Gratitude: Your Brain’s Secret Weapon Against the Crappy Stuff

Grat Journal

Summary: Every time you choose gratitude, somewhere, a hummingbird finds its nectar. Or at least, you become 10% less likely to flip off that guy who cut you off in traffic. Let’s talk about it.

Alright, listen up, all you ungrateful little gremlins! It’s time to stop scrolling through #blessed posts and actually get your gratitude game on point. Brace yourself, Queen, ’cause we’re about to dive into why being thankful isn’t just for social media influencers and your overly cheerful Aunt Becky (I would probably get along with her, though).

Let’s Get Real: The Science Behind Your Ungrateful Ass

Here’s the deal: your brain is like a drama queen, always looking for the next crisis. Well, guess what? You can trick that drama queen into chilling the heck out. How? By practicing gratitude, you sneaky little genius.

When you start appreciating stuff – even the small crap like your coffee not tasting like burnt tires – your brain goes, “Oh snap, time to release the good stuff!” We’re talking dopamine and serotonin, baby. It’s like a party in your head, and stress isn’t invited1.

But if you keep ignoring the good stuff, your brain throws a tantrum. It’s all “Woe is me!” and “Everything sucks!” Next thing you know, you’re stress-eating an entire bag of chips and wondering why you feel like garbage.

I didn’t just pull all of this out of my, you know what. Gratitude is a legitimate mental health powerhouse. Research2 (by people much smarter than me) shows it can kick anxiety and depression’s butt by pumping up those positive vibes3. It’s like a reset button for your mind when life’s got you down. So, for those of you battling the black cloud of depression, gratitude might just be your new bestie by redirecting your focus from the doom and gloom to the good stuff in life. It’s not a cure, but it’s a damn good tool to have in your mental health toolkit.

But it gets even better because gratitude isn’t just a mental health game-changer; it’s got your physiological health covered, too. I’m talking about better sleep4, less inflammation5, and a heart that’s doing the happy dance.

Plus, grateful ladies tend to make healthier choices overall—like quitting smoking, drinking less alcohol, and hitting the gym instead of the drive-thru. These healthy choices naturally reduce stress hormones and tension, giving your immune system a boost. Hell yeah.

Gratitude: Not Just for Hippies Anymore

If you think you’re “too cool” for gratitude journals and sappy self-love fests. Well, guess what, Negative Nancy? You’re not. In fact, you’re sabotaging your own happiness faster than you can say “FML.”

Here’s the deal: gratitude isn’t about pretending everything’s sunshine and rainbows. It’s about finding the diamond in the pile of crap life sometimes hands you. It’s like having a superhuman ability that helps you see the good stuff even when life’s trying to pants you in front of your boss.

Truthfully, focusing on what you don’t have is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. That mindset and attitude will make you feel like a loser and annoy everyone around you (I promise you that). Nobody likes a miserable downer, Karen! We all have problems; you’re not special in that realm.

Gratitude Hacks for the Unmotivated

Now, I’m not asking you to turn into a gratitude guru overnight. Baby steps, people! Here are some easy-peasy ways to get your gratitude on without feeling like a total cheese ball:

  1. Gratitude journal? More like “Things That Didn’t Totally Suck Today” list. Jot down three things each morning (or night). Even if it’s just “My alarm didn’t give me a heart attack,” “I didn’t step in dog poop,” and “I have a comfy bed to sleep in.”
  2. Family dinner gratitude share? No. How about “What’s the Least Crappy Thing That Happened Today?” game. Bonus points for making your moody teenager participate.
  3. Thank you notes are so 1950. Send a quick “Hey, thanks for not being a total ass” text instead. It’s the thought that counts, right?
  4. Notice your surroundings? Sure, if by surroundings you mean, “Holy cow, the sun is actually shining in the dead of winter in Buffalo, NY!”
  5. Thank customer service workers, bank tellers, and cashiers – don’t be a total jerk. Simple as that.

Reality Check: Life Still Sucks Sometimes

Look, I’m not saying gratitude will magically fix everything. Life can still be a dumpster fire sometimes (a lot of the time). But gratitude is like a fire extinguisher – it helps you deal with the flames without burning your eyebrows off.

It’s about finding the silver lining in the storm cloud that just peed all over your parade. Did your date ghost you? At least you didn’t waste too much time on a loser. Did your car break down? Hey, impromptu cardio session – plus, even having a car for it to break down is still a win!

The Ripple Effect: Don’t Be a Gratitude Hoarder

Here’s the thing: It doesn’t have to be toxic positivity, but it also doesn’t have to be toxic negativity all the time. It’s just that when you start radiating gratitude vibes, it’s like you’re a walking, talking happiness dealer. People start getting high on your good energy. Before you know it, you’ve created a gratitude gang, and everyone’s seeing life through rose-colored glasses (or at least slightly less sh*t-tinted ones).

Gratitude is a badass life hack that can turn your frown upside down and maybe even make you slightly less of a pain in everyone’s ass. So, be grateful, you glorious mess!

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Sources

  1. https://www.nuvancehealth.org/health-tips-and-news/your-brain-when-you-give-and-practice-gratitude ↩︎
  2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-020-00261-5#citeas ↩︎
  3. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/health-benefits-gratitude ↩︎
  4. Wood AM, Joseph S, Lloyd J, Atkins S. Gratitude influences sleep through the mechanism of pre-sleep cognitions. J Psychosom Res. 2009 Jan;66(1):43-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.09.002. Epub 2008 Nov 22. PMID: 19073292. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19073292/ ↩︎
  5. Moieni M, Irwin MR, Haltom KEB, Jevtic I, Meyer ML, Breen EC, Cole SW, Eisenberger NI. Exploring the role of gratitude and support-giving on inflammatory outcomes. Emotion. 2019 Sep;19(6):939-949. doi: 10.1037/emo0000472. Epub 2018 Sep 27. PMID: 30265078. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30265078/ ↩︎

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