Cheer Up

I went to a church-sponsored presentation the other night. It was given by a therapist who was discussing depression and ways to increase your overall happiness and joy.

I've experienced my fair-share of low times and they've been reasonably off-set by times of happiness as well. I rate myself as pretty happy right now and although things could be "better", I'm far better off than many people so I'm not complaining too loudly.

I wanted to get these things down so that in the future, I'd have a place to refer back to them as well as offer them to anyone that may need a little dose of happy syrup.

She said that there are a few things that must be done consistently, on a regular and daily basis over the space of at least 6 months, to a couple of years. If you do, then you can increase your "happiness" up to 2 degrees on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being suicidal and 10 being about to bust open with delerium. I feel I'm about a 7.

Here they are:

1. Take a bite of something absolutely fresh (like fruits or vegetables) before each time you eat something non-fresh. The live enzymes cause your body to believe it's summer, a time of bountiful and generally a happy & sunny time.
2. Socialize: Make a point to connect with friends or family and chat, laugh and have fun.
3. Laughter: Try to get 20 belly laughs out a day. It raises endorfins and changes body chemistry.
4. Thought-stopping: Make a regular habit of inhibiting your mind from dwelling on negative thought patterns. Think happy thoughts: it's simple...she said.
5. Passionate: Do something daily for 60 minutes that you're passionate about.
6. Exercise: 60 minutes a day of walking, preferably outside in the fresh air raises endorfins naturally not to mention releases toxins and clears your mind.
7. Sunshine: expose yourself 15 minutes a day to full spectrum light. In wintertime, that means buying a special lamp or sitting beside a window. In the summer, get out of your office or house and sit in the sun. Seasonal Affective Disorder hits a lot of us about now and increases rates of depression a lot.
8. Pray: (i missed this part but I can guess since it works in my life) Pray for help to be happy. Pray for things you are grateful about. Use this as an outlet for discovering things about yourself.
9. Talk Therapy: if you don't have a friend that you trust and can bear your soul about your troubles, then hire a therapist who will listen without judgment.

These aren't in the order she presented, but rather in the order I remembered them. Upon checking, I'd only forgotten the therapist one which is funny because I have a therapist (on retainer...how hollywood do I sound?) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE her!

Anyhoo, don't know what else to say except have a happy Friday night! Go do something fun! I'm considering a late-movie date with myself. The worst thing about that is I'm a talker during a movie and when I go alone, I just can't talk to myself.