Gratitude is a warm feeling of thankfulness, which involves being appreciative and thankful towards specific individuals or the world. The feeling of gratitude enables someone to express warmth, kindness, and generosity to other people. In psychology, gratitude has been associated with various physical and mental health advantages (Jans-Beken, 2021, pg. 3). This study highlights how gratitude helps cope with anxiety after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a threatening perspective of the world whereby everyone had to physically distance, causing a feeling of physical loneliness. People were already used to hugging and staying as close as possible during the pre-COVID period. All this, added to the economic disadvantage of the covid-19, left many people with mental health problems, including anxiety (Jans-Beken, 2021, pg. 3). Therefore, people had to learn how to cope with the negative feelings, and one of the ways was through gratitude because it helps people appreciate the small and big things they have to feel sufficiency.
Gratitude and appreciation can overcome anxiety by improving a person’s mood. It helps people cope with anxiety by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones and enhancing a positive mood (Jans-Beken, 2021, pg. 4). A person can as well overcome anxiety by practicing a horizontal form of gratitude which allows them to base their happiness on material things. By appreciating the materialistic things that some have, they can overcome anxiety (Jans-Beken, 2021, pg. 4). Additionally, gratitude can also be horizontal whereby it is directed to God or other supreme being depending on a person’s religious belief. During the COVID-19, many people lost their lives, and therefore praying is a way of giving gratitude to supreme beings for being alive which helps cope with anxiety. Therefore people need to express gratitude to others, material things, and spiritual faiths to overcome distressing moments and feelings such as anxiety.
Reference List
Jans-Beken, L. (2021). A perspective on mature gratitude as a way of coping with COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, [online] 12.