When you focus on what you love about your life, your emotional brain fires up. Gratitude helps support mental health. Many studies show that expressing gratitude helps healthy people stay healthy and reduces their feelings of depression and anxiety. Interestingly, a recent study of people suffering from depression and anxiety showed that writing a gratitude letter helped improve their mental health. People who used negative words in their writing gained fewer mental health benefits, suggesting that it’s the absence of negative words that helps people get the biggest boost from gratitude. Researchers theorize that writing about what you’re grateful for moves your attention away from negative emotions like envy and anger. You’re therefore less likely to fixate on bad things or experiences. The mental health benefits are true even if you don’t share your gratitude with anyone. The study also suggested that the effects are cumulative, so that if you practice gratitude frequently, you’ll see better results over a long time. So write out five things you’re grateful for today. Focus on what is making you feel lucky and good about your life. This trains your brain to focus on the love and pleasant experiences in your life. Do it long enough and you’ll effectively create a positive groove in your brain that will create ripple effects in your life.