Mindset Neuroscience Podcast The Neuroscience of Thanksgiving: regulation beyond the ritual
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Nov 24, 2025 Explore how gratitude impacts the brain, shifting focus from problems to positive observations. Discover the neuroscience behind how gratitude can activate the parasympathetic system, improving heart rate variability. Learn about the balance between seeking and liking for motivation and why a relentless focus on negativity may hinder creativity. Stefanie Faye discusses the importance of honoring our past while engaging in strategic gratitude practices. Conclude with a practical exercise to notice what’s working and experience cognitive and bodily shifts.
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Personal Use Of Gratitude In Practice
- Stefanie Faye shares that she uses gratitude in her own practice and recommends it to clients.
- She frames gratitude as shifting brain-body activity away from problem mode toward receptivity.
Gratitude Activates Liking Over Seeking
- Gratitude shifts brain activity away from relentless seeking into a quieter liking circuitry.
- This opens access to creativity and nervous-system regulation that problem-focused modes often block.
Wanting Versus Liking Circuits
- The wanting (seeking) system is dopamine-driven and robust while the liking system is fragile and opioid-linked.
- Overactivating seeking can prevent genuine satisfaction and block enjoyment of what's already present.