Gratitude interventions don't help with depression, anxiety

I don't keep a journal. I try and find at least one positive thing about my day every day. I've learned to take pleasures in the smallest things in life and to not expect the world to be perfect! 

Don't know what agratitude intervention is. From the patient or caregiver?

I definitely make gratitude part of my self care/wellness "toolkit".   I find that  being genuinely grateful helps to balance me.  

I am surprised that gratitude intervention didn’t show reducing the anxiety and depression symptoms. It definitely helps my patients, my family and myself. 
I will continue practicing gratitude and wait until a new research comes up overturning the  results of cited meta analysis. 

As someone who uses a variety of gratitude practices, I find it interesting that the article concludes with this:

'The results don't mean that there are no benefits to being grateful or to using gratitude interventions, the researchers said. In fact, some studies show that such interventions are effective at improving relationships.

"It is good to be more grateful -- it has intrinsic virtue and there's evidence that people who have gratitude as a general trait have a lower incidence of mental health problems and better relationships," Cregg said.

"The problem is when we try to turn gratefulness into a self-help tool. Gratitude can't fix everything." '(emphasis added)

Of course gratitude can't fix everything. NOHTING can fix everything.

I do also appreciate that the explanation includes this statement:

'"Based on our results, telling people who are feeling depressed and anxious to be more grateful likely won't result in the kind of reductions in depression and anxiety we would want to see," she said."

This also strikes me as self-evident and an oversimplification of the possible benefits of a gratitude practice (or the diversity of gratitude practices).

The examples of gratitude interventions listed as being measured also strikes me as limited:

'There are two commonly recommended gratitude interventions, Cheavens said. One is the "Three Good Things" exercise: At the end of the day, a person thinks of three things that went well for them that day, then writes them down and reflects on them.

Another is a "gratitude visit," when a person writes a letter thanking someone who has made a difference in their life and then reads the letter to that person.

The 27 studies involved in this analysis often had participants do one of these exercises or something similar.'

This seems in no way to be a comprehensive assessment of the value of the diversity of possible gratitude practices and their impact. My concern is that this would be used to undermine the potential value of diverse gratitude practices in support those struggle with their mental wellness.

Gratitude has changed my life. I was a young adult struggling in my own life who could find little to like about myself or my life when someone first introduced me to the practice. Since then I completed many  years of gratitude practice intermittently. Now, just this month, I have completed a full year of intentional gratitude practice. I definitely look at the world with the eyes of gratitude. Even when things go wrong I can express gratitude. Attitude and perception is a huge part of the way we feel, act and interact with our world. I am pretty sure I have recently read a study that gratitude changes the brain.

This just shows that studies, particularly studies that look at a group of other studies, don't necessarily prove anything is present or absent. And, is a study that reviews other studies really a study? Or, is it just a filtered opinion dressed up to look like science? The authors' vague and judgemental terminology would seem to indicate a bias.

A Gratitude journal is never meant to be the entire solution to symptoms of depression or anxiety. It is meant to be one of many tools, to be used to mitigate symptoms and resolve them. And, just because a gratitude journal doesn't help everyone, that is not a reason to stop recommending it as a useful tool.

If we only recommended treatments that help everyone completely resolve anxiety and/or depression, then surely we should stop prescribing antidepressants and benzodiazepines, shouldn't we?

I agree with each and every your word, David. Practicing gratitude is amazing tool to become less stressed. 
It really works well for my anxious  and depressed patients. It works for my family and myself. I will continue supporting and promoting this technique. 

thank you, Alexander.

I use a gratitude attitude every day, too. It is very helpful in these COVID19 times. I like to start my day with a positive attitude, by noticing five things (people, places, personal resources or things) that I am grateful for. Then, at the end of the day, I like to notice five things I am grateful for that happened during the day. That way I go to sleep with a positive attitude.

I'm sorry that it is only anecdotal evidence, Alexander - lol.

David M.

Thank you for sharing your technique to keep yourself positive, David.

Actually, I will try to practice gratitude your way and advise my patients doing the same. We will try to “improve the evidence”. 

I use gratitude technique in the middle of night, when I wake up and can’t get asleep again. It happens quite often: you can’t fall asleep after waking up because of different worries, overthinking things, fear of not being refreshed in the morning. 
Then, I tell myself: “why to be worry about the future? 95% of people worry about things that 95% will not happen. Let’s find things to be grateful for: family, friends, job, making ends meet or even the weather which gets better”. That allows me to relax and successfully fall asleep without Zopiclone/Lorazepam/Melatonin or other drugs.

Practicing gratitude is a powerful tool, doesn’t matter what the current evident shows. 

Thank you for your insight.