A Time for Gratitude
As Thanksgiving day approaches, many of us are diving into internet recipes, perusing grocery stores for very specific ingredients, practicing our skills in the kitchen, all while reaching out to friends and family both near and far. Whatever shape or form this holiday season takes for you, I encourage you to spend a moment to “give thanks”, reflecting on the people, places, pets, and experiences that you are grateful for.
Taking a moment to practice gratitude with intention can go beyond warming the heart and have actual lasting psychological and physical benefits, especially if practiced regularly. Various studies have looked at how simple gratitude practices can affect a person’s quality of life. In one study, participants were asked to write down three things they were grateful for each day. By the end of the study, these participants reported higher positivity, greater subjective happiness and life satisfaction, and decreased depression compared to the control group. In another study, participants who were already undergoing counseling were asked to send one letter per week expressing gratitude to a person they were grateful for. By the end of this 12-week study, these participants reported much improved mental health benefits from the gratitude practice. Additionally, these participants were found to have increased activity in the brain’s medial prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for logical thinking, attention, memory, decision-making, and emotional context, among other functions. Not only was there increased activity in the prefrontal cortex during the study, but these effects lasted for months after, suggesting that the effects of practicing gratitude can be long lasting.
In a time when many of us are still struggling to navigate a life that feels far from normal, when many of us cannot gather as we once did, when recent floods have upended our neighbors’ lives or maybe even our own lives, it is vital that we take time to connect with gratitude. Whether it be for our significant other whom we confide in, a close friend that makes us laugh, or a pet that loves us unconditionally; they all deserve a moment of thanks for keeping us afloat and shining some much-needed light into our lives. So, I’d like to take a moment and thank all of you, for letting all of us at Northwest Life Medicine be a part of your life, and for you being an important part of our clinic family. We hope you all have a happy and nourishing holiday! And to those that can, please consider donating to the Whatcom County Community Resilience Fund to help support those affected by the recent flood.
Thank you!
The NWLM Team