Midweek: Can Anxiety and Gratitude Co-Exist?

It's Wednesday, and for a couple of weeks we have been talking about anxiety. I want to be clear: anxiety can be caused by physiological abnormalities, medications or their dosage, genetics, and other disorders. Causes can be environmental as well; trauma, stress, and other external stimuli. Sometimes it is necessary to seek professional medical intervention, but there exists the opportunity to conquer anxiety before it reaches that point. Science seems to indicate, gratitude is an excellent method! 

The folks at Neurolaunch write: 

Anxiety is more than just feeling stressed or worried. It’s a persistent and often overwhelming sense of fear or apprehension about future events or situations. The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” 

Persistent, overwhelming, characterized by tension and worry. This is anxiety. Not a temporary nervousness about a presentation or a driving test, but something with which one has been living for a period of time. Imagine, however, living with gratitude. Neurolaunch says gratitude recognizes and acknowledges the positive aspects of life, and shifts focus from what we lack to what we have, fostering a sense of abundance and contentment. This shift in perspective can be particularly powerful in combating negative thought patterns often associated with anxiety and depression. The patterns of negative thought are defeated by new patterns; those of thankfulness. A study by Zahn et al., 2008 (cited in Positive Psychology) states, Gratitude can change neural structures in the brain, making individuals feel happier and more content. Feeling grateful and appreciative triggers the “good” hormones and regulates effective functioning of the immune system. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to be "rewired"; as it may have been once wired in the negative by trauma or negative experiences, it can be rewired by gratitude!

Also, Positive Psychology affirms studies which support the connection between gratitude and a reduction of anxiety:

The limbic system is the part of the brain that is responsible for all emotional experiences. It consists of the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus. Studies have shown that the hippocampus and amygdala, the two main sites regulating emotions, memory, and bodily functioning, get activated with feelings of gratitude (Wong et al., 2018). This part of the brain includes reward pathways and the hypothalamus, which can boost serotonin and activate the brain stem to produce dopamine, improving mood and making us feel good (Zahn et al., 2008). 

Gratitude can be good for your brain and even increase or preserve gray matter volume (Zahn et al., 2014)! Gray matter is responsible for perception, among other things; faulty perceptions can trigger anxiety.

From healthiness360.com: The brain cannot respond to anxiety and gratitude simultaneously, as it is an “either/or” situation. Studies have shown that gratitude reduces anxiety and depression by optimizing the functioning of the autonomic nervous system and the same neurotransmitters involved in anxiety. Anxiety and gratitude can coexist, but they cannot function concurrently; the presence of gratitude improves body function to the extent its reaction to anxiety is reduced.

What a marvelous machine God has given each of us; but we see the effects of mankind's sin on its function. We see how wrong perceptions, lies we have believed, our own sin, and the turmoil of a fallen world have impacted our health. Anxiety is an issue of health; the health of our minds, our hearts, and our bodies. Scripture exhorts us again and again to give thanks and rejoice, to take our thought life captive, dwelling on what God says, crowding out harmful thinking, and to submit to the Holy Spirit's work as He renews our mind and continues His sanctifying work. Science confirms what God's Word says about emotional well-being. Anxiety and gratitude can coexist, but only one can dominate the moment. Truth will decide the battle.