Thanksgiving All Year Round
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, many of us spend time thinking about all the things in our lives that we are thankful for. Along with the holiday meal, many families spend time on Thanksgiving going around the table and having everyone say what they appreciate in their lives. This usually leaves everyone feeling positive and loved. The act of acknowledging things you are grateful for can be a great way to improve outlook, relationships and even lower symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Gratitude does not have to be limited to just the holidays. Research has shown practicing gratitude can help shift our mindset into thinking about our lives more positively as we recognize the things in our lives that we are grateful for. Practicing gratitude can even change how our brains work. In a 2008, study, scientists found using MRI’s that people practicing gratitude had their reward pathways in their brains and the hypothalamus light up indicating that serotonin and dopamine were both released. Dopamine is the chemical released in the brain when feeling pleasure. This shows that thinking positively can influence how the brain works.
Gratitude can be easy to incorporate into our daily lives. Taking just a few minutes a day to work on recognizing the positive aspects of our lives can make a real difference in mood, relationships, and functioning. Here are a few simple ways to practice gratitude every day:
Keep A Gratitude Journal: Write down 2 to 3 things every day that you are grateful for. It can be big or small things, just anything you noticed that day. When feeling down, you can always look back through the journal to remember what you have identified that makes you happy and appreciative to help shift your mood.
Practice Self-Appreciation: Write down or say out loud five good things about yourself every day. This will probably feel a little weird at first but will become easier with practice.
Verbalize What You Appreciate About Others: Let people in your life who are important to you know what you appreciate about them. You can write them a note or tell them in person. Sharing gratitude will impact both you and the person you tell!
Gratitude Walk: Take a walk and notice all the things you appreciate/enjoy.
Use a Gratitude Prompt: You can use a prompt to help you identify things you are grateful for. Here are some examples of prompts you can use:
I am grateful for these 3 things I see:
I am grateful for these things in my home:
I am grateful for these three friends:
I am grateful for these 3 green things:
Add to the list of prompts to help you keep going.
Gratitude can be a power tool to help us all focus on things in our lives that we appreciate and enjoy!
-Elisabeth Chipps, LPC, LCPC