6 Habits That Will Make Your Life Happier

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Have you ever wondered if there are some habits you could adopt to make your life just a little bit happier? According to psychologists and research studies, there are some interesting habits that may just leave you feeling a bit more cheerful. Here are a few helpful habits that will make your life happier.

What are the habits happy people have that we don’t? Watch this video to find out:

Writer: Michal Mitchell
Script Editor & Manager: Kelly Soong
VO: Amanda Silvera
Animator: Tris Canimo
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

References:
Cuypers, K., Krokstad, S., Holmen, T. L., Skjei Knudtsen, M., Bygren, L. O., & Holmen, J. (2012). Patterns of receptive and creative cultural activities and their association with perceived health, anxiety, depression and satisfaction with life among adults: the HUNT study, Norway. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 66(8), 698–703.
O’Keefe, J. H., Bhatti, S. K., Patil, H. R., DiNicolantonio, J. J., Lucan, S. C., & Lavie, C. J. (2013). Effects of habitual coffee consumption on cardiometabolic disease, cardiovascular health, and all-cause mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 62(12), 1043–1051.
Rudd, M., Vohs, K. D., & Aaker, J. (2012). Awe Expands People’s Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1130–1136.
Brodwin, E. (2019, March 18). 24 easy habits that psychologists have linked with health and happiness. Business Insider. #participate-in-cultural-activities-9.
Lucas M, Mirzaei F, Pan A, et al. Coffee, Caffeine, and Risk of Depression Among Women. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171(17):1571–1578. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.393
Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2008, December 5). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. The BMJ.
31 Habits of Happy People – Backed by Science & Psychology. Develop Good Habits. (2020, October 9).
Mirgain, S. (2016). The Benefits of Journaling. UW Health.
Kogan, N. (2020). Science Says These 5 Things Will Make You Happier. Verywell Mind.
Axelrod, J. (2016, May 17). The Health Benefits of Journaling. Psych Central. #1.

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Stress Does Not Have To Control Your Life

Many people are dealing with stressful situations on the home-front, work, and in their social circle, and they are turning to food, alcohol and shopping as ways to deal with it. These are unhelpful approaches; this article should help give you some tips to deal with the stress in life in a healthy way.

When you take a bath at night, add some aromatherapy beads. This will help to open up your pores. Open pores help to cleanse your body from the inside out. The aromas released from the beads will go a long way towards relieving your anxiety. Taking care of your body is important in helping to reduce stress levels.

If you’re feeling stressed out, consider taking up martial arts. Not only can martial arts give you an outlet for any pent up anger or stress, but it will teach you to focus your mind and body. You’ll learn effective ways to manage stress and to clear your mind. It’s also a lot of fun and can be a break from the rest of your life.

Consider getting a pet as a way to relieve stress. Having a dog waiting for you at home with his tail wagging can be a great boost after a hard, stressful day at work. Even jut have a fish can really improve your mood. But don’t take on a pet if you’re not going to be able to care for it.

Breathing works wonders for alleviating stress. Take a deep breath, this helps to oxygenate your blood and can help you to relax instantly. If you breath shallow, it causes your heart to beat faster and your muscles start to get tense. Instead, breathe deeply, inhale through your nose, hold a few seconds and then exhale through your nose.

In order to keep your stress level under control, it would be wise to make sure that you get a regular amount of exercise. This is important because exercise releases chemicals that work as natural tension release agents. As little as a half hour a day, a few times a week is enough.

Practice preventative health care maintenance, and give yourself fewer reasons to stress-out! Now knowing about potential medical conditions or health concerns can leave you feeling stressed and anxious. Over time, these problems can cause irreversible damage and even greater stress. Schedule your regular check-ups to be up on your screenings and preventative care so you can keep living a healthy, stress-free life.

In order to keep your stress level under control, try writing an extremely graphic or obscene letter on paper that releases all of your aggression verbally. Many people feel better after making sense of it by writing it out. Write as though nobody will ever read it, and write as vividly as possible. Destroy it thoroughly afterward.

Fight the stress. Most people complain about the thing or things that are stressing them, but all this does is make the situation more stressful. Make your focus be on fixing the situation instead of dwelling on it. If you are not happy, change it, don’t let it change you.

Sip on tea to help calm yourself. Chamomile tea is known for its calming effect, but there are also other teas that can calm you as well. Try a cup of passionflower, catnip, kava kava, or skullcap. Steep these herbs for about 10 minutes and you will get the full effects of their calming powers.

Ahhh…. Who doesn’t love a hot bath? Soaking in a bath is a great stress reliever. But, we don’t always have time for a hot bath. If you don’t have time for a bath, wash your face or even your hands with some hot water and imagine you are soaking your stresses away.

A great tip that can help you fight stress is to simply say “no” to people when you know can’t put more on your plate. If you have a hard time saying “no” to people, you might find yourself in a tough situation by having to do too many things at once.

Music is a very effective tool for the management of stress. Music has an incredible power over people. Studies have shown that listening to music has a calming effect on the body and mind. Everyone likes different genres of music, so make sure to listen to what calms you down.

In order to get a stress attack under control, try using an imagination exercise. Attempt to picture yourself being at a place that you enjoy or find relaxing. For example, if you enjoy beach outings, mentally picture yourself lying on a beach. If you do this for a few minutes, you’ll find that it may help in getting your breathing under control and lowering your pulse rate.

Take some time out of your life to sit down and read about stress. Many times when you understand exactly how something works it allows you to be able to handle it much better. When you understand the psychology of stress, you should be better equipped to avoid it when it comes around.

One of the best ways to reduce or eliminate stress in your life is to learn how to say “no”. If you find yourself overwhelmed with too many commitments or constantly doing things you would rather not be doing, it could be because you have a problem turning people down when they ask for help. The best way to avoid this problem is to be honest with yourself and with others. If someone asks for help and you don’t have the time or energy, simply tell them no.

Very often, stress will not just go away on its own. You will have to get to grips with it. Take action based on the hints provided in this article. It’s not easy, and sometimes you will be tempted to handle stress in a negative way. Try your best to summon some willpower and apply at least a couple of suggestions to begin with.