Health Happenings
Gratitude and Aging
By Sandi Browne, LPCC
"A light heart lives long," Shakespeare counseled over four hundred years ago. Perhaps the Bard was onto something. Could a sense of well-being influence the length or quality of life? What if by merely reflecting daily on gratitudes, the blessings in our lives, we could improve our attitude, focus less on our physical symptoms, be more inclined to exercise, and more empathetic with others, would we make the effort to do it?
Those claims may seem too good to be true, but in recent years several research psychologists have been pleasantly surprised by their discoveries. Traditionally, academic research has focused on negative or abnormal mental states, but lately, many psychologists have begun to explore more positive states of human functioning.
In our daily living, we know many things impact our state of well-being. Each of us is a unique composite of personality traits, genetics, and persistent or temporary situations in our life that affect us. It seems unlikely that a simple thing like reflecting on things for which we are grateful would make any difference.
Emmons and McCullough were amazed to find that even the participants' weekly listing of benefits in their lives led to more optimism, more time spent exercising, and fewer reported physical symptoms. Self-guided daily gratitude listings were even more effective. Participants aware of their gratitudes were more likely to assist others. All of these benefits manifested simply by looking at what was right, rather than wrong, in the individual's life.
This means by taking time on a daily or weekly basis to look at the positive things present in our world and life, we can impact how we feel and our propensity to do good things, such as exercise and diet, for ourselves. Developing a grateful approach to life is similar to building a muscular body or developing tennis or golfing skills. Building muscles takes consistent, ongoing practice of exercises designed for that purpose. Little by little, athletic strength or ability grows. Some people start out fitter or with greater ability, but all can improve their athletic skills with practice.
Gratitude works the same. With on-going focus of recognizing what's right in our lives, we build a reservoir of inner strength to counteract the aches and pains of life. This isn't denial of the negative, but rather, a change of focus. We can take steps to handle what isn't working, but then move our attention back to the beauty, the good, that is present.
There is no conclusive evidence that gratitude leads to a longer life, but grateful people do tend to have a greater ability to understand and empathize with others, a willingness to forgive, and tendency to support others. They often have a worldview that thinks of life as a "gift." They build inner and outer resources that support them through aging's bumpy ride. Take the time to reflect on gratitudes weekly, or daily if you want even more benefit.
As Ziggy, the cartoon character, said, "You can complain because the roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because the thorns have roses."
Sandi Browne is a Licensed Professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor who works with The Heritage Program for Senior Adults and has a private counseling practice. The Heritage Program offers older individuals an opportunity to improve the quality of their lives by reducing distress and maximizing their ability function independently. For more information, call (505) 257-0491.
Otero County Community Health Council
700 E. 1st St.
Suite 720
Alamogordo, NM
88310
(575) 443-8100
Fax (575) 437-2949
oterochc@tularosa.net
oteromch@netmdc.com