I had an email onHow to Feel Happier come across my inbox this morning, and I wanted to share it with you!
More on that in a minute... I want to tell you what happened BEFORE I came across the email:
I had an episode wrestling with a sofa bed in my house.
And that situation tried my patience so much, that it ended in a full fledged MELTDOWN!
I screamed, yelled, cussed everything that had been going on in my life for the past two months.
And wished that I had never given away the heavy bag in my basement, because I really could have used something to let out my frustrations on at that moment.
Not having my heavy bag anymore, I did the next best thing; I punched the couch a few times.
It actually felt good doing that.
And as I went full blown ballistic on my couch, i thought to myself how funny I must have looked in the process.
But I didn't care; all those pent up emotions needed to come out.
And boy DID THEY!
After the meltdown, I decided to check my emails and I chuckled about theHow to Feel Happier email that appeared in my inbox.
I thought how ironic it was that came to me.... today of all days!
The email made mention of how we can use gratitude to change our neurochemistry. And that recent studies have shown that the expression of gratitude can have a profound and positive effects on our health, our moods, and our relationships.
One study in particular found that the participants who practice gratitude routinely reported feeling 24% percent happier than the group who did not.
PLUS, they also reported fewer health complaints, exercised more, and showed a decrease in depression.
The gratitude group also reported being more satisfied with their lives as a whole, felt more optimism about the upcoming week, and felt considerably more connected with others than did the participants in the non-gratitude group.
How to practice gratitude routinely:
Make a space in your calendar for two minutes each day for gratitude.
When you do this, it will change your neurochemistry and raise your oxytocin, seratonin, and dopamine levels
Today I am grateful that I had my meltdown today; I released some pent up feelings and emotions that needed to come out.
And I am grateful that I had someone witness my tantrum, and was able to support me, and be with me in the moment, and let me work through it without judgement.
I will be practicing gratitude routinely for two minutes in the evening; either as a quiet moment, or as a journaling exercise.