21 Jul Gratitude changes the Brain in incredible ways
By now you’ve heard a lot about Gratitude: keeping a Gratitude journal, writing things down every day for which you are grateful etc. So, what’s the story behind all this Gratitude? Does is really work?
Gratitude is a natural anti-depressant
In her article on the Neuroscience of Gratitude, certified psychiatric counselor Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury says this:
“Emily Fletcher, the founder of Ziva, a well-known meditation training site, mentioned in one of her publications that gratitude as a ‘natural antidepressant’. The effects of gratitude, when practiced daily can be almost the same as medications. It produces a feeling of long-lasting happiness and contentment, the physiological basis of which lies at the neurotransmitter level.
When we express gratitude and receive the same, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions, and they make us feel ‘good’. They enhance our mood immediately, making us feel happy from the inside.
By consciously practicing gratitude everyday, we can help these neural pathways to strengthen themselves and ultimately create a permanent grateful and positive nature within ourselves.” – Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury, BA
Train your brain to work for you
Here are two very important things for you to know….
- Your brain will believe whatever you tell it over and over again
- Whatever your brain believes to be true, becomes your Reality
These are very powerful statements. The first point refers to the fact that you hold complete power over what you tell yourself. In the same way as, seated in front of your computer/phone right now, you have complete say over what you type into it. You have the final say as to what goes and stays in your brain.
What super charges this first point, is the second one, because whatever your brain believes to be true (by you telling it over and over again) becomes your Reality. This means that you alone, not anyone or anything outside of you, past, present or future, has the power to determine what your experience of life will be.
Widespread Benefits to Gratitude
Harvard researcher, best selling Author and Happiness Expert, Shawn Achor says: “Something as simple as writing down three things you’re grateful for every day for 21 days in a row significantly increases your level of optimism, and it holds for the next six months. The research is amazing!”
Your thoughts are creating your Reality
And there’s more. In their study of the Science of Gratitude, University of California Berkeley researchers found that “Gratitude may also benefit people with various medical and psychological challenges. For example, one study found that more grateful cardiac patients reported better sleep, less fatigue, and lower levels of cellular inflammation, and another found that heart failure patients who kept a gratitude journal for eight weeks were more grateful and had reduced signs of inflammation afterwards. Several studies have found that more grateful people experience less depression and are more resilient following traumatic events.”
As well, in his book Think like a Monk, author Jay Shetty, a British podcaster, author, life coach and former monk says: “Gratitude is key in helping overcome negative thought patterns. Some of us have a negative mindset – maybe a poverty mindset – and gratitude helps us transform those mindsets from negative to positive. When we are caught in the mind of poverty, we focus on what we are lacking; we feel we don’t deserve love; and we ignore all that we have been given. Practicing conscious gratitude allows us to be open to the possibility that the reality we have seen doesn’t have to be where we stay. When we wait in gratefulness, we allow ourselves to be open to the opportunities life has in store for us.”
Key takeaway: By practicing Gratitude, you can train your brain to be Happy and experience wide spread, long term benefits to your mental, emotional and physical health.
Great Resources
1. Jay Shetty is a British podcaster, author, life coach and former monk has a wonderful video out: What is Gratitude and how to keep a Gratitude Journal
2. Positive Psychology has an information-rich post out: What is Gratitude and Why is it so Important
3. Goop Wellness interviewed Brene Brown PhD and asked her about Gratitude. Here is her Simple Gratitude Practice
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Thank you for taking time to read this post! The right information at the right time is a most powerful catalyst for change. For Coaching, Workshops or an Inspiring Talk on this valuable topic, please contact me.
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