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Counting One’s Blessings Can Reduce the Impact of Daily Stress

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  • Izabela Krejtz
  • John Nezlek
  • Anna Michnicka
  • Paweł Holas
  • Marzena Rusanowska

Abstract

Participants in the present study, adults living in the community, described their well-being and the stress they experienced each day for 2 weeks. Before completing these diaries each day, half of the participants described the things for which they felt grateful that day, and half completed the diaries without doing this. Multilevel modeling analyses found that daily feelings of gratitude were positively related to well-being at the within-person level, and lagged analyses suggested a causal link from well-being to gratitude. In addition, relationships between daily stress and daily well-being were weaker for people who had been asked to think about the things for which they were grateful than they were for those who had not been asked. These results suggest that counting one’s blessing can reduce the negative effects of daily stress, which in turn may have positive long-term effects on mental health. Copyright The Author(s) 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Izabela Krejtz & John Nezlek & Anna Michnicka & Paweł Holas & Marzena Rusanowska, 2016. "Counting One’s Blessings Can Reduce the Impact of Daily Stress," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 25-39, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:17:y:2016:i:1:p:25-39
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-014-9578-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chiara Ruini & Francesca Vescovelli, 2013. "The Role of Gratitude in Breast Cancer: Its Relationships with Post-traumatic Growth, Psychological Well-Being and Distress," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 263-274, March.
    2. Geraghty, Adam W.A. & Wood, Alex M. & Hyland, Michael E., 2010. "Attrition from self-directed interventions: Investigating the relationship between psychological predictors, intervention content and dropout from a body dissatisfaction intervention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 30-37, July.
    3. Jeffrey Froh & Robert Emmons & Noel Card & Giacomo Bono & Jennifer Wilson, 2011. "Gratitude and the Reduced Costs of Materialism in Adolescents," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 289-302, April.
    4. Steven Toepfer & Kelly Cichy & Patti Peters, 2012. "Letters of Gratitude: Further Evidence for Author Benefits," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 187-201, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nathan T. Deichert & Micah Prairie Chicken & Lexus Hodgman, 2019. "Appreciation of Others Buffers the Associations of Stressful Life Events with Depressive and Physical Symptoms," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1071-1088, April.
    2. John B. Nezlek & Izabela Krejtz & Marzena Rusanowska & Paweł Holas, 2019. "Within-Person Relationships Among Daily Gratitude, Well-Being, Stress, and Positive Experiences," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 883-898, March.
    3. Brenda H. O’Connell & Deirdre O’Shea & Stephen Gallagher, 2018. "Examining Psychosocial Pathways Underlying Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Controlled Trial," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(8), pages 2421-2444, December.

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