Trauma-Informed Therapy: Integrating Gratitude and Happiness

What is happiness? What is gratitude?

People often offer similar answers to these questions, but a closer look reveals more about our tendencies, habits, and emotional wellbeing than a simple dictionary definition can convey.

English contains hundreds of words for emotional experience; two of the most studied and practically important are gratitude and happiness (Averill, 1997).

Gratitude and happiness have long been subjects of research. Recently, as positive psychology and evidence-based well-being practices have become more mainstream, these topics have risen in prominence. Many people now prioritize gratitude and happiness as deliberate areas for personal development.

The word gratitude comes from the Latin gratia, meaning grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. Gratitude is an appreciation that arises after receiving something—whether tangible or intangible—from another person or circumstance.

Positive psychology defines happiness as frequent experiences of positive emotions—joy, pride, interest—together with fewer negative emotions such as anger, sadness, and anxiety (Lyubomirsky, 2008). Happiness also relates to life satisfaction, momentary pleasures, and an overall appreciation of life (Khoda, 2016).

Both gratitude and happiness are more than feelings: they are supported by scientific theory and measurable effects on behavior and health.

The Psychology of Gratitude and Happiness

Researchers in positive psychology consistently find a strong correlation between gratitude and happiness. One explanation is that gratitude encourages people to notice and savor positive experiences, strengthens relationships, supports health, and builds resilience in the face of adversity—all of which contribute to greater happiness.

Three common ways people express gratitude are:

1. Gratitude for the past — recalling positive memories and formative experiences;
2. Gratitude for the present — intentionally noticing and savoring what is good right now;
3. Gratitude for the future — cultivating hope and optimism about what’s to come.

G. K. Chesterton captured the connection between gratitude and wonder when he wrote, “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” Chesterton’s view is that giving thanks and appreciating what you have—or even simply taking nothing for granted—deepens happiness.

A Look at Science and Research

Does being happier help you live longer? A meta-analysis by Chida and Steptoe (2008) examined longitudinal studies and found that positive psychological wellbeing is associated with lower mortality and better health outcomes.

Studies of healthy populations show that positive affect—joy, energy, optimism, life satisfaction and a sense of humor—tends to correlate with lower mortality rates (Carr, 2011).

The classic “nun study” by Danner, Snowdon, and Friesen (2001) found that nuns whose early-life autobiographical essays contained more positive emotional content lived longer: about 90% of the happiest group lived past age 85, compared with 34% in the least-happy group.

Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007) proposes three contributors to happiness:

1. Genetic set point — roughly 50% of individual happiness relates to temperament and personality;
2. Intentional activities — about 40% comes from the activities and practices people deliberately undertake to improve wellbeing;
3. Life circumstances — roughly 10% are determined by external circumstances and environment.

Among intentional activities, gratitude practices are a well-supported method to increase happiness. Emmons and McCullough’s studies showed that people who kept regular gratitude lists reported greater hope, exercised more, and visited the doctor less often over a 10-week period, compared with other groups.

Other Interesting Research and Studies

Researchers continue to investigate which skills and tools best foster positive emotions. A few notable findings:

Gratitude Predicts Hope and Happiness

Witvliet and colleagues (2018) examined how gratitude relates to hope and happiness. They emphasize that gratitude is a social emotion involving givers, gifts, and recipients, and that it tends to predict both hope and positive mood states.

Counting Blessings Versus Burdens

Emmons and McCullough compared gratitude listing to focusing on hassles and to neutral controls. Across studies, gratitude interventions increased positive affect and improved social-emotional wellbeing.

Savoring Walks

Researchers at Loyola University Chicago found that taking a brief daily “savoring walk,” during which people intentionally notice pleasant sights and experiences, can increase day-to-day happiness (Bryant & Veroff, 2007).

Deeper Conversations and Happiness

Studies of everyday interactions indicate that people who spend more time in substantive, meaningful conversations tend to report higher wellbeing than those who mainly engage in small talk (Association for Psychological Science, 2010).

Is There a Link Between Happiness and Gratitude?

Yes. Gratitude and happiness are directly linked: expressing gratitude makes the giver feel happier. Practicing gratitude reduces the space that negative thoughts occupy, allowing more room for positive emotions.

Lyubomirsky describes practical ways gratitude boosts happiness: it helps you savor positive moments, strengthens self-worth and confidence, and fosters social bonds. For people recovering from trauma, gratitude can support processing, adjustment, and resilience.

Gratitude tends to decrease negative reactivity and increase empathy and connection with others.

How Does Gratitude Bring Happiness?

Gratitude is a skill that becomes more powerful with practice. It begins with acknowledgment—recognizing someone or something—and advances to explicit appreciation: “I see you, I hear you, and I thank you for X.”

That brief shift of attention—from complaint or worry toward appreciation—can interrupt negative thought cycles and open space for positive feelings.

Research shows that gratitude also supports resilience. When people find lessons, growth, or meaning after an interpersonal offense or hardship, they experience more positive emotion and sometimes even short-term physical benefits (Witvliet et al., 2010; Tennen & Affleck, 2002).

Practices that focus on benefits, sometimes called benefit-focused reappraisal or “finding the silver lining,” are effective ways to cultivate gratitude and lift mood.

Does Gratitude Multiply Happiness?

Yes. Gratitude not only increases happiness in the person who feels it but often spreads to others. Expressing thanks tends to lift both the giver and the receiver, creating a positive ripple effect.

Gratitude also helps people accept difficult emotions and circumstances rather than wasting energy resisting them. That acceptance makes it easier to conserve emotional resources and experience more positive states over time.

TED Talks Worth Watching

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow — the secret to happiness

Csikszentmihalyi explores the concept of flow—being fully engaged in an activity—and argues that flow contributes to a life worth living.

Michael Norton: How to Buy Happiness

Norton’s research suggests that spending money on others can increase happiness more than spending on oneself.

Malcolm Gladwell: Choice, Happiness, and Spaghetti Sauce

Gladwell uses the food industry to illustrate that different people find satisfaction in different varieties—there is no single taste that makes everyone happy.

Louie Schwartzberg: Nature. Beauty. Gratitude

Schwartzberg shows how nature’s beauty can inspire appreciation and a meditative sense of gratitude.

Shawn Achor: The Happy Secret to Better Work

Achor summarizes research on how simple mindset shifts and habits can increase happiness and improve performance.

Dan Gilbert: The Surprising Science of Happiness

Gilbert discusses common misconceptions about what will make us happy and explores why people mispredict the emotional impact of future events.

Benjamin Wallace: The Price of Happiness

Wallace examines how perceptions of value and cost can influence satisfaction and well-being.

Laura Trice: Remember to Say Thank You

Trice highlights how asking for and giving appreciation benefits both the speaker and the recipient.

Recommended Articles (PDF)

For scientific reviews and empirical studies on gratitude and happiness, consider these foundational works:

1. Watkins, Woodward, Stone & Kolts (2003). Development of a measure of gratitude and its relationship to subjective wellbeing.
2. Wong et al. (2016). A randomized trial of gratitude writing among psychotherapy clients.
3. Lawrence, Rogers & Wadsworth (2015). Research on happiness and longevity in the United States.

Practical Exercises to Build Gratitude

Practicing gratitude daily—through journaling, letters, or simple acts of appreciation—can strengthen positive emotions and relationships. Consider keeping a gratitude list, taking savoring walks, or expressing thanks to someone each week.

Quotes on Gratitude & Happiness

Gratitude

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

— Melody Beattie

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.”

— Melody Beattie

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

— William Arthur Ward

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”

— Zig Ziglar

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”

— Henri Frederic Amiel

Happiness

“We don’t laugh because we’re happy — we’re happy because we laugh.”

— William James

“Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.”

— Frank Tyger

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”

— Joseph Addison

“If you want to be happy, be.”

— Leo Tolstoy

A Take-Home Message: The Key Is Gratitude

There is much to be grateful for in daily life, even during difficult times. Gratitude helps us recognize the support we receive, process hardship, and enlarge the positive parts of our experience. The research is clear: cultivating gratitude is a simple, evidence-based way to increase happiness and resilience.

Try small, consistent practices—writing a few gratitude notes each week, sharing appreciation with someone close, or taking a mindful savoring walk—and observe how these habits influence your mood and relationships.

References

• Averill, J. (1997). The emotions: An integrative approach. In Handbook of Personality Psychology.
• Baker, J. C., Williams, J. K., Witvliet, C. V. O., & Hill, P. C. (2016). Positive reappraisals after an offense. The Journal of Positive Psychology.
• Bryant, F., & Veroff, J. (2007). Savoring: A new model of positive experience.
• Carr, A. (2011). Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Human Strengths. 2nd Ed.
• Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2008). Positive psychological well-being and mortality: A quantitative review.
• Danner, D. D., Snowdon, D. A., & Friesen, W. V. (2001). Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the Nun Study.
• Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life.
• Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The How of Happiness. New York: Penguin.
• Tennen, H., & Affleck, G. (2002). Benefit-finding and benefit-reminding. In Handbook of Positive Psychology.
• Watkins, P. C., Woodward, K., Stone, T., & Kolts, R. L. (2003). Gratitude and happiness: Development of a measure of gratitude and relationships with subjective well-being.
• Witvliet, C. V. O., et al. (2018). Gratitude predicts hope and happiness: A two-study assessment of traits and states.
• Additional referenced talks and articles are cited in the academic literature on gratitude, savoring, flow, and wellbeing.