News Article

Get Happy!

This is my list of pick me ups:

1. Exercise: Get up and do something. Go for a bike ride, hike a trail, go swim, put on some music and shake your booty, lift some weights, do some yoga, chase your kids around the yard. Exercise changes your brain chemistry and really helps with depression. It is a cure and a preventative of almost every illness there is. If you could put the best thing for your health in a bottle it’d be exercise! You look better, you’ll live longer, you’ll feel better. Just move more today than yesterday- it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, it’s not something you have to do perfectly, just MOVE!

2. Go outside: The vitamin D from the sun lifts your mood. Go for a walk around the neighborhood, shop a cute downtown, sit outside and read, go check out a nearby state park, make a picnic lunch and eat outside, play with a pet. Use all of your senses. Smell the breeze, listen to the bees buzz, watch leaves move, follow a butterfly intently- it will lower your heart rate and blood pressure!

3. Act like a kid: blow bubbles, make a sand castle or mud pies, get some friends together to play something- football or whatever, tickle someone, color a picture, eat watermelon with your face, put on a fake tatoo, put your hair in pigtails, eat dessert first, don’t do anything responsible all day, laugh and laugh, see how many funny faces or noises you can make.

4. Touch someone: hug, kiss, have sex with your partner or by yourself! Orgasms send good chemicals to your brain!. We need to be touched whether it’s sexual or not. Don’t be afraid to be sexy. If you have someone to have sex with- look up some new positions on the internet, send them a dirty email (uh, don’t get them fired though!) Make yourself hug people, give them a big smooch on the cheek, wrestle with the kids, don’t be afraid to be touchy feely!

5. Get in some water: take a long shower or bath, go swim in a pool or lake, go hike to a waterfall and stick your feet in, go to the beach, wash your car and get soaking wet, play with your kids with the hose, stand in the rain.

6. Make or buy a special meal or snack: don’t use food as a reward, or a way to soothe emotions- I know I struggle with this- but even with the confines of a diet you can find something luxurious to eat, to make yourself feel special- fresh veggies or fruit from a farmer’s market, smoked salmon with some low-fat cream cheese, a lovely salad in a fancy bowl, a piece of Godiva chocolate, an ice cream cone, a snow ball, some boiled shrimp, BBQ in your backyard with some friends, a Tootsie pop, some sushi. Don’t pig out, don’t eat in front of the tv or standing up or in your car- sit down, light a candle, pick a flower and put it in a vase, use good china, savor it slowly- be mindful.

7. Be creative: even if you don’t have an artistic bone in your body you CAN make something, finger paint, arrange a bouquet of flowers, make something out of clay, draw a picture of your family and put it on the fridge, send someone a homemade card, rearrange some nick nacks or furniture, draw with chalk on the concrete outside, decorate some cookies, arrange all your books on your shelves with like colors together, do your make-up and hair to perfection. Go to the local crafts store and buy some kind of kit- paint a t-shirt, make a bracelet, decorate a frame, buy some new markers. Go on the paint program on your computer and make something crazy and make it your screen saver.

8. Listen to music: I got an IPOD for Christmas and after feeling like a techno moron for months it has become my most treasured possession. I put on music when I’m driving, when I exercise, when I clean house, when I’m cooking. It also changes the brain chemistry. You need music in your life. If you think you don’t care, look some stuff up. Look on the MTV website and find the best music of the 90s or 80s or whatever- you’ve got to like something. Maybe you’d like meditative music, or jazz, or classical. Find out what you like, and get some! It without a doubt is an important part of my life. I prefer upbeat, fun music that makes me want to dance and it really makes me work more and exercise more ardently when I have it on. I also listen to some guided meditations that are lovely too.

9. Stay active and out of your mind: When I’m really getting crazy I know I have to stop thinking. I have to get up and get moving- I clean house, I organize things, I put on music and fold laundry, I paint a room, I pull weeds, I clean out my closet, I go shopping, I go eat with a friend, I cook, I stay occupied and active and it helps get my mind off of whatever is bothering me plus I end up feeling better about myself because I’m moving and productive. The thoughts don’t always go away entirely, but I get more peaceful and I get distracted, and I can listen to what I’m thinking so that sometimes I come up with an entirely new way of looking at things that makes more sense.

10. Get some sleep: take a nap, go to bed early, sleep late- whatever works- don’t feel guilty for sleeping but don’t overdo it either, then you’ll feel crappy. If you have trouble sleeping, try this a couple of hours before bedtime: take a long bath or shower, put on pajamas, dim the lights in the house, drink a cup of sleepy time tea or eat a small snack with a glass of milk, you can watch tv or read- although I’ve read that you shouldn’t watch tv because it makes your mind too active- but tv in bed makes me really sleepy. During the day just make sure it’s cool and dark in the room and turn off your phones. You deserve some sleep!

11. P.S. - say NO when you want to say no! If you aren’t feeling good inside or out, it’s not helping anyone, so don’t feel like you’re being selfish when you take care of yourself first. My kids are bored right now because it’s summer but I just was away for days and it’s okay to say you’re too busy to talk, or to have a kid over, or that you don’t feel like taking them somewhere. It’s okay to not want to go to your Mom’s house 2 hours away because you want to regroup. It’s okay to tell someone you can’t pick up their kid, it’s okay to ask everyone to have a few days of uncomplicated uninterrupted peace . It’s your life, you can do whatever you want with it. Your aren’t responsible for everyone’s feelings, you don’t have to be everything to everyone all the time!!!! Just let go for a day or so and just have fun!