How often do you realise how much you have to be thankful for?

Robert Emmons, PhD in Personality Psychology, investigated the effects of gratitude and concluded that feeling grateful:

1. Strengthens the immune system;
2. Reduces depressive and anxiety symptoms;
3. Increases enthusiasm and energy;
4. It improves our social life;
5. Improves blood pressure levels;
6. It facilitates the release of toxic emotions like fear and envy;
7. Improves sleep quality;
8. It makes us more resilient.

Exercise

Be thankful

Make a "thank you" list. Spend a few minutes each day reflecting on events, objects, sensations, and people to or for whom you are grateful. You can be grateful for anything. For a book you read, for the emotions elicited by a movie, for the memories you have, and for the people who have passed through your life. Thank you. Thank even the less positive moments, which brought you some learning or reinforced an important characteristic in you.

Make a list of everything you've been thinking about. When we write, we move from the abstract to the concrete, which often helps us organise our thoughts and shift our perspectives.

Suggestion

Once you've familiarized yourself with this exercise, try incorporating a moment of gratitude into your daily routine. Every day, in a quiet moment of your day, say thank you. 

 

Carolina Trindade, Clinical Psychologist