This from Kent State University:
Want to quickly improve your happiness and
satisfaction with life? Then the pen may be a mighty weapon, according
to research done by Kent State University’s Dr. Steven Toepfer.
Toepfer, an assistant professor of family and consumer studies at
university’s Salem Campus, says that expressive writing is something
that has been available to mankind since ink first appeared in Egypt
more than 4,000 years ago.
“Everyone is pursuing the American
dream. We are wealthier than previous generations, consuming more and
experiencing more, but yet so many of us are so unhappy,” Toepfer says.
“The question of ‘is there something simple we can do to be happier?’
is one that I have been thinking about for many years and one that has
interested people for much longer.”
With that question in
mind, Toepfer enlisted students from six courses to explore the effects
of writing letters of gratitude to people who had positively impacted
the students’ lives. Over the course of a six-week period, students
wrote one letter every two weeks with the simple ground rules that it
had to be positively expressive, required some insight and reflection,
were nontrivial and contained a high level of appreciation or gratitude.
After each letter, students completed a survey to gauge their moods,
satisfaction with life and feelings of gratitude and happiness.
“I saw their happiness increase after each letter, meaning the more
they wrote, the better they felt,” says Toepfer, who also witnessed
improvement in participants’ life satisfaction and gratitude throughout
the study. “The most powerful thing in our lives is our social network.
It doesn’t have to be large, and you don’t always need to be the life
of the party, but just having one or two significant connections in
your life has shown to have terrific psychological and physical
benefits.”
In all, 75 percent of the students said they planned to continue to write letters of gratitude even when the course was over.
Studies demonstrate, according to Toepfer, that practicing expressive
writing is often associated with fewer health problems, decreased
depression, an improved immune system and improved grades.
“We
are all walking around with an amazing resource: gratitude,” says
Toepfer. “It helps us express and enjoy, appreciate, be thankful and
satisfied with a little effort. We all have it, and we need to use it
to improve our quality of life.”
