“What do you say mate?” your mum nudges you as the waitress hands you your dinosaur nuggets.

“Thank you.”

You have always been told to use good manners, and to say thank you, but what does thank you actually mean? Is it just two meaningless words uttered with monotonous regularity, or is it a tool that can alleviate mental health issues generating happiness and a sense of wellbeing? Gratitude is the sunlight that lights up those dark days.

The ability to be grateful is at the core of personal success.

Why we should we be grateful.

We all know that gratitude is the quality of being thankful. It is also widely known as a big part of tackling mental health issues that plague our youth today. Almost half of the population suffers or has suffered from mental health related issues.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 3144 Australians took their own life last year and, of these, 112 were children under the age of 17.

Shocked? We should be.

As a society, we must take immediate action to save these lives. Gratitude has the power to reduce these numbers drastically and make the youth’s feelings of happiness, skyrocket.

So how does gratitude really work?

Gratitude has been linked directly to improving mental health. By focusing on the positive aspects of life and appreciating what one has, gratitude can shift attention away from negative thoughts and promote a more positive mindset. It is as simple as writing down three things a day for which you are grateful.

The result? You will realise that your life is worth living.

Don’t believe me, well, it was proven in a study regarding gratitude. In 2010 two world leading scientific researchers and Harvard psychologists, Dr Emmons, and Dr McCullough, conducted a study whereby participants either wrote about things they were grateful for, or daily irritations. After ten weeks the findings were groundbreaking. They discovered that those who wrote about gratefulness, felt more optimistic and felt better about their lives, whilst the others felt miserable and negative.

Yet another example of the myriad of benefits of gratitude is the increased resilience which with you will be armed. Practising gratitude can encourage you to look for the best in any situation and the lessons that could be learned. This newfound resilience will empower you with not only a positive mindset but with a belief that you can and will overcome challenges. You will look for the light in the darkest situation, the silver lining.

A study done by Gloria and Steinhardt in 2016 found a link between gratitude and resilience noting that “Gratitude fosters adaptive coping mechanisms”. This means that when faced with challenges such as having 11 assignments due next Tuesday, you can practise gratitude to develop healthy responses to stress.

So, what now?

Too many teenagers are depressed, overwhelmed with schoolwork and burdened by unhealthy relationships. But this doesn’t have to be you.

Start being grateful, and you will find a complete shift in your wellbeing. All that has to be done is take five minutes before bed to write down some things by which you are grateful, could be lunchtime touch, dinner, or even your best mate. So, together, as a TGS community armed with gratitude let's create an environment where saying " thank you" is not just a polite gesture but a tool for personal success and happiness.

- By Daniel Wilson, Year 9 TGS student

References

J., & Wong, J. (2017, June 6). How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain. Greater Good; The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. https://greatergood.berkeley.e...

Carpenter, D. (2018). The Science Behind Gratitude (and How It Can Change Your Life). Happify.com. https://www.happify.com/hd/the...

Harvard Health Publishing. (2021, August 14). Giving thanks can make you happier. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu...

Mindful Staff. (2019, November 25). How to Practice Gratitude. Mindful. https://www.mindful.org/an-int...