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Anxiety
Published in Carolyn Torkelson, Catherine Marienau, Beyond Menopause, 2023
Carolyn Torkelson, Catherine Marienau
We understand gratitude as a “state of thankfulness” or a “state of being grateful.” It also involves a readiness to show appreciation for kindness and being able to return it. Gratitude is a state of both mind and body. It increases neural modulation in the brain, which regulates negative emotions. When gratitude is expressed, the brain releases dopamine and serotonin, two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for emotions that help you feel good. Gratitude is best practiced every day because it is all too easy to revert to an anxious mind. Practicing gratitude consistently will help strengthen your neural pathways so that, ultimately, being grateful becomes one of your enduring qualities. Brené Brown, an acclaimed research professor at the University of Houston, found that people who described themselves as joyful had one thing in common: an active gratitude practice. Other researchers have found that people who felt grateful and practiced gratitude journaling were happier and emotionally stronger than those who did not.
Mindfulness and Meditation Practices
Published in Gia Merlo, Kathy Berra, Lifestyle Nursing, 2023
Thoughts, stories, and imagined events trigger strong emotions, body reactions, and thought processes. Thinking, feeling, and sensing are intimately connected, which can cause pain and suffering, but also offers a doorway to greater regulation. Research has shown that expressing gratitude either in a journal or to others reduces symptoms of depression (Wong et al., 2018). Exercise also helps diminish anxiety and depressive symptoms, and diet affects not only body physiology, but mood as well.
The psychology of talent development in Paralympic sport: The role of personality
Published in Nima Dehghansai, Ross A. Pinder, Joe Baker, Talent Development in Paralympic Sport: Researcher and practitioner perspectives, 2023
Jeffrey J. Martin, Eva Prokesova, Hannah MacDougall
Gratitude, as the above quote indicates, can influence sport performance. Both state and dispositional gratitude have been shown to enhance psychological, social, and physical well-being (Emmons & Mishra, 2011). Many Paralympians with acquired impairments have faced life-threatening events (e.g., car accidents) that caused these impairments, but have experienced post-traumatic growth (PTG: Hammer et al., 2019). A central feature of experiencing PTG is increased gratitude. In one study of 15 individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) participants expressed gratitude for everyday life, family support, new opportunities, God, and a positive sense of self (Chun & Lee, 2013). These findings suggest that gratitude linked to impairment is a relevant cognition, suggesting gratitude interventions may resonate with individuals with impairments.
The impact of COVID-19 on college anxiety, optimism, gratitude, and course satisfaction
Published in Journal of American College Health, 2022
Duke D. Biber, Bridget Melton, Daniel R. Czech
Positive psychology can explain “the conditions and processes that contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning of people, groups, and institutions”.5 Positive psychology focuses on subjective experiences, individual-level traits, and group-level virtues.6 Variables such as optimism and gratitude can promote personal well-being, which can significantly impact college student educational performance.7–8 Gratitude can be defined as “part of a wider life orientation towards noticing and appreciating the positive in the world,” and is related to health benefits such as improved well being. Optimism is defined as seeing and expecting the future in a positive manner.9 Optimism and gratitude are negatively associated with helplessness, stress, depression, and psychopathology, and positively associated with emotional functioning, mental health, the Big 5 psychological traits, and life satisfaction.10–12
The experiences of well-being of family caregivers in palliative care: A qualitative study using thematic analysis
Published in Progress in Palliative Care, 2021
Tan Seng Beng, Yeoh Kee Ying, Cheah Ai Xin, Lim Ee Jane, Dong Chooi Lin, Lim Poh Khuen, David Paul Capelle, Sheriza Izwa Zainuddin, Loh Ee Chin, Lam Chee Loong
Another crucial element found in caregivers’ well-being was gratitude. Gratitude is the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to oneself.13 It helped caregivers to experience more positive emotions such as love, joy and happiness while protecting them from stress. Many caregivers expressed plaudits and appreciation towards the healthcare providers. “For the doctors, I think the good things is the doctors here are very competent, professional, and they are very caring. I must say that they give very practical advice to us.” (Caregiver 5) “I can see that they are working as a team, so they come out with the best solution. They are doing their best to treat my mother.” (Caregiver 20) “I appreciate all that they have done. They are considerate. They are hardworking.” (Caregiver 19) “The nurses treat us like a family.” (Caregiver 1)
Disentangling Gratitude: A Theoretical and Psychometric Examination of the Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test–Revised Short (GRAT–RS)
Published in Journal of Personality Assessment, 2019
Joseph H. Hammer, Rachel E. Brenner
Gratitude is a general disposition toward acknowledging and appreciating the positive in the world (Wood, Froh, & Geraghty, 2010). Distinguished from future-focused emotions, such as optimism and hope, feelings of gratitude are focused on the present moment and without expectation for the future. The extant literature underscores the benefits of gratitude, which has been consistently linked to greater well-being, life satisfaction, self-esteem, positive affect, and healthier relationship functioning (Bernstein & Simmons, 1974; see Wood et al., 2010, for a review). Gratitude could also hold clinical relevance, having demonstrated associations with reduced depressive symptomology (Disabato, Kashdan, Short, & Jarden, 2016; Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003; Wood, Maltby, Gillet, Linley, & Joseph, 2008; Van Dusen, 2014), suicidal ideation and past suicide attempts (D. Li, Zhang, Li, Li, & Ye, 2012), and posttraumatic symptoms (Van Dusen, Tiamiyu, Kashdan, & Elhai, 2015). Moreover, longitudinal studies suggest a causal relationship wherein gratitude predicts depressive symptoms over time (e.g., Disabato et al., 2016; Van Dusen, 2014; Wood, Maltby, Gillet, et al., 2008).