WE ARE LIVING in an era of increasing unhappiness. In the US, diagnoses of major depression went up 33% from 2013 to 2016. Loneliness abounds. Anxiety affects 8% of children and teens. Hospitalisations for child suicide ideation or attempts rose for all age groups – including 5- to 11-year-olds – between 2008 and 2015.
Recently, as part of a segment for one of the TV programmes I’m involved in, I visited a high school where they are endeavouring to counteract these pernicious trends. As the principal told me, it’s not enough to teach kids maths and reading; you have to teach them how to be successful humans.
One of their main tactics? Gratitude.
Gratitude is one of the most misunderstood – and yet, deeply useful – concepts trending today. For example, if you think taking a selfie in front of your private jet and posting it with #BLESSED is a way to practise gratitude, you’re doing it wrong. It’s not about showboating. Nor is it about maniacally focusing on the positive and pretending we live in a problem-free world. Oh, and it’s also not a way of using thank-yous as a form of interpersonal manipulation. (One of my favourite cynical takes on the concept is “Gratitude is the expectation of future favours.”)
Done correctly, gratitude is radically simple: it’s the deliberate attempt to not take the many good things in your life for granted. What’s more, science suggests gratitude’s linked to better mental health – and, if practised regularly, more exercise.
To put this gratitude campaign into action, the school recruited Shawn Achor, author of a best-selling book called The Happiness Advantage, which argues that gratitude at any age can boost energy, improve sleep, reduce depression, and increase both optimism and social connection – two of the greatest predictors of long-term happiness.
Esta historia es de la edición January 2020 de Men's Health South Africa.
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Esta historia es de la edición January 2020 de Men's Health South Africa.
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