You may have heard about studies that show practicing gratitude can shift the brain’s function toward a healthier mindset. Research shows that feeling grateful, particularly meditating on feelings of gratitude, can help us overcome sad and anxious feelings and stop ruminating on negative thoughts about past events. It can also release us from worrying so much about the future.
Think of gratitude as a very powerful positive energy that dispels negative thinking and emotional baggage, just as light dispels darkness. Imagine what your life would be like if you filled yourself with thoughts of love and gratitude on a continual basis. Perhaps this is how our lives are actually intended to be! Let’s look at some of the benefits of gratitude and how we can have more of it in our lives.
What Is Gratitude?
We usually think of gratitude as an expression of thankfulness for abundant living. When we think about how blessed we are or when someone does something for us, we often express gratitude by saying thank you. The problem is that the feeling is usually fleeting.
Maybe it’s time we start thinking of gratitude as the distinct emotion it can be — one that we can definitely feel more consistently. Try making gratitude less of a passing “thanks” and more of a daily quality — a part of who you are. The more gratitude you feel daily, under any situation, the more benefits you can receive.
Recognize Your Abundant Life Every Day
Leading gratitude researcher Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., says gratitude has two main parts: “affirmation of goodness” and recognition that the source of this goodness is outside ourselves.
“We acknowledge that other people — or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset — gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives,” Emmons writes.
If you have family, good friends, a home, meaningful work, and laughter in your life, you have goodness. You are living an abundant life in some way or another. Making gratitude, your attitude can turn your thoughts away from problems and negativity toward happier, higher thoughts that raise your emotional energy.
Benefits of Gratitude for Mental Wellness
According to Emmons, feeling gratitude can help reduce a myriad of negative emotions, such as resentment, anger, and frustration. Emmons has completed a number of studies on gratitude and its ability to enhance feelings of well-being. These studies support his theory that gratitude can be effective at reducing or fighting depression, boosting happiness, reducing stress, and bolstering feelings of
optimism and tranquility.
In a scientific study, gratitude has also been linked to potential increases in neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is that “feel good” neurotransmitter that helps us feel pleasure and anticipation. Serotonin is believed to affect our moods, and some researchers believe lower levels of it may be linked to depression — so it looks like the more, the better!
Benefits of Gratitude for Physical Health
Gratitude has been linked to health benefits such as improved sleep, reduced fatigue, and less cellular inflammation. Gratitude creates a surge of brain chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin — chemicals that make you happy. Focusing on the good things in life helps release negative emotions.
A 2012 study published in Personality and Individual Differences indicates that people who feel grateful have fewer aches and pains and report that they generally feel healthier than those who don’t feel so grateful. The study also reports that those who feel gratitude are more likely to take care
of their physical health — they exercise more frequently and are more likely to have check-ups regularly. And, of course, those habits are likely to enhance longevity!
Gratitude for Lifelong Health & Happiness
How can one emotion have such wide-ranging benefits for our health and well-being? One reason may lie in how gratitude improves our relationships, both with others and ourselves. Quality relationships have been called a top predictor of lifelong health and happiness. Gratitude helps by:
Helping build and strengthen relationships of all kinds: Gratitude helps you connect with others and makes others feel appreciated by you.
Boosting self-esteem: Focusing on good things about yourself can help you appreciate who you are.
Increasing life satisfaction: Continuously reminding yourself of what you already have instead of focusing on what you don’t brings more happiness and satisfaction to your life.
The more gratitude we feel daily, under any situation, the more benefits we can receive. Here are a few tips for experiencing more gratitude in your life:
1. Release Trapped Emotions — Traumatic and difficult events from the past can leave us with unresolved emotional energy in the form of Trapped Emotions — negative energies that can literally become trapped within. You can use energy healing practices such as The Emotion Code® and The Body Code™ to identify and resolve emotional baggage and other imbalances that may be harming your health and relationships or otherwise holding you back in life. Doing so opens the way for you to feel more gratitude.
2. Start a Gratitude Journal — There are many different ways to start a gratitude practice, but one of the simplest is to try gratitude journaling. All you need in order to get started is a piece of paper and a pen. You might choose a nice journal to write in each day. There are some journals that are created with gratitude prompts already included that might make it easier to begin, such as:
Write about a person in your life whom you’re thankful for.
What skills or abilities do you have that you’re grateful for?
Write a note to someone to whom you’re grateful (bonus points if you share the note with them!).
What positive changes in your life have happened in the last year?
What is something you’re grateful to have learned this week?
What are you thankful for about the city you live in?
What does your body allow you to do that you’re grateful for?
Write about something that you have been taking for granted that you’re glad is part of your life.
3. Practice Being Mindful in the Moment — This will help you pick up on the little things that enhance your life: the gentle breeze, the colors of the fall leaves, and the warm and comforting feeling of eating a good meal. Take stock of your experiences, the joys in your life, and all the good things that you already have. Continuously reminding yourself of what you have instead of focusing on what you don’t can bring more happiness and satisfaction to your life.
4. Create the Habit of Waking up With a Powerful Question — Choose a question that inspires gratitude every day. This will send the subconscious mind on a search for joy and gratitude as you move through the day. An example of this could be to say to a family member, “How amazing are you?” Or you could look at yourself in the mirror with a smile and say, “What wonderful thing will you create today?”
Remember, gratitude is a habit you can cultivate, like brushing your teeth or drinking enough water! By focusing on the positive, you invite more positivity into your life. As you take time each day to shift your outlook to one of gratitude and as you consistently express your appreciation, perhaps you’ll begin to feel more satisfied with the life you live and reap all the benefits that come with contentment.
