Gratitude as an Antidote to Stress

By Lyndsay Laursen

This season features a holiday known as "Thanksgiving". A day for giving thanks. And yet, how often are our feelings about this holiday more on the side of stress and anxiety than gratitude?

In our Creating Community work, we talk a lot about the connection between our inner state and the way we show up in our homes, at our tables, in our relationships and thus in our communities. One of the most powerful (and most underrated) tools we have is gratitude — not just as a mindset, but as a biological shift that helps us move from stress into actual well-being.

Most of us know what fight or flight feels like: tight chest, racing thoughts, quick reactions, bracing for what’s next. It’s our sympathetic nervous system doing its job, preparing us to either fight off a tiger or run from one.

What we often don’t realize is that many of us live in that state all day long.

Here’s the catch: When your body is preparing for danger, you cannot digest, rest, sleep, or repair fully. Your energy goes to survival, not nourishment.

The opposite state — the one our body needs to digest, heal, sleep, connect, and enjoy life — is called rest and digest, or the parasympathetic nervous system. And if you’re not in rest-and-digest, your body simply cannot do those things well.

This is where gratitude becomes powerful. Gratitude is a shortcut into calm.

It signals to your brain and body: You’re safe. You can relax. You can receive.

It literally shifts your nervous system, rewires your brain pathways, and gives your body permission to move into digestion, healing, recovery, and even activities that require comfort and connection. 😉

It’s no accident that so many cultures and faith traditions pause for gratitude before meals. They were connected to the real cost of food — the hands that grew it, the effort it took, the gift it is. But biologically, they were also preparing their bodies to take in nourishment well.

In a fast, distracted, stressed-out world, this simple practice is more needed than ever.

A Simple Gratitude Practice to Try Today

These steps help bring your body out of stress and into rest-and-digest — quickly, gently, and naturally.

1. Start with a few slow breaths.

Deep inhale, long exhale.

If it feels helpful, tell yourself: I am safe right now.

You may feel your shoulders drop almost instantly.

2. Focus on what’s in front of you.

If you’re practicing before a meal, really notice your food. Look at it, smell it, appreciate the people who grew it and prepared it, and the hands that brought it to you.

Let gratitude rise naturally from that awareness.

3. Feel the shift.

Pay attention to what changes in your body — your breath, your stomach, your heart rate, your presence. Even a few minutes makes a difference.

4. Use this practice beyond mealtimes.

• before bed • first thing in the morning • when transitioning between tasks • before entering a conversation • whenever you feel yourself tensing

These tiny reset moments build a calmer internal environment — and that changes how we show up for our families, our communities, and ourselves. When we choose gratitude intentionally, we aren’t just “being positive.”

We’re creating a safer, calmer place inside ourselves — and that affects everything we touch.

This is how we create community from the inside out.