Title: How Expressing Gratitude Can Help Improve Your Mental Health
Aired: 28/08/2020
Hosts: Jason Welch and Christine Haworth-Staines
Credits: Music by Dominic Haworth-Staines (piano), Jane Sobanski (lyrics) and Chantilly Fixe (vocals). Artwork by Jamie Alexander-Dumont. Episode edited by Ingrid Taylor/NimbleVA.
Welcome to Get Talking, a new series of podcasts created by the team at Get Mentally Healthy. In this episode Jason and Christine explore the subject of gratitude: what it means, why and when we feel it, the benefits and how we can practice and cultivate it, finally looking at ways companies can introduce more gratitude into the workplace.
01'01'': The dictionary's definition of gratitude: a state of being grateful; the word comes from the Latin gratius, meaning 'thankful' or 'pleasing'. In other words, being grateful represents a feeling or demonstration of thanks for something in the world around us, or for something that someone has done.
01'19'': From a neurological perspective, gratitude is experienced deep in the frontal lobes, in an area called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This is connected to even deeper brain regions that provide a release of pleasurable neurochemicals.
01'54'': There have been various studies about the effects of gratitude in the brain. Research has shown, through MRI scans, activity in different brain regions. Subjects that show more gratitude overall have more levels of actitvity in the hypothalamus, which is a region implicated in the release of dopamine and serotonin. Other studies have shown that there's even greater activity in the medial prefrontal cortex when gratitude is actually expressed/verbalised.
02'46'': Jason wants to know if expressing gratitude is a natural way of getting the body to increase serotonin levels. Christine warns that mental health and mental ill health are complex subjects and that gratitude isn't a cure for everything. While this can be one of the things we can do to improve our mental wellbeing, some people who are deeply depressed might still need medication in order to reboot their brain chemistry and help them to engage in the therapeutical process.
03'38'': Christine explains how some antidepressants, particularly SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Prozac, work on the brain: they don't contain serotonin but they reduce its reabsorption, thus leaving more of it in the synaptic space ( the area between two neurons.) This is increases the transmission of chemicals and consequently boosts mood.
04'46'': Jason points out that taking antidepressants didn't cure his depression but they did pick him off the floor which ultimately enabled him to move forward.
05'33'': Christine talks about a study done by neuroscientist Christina Karns who has found a link between gratitude and altruism. She found that when we are grateful we are more likely to feel happy giving, which is not only benefitting us but someone else too. This creates social connection and reciprocity.
06'23'': Christine goes over other findings from research: people that are more grateful tend to be less anxious, achieve greater goal attainment, and are generally physically healthier.
06'42'': Jason wants to know where the link between gratitude and physical health is. Christine explains that, according to the latest research, that grateful people seem to take better care of themselves: they exercise more, eat better, are less likely to be smokers and seek professional help sooner if they have physical symptoms. Gratitude also increases resilience to adversity and helps us to build better relationships, as shown in studies by names such as Emmons and Mishra.
08'16'': In one study, individuals wrote letters of gratitude together with counseling sessions, and it was found that they felt better and recovered more quickly from their psychological problems than those people who were simply asked to journal their negative experiences.
08'41'': There's more! It reduces pain: 16% of people revealed a reduction in pain when expressing gratitude. It doesn't sound like a lot but you might one day be one of those, so it's important to take it into account. It also improves sleep and reduces anxiety. It's been found that people, when expressing gratitude, have less cortisol in their system (the stress hormone.)
09'43'': Jason shares his experience with journaling gratitude, something he started shortly after being diagnosed with depression. Inspired by a podcast from Dr. Rangan Chatterjee's series he tried a little experiment at dinner time with his family. Whilst his family members weren't too thrilled about it, they gave him a gratitude journal which he's been using ever since.
13'08'': Christine points out that we can become more skilled at practicing gratitude. It takes practice, but we can strengthen our neuron networks by repetition (the Hebb rule: 'neurons that fire together wire together').
16'08'': Jason states that he can relate to the Hebb rule and that he knows it takes time, effort and perseverance, but once it turn into part of a routine it does become easy and enjoyable.
16'50'': Jason believes that practicing gratitude is something that should be introduce in the workplace as well and he wonders why it isn't automatically in the agenda. Christine thinks it's because people underestimate the power of showing gratitude. She mentions a study where people were ask to write letters of gratitude. The senders consistently underestimated how the recipients of the letters would feel and how warm and competent they would be perceived as. Finally, they overestimated how awkward the recipients of the letter would feel.
18'12'': Jason adds that people tend to get caught up on what they are doing and forget about simple gratitude actions like thank-yous. Jason explains that something he has tried to introduced in the workplace is kindness, and form him gratitude is a form of kindness.
19'31'': Christine ponders that managers should maybe focus on their own gratitude and their own behaviour rather than try to instill gratitude in others. People don't need to be taught to show gratitude, it's more about reminding to do it until it becomes automatic.
Jason's Top Tips for Improving Mental Health:
Take 5 minutes each day to reflect and practice gratitude.
Movement: Try to do 10 000 steps each day. Don't spend hours sitting on a chair, get up and move around every hour, and if possible, get a standing desk if you work in an office.
Have some regular connection with family or friends, preferably face to face.
Further reading:
Karns, Christina. The Cultivation of Pure Altruism via Gratitude: A Functional MRI Study of Change with Gratitude Practice. Published on Frontiers of Human Neuroscience, 12/12/2017.
Emmons, R. A., & Mishra, A. (2011). Why gratitude enhances well-being: What we know, what we need to know. In K. M. Sheldon, T. B. Kashdan, & M. F. Steger (Eds.), Series in positive psychology. Designing positive psychology: Taking stock and moving forward (p. 248–262). Oxford University Press.
Dr. Rangan Chatterjee's podcast series: Feel Better, Live More
Hebb's rule with an analogy: psychology and neuroscience. Published on NeuroQuotient, 14/03/2018.