gratitude

Filters – living through the stresses in our society

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
Filters - so you can hear the love
Use filters to manage stress and bad news to preserve your health.

I was sitting at a stoplight one block from UNC-Charlotte preparing to turn on to WT Harris Boulevard when it felt like at explosion of sirens went off.  Suddenly there were rescue vehicles coming from everywhere. There were fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, marked and unmarked vehicles with lights and sirens.  It was completely disorienting.  I then watched motorists make all sorts of bad decisions.  Some tried to speed through intersections in front of emergency vehicles.  Some pulled to the right, some pulled to the left, some just stopped where they were.  It was complete chaos with these first responders trying to weave their way through the confused masses to get to the emergency.

It was a couple of hours before I learned that a gunman had entered campus and started shooting in a classroom on the last day of classes for the semester.

It was a few hours after that when I learned of the heroism of Riley Howell who ran toward the gunman and saved many lives while losing his own.

And it was a few hours after that when another life was lost just off campus in an altercation.  This lost life didn’t receive as much attention, but was still a precious life lost.

Then, as were moving our daughter back from Clemson a couple of days later, she received notice of a senior killed when he hit the back of a stopped dump truck on the highway.

In the midst of all of this loss I have talked with several parents of college students.  Some are grieving and throwing themselves into remembrance events.  Some are shocked and having difficulty resuming daily life.  Some are having nightmares and anxiety.  Some are carrying on as if nothing happened.

Healthy Responses

What are healthy responses to the events around us?  Certainly no day carries a guarantee of safety or ease.  And, rarely does a day carry a certainty of difficulty.  Most days arrive, and we use our toolbox of skills and emotional intelligence to get through them.

So what is in your toolbox of skills?

  • Who are the key people who support you?
  • How do you relieve stress?
  • How much attention do you give to the news?
  • How have you been hurt in the past?
  • How have you dealt with that past hurt?
  • What is your source of hope?

Filters as tools

As a healthcare provider, I have encountered countless people with negative health outcomes related to a lack of tools to handle stress and negative events.

Some of these negative health outcomes have included chronic pain, anxiety, depression, isolation, heart attacks, strokes, phobias, and deep anger.

Consider these filters to enhance a healthier response –

  • Gratitude– What is going right in your life? For what can you be thankful?
  • Who/what is higher than you– deity, person, other that can help guide and protect you?
  • Past events– When have you been stressed or in a bad situation in the past and now you are on the other side? You survived.  If all of those events in the past were survivable, how can that bring you hope in this situation?
  • Perspective– What is the worst possible scenario you can imagine? If you can imagine that, your reality is most likely to be much better than that.
  • Let it go– How have you learned to forgive and move on?This is one of the most freeing acts you can take for your own health.

Retirement stress

Are you nearing or past retirement and feel like you’re surrounded by stress and worry?  We can help!

Contact us today at www.retirewellness.com, call 410-472-5078, or e-mail me at michelle@retirewellness.com.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

I have this mental image of the devil with a bullhorn blasting messages of doubt, insecurity, worry, what-if’s, self-deprecation, and other ugliness right into my brain.  His messages are so noisy and chaotic!  They can pull me down and sit on me to pin me to the ground if I don’t take action.

Do you ever feel the same way?

Jesus is speaking into my other ear with messages of love, acceptance, strength, mercy, and grace. He does not use a bullhorn.  In fact, if I don’t make an effort, I won’t even hear his sweet call.

This is what I picture is happening to each person I meet.

So, how do we tune out the bullhorn and relax into the loving messages?

Here are a few tips that I know to be true.  (Now don’t ask if I practice them every day. I 100% know that my day is so much better when I do, and I still mess up and skip these life-sustaining practices regularly.)

  1. Thanks to the advice of a Godly friend, I use an app called ‘Remember Me’ to keep favorite verses on my phone. When I have a minute here, 5 minutes there, I work to memorize these key verses.
  2. Spend TRULY quiet time focused on God and hearing His voice each day.
  3. Stay in the Word. Keep dedicated Bible reading time and really pray and think about what you are reading, asking God to explain.  It’s amazing what you will learn!
  4. Think outside of yourself. Be aware of the people around you.  Reach out to friends in need.  Reach out to friends who you don’t know are in need (they all have the bullhorn in their ear).
  5. Let God guide your path. Satan will keep you so busy you can’t catch your breath.  Let God quiet you and focus you on what matters.

Here are some favorite verses about God’s deep, unfathomable love for you to get you started!

Romans 5:8 ESV

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:19 ESV

We love because he first loved us.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 4:16 ESV

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Use those filters and have a blessed week!

Michelle

 

 

 

 

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Thanksgiving – Gratitude keeping you Healthy

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
Make your top 10 gratitude list

 

On this Thanksgiving, praying you take the time to reflect on your many blessings.  What a day to remind us of how our areas of gratitude!

Gratitude, grateful, thankful, thanksgiving, appreciation

What do these words mean to you? What role do they play in your everyday life?

Wow, I am amazed how much information is available on this important link between gratitude and health. Just search for these two terms and see what all you will find.

What is gratitude?

This is being aware of all of the good things in your life. And it is being thankful for those things. Have you considered being grateful for:

  • A safe place to sleep
  • Food to eat
  • Clothes to cover yourself
  • Having a friend to call
  • Your job – current or past
  • A beautiful day

This simple awareness of and being thankful for these ‘little’ things can boost your health.

Note, it doesn’t have to be the biggest house or the softest bed or the tastiest food or the latest fashion clothing to be grateful. Gratitude focuses on what you have – all of the good things – rather than what you don’t have.

Expressing gratitude can:

  • Boost your spirits and sense of well-being
  • Boost your immune system making you less likely to get sick
  • Decrease your chances of heart disease
  • Improve your performance (grades, work productivity, concentration)
  • Bust your stress

There are many ways you can make gratitude part of your life. Here are a few recommended in a Harvard Mental Health newsletter:

  • Write a thank-you note
  • Go up and thank someone
  • Keep a gratitude journal
  • Pray
  • Meditate
  • Keep a list of your thanks = count your blessings

See your day and your health improve by focusing on the positive.

Even therapy for mood disorders and approaches to negative thinking know this truth. I am quoting this from Rick Warren, “When you change the way you think, it changes the way you feel. And when you change the way you feel, it changes the way you act.”

On this Independence Day weekend, as a country, we have much reason for gratitude!

For more information on gratitude and health, contact us at www.medsmash.com.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

We have so many reasons to be grateful!

Have you ever been in a ‘funk’ having a bad day and then remembered to be grateful? I have done this so many times. When all looks dark and gloomy, make yourself think about all of the things that are good and right.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I’ll quickly admit I don’t always think to do this. I stay in that dark place far too long. Later, once I’m out I realize I had the ‘magic potion’ to leave that darkness behind. It was given to us by Christ when he died to erase our sins. It was given to us by God who maintained His love and focus on the good in the Jews through centuries of missteps (just as we live a series of missteps).

Lamentations 3:23 ESV

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I don’t even know where to begin selecting Bible verses to draw us closer to the benefits of gratitude. There are so many!!!

Psalm 118:24 ESV

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Psalm 136:1 ESV

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Ephesians 1:16 ESV

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

I feel energized, positive, and excited just reading these verses full of hope and promise! I am thankful for each person who takes the time to read this. May you be blessed by these assurances from God!

I pray you can stay focused on the many good things in your life this week and that can keep you out of the dark, gloomy places.

Blessings,

Michelle

 

Attitude – the choice is yours and the impact is huge for your health!

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
Attitude
Choose your attitude each day, and make it a good one for your health!

Is your attitude the RESULT of what is happening around you? Is it the RESULT of what others do to you? Is it the RESULT of your life circumstances? —-OR—-Is your attitude your CHOICE?

I propose your attitude is your CHOICE!

We live in such a blame society. People are called haters, shamers, intolerant, biased, and worse.

So often we try to claim that others made us the way we are – sullen, angry, withdrawn, hurt, rejected.

We give others and situations the power to determine how we are going to go through each day and how we are going to approach life.

If you are a balloon bouncing in the winds of circumstances, there is hope!

How to choose your attitude

What are your first thoughts in the morning? How do you approach your day? What music do you choose? What do you read, think about, and how do you plan for your day?

These aspects of your life are associated with maintaining health even in the midst of negative events:

  • friends to talk to
  • people who care about you
  • a sense of self-worth
  • forgiveness
  • security
  • conflict management skills
  • religion/spirituality

The items on this list have all been linked with improved health.

And I will add having a source of HOPE. I believe hope is powerful in the midst of difficulty.

Gratitude and attitude

Another way of thinking that improves your attitude and your health is gratitude. For what are you thankful? No matter how many bad things are around you, what is good? You’re still here if you’re reading this! What parts of your body work? What are you able to do? Who do you care about? Where are your safe places? Where is the beauty around you – pictures, nature, architecture, music, literature, videos, clouds, trees, or babbling water?

Find those good things and be thankful for them. Fill your bucket with all of the good in your life. It makes the bad much more tolerable.

Make it about someone else

Doing something for or being kind to someone else can be a real attitude adjuster. Rather than focus on yourself and your own needs, raise your head and look at the people around you. Find something small you can do to make someone else’s day. You will be amazed that you benefit from those actions at least as much as the person you blessed.

Health benefits of a good attitude

No one can choose your attitude except YOU! This is such a liberating concept. In the midst of and despite the difficulties of life, you can each day CHOOSE to have a GOOD attitude!

When you do, your physical health (blood pressure, breathing, kidney function); your mental health (calm, clearer thinking, more creativity); your emotional health (less reactive, more even emotions); and your spiritual health (happiness, hope, joy) benefit.

For more information about how you can choose your own attitude and the health benefits, please contact us at www.medsmash.com/contact, michelle@medsmash.com, or call at 410-472-5078.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

Choosing and displaying a good attitude consistently is one of the best ways you can ‘let your light shine’. The world is craving examples of ‘good’ in the midst of the struggles of life.

Proverbs 15:30 NIV

Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart,
    and good news gives health to the bones.

Most people are pushed and pulled and slammed against the wall when events happen. It’s hard to catch your breath, let alone be positive, if you don’t have some anchor.

Hebrews 6:19 NIV

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

Psalm 112:7 NIV

They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

John 16:33 NIV

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We have eternal hope and joy to hold onto in the midst of anything that happens. We have the assurances of God that we are never alone.

1 Thes 5:16-18 NIV

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8 :28 NIV

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.

If you haven’t heard Francesca Battistelli’s song, Where Were You?, I highly encourage you to listen.

Yes, the difficulties of life will keep coming at you. You know they will, but those are the very events that allow us to grow deeper in our faith and find that hope that keeps our attitude good in the midst of everything.

Romans 5:3-5 NIV

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Choose your good attitude each day and let it shine for the world to see!

Blessings,

Michelle

Gratitude, love, and health

Celebrating the Glory of Today – Gratitude and Love

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
Gratitude, love, and health
Gratitude for beauty and blessings improves health.

We spend so much of our time thinking about tomorrow, planning for tomorrow, working for tomorrow, hoping and dreaming for tomorrow. But tomorrow is never here, and we’ve learned that over and over.

We’ve seen so many examples lately of the value of living in the moment. There is value in loving those around you each and every day. You never know which is that last day.

Rather than be depressed about that, we can claim the joy and the opportunities of each day that presents itself to us.

Seasons of Loss

We have lost a dear friend in the last couple of weeks. He was someone who was always thinking of and giving to others. He was a very strong-in-his-faith man. He died in a freak accident doing what he does best – helping others. He was building a Habitat for Humanity house. We will never know what happened. The freak accident occurred, and he was suddenly gone.

A tiny baby died in his sleep at two months. There was so much promise there. Why was that child taken at such a young age?

Then we see the news stories of people harming one another. It seems there are more and more stories of mass deaths and of people managing conflict with murder.

The tragedies of nature have taken even more lives and wreaked havoc in many parts of the world.

It’s been such a heavy season of so many people taken at a time no one would have expected.

How do we keep moving forward?

So with that in mind, how can we live each day to its fullest? The more we live in gratitude and love and recognize the joys that are around us in spite of the tragedies, the more healthy we are.   It lowers our blood pressure and anxiety levels. It lowers our risk for heart attack and stroke.

Gratitude and Love

Gratitude and love allow us to think so much clearly. They take us out of that worry mode and in to a more creative space in our brain. We think more clearly, can be more rational, and recognize the good when our brain is fully functioning at calmer times. This calm allows our breathing to slow. It allows us to really see the things around us rather than be so focused on what’s ahead.

I encourage everyone to take a deep breath. Love on the people who are around you. Look around with joy and gratitude at the many blessings that you do have.

Remember with fond memories, and hopefully with some tears and laughter, those who we’ve lost.

Let this be a day of renewed health and joy and love.

At Meds MASH we would love to talk with you more about the benefits of gratitude and love. You can reach us at www.medsmash.com/contact; michelle@medsmash.com; or 410-472-5078.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

As worshippers and faithful followers of Christ, we are instructed over and over the Bible to praise and worship and show our love through gratitude.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Have you tried making gratitude your very first morning event, before you even crawl out of bed? I find when I start my day in thanks it sets the tone for a much better day. I can be grateful for the fact that a whole new day is before me, and once I get started, there are SO many things to list. Even the warm bed and blankets are a gift that not everyone shares. It’s so easy to take home and family and jobs and clothes and food and friends for granted.

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Start your day with gratitude and joy and just see where it heads from there!

Psalm 118:24 ESV

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

When you are sad, overwhelmed, frustrated, or feeling your hope dampen, count your blessings.

Colossians 3:15-17 MSG

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

And finally, remember, His love endures forever!

Psalm 118:1-18 ESV

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. …

Blessings,

Michelle

Thanksgiving – Gratitude keeping you Healthy

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
thanksgiving-14-grab
A grateful attitude can improve your outlook and your health!

Gratitude, grateful, thankful, thanksgiving, appreciation

What do these words mean to you? What role do they play in your everyday life?

Wow, I am amazed how much information is available on this important link between gratitude and health. Just search for these two terms and see what all you will find.

What is gratitude?

This is being aware of all of the good things in your life. And it is being thankful for those things. Have you considered being grateful for:

  • A safe place to sleep
  • Food to eat
  • Clothes to cover yourself
  • Having a friend to call
  • Your job – current or past
  • A beautiful day

This simple awareness of and being thankful for these ‘little’ things can boost your health.

Note, it doesn’t have to be the biggest house or the softest bed or the tastiest food or the latest fashion clothing to be grateful. Gratitude focuses on what you have – all of the good things – rather than what you don’t have.

Expressing gratitude can:

  • Boost your spirits and sense of well-being
  • Boost your immune system making you less likely to get sick
  • Decrease your chances of heart disease
  • Improve your performance (grades, work productivity, concentration)
  • Bust your stress

There are many ways you can make gratitude part of your life. Here are a few recommended in a Harvard Mental Health newsletter:

  • Write a thank-you note
  • Go up and thank someone
  • Keep a gratitude journal
  • Pray
  • Meditate
  • Keep a list of your thanks = count your blessings

See your day and your health improve by focusing on the positive.

Even therapy for mood disorders and approaches to negative thinking know this truth. I am quoting this from Rick Warren, “When you change the way you think, it changes the way you feel. And when you change the way you feel, it changes the way you act.”

On this Independence Day weekend, as a country, we have much reason for gratitude!

For more information on gratitude and health, contact us at www.medsmash.com.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

We have so many reasons to be grateful!

Have you ever been in a ‘funk’ having a bad day and then remembered to be grateful? I have done this so many times. When all looks dark and gloomy, make yourself think about all of the things that are good and right.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I’ll quickly admit I don’t always think to do this. I stay in that dark place far too long. Later, once I’m out I realize I had the ‘magic potion’ to leave that darkness behind. It was given to us by Christ when he died to erase our sins. It was given to us by God who maintained His love and focus on the good in the Jews through centuries of missteps (just as we live a series of missteps).

Lamentations 3:23 ESV

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I don’t even know where to begin selecting Bible verses to draw us closer to the benefits of gratitude. There are so many!!!

Psalm 118:24 ESV

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Psalm 136:1 ESV

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Ephesians 1:16 ESV

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

I feel energized, positive, and excited just reading these verses full of hope and promise! I am thankful for each person who takes the time to read this. May you be blessed by these assurances from God!

I pray you can stay focused on the many good things in your life this week and that can keep you out of the dark, gloomy places.

Blessings,

Michelle

 

Gratitude and Satisfaction – Healthcare Perspective

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
jamaica-group-wait
Have you expressed gratitude for your healthcare?

When was the last time you expressed gratitude for your healthcare? How often are you satisfied with the healthcare you receive? When do you suppose is the last time your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, medical assistant, intake/discharge specialist, or billing office received a ‘Thank you!’?

I encourage you to take a moment and list the last five benefits you received from your healthcare providers?

Here is my current list:

  1. Emergency services in the middle of a blizzard for a head injury for a child.
  2. A surgeon and many, many supportive people for a rotator cuff repair.
  3. A patient, engaging ophthalmologist helping a frustrated teen with vision-related headaches.
  4. Access to an annual mammogram with follow up ultrasound whenever something looks suspicious.
  5. Preventative vaccines and personalized guidance from my physician in preparation for third-world healthcare provision.

Healthcare gratitude I experienced in Jamaica

I can’t stop thinking about my week in Jamaica and the many insights I took away. I was honored to serve with a team of about 20 people caring for people in St. Mary Parish, an underserved portion of Jamaica. We had physicians, nurses, pharmacists, medical records, check-in, child-care, and spiritual support specialists. (Remember that spiritual health is a key aspect to overall health).

Two situations have especially stood out to me. One was a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. She was treated with a mastectomy. She did not have access to radiation or chemotherapy. Now, in 2016, she had a lump under her arm. The physician prescribed an antibiotic. We are all hoping and praying it is an infected cyst and not cancer. Guess what? She was grateful for the care and for the antibiotics! She did not demand other therapy. She was not disgruntled. [Maybe she doesn’t know how it would be treated in a developed country with insurance. Then again, her gratitude and lack of stress over options can actually be to her benefit.]

The other situation was a young boy with low hemoglobin, so he was anemic. Hemoglobin carries oxygen throughout the body. There are several possible causes of anemia in a child. We were able to give him multivitamins and iron supplements. His mother was surprised to hear he was anemic. He was outside playing with the other children as we talked about the medicine. When he came in she showed me how strong and healthy he looks. She was very satisfied with the vitamins and iron. I couldn’t help but think how differently that exchange would likely be here in the US. Parents would want a series of tests to rule out any obscure implication of the anemia. [Note, anemia in children is not uncommon in Jamaica. Children are breastfed for an extended period by mothers who do not have prenatal vitamins. Then, because meat is expensive, the diet has less iron in it.]

Health benefits of gratitude

It is so easy to find fault in other people and in systems. Add the element of fear that comes with medical diagnoses, and people often have very negative reactions in the healthcare setting. That increases stress for the patient, any caregivers with the patient, the physician, and all members of the healthcare team.

Consider the benefits of gratitude instead. Gratitude can:

  • Boost your spirits and sense of well-being
  • Boost your immune system making you less likely to get sick
  • Decrease your chances of heart disease
  • Improve your performance (job, concentration)
  • Bust your stress

By all means, when mistakes are made they need to be addressed. But mistakes are not the norm. People go to school for many, many years to be able to provide the best healthcare they can provide.

We saw hundreds of patients in very hot August in Jamaica in churches with no air conditioning and few fans. And I only heard one person complain over five very full days. That woman didn’t understand why the man next to her got more diabetes medication than she got. Once she understood it took more medicine to manage his sugar she was satisfied.

If you would like to hear more about my trip to Jamaica or about the health benefit of gratitude, contact me at www.medsmash.com/newsblog/.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

Life feels so different when we live in gratitude rather than dissatisfaction. Negativity stresses us out and ultimately kills us.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I have a new source of gratitude this week.

Do you ever have a God moment when something becomes so clear? I received the best analogy this week. And I can’t wait to tell you about it!

It likens faith with a child going on vacation.

When a family is going on vacation, the child knows the mom or other adult will pack the clothes, the snacks, the sunscreen, the towels, and anything needed for that vacation. The child knows someone will take care of the directions, putting gas in the tank, making hotel reservations, and other travel details. The child knows there will be a safe place to sleep, some fun adventures along the way, food to eat, and all basic needs will be met. The child gets in the car when told it’s time and follows the lead of the adults who have planned the trip. The child is along for the fun with no stress and no second-guessing the plans.

Wow, isn’t that like faith? God’s got this! He has plans for your life. He has plans for each year, month, day, minute, … Faith is being the child with full faith in the adults who are in charge of the details.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Isaiah 42:16 NIV

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them

    and make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do;

    I will not forsake them.

I encourage you to spend less time on daily travel details and more time letting God take the lead this week.

Blessings,

Michelle

 

Gratitude

Gratitude – keeps you healthier

Posted on by Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D.
Gratitude
Being thankful for what you have improves your health

Gratitude, grateful, thankful, thanksgiving, appreciation

What do these words mean to you? What role do they play in your everyday life?

Wow, I am amazed how much information is available on this important link between being thankful and health. Just search for these two terms and see what all you will find.

What is gratitude?

This is being aware of all of the good things in your life. And it is being thankful for those things. Have you considered being thankful for:

  • A safe place to sleep
  • Food to eat
  • Clothes to cover yourself
  • Having a friend to call
  • Your job – current or past
  • A beautiful day

This simple awareness of and being thankful for these ‘little’ things can boost your health.

Note, it doesn’t have to be the biggest house or the softest bed or the tastiest food or the latest fashion clothing to be grateful. Gratitude focuses on what you have – all of the good things – rather than what you don’t have.

Expressing gratitude can:

  • Boost your spirits and sense of well-being
  • Boost your immune system making you less likely to get sick
  • Decrease your chances of heart disease
  • Improve your performance (grades, work productivity, concentration)
  • Bust your stress

There are many ways you can make gratitude part of your life. Here are a few recommended in a Harvard Mental Health newsletter:

  • Write a thank-you note
  • Go up and thank someone
  • Keep a gratitude journal
  • Pray
  • Meditate
  • Keep a list of your thanks = count your blessings

See your day and your health improve by focusing on the positive.  Try starting your day with a list of things for which you are thankful.  On those nights you can’t sleep, name all of the good things in your life.  Let that override the worries and things you can’t control.

On this Independence Day weekend, as a country, we have much reason for gratitude!

For more information on gratitude and health, contact us at www.medsmash.com.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

We have so many reasons to be grateful!

Have you ever been in a ‘funk’ having a bad day and then remembered to be grateful? I have done this so many times. When all looks dark and gloomy, make yourself think about all of the things that are good and right.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I’ll quickly admit I don’t always think to do this. I stay in that dark place far too long. Later, once I’m out I realize I had the ‘magic potion’ to leave that darkness behind. It was given to us by Christ when he died to erase our sins. It was given to us by God who maintained His love and focus on the good in the Jews through centuries of missteps (just as we live a series of missteps).

Lamentations 3:23 ESV

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I don’t even know where to begin selecting Bible verses to draw us closer to the benefits of gratitude. There are so many!!!

Psalm 118:24 ESV

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Psalm 136:1 ESV

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Ephesians 1:16 ESV

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

I feel energized, positive, and excited just reading these verses full of hope and promise! I am thankful for each person who takes the time to read this. May you be blessed by these assurances from God!

I pray you can stay focused on the many good things in your life this week and that can keep you out of the dark, gloomy places.

Blessings,

Michelle