By Mark Kaplan / April 6, 2020
Actor Jim Carrey, a person who has suffered depression stated that depression is legitimate. “But I also believe if you don’t exercise, eat nutritious food, get sunlight, get enough sleep, consume positive material, surround yourself with support, then you aren’t giving yourself a fighting chance.”
He includes in his practices to fight depression all the practices scientifically suggested to create happiness. When we are not engaged in practices that help us grow by increasing our survival opportunities, our brain defaults to cortisol, a worry hormone. It is a ways from cortisol to depression, but the person who has experienced depression, would appreciate happiness practices.
What Are Happiness Practices?
Nature intends for us to survive by taking care of our bodies, finding mates, supporting community, and making a contribution to the whole. In modern times survival would depend on earning an income rather than just gathering food.
Practices that can support growing our value and contribution include learning, creating, and contributing. As we accumulate knowledge, learn skills, and contribute to our workplace or the community we enhance our income opportunities and social status.
Including improving our health and fitness, the brain stimulates dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. Stress and happiness chemicals rarely exist in the same place. Growth creates hope. Depression is a state that lacks hope.
Happiness in the Lock Down Environment
This is the perfect time to build happiness behaviors. Some are working full time remotely, but many have spare time on their hands. Sort of mocks our cries for work life balance, but leisure time not put to good use is a wasted opportunity. This is a great time to learn and begin creative practices.
Learn something in which you have expertise to a greater depth. Start sharing your expertise in a blog. If you are not the ultimate expert, you have more knowledge than those who have not begun. Not used to blogging? Write three paragraphs a day on your expertise. It may be ugly at first, but soon it will start to flow. This is a very rewarding exercise because it requires linking what you know to words that can be understood by others. Creativity or self-expression is good for dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin,
Find risks that take you out of your comfort zone whether it be learning, creating, or contributing. This is a major activity for stimulating happiness brain chemicals. Nature wants us to take challenges and risks to advance. This is why entrepreneurs and extreme athletes are adrenaline junkies. They seek the feelings they experience from finding out who they are.
Health and Fitness are Signs of Healthy Emotions
Often the first thing to go for stressed people is health and fitness. Consider that the U.S. is expected to have 50% obesity by 2030 and we see nutritious eating and exercise fall by the wayside. This is an indication, people see their external circumstances as more important than their internal connection to themselves and Nature.
Our power starts internally with our view of our value and manifests outward. Looking to external rewards or fearing external circumstances removes our soul and spirit from driving our lives. If we don’t see our health (mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual) as who we are, we have submitted our connection with Nature to becoming robots in the city.
Depressed people get caught up with expectations that haven’t occurred and happy people are always becoming more of who they can be.
Learn More
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Get the E-Course “Happiness is Balance”. Ten easy to read chapters on scientifically proven behaviors that create happiness. Lock Down Price of $2.99 on Amazon
Read The Good Life Plan by Mark Kaplan See Excerpts
Read Creating Your Own Happiness- Lifestyle Self-Coaching Course by Mark Kaplan See Excerpts
See Post Happiness is Balance
See Post Sanity in a Lock Down World
See Post Creativity is the Peak Learning Experience
See Post The Healthiest Habits for Career Growth
See Post Happiness, Fitness, and Mindfulness
See Post How We Enjoy Intensity without Stress
See Post Life Style and Work Life Balance
See Post Creativity Can Be Career Changing
See Post Increasing the Flow in Your Life
See Post Fitness Nutrition and Weight Management
Purchase my Book on Happiness to Create Your New Work Life Balance. In paper back or on Kindle. See Exerpts Paper Back $6.95 Kindle $2.99 Buy on Amazon
