International Day of Happiness
Today is the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HAPPINESS! Woo hoo!
How are you feeling?
Happy? Sad? Complacent? Confused? …Anxious, maybe?
Did you know the according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the US, affecting 40 MILLION adults 18 and older, every year.” That is mind blowing. Or is it?
In a world filled with so much - how are people not happy!? I mean we have everything and it’s all right at our fingertips. We can get our favorite restaurants from our couches, hail a driver without going outside, order basically anything we need to come to our home in 48 hours or less, and talk to people at any given second around the globe.
Yet here we are. Feeling more isolated and disconnected than EVER before! More medicated than ever before, more depressed and anxious than any previous generation…no wonder we need a day to dedicated to being happy.
Happiness is defined by this: a feeling or state of well-being and contentment.
Synonyms of happiness
content, contentedness, contentment, delectation, delight, enjoyment, gladness, gratification, pleasure, relish, satisfaction, beatitude, blessedness, bliss, blissfulness, felicity, gladness, joy, warm fuzzies
Antonyms of happiness
discontent, discontentedness, discontentment, displeasure, dissatisfaction, unhappiness, calamity, ill-being, misery, sadness, unhappiness, wretchedness
So what makes you HAPPY? And what makes happiness last? Have you noticed how retail therapy, happy hour, or massage all make you happy, but how fleeting those feelings can be? It’s no wonder we want to be happy, we were created to be joyful, as a state of being. Can you imagine - just that - joy - all of the time?! Sign me up! But the reality of our fallen world is that now we have to work for it.
It seems like happiness takes a lot of work if you want to keep the tank full, and it can be drained so quickly. Like when you save the last freshly baked cookie in the house for the next morning to have with your coffee, and then someone eats it. The excitement as you go to bed knowing what’s waiting for you, just hours away! You go into the kitchen at 6 am, everyone still asleep, the house quiet, it’s Heaven on earth. Late made, devotional open and ready…and you go to get the cookie…but it’s (queue dramatic music) - not there. The toddler got to it an left only crumbs. I know that sounds so dramatic and like not a big deal; but I disagree. That struggle is real. Not even close to he worst thing in the world, yet there goes the happiness! It’s a constant cycle. An eternal need for more. And so many of our lives have been us just chasing the “happy”. So what are you doing to douse yourself in endorphins, dopamine and serotonin? Do you have a weekly goal of doing things that you enjoy three times a week? Do you exercise? Go to dinner with friends? Scroll Instagram?
In addition to adding in happy we should focus on what steals it. And have LESS of THAT!
So how should one work on having more happy, but needing less to do, to buy, etc. to make them happy? Let’s look at some practical applications to our lives, shall we?
Address your diet.
Depression can actually be caused by inflammation in the brain. And what is an amazing food for inflammation? TURMERIC! A recent study was performed (which you can read here), that has been getting major buzz along with having the tag line - Move over prozac - Turmeric is in town!- “How could a spice actually help depressive symptoms? There is mounting evidence from animal models, in vitro, and human studies that elucidate mechanisms of curcumin’s sophisticated effects which include anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, immuno-modulatory, anti-cancer, and neuroprotective. Turmeric is a reactive oxygen scavenger, meaning that it turns on antioxidant producing genes (NRF2) and supports glutathione synthesis, inhibits inflammatory enzymes, and supports liver detox. Inflammation leads to changes in the brain’s ability to properly regulate hormones (adrenal, thyroid, sex), and to changes in the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, as well as to changes in plasticity or the ability to regenerate brain cells. Curcumin, via the culinary spice turmeric as delivery vehicle, hits a lot of these problem areas all at once.” - Holistic Psychiatrist, Dr. Kelly Brogan
Thoughts are real things.
Your mind controls your brain. You can learn how to use your mind correctly! You can renew your mind - you can teach a old dog new tricks! STOP negative self talk and negative thoughts. This is a learned behavior. And one that probably takes the most work if you have been dealing with this as “normal” for a long time. Stop doesn’t just mean don’t do it - it means literally stop those thoughts as they come up. Talk to them if you will, call them out as they are - lies. Simply say “______ is not true.” Then, combat whatever negativity came up with the opposite. ie: If I am never going to be loved, I am not lovable came into your head, speak out; “I am loved. I am lovable. I am worthy of love.” This is something that is so simple yet can be so difficulty for so many. But I promise this will change things because you will be creating new neural pathways. And the more you use the new neural pathways in your brain, the less you will use the old one’s and the less work this will become! Check out Detoxing your mind: An interview with Dr. Caroline Leaf and Detoxing The Brain on Youtube, along with her books! She is an incredible neuroscientist and mental health expert.
Visualize the image of the thought shrinking until it disappears.
You can also get physical with it by writing the though on the piece of paper and throwing it away….dare I suggest burning it?
Visualize positive situations instead.
Your brain doesn’t know what’s reality and what’s imaginary. Don’t dwell in the negative. I’m not saying that’s easy, or to ignore stress. But I am saying that Cycle the good!
LAUGH!
When you laugh you increase your brain intelligence. Smile! Trick your brain with your face. Sound’s simple enough. :)
Science shows us that it take you 21 days to form a new thought in your brain and at least 63 days to turn that into a habit. So stick with these things! You can DO it! This is how we were designed! We build layer on layer. YOU are worth fighting your mind for!
