Exercise Beats Depression

In The Happy Blog, Dr. Happy writes, "A study by the Black Dog Institute showed people who have suffered clinical depression believe that of all the therapies and techniques (not including drugs and psychotherapies) it is exercise that helps the most, followed by yoga/meditation, relaxation and massage."

I've seen studies like this before with similar conclusions, and I've never seen one that refutes this claim. One way to look at it is: Exercise beats depression, as if exercise were a kind of drug. Another way to look at it is that the lack of exercise is unnatural. In other words, depression is a side-effect of a severe exercise-deficiency.

If you assume human bodies need exercise to be healthy and happy (or at least undepressed), then exercise would function like any other essential. If you don't get enough vitamin C, your connective tissue begins to disintegrate (scurvy). If you don't get enough vitamin B-3, your skin peels and you start going insane (pellagra). And if you don't get enough physical exercise, you lose your ability to rise out of depression.

It's something to think about, anyway. At least it's something to try that won't hurt and has other positive benefits even if it doesn't lift the depression. If you know someone who is depressed or discouraged, send them this article, and also the article, Undemoralize Yourself.

Exercise works for all of us. Even if you're not depressed, a little exercise usually raises your mood. It's an all-purpose moodraiser that just about anyone can use. If you haven't exercised in the last couple days and you're not feeling as good as you would like, try doing some exercise today and see if that helps. I'll bet it will.

Read more about the benefits of exercise: Where To Tap.

Read more...

Seeing The Same Thing a Different Way

IF YOU CAN "reframe" a circumstance that makes you feel bad, you won't feel bad any more. Nothing has changed except how you're looking at it, but that's enough to change your feelings. Reframing means interpreting the situation differently. When something happens, you interpret it a certain way, and your mind usually does it automatically. The situation just seems a certain way to you, and you have feelings appropriate to the way you look at it.

For example, a few months ago I had to go to the dentist. I noticed I felt a little grumbly and nervous about it. In other words, I was in a bad mood about it. I realized the "frame" I was using to interpret this event was: "I have to go do this unpleasant thing." And my feelings were appropriate to that interpretation. I dreaded going and felt annoyed that I had to go.

So I asked myself, "Is there another way to look at this?" And instantly I realized that in most of human history, dentists didn't exist. People had horrible toothaches and couldn't do anything about it. Their teeth rotted out, and nothing could be done. Even a few hundred years ago, most of the "dentistry" consisted of pulling out a tooth that was causing pain (and pulling it out without novocaine!).

But I go to a very clean environment and my teeth are professionally maintained. Because of this, I'll probably have my teeth my whole life. My dentist goes out of his way to keep pain to a minimum. From this perspective, which is just as valid as my automatic interpretation, I am lucky to go to the dentist.

When I thought about it that way, my mood shifted. I felt better. I felt fortunate to live in a time when people can take care of their teeth. I felt lucky to live in a place where we have dentists.

That's how reframing works. It is surprisingly easy to do. All you have to do is 1) notice some circumstance is bringing you down, and 2) ask yourself if there is some other way to look at it than the way you automatically look at it.

Read another article about it here: Reframing.

Read a book about it: Reframing: Neuro-linguistic Programming and The Transformation of Meaning

Read more...

Complimenting Others Makes YOU Feel Good

STUDY AFTER STUDY has shown that the most consistent source of good moods is hanging out with other people. Today I have a little tip that will help make your moments with other people even more enjoyable.

The idea is simple: Keep your eye out for something you really like about the person you're talking to, and say it. I know this isn't earthshattering advice, but it is something we all need to be reminded of because if we don't make any effort to do otherwise, the natural orientation of our minds is noticing what's wrong.

The human brain has a negative bias. You can read all about that here. Because of that, you have to deliberately try to notice what you like or your attention will be dominated by your own brain's negative bias. This effort is completely worth it, however, because it will boost your mood and the other person's mood as well.

So today, try an experiment. Give five good compliments before this day is done. Make sure what you say is true and specific. Phony flattery is unnecessary. If you look, you will find plenty you can honestly acknowledge. And be specific about what you like because then the person can't reject your compliment. If you say, "You're really nice," they might think of all the times they weren't nice, and reject your compliment in their minds. But you could be more specific: "You were very kind to that old woman. I like that about you." This honest, specific statement is much harder to reject, which means it can penetrate their heart and make you both feel good.

One bonus side-effect of your effort is that you will keep your attention on more pleasant things while you're looking for what you like. It's a great way to raise your mood.

Read more...

Joyful Purpose

WHEN I WANT TO improve my mood, I always look first for something in my complete control. Purposeful action is the best one. I can decide on a purpose and I can take actions toward that purpose. It doesn't depend on circumstances or the moods of others. Doing something purposeful is a self-reliant way to reliably raise your mood.

Think of one small goal you really want. And it's really important you think of something you want. You could do things you should do all day long, completing task after task, but if there's no juice in it, all that accomplishment won't raise your mood. (Well, that's not entirely true. If you have something worrying you or something you're dreading, and you get it done, it can be a relief.) But for the real enjoyment, you need: 1) something you want to accomplish, that 2) you enjoy accomplishing.

If all you're doing is the drudgery, thinking that "some day" you'll get around to doing the stuff you love, you can really improve your ongoing mood to add even a little of something you really want to accomplish.

So that's your assignment. Do a little of your joyful purpose today, or if the day is almost done, then start tomorrow. Think of something you really want to do that you really like to do, and get a little of it done.

And try to do a little every day. It will add a lot of fine feeling for a small amount of effort, and that good mood will linger. You'll get the benefit of anticipating it, enjoying it while it's happening, and feeling the lingering satisfaction afterwards.

If you want to get in shape, and you love to exercise, work some into your day today. Even a little bit. For me, I love to read. So I try to work in at least a little reading every day, and it boosts my mood even into the next day. I think about what I learned and I try things out, experimenting with the ideas. I share things with others, and it makes me happy.

What is it for you? Do just a little today.

If you would like to read more about this, here are two good (and short) articles:

The Ocelot Blues

A Lasting State Of Feeling Great

Read more...

The Purpose of Moodraiser.com

ON Moodraiser.com, I will give you effective but simple ways to raise your mood, adjust your attitude, and feel good more often, delivered in bite-sized, easy-to-digest pieces.

Who is this for? Everybody likes to be in a good mood, of course, but not everyone is motivated to do anything about it. I can think of several categories of people who might be committed to raising their moods:

1. People who know good moods are good for their health. Or who know pessimism is bad for their hearts and bad for their immune systems. People who know this and are committed to their health will really like MoodRaiser.com.

2. Parents of young children. Most parents know their attitude rubs off on their children and want to make sure the right attitude rubs off. And you can't fake it. Kids can see right through their parents, so a genuinely good mood is the only thing that will work.

3. A single person wanting a relationship. Obviously a person in a good mood is more attractive than someone in a bad mood.

4. Someone in commission sales or multi-level marketing. They know their own chronic mood will either help them succeed or help them fail.

5. People who deal with the public one-on-one and face-to-face and whose income is closely tied to how well they interact — restaurant servers, customer service representatives, travel agents, etc.

For these people, the ability to remain in a genuinely good mood is not just nice. It's important. You can fake a good mood only so much before others see through it or you get tired from the effort. A genuinely good mood makes you feel energetic and brightens the lives of people around you. It is a worthwhile endeavor. If you're with me on this, if you want to feel good more often, for whatever reason, I'm glad we found each other.

Read more...