It’s around this time of year, as Thanksgiving and the holiday’s approach that people take a moment to reflect on all the things that they are grateful for. Many people might associate gratitude with prayer. If you believe in God or a spiritual being provides guidance for you, you would direct your appreciation to Him.

But gratitude can be independent to any spiritual affiliation. So even if you don’t subscribe to those traditional beliefs, rest assured that there’s actually scientific research that supports the therapeutic power of gratitude. Scientific findings show that the act of acknowledging gratitude can have such a strong effect on mood and self-esteem that it can even reverse symptoms of depression.

Positive psychology is a field of therapy that focuses on fixing psychological problems by emphasizing good images and thoughts, rather than negative feelings. Negative psychology, the more traditional of the two, focuses on talking about the source of the negative feelings. Some believe that constantly rehashing the bad stuff detracts from acknowledging the good. Allowing the positive energy to resonate is thought to promote positive attitude, which in turn reverses the negative thoughts and associations. It’s simple mind-over-matter.

UC Davis professor Robert Emmons talks about this concept in his article Counting Blessings versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life. He talks about how “The ability to notice, appreciate, and savor the elements of one life has been viewed as a crucial element of well-being.” This is a powerful statement because it justifies our desire to savor the things in life that give us pleasure. In fact, taking the time to appreciate the sources of happiness can bring us even more satisfaction!

Reflecting more frequently through gratitude allows us to revisit these positive feelings and appreciate their significance. In our often too Puritan society, we are made to feel guilty for over-indulging in these thoughts. Furthermore, people are often uncomfortable talking about this topic since it conjures up images of religious fanaticism. Sure, gratitude can be spiritual, if you want it to be. But the source of your “luck” is as personal as each of us are individual.

Professor Emmons talks about a couple of methods to help harness the power of gratitude. One way is to keep a Gratitude Journal. Simply take a few minutes 3 or 4 times a week to right down 1 or 2 things you’re grateful for. His research has shown that practicing this for as little as 3 weeks can not only improve mood 25% and that the effects have been shown to last 6 months!

Another method is writing a gratitude letter. The idea is to write a letter to someone who you feel has had a positive effect on your life and express in it your gratitude for their impact. Once complete, read the letter to them face-to-face. You will not only help that person realize the impact they’re had on you, but it will also raise your gratitude meter way up!

Don’t wait till Thanksgiving to show thanks! What and who are you grateful for?