Thanksgiving is a special time to reflect on who we are, how far we’ve come, and all that we have to look forward to. And this year, we at BC + PT have so much to be grateful for, including you! We know that practicing gratitude is a “nice-to-do” every Thanksgiving, but incorporating gratitude into your daily life can have some incredible benefits that we as a conservative care practice can certainly get behind.
What is gratitude?
Gratitude is the quality of being thankful. By spending time to show appreciation for and returning the kindness that is given to us, we are training our brain to spend more time thinking about the positive things in our lives. By focusing on positive things and feeling appreciation for the experiences and physical objects and people in our lives, we are able to not only build stronger relationships, but also improve our health and make us overall happier.
What benefits does gratitude have?
According to the Greater Good Magazine, feeling and expressing gratitude has increased the happiness levels of participants in their study. People who take the time to take inventory of the things they have to be grateful for also seem to have reported fewer physical symptoms of their health problems, including headaches.
There seems to be a correlation between those who are thankful for what they have, including their health and body, and those who take care of those things more. These things include sleeping better and even just choosing more positive nutritional food to eat. Practicing the act of taking time to sit and think about what you are grateful for every day before you go to sleep tends to help people get a better rest.
Comparatively, in this study from Berkeley, researchers asked women to journal about “previously unappreciated people and things in their lives” for two weeks, while they had a control group journal just about daily events. The first group was reported to have a lower blood pressure than the control group. The exercise of practicing gratitude and appreciation tends to have a physical side effect that benefits both the body and the soul.
How to practice gratitude
If you are having a hard time trying to figure out how to be grateful, that is okay! It is also perfectly normal not to know where to start. Many people, especially post-pandemic, are still unsure of how to get back into that positive mindset. Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself:
Who is someone in your life that listens to you?
What is something that you are thankful to have put behind you these past few years?
What aspects of your city are you grateful for?
What made you smile today?
What small victory did you have today?
What obstacle did you overcome today?
What places did your feet take you, and what did your eyes allow you to see today?
These are just a few of thousands of questions that you could start with! Dig in and see what you find.
Gratitude and wellness all-year round
Though most families share what they’re grateful for every Thanksgiving, it’s important- and helpful to your health!- to express and practice gratitude every single day.
This Thanksgiving, WE are most grateful for the opportunity to help out our communities, and to be able to see and treat so many people and touch their lives in a positive way through conservative care. Living a life full of wellness doesn’t have to be hard, and helping our patients on that journey is something that we pride ourselves on! Thank you to all of our amazing doctors here at BC + PT and to all of our amazing patients that chose us to help them on their journey to recovery or wellness. To meet any one of these amazing docs, give us a call today, or schedule an appointment with us using this form.