[New-Poetry] Thank You!

[Anny Ballardini]

A friend forwarded the following article, by which I would like to thank you
all on this List for so so much, and I do mean it, it is just sooooo much !
Thank You,

Anny
(let's see if I stop smoking now, ach! the devil in mE)

*Giving thanks can make you healthier, happier*



By Kim Painter <http://www.usatoday.com/community/tags/reporter.aspx?id=367>,
USA TODAY



Thursday, in between the cheese ball appetizers and the pumpkin pie
desserts, most of us will indulge in something proven to have powerful
health benefits.

No, it's not that extra serving of stuffing. It's the expression of
gratitude — the simple act of thanking God, thanking others or just counting
your blessings. Saying thanks, it turns out, isn't just pious or polite.
It's good for you.

*FAITH & REASON: *Forum on Thanksgiving prayers: What do you pray
for?<http://www.usatoday.com/community/forums.aspx?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3aec018ff9-2afb-4253-a3a7-c229861d7279Forum%3a8c500347-cee1-4456-a1fb-188ea5be845bDiscussion%3a7d040844-7c64-4bc8-ac8e-4bdb3a6b38d5&plckCategoryCurrentPage=0>

But there's a catch: You have to do it even when the calendar does not say
"Thanksgiving."

"It doesn't really work if you do it only once a year," says Sonja
Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at the University of
California-Riverside.

FIND MORE STORIES IN:
God<http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Religion+and+beliefs/God,+Saints,+Prophets/God>|
Thanksgiving<http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Events+and+Awards/Holidays+%28non-religious%29/Thanksgiving>|
University
of Michigan<http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Organizations/Schools/University+of+Michigan>|
Alzheimer???s <http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Alzheimer???s>
| University
of California-Riverside<http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/University+of+California-Riverside>|
Chris
Peterson <http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Chris+Peterson> | Sonja
Lyubomirsky <http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Sonja+Lyubomirsky>

Practicing gratitude is like exercising, says Robert Emmons, professor of
psychology at the University of California-Davis: Use it, and you won't lose
it, even when times are tough, as they are for many folks right now.

Lyubomirsky and Emmons are among researchers who have studied the power of
gratitude and learned, for example, that:

•People with high blood pressure not only lower their blood pressure, but
feel less hostile and are more likely quit smoking and lose weight when they
practice gratitude. In one study, patients just called a research hotline
once a week to report on the things that made them grateful.

•People who care for relatives with Alzheimer's disease feel less stress and
depression when they keep daily gratitude journals, listing the positive
things in their lives.

•Those who maintain a thankful attitude through life appear to have lower
risks of several disorders, including depression, phobias, bulimia and
alcoholism.

•Most people can lift their mood simply by writing a letter of thanks to
someone. Hand-deliver the letter, and the boost in happiness can last weeks
or months.

Practicing gratitude in these systematic ways changes people by changing
brains that "are wired for negativity, for noticing gaps and omissions,"
Emmons says. "When you express a feeling, you amplify it. When you express
anger, you get angrier; when you express gratitude, you become more
grateful."

And grateful people, he says, don't focus so much on pain and problems. They
also are quicker to realize they have friends, families and communities to
assist them in times of need. They see how they can help others in distress
as well, he says.

After 9/11, many people reported increased feelings of gratitude, says Chris
Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.

It's too soon for studies on the influence of the nation's financial
meltdown, but Peterson says he hears a lot of people counting their blessing
these days. "There are people who say 'It could be worse, and I'm glad I
have my health.' "

Gratitude won't get those people new jobs or replenish their retirement
accounts, but it could give them the energy to tackle their challenges,
Peterson says:

"It can only help."

 STRATEGIES TO SHOW THANKS

You know how to say "thanks," don't you? Just saying the word -- to the
spouse who makes your morning coffee or the grocery clerk who packs your
bags -- is a good start. But giving your gratitude muscles a workout means
doing more, the experts say. While no single strategy works for everyone,
here are some worth trying:

• Keep a gratitude journal, listing the gifts in your life, daily,
twice-weekly or weekly. Try to be specific. And don't repeat the same things
each time.

• Make a list of people or circumstances in your life that you take for
granted -- and then consider what your life would be like without them (what
researcher Robert Emmons calls "the George Bailey effect," referring to the
character whose absence ruins a whole town in the 1946 movie *It's a
Wonderful Life*).

• Write a letter of thanks to someone who made a difference in your life.
Consider delivering and reading it in person.

For more, read Emmons' book, *Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You*
*Happier,* and *The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the
Life* *You Want*, by Sonja Lyubomirsky.

And for an amusing take from Quinn McDonald, a Glendale, Ariz., life coach,
see her blog post "Gratitude Journal: New Age Hype or Useful
Tool?<http://quinncreative.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/gratitude-journal-new-age-hype-or-useful-tool/>
"





http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/painter/2008-11-23-your-health_N.htm



-- 
Anny Ballardini
http://annyballardini.blogspot.com/
http://www.fieralingue.it/modules.php?name=poetshome
http://www.moriapoetry.com/ebooks.html
I Tell You: One must still have chaos in one to give birth to a dancing
star!
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