Before brushing aside thoughts of the upcoming American holiday Thanksgiving — which, by old Balkan tradition, will be the next chance for a polarization of opinions — I decided to turn my attention to the place of gratitude in the mental life of modern people.

Why the wisest of our contemporaries don't leave it out of their messages on well-being. And why one of my professors noted in lectures that gratitude is the only antidote to hedonic adaptation.

What is hedonic adaptation?


It's a process or mechanism by which every person has a happiness "set point" they maintain at roughly the same level throughout life. A simple illustration: if our first top grade at school brought a mind-blowing happiness of 100 out of 100, the second top grade will feel a touch duller and we'll experience 95 out of 100; with the third it drops to 90 out of 100. Soon we get used to the top grades and accept them as a given — unless we lose them for good. Getting used to happiness stimuli pushes us to seek even stronger ones, which we'll get used to all over again.

Gratitude as an active and intentional practice


Coming back to the wise observation by Prof. Rumen Stamatov that the only antidote to hedonic adaptation is gratitude. The way not to turn into hedonic insatiables is to be aware of the things we take for granted.

It's not enough to simply decide to be grateful. As it turns out, we have to actively practice gratitude in order to lock its place into our outlook on life. Every day — consciously and intentionally. For example, by keeping a gratitude journal in which, at the end of the day, we write down the things we're grateful for.


Why does it really matter, and what does a conscious attitude of gratitude change?

  1. Gratitude improves our physical health. Grateful people experience less pain and report feeling healthier than other people, according to a 2012 study published in Personality and Individual Differences. Unsurprisingly, grateful people are also more likely to take care of their health. They exercise more often and are more likely to attend regular check-ups, which would contribute to longevity.
  2. Gratitude improves psychological health. Gratitude reduces a host of toxic emotions, from envy and resentment to disappointment and regret. Robert Emmons, a leading gratitude researcher, has run many studies on the link between gratitude and well-being. His research confirms that gratitude effectively increases happiness and reduces depression.
  3. Gratitude strengthens empathy and reduces aggression. Grateful people are more likely to behave prosocially even when others are less kind, according to a 2012 study at the University of Kentucky. Participants who scored higher on gratitude scales were less likely to retaliate against others, even after receiving negative feedback. They show more sensitivity and empathy toward others, and a reduced desire to seek revenge.
  4. Grateful people sleep better. Writing in a gratitude journal improves sleep, according to a 2011 study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. Spend just 15 minutes jotting down a few thoughts of gratitude before bed and you may sleep better and longer.
  5. Gratitude improves self-esteem. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology found that gratitude increases self-esteem in athletes — a major component of optimal performance. Other studies show that gratitude reduces social comparison. Instead of resenting people who have more money or a better job (a major driver of low self-esteem), grateful people are able to appreciate others' accomplishments.

Don't forget that the greatest emotional need a person has is to feel appreciated.

H. Jackson Brown