The Happy Factor

    

If you are acquainted with the oft used text and Twitter anagram IRL (= In Real Life) then you may be a great candidate to read the following entry. My idea for this came from the fact that I am too often passed off or tagged a Pollyanna because I’m usually counter to negativism by using positive statements. Everyone needs to deal with sadness and depression at times in their lives but the quicker that you deal with the causes and decide to be happy, no matter what, then you’ll never have to be a part of the worldwide epidemic of depression. If you could use your mental and physical powers to lift yourself out of a funk rather than take a pill wouldn’t it be worth it? Here goes:

     1. Social media friends may be the worst source for help with depression. You are more affected by the people in your immediate environment than you realize and the sooner you come to grips with this the faster you’ll be on the road to happiness. In the Bible, one commandment reads: Love thy neighbor as thyself. Even if you don’t even talk to your neighbors you can be affected by the things they do, how they conduct their affairs in and out of your area. Your home is a sanctuary and they affect it. When you make peace with this consequential circumstance most of your work will be done. However, your next door neighbor isn’t your only neighbor. Where you work and who you work with is included into this and even people you see on a regular basis elsewhere is also a neighbor. That means on a plane seat, people in your car pool, etc. Teach yourself to see a bit of yourself in these people. Once you can truly empathize then you can get a handle on dealing with other people’s problems. It doesn’t mean you have to solve them- that’s in their area- but you can at least come out of your own skin and make some peace out of what can too easily become chaos.

     2. One sure way to clear your head of negative, unhappy moods and mindsets is to get some fresh air every morning. Get your body moving to aid your head from fogginess and forgetfulness. Forgetfulness is a symptom of depression. Go for a brisk walk every morning where there is mostly trees, other walkers, pets on the move and children running about playing hopscotch or whatever. It’s the finest and quickest mind-clearing exercise known. It works. Do it!

     3. Form an actual group of likeminded people (outside of social media contacts, unless they are people you see everyday in your real life). The best way to get happy and stay happy is to seek out those types of individuals. My experience in trying to cheer up people with serious depression issues is that misery loves company. They will bring you down unless you are determined to get and stay happy. My suggestion is to start dropping something positive into conversations with people you know are prone to depression. Do not hang around. Just call it your ‘happy bomb’ and move on. You’ve got too much of a great day to have to hang around for the excuses. Who knows? You may get them on your happy team eventually.

     4. Happiness is as much a sport as an actual sport. You’ll need to exercise it everyday and in every facet of your life. It’s a good and healthy habit and you won’t be taking any kind of pill unless it’s one of those placebos which debunk, often, even the biggest of naysayers. If you think you need a reason to be so happy then make a little happiness here and there for others. A key to all of this is that you need to get out of your own head and get a larger view of the world. The news can, too often, create a depression that you are unaware of so determine that each incident is just that- an incident, and not the entirety of life.

     5. Make sure you do something for yourself everyday. There’s no better way to keep a lighthearted and upbeat attitude than to be good to you. If you’re a person who tends toward self-criticism you’ll need to use this therapy on a regular basis. The objective is to get out of your own way and stop treating yourself like an enemy. Learning to really love yourself is a way to give peace of mind to everyone in your environment or neighborhood which includes you. You don’t have to spend money to do this by the way. Once you get a little creative you’lll find how inexpensive this advice really is and that it is essential to a happy life.

      There is more I could say but I think you can take this advice and run with it now…

Happiness is what you make it. Just like the song.