Practicing Gratitude Daily

By Dr. Evelyn Higgins

November is a reflective time of year, one packed with beauty, splendour, wonder and tradition - a perfect time to ponder gratitude. Whether you are seasoned in the art of gratitude or a novice spending time developing this skill, you will reap huge benefits. The emotional and physiological benefits are numerous. Being thankful and holding that feeling for just 15-20 seconds can actually reduce the stress hormones in your body, relax the coronary arteries and increase the blood supply to your heart. Another bonus, which we are all concerned about today as we face the H1N1 swine flu is that being grateful can actually increase your immune system. Doesn't this sound like a skill that you should spend some time investing in? By contrast, the use of anti-depressant medication has nearly doubled over the last 10-year period from 1996-2005. Currently, 10 percent of the population over the age of 6 is taking some kind of psychotropic drug. Is being "medicated" the new normal? [more…]