Sometimes, is hard to keep ourselves happy all day. How do you do it?
Go outside and get some sun, count your blessings, understand that the sadness will pass, and that many people around the world have it a lot worse.
Have a nice cuddle. I even had a cuddle with a cracked rib, it never bothered me at all during the cuddle.
We don't have to be happy every day. It's okay to feel how we feel.
🌳 That said, fresh air or changing your physical surroundings can help.
🚿 Something physically shocking or relaxing, like a cold or hot shower.
👫🏻 Sharing with a non-judgmental friend who won't try to fix you or run away, but listen and offer their thoughts, if desired.
🎈 Connecting with your inner child (watching an old favorite movie, playing a game, listening to nostalgic music).
🎶 Speaking of music, sometimes an upbeat playlist can break the cycle.
🐕 Playing with a pet.
I post encouragement regarding mental health here, if you're interested. 🫂
~ Sunset Snuggles
🦄 Enthusiast 🏞 Travel Fiend 🐘 Animal Lover
@SunsetSnuggles Lady, you are wonderfully helpful. In your tag line you used to have a quote from Benjamin Franklin. He used to publish a pamphlet called the farmers almanac, where many of his wit and knowledge was spread. I dare say you have enough material just posted online to make your own publication... call it the cuddlers almanac? If your travels take you to my area I hope you know you have a very appreciative hug waiting for you.
Sometimes you can’t make yourself happy no matter what you do. I suffer from depression and a list of random BS is mostly unhelpful because none of it works.
You just got to plough through it. Be miserable for a while. Feel like the world hates you. Feel like nothing you ever do, or have ever done means anything. It may never get better.
The point isn’t to make yourself feel better. The point is to push on, no matter how you’re feeling.
Hi, @Jmaxi !
Nice to see you here. And thank you for sharing this personal inquiry with us.
Much of the research on happiness tells us the following…
While we might each prefer health over illness, wealth over poverty, company over isolation, (etc.) there are no external conditions which by themselves create or prevent an overall sense of happiness. Prisoners serving life sentences and folks with terminal illness can feel happiness. Meanwhile rock stars and lottery winners can fail to do so.
Some of the best advice for cultivating happiness boils down to practicing an attitude of gratitude. Accept that sadness is a part of life, but redirect your focus to the many, many things we can be joyful about.
Or, as @TxTom put it, “count your blessings.”
I'm a pretty happy and positive person, but not all day, every day! When I'm not feeling happy during the day, I don't sweat it, unless it's affecting more, like my work. Mostly, I just remember that it's temporary and I have a 100% success rate for getting thru every day. My daily regimen is everything @TxTom suggests, but also find silly memes to make me smile, take a leisurely walk, or I try to eat a piece of fresh fruit or something with a lot of iron or protein. Sometimes, my poor diet causes my "blahs." Last week, I was having "a day," but it really perked up after helping a little turtle that was trying to cross a busier street. Nothing works for everyone, but I find it nice to have different ideas to try!
For me the best way to be happy in a sad day is whisky and walk in a park or a long drive with a soft music
I don’t, because it’s healthy to have a full range of emotions. If you’re sad, make space for that. It’s ok to not be ok all the time. People who stuff their emotions and try to keep sweet all the time often end up developing cancer. We call it the Type C personality in my field. Type A’s usually develop heart problems.
Quiet the noise. Disconnect from modern stresses. And take a break from the CC forums. lol Nature and nurture. VS online or media chaos. Reboot, yourself. Mostly in nature, with soothing music, Iced tea, a great book and wonderful outside cozy place to read. Volunteering at animal shelters is soothing for me too but could be triggering for some. Find what works for you and feel your feelings, while managing stress a bit better with quieting the noise.
Sometimes we just have to go through our emotions. Sugar and white flour affect mine, so I try to eat good so mentally I feel good. When I was sad recently after eating badly, I chatted with some friends (some on here and some local) and that helped, and going out to dinner with one helped some. Sometimes just leaning into what we feel makes it pass faster or easier. Big hugs 🤗
Walk barefoot in nature. Sunlight. Exercise. Water.
🦋 Happiness is like a friendly little Butterfly that visits and leaves at different times. If you don’t feel it near, that’s okay. It WILL come back to you again. It may even bring friends like Laughter and Play.
🦋 In the meantime? Embrace the slow, fuzzy Sloth that is Sadness. It is there to remind you to pause and take stock of what is making you sad.
🦋 As cliche as it sounds: Change what you can and accept what you can’t. It’s a part of the natural spectrum of human emotion. It’s not bad to be sad!
🦋 A Proverb even says that sadness makes the heart better. Honor the time spent with that emotion.
🦋 Before you know it, something will make you smile or cry a tear of bittersweet joy at the beauty of art or the simple pleasures of life. That sweet little Butterfly will flutter back into your space, and the Sloth will go to sleep.
🦋 If the sadness is too intense and painful because there is a deep root of pain, please reach out to a trusted friend, family member or even a professional if necessary.
🦋 If it’s so bad that you don’t want to be here 🌍 anymore and don’t feel safe alone with your thoughts, please call 911.
🦋 I would also recommend praying and asking for prayer if you and/or someone you know believes in that sort of thing 😅 I certainly do 🥹🩵🩵🩵
I hope this helps! Sending you a million warm hugs and snuggles full of sunshine!! ☀️ 🧸 💕
@SunsetSnuggles
That's a great list! I particularly relate to the nostalgic/childhood part. There are moments when I tap into that and it makes me feel so incredibly better.
Going for walks outside also helps me a lot. It helps me connect with nature and kind of helps get my mind off of my troubles.
@RelaxWithAri
Wonderful list!
Listen to music
For me it is alone time, hiking, and working out. Spa days and such are nice too.
Radical acceptance helps me a lot. Sometimes it helps me to just accept the situation for what it is and basically take a sick day. Treat myself with extra kindness. Forgive myself if I'm moving slow. Treat myself to some comfort food. Talk to a friend. It's ok to not have a solution and it's ok to be angy or sad after making the right decision. I highly recommend the book "the happiness trap." It explains that happiness is not supposed to be a constant state. It also suggests a wide range of interesting coping skills and explores some really interesting statistics about clinical depression and treatment.
Sometimes you just have to allow yourself to go with the flow and cope with the bad . You can visit the darkness . It doesn't mean you have to live there .
There’s no secret to being happy on a sad day. Sometimes you have to embrace it and do things to take your mind off of it. Or just vent to someone. Sometimes I smoke weed and pet my cats - that seems to help me, so find what works for you