The evidence is convergent. Multiple independent sources reach the same conclusion, the underlying mechanism is well-characterized, and even the field's most cautious voices treat it as worth doing.
They're actually neural circuits in the brain that are specifically wired for pro-social thoughts and behaviors. And these are distinctly different from the circuits in the brain that are involved in defensive behaviors.
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And if you keep imagining this seesaw imagery, what's really beautiful about gratitude practices is that if they're performed repeatedly, and not even that often, but repeatedly, then one can actually shift their neural circuits such that the seesaw that I'm calling pro-social versus defensive behaviors, can actually start to tilt.
Now, the existence of these two neuro circuits that I've placed on this sort of a metaphorical seesaw, if you will, runs counter to a lot of the messaging or the ideas that were put forth in the last century about the psychology of happiness and gratitude, versus the psychology of depression and struggle and concern about the future.
These circuits that we're calling pro-social circuits light up in the brain in neuroimaging, meaning the neurons are firing more actively, more electrically robustly; sort of like turning up the volume on these neural circuits in the brain.
So we now know with certainty that a regular gratitude practice can shift the pro-social circuit so that they dominate our physiology and our mindset in ways that can enhance many, many aspects of our physical and mental health by default.
The way to think about gratitude is that falls under this category of pro-social behaviors, which are designed to bring us closer to different types of things, and to enhance the level of detail that we extract from those experiences.
The key thing for today's discussion is that gratitude turns out to be one of the most potent wedges by which we can insert our thinking, and as you also see, the physiology of our body, between these two circuits, and give a little more levity, if you will, to the side of the seesaw that's associated with positive pro-social feelings.
What this means is that we now know with certainty that a regular gratitude practice can shift the prosocial circuits so that they dominate our physiology and our mindset in ways that can enhance many, many aspects of our physical and mental health, by default.
There are actually neural circuits in the brain that are specifically wired for prosocial thoughts and behaviors. So, without getting into too much detail just yet, we will later, we have circuits in the brain that are what we call 'appetitive.' They are designed to bring us closer to things and to bring us into closer relation to the details of that sensory experience.
The key thing for today's discussion is that gratitude turns out to be one of the most potent wedges by which we can insert our thinking, and as you also see, the physiology of our body, between these two circuits and give a little more levity, if you will, to the side of the seesaw that's associated with positive prosocial feelings.