Supercharge your gratitude

 and flip the switch on anxiety

 

While scrolling through reels on my phone recently, I came across a short piece on the effects that gratitude has on anxiety.

Now, because of my history with a short battle with depression, anxiety and panic attacks, my interest was piqued, and I decided to do a little research on my own.

What I heard was that the “brain cannot respond to anxiety and gratitude at the same time”.

Apparently, physiologically, our brains cannot respond to negative emotions (fear, anxiety, stress) and positive emotions (gratitude) at the same time. This means that it’s one or the other. We can feel anxious and other negative emotions, or we can feel grateful and experience the positive emotions that are associated with it. Not both at the same time.

With my limited knowledge of how the brain works, I discovered that our brain operates in either a sympathetic (fight or flight) mode or in a parasympathetic (rest and digest) mode.

“The purpose of the sympathetic mode is to protect us in life threatening emergency situations, so our body can respond quickly. The parasympathetic mode is our “rest and digest” mode, and this is the state we should be in most of the time.”

But due to our modern society and the pressures it puts upon us, the constant stressors in our lives can cause us to stay in the “sympathetic/fight or flight” mode.

According to research, the reason the brain cannot respond to anxiety and gratitude at the same time is because they are two different emotional states that are processed differently.

So, here’s the technical stuff. (Bear with me, I’ll get to the point and application soon).

The amygdala is a small part of your brain that has a big job. It is the major processing centre for your emotions. It also links your emotions to many other brain abilities, like memories, learning and your senses.

It is located on the sides of your brain, known as the temporal lobes and it is part of the limbic system.

Anxiety is associated with increased activity in the amygdala, while gratitude is associated with decreased activity in the amygdala. So, when we experience anxiety, the amygdala is activated, and when we experience gratitude, the amygdala is deactivated. So, it is very unlikely that your brain can respond to anxiety and gratitude at the same time.  

Researchers have found that when practicing gratitude, the amygdala’s activity is positively impacted. And on the flip side, when experiencing anxiety, the amygdala’s activity is negatively impacted. And because of their location, the brain can’t respond to them at the same time.

Because our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are brain-based, both anxiety and gratitude are tied to activity in the brain and the production of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and hormones like cortisol.

We know that dopamine is our “feel-good hormone”. And when you express gratitude, it releases dopamine into your system and floods your body with endorphins, leaving you feeling uplifted and encouraged.

Anxiety is our body’s inbuilt wake-up call that alerts us to danger. When fear sets in, our body releases hormones that create the fight or flight responses and we react accordingly. But when the adrenaline rush begins, we don’t get much time to analyze the right or wrong choice.

And if we have created neuro pathways in our brains that are anxiety based, that is where we will go. We will feel insecure, doubtful and our coping mechanisms will begin to fail.

Our brains are conditioned to function in a repeated way. That’s why if you consistently train your brain to think negative thoughts, worry and fear, you will create ruts, that create a pathway or groove that has to be redirected and changed with positive emotions and thoughts, over a period of time, to allow you to naturally think on good things.

Philippians 4:8 KJV - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

We really do have to retrain our brains.

Romans 12:2 KJV - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

By consciously practicing gratitude, we can retrain our brain to focus on positive thoughts and emotions, blessings and the goodness of God, that helps move us into the restful parasympathetic state, which in turn improves our overall health and wellbeing, enabling us to be better servants of the Lord and bring honour and glory to his name.

Anxiety, fear and worry, along with the brain, train us to be on the lookout for the negative and for problems. We train ourselves to look at the glass half empty, not half full. And because we have trained our brains this way, we find them. We find problems. We don’t do it intentionally, but it is a habit that we form without really being aware, until our anxiety symptoms become overwhelming and begin to control our lives.

If you are always seeing the glass half empty, if you’re always finding fault in others, if you’re letting your thoughts dwell on your woeful circumstances and how life is treating you, then guess what? That’s right. You’re going to see more of what you think about because you have trained yourself to look at the negative and see the burdens.

You have carved out neuro pathways in your brain and trained it to react negatively. You have closed your eyes to the blessings, and your outlook is depressing and miserable. All you will see is the bad. You won’t even notice when God sends a small blessing because you’re too focused on what you don’t have rather than what you do.

But let me give you some good news. Gratitude works in a similar way, but opposite. There are numerous studies on the effects of gratitude on the human body, you have only to do a google search and you will find more positive side effects than you can imagine.

When we focus on the blessings rather than the burdens, we are happier. Our mood changes. Our sleep is better. Our energy levels rise. When we start thanking God for the things we usually take for granted, our perspective changes. We realize that we could not even exist without the merciful blessings of a righteous, holy, loving God. We begin to carve new pathways in our brains that activate the amygdala in a positive way.

Gratitude and anxiety can seem like an unlikely combination. But they have a genuine connection. They cannot co-exist.

Gratitude is a very powerful emotion and the effect it can have on anxiety is to be experienced to be believed.

Now, I am no doctor, but having lived through a period of anxiety that was so dark that it threatened to suck me down into its dark vortex with its insecurities, doubts, fears and worries and having then come out the other side, stronger, and with more tools in my belt than I went in with, I’m here to tell you that practicing gratitude works!

If you are suffering with anxiety and depression, don’t go off your meds and think that magically all will be well overnight. It takes time and it takes making gratitude a part of your regular routine to retrain your brain to refocus your thoughts and energies on positivity.

Now, I’m not talking about chanting a mantra day and night and sitting in a cross-legged position for hours on end. I’m talking about retraining your thoughts to make giving praise to God become second nature.

Gratitude is the solution to anger, fear, anxiety, stress, frustration, depression, apprehension, feeling overwhelmed and all sorts of other negative emotions. These negative emotions cannot be present when you have a grateful mindset. And you can’t have a grateful mindset, unless you have trained yourself to live that way.

Gratitude and anxiety cannot co-exist in the same space and at the same time.

Anxiety can feel like tightness in your chest or shortness of breath. It can suck the life right out of you. But gratitude can slow your breath down, bring peace to your soul and breathe new life into your very being.

As you practice gratitude, through giving thanks to God and others daily, by writing a daily gratitude journal, by singing praise to the Lord, by jotting down everything you have to be thankful for on a particular day, you will begin to develop the habit of gratitude and you will find that anxiety, fear, stress,  and depression will have less of a hold on you.

Now, don’t get me wrong, life won’t be a bed of roses, you will still have moments of fear and anxiety may threaten to overwhelm you once again, but by making a conscious choice to lift a sacrifice of praise up to God, even in the midst of your storm, you will find that anxiety and gratitude can’t live in the same space. One has to go and it’s your choice as to which it will be.

Hebrews 13:15 KJV - By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

If you practice gratitude, you have a way to reduce anxiety and the overwhelming emotions.

When you feel anxious thoughts well up inside of you, whether you feel like it or not, choose to think of something you have to be grateful for, even if it doesn’t relate to your current circumstance. And don’t just think about it, praise God for it! And share it with a friend.

Remember, there is no expiration date on God’s blessings. You can still mention them in a prayer of thanks, no matter how long ago you received them and no matter where you find yourself and in what situation.

If you can make a habit of doing this, you will reduce the stress hormones that drag you down and your mood will lift. The problem may still be there, but your perspective will change. Your anxiety levels will decrease.

Start looking for things to thank God for. Intentionally search out the blessings in every situation. They are there. Believe me when I say that you WILL find them. You may have to pray that the Lord will open your eyes to them, and when he does, you will be amazed at the sights you see.

Look for evidences of God’s love. Look for his blessings.

Look for sunshine after rain. Look for flowers in barrenness. Look for rainbows even when the sky is dark. Look for seashells hidden beneath the sand. Look for the beauty in the colours of a sunset. Listen for the birds as they sing their praise to God. Listen to the thunder as it roars overhead and be reminded of God’s power. Listen for a child’s laughter and give thanks for the gift of life.

There is no limit to God’s goodness and there should be no limit to our thankfulness. Our voices should be always singing God’s praises. Don’t let a day go by without thanking God for something. Make a conscious effort to develop a heart of gratitude and watch how God pushes the anxiety and fear aside to make way for a heart of gratefulness.

Create new pathways in your brain for a river of gratitude to flow through.

 

Supercharge your gratitude and flip that switch 

from anxious negativity to joyful positivity!