Week 21–27 November Writing Prompt | Theme: Gratitude

The Unlikely Brain Switch That Can Turn On and Stay On

Gratitude — how are you tapping into this powerful emotion?

A selection of my gratitude photos. © Sally Prag

Gratitude practices are some of those things you hear being spoken about over and over again. But when you look at the benefits that have been found through research, you can see why.

It can be mind-blowing to see the kinds of mental, physical and emotional transformations that people experience from practising feeling grateful on a daily basis.

According to Positive Psychology, just a few of those benefits include:

• Improving our psychological well-being
• Reducing stress
• Increasing our self-esteem
• Combatting depression
• Improving our relationships and overall social support
• Making us more giving and less needy
• Improving our decision-making abilities
• Improving sleep
• Reducing blood pressure
• Increasing our frequency of exercise.

“In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with…