Nov
21
How To Feel Better And Be Happier
Filed Under Motivation & Purpose, Relationships, The Bigger Perspective |
Feel Better - Be Happier
Are you feeling sad or unhappy? Here’s a few things that I’ve found to be extremely helpful.
Exercise
If you are feeling sad, this is probably the most effective method of feeling better right away. Go outside and just start running. It doesn’t matter how fast you run, or how far you run, as long as you get your heart pumping and blood flowing. Try to push yourself a bit so that you have to concentrate really hard to make it through those last few feet. Doing this yields a ton of benefits:
- Exercise releases endorphins which immediately makes you feel better.
- It gives you a long term healthy habit to go to whenever you feel unhappy.
- While you’re concentrated on moving your muscles those last few laps, your mind is not fixed on what you’re sad about.
- Improving in exercise will give you self confidence when you look back on it.
- Do it outside so that you get some fresh air and sunlight.
- It increases your metabolism so that you feel more energetic for a while.
Whenever I return home from running, I’m always breathing so heavily that nothing else matters too much at the moment. There are never any feelings of pain, sadness, or anger. Something about struggling for breaths of life makes all your other troubles seem very trivial.
Laughing
Laughing works faster than other exercises, as you can just throw back your head and do it. Go ahead, just laugh out loud right now… Hahahahahaha!!! Um… okay, maybe that was a little creepy. Uh.. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Okay, feel better?
Like other types of physical muscle contractions, laughing releases endorphins and relaxes you. It seems to be more effective than say running in that you can feel better after a short laugh than a long run.
Of course, it’s not always easy to laugh when you don’t find something funny. Therefore, the long term solution is to try to change your outlook to find life a funnier place. Notice the little quirks and ironic things going on around you and laugh at those. Notice the stupid mistakes you make and laugh at those. Notice how all your problems are so little in the grand scheme of things and laugh at that. Everythng kind of is pretty funny 
Meanwhile, in the short term, just laugh when you feel sad. You don’t have to find something funny to start laughing; you can just laugh randomly! That in itself is kind of funny (so you might start off fake laughing, but then find that scene so hilarious that it becomes a real laugh anyway). Once you get used to it, you’ll start naturally laughing a lot more! It’s like a natural endorphin boost throughout the day that you don’t really even notice!
Singing
Another one of my favorite physical activities that just provides a natural endorphin boost. Unlike running, you don’t have to sweat and puff all day long. Singing is a lot like aerobic exercise, except it’s a lot more fun! Join a choir, audition for a musical play, or even just go to church. Pick something that is funny, motivating, and inspiring.
After all, while you’re singing about how good it is to be alive, it’s hard to think of anything negative. Here’s some inspiration: For The Beauty Of The Earth
I have definiately found that my overall mood is much improved when I sing on a regular basis. The easiest regular source of singing is probably church, where no one will judge you and you can feel at home singing in public. Additionally, these regular sources of singing tend to put you into contact with people, which will (hopefully) help you laugh more also
Remember The Happy Memories
Try to think of some memories. Are they ones you feel good about, or ones you feel bad about? If you’re feeling bad, chances are, the bad memories are the ones on the surface of your memory. If you’re always thinking, this is bad, that is bad, then of course everything is going to seem bad to you!
Think of a time when you were truly happy. Just any memory would do. For example, I can remember times in my childhood when I lived in a boarding school. In my corner, there was a big hole, and in it, my friends and I would always stash a bunch of “goodies”. Random stuff like paper, pieces of plastic, etc. My one prized possession was a piece of pinkish plastic shaped like a hat. It was basically an oval, with a cylindrical portion raised up in the middle. It was somewhat rough in texture, but I found it to be unique. It was a special item that I would take out once in a while and look at with glee.
Just describing that experience made me feel kind of happy. Thinking of memories like these in great detail helps you “relive” those experiences. Memory works in that the more you think about something, the more it becomes ingrained in your mind. Trying to continously think about how to get rid of your sad memories just makes you sadder! Spend some time each day and try to recall any good memories you have. Before you know it, you’ll start relating everything to those happy times and your sad memories would just be a vague recollection of the past!
Do Things And Go Places That Make You Happy
Of course, it also helps to get some new happy memories! With all those memories making you happy, why not relive some of those memories? Remember the beach that made you feel really peaceful and serene when you were a kid? Go there and sit by it for a while. Or maybe that trip that’s always made you energetic and gave you a feeling of excitement. Take that again. Do the things that you love to do, and be happy!
Remember that the main goal here is to build happy memories though, not to go through the motions of the experience. As you do these things that make you happy, take it all in and really appreciate it. Isn’t it such a great and wonderful experience? It makes you feel great just being alive!
That’s the feeling you’d like to get later when you look back on this time and relive this experience, so make it a good one!
Make Some Happy Friends
Since you are looking for happy experiences, what better way to make them than by hanging out with happy people? Pick some people that seem to be happy and smiling all the time. Make them your friend and hang out with them on a regular basis. If there is one thing that’s true, it’s that the thoughts of people you are closest to tend to “rub off” on you. You become more like the people you interact with on a regular basis.
There’s a lot of advantageous to making naturally happy friends:
- You’ll have someone making you happy randomly over the long term
- You may start to learn why they are so happy and learn the source of that happiness for yourself
- You’ll be subjected to happy experiences while undergoing this process
- Happy friends generally have happy friends also, so you’ll meet even more happy people
- Happy friends will introduce you to activities that make them happy, which you can adopt even if the friendship doesn’t work out
It sure seems like a lot of ways to make yourself happier
Finding Meaning In Life
Memories can only be happy when things are meaningful though. After all, who feels happy about doing dull and meaningless things? Therefore, you should try to find out what has meaning for you. When you do something important well, you feel important too! Think about it - People who do important things are important! Luckily, you determine what is important, so just find out what those are, and do them!
Before long, your mind will be so consumed with all the details of doing important things, that sad memories become forgotten or unimportant by comparison! Then you’ll just be left with happy memories of yourself doing important things!
This is one of the most important ones for finding long term happiness. Being content and finding happiness when you are alone will allow you to not depend on anything external to yourself. It gives you freedom in that these external factors don’t control your mood. For example, if you’re dependent on your friends to be happy, then you’ll always be afraid of what happens if they aren’t your friends anymore. This’ll make you feel unsure about yourself all the time. Anything that would cause your friends to be away from you would make you worried. You might start becoming very controlling of your friends, always needing them to be nearby. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you might become very afraid of making your friends angry, never seeking out healthy relationships. Finally, when your friends go away (as everything goes away eventually - we all die after all), you’ll be sad once again.
Compare that to having inner security, where you have a source of happiness that no one can destroy. Why not figure out what you want and go after it? You’ll always be happy trying to take that journey!
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Excellent!
The one who laughs, lasts.
Thank you,
CG
Unfortunately, none of those work for me.
Exercise - I am perfectly capable of obsessing about whatever has upset me and running at the same time, I really don’t caremuch about being fit, and I’m usually *too* energetic when I’m upset.
Laughing - forced emotions are not felt, and I can’t view it as funny if it’s upset me.
Remembering Happy Moments - I can remember the event, but I can’t bring up the emotion unless I’m already happy. Also, then it gets associated with unhappiness and becomes less happy.
Do Things & Go Places That Make You Happy - that sometimes works, but often I’m too upset to enjoy it.
Make Some Happy Friends - I often find really happy people annoying. Unless they’re children, but then I don’t want them burdened by my emotions so I won’t show them that I’m unhappy. And the things that make most people happy are very different from what makes me happy, because I’m autistic.
Find Meaning - That doesn’t make me happy. It motivates me to accomplish things, but more often because I’m angry than happy.
i feel like shit since my new dog has 2 go back and all my friends don’t know yet
sorry my email is jackshipton12345@hotmail.com
What happens when the good memories make sad?
manoman, i know meaning of life and all the top things you’ve said. and yes what if it is the happy things that makes you sad? me and my girl are kind of seperated by her parents.. we love each other so much but cannot see each other. she’s got no mobile. so we cant communicate. :’( non of your stuff works.
DISTRACTION! That’s it. When all those things above don’t work for me … I have to force myself to find some distraction. For the first person who goes on about being able to obsess while exercising, I understand, my mind can always find worst case scenarios etc. I just have to force myself to find things I like, or things that make me busy, or other things to think about or do. And every time my mind goes back to the sadness, what ifs and paranoia, I have to come right back to here & now, and just do something else. Then, if I’m lucky I’ll wake up with a new outlook on life tomorrow. Practice, Practice, Practice. It’s so easy to fall into the down side of things sometimes. Often, after I cry I feel a little better too. So … something to think about: I now create my life just the way I want it.
And if those don’t work for you, like myself, it never hurts to seek professional help. I have Depression and medicate it daily to live and actually enjoy my life again.
i don’t want anyone looking at me
i don’t like people
i force myself to do things everyday
i can’t be on much more medication
sunshine makes me hide and wish for night
it’s sunny today
wow, what can I say. Depression moves in fast and hard sometimes.
and the FED is actually running the country with a sham gov’t.
My son and I had a head on collision this year and he and I both injured. I have permanent nerve damage and can’t feel my hands sometimes.
My son got a broken collar bone. My fiance’ is sick most of the time with fibromyalgia and mental illness. I have depression( what a wonder ) right now because… gee I dunno.
My friends have all moved away , I’m a bout to lose my apartment, umm. it’s my dad’s birthday and I’m not calling him cuz he was such a crummy dad and grandpa. Oh, I do have one friend, but he makes $400,000 a year and puts me down and expects me to get a job.(for what and how , I’m on disability )
My son will be leaving for college so I’ll be all alone pretty much (does that suck bad enough ?) My neighbors also hate me for various reasons and my car has been vandalized on occasion.
There is also likely to be a pro choice liberal in the whitehouse
I am most likely enfatuated with someone else so I can’t even go to church without feeling guilty. she’s also 20 years younger than me but she is 25 ( probably won’t work out anyway )
What is the point in going on ???
Tackle this one if you dare — AND DON”T TELL ME TO SEE A PSYCHIATRIST TO GIVE ME A BUNCH OF FRIGGIN PILLS !! I already tried that 4 years ago and got permanent ringing of the ears from it and almost died from allergy to paxil.
Sounds like your very angry.
Everyone has let you down and you have had so much bad luck.Welcome to adulthood its tough, and we all have to take responsibility for decisions we make and how we can be better people.
pray
What if you can’t think of happy memories???
All these ideas are good, for me it’s all a moment, exercise makes me feel good, but sometimes I just don’t want to, laughing does too, but the feeling is always there, I feel so terrible for the disabled guy, you actually made me feel better, no offense, praying you actually get better, maybe you will feel better when you can actually go to work and make some money, that’s one of my issues, I can’t go to work I have a small baby and my spouse doesn’t want me to leave her with the babysitter yet until next year so far it’s been 1 year, I am used of being active moving around, making money, and having a social life. What a bummer!
Reading these comments made feel a lot better about myself. Jesus you guys are a sad bunch, a negative attitude will make you sad and depressed. The only one that can truly make you happy is yourself. The world might not be fair, but you have to make your own luck no matter what.
Go out and smile, you might not feel like it. But with time the world will smile back at you, and you will feel a lot better.
HAHAHAAH that joke (i dnw if it was supposed to be one ) but it did make me laugh and yes i did feel better
thanks !!!!
Why not try Christ. Hope in God and understanding Him in my life has cured my depression. Now there’s so much to do and so many to help in what ways I can help. Life’s good. Making it a little better for everybody else is a joy.
guys , all what i’ve seen above doesn’t work 4 sure, i won’t use my dictatership , but im Muslim,even if i never practiced one of mentioned options, i’m always happy and live in peace, there are body feeders and soul feeders
wen u eat u feed ur body, wen u pray, remember ur god , that’s a soul feeding, it makes u happy the way u never been b4, sorry bt my english is nt that well , bt i just gt here somehow by mistake, thanks for allowing me 2 submit a comment
im still in school
and while im not depressed or anything, i suffer from really really bad mood swings. sounds stupid that i would complain about something like that
but it affects me more than u would know
goign to school is an effort coz im always having to put a smile on my face
i’m really damn sick of it and my anger builds up
and i end up lashing out and hurting my friends
which hurts me
keeping busy helps. really reallly busy.
just that when i stop doing something and try to relax, it all just hits me
hence i ended up here. ‘how to feel better’
shit thats depressing in itself! haha
so, for thse of you who would like to laugh, i have a blond joke for you. me being blond, ihear the best
k so there’s three girls (naturally) a blond, a red head and a brunette
they’re being chased by a policeman, and see an alleyway with three sacks in it
so they all run down there and each jump in a sack
when the policeman comes up to the first sack with the brunette in it, she yells out ‘woof woof’
so he thinks its a dog and leaves it.
he goes to the next sack with the red head and she goes ‘meoww’ and he thinks its a cat so he leaves it.
finally he comes up to the blond and she goes ‘potatoes potatoes’
laughing is also a good workout for the abs
being toned and knowing it im sure would make u happier
enjoy!
Just remember everyone, that this is only a feeling, its only temporary and things will get better. I’m telling you only what I need someone to tell me, but it makes me feel better all the same, hope it does for you too.
I am 30, have no boyfriend, no friends, no job, no home, nothing I want. A month ago I had just reached a point where I was happy, after many efforts and difficulties to get there, I had the life I wanted and my dream was about to come true. Then it all got taken away because of a break up which implied my move across the world. Now I am desperately unhappy and hopeless about my life. I seem to have lost the ability to want or do anything (there is no way I can get myself to do any of the things above!). I seem to feel nothing but pain and sadness, and a huge sense of regret and waste.
What do you do when you believe so strongly deep inside you that your chance of a happy and worthwhile life is gone forever? What do you do when the thought of settling for second best makes you not want anything that could ever have in your life?
A lot of you guys are really bummers. We all know things aren’t good, we’re all doing our own thing to live with it and having people just dwell on the bad things and, even worse, vocalize it constantly are just slowing everyone’s trip to happiness down.
Just like you can dwell on the bad things, you can dwell on the good things. It’s going to take some effort, but you don’t have a choice.
If my good memories turns to worst memories?
at school, i have friends in my homeroom, or at least i think they are my friends, but then at recess and whenever evryone is together i feel realy left out, everyone seems to ignore me and im realy quiet. I find myself trying to make excuses about my unhappiness, and im tired of feeling depressed back and forth and trying to compare myself to others that i no those people do and dont like. they are the only group of girls at school other than the dorks that i realy hate and i would be even more unhappy with them, believe me ive tried it. but the worst part it, i dont know why the people that were my friends earlier this year and are my friends, ignore me whenever their all together! what did i do wrong?!
I read all of the opening stuff and some of it may work and some not. To begin with… I am Bi-Polar… if you don’t know what that is look it up please.. It is so important that others understand that those of us with this disorder are NOT crazy.. We simply lack some small things in our brain that sometimes does not allow us to control emotions.. Meds do wonders.. ( I am not a druggie ) Please keep reading for the important stuff.
Now from this disorder I have learned that life simply comes at you… sometimes in a rush and sometimes really slow. The whole answer is to just accept it as what it is… Life. None of us is perfect.. none of us will live forever.. and none of us will be happy constantly.. We are not all beautiful ( except inside) . There is a whole lot of stuff out there that purports to be able to lift your spirits with exercise etc. If it works for you so much the better.. but realizing who you are and what you can feel, along with your capacity for enjoying even the smallest thing will go a lot further. There is really no such thing as the past. It is simply memories, what matters if the future.. what is to come . when it does, it becomes the present and that is what we all have to deal with. Its really easy..
If you feel depressed, it will disolve eventually, same thing for happiness. It is all relative. Live your life in the present and you will find it a lot easier.. If you are overweight.. so what.. many people are healthy at that stage. If you are unhappy, it will go away.
do what you want.. do things for yourself, while not forgetting that other people share the world stage with you and maybe they are in the same boat. Man, I sure got into running on, but all of these things are so important. All the self help people out there are probably honest but they are not in that shell we call ourselves. You can only do it yourself. Try it… you will like it.
Wow He sure did run on alot he could of just said try to remember that we share the world stage with other people and there are other people are in the same boat. honestly i was expecting a number or email at the end of his post. hahahahahhaha!
Ok but seriously, one thing has not been mention and i feel it is the most Importaint acspet of feeling happy. Its the natual way, Go and find a Really good source of Nautal B Vitimans (usaly can be found in the produce section sometimes they sell drinks) And drink a cup when your feeling down. Will get you feeling great! you can also visit yoga.org.nz which is a yoga website dedicated to teaching alternative style to excise, also there is alot of reading there if you wanna read.
Ok i wanna seperate this info with a good joke. A rabbi, priest and a museum walk into a bar. the bartender says to them is this some kinda joke?
Now the Bible is a great source of information and holds alot of knowlage about the world, and it says a blessing for every man who reads the bible and a blessing for everyman who hears the bible. I suggest. aiight have a good one Latter.
i can’t think of a single good memory that doesn’t lead to a bad one. i have to change medication again and this time it’s going to hurt. i want to be who i was before i met my ex husband and ended up on 4 psychotropic drugs and a sleep aid that doesn’t work. i smile all day long in public and people believe me. i talk to everyone i meet. i’m beautiful, i’m young and i’m miserable. i wanna live in maui and take tourists scuba diving and that is the only thing i think will make me happy. nothing else works.
readin everyones comments hav been so helpful to me in this difficult time in my life
thank you so much to everyone your advice is very inspiring to me 
reading most of the comments on this page have actually made me realise i’m not half near as messed up as i thought i was, and made me feel a lot better! some of you are propper downers!
Go to fmylife.com, read the posts.
they make you feel better.
and postsecret.com
those two sites do wonders for me.
I cant take this anymore, I’fge gotten kicked out of my bed, and cant fucking sleep , I have a disease that annoys me so much, to the point I’m constantly scratching myself, I see a friend send me an instant message, and it just makes me feel bad, and I start crying. I’m too tired, I’ve punched myself to try to get rid of bad thoughts, and I need to just get totally wasted on drugs, or something, I cant feel better.. its makin gme cry, and I dont know whatto even think.
i think life its beautiful, and all of us have the right to live it just how we want to. i know that sometimes we feel bad and unworthy, but we need to raise our selves up, and be happy to be alive…try to think always positive things and pay attention of what u do, and what u can do everyday. live your life and dont give up, because u and i have the right to be happy as everybody else. =]
Okay, this is all well and good, but what the world REALLY needs is an app for your iPhone that makes you feel better about yourself every time to you push its button!
Hey, that’s why there’s http://www.LittleYesMan.com
LittleYesMan - The Life Coach on your iPhone - no matter how wrong you are!
http://www.LittleYesMan.com