ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Attitude FOCUSING ON THE POSITIVE AND PRACTICING GRATITUDE IS HEALING By Dave Scheiber

of Gratitude

Healing has its roots in more than medicine and myriad health care strategies. It can also grow from the simple human emotion of gratitude—and ultimately result in thankful patients becoming dedicated donors.

“The power of expressing gratitude is becoming a well-researched and much more understood concept,” said Seema Weinstein, Ph.D., manager of Psychology and Neuropsychology at Tampa General Hospital.

Weinstein, who has been a Tampa General psychologist for more than 30 years, said that recognizing gratitude as a healing agent can be found in the positive psychology movement of the late 1990s. Instead of the traditional approach of identifying abnormal behavior, positive psychology focuses on what’s right with people—and on ways they can feel worthwhile and experience joy.

“One of the things we know is that people who engage in active gratitude exercises actually experience lower levels of depression and anxiety in a measurable way than they did prior to engaging in gratitude exercises,” she said. “Gratitude isn’t just about saying thank you or appreciating something. One of the core concepts is that you’re affirming that the source of goodness in the world is outside of yourself. And that’s probably the key for people who are grateful patients and grateful givers.”

Weinstein advocates adopting a practice to reinforce feelings of gratitude—a simple technique called the “Three Good Things Exercise.” The idea is to increase a sense of personal well-being by redirecting a negative thought to a positive one.

“ F o r e x a m p l e , i f I ’ m s t a r t i n g t o g e t a g g r a v a t e d i n t r a f f i c , I w o u l d s t o p a n d a s k , ‘ O k a y , w h a t a r e t h r e e t h i n g s I ’ m g r a t e f u l f o r ? ’ T h e y c a n b e s i m p l e t h i n g s , s u c h a s , ‘ I ’ m h a p p y p e o p l e a r e o b s e r v i n g t h e s p e e d l i m i t t o d a y . ’ J u s t r e c o g n i z e t h e l i t t l e t h i n g s y o u a p p r e c i a t e — i t ’ s a m i n d s e t t h a t a l l o w s y o u t o b e i n a d i f f e r e n t p l a c e . ”

Neuroscience studies show neurotransmitters are released when people are engaged in a gratitude exercise, Weinstein explained. “Gratitude creates more dopamine and serotonin,” she said. “Those are transmitters that make you feel better.”

Humans are wired to see things through

a negative lens, Weinstein explained, which is embedded in our DNA as a way of identifying threats. As a result, it takes extra work to see the positive in challenging situations.

“By engaging in positive gratitude exercises, it allows you to make a shift in perspective,” she said. “In medicine, we always have to look for what’s wrong with people. That’s our job. But by embracing this shift, and looking for what’s right, it can help you be healthier as a provider, too.”

Weinstein said that health care providers should be open to expressions of gratitude from patients: “As caregivers, we don’t do as well as we could in accepting compliments from patients because we feel like we’re just doing our job. But it’s much more than that to them. It can be something really small that makes people feel like they’re being cared for well.”

She believes “there is a shift culturally with more people talking about this. What makes people resilient? This is one of those things. Having an attitude of gratitude can help you be more resilient, even when faced with a challenge.”

Top and below: Amid the pandemic, inspirational messages of hope and gratitude greet TGH employees. Right: Seema Weinstein, Ph.D.