Gratitude Can Lead to Good Mental Health

By Charlotte Hajer with Jessica Musgrove-Ortiz

NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — This time of year is often associated with gratitude. But let’s be honest: Sometimes that concept rings hollow. When the world seems dark and life feels like a slog, it can be difficult to muster gratitude for anything. It might even feel tone-deaf or just plain wrong.

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It’s important to validate those feelings, says Jessica Musgrove-Ortiz, a therapist at Mentis. We are all humans living in a complicated and uncertain world, and we can’t avoid negative feelings all the time. Nor should we; they’re a natural part of life and sometimes an appropriate response to circumstances.

Still — gratitude has undeniable mental-health benefits, Musgrove-Ortiz says. It is beneficial enough, in fact, that we might even think of it as a tool that can help us get through those tougher moments in life. Neurological imaging suggests that gratitude triggers our brain’s reward center:

When we express or receive thanks, our brains release dopamine and serotonin, the neurotransmitters that make us feel happy and content.

Perhaps not surprisingly, then, studies have shown that gratitude can lessen experiences of physical pain, improve sleep, lower symptoms of depression or anxiety, strengthen our immune system and reduce levels of cortisol, the hormone we produce when we feel stress. And those effects accumulate: Our brain is continually updating its circuitry in response to what we choose to focus on. And that means the more gratitude we express, the more attuned our mind becomes to those kinds of positive experiences.

In other words, it’s worth making an effort to cultivate a sense of gratitude, even — or especially — when times are tough. Our mindset, Musgrove-Ortiz says, is one of the few things in life we have full control over, and gratitude can help us build a strong one. Not a happy one, necessarily, but a resilient, growth-oriented one. So, how do we do this? First, she advises, validate the full range of your feelings. As humans, our emotional experience is as complicated as the world around us. Remember that multiple — sometimes contradictory — things can be true at the same time. You can be going through a tough time and also feel grateful.

If it’s hard to identify anything to be thankful for, start small. Perhaps you feel gratitude for a warm shower, for finding your favorite snack in the cupboard, for a smile from a stranger on your commute this morning.

To derive maximum benefit from thankfulness, make it a regular part of your day. A gratitude practice can be anything really, and only you know what kind of routine will best fit into your life. But an easy way to start building more thankful moments into your schedule is by picking a prompt or trigger – something you commonly encounter. Every time you pass a traffic light on your way to work, for example, or each time you brush your teeth, try to think of something for which to be grateful. If you enjoy journaling, writing a daily gratitude list can be a productive practice.

And finally, consider sharing your gratitude with others. Who knows what kind of positive ripple effect you might inspire?

If you or someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

If you or someone you love needs mental health or wellness support, please visit our Mentis Community and Youth Resource Database. Mentis is one of Napa’s oldest nonprofits and provides bilingual, affordable mental health services to people of every age and income level.

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Charlotte Hajer is Mentis’ development director. She holds a Ph.D. in cross-cultural mental health and loves to write about the way individuals experience and navigate the social and cultural world around them.

Jessica Musgrove-Ortiz is a mental health therapist with Mentis who holds an Associate Professional Clinical Counseling license with the state of California. She enjoys working with the community and having the opportunity to empower clients to better understand themselves and become their own advocates by helping them gain awareness of their personal needs, values and beliefs.