Giving Thanks

Welcome back, Natural Health Family.

I hope everyone is ready for thanksgiving and possibly already started prepping and decorating for the Christmas and holiday season. Another year and we are already close to thanksgiving, can you believe it? Time is interesting as it always seems to go by fast. However, when we give thanks and are more thankful in our lives it helps us to enjoy all the moments that are right there in front of us, sometimes we can just be too “caught up” to realize it. 

Why is being grateful, or how can being thankful be, beneficial for ourselves and our health? Let’s break it down a bit. When you have a feeling, positive or negative, and direct it towards a person, goal, memory, etc. what does that do? The feeling is an energetic/electrical signal that causes the nervous system to produce a cascade of chemicals to be made in the body. Of course we all have different viewpoints and we all experience a wide range of emotions throughout our life depending on circumstances. Nonetheless, when we practice gratitude or thanksgiving, it produces chemicals which help bring ease to the body, help to improve our immunity, and allow our bodies to function in a healthy way. So, we may get imbalanced from time to time, therefore it is helpful to remind ourselves and others that we are all in this life together, that negative things will happen, but that we are greater than what has happened or our circumstances. Gratitude reminds us that whatever life throws at us that we can still look for and be thankful for many things in life, sometimes even before having them.

For many people life can seem overwhelming and that is alright. However, we can see that whatever it is, it too shall pass. So rather than waiting for a special day to be thankful and express gratitude, why not start today? It’s not about wanting or wishing for something, even if health related, but rather looking for something to be grateful for. Start small and expand so that your “joy be made full.”

Thanks for reading and have a blessed Thanksgiving.

-Dr. Chip