The Power of Giving Thanks

“In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness,” according to Harvard University’s Health Beat. “Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives. “With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.”

In a 2021 article for PsychCentral, Andrea Rice explained how one can “rewire” the brain for positive thinking with “mature gratitude” and reap the benefits of developing your own practice.

“Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form new neural connections. This ‘rewiring’ effect can lead to positive growth and change. When the brain’s circuits get caught up in negative narratives, your thoughts might skew toward the negative.”

The negativity bias is our tendency to be more attracted to negative stimuli than positive but it is possible to move beyond that negativity bias and pay more attention to the positive aspects of life. 

Negative thinking can be deliberately countered with a “mature gratitude practice that includes kindness, being thankful for life, and a higher power,” Rice suggested. Research shows that practicing gratitude can be good for heart health and inspire happiness, satisfaction, and general well-being.

“Cultivating an attitude of mature gratitude through actions of kindness, expressing being thankful for life and God, and enjoying all the small things in life helps in coping with the current threats of COVID-19 and building lifelong resilience for the future,” Lilian Jans-Beken wrote in her study on mature gratitude in 2021 during the global pandemic.

Rice suggested a number of ways you can practice gratitude depending on what works best for you. “You might practice gratitude first thing in the morning or just before bed at night. If you’re busy, your commute to work might be an ideal time for reflection.”

Here are a few other ideas to consider:

  • gratitude journaling and writing
  • expressing what you’re thankful for on social media
  • sending someone a text to let them know you appreciate them
  • writing down three things that you’re grateful for
  • creating a collage of all the things that you’re grateful for

Gratitude practice can also have a positive impact on people with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. In 2017, Miran Jung and Kuemsun Han explored the “effectiveness of gratitude disposition promotion program on depression and quality of life of chronic schizophrenic patients.”

They noted that about 80 percent of schizophrenic patients experience depression, and 20–50 percent attempt suicide in an acute psychotic state or in a chronic depressive state.

“Depression, among the many factors affecting the quality of life of schizophrenic patients, has a great influence on the subjective quality of life,” they wrote. They found that gratitude intervention is effective in reducing depression and improving the quality of life in schizophrenic patients.

“In this study, we newly developed a gratitude disposition promotion program for promoting gratitude disposition, reducing depression, and improving quality of life of chronic schizophrenic patients in community and verified its effect,” the authors concluded. “The study results indicated that gratitude disposition promotion program was a useful intervention to raise the gratitude disposition and quality of life of chronic schizophrenic patients in community.”

“Remember that gratitude is a practice—not a quick fix,” Rice reminded her readers. “Taking the time each day to reflect, be mindful, and savor the positive stories and experiences all around us can help rewire the brain for positive thinking.”

Colorado Recovery has emphasized the importance of compassion, respect, and social connections in its groundbreaking approach to mental health treatment for many years. The treatment model developed by our founder Richard Warner is based on a warmer and more human familial setting, comprehensive levels of care that result in a path of self-reliance, and community engagement for connection and a feeling of contribution.

The treatment program at Colorado Recovery aims to empower adults with mental illness, and those who support them, with an unrelenting optimism for recovery, purposeful involvement in the community, and an enhanced sense of meaning in life.

Our treatment facility provides the services needed to address schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other serious mental illnesses which are specific to each individual. Call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.

How Hiking the Rockies Can Improve Mental Health

Being in nature can boost your mood and improve your mental health. Spending quality time in the great outdoors reduces stress, calms anxiety, and can lead to a lower risk of depression, according to a 2015 study by researchers at Stanford University. 

In addition to having mental health benefits, being outdoors opens up your senses to your surroundings and improves your sensory perception. Taking in the sights, smells, and feelings of nature has numerous health benefits.

The treatment team at Colorado Recovery understands these benefits well and—with a campus only a short distance away from the spectacular landscape of the Rocky Mountains—has utilized the great outdoors as part of our treatment programs for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses. Exposure to the healing power of nature is part of our treatment philosophy. 

In a few days, some of our clients will undertake a hike that will be both challenging and deeply rewarding. “They are going on a three-day excursion up and around the Buchanan Pass area,” says Terry Stiven, MA, LPC, outpatient and transitional living manager at Colorado Recovery. “We’re gonna hike in four miles, they’ll see beautiful fields with the mountains in the background, and we will set up our base camp there.”

“The first day is about acclimating and setting up our space with the opportunity to do an afternoon hike to get to know the area.” Day two will be a pretty rigorous hike. “We’ll hike up to a lake and hang out there.”

Participating clients have been preparing for the excursion. “A certain level of commitment was required,” explains Stiven. “We’ve been doing weekly hikes to prepare and we had meetings with them to talk about the gear.” 

Good preparation is key, as clients are expected to be able to hike four miles with a fifty-pound pack on their back. “We also talked about teamwork: who’s going to make meals? what kind of meal are they going to make? Who is responsible for clean-up? There is a nice level of working as a team.”

Meals will be basic: oatmeal and breakfast bars in the morning, sandwiches for lunch, rice and pasta dishes in the evening—nothing fancy. At the end of the experience, clients are supposed to feel good about themselves. “There may be some level of anxiety about getting out of your routine but getting out of one’s comfort zone is part of the deal,” says Stiven. “Getting back to nature also means working through that. You’re not in the comfort zone of your room.”

“Having a sense of accomplishment and being able to carry what you need for the next three days on your back and get by is huge,” explains Stiven. “This will significantly boost our clients’ self-esteem.” 

The self-esteem necessary for clients to succeed in the wider community can be strengthened on a wilderness trail. At Colorado Recovery it is our mission to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.



Exposure to Nature is Part of the Program

Nature can improve mental health and sharpen our cognition. “From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders, and even upticks in empathy and cooperation,” wrote Kirsten Weir on the website of the American Psychological Association in 2020. “Nature comes in all shapes and sizes, and psychological research is still fine-tuning our understanding of its potential benefits… Experimental findings show how impressive nature’s healing powers can be—just a few moments of green can perk up a tired brain.”

The campus of Colorado Recovery is only a short distance from the spectacular landscape of the Centennial State. The great outdoors around Boulder can be both challenging and have a calming effect on our clients—utilizing it is definitely part of our treatment programs for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses.

After initially working in transitional housing at Colorado Recovery, Peter Kamback recently took on his new role as a vocational rehabilitation specialist. “Most clients are from out of state and have not experienced a spectacular environment like the Colorado Rockies,” he explains. “We have hiking trails within walking distance of our campus—trails that accommodate all hiking levels and difficulties.”

Kamback values the human connection with clients such outings can offer. “We are able to expose them to things they haven’t seen before and enrich their lives that way. These kinds of activities give them direction and purpose and enhance things that are good in their lives. We shift focus to wellness away from thinking about their illness all the time.”

Vocational services include socialization and recreational activities such as weekly hikes, game and movie nights, talent shows, community and relationship building, as well as opportunities for teamwork and conflict resolution.

“On a weekly basis, one day is designated for hiking, one for the art group, one for health and wellness, and so forth,” Kamback says. “Outdoor activities allow them to relax and let down their guard a little bit and really enjoy being in scenic Colorado. Being able to offer these outdoor activities is a huge value for our clients.”

Clients even get to make arrangements to hike with their peers without Colorado Recovery staff coming along. “I think that’s huge for them,” says Kamback. “All the benefits of nature while being more present and calm gives them a little more confidence to interact with others.”

Excursions to the local art museum can be equally therapeutic.  They are great opportunities “to see clients in a more natural setting and get a better sense of them as persons rather than patients,” says Kamback who has an art degree. “You experience them as people in a public location and also note how they interact with each other.”

Empowering clients is central to the treatment model developed by Colorado Recovery founder Richard Warner. “Treatment should include social rehabilitation,” wrote Dr. Warner in The Environment of Schizophrenia. “People with schizophrenia usually need help to improve their functioning in the community. This can include training in basic living skills; assistance with a host of day-to-day tasks; and job training, job placement, and work support.”

And the self-esteem necessary to succeed in the wider community can be built up on a wilderness trail. At Colorado Recovery it is our mission to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.