How to use gratitude to feel better

Life's difficulties can distract you from feeling thankful for the good things, if you let them. Here are some ways to create an attitude of gratitude that can benefit you both mentally and physically.

A number of scientific studies show that people who are able to express gratitude about their lives are happier and healthier.

For example, in a study at the University of California, Davis, people were asked to write down five things for which they were grateful once per week for ten weeks. A control group was asked to think about five problems. At the end of the study, the grateful group felt more optimistic and more satisfied with life, exercised more, and had fewer physical symptoms such as headaches.

Gratitude is a natural painkiller. Are you making it work for you? Take this quiz, developed by Michael McCullough, PhD, professor of psychology, University of Miami, and Robert Emmons, PhD, professor of psychology, University of California to find out whether you have a lot or little of the G quotient. (This survey was adapted from Authentic Happiness by Martin E. P. Seligman, PhD.)

Using this scale as a guide, write a number beside each statement to indicate how much you agree: 1-Strongly disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-Slightly disagree, 4-Neutral, 5-Slightly agree, 6-Agree, 7-Strongly agree

1. I have so much in life to be thankful for
2. If I had to list everything that I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list
3. When I look at the world, I don't see much to be grateful for
4. I am grateful to a wide variety of people
5. As I get older, I find myself more able to appreciate the people, events, and situations that have been part of my life
6. Long amounts of time can go by before I feel grateful to something or someone

Total your scores for 1, 2, 4, 5.

• Reverse your scores for items 3 and 6. That is, if you gave 3 a "7" give yourself a "1" instead; if you gave 3 a "6," give yourself a "2," etc.
• Add the reversed scores for items 3 and 6 to the total from Step 1. This is your total GQ-6 score. This number should be between six and 42

• If you scored 35 or below, then you are in the bottom quarter of a survey of 1224 adults in terms of gratitude
• If you scored between 36 and 38, you are in the bottom half of people who took the survey
• If you scored between 39 and 41, you are in the top quarter
• If you scored 42, you are in the top eighth

If you're suffering from a particular condition, you may not feel grateful. But there must be plenty of things in your life for which you do feel thankful. That's good, because focusing on those things is going to make you feel better, both mentally and physically.