Brain Health
The Neuroscience of Gratitude
With the Thanksgiving holidays, conversations about gratitude and thankfulness are everywhere. Although gratitude is often seen as a spiritual or wellness practice, there are also factual and scientific reasons why regularly practicing gratitude is beneficial for the brain!
Here are just a few ways that the practice of gratitude changes your brain for the better:
- Gratitude activates the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain responsible for decision-making, planning, and emotional regulation. This activation helps foster positive thinking patterns and encourages a more optimistic outlook on life.
- Gratitude triggers the release of dopamine, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter. This chemical not only enhances mood but also reinforces the habit of gratitude, making you more likely to repeat grateful behaviors.
- Practicing gratitude reduces stress by quieting the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates stress responses. By calming this area, gratitude can lower cortisol levels, the primary stress hormone.
- The amygdala, which processes emotions like fear and anxiety, becomes less active when you practice gratitude. This helps to reduce feelings of stress and enhance emotional resilience.
However, to experience these benefits, it’s important to clarify what gratitude IS and what it IS NOT:
- Gratitude is not merely an intellectual acknowledgment of things we like or enjoy. The practice of gratitude is an intentional shifting of our focus and diving inward, excavating the treasures of life that can be easily overlooked during the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
- Gratitude is not just a fleeting emotion or a simple “thank you.” It is a profound appreciation and awe that arises when we take the time to slow down and recognize the value and beauty of often overlooked aspects of our lives.
This is important to clarify because simply expressing gratitude for something, such as when a stranger holds the door open for you, and you appreciate the gesture, does not provide the same benefits as intentionally shifting your focus to find appreciation. For example, writing in a journal about what you are most grateful for can lead to greater benefits.
To fully benefit from gratitude practice, we must intentionally shift our focus to identify our blessings.
But what if you just can’t get to a place of gratitude?
What if life has been hell, and you are simply burned out, angry, and resentful? Or feeling disconnected, numbed, and exhausted? In these states, just the suggestion of practicing gratitude makes you want to scream.
I get it. I’ve been here myself.
The truth is, if you’re in a place where practicing gratitude is painful, or maybe even unbearable, your brain may need a little help.
When we experience chronic stress or trauma, the brain shifts into one of two survival states to protect us: a “fight or flight” state or a “freeze” state.
In a “fight or flight” state, the brain is always focused on the future, anticipating the next shoe to drop. What if that job falls through? What if he doesn’t love me anymore? What if I lose my home? What if my friends hate me? What if I get sick?
In a “fight or flight” state, the brain anticipates the worst, trapping us in a future that feels scary, unpredictable, and dangerous.
In a “freeze” state, the brain is always stuck in the past, ruminating over past mistakes, missed opportunities, and regrets. Why did I say that? Why didn’t I take that job? Why didn’t I go to school when I had the chance? Why didn’t I say what I really felt?
In a “freeze” state, the brain becomes trapped in the past, immobilized by our mistakes and regrets.
Both of these survival states prevent us from accessing the present moment, which is vital to practicing gratitude. You cannot practice gratitude if your brain is fixated on past regrets and mistakes or hyper-focused on all the things that could go wrong in the future.
This is where Cereset can help.
Cereset helps the brain to release and recover from the negative effects of chronic stress and trauma. In short, it helps the brain to move out of a survival state and return to a state of relaxed balance, rooted in the present moment. From this place, many wellness practices, including gratitude and meditation, are much easier to engage in because the brain is no longer working against these efforts. From a state of relaxed flexibility, the brain can easily flow from remembering the past without regret, to anticipating the future with hope, to finding value and appreciation in the present moment.
Contact your local Cereset center today to learn how Cereset can help your brain release negative patterns that are holding you back, and reset the brain to the present moment, where gratitude flows easily!
From the Cereset family to yours, have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday! We are so grateful for you!