To Your Health:Grateful to be thankful

By Gillian Slade on October 16, 2017.

A week ago we collectively took a day to be thankful and the benefits go way beyond just the lovely dinner and tasty treats.

Thanksgiving is an ancient tradition of expressing thanks for a bountiful harvest and in Canada that includes an historical celebration of thanks for the safe return of explorer Martin Frobisher after his search for the Northwest Passage.

In 1957 the Canadian Parliament proclaimed: “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.”

For decades those in the know have been extolling the psychological and physiological benefits of thankfulness and gratitude. There are recognized short-term positive emotions associated with acknowledging gratitude and it doesn’t mean only being thankful for something good that has happened to you personally.

We can all say thanks for a harvest that means food is available. We can give thanks for the community we live in and services available for those in need. We can even say thanks for being able to help someone else who is in need. Even if it feels as though you have very little to be thankful for at this time in your life, expressing thanks to another person can have huge rewards in the sense of personal wellbeing.

Research has shown those who make a point of being thankful are happier, less stressed and more satisfied with their lives.

A few years ago a film was shown at the Esplanade about the people in communist Russia who managed to escape and settle in Canada. One lady talked of finally being on a train with others who hoped it would take them across a border to freedom. As the train jerked they held their breath, still not knowing if it would go to freedom or take them back to the homes they’d escaped from. The tension continued to mount as they neared the border and the train stopped again. They were still not sure if they would be identified and returned to Russia.

Finally an official climbed on board and welcomed them to another country in Europe and, more important, safety. There was silence in the train for a few seconds and then a clear soprano voice began to sing this hymn: “Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices. Who wondrous things hath done and in whom this world rejoices.”

A recent interview with someone who has undergone serious health issues for the last two years, including gruelling medical treatment, had me wondering how she could look as happy as she did. She had made a point of discovering the things she was grateful for during the process.

Here’s to focusing on being thankful and here’s To Your Health.

To Your Health is a weekly column by Gillian Slade, health reporter for the News, bringing you news on health issues and research from around the world. You can reach her at gslade@medicinehatnews.com or 403-528-8635.