Sober Synthesis

“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” Albert Schweitzer

Practicing Gratitude

• Gratitude is a general appreciation of life, while thankfulness is a response to a particular event or experience.

• Our brains fluctuate our motivation for prosocial behaviors (safety) and defensive behaviors (risk) in an attempt to keep us safe. We have an evolutionary tendency towards the defensive (negative) bias. 
• When a gratitude practice is performed repeatedly and consistently, we can shift prosocial circuits to dominate our mindset.
• Effective gratitude practices have an almost immediate strong response as well as long-lasting positive effects including: an enhanced sense of well-being, resilience to trauma, enhanced social relations, motivation, and overall physical health (decreases inflammation and increases serotonin).
  • In comparison to other calming practices (e.g. meditation), the positive effects of a gratitude practice are felt almost instantly (60-90 seconds) making it sustainable to incorporate regularly.
• Certain gratitude practices are more effective than others in strengthening the neurochemical effects of gratitude—these are “receiving” and “perceiving” genuine gratitude, both of which require the essential element of a story or narrative.
  • Gratitude lists and/or gratitude phrases, although a useful start, only activate our prosocial brain networks mildly.
  • The most potent gratitude practice is one in which we recall the memory/story of receiving gratitude and/or listen to a story of another person’s gratitude.
  • While focusing on a story of receiving gratitude might seem selfish, the focus deeply embeds us in a helping circumstance, reinforcing that core value and social interaction as a prosocial force.
  • The second most potent gratitude practice is recalling the memory/story of observing someone express their gratitude story about someone (perceiving).

Tool:

• Ground your gratitude practice in a narrative meaning—a story of receiving or perceiving genuine gratitude.
• Write down three or four simple bullet points that can serve as salient reminders of that story—states of mind before and after the receiving of gratitude, and any other elements that lend emotional weight or tone to the story, so that it is embedded in your memory.
• Read off these bullet points as a cue to your nervous system of this sense of gratitude.
• Then, for 1-5 minutes feel into that genuine experience of having received gratitude or observed it.
• In terms of frequency, a good rule of thumb is to practice this three times a week, at any time of day.

The Science of Gratitude & How to Build a Gratitude Practice – Huberman Lab

Proposed question for thought or sharing:

1. Can you recall a memory of receiving gratitude? What feelings (body experiences) and emotions (thoughts) do you experience? 

2. Can you recall a memory of listening to or reading another person’s story of gratitude? What feelings (body experiences) and emotions (thoughts) do you experience? 

3. Do you have a gratitude practice that has enhanced your recovery/health and wellness?

Disclaimer

This summary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed.