Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is this week and the Holidays are right around the corner. Where did the year go?   

As we begin to get into the hustle and bustle of the season, it is important to remember to enjoy every day. To really notice and appreciate the gifts given to us on a daily basis will help us both physically and mentally.   

How so you ask? Well there is a substantial amount of research that has proven that being “thankful” actually releases brain chemicals that make us happier and healthier.  One exercise that I give my sad and depressed patients is to make a list of all the things they have to be thankful. This list should include everything: food so that you are not hungry, a roof over your head, clean water to drink, friends, family, your eyesight, your hearing, your sense of taste, your ability to smell, a beautiful backyard, birds that sing, children that are happy and healthy and the list goes on from there to material gifts of money in the bank, a nice car to drive, etc.  You should be able to fill up at least a page to two pages.

If you have chronic depression read the list twice a day or when you start to get down. And if you think some of the above is silly or taken for granted, then think on a global level about how many people do not have the basics and that we should be grateful that we live where we do and have what we have. We cannot be sad while we are being “thankful”. This too has been proven. 

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day this year, but also try to get into the habit of being grateful every day and reap the rewards of “thankfulness”.

Yours in health,

Dr. Linda Miles, D.O.M.