Gratitude can be a magical solution to replace a strict diet, pills, and an exhausting exercise regimen. Imagine the metal calm and joy that you associate with thanksgiving being present each day of the year. Researchers claim that gratitude can gift you with a good physical health in conjugation with a positive and accepting state of mind. Let us consider some of the benefits that can be bagged by being more thankful.
- Alleviating stress
Stress is a major cause of problems in the present times, especially its role of acting as a precipitating factor for many diseases to take foundation from. To alleviate stress, many people opt for the idealistic method of meditation, but not everybody can practice this approach.
For those that have a busy schedule with not much time to spare, a daily practice of appreciating things and people that they are thankful of can be equally beneficial. At the University of California at Davis, Emmons and his colleagues have found that the feeling of thankfulness increases optimistic feelings, which in turn help cope with daily stress.
- Cope with tragedies
A moment of great adversity has the potential to mold thinking a lot and by using this time team sense, gratitude, and a sense of belonging. Christopher Peterson, Ph.D. from theUniversity of Michigan conducted a survey to study gratitude among Americans post 9/11. His team found a greater surge of belonging among the subjects after this travesty.
The gratitude that the people felt after this adversity helped them fight the stress that developed after the trauma. These findings are conclusive that gratitude at the moments of adversity can boost a person’s personal strength and ability to cope with post-traumatic depression and stress.
- Recurrences of disease
Researchers at the University of Connecticut found that major diseases could be prevented from recurrences by cultivating a positive outlook through gratitude. The study found that people that had suffered from heart attacks and had seen the potential gains from their first attack, like the true value of life, diet, and the importance of each day, experienced a second attack less frequently. Once this travesty inspired the people to accept the value of life, they also adopted healthier lifestyle changes in addition to a positive outlook.
- Sticking to your regimen
If you are trying to follow a healthier lifestyle but have suffered many setbacks, you are no different than most of us. Cravings during a diet, mood swings that cause overeating, and laziness which deviates you from your workout schedule are all common occurrences.
With a sense of gratitude, a person can cultivate optimism that helps them in sticking to their set goals. By listing out things that you are thankful for each day, a sense of satisfaction takes over that can boost you to make wiser choices and fight cravings.
- Immune System Booster
Lisa Aspinwall, professor of psychology at theUniversity of Utah, has noted some interesting studies that have linked gratitude and happiness with a better immune system. A research conducted on first-year law students to check their immune systems noted that the more optimistic students had a greater level of immune cells in their bloodstreams.
This health benefit of gratitude can be more evidently noticed in people suffering from debilitating diseases like AIDS. Patients that are about to undergo surgery have a better prognosis when they harvest positivity in their thoughts.
Cultivating Gratitude
Many psychology experts suggest that patients suffering from untreated depression must keep a gratitude journal that they maintain daily or weekly. Creating visual reminders to maintain the sense of thankfulness can be a handy way to cultivate this habit. If you are tired of depression antidotes and want to try some alternative methods you can also self-motivate yourself regularly by reflecting on the things that you have taken for granted for so long. In the face of atravesty, try to look at the situation in a more appreciative and optimistic manner to build personal strength.
Reflecting on what you have and being more appreciative of the things in the environment, you can harness positive energy from within. This energy can enhance your mental, spiritual, and physical well-being.