Rewire Your Brain for Less Anxiety and More Joy
Ever feel like your brain has a built-in alarm system that’s constantly going off, even when there’s no danger?
That’s anxiety in action.
This stress response is your brain and body’s way of keeping you safe. Still, in today’s world, everyday stressors trigger our body’s alarm system way too often–leaving us feeling on edge, insecure, or questioning our own resilience.
Fear not, gratitude can be your secret weapon to lower stress, ease anxiety, and even lift your mood.
In this month’s post:
Gratitude reduces anxiety by calming the brain’s stress response.
Inner gratitude is powerful—appreciating personal strengths fosters resilience.
It rewires the brain, boosting dopamine, serotonin, and emotional regulation.
A natural antidepressant, gratitude reduces fear and promotes lasting happiness.
Daily practice strengthens it, making positivity and resilience second nature.
(5-minute read!)
What is Gratitude, Really?
Some psychologists define gratitude as a positive emotional response that we perceive when giving or receiving a benefit from someone. Researchers, Emmons & McCullough (2004) describe it as a sense of thankfulness for things that were not intentionally sought after, deserved, or earned, but received because of someone else’s kindness or actions.
It’s a solid definition, but it puts the power of gratitude in the hands of others. The truth is, gratitude is most powerful when we turn inward. Cultivating gratitude by looking inside and appreciating our internal resources, strengths, and experiences is vital–and much more reliable when it becomes a daily habit.
I’ve experienced the positive effects of gratitude firsthand in profound ways. After my spinal cord injury in 2013, gratitude became more than just a nice idea–it was a mindset shift that changed everything. It’s difficult to put into words the immense benefits of appreciation, but let’s just say gratitude can become a positive force in your life, and the neuroscience behind gratitude backs it up in a big way.
How Gratitude Rewires Your Brain
When you express and feel grateful, it has a positive effect on your mind and body. It’s not just about feeling good in the moment, your brain literally undergoes structural changes.
Practicing gratitude increases the grey matter volume in areas linked to joy and emotional regulation (Zahn et al., 2014). Additionally, changes in your brain’s neurochemistry actually shift your thinking and produce sustainable physical changes that support feeling better, healing, and regulating stress.
Gratitude helps wire and fire new neural connections and synapses in the bliss circuits of your brain.
Gratitude changes the way you think, facilitating cognitive restructuring, by evoking positive psychology and a perspective shift that reframes setbacks.
Gratitude ramps up dopamine and serotonin production, neurotransmitters responsible for motivation and happiness.
Gratitude reduces fear and worry, regulating stress hormones. You calm your anxiety!
What is the biggest takeaway?
Gratitude works like a natural anti-depressant. Its effects can mimic or replace the outcomes many seek from medication, producing long-lasting happiness and contentment.
By consciously practicing gratitude every day, the production of dopamine and serotonin enhance our mood immediately, helping us derive happiness from within–without relying on external sources for happiness.
A Quote:
“Enjoy the little things. For one day, you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
- Robert Brault
One more, because why not:
“Be thankful for what you have, you’ll end up having more.
If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”
- Oprah Winfrey
A Thought:
It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude, but gratitude that brings us happiness.
You can’t feel stressed and thankful at the same time.
Making Gratitude a Daily Habit
The key is consistency. Simple daily practices–like mindfulness, auditing your day for positive experiences, gratitude triggers, reflecting, and journaling–reinforce neural pathways that make appreciation and positivity second nature.
The boost in mood becomes a reliable state of being, while gratitude helps release toxic emotions and regulate your stress response, making you more resilient to anxiety and everyday challenges.
Whether you’re looking to strengthen your mental health, bounce forward from setbacks, recover sooner, or simply to feel more happiness, gratitude isn’t just a nice idea–it’s a game changer.
And the best part? It’s always within your control.
Please share this with anyone you know who handles a lot of stress or feels overwhelmed. If this message resonates, don’t hesitate to reach out and book a call with me. And please grab a copy of Never Part of The Plan if you haven’t already. :)
With gratitude,
Mike Shaw
References:
Chowdhury, M. R. (2024, September 19). The neuroscience of gratitude and effects on the brain. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2004). The psychology of gratitude (Series in affective science). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Wong, Y. J., Owen, J., Gabana, N. T., Brown, J. W., McInnis, S., Toth, P., & Gilman, L. (2018). Does gratitude writing improve the mental health of psychotherapy clients? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Psychotherapy Research, 28(2), 192–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2016.1169332
Zahn, R., Garrido, G., Moll, J., & Grafman, J. (2014). Individual differences in posterior cortical volume correlate with proneness to pride and gratitude. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(11), 1676-1683. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nst158
