Millions of people all over the world deal with depression and anxiety on a regular basis. Both of these mental conditions can affect your life in a negative way and prevent you from living the life that you want. Both depression and anxiety can feed off of your fears and emotions, causing a whirlwind of sadness and panic that is difficult to ride out. Once in their grip, you might feel like any moments of happiness that you do have are ever-fleeting. Another culprit that robs people of their happiness is stress. Stress can come in the form of employment, school work, family life and physical ailments.
Though it might be difficult at first, especially if you're dealing with depression and anxiety, you must make changes in your daily life that will help to increase your happiness and the way that you feel in a positive manner.
Replace Worry with Positive Expectation
Worry is like a seed that grows into a garden of panic, sadness and fear. There are two types of worry: productive and futile. Productive worry involves something that you can and should change, like the worrying thought "I'm out of work and need to pay bills". This is considered productive worry because there is something viable that you can do to solve the issue. You can put out job applications, work with employment agencies or get some type of assistance until you get back on your feet. Then there is futile worry, like "I feel like there's a lump in my throat and think I have cancer." and the worry snowballs into a cascade of physical and mental anguish. You need to turn worry into positive expectation. If it's something that can be changed, you need to do everything you can to change the problem. If it's something that can't be changed, realize that it's futile to continue worrying about it.
Try New Things
Another way to increase your happiness is to try new things. This could be as simple as learning how to knit or crochet to something more extreme like learning how to go water rafting or sky diving. The key is to be consistent with trying new things so that you always have something to do with yourself. Plus, you'll be amazed at how fun you're going to have trying new things. Better yet, get friends or relatives involved, if you can, so that you have social interaction along with having lots of fun. Trying new things doesn't have to be expensive, so look for things to do that aren't going to eat up your budget.
Have Things to Look Forward To
One of the main reasons people deal with anxiety and depression is because they get stuck in a rut. They are often doing the same thing day in and day out, which causes a feeling of being stuck in life. Because of this, you must have things that you can look forward to, which will spark feelings of excitement and happiness that are difficult to push away. This could be something as simple as a hobby that you're involved with and a convention that you're going to, to something like dating, starting a family or going back to school.
Care for Your Body
We live in a t ime now when it's almost second nature to overeat. Binge eating is a major issue, and it is especially problematic for those who deal with depression and anxiety. Turning to food to ease your mental woes can be all too easy, and what makes it worse is that depression as well as anxiety can deter someone from exercising. However, by continuing these unhealthy habits, you probably don't realize that you're actually digger a deeper hole for yourself. Taking care of your body not only gives you something to look forward to as you work on losing weight and gaining muscle, but it can help to decrease feelings of depression and lowered self-worth.
Take a Deep Breath
Our bodies thrive on two things: water and oxygen. Without adequate oxygen, you'll feel tired, fatigued and generally unhappy. Taking a deep breath also helps with stress and anxiety, especially for those who have regular panic attacks. Deep breathing should be done at least once a day, and it involves taking a long breath in through the nose, holding it for a few seconds and then releasing the breath through pursed lips for as long as you can or want to. This not only improves circulation and oxygen levels in the body, but it can prevent, reduce and even eliminate feelings of panic.
Let's face it, it's impossible to feel happy all the time. There are things in life that happen that can rob us of our happiness and cause us to feel sad, depressed or overly anxious. However, if you've noticed recently that you feel sad more often than happy, it's time for a change. You need to implement some or all of the above tips to get yourself out of a state of worry and depression and into a state of carefree bliss and happiness. Practice makes perfect, so be sure to keep up with the above tips before giving up entirely.
