Gratitude diary improves the mood in the case of in -lawed inpatient patients

From this Ducasse study it shows that the simple leading of a daily diary, as these study participants did, can make a difference even in very disturbed people within a short time.

People in the gratitude group experienced statistically significant ( p <0.001) improvements in psychological pain, hopelessness and optimism. Those in the nutritional diary group had significant improvements in psychological pain evaluation ( p = 0.02). Differences between the groups favored the gratitude diary (compared to the nutritional diary) for all results ( p <0.001).

practice implications

that a safe and almost free (notebook and writing device required) Intervention could bring about a statistically significant improvement in the psychological state of suicide patients, deserves our attention. We could assume that this would work just as well or better for people in less extreme conditions. Admittedly, filling out a gratitude diary once a day for 5.5 days did not significantly reduce suicidal thoughts in these patients. However, it has significantly reduced their depression and anxiety, and although the reduction in psychological pain did not achieve significance, only advocates will not read p value of 0.05 as close enough to be useful.

Maybe a long attempt would have achieved an additional measurable effect. These results are impressive when you consider how bad these people must have felt when they were hospitalized.

gratitude to cause a worthy therapeutic intervention has become a widespread faith and a focus of research in recent years. In 2008 Lambert et al. A study (n = 171) to test the relationship between gratitude, life satisfaction and materialism. After they had experimentally induced either gratitude or envy, they found that a state of high gratitude compared to a state of low gratitude (envy) led to increased satisfaction with life and less materialism. ^{1 in 2003 Emmons et al. about 3 studies that examined the connection between gratitude and well -being. They found that the participants of their "gratitude" group showed an increased well-being in many results in comparison to comparison groups in all 3 studies. 2 in a study from 2008 with 221 young people (a challenging cohort in which positive results are expected) reported on a connection between the "counting of their own blessings" and self-made improvements in affect, Gratitude, optimism and life satisfaction. 3}

Something as simple as sending a thank you message is obviously helpful if you want to build a relationship with peers or colleagues. Expressing thanks in addition to a simple message promotes the establishment of a permanent relationship. ^{4 In fact, expressing gratitude towards a person changes your own view of a relationship and makes it stronger.}

In 2015, David Brooks wrote in the New York Times noticed the following:

gratitude arises when friendliness exceeds expectations when it is undeserved. Gratitude is a kind of laugh of the heart that arises after a surprising friendliness. Most people are sometimes grateful - after someone has kept them from a mistake or brought them to eat during an illness. But some people seem to be grateful. They seem to be grateful all the time ... This type of dispositional gratitude is worth analyzed because it causes a mentality that represents a counterweight to the mainstream fibers of our culture. ⁶

If we could, we would change the attitude of all our patients (and ourselves) in the direction of greater gratitude, as we easily guess that they (and we) could be happier and healthier. This Ducasse study shows that the simple leadership of a daily diary, as these study participants did, can make a difference even in very disturbed people within a short time.

This Ducasse study is interesting for several reasons. The first is the decision of the authors for "control intervention" - by leading the patients to nutritional diaries. We asked our new patients to lead nutritional diaries for almost 30 years. This study suggests that if we asked our patients, listing good things in their lives instead of what they eaten, they might have already come to your visit.

The patients participating in this study were in extreme emergency, and the fact that such a simple intervention had an impact on their mood is quite extraordinary. I think of only a few other interventions that could have done so quickly and safely.