the benefits.

If you or someone you love is contemplating suicide, seek help immediately. For help 24/7, dial 988 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. To find a therapist near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.