Thanksgiving: History and Mental Health Benefits
Most of us know the history of Thanksgiving—one of the most important holidays of the year. This year it falls on Thursday, November 27. The story most people know goes back to 1621, when English settlers at Plymouth and the Wampanoag people shared a harvest meal after a brutal first winter that killed half the colonists. A Pawtuxet man named Squanto, who’d been kidnapped and enslaved before making it back home, taught the struggling settlers crucial survival skills like planting corn and fishing.
For the next 200 years, different colonies celebrated thanksgiving on random dates. President Lincoln made it official in 1863 during the Civil War, hoping to unite a broken nation. Congress eventually locked it in as the fourth Thursday in November in 1941.
How Gratitude Affects Your Brain
The holidays—Thanksgiving and Christmas especially—can be incredibly tough. There’s the financial pressure, the divisive political climate, difficult family dynamics, and the empty chairs where loved ones used to sit.
As I write this, I’m thinking about my own empty chairs—my Scotch-Irish mother, my brother Phillip, my sister Vickie, my stepfather Bill, my father, my stepsister Darlene, and Felicia’s grandmother. The holidays have a way of making their absence difficult to ignore.
Despite all that, the practice of giving thanks, which is central to Thanksgiving, has real mental health benefits backed by science. When you express gratitude, your brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the neurotransmitters that make you feel good. It’s like a natural antidepressant.
List Three Things Today You’re Thankful For
Research shows that people who regularly practice gratitude experience lower rates of depression and anxiety. One study found that writing down three things you’re grateful for each day can significantly improve mood within just a few weeks. It literally rewires your brain to notice positive things more easily.
I’m often reminded of the old hymn ‘Count Your Many Blessings—Name Them One by One.’
Why Thanksgiving Traditions Matter for Mental Health
The holiday’s focus on connection fights one of depression’s biggest triggers: isolation. Sharing a meal with family and friends, even when relationships are imperfect, reminds us we’re not alone. Social connection is one of the most powerful protective factors against depression.
The ritual of coming together matters too. Predictable traditions, whether it’s watching football, cooking specific dishes, or going around the table saying what you’re thankful for, provide structure and meaning. When you’re depressed, everything can feel pointless, but rituals anchor us to something bigger than our current mood.
While no major psychologist is specifically known for the quote ‘go feed a homeless person,’ thinkers like Viktor Frankl, Carl Rogers, and Abraham Maslow emphasized that helping others and acting with compassion are essential to psychological wellbeing and personal growth, a principle supported by research showing that such acts can significantly improve mental health by reducing stress, increasing feelings of purpose and connection, boosting self-esteem, and releasing mood-enhancing chemicals like oxytocin and serotonin in the brain.“
Practical Ways to Use Thanksgiving for Mental Wellness
Start a gratitude practice. You don’t need to wait for November. Keeping a gratitude journal or simply texting a friend one thing you appreciate each day can shift your mental state over time.
Focus on giving, not just receiving. Volunteering at food banks or shelters, common Thanksgiving activities, gives you a sense of purpose. Helping others actually helps you by taking your mind off your own struggles and releasing those feel-good brain chemicals.
Reframe difficult moments. If your family gathering is stressful (and let’s be honest, many are), try finding one small thing to appreciate. Maybe it’s just the taste of pumpkin pie or a quiet moment with one person you actually like. You’re not ignoring the hard stuff, just balancing it.
Be honest about your feelings. If the holiday is tough for you because of grief, loneliness, or family conflict, that’s valid. You can acknowledge the pain while still looking for small moments of connection or comfort. Both things can be true.
The Bigger Picture
Thanksgiving’s history is messy and painful for many people, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. But the core practice of pausing to acknowledge what we’re grateful for, even in hard times, is genuinely therapeutic. It doesn’t erase depression or fix everything, but it can be one tool in taking care of your mental health.
The key is making gratitude a regular practice, not just a once-a-year thing. When you train your brain to notice what’s working alongside what’s broken, you build resilience. And in a world that often feels overwhelming, that matters more than ever.
Get help now if you are in crisis. The Tennessee Statewide Crisis Line is available 24/7/365 to connect you with a trained counselor who can provide support and link you to local resources .
When you are having trouble getting mental health or substance use services, the Helpline connects you and your family with an advocate who will listen, explain your options, and share resources in your area . The Helpline is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT at (800) 560-5767 or (615) 532-6700, or by email at oca.tdmhsas@tn.gov
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