Do you want to improve or preserve your mental health?
Studies across the years have repeatedly identified a direct correlation between mental wellness and possessing an attitude of gratitude. In fact, one study found that a single act of gratitude will immediately increase your happiness by 10% – and reduce depressive symptoms by 35%.
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People who live with a sense of gratitude are able to feel content with what they have – however little or much that may be. They don’t believe happiness is “out there” somewhere. They appreciate the blessings that surround them right at that moment.
Of course, gratitude does more than give you a psychological high. It improves nearly every other aspect of your life. From maintaining harmony in the home to improving productivity at work, as well as enriching personal relationships at church or in your neighborhood and circle of influence, it’s an emotional and practical elixir.
Since Focus on the Family’s inception in 1977, the subject of the importance of mental health has been emphasized both on the radio broadcast and in various print publications.
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It was the English writer C.S. Lewis who once observed, “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say, ‘My tooth is aching’ than to say ‘My heart is broken.’”
Listen to the ReFOCUS with Jim Daly podcast, where Jim digs deep and asks the hard questions to help you share Christ’s grace, truth and love.
According to the National Institutes of Health, one in five adolescents in the United States suffers severe impairment or distress from a mental disorder. Often, these teenagers and their families feel isolated and alone, not knowing where to turn for help.
This isn’t to suggest that teenage depression is caused by a lack of a grateful heart, though entitlement can play a role in some of it. Mothers and fathers, though, need to model a thankful heart – positive behavior that stands to improve the overall mental health and well-being of the family.
I remember reading recently about 20-something Raphael Samuel, who filed a lawsuit against his parents because – get this – they didn’t seek his permission before giving birth to him.
Because of that oversight, he said, his parents were obligated to pay his expenses for the rest of his life.
Talk about selfishness run amuck. Instead of feeling gratitude for everything his parents did to sacrifice and give him a good life, Raphael chose what has become a common attitude – entitlement. People like Raphael believe they deserve a good life, but they don’t believe they should have to do anything to earn it. And when they don’t get what they want, they throw a fit – or file a lawsuit.
Raphael eventually dropped his lawsuit after no lawyer would represent him. Maybe now he’ll learn a valuable life lesson about selfishness: when we live only for ourselves, we don’t become better, we become bitter. We don’t become more fulfilled, we diminish our potential. Entitlement not only robs us of a better life but everyone around us as well.
Giving thanks, on the other hand, deepens our character, widens our community, and unlocks our potential. In the end, only if our lives are rooted in selflessness and characterized by love, faith, and sacrifice will we enrich ourselves while blessing those closest to us.
When it comes to cultivating a grateful heart in children, Jill Savage, a popular broadcast guest on my radio show, suggests five sure-proof ways:
1. Allow delayed gratification: Having to wait for a reward adds to the sense of accomplishment and appreciation when it’s obtained.
2. Encouraging children to think about others: Taking other people for granted is easy to do. Encourage your children to stay connected to their grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends, and neighbors.
3. Count your blessings: Incorporate things your children are thankful for into regular conversations and bedtime prayers.
4. Write thank-you notes: In a text-happy culture, taking the time to slow down and write a handwritten note forces kids to pause and express appreciation in a concrete way. It also reminds them that the things they have are the result of someone else’s generosity.
5. Say “thank you” daily: Expressing gratitude should become second nature.
Gratitude isn’t merely thankfulness when everything is going right. Gratitude is understanding we live in a broken world, yet choosing to be thankful anyway. To do that, we have to choose to see the goodness in our lives. That can be tough because the smallest blessings can be the hardest to notice.
But they’re also what help give our life richness and meaning – and lead to better mental health.
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Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family and host of its daily radio broadcast, heard by more than 6 million listeners a week on nearly 2,000 radio stations across the U.S. He also hosts the podcast ReFocus with Jim Daly.
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