During this time of the Covid frenzy, I wanted to share some positivity. We’re all familiar with the word gratitude, but are you familiar with the act of practicing it?
If not, then now is as good of a time as any to find out what the benefits are and how to do it.
WORKING OUT
Practicing gratitude is similar to building your muscles. You need to do it regularly to get good results.
In an article from Yale.edu, by Robin Stern Ph.D & Robert Emmons Ph.D, they note that…
“More than any other personality trait, gratitude is strongly linked to mental health and life satisfaction. Grateful people experience more joy, love, and enthusiasm, and they enjoy protection from destructive emotions like envy, greed, and bitterness. Gratitude also reduces lifetime risk for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders, and it helps people entangled with those and other problems to heal and find closure. It can give you a deep and steadfast trust that goodness exists, even in the face of uncertainty or suffering.
Not only is gratitude a warm and uplifting way to feel, it benefits the body as well. People who experience gratitude cope better with stress, recover more quickly from illness, and enjoy more robust physical health, including lower blood pressure and better immune function.”
3 WAYS TO PRACTICE
They go on to explain 3 ways to practice gratitude, and they are…
- PAYING ATTENTION. “Notice all the good things you normally take for granted…. It also involves acknowledging that difficult and painful moments are instructive and you can be grateful for them as well. Directing our attention this way blocks feelings of victimhood.
- WRITING. “Writing helps you organize thoughts, accept experiences, and put them into context, and gratitude journaling may bring a new and redemptive frame of reference to difficult life situations. It also helps you create meaning when you place everyday experiences within a framework of gifts and gratefulness.
In one study, people randomly assigned to keep weekly gratitude journals exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to people assigned to record hassles or neutral events. In another, young adults who kept a daily gratitude journal reported higher alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to those who focused on hassles or compared themselves to others less fortunate.” - EXPRESSING. “Expressing gratitude completes the feeling of connection. Many people in your life have helped you in one way or another. Have you thanked them? Consider sending a letter to someone telling them what their actions meant to you, even if—especially if—it happened long ago.
As for a response to blessings that don’t come from people, the arts and many faith traditions offer countless ways to express our gratitude. It may be as simple as a moment of deliberate reflection.”
THE QUESTION
All this begs the question… what are all the things you are grateful for?
Stay in the know HERE at Stay Vegan.
Full article @ http://ei.yale.edu/what-is-gratitude/
