The Impact of Practicing GratitudeBy: Stephanie Schmeltzer, Ryan Walsh

Kathleen Grace-Bishop MHSA, MCHES

Background:

• According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the most prevalent mental health disorder on college is anxiety.1 Anxiety is when an individual experiences feelings of nervousness and worry that can be caused by everyday life situations.2

• The top four concerns that college students stress about are academics, success, post-graduate life, and fiannces.3

• Practicing gratitude has been shown to be correlated with a person’s psychological well-being. Increasing the sense of well-being has been shown to help lower levels of stress and depression.4

• Gratitude is defined as “… the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to oneself and presents a general state of thankfulness and/appreciation.”

• In order to help alleviate students at the University of New Hampshire levels of depression and anxiety, the aim of this systematic review was to demonstrate how gratitude can impact social behavior in order to benefit the stressful and anxious feelings that can be endured by college students while enrolled in school.

Statistics

Methods Conclusion

How can UNH Benefit?:

Physical Benefits

Stronger Immune System Less aches and pains Lower blood pressure Enhanced sleep patterns

Psychological Benefits

More optimistic emotions Enhanced feelings of happiness Increased feelings of joy and

pleasure Increased state of psychological

well-being

Social Benefits

Feeling more generous and compassionate

More outgoing More forgiving Feel less isolated

• Current research shows the positive mental and physical benefits of practicing gratitude routinely. A study conducted by Fagley et al showed the connecting variable of appreciation and how it ties directly to practicing gratitude.

• Additionally it was found that people with greater tendency to be grateful/appreciative report greater life satisfaction.5

• Studies have also shown the importance of mindful awareness in terms on appreciation and in terms of openly expressing interpersonal appreciation.

• In a study by Hill et al, the authors suggested the more grateful experiences a person has, can lead to improved physical health because of their greater psychological health, propensity for health activities and willingness to seek help for health concerns.6

• Several studies show the positive connections between gratitude and enhanced health status but there are many different ways in which one can practice gratitude in their everyday life.

• Examples of simple tasks would be keeping a daily gratitude journal where you write about gratitude-inspiring events that happen to you on a day-by-day basis, also using visual reminders through post-it notes or random alarms throughout the day that have positive messages to promote gratitude.7

Table 1. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good/

• The purpose of this research is to find an outreach program that can be implemented at UNH Health Services to reduce the levels of stress and anxiety felt by students.

• In fall 2015 Fresh Check Day was brought to UNH: an event focused on promoting mental health awareness

• A booth included at the event was “Your Elephant in the Room” where students anonymously wrote down an attribute about themselves that people wouldn’t normally know.

• Out of the 100 responses we received, about 80 were focused solely on stress and anxiety. This event is what prompt our research to determine what UNH Health Services can do for the campus community to ensure students do not have to feel overwhelmed.

• The Greater Good Research Science Center based from the University of California, Berkeley has done numerous studies examining the positive impacts that are associated with gratitude journals.

• As shown in Table 1, benefits ranging from physical, psychological, and social impacts were demonstrated. These benefits can be long lasting and we want to share these positive outcomes to the students at UNH. 8

• Design a program where students can receive education about the positive impacts of gratitude

• Program to be run biweekly for at least a period of six weeks. Record data on how students are feeling before and after completing the gratitude interventions.

• Part of the intervention would consist of the different gratitude practicing strategies (Journaling, visual representation, writing letters, etc.)

• The students would fill out a survey before the program starts and at the end of the survey to determine any changes in psychological well-being. (also during high stress periods such as midterms and finals)

• Coupled with the workshop also like to incorporate a campus wide event focusing solely on gratitude. This event would be an interactive expo fair where organizations and departments on campus can demonstrate how they are involved with practicing gratitude.  

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Increasing Awareness of Men-tal Health Resources

Students are more aware of available resources after FCD

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Increasing Willingness to Ask for Help if Experiencing Mental Dis-

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Students are more likey to seek help after FCD

References:1. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (n.d.) Facts about College students.

http://www.adaa.org/finding-help/helping-others/college-students/facts. Accessed March 6, 2016. 2. Australian Psychological Society. (February 5, 2016). Understanding and managing anxiety.

https://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/anxiety/#s4. Accessed March 7, 2016. 3. Beiter, R., Nash, R., McCrady, M., Rhoades, D., Linscomb, M., Clarahan, M., & Sammut, S. (2015). The prevalence

and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students. Journal of affective disorders, 173, 90-96.

4. Wood, A. M., Joseph, S., & Maltby, J. (2009). Gratitude predicts psychological well-being above the big five facets. Personality and Individual Differences, 46(4), 443-447.

5. Fagley, N. S. (2012). Appreciation uniquely predicts life satisfaction above demographics, the Big 5 personality factors, and gratitude. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(1), 59-63.

6. Hill, P. L., Allemand, M., & Roberts, B. W. (2013). Examining the pathways between gratitude and self-rated physical health across adulthood. Personality and individual differences, 54(1), 92-96.

7. Campbell, B. (n.d.). Counting Your Blessings: How Gratitude Improves Your Health. http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/library/counting%20your-blessings-how-gratitude-improves-your-health. Accessed February 23, 2016.

8. Emmons, Robert. (November 16, 2010). Why Gratitude is Good. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good/ Accessed March 29, 2016.

Acknowledgements:• Thank you Kathleen Grace-Bishop for your continuous support

and to the UNH Health Services team• Thank you Jordan Porco Foundation for efforts in promoting

positive mental health