By Mary Jo Hallberg, Parish Nurse
St. Paul sent a message to the Christians in Corinth, in which he wrote:
4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind (I Cor 1:3-5)”
St. Paul was thankful for these folks who had problems and quarrels about a plethora of concerns and issues. And yet, he was grateful for them. Might we begin this New Year examining what we are grateful for instead of making a laundry list of resolutions? There is actually science to show it’s good for us!
Gratefulness is a crucial component of happiness. Robert Emmons—editor-in-chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology—examines what it means to think and feel gratefully in his book, Thanks! and invites readers to learn how to put this powerful emotion into practice.
Scientifically speaking, regular grateful thinking can increase happiness by as much as 25 percent, while keeping a gratitude journal for as little as three weeks results in better sleep and more energy.
Here are a summary of findings on Gratitude and Wellbeing
o In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
o A related benefit was observed in the realm of personal goal attainment: Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions.
o A daily gratitude intervention (self-guided exercises) with young adults resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to a focus on hassles or a downward social comparison (ways in which participants thought they were better off than others). There was no difference in levels of unpleasant emotions reported in the three groups.
o Participants in the daily gratitude condition were more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or having offered emotional support to another, relative to the hassles or social comparison condition.
o In a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, a 21-day gratitude intervention resulted in greater amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality, relative to a control group. o Children who practice grateful thinking have more positive attitudes toward school and their families (Froh, Sefick, & Emmons, 2008).
o Spirituality: Those who regularly attend religious services and engage in religious activities such as prayer reading religious material score are more likely to be grateful. Grateful people are more likely to acknowledge a belief in the interconnectedness of all life and a commitment to and responsibility to others (McCullough et. al., 2002).
Gratitude does not require religious faith, but faith enhances the ability to be grateful. John Kralik took the dramatic step of writing a “thank you note” each day for a year and wrote a book about the experience. Though it might be tempting to fire off a quick thank you e-mail, Kralik says true expressions of gratitude should be written the old school way — with pen and paper. "Things we write in cyberspace are so easily deleted and forgotten ... buried by the next 30 e-mails we receive," Kralik says. "In this day and age, a handwritten note is something that people really feel is special."
Will you dedicate 2012 to a Year of Gratitude?
The Faith and Health Ministry will host its 3rd Annual Forum on Health Care on Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 6:30 PM.
The Cost of Dying in America: Are We Making Informed Decisions?
The cost, of course, is more than dollars. It is about the quality of life for individuals and the emotional toll on families.
This year's panelists are Steven Miles MD physician and bioethicist at the University of MN and Dave Moen MD, Medical Director of Innovative Care Models at Fairview Inc. The moderator is Mark Hallberg, Attorney at Law. Mary Jo Hallberg, the Parish Nurse at Gloria Dei will discuss the unique role congregations can play in having conversations about life and death, quality of life, and how a person's faith informs end of life decisions.
This event is free and open to the community. We encourage all who are interested to join in this important conversation. For more information, call Mary Jo, Parish Nurse at 651-699-1378.