GRATITUDE DURING THE COVID CRISIS - TO WHOM AND FOR WHAT THE BULGARIANS ARE GRATEFUL

Abstract

Gratitude influences the establishing, maintaining and deepening of interpersonal relationships and readiness to provide support in crisis situations. Еxperiencing and expressing gratitude is оften associated with high levels of positive emotions, resilience, life satisfaction, optimism, empathy and  prosocial behavior. Оn the other hand lack of gratitude is associated with depression and high levels of stress. At the beginning of the Covid crisis in April 2020, a non-representative sample poll was conducted through an online survey, involving 200 people between the ages of 18 and 65. The aim is to conduct a qualitative reasearch on the gratitude subject and the person of gratitude during the emergency. With content analysis, the collected answers for the subject of gratitude are grouped into categories - Health, Communicating with loved ones, Work, What you have, Other people's actions, Slow living, New opportunities, Nothing, Protection from God. Answers revealing the person of gratitude are grouped into categories - Family and friends, Institutions, Medical practitioners, People outside the immediate circle, Employer, God/Fate, Myself, None, Pet. The hypothesis that during a crisis people also notice the positive in life (relationships, material and non-material resources), feel gratitude and tend to value relationships highly has been confirmed. Programs and activities, developing gratitude as an attitude or character strength, would enhance positive and protective effect during crisis situations and beyond.