-Removed-Following a bereavement 2 yrs ago I’d been trying to get back to my positive, more contented state. Last summer I began feeling fearful about ageing, waking at night with horrible thoughts, longing for the time when I had my young family at home and thinking this was a permanent, miserable effect of ageing . I restarted Vit D thinking it a lack of sunshine then began intermittent jogging on my dog walks. Returning to running at 68 is bloody hard work and in an effort to reduce Runners Face I also began adopting a slight smile during my slow sprints. Then I started the smiling around the house, adding an affirmation of It’s Fine as I did it. Now I’ve started doing it whenever I have a negative thought.
The affect upon my mood has been astounding! I’m suddenly back to my most positive mental state 🙂
@Drewnogal saidDas Sein bestimmt das Bewusstsein.
A lot, I’ve recently discovered.
Das Bewusstsein bestimmt das Sein.
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@Drewnogal saidGlad to hear that. Keep it up.😁👍
Following a bereavement 2 yrs ago I’d been trying to get back to my positive, more contented state. Last summer I began feeling fearful about ageing, waking at night with horrible thoughts, longing for the time when I had my young family at home and thinking this was a permanent, miserable effect of ageing . I restarted Vit D thinking it a lack of sunshine then began interm ...[text shortened]...
The affect upon my mood has been astounding! I’m suddenly back to my most positive mental state 🙂
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@Drewnogal saidIf you smile at people passing you in the street, it increases the likelihood that they will smile back. It is not a guarantee, of course; but if you snarl and growl at people passing you in the street, it pretty much guarantees that they won't smile back.
Following a bereavement 2 yrs ago I’d been trying to get back to my positive, more contented state. Last summer I began feeling fearful about ageing, waking at night with horrible thoughts, longing for the time when I had my young family at home and thinking this was a permanent, miserable effect of ageing . I restarted Vit D thinking it a lack of sunshine then began interm ...[text shortened]...
The affect upon my mood has been astounding! I’m suddenly back to my most positive mental state 🙂
"Become the change you want to see." Gandhi
@moonbus saidI help with bucket collections for Guide Dogs in my town. A few hours chatting with shoppers and their kids, who always want to pet the dogs, results in lots of smiles. It always improves my mood ….. though even a ‘contrived’ smile, a non spontaneous one that you just do with your face, many times a day can have a positive impact upon your brain chemistry. Useful to know at a time of year when seasonal affective disorder affects people and worth a try.
If you smile at people passing you in the street, it increases the likelihood that they will smile back. It is not a guarantee, of course; but if you snarl and growl at people passing you in the street, it pretty much guarantees that they won't smile back.
"Become the change you want to see." Gandhi
[The physical act of smiling activates pathways in your brain that influence your emotional state—meaning that by adopting a happy facial expression, you can "trick" your mind into entering a state of happiness.6 This affect works whether or not your smile is genuine. A simple smile can trigger the release of neuropeptides that improve your neural communication. It also causes the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, which can boost your mood. Think of smiling as a natural antidepressant.]
https://www.verywellmind.com/top-reasons-to-smile-every-day-2223755
@Drewnogal saidDogs are wonderful; guide dogs doubly so.
I help with bucket collections for Guide Dogs in my town. A few hours chatting with shoppers and their kids, who always want to pet the dogs, results in lots of smiles. It always improves my mood ….. though even a ‘contrived’ smile, a non spontaneous one that you just do with your face, many times a day can have a positive impact upon your brain chemistry. Useful to know at ...[text shortened]... g as a natural antidepressant.]
https://www.verywellmind.com/top-reasons-to-smile-every-day-2223755
It is easy to learn unconditional love from dogs, so hard to learn it with people ...
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Laughing, “out of the blue”, is another way to get folks involved. It’s kinda like yawning. Our daughter in law was saying that she now is involved with something called “laughing yoga”. Yesterday our local volunteer fire department had a fundraising breakfast. We talked about her new venture and I decided to test it out. I started laughing. I got a few stares but soon there were a lot of the breakfasters joint in. It was a riot…now a nice one of course.👍😁
@Great-Big-Stees saidGotta be a little circumspect about laughing at things where others don't see anything funny going on. In some situations, this would be seen as Schadenfreude. Moreover, if you do this persistently and randomly, you might be visited by men in white coats and carted off in a straitjacket.
Laughing, “out of the blue”, is another way to get folks involved. It’s kinda like yawning. Our daughter in law was saying that she now is involved with something called “laughing yoga”. Yesterday our local volunteer fire department had a fundraising breakfast. We talked about her new venture and I decided to test it out. I started laughing. I got a few stares but soon there were a lot of the breakfasters joint in. It was a riot…now a nice one of course.👍😁
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@moonbus saidBeen there, done that but when examined they determined I was harmless and actually quite sane. They even invited me to do a lecture with the “real” needy.🤔😉👍
Gotta be a little circumspect about laughing at things where others don't see anything funny going on. In some situations, this would be seen as Schadenfreude. Moreover, if you do this persistently and randomly, you might be visited by men in white coats and carted off in a straitjacket.