Have you had this dissatisfaction feeling in your life before? It is very common for people in our world to have this type of feeling since almost everything around us tells us that we are doing something wrong. Our world and pop culture has portrayed a type of view that makes us envious of the outside, and disappointed inwardly. It even becomes bad with the way advertisers, successful people and self improvement products make you feel bad when you are not doing what you aim for as they make you look like a failure. They make us feel like it is all our fault for not working hard enough, doing the needed things, and improving ourselves.
I am sure a lot of people can relate to the things I mentioned above, and this has led to scientists looking to understand how we can counteract these impulses we get from this feelings, and this is where cognitive behavior therapy was developed to change the negative feeling in people, also for people to be able to understand and believe that their lives are worth living, Positive Psychology was developed.
That said, one question we might want to ask ourselves is "how are some people happy and satisfied with what they have even when they do not have everything", and the answer is part of what we aim to share in this post. Researchers have seen that Gratitude is what is basically required to stay happy instead of having the dissatisfaction syndrome which can lead to other psychological problems.
Depending on the individual and the event, gratitude can be a feeling, a virtue, a character trait, and a behavior. Gratitude came from reciprocity that is found in animals especially primate in the sense that we feel the need to pay someone for whatever good or kindness that they do. As our brain developed, we were able to identify selfish individuals in our society, and then place them in a completely different place. Gratitude allowed for humans to be pro-social as people who receive a favor from one person start to feel indebted to them, and when you repay them, they feel gratitude at the same time.
Scientist have been able to associate gratitude with parts of the brain responsible for the feelings of reward, and for saving and retrieving positive memories. Gratitude also prevents other feelings like envy, comparison, cynicism and materialism allowing for people who feel gratitude to be happier and satisfied. As simple as gratitude might sound, people who display this attribute suffer less from addiction, burnout, depression, and are able to handle events that are traumatic.
Gratitude has also been associated with positive social experiences which gives positive feedback loop causing positive feelings. Even when a person is in a bad place, the brain reads this differently with gratitude as it compares the current situation with worse situations in the past, thereby allowing for the place of gratitude and satisfaction since the focus is channeled towards the good things.
With trait gratitude, the ability to experience gratitude is determined by genetics, personality, and culture, this said, it is important to know that gratitude is not a cure to depression, and it should not be substituted for seeking professional help. Research has also shown that journaling gratitude is a good way to always be grateful at all times. Participants that participated in a study of gratitude journaling showed higher general life satisfaction and more happiness. So self reflection and gratitude is one way that science has shown that we can overcome dissatisfaction in our world.
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