Gratitude - The KEY To HAPPINESS

Happiness5 min read

May 13

Written By Dr. Mitch Rice, D.O.

What Really Is “Gratitude?”

I think we are all relatively aware of what gratitude is, but how is it defined?

Dr. Robert Emmons, one of the world’s leading psychologists defines gratitude in this way:

“It’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received… we recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside ourself… we acknowledge that other people, or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset, give us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”

As more simply stated: “Gratitude is the positive emotional response that we perceive on giving or receiving a benefit from another individual whether that be people or higher powers.”

Sociologist Georg Simmel calls gratitude the "moral memory of mankind"

Everyone knows how awesome gratitude can be, but what is actually happening in our brains when we FEEL gratitude?

Our Brains and Gratitude

When we experience gratitude a few things happen:

First, there is increased blood flow in the areas of the ventral and dorsal medial pre-frontal cortexes as well as the hypothalamus (fancy words for parts of the brain). These are specific parts of the brain that are:

Involved in the feelings of reward, morality, interpersonal bonding, positive social interactions, and empathy

Second, there is an increase in three different neurochemicals, specifically: Dopamine, Serotonin, and Oxytocin

Dopamine - mainly responsible for reward, memory, and motivation
Serotonin - mainly responsible for overall mood
Oxytocin - "the love hormone" mainly responsible for trust, empathy, and social bonding

Third, gratitude rewires our brain through the concept of neuroplasticity (more information coming in a future post).

The brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life
New ways of thinking
New ways of seeing and viewing the world creating a new person from within that affects all areas of life including relationships, work, hobbies, friends, and family

What Are The Benefits of Practicing Gratitude on a Daily Bsis?

TONS of studied benefits, but I will list the top 8:

Makes you happier - kind of self explanatory. Expressing daily gratitude can increase long term happiness by over 10%
- Noticing what we already have can definitely make us feel more positive about our lives
Improves physical health and facilitates increased optimism
Higher levels for life satisfaction and self confidence
Makes you friendlier to others
Improves sleep
Increases mental strength and resilience
Strengthen social and romantic relationships
Reduce overall levels of stress, anxiety, and depression

All of these things can have loads of positive effects on your overall physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health

How To Actually Practice Gratitude?

There are DOZENS of things you can do each day to practice gratitude, but no matter what you do, the important thing is to be consistent enough to make gratitude a habit.

I will give you one task to do each day that will take 4 minutes a day.

“4 Things For 4 Weeks”

Morning - write down two things on a piece of paper you’re thankful for right now in your life
Evening - write down two things that happened THAT DAY that you’re grateful for
The catch is not allowing yourself to be grateful for the same thing more than once
Watch how you begin to see the world a little differently by the end of that 4th week. Your brain will begin to SEEK it SUBCONSCIOUSLY (without you knowing it).

SOURCES:

WellnessHappiness

Dr. Mitch Rice, D.O.

Hi everyone! My name is Mitch and I am a recent medical school graduate. I write and create videos on topics concerning health, wellness, and medicine. Stay tuned for new content every Sunday at 12 pm EST!