The virtue of gratitude in mental health
Danny Salka, Victor Ajluni · 2026
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Description
Danny Salka and Victor Ajluni make the case for gratitude as a clinical virtue in mental health care, in a 2026 letter. Writing as clinicians, they argue that anger, grievance, and ingratitude have spread widely. Gratitude, they say, offers a counterweight rooted in Aristotle's idea of flourishing and Aquinas's view of thanks as a matter of justice. Modern psychology, they note, links gratitude to well-being and fewer signs of mental illness.
They point to studies where mood and symptom journaling raised life satisfaction and eased depression. Practices such as gratitude letters, mindful notice of small positives, and modelling thanks within teams are cheap and easy to adopt. Such habits are tied to better coping, less stress, and greater life satisfaction. The letter urges psychiatrists to weave gratitude into everyday care as part of whole-person healing.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Danny Salka, Victor Ajluni |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 4 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |