Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”

– Friedrich Nietzsche

By putting oneself through voluntary stressful activities over time and with diligent practice, one can better cope with involuntary stressors in everyday life. One does not have to become great at the activities, but rather better by putting in the focus, time, and effort. Becoming better and mindful of the activity are the goals of self-cultivation that may lead to self-realization. I have come to understand that in order to practice self-cultivation certain components need to become apparent to the practitioner:

Regulation of the emotions (to create space between thoughts and relative feelings/emotions)
Closing, minimalizing, or becoming less distracted by the 5 senses of vision, sound, taste, touch, and smell (to bring about tranquility)
Become aware of being in the present moment (interrupt the pattern of the daily mundane tasks and chores)
Live with methods of self-cultivation in your daily practices, as opposed to waiting for the perfect time, place and environment in order to become present.

Depending upon various practices and activities, an individual can strive to achieve these facets of self-cultivation.

The Impact of New Challenges on Eustress, Brain Development, and Mental Well-Being

Pursuing new challenges, usually skillful methods such as learning to play a musical instrument, singing, dancing, earning a new degree, practicing tai chi or yoga, learning another language, or engaging in creative arts like painting or sculpting, has profound effects on both physical and mental well-being. These activities stimulate cognitive functions, contribute to brain growth, and promote the release of “good” neurotransmitters, which influence a wide range of physiological and psychological processes. One key outcome of these challenges is the experience of eustress, or positive stress, which enhances performance, resilience, and brain development. In particular, activities that involve learning and personal growth have been shown to increase the size of the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) and stimulate beneficial changes in the brain and body.

Eustress and Its Role in Well-Being

Eustress is a form of stress that stimulates motivation and enhances performance. Unlike distress, which can be overwhelming and harmful, eustress promotes mental clarity, emotional satisfaction, and resilience. When engaging in new challenges, the brain responds by increasing arousal and focus, which leads to the release of certain hormones and neurotransmitters that support cognitive and emotional regulation. This “positive stress” creates a cycle in which effort and reward are reinforced, helping individuals build greater resilience over time.

For example, learning to play an instrument or practicing yoga requires sustained focus, which triggers a release of adrenaline and norepinephrine from the locus coeruleus in the brain and the adrenal glands just above each kidney. These hormones sharpen focus, increase heart rate, and enhance physical readiness. This initial physiological response primes the body for action, while mental engagement leads to emotional satisfaction as the individual experiences mastery over a new skill.

In the long term, eustress fosters a growth mindset—a belief that abilities can improve with effort and persistence. This mindset encourages individuals to pursue even greater challenges, further enhancing cognitive flexibility, problem-solving ability, and overall mental well-being.

Brain Development and the Anterior Mid-Cingulate Cortex

One of the key regions of the brain involved in processing new challenges is the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC). The aMCC is located within the cingulate gyrus and is involved in cognitive control, motivation, error processing, and emotional regulation. It is particularly active when individuals engage in tasks that require effort, attention, and decision-making—such as learning a new instrument, mastering yoga postures, or solving academic problems. Research shows that the aMCC grows in response to sustained mental effort, with increased volume and thickness in this region linked to improved cognitive performance.

As individuals challenge themselves to learn new tasks, such as those that require fine motor skills, sustained attention, or problem-solving, the aMCC helps process errors, monitor performance, and regulate the allocation of cognitive resources. This leads to improved task performance over time and a greater sense of accomplishment. Moreover, activities that demand attention and effort promote neuroplasticity, allowing the brain to reorganize and strengthen neural connections in the aMCC and other related regions.

Neurotransmitters: Production and Impact on Brain and Body

Engaging in new challenges triggers the release of key neurotransmitters—dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and GABA—which regulate mood, motivation, emotional balance, and physical well-being. Understanding where these neurotransmitters are produced in the brain and body, and the areas they affect, sheds light on their powerful influence on mental and physical health.

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid): GABA is a neurotransmitter that inhibits neural activity, promoting calmness and reducing anxiety. It is produced in the brain by GABAergic neurons and is particularly active in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Practices such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi enhance GABA production, which helps to regulate the body’s response to stress and promotes relaxation. GABA inhibits excessive neural activity in the amygdala, reducing anxiety and improving emotional control

Dopamine: Produced primarily in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the brain, dopamine plays a crucial role in motivation, reward, and the pursuit of pleasure. It is released in response to activities that offer a sense of accomplishment or learning, such as completing a difficult task or mastering a new skill. Dopamine acts on the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex, enhancing focus, goal-directed behavior, and anticipation of rewards. It also influences motor control via its actions on the basal ganglia, particularly during activities that require fine motor skills like playing a musical instrument or practicing tai chi.

Serotonin: This neurotransmitter is produced in the raphe nuclei, located in the brainstem, and is widely distributed throughout the brain. Serotonin regulates mood, anxiety, and emotional well-being. Practices such as yoga, tai chi, and other mindfulness activities stimulate serotonin production, which acts on the amygdala (responsible for emotional processing), the hippocampus (involved in memory formation), and the prefrontal cortex (critical for higher-order thinking and decision-making). Increased serotonin helps reduce anxiety, stabilize mood, and improve emotional resilience.

Endorphins: Produced in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, endorphins act as natural painkillers and are released during physical activity, including yoga, tai chi, and other forms of exercise. These chemicals bind to opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, reducing pain perception and promoting a sense of euphoria. Endorphins also interact with areas of the brain involved in emotional regulation, such as the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex, contributing to feelings of relaxation and well-being.

Enhancing Cognitive Functions and Neuroplasticity

Challenging activities like learning to play an instrument, earning a degree, or engaging in creative pursuits stimulate the brain’s neuroplasticity—the ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. This process strengthens cognitive functions like memory, attention, and problem-solving, while also promoting the growth of new neurons (neurogenesis).

For example, playing a musical instrument engages multiple brain regions, including the motor cortex (for hand movements), the auditory cortex (for processing sound), and the prefrontal cortex (for planning and decision-making). As the brain coordinates these functions, new neural connections form between these regions, enhancing cognitive flexibility and executive function. Similarly, activities like painting or sculpting stimulate the visual cortex and areas involved in creativity and spatial reasoning, such as the parietal lobe, leading to improved creative problem-solving skills and greater cognitive resilience.

Physiological Benefits of Physical and Mental Challenges

Engaging in new physical and mental challenges has a wide range of benefits for both the brain and body. Practices like tai chi and yoga not only improve physical health by enhancing balance, coordination, and flexibility, but they also promote mind-body integration, which has significant cognitive and emotional benefits. These activities stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation, reduces cortisol levels (the stress hormone), and improves immune function.

Mentally engaging activities, such as earning a new degree or learning to paint, stimulate neural circuits that enhance cognitive function, while also promoting the production of neurotransmitters that regulate mood and emotional well-being. The combination of mental effort and physical relaxation leads to a holistic sense of well-being, with improvements in both mental clarity and physical health.

Conclusion

Pursuing new challenges, whether physical, intellectual, or creative, triggers a cascade of positive effects in the brain and body. The experience of eustress fosters resilience, motivation, and personal growth, while activities that engage the brain leading to neuroplasticity and cognitive enhancement. Key brain regions, such as the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, grow in response to new challenges, while neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and GABA promote emotional balance and well-being. Through these mechanisms, challenging ourselves with new pursuits enhances both our physical and mental health, allowing us to thrive and achieve greater fulfillment in life. Overall, it doesn’t really matter if the individual becomes great or even good in their pursuit of skillful methods. What is more important is the intent and effort puts towards the activity itself which becomes a conduit to self-cultivation and hopefully self-realization.

References: Eustress and Positive Stress:

Selye, H. (1974). Stress without distress. New York: Harper & Row.
Nelson, D. L., & Simmons, B. L. (2003). Eustress: An elusive construct, an engaging pursuit. In P. L. Perrewe & D. C. Ganster (Eds.), Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being (Vol. 3, pp. 265-322). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. doi: 10.1016/S1479-3555(03)03007-5

Neuroplasticity and Learning:

Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. Viking.
Puderbaugh, M., & Emmady, P. D. (2022). Neuroplasticity. StatPearls. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557834/
Zatorre, R. J., & Schlaug, G. (2009). Music and the brain: advances in cognitive neuroscience. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1060(1), 231-241. doi: 10.1196/annals.1360.017

Anterior Mid-Cingulate Cortex (aMCC) and Cognitive Control:

Shackman, A. J., Salomons, T. V., Slagter, H. A., Fox, A. S., Winter, J. J., & Davidson, R. J. (2011). The integration of negative affect, pain and cognitive control in the cingulate cortex. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(3), 154-167. doi: 10.1038/nrn2994
Posner, M. I., & Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Research on attention networks as a model for the integration of psychological science. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 1-23. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085516

Dopamine Production and Function:

Wise, R. A. (2004). Dopamine, learning and motivation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5(6), 483-494. doi: 10.1038/nrn1406
Schultz, W. (1998). Predictive reward signal of dopamine neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology, 80(1), 1-27. doi: 10.1152/jn.1998.80.1.1

Serotonin and Emotional Regulation:

Fisher, P. M., Meltzer, C. C., Ziolko, S. K., Price, J. C., & Hariri, A. R. (2006). Capacity for 5-HT1A-mediated autoregulation predicts amygdala reactivity. Nature Neuroscience, 9(11), 1362-1363. doi: 10.1038/nn1785
Berger, M., Gray, J. A., & Roth, B. L. (2009). The expanded biology of serotonin. Annual Review of Medicine, 60, 355-366. doi: 10.1146/annurev.med.60.042307.110802

Endorphins and Exercise:

Boecker, H., Sprenger, T., Spilker, M. E., Henriksen, G., Koppenhoefer, M., Wagner, K. J., … & Tolle, T. R. (2008). The runner’s high: Opioidergic mechanisms in the human brain. Cerebral Cortex, 18(11), 2523-2531. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhn013
Raichlen, D. A., & Polk, J. D. (2013). Linking brains and brawn: exercise and the evolution of human neurobiology. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1750), 20122250. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.2250

GABA and Stress Reduction:

Watanabe, M., Maemura, K., Kanbara, K., Tamayama, T., & Hayasaki, H. (2002). GABA and GABA receptors in the central nervous system and other organs. International Review of Cytology, 213, 1-47. doi: 10.1016/S0074-7696(02)13011-7

Streeter, C. C., Jensen, J. E., Perlmutter, R. M., Cabral, H. J., Tian, H., Terhune, D. B., … & Renshaw, P. F. (2007). Yoga Asana sessions increase brain GABA levels: a pilot study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 13(4), 419-426. doi: 10.1089/acm.2007.6338

I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, physical fitness, stress management, human behavior, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage (acupressure), Daoyin (yoga), qigong, tai chi, and baguazhang.

Please contact me if you, your business, organization, or group, might be interested in hosting me to speak on a wide spectrum of topics relative to better health, fitness, and well-being.

I look forward to further sharing more of my message by partnering with hospitals, wellness centers, VA centers, schools on all levels, businesses, and individuals who see the value in building a stronger nation through building a healthier population.

I also have hundreds of FREE education video classes, lectures, and seminars available on my YouTube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBodyExercises

Many of my publications can be found on Amazon at:

http://www.Amazon.com/author/jimmoltzan

My holistic health blog is available at:

https://mindandbodyexercises.wordpress.com/

http://www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

Reducing Daily Stress Experienced by High School Students – Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Techniques

See something, say something, right? Do something!

Our teenage youths have been in distress now and for many years past. So much talk, but so little action. I am trying to do something, and it is time-proven and with a clear plan and direction.

Reducing daily stress experienced by high school students is possible through Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques. I believe this to be accurate, as I have practiced and taught many stress management techniques for over 40 years to adults of all ages.

The goal of my proposed intervention is to reduce the typical daily stress that teenagers experience regularly on the individual level, while in high school. Daily stress often leads to mental health ailments of anxiety, depression, impaired focus, and lack of quality sleep. The target audience for this intervention is high school students, 14-18 years of age. Promoting focusing on mental health and well-being is crucial for overall health. This will be accomplished by myself or a qualified professional guiding participants through the various stages of change within the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) to encourage the practices of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). MBSR therapy is a meditation strategy that is used to help with stress management, sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, hypertension, chronic pain, cancer, diabetes mellitus, and other disorders (Kabat-Zinn, 2013).

MBSR techniques have little risk and can increase the agency that individuals have in managing mood swings and physical pain, as well as enhancing the quality of their own lives (Niazi & Niazi, 2011). Research from recent studies supports that some college students who practiced mindfulness along with their coursework, reported cognitive and wellbeing benefits, when practicing for as little as five minutes twice a week, dependent upon the specific type of mindfulness method implemented (O’Hare & Gemelli, 2023).

The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) will be utilized with this intervention. TTM encompasses more than one health-related behavior theory, which to me seems that TTM offers a more comprehensive strategy to help individuals to better understand and manage stressors within their daily life. Within TTM there are four key constructs that are thought to produce significant behavioral changes. The constructs are:

• Stages of changes

• Decisions balance

• Self/Efficacy/Temptations

• Processes of change

The first construct of TTM suggests that there are stages of change where precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance all affect human behavior. The second construct of decision balance suggests that when there are more pros than cons for a certain behavior, an individual will either move forward or backward within the stages. The third construct encourages a “can-do” attitude, where an individual may gain confidence and feel that they have more control and agency in their decisions. The fourth construct delves more into the details of experiential versus behavioral changes (Simons-Morton & Lodyga, 2021) where a person moves from the “thinking” state to a more active “doing” state of being. Overall, the TTM will help me to show participants how mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques can help students move from the “contemplation” stage to “action” by highlighting its effectiveness in stress reduction and management.

This intervention can be implemented by first contacting a local high school’s administration to explain the goals and benefits of sponsoring such an event. Once the administration agrees to support, promote, and manage the registration of students for a group setting workshop (intervention), a trained and/or qualified professional will come to the school’s auditorium after school finishes on a predetermined day. They can then present an initial 10-minute introduction of the potential goals and benefits to the students. Using a whiteboard and handwriting a few notes and health statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) will help draw their focus. My message that can be conveyed, is how as young adults, they can individually have self-efficacy over their thoughts, emotions, and relative coping mechanisms for managing stress. A major portion of this presentation will be explaining in some detail what the TTM is and how it is related to stress management. Another major component of this presentation will be an explanation of the methods and benefits of MBSR.

The professional will then ask those students interested in participating further in this intervention to answer only to themselves by signing a contract of commitment form to attend 3 10-minute sessions for a total of 8 weeks. There will be no consequence if the student decides not to continue, however, they will not receive any credit or reward upon completion if they do not attend. Sessions will be just after school ends, giving the students 5-10 minutes to get to the auditorium. Parent’s knowledge and support of their children’s participation are key components needed to reinforce their child’s commitment to accept the challenge of doing some type of task or activity that will potentially affect not only the individual but the whole family’s well-being. I would also invite and encourage parents to attend the sessions if they are available to do so.

My intervention can address the key constructs of TTM throughout the presentation. More specifically, the stages of change will need to be targeted as follows:

Precontemplation – In this stage, participants may not yet recognize a need to reduce stress or might not view it as an important priority. If they were in the room and attending my presentation, they are already past precontemplation, or else they would not have made the effort to come to the event.

Contemplation – With a goal of raising awareness of current teen health issues, I seek to motivate and inspire individuals to think more about becoming equipped to manage the impact stress has on their health and well-being, I will offer information regarding the benefits of mindfulness techniques to reduce stress, thereby affecting and improving overall health and well-being.

Preparation – In this stage I will be explaining how we will need to take action and how this group will be readied, in order to achieve a greater sense of agency over individual stress management. I will provide resources such as guided meditation apps or YouTube classes that can help support their practice.

Action – The phase of action is where participants will actively engage in MBSR exercises. Each session will review and build upon prior sessions. I will be encouraging them to practice regularly and offer other strategies to overcome potential hurdles and maintain motivation. Setting reminders on their phones and finding quiet places for meditation will help reinforce their self-practice.

Maintenance – In this phase, individuals will have successfully adopted mindfulness techniques into their daily routine and are most likely experiencing the benefits of having less stress. I can offer further strategies to help maintain their practice and prevent relapse, such as further opportunities for learning and growth through other techniques and resources. After this intervention concludes, there will be a follow-up survey one month after the event to determine if participants are still engaged in practicing the self-regulation techniques that they learned.

The construct of decision balance will be addressed and discussed at each session, as participants will be reviewing the pros and cons of returning for future sessions. If they feel that they are improving their stress management, they will be inclined and more self-motivated to continue.

The construct of self-efficacy of individuals will most likely increase as participants move through the stages of change.

For the construct of the processes of change, I would not going to go into much detail to the whole group. I feel that this construct, while important may be a bit more complex than what will already have been covered up to this point as far as human behavior is concerned. A slide will be available in the presentation, and I can offer further explanations as necessary.

The intended outcome of the intervention will be to hopefully have the participants be able to better recognize and manage stressful experiences, whether from events such as tests, time management, social interactions, and other activities that often manifest into stress.

Please contact me if you, your school, your business, your organization, or your group, might be interested in hosting me to speak on a wide spectrum of topics relative to better health, wellness, and fitness.

References:

American Heart Association: Childhood stress linked to higher risk of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes in adults. (2024, January 17). Contify Life Science News, NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A779587760/ITBC?u=vol_vsc&sid=ebsco&xid=ed427911

CDC. (2023) The Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011–2021, https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/mental-health/index.htm

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013) Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition) (pp. 77-78, 351). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Niazi, A. K., & Niazi, S. K. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction: A non-pharmacological approach for chronic illnesses. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 3(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.4297/najms.2011.320

O’Hare, A. J., & Gemelli, Z. T. (2023). The effects of short interventions of focused-attention vs. self-compassion mindfulness meditation on undergraduate students: Evidence from self-report, classroom performance, and ERPs. PLoS ONE, 17(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278826

Simons-Morton, B., & Lodyga, M. (2021). Behavior theory in public health practice and research. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage, and Daoyin (yoga).

Please contact me if you, your business, organization, or group, might be interested in hosting me to speak on a wide spectrum of topics relative to better health, wellness, and fitness.

I look forward to further sharing more of my message by partnering with hospitals, wellness centers, VA centers, schools on all levels, businesses and individuals that see the value in building a stronger nation through building a healthier population. I also have hundreds of FREE education video classes, lectures and seminars available on my YouTube channel at:

www.MindAndBodyExercises.com
https://www.facebook.com/MindAndBodyExercises/
https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBodyExercises
https://mindandbodyexercises.wordpress.com/
https://umareg.com/masters-council/

www.Amazon.com/author/jimmoltzan

Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Jim Moltzan

5th degree in Korean Kung Fu (Ship Pal Gye)
Recognized by Zen Wellness as a Master Level Instructor (gold coin)
Recognized by the Doh Yi Masters as a Fellow Doh Yi Master, having completed 10000 hours of training
Bachelor’s degree in Holistic Health

407-234-0119

The DOSE, Feel Good Chemicals

The human body is an incredible pharmacy within all individuals, where our thoughts and relative emotions can manifest various chemical reactions that affect organ function, either in positive or negative manners. There are four main neurotransmitters that affect our nervous system in positive and beneficial aspects. These are also referred to as the key “feel-good chemicals” as they help contribute to positive emotions. I have come to understand these and remember them through the acronym of DOSE, where Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphins.

Dopamine is often called the “reward chemical,” as dopamine within the nervous system surges as we feel a sense of pleasure from achieving goals, or while anticipating and receiving something perceived as enjoyable. Dopamine motivates us to pursue rewarding experiences, while playing a role in learning and memory.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that contributes to our feelings of calmness, well-being, and emotional stability. Having low serotonin levels is linked to anxiety, depression, insomnia and other mental disorders. Serotonin production within the body can be increased through activities that promote relaxation and a sense of accomplishment.

Oxytocin is also called the “love hormone.” Oxytocin is released during events of physical contact, social bonding, and acts of kindness where it brings about a sense of trust, empathy, and connections with others.

Endorphins are the body’s natural painkillers that are released during exercise, eating of spicy foods and laughter. Endorphins have the ability to help to reduce stress and anxiety.

Understanding of the mind-body connection of these chemicals is well known throughout fields of study, such as biology, physiology, and chemistry, as to their roles in management of thoughts and emotions and their physiological effects on the body’s autonomic nervous system. There are various ways to illicit the physiological mechanisms that release these powerful chemicals, where proper nutrition, exercise, meditation practices and social interactions are the common denominators for all. Management of breathing is one of the most effective ways to self-regulate thoughts and emotions and relative overall health of the nervous system which manages organ function.

References:

Meet your feel-good chemicals. (2022, March). WellBeing, 74. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A736545392/OVIC?u=vol_vsc&sid=ebsco&xid=bb4ebd80

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I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage, and Daoyin (yoga).

https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBodyExercises

www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

www.Amazon.com/author/jimmoltzan

Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

Gratitude Attitude

The holidays often provide us a reminder for us to be grateful for we have within our lives, as well as what we don’t have. Shouldn’t we try to be grateful though, regardless of what time of the year it is?

We all live a certain amount of time, which will be different for everyone, where we engage and/or are exposed to a large amount of happiness as well as sadness in our lives. Good times as well as bad times, or maybe looked at as a constant ebb and flow of peaks and valleys. I feel that I have a high amount of gratitude for my life, for which I equate to having come to my own realization for what is most important in my life. These things being my own gifts of my mind, body, and spirit along with those family and friends that share in my life. I think as we all become older these things become more apparent and of higher priority as we may realize that time is somewhat limited. Consequently, my mindfulness strategy is to strive to maintain these factors with the goal of not having regrets for not doing so, when it is my eventual time to pass onto the next phase of whatever comes hereafter. With consistent daily practice of methods such as the “loving-kindness,” “living deeply” and “embracing life” focused meditations, I feel confident in increasing my level of gratitude that I express as well as experience.

I think it does help quite a bit to understand the psychophysiology that affects our mind and body as we process gratitude. I have come to understand that all emotions elicit a response from particular areas of the brain and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and more specifically the limbic system and relative components of the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and the hypothalamus. These regulatory mechanisms of the ANS produce a variety of appearance changes that are related to specific emotions, such as reactions of skin coloration, moisture and secretions, protrusions, and appearance of eyes (Cacioppo & Tassinary, 2016, p.448). I think that gratitude is perceived as a more positive emotion like joy or happiness, rather than a negative or threat-reactive emotion like fear or anger. I would then propose that an individual experiencing gratitude would also simultaneously experience their pupils constricting, facial reddening, dryness of the palmar regions of the hands and soles of the feet, tears secretion and perhaps lack or increase in piloerection as these are all functions of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) in reciprocity with the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) (Cacioppo & Tassinary, 2016, p.455).

A 2022 study published in the Nephrology Nursing Journal reports on how nurses that care for sufferers of chronic kidney disease (CKD), are often highly emotionally stressed and often themselves suffer health issues of burnout. Researchers in Canada hoped to recruit up to 35 nephrology nurses to participate, but eventually had 13 with 12 nurses actually completing the study program. Nurse participants needed to work in an academic urban regional renal care program, of which were at 10 hospital-based facilities and one at a community-based facility. Participants were recruited via emails, posters, and educational in-services. Nurses were required to be of at least 18 years of age or older, speak English, and work within the renal care program. Anyone that was experiencing untreated severe depression/mental health illness was to be excluded from participating in this study. Once having attended a brief screening process, volunteers that met the inclusion/exclusion criteria were given a letter of information and asked to provide their signed, informed consent. The nurses had agreed to participate in an 8-week Mindful Self-compassion (MSC) research-tested program that integrated the skills of mindfulness, with the intent of practicing specific methods they would cultivate skills in self-compassion to nurture self-kindness, a better sense of common humanity, and mindfulness where they could better manage difficult thoughts in a more balanced perspective instead of reacting with an avoidance or fight/flight response. For each of the 8 weeks a different theme was focused upon. The first week was aimed at discovering mindful self-compassion, the second week was practicing mindfulness, the third week was practice Loving-Kindness meditations and so on, where week eight focused upon embracing your life. The last week was highly important in that along with the culmination of the study, participants were educated on ways to cultivate gratitude, self-appreciation, and happiness. Also, they learned ways to transform one’s mind’s away from natural negativity bias, while actively embracing the negative and positive aspects within one’s life and inner self. At the end of the study, researchers reported that the participating nurses’ self-compassion scores increased with a statistically significant difference between the before and immediately after intervention time points. Similar improvements were reported in the self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness aspects, where self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification had decreased (Crandall et al., 2022).

A way to practice gratitude is to write a letter to one’s younger self. This can help to put into perspective what we as individuals have accomplished, while knowing there is more work to be done. As we write this letter we can contemplate if we will ultimately become either a warning or an inspiration to those in our lives and around our presence. I believe that if we take time to look at ourselves from this perspective, we can actually change our beliefs, views, actions and consequently our emotions as we move forward.

References:

Cacioppo, J. T., Tassinary, L. G., & Berntson, G. G. (2016). Handbook of Psychophysiology. Pgs. 448, 455. Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.

Crandall, J., Harwood, L., Wilson, B., & Morano, C. (2022). Mindful Self-Compassion Training and Nephrology Nurses’ Self-Reported Levels of Self-Compassion, Burnout, and Resilience: A Mixed Methods Study. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 49(5), 405–417. https://doi.org/10.37526/1526-744x.2022.49.5.405

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I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage, and Daoyin (yoga).

https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBodyExercises

www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

www.Amazon.com/author/jimmoltzan

Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

Learn How Stress Affects Our Bodies, to Better Manage Our Well-being

How do you deal with stress?

take a few deep breaths
drink a few alcoholic beverages
take pharmaceuticals
consume some form of Marijuana, hallucinogen, or psychedelic
physical exercise
listen to soothing music
do nothing

In order to better manage stress, wouldn’t it help to better understand what stress is, and how it affects our bodies physiologically? Do we truly manage our stressors or just go with the “band-aid” approach of treating symptoms rather than addressing root causes?

Life and the experiences that it offers, is constantly changing and evolving for all that exist. Our senses are continuously receiving and interpreting stimulus to determine what is good or bad for our survival. Consequently, this input often manifests into what we call stress. We deal with stress through our thoughts and emotions. Our emotions directly affect how our brain processes information that affects all of our physiological mechanism and organ functions through the autonomic nervous and endocrine systems. Basically, thoughts and emotions affect our health and well-being whether with positive or negative outcomes.

The HPA-Axis is the physiological mechanism for how the mind and body respond to stress.

1 – Receptors sense stress stimuli and send chemical signals to the hypothalamus, which releases corticotropic (CRH) to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland then releases adrenocorticotropic (ACTH) to the adrenal glands.

2 – The adrenal glands respond with the secretion of cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline to be released into the bloodstream.

3 – Immediate physiological changes are induced, including acceleration of heart and lung activity, elevated blood pressure, inhibition of digestive activity, tunnel vision, and sweating. Cortisol levels are then reported back to the hypothalamus completing a negative feedback loop to repeat the whole process as necessary.

Why is this important to understand? Because when cortisol levels are too high for prolonged periods of time, other physiological mechanisms become impaired. When levels are balanced cortisol plays in important role in regulating blood chemistry:

Increases gluconeogenesis

Mobilizes fatty acids from adipose

Breaks down stored proteins

Enhances SNS response

Puts brakes on inf‌lammation/immune response

Negative effects would include:

Increased insulin resistance

Altered perception & emotion in the central nervous system

Suppressed GH release

Suppressed TSH and inhibits peripheral activation of T4 into T3

Inhibited bone remodeling

Suppressed reproductive function

We do have the ability to consciously control and manage our stress whether through lifestyle choices, diet & nutrition, physical activity and attitude. A key component of managing stress is managing the parasympathetic (rest & digest) and sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system through consistent regulation of our breathing frequency and relative volume of each breath. This is a topic addressed in many of my other posts. Yoga, tai chi, qigong, meditation, martial arts and other methods have been proven to help to proactively manage stress and relative cortisol levels.

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I write often about topics that affect our health and well-being. Additionally, I teach and offer lecture about qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, and yoga.

For more info, contact Jim Moltzan at info@mindandbodyexercises.com, 407-234-0119 or through my site at http://www.mindandbodyexercises.com

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