The Science of Gratitude

contributed by Christina Costa

Positive psychologist and Rogel patient Christina Costa on the ways gratitude rewires the mind and provides a map for navigating treatment.

Christine Costa

When Christina Costa was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 27, she relied on her professional training to navigate treatment. An assistant teaching professor of psychology at Wayne State University, Christina, then a graduate school, studies the positive benefits of gratitude on the brain and stress response. During treatment, she used practices she learned from her research to support her mental and physical health while healing. Here, Christina shares insight on why gratitude can empower people who are facing a cancer diagnosis, treatment and healing:

• The brain and body: Gratitude affects the body physically. When we practice gratitude, our brains emit more positive, good-feeling neurotransmitters, like serotonin and dopamine. There’s a certain circuit activated when we practice gratitude that’s associated with the reward center of our brain. There have even been studies on the immune response to illness that found those who practice gratitude have a stronger immune response and pain tolerance.
• In practice: Admittedly, I was not doing a lot of gratitude practicing in my own life before my diagnosis, but these habits can benefit everyone, even those who aren’t in treatment. Journaling is a great place to start. Every morning, I write down things I’m grateful for; sometimes, they involve my body and my diagnosis but oftentimes they aren’t related at all, like being grateful the sun is shining. Some people like to write in a physical journal, but for me it’s a document on my computer. Keep it simple; this shouldn’t be another item on the to-do list. If I was going to the hospital for surgery, starting my day off with things I could focus on that I was grateful for helped me get through it.
• Look to others: Another big practice is displaying gratitude for others. We often think of this as doing something nice for someone else, which is important, of course. But those acts -- holding the door open for a stranger, calling a relative, telling someone what you appreciate about them -- also have a big effect on our own levels of happiness. For me in the hospital, this looked like not only expressing gratitude for my main care team, but also making real connections with the people who drew my blood, people I saw every other day for months. It helped to make the hospital a more positive, meaningful place for me to be.
• Find your own mantra: For me, language around “fighting” cancer and treatment being a “battle” didn’t feel natural. If it empowers you, go for it. But it can be helpful to reflect on what words make you feel the strongest, the most resilient and like the most you. Taking control over the story we tell ourselves about our diagnosis and treatment journeys can go a long way toward creating an experience that reflects who we are, which helps us find gratitude.
• Not toxic positivity: A gratitude practice can be misinterpreted as “toxic positivity,” or pretending like everything’s OK and not allowing for sadness or anger. But in reality, practicing gratitude acknowledges that things are out of our control and often not OK. It conditions our brains, like exercise for a muscle, to still find things we connect with that make us feel really appreciative of the present moment. Remember, it can be small: the breeze on your cheek, a smile from a stranger, an easily found parking spot. It all counts.

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