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Need a change from all the negative news in the media? These feel-good stories from August will lift your spirits. Ed Gould shares his Top Ten round-up from the month. August may have seen plenty of news stories about political turmoil and social unrest around the world, but that is not the whole story. In fact, there were plenty of feel-good news items out there, even if these tales of happiness did not always get the attention they deserved. Read on to get some perspective on the feel-good news you may have missed and put a little happiness into your day! 1. Over half of millennials eat in an environmentally-friendly way According to the New York Post, a large survey conducted in the United States has found that millennials have made significant changes to their diets in order to benefit the environment. The poll, commissioned by Sweet Earth Foods, found that nearly 60 per cent of millennials had a low carbon footprint diet, including veganism and eating less red meat. Of these, most said they were motivated by climate change, although some said welfare issues were the primary driver. 2. MBSR can help to improve cognition In news that will bring happiness to anyone who suffers from mild forms of cognitive impairment, a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course can help to reverse its effects. The news came following a study conducted by Dr Rebecca Erwin Wells of the Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina. It's hoped that the technique will now be used as a therapy that can help to slow down or even reverse Alzheimer's Disease, a condition that is often associated with milder forms of cognitive impairment. 3. New protections for giraffes They may be elegant creatures, but giraffe conservationists know that these giants have little by way of international protection. In news that will bring happiness to animal lovers, a summit of international signatories has decided to place giraffes in a safeguarded group. Although the summit failed to make any significant headway with the ivory trade, better protections for giraffes and, more specifically, their natural environments, was a success. Many are now feeling more confident about future giraffe numbers, according to New Scientist. Giraffes offered new protection shutterstock/Craig Fraser 4. Canadian firm announces new geothermal technology Eavor Technologies, a Canadian clean technology business, has announced that it's put together a geothermal system which will be able to be installed just about anywhere. Although geothermal techniques are used in places where there's a sound geological reason to do so, such as Iceland, replicating it elsewhere has always been a challenge. In feel-good news for environmentalists, the company says its Eavor Loop system will need minimal drilling to produce sustainable energy, which can last decades with no ongoing carbon footprint. It's being billed as geothermal technology for your back garden. 5. New multiple sclerosis treatment may be on the cards In studies that have been conducted on the brains of rats, scientists have come up with a way to make brain cells healthier. It's hoped that oligodendrocyte progenitor cells will now be able to be manipulated in a way that will fight the worst effects of multiple sclerosis (MS). It has long been known that the destruction of myelin, which helps to convey electrical signals in the brain, is associated with MS. Researchers at the University of Cambridge reckon their work will enable these cells to help protect the myelin in MS patients' brains. 6. Could seaweed lower the globe's methane levels? As a greenhouse gas, methane is a big problem, especially when it comes from big herds of beef and dairy cattle. However, in a new move, seaweed could be used as a food supplement to reduce the amount of methane that's produced, as reported in Sustainability Times. The idea is that the seaweed would mean cows simply produce less methane and lower their carbon footprint by as much as ten per cent. Work is ongoing at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia to make the idea work. Could cows soon be eating seaweed? shutterstock/divedog 7. Schoolgirls win a prize for combatting breast cancer Few feel-good news stories from August are as heart-warming as the announcement that the World Invention Creativity Olympics, held in Seoul, had awarded two Indonesian teenagers with its gold medal. The pair, who are high school students, researched the breast cancer curative properties of a local plant after following up on local folklore about it. Known as bakajah, the root of the plant was found to kill off cancer cells in rats following the girls' work. It's now hoped that the active compounds in the plant can be isolated to turn it into a drug therapy. 8. Magnets may remove plastics from the sea soon According to Science Alert, magnetic coils could be deployed into the rivers and seas of the world in order to break down micro-plastics. So-called nano coils are able to create a chemical reaction in the polymers that plastics are made from, which means that they then dissolve. Tests are still underway in the laboratory but the move could make a big difference to the millions of tonnes of waste plastic currently floating in the world's waterways. 9. Wind energy study states Europe could power the world In reports made in The Independent, an academic study published in August has calculated that Europe has sufficient space and the right meteorological conditions to supply enough electrical energy to meet the whole world's needs. By 2050, 497 exajoules of power could be derived from wind in the continent, which is more than enough to go around. The study says that a mixture of both onshore and offshore would be needed to meet this, especially as global demand rises. Turkey and Norway were singled out as countries which were particularly suited to wind energy. Europe could become a wind energy superpower shutterstock/Space-kraft 10. Could red wine help treat depression? Although most doctors agree that alcohol should be avoided when dealing with serious mental health issues such as depression, a report in Medical News Today has suggested modest intakes of red wine may be beneficial. Essentially, the diversity of bacteria in the drink is thought to be helpful for overall bodily health. Researchers from King's College London think that the complex make-up of red wine, especially the polyphenols it contains, means it could also help with depression in certain cases. The team conducted their work with 916 female twins across three different countries to establish their findings. Alongside red wine, other alcoholic beverages, such as beer and cider, were tested. The researchers were keen to stress that only moderate rates of red wine were included in the study. ● Written by Ed Gould Ed Gould is a UK-based journalist and practitioner of Reiki.

Yes, happiness is a choice and not a result of achievements or purchases. Learn how to maintain your happy vibe with these eight tips from Calvin Holbrook. As editor of this happiness magazine, you'd be forgiven for thinking that I leap out of bed each morning after a restful sleep with a grin on my face, full of great intentions for the day ahead. Not so! Indeed, for the main part, for me, happiness is a choice rather than my natural state of being. In fact, like all of us, I’m not happy all the time (let’s face it, that would just be weird). In reality, for me, authentic happiness doesn't signify a lack of negative feelings such as sadness and pain, but an ability to experience a wide spectrum of emotions while managing to appreciate – and stay focused on – the positive things that I do have in my life. According to psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, roughly 50 per cent of our natural happiness level is genetically determined (our so-called happiness set point). I believe my own happiness set point started out lower down the scale, but, with work, I’ve managed to boost it because – over time and consistently – I’ve made the choice to be happy, even when my life circumstances and situation were telling me otherwise. Choosing to be happy is a constant effort, and to be honest, it’s not something that comes naturally. In fact, I’ve had to train myself to think happy. Indeed, like millions of us, I’ve struggled with periods of depression and anxiety, had to live with periods of debilitating panic attacks or episodes of rumination that have beaten my mental health and happiness down. Along the way, I’ve learned that these problems should not define me or my mood. Indeed, I can still see happiness as a choice, but it requires focus and effort to stay positive (and, of course, professional help or medication when appropriate). Happiness fuels success, not vice versa Most people go through life thinking that happiness is something that happens to them as a result of success or something good happening, for example, getting a pay rise or getting 100 new likes on their latest Instagram post. Indeed, large parts of the population don’t realize that happiness is a choice, and instead go through the motions in life, waiting for joy to pop up and slap them in the face! Stay smiling: make the choice to be happy However, science shows that this type of instant gratification doesn’t really make us happy (not in the long-term, anyway). In fact, there is no magic pill to finding happiness. However, there is one thing that is required to boost well-being, and that is work. Work? Ugh! I’m afraid so. Because happiness is a choice, it needs to be worked at consistently, with effort, care and dedication on your behalf. • JOIN US! Sign-up free now to access online courses in our Academy • In fact, I believe the root to happiness is in the work you put into it. You have to commit to being happy, prioritize it, focus on it, and remain disciplined as much as possible, even in those dark and difficult days – especially on those dark days! If happiness is a choice, how can I work on it? It sounds staggering, but it’s reported that we make around 35,000 remotely conscious decisions every single day. From seemingly inconsequential stuff about choosing what to eat and what clothes to wear, to bigger things like who to love, how to spend our free time, whether to move city or quit the job we feel stuck in. Some of our choices turn out to be great and others not so. What they have in common though is that all of these choices are based in our deep desire to be happy. These choices make up part of our ‘life activity’. As mentioned earlier, genetics make up roughly half of happiness levels. The remainder depends on our circumstances (10 per cent) and this so-called ‘life activity’ (40 per cent). "Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy.” Ralph Marston While we cannot always control our circumstances, we do have more control over our life activity. And if that life activity is said to be responsible for almost 40 per cent of our happiness, we can focus on making better choices here to increase our happiness levels. In fact, we can even make choosing happiness as one life choice! OK, I hear what you might be thinking: all of this is easier said than done. Life is tough. Shit happens. Stuff gets in the way. True, there are many challenging things that we will experience in life and we know that the only certainty is change, so we will always face upheavals. This doesn't mean that all of life is bad, it just means that life is not easy. But happiness does not come from your circumstances or your situation. Happiness comes from a choice that you make within. Learning how to choose happiness I’ve had to train my brain to choose happiness, even when my circumstances suggested the opposite. I believe I’ve boosted my natural happiness set point by carrying out specific ‘feel happier’ activities. If you're struggling to find the root of happiness, incorporate these eight science-backed tips into your daily life and you may start to feel happier. Stick at it, put in the hard work, and you should see results. 1. Choose gratitude and look on the bright side No matter how bad life seems, there’s always something positive you can find to focus on. It could be the fact you have a place to live, friends and family that love you, have clothes to wear, or even that you have eyes to see and legs to walk with. There are millions of people in the world that don't have some of these things. RELATED: 5 benefits of gratitude practice Since happiness is a choice, start finding things in your life that you're grateful for. It could also be seemingly small, general things that we often take for granted, such as the smell of cut grass, the sound of the ocean, etc. Writing these things down in a gratitude journal helps to solidify your happiness further. Try jotting down three good things about every day: studies have shown that doing this increases optimism, reduces anxiety, and chemically changes the brain to be more positive. 2. Choose to think positively Try to live by the ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ anecdote. Focusing on positive thoughts and trying to reducing negative thinking is easier said than done, but give the following technique a try. Each time you have a negative thought, simply replace it with a positive one. This practice will help to retrain your habitual thought patterns to bring more positive thoughts and happiness into your life. Changing perspective on your situation will help you find happiness. If you’ve made a mistake – however big – try to focus on your past achievements instead, actually visualizing your previous successes and happy times. 3. Choose to smile Turn that frown upside down! One of the most important figures in the fields of mindfulness and meditation, Thích Nhất Hạnh once wrote, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”’ Indeed, studies have shown that smiling and other external expressions work as a continual feedback loop, helping to reinforce our internal emotions. A study by scientists at the University of Kansas found that making yourself smile can help lower your heart rate during stressful activities. So, smiling even when we feel down will gradually makes us feel happier (and healthier). Try smiling at strangers, too: as well as being a choice, happiness is also contagious. Grin gains: force a smile and choose to feel happier 4. Choose kindness When you choose to do kinds acts for other people, so-called happiness hormones are released, boosting your serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of well-being and satisfaction. Endorphin levels also rise, leading to a phenomenon known as a 'helper’s high’. • JOIN US! Discover more tips on happiness with our open and inspired community • Another physical benefit of kindness is that it can help to lower anxiety. Social anxiety is associated with low positive affect (PA), which relates to an individual’s experience of positive moods such as joy, interest, and alertness. A four-week study on happiness from the University of British Columbia found that participants who engaged in kind acts displayed major increases in their PA levels that were maintained during the study duration. 5. Choose meaningful relationships/interactions Research shows that happier people have rewarding social relationships. Indeed, we humans are a social species and need regular contact. In fact, loneliness is proven to decrease levels of happiness and recent studies show it can be as harmful to mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. So, to make a happiness a choice, choose quality friendships. In fact, even a short positive interaction with a stranger can contribute to you feeling happier. 6. Choose to be more mindful Mindfulness meditation is an easy way to try to increase your happiness levels. Start your day with just 10-15 minutes of meditation, shortly after waking: the immediate heightened inner clarity and focus it will give you will set you up for what’s ahead. Many studies have shown that mediation can boost happiness levels by reducing stress hormones, shrinking the part of the brain that controls anxiety, and by stopping rumination, amongst other things. “No matter how bad life seems, there’s always something positive you can find to focus on. Since happiness is a choice, start finding things in your life that you’re grateful for.” And, according to Psychology Today, meditation is the strongest mental practice that has the power to reset your happiness set point, thus turning you into a more joyful person and literally rewiring major areas in your brain so you can feel happier. 7. Choose a purpose Meaningfulness is a happy factor that you can extend into your whole life. Whether it's volunteering, gardening, or becoming politically active, activities with a purpose have been shown to boost people's happiness and reduce stress levels at the same time. A study from the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that people who took part in such activities became 34 per cent less stressed and 18 per cent less sad. 8. Choose to be satisfied Ex-US President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “comparison is the thief of joy.” And in today’s Insta-ready society this rings true more than ever. In a social media savvy world, flaunting your money, travels and other supposed successes or happiness is all too common, especially with the younger generation. However, if happiness is a choice, then comparing yourself to other people will only result in unhappiness. Rate your mates: quality friendships bring happiness In fact, data from a 2010 survey of 19,000 Europeans showed that those who compared their incomes to others were less happy with what they had. The comparisons that were most damaging to happiness were when people compared their incomes to those of school and university friends (even though we know that money can’t buy happiness, right?) Choose to be satisfied with what you have and stop comparing your life to that of others: reduce the time you spend scrolling through social media. Conclusions: why happiness is a choice Abraham Lincoln is famously quoted as saying, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” And he was right. Happiness is a choice but also a daily practice that requires time, effort and dedication. By carrying out our suggestions above, you should hopefully start to see some benefits. But, if you still fail to feel happy, take time to think through your actions. Are you doing the things you need to choose happiness or are you letting your emotions take control? If you’re trying to feel happier and you remain down or struggling with depression, consult with your GP or therapist to seek professional help. Happiness is a choice and choosing help is a also a great step to getting started if you’re feeling blocked. • Choosing happiness becomes easier when you have the right tools to help you. Sign up free to happiness.com today to access our online Academy and share and support others in our forums. happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practise, share Are you a happiness.com member? Sign up free to: ■ enjoy our happiness magazine ■ share and support in our happiness forum ■ develop with free online Academy courses Gratitude | Thich Nhat Hanh | Purpose of Life Written by Calvin Holbrook Calvin edits the happiness magazine, as well being an artist and lover of travel, swimming, yoga, dancing to house/techno, and all things vintage! Find out more.

Zusätzlich zu den üblichen körperlichen und geistigen Vorteilen kann Yoga eingesetzt werden, um Traumata zu heilen. Sienna Saint-Cyr probierte traumasensibles Yoga und Neurogenic Yoga™ aus und teilt hier ihre Erfahrungen. Der Zeitschrift Yoga Journal zufolge bringt tägliches Yoga 38 gesundheitliche Vorteile mit sich. Diese reichen von physischen Vorteilen wie erhöhter Beweglichkeit, Durchblutungsförderung und Blutdrucksenkung bis hin zu mentalen Aspekten der Gesundheit wie beispielsweise gesteigerter Konzentration. Mit den Praktiken des traumasensiblen Yogas kann sogar eine Heilung von Traumata erreicht werden. Und mit diesen Behauptungen steht das Yoga Journal nicht alleine da. Orte wie die American Osteopathic Association und die Zeitschrift Psychology Today teilen die Ansichten über Yoga in Bezug auf körperliche und geistige Gesundheit. In der Tat hat das Interesse an Yoga in den westlichen Kulturen aufgrund all dieser Vorteile stark zugenommen. Das einzige Problem ist, dass durch die große Nachfrage eine regelrechte "Yoga-Industrie" geboren wurde. Jetzt gibt es so viele Arten und Stile, dass es oft schwierig ist, einen zu finden, der für dich gut funktioniert. Trauma Heilung mit Yoga Ich habe ein Sprichwort: "Yoga ist so persönlich wie Unterwäsche." Es passt entweder zu uns und unseren Bedürfnissen oder es passt nicht. Für die meisten Leute reicht es aus, verschiedene YouTube-Kanäle oder -Videos zu erkunden. Andere wiederum gehen zu Fitnesskursen oder ins nächstgelegene Yoga-Studio. Der beste Grund, sich zu verbiegen: Yoga kann Traumata und Panikattacken lindern © Shutterstock/Sfio Cracho Aber für Menschen mit einem Trauma, insbesondere wenn es sich um eine posttraumatische Belastungsstörung handelt, können diese Yoga Methoden unerträglich, wenn nicht sogar unmöglich sein. Für viele Menschen ist es schwierig, Ruhe zu finden, während sie sich ständig darum sorgen, von den Personen im Raum möglicherweise berührt zu werden, oder dass es im Raum plötzlich zu laut ist. Oder wenn körperliche Nähe alles andere als entspannend ist. Eine Panikattacke mitten im Unterricht ist nicht gerade der gewünschte Effekt! Trauma-sensibles Yoga: Was ist das? Zum Glück entdeckte ein Mann namens David Emerson im Jahr 2002, dass er Traumata mit Yoga behandeln konnte. Er wandte sich mit seinen Erkenntnissen an Dr. Bessel van der Kolk und mit dem Wunsch, mehr auf diesem Gebiet zu tun. Gemeinsam schufen sie eine Plattform, die später zu traumasensiblem Yoga (TSY) wurde und speziell Menschen mit Trauma und PTBS hilft. Im Laufe mehrerer Jahre zog Emerson verschiedene Yogalehrer mit unterschiedlichem Fachwissen hinzu, um die Entwicklung des Programms zu unterstützen. Die National Institutes of Health finanzierten ihren Prozess sogar. „Für viele Menschen mit PTBS ist es schwierig, Ruhe zu finden, während sie sich ständig darum sorgen, von den Personen im Raum möglicherweise berührt zu werden.“ Traumasensibles Yoga unterscheidet sich in vielerlei Hinsicht von anderen Yoga-Praktiken. Je nach Studio variieren die Methoden, aber in der Regel sind die Klassen klein. Bei herkömmlichen Yoga-Kursen ist es gut möglich, strenge Seitenblicke zu bekommen, wenn du während einer Yoga Session die Atmosphäre störst, indem du einfach aufstehst und den Raum verlässt. Beim traumasensiblen Yoga kann jeder ruhig kommen und gehen, so wie er es benötigt. Bei denjenigen die die Kurse besuchen, herrscht ein Verständnis darüber, dass es ein sensibler Prozess ist. VERWANDT: Glückshormone - die Neurotransmitter der Glücksgefühle Das Studio, das ich ausprobiert habe, war sehr entspannt. Die Leiterin von Samdhana-Karana Yoga war zudem eine Therapeutin und hatte schon zuvor mit Traumapatienten gearbeitet. Sie besaß außerdem die Nummer meines Therapeuten und Notfallkontakte für den Fall eines Triggerns. Eine solche Vorbereitungsarbeit, war mit nichts vergleichbar, das ich kannte. Dadurch konnte ich mich im Studio und während des Kurses sicher fühlen. Normalerweise kannst du einfach in einem Yoga- oder Fitnessstudio auftauchen, die Gebühr bezahlen und in den Kurs einsteigen. Es ist alles ziemlich unpersönlich für jemanden mit Trauma. Normalerweise herrscht also nicht die Gewissheit, sich in einer sicheren Umgebung zu befinden, falls etwas schief geht. Dein Körper, deine Methode Es wird viel Wert auf den Leitsatz "Dein Körper, deine Methode" gelegt. Dies hilft dem Praktizierenden, seine Bedürfnisse anzuerkennen. Du kannst dich immer wieder daran erinnern, dass du die Übungen für dich tust. Anstatt traditionelle Yoga-Posen auszuführen, ermutigt TSY die Menschen, sich mit minimaler und sanfter Anleitung so zu bewegen, wie sie es brauchen. Die Teilnehmer werden gebeten, auf Kontaktpunkte zu achten. Dies sind die Punkte, an denen der Körper Berührung erfährt. Zum Beispiel, wenn der Rücken oder die Hände den Boden berühren, wie viel Drück ausgeübt wird, und so weiter. Es gibt oft keine harten Yoga-Bewegungen oder -Posen. Der Fokus liegt darauf, einen sicheren Ort für Menschen mit Trauma zu schaffen, an dem mit Yoga Heilung und Achtsamkeit erfahren werden können. Es gibt einige großartige Videos auf der TSY-Webseite, die kurze Beispiele dafür geben, wie traumabasiertes Yoga aussieht. Deine Wahl: Während einem trauma-sensitiven Yogakurs kannst du kommen und gehen, wie es dir gut tut Was ist Neurogenic Yoga™? Traumasensibles Yoga ist jedoch nicht die einzige Option für Trauma-Betroffene. Ein weitere ist Neurogenic Yoga ™. Neurogenic Yoga ™ ist zwar in vielerlei Hinsicht ähnlich, zeichnet sich jedoch dadurch aus, dass es Yoga Asana und Pranayama anwendet und mit der natürlichen, therapeutischen „schüttel“ Reaktion des Körpers kombiniert. Warum ist der letzte Teil so wichtig? Peter A. Levine, PhD, Entwickler von Somatic Experiencing und Gründer der Foundation for Human Enrichment, hat sein ganzes Leben damit verbracht, Traumata bei Patienten zu erforschen und zu behandeln. Zu seinen bahnbrechenden Forschungen gehört die Praxis, Traumata durch den Körper aufzulösen. VERWANDT: Panikattacken: 12 Tipps, die der Angst den Schrecken nehmen In einem seiner Bücher, In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, diskutiert Levine, wie der Körper auf natürliche Weise auf Traumata reagiert. Wenn unsere instinktiven Kampf- oder Fluchtreaktionen nicht ausgelebt werden können, beginnen wir mit dem sogenannten "Buckeln oder Erstarren". Dadurch kann ein Trauma im Körper erzeugt und gespeichert werden. Levine glaubt, dass wir unser Trauma heilen können, indem wir dem Körper erlauben, den Traumazyklus zu beenden. Das bedeutet konkret, dass der Körper wenn nötig so lange zittern darf, bis er von selbst wieder aufhört. „Anders als bei normalen Yoga Kursen, bei denen du strenge Seitenblicke bekommen kannst, wenn du während einer Yoga Session einfach aufstehst und den Raum verlässt, kann beim traumasensiblen Yoga jeder ruhig kommen und gehen, so wie er es benötigt.“ Sein Buch und seine Forschung sind phänomenal und ich kann sie jedem mit einem Trauma nur empfehlen. Neurogenic Yoga ™, welches das körperliche Zittern in die Traumabehandlung aufnimmt, ist fantastisch. Während traumasensibles Yoga zwar hilft, brauchen Menschen, die ein Trauma durch Autounfälle, Militäreinsätze und gewaltsame Angriffe haben, mehr als bloße Entspannung. Sie müssen die Möglichkeit haben, den Körper auf eine andere Art und Weise schütteln und bewegen zu können, um dieses Trauma physisch zu lösen. Wie Traumata und ein unruhiges Bewusstsein zusammenhängen Traumata und PTBS sind anstrengend. Das Problem bei einem Trauma ist, dass der Betroffene selten vollkommen bewusst in seinem Körper anwesend ist. Pete Walker ist ein weiterer Experte, der sich speziell mit komplexen Postraumatischen Belastungsstörungen befasst. Seine Studien zu den vier Reaktionen Kampf / Flucht / Erstarren / Buckeln - erklären viel darüber, warum Menschen mit PTBS selten Entspannung finden können. Anstatt gesunde und ausgewogene Reaktionen bei Kampf / Flucht / Erstarren / Buckeln zu erleben (denn diese Reaktionen haben alle Menschen), erleben Menschen mit PTBS zwei Reaktionen, auf die sie sich stark verlassen. Gruppenzugehörig hilft: Gemeinsam lernen, praktizieren, wachsen So können Betroffene in einer ständigen Kampf und Flucht Reaktion gefangen sein oder in Erstarren und Buckeln. Dies bedeutet, dass wir im täglichen Leben nicht präsent sind. Wir stecken im Spannungsfeld von PTBS und Trauma fest. Und wenn wir feststecken und dabei nicht bewusst anwesend sind, können wir keine Freude und keine Glücksgefühle erleben. Gegenwärtig sein führt zu Glück Gehen wir auf diese Aussage etwas genauer ein: Die Fachzeitschrift Science AAAS berichtet von ihren Erkenntnissen darüber, wie mit den Gedanken anwesend sein zu Glück führt, während ein unruhiges Bewusstsein zu Unglück führt. Dies unterscheidet sich von der weit verbreiteten Annahme, dass Unglück zu geistiger Abwesenheit führt. Während die eigene Stimmung sicherlich dazu führen kann, über die Vergangenheit oder die Zukunft zu sinnieren, ist dieses gedankliche abschweifen an sich nicht die Ursache für Unglück. Es ist der Fokus auf Vergangenheit und Zukunft, ein ungesundes ständiges Grübeln, das zu Unglück führt. In dem Artikel von Science AAAS heißt es: „Zusammenfassend ist der menschliche Geist ein wandernder Geist, und ein wandernder Geist ist ein unglücklicher Geist. Die Fähigkeit, darüber nachzudenken, was nicht passiert, ist eine kognitive Leistung, die mit emotionalen Kosten verbunden ist." „Wenn wir im ständigen Grübeln feststecken und unfähig sind bewusst anwesend zu sein, können wir keine Freude und keine Glücksgefühle erleben.“ Traumabasiertes Yoga kann dabei helfen, den Praktizierenden auf sanfte und nicht bedrohliche Weise in die Gegenwart zu ziehen. Menschen mit Trauma leben gedanklich meist in der Vergangenheit oder an einem Ort der Angst um die Zukunft. Es ist dieser Mangel an Gegenwart, der direkt mit ihrem Unglück zusammenhängt. Das Schöne an traumasensiblem Yoga ist, dass es dich aus diesem Ort der Angst herausholt. Es trainiert deinen Körper, vergangene Erlebnisse erneut zu durchleben und sie auf körperlicher Ebene freizulassen. Ganz gleich, welche Methode du anwendest - traumasensibles Yoga oder Neurogenic Yoga ™ - die Teilnahme am traumabasierten Yoga kann einen großen Unterschied in deiner Erfahrung ausmachen. Es kann auch dabei helfen, den eigenen Atem zu finden. Ein Atemzug, der mit jedem Einatmen Frieden einbringt und bei jedem Ausatmen Anspannung und Stress abbaut. Durch traumabasiertes Yoga lernen diejenigen, die eher nicht in ihrem eigenen Körper präsent sind, wie man in seinem Körper ist. Wenn du ein Trauma hast, kann traumasensibles Yoga Wunder wirken und zu einem Leben voller Freude und Glück führen, indem du täglich übst, präsent zu sein und im Moment zu leben. ● Titelbild: Colorbox.com Gefällt dir diese Geschichte? Dann ließ mehr über meine persönliche Reise mit traumasensiblem Yoga… Geschrieben von Sienna Saint-Cyr Sienna Saint-Cyr ist Autorin, Anwältin und Gründerin von SinCyr Publishing. Sie spricht auf Kongressen, Workshops und bei privaten Zusammenkünften über die Bedeutung eines gesunden Körperbildes. Weitere Themen sind das Verständnis von enthusiastischer Zustimmung, die Verwendung von Sexualität zur Förderung der Heilung, sich in vielfältigen oder nicht-traditionellen Beziehungen zuerchtzufinden, komplexe PTBS und vieles mehr. Sienna liebt es, ihre Reise der Heilung und des Glücks mit ihren Lesern zu teilen. Sienna schreibt nicht nur Erotik und Romantik, sondern spricht auch auf Kongressen, Workshops und bei privaten Zusammenkünften über sexuell positive Themen wie ein gesundes Körperbild, die Verwendung von Sexualität zur Förderung der Heilung und die Navigation in verschiedenen oder nicht traditionellen Beziehungen. Sie schreibt für mehrere Websites. Finde mehr heraus.

Wenn man sich einsam fühlt, kann es einem leicht passieren, dass man einfach nur herumsitzt und sich selbst bemitleidet. Stattdessen solltest du jedoch besser eine dieser 11 Ideen von Calvin Holbrook ausprobieren! Damit kannst du den Schmerz der Einsamkeit lindern und dich glücklicher fühlen. Einsamkeit ist zum Kotzen. Ich habe sie erlebt und vielleicht kennst du es auch: du bist alleine zu Hause und wünschst dir eigentlich nichts sehnlicher, als mit Freunden unterwegs zu sein und Spaß zu haben. Stattdessen fühlst du dich aus irgendeinem Grund innerlich einsam und fragst dich, wie und warum du in dieser Position gelandet bist. Sich einsam zu fühlen ist jedoch nicht deine Schuld und kann oft eine Folge der Lebensumstände sein: Vielleicht bist du gerade erst in eine neue Stadt gezogen und es fällt dir schwer, neue Freunde zu finden. Vielleicht bist du gerade aus einer Beziehung gegangen (oder alle deine Freunde gehen plötzlich eine Beziehung ein!). Oder du hast mit Depressionen oder Angstzuständen und Panik zu kämpfen und hältst es gerade nicht aus, deinen Freundeskreis zu treffen. Aus welchen Gründen auch immer, die Wissenschaft ist sich einig: Einsamkeit über längere Zeit ist schlecht für die geistige und körperliche Gesundheit. Tatsächlich zeigen Studien, dass ein Mangel an sozialen Bindungen genauso gesundheitsschädlich sein kann wie das Rauchen von 15 Zigaretten pro Tag. Dieselben Untersuchungen legen nahe, dass Einsamkeit die Sterbewahrscheinlichkeit um stolze 26 Prozent erhöht. In Großbritannien fühlen sich 1,9 Millionen ältere Menschen oft ignoriert oder unsichtbar. Aber nicht nur ältere Menschen fühlen sich einsam. Über 40 Prozent der Briten geben an, dass der Fernseher oder ein Haustier die Hauptquelle ihrer Gesellschaft ist, und in den USA gibt fast die Hälfte aller Amerikaner an, sich einsam zu fühlen. In der Tat kann soziale Isolation uns in jedem Alter begegnen und von unserer Persönlichkeit, Motivation und unserem physischen Standort beeinflusst werden. Du fühlst dich einsam? Dann solltest du folgendes tun Die Industrieländer erleben eindeutig eine Epidemie der Einsamkeit. Was kannst du also tun, wenn du einer der Betroffenen bist? Nun, es gibt viele Möglichkeiten, um auch als Erwachsener neue Freunde zu finden. Du kannst dich beispielsweise einer sozialen Gruppe anschließen oder Beziehungen zu deinen Arbeitskollegen aufbauen. Wenn du jedoch genau jetzt zuhause allein bist und dich einsam fühlst, findest du hier 11 praktische Ideen, mit denen du den Schmerz der Einsamkeit bekämpfen und dich besser fühlen kannst. 1. Begrüße deinen alten Freund: Die Einsamkeit Betrachte die Einsamkeit als einen alten Freund, der gerade uneingeladen vorbeikommt. Der Grund dafür ist, dass es nur schlimmer wird, wenn du versuchst dich der Einsamkeit zu widersetzen. Versuche zu akzeptieren, wie du dich im Moment fühlst. Beschuldige dich nicht selbst. Anstatt gegen die Gefühle der Einsamkeit zu kämpfen, nimm diese schmerzhaften Emotionen mit Selbstmitgefühl in dein Herz auf. Es wird helfen, den Schmerz ein wenig zu lindern. Akzeptiere deine Einsamkeit und freunde dich mit ihr an. 2. Werde kreativ Wenn du dich einsam fühlst, kann es leicht passieren, dass du in eine Spirale des ständigen Grübelns kommst. Du fängst an darüber nachzudenken, wie du in diese Lage gekommen bist und ob du nicht Dinge hättest anders tun können, um dies zu vermeiden. Kreativ zu werden ist eine einfache und unterhaltsame Möglichkeit, dich von deinen Gedanken abzulenken und dich auf etwas produktiveres einzulassen. Du kannst zum Beispiel versuchen, Mandala auszumalen oder Malbücher für Erwachsene, aus alten Zeitschriften eine Collage zu machen, zu zeichnen oder zu schreiben. Kreativ zu sein beschäftigt deinen Geist und gibt dir ein Gefühl der Befriedigung und Errungenschaft. Mal dein Leben an, wenn du allein bist © shutterstock/Serhii Krot 3.Schreibe in dein Dankbarkeitstagebuch Akzeptiere deine Gefühle der Einsamkeit anstatt auf ihnen herumzureiten und bewege deine Gedanken zu all den übergeordneten Dingen in deinem Leben, für die du dankbar bist. Nimm dir zehn Minuten Zeit um diese in ein Tagebuch der Dankbarkeit zu schreiben. Tagebücher helfen uns, uns selbst besser kennenzulernen, indem wir darin unsere Gedanken, Emotionen und Gefühle ordnen. Eine Studie aus dem Jahr 2015, die in der Zeitschrift Europe‘s Journal of Psychology veröffentlicht wurde, deutete darauf hin, dass Dankbarkeit dazu beitragen kann, das Gefühl der Einsamkeit zu verringern. Dies kann der Studie zufolge unsere Gesundheit, unser Wohlbefinden und unser Glücksgefühl verbessern. 4. Trainiere dein Gehirn Nutze deine einsame Zeit positiv. Du kannst zum Beispiel deine Denkkraft durch ein Puzzle oder ein Kreuzworträtsel steigern. Beim Lösen eines Puzzles müssen wir uns verschiedene Teile ansehen, um herauszufinden, wo sie in das größere Bild passen. Auf diese Weise können wir unser visuell-räumliches Denken verbessern. Studien belegen nicht nur, dass Rätselspiele helfen können, die Symptome von Demenz und Alzheimer zu verzögern. Das Fertigstellen eines Puzzles verringert auch den Stress, indem es den Geist beschäftigt und antreibt und ein Gefühl der Ruhe erzeugt. Wenn man ein Puzzle zusammensetzt, nimmt man Sorgen und Stress weniger wahr, da sich der Geist auf eine Aufgabe konzentriert, die sowohl meditativ als auch befriedigend ist. 5. Geh vor die Tür Solange du dich mit keinem der oben genannten Tipps beschäftigst, um die Einsamkeit zu vertreiben, bedeutet alleine im Haus zu bleiben eine größere Konzentration auf diese Gefühle der Isolation. Ein einfacher Spaziergang draußen kann helfen, indem er deine Umgebung und Gedanken verändert. Mach einen Spaziergang und übe dich in Achtsamkeit. Nimm alles in dich auf: die Gerüche, Geräusche und Bilder. Probiere es mit ein wenig Kultur. Eine Ausstellung besuchen oder mal wieder einen Film anschauen hilft dir dabei, dich auf etwas anderes als die Einsamkeit einzulassen. Sieh es als eine ganz persönliche Verabredung mit dir selbst! Wenn du die Möglichkeit hast, solltest du in einem Park oder Wald spazieren gehen. Die Vorteile die es bringt, sich mit der Natur zu verbinden, sind wissenschaftlich bewiesenen. Wenn du dich alleine fühlst, laufe achtsam durch die Natur 6. Aktiv werden Körperliche Betätigung ist eine großartige Möglichkeit, deinen Geist aus der Situation zu nehmen, wenn Gefühle der Einsamkeit die Oberhand gewinnen. Anstatt über Dinge in deinem Inneren nachzudenken, gehe draußen joggen oder laufen und gibt damit deinen Glückshormonen einen Schub. Noch besser ist Sport in der Gruppe. Du kannst ins Fitnessstudio gehen und an einem Kurs teilnehmen, dort wirst du eher mit jemandem ins Gespräch kommen. Wenn du dich mit einer noch unbekannten Person unterhältst kannst du die Angst davor verlieren, diese nach ihrer Nummer zu fragen oder anschließend gemeinsam einen Kaffee zu trinken. Denn du weißt nie, ob sich dein Gegenüber nicht genau so einsam fühlt wie du. 7. Singen Singen ist ein weiterer bewährter Weg, um dem Gefühl des Alleinseins entgegenzuwirken. Also schmeiß ein paar deiner Lieblingstracks an und bring deine Stimmbänder in Schwung! Singen ist ein natürliches Antidepressivum, da es erwiesenermaßen stimmungsfördernde Endorphine freisetzt. Es hat sich auch gezeigt, dass es unser Immunsystem stärkt und Stress abbaut. Laut einem Bericht, der 2004 im Journal of Music Therapy veröffentlicht wurde, hilft singen Patienten dabei, mit chronischen Schmerzen umzugehen. Einem Chor beizutreten ist eine großartige Möglichkeit, die Vorzüge des Singens zu genießen und gleichzeitig der Einsamkeit entgegenzuwirken! Die Forschungsstudie Community of Voices (2012–2018) ergab, dass sechs Monaten in einem Gemeindechor das Gefühl der Einsamkeit bei den Teilnehmer senkte und ihr Interesse am Leben steigerte. Im Chor singen kann Einsamkeit bezwingen © shutterstock/Monkey Business Images 8. Teile deine Fähigkeiten mit anderen Sich als Freiwilliger zu engagieren, ist ein fantastischer praktischer Weg, um dem Gefühl der Einsamkeit entgegenzuwirken. Freiwilligenarbeit für mindestens zwei Stunden pro Woche kann einen großen Beitrag zur Linderung von Einsamkeit und Isolation leisten. Dazu wurden in der Zeitung Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences Forschungsergebnisse veröffentlicht. Freiwilligenarbeit beinhaltet fast immer die Interaktion mit anderen. Dies baut soziale Verbindungen auf und verringert die Isolation. In der Tat sind die Vorteile der Freiwilligentätigkeit vielfältig. Wenn du dich alleine fühlst, überlege dir, was du in deiner Gemeinde tun könntest. 9. Lass dich auf dich ein Es ist in Ordnung, sich manchmal allein zu fühlen. Erinnere dich daran, dass das Leben nicht immer Spaß macht und dass es viele Höhen und Tiefen gibt. Ganz bestimmt werden deine Umstände nicht immer dieselben sein und du wirst dich nicht immer so fühlen. Versuche Geduld mit deiner Einsamkeit zu haben. Und mit Zeit und Mühe wird es leichter. Denke daran, dass morgen ein neuer Tag ist, an dem du dich erneut darauf einlassen kannst, deine Einsamkeit zu lindern und neue Freunde zu finden, wenn du es möchtest. 10. Denke über ein Haustier nach Wenn du Platz und auch Zeit dafür hast, denke darüber nach dir ein Haustier anzuschaffen. Es ist wissenschaftlich erwiesen, dass die Kameradschaft, die ein Haustier anbietet, Einsamkeit, Angst und Stress mindert, egal ob es sich um eine Katze, einen Vogel, eine Rennmaus oder einen Leguan handelt! Hunde sind jedoch die klaren Gewinner, wenn es darum geht Einsamkeit zu bekämpfen. Neben vielen Vorzügen zwingen sie dich dazu, dass Haus zu verlassen und so möglicherweise mit anderen Hundebesitzern in Berührung zu kommen. Tiere, besonders Hunde, können Einsamkeit heilen 11. Verwende die Fähigkeit des Mitgefühls Wie ich zu Beginn dieses Artikels geschrieben habe, fühlst du dich vielleicht vor deinen Freunden einsam, die Spaß haben während du alleine gelassen wurdest. Vielleicht bist du sogar eifersüchtig und neidisch auf diese Menschen, die scheinbar eine gute Zeit miteinander haben und nicht einsam sind. Es kann sein, dass du nicht auf eine Party oder zu einem gemeinsamen Urlaub eingeladen wurdest und dich darüber ärgerst. Es ist jedoch besser, sich in Mitgefühl zu üben, anstatt negative Gedanken gegenüber den Beteiligten zu haben. Versuche mit den anderen zu fühlen und sie dir vorzustellen und freue dich für sie. Sich trotz eigener Trauer für andere zu freuen kann heilsam sein und dich tatsächlich auch glücklicher machen! ● Main image: shutterstock/Antonio Guillem Wie gehst du mit Einsamkeit um? Hast du noch weitere Ideen, die man zu der Liste hinzufügen könnte? Ich würde liebend gerne deine Meinung in den Kommentaren lesen! Schau doch auch mal ins Forum, um Ideen zum Thema Einsamkeit zu teilen. Geschrieben von Calvin Holbrook Calvin editiert das englische happiness Magazin, ist Künstler und liebt es zu Reisen. Er geht außerdem gerne wandern, schwimmen, Yoga, genießt die Natur und zu tanzen und steht auf Vintage!

With age comes wisdom and experience, but also the possibility of cognitive impairment such as memory loss and poor judgement. But, as Ed Gould writes, there are five key ways to fight off these problems and boost your brain matter. Although the brain isn't a muscle, exercise can stimulate its growth and regeneration in a similar way to a physical workout, providing greater muscularity. Research in the field of neuroplasticity has shown that many aspects of the brain can be altered, even into adulthood. Indeed, by building new brain tissue, it's possible to overcome cognitive impairment. Recent studies have shown that physical exercise can improve brain functions. In one research paper published by Elsevier Inc., it was discovered that a key player in intracellular proteolysis – Cathepsin B – was found to be secreted in the body in greater quantities in runners than in people who had taken no exercise. Put simply, this means that the memory function of the human brain is improved by simply taking exercise. Psychologists including Dr Matthew Edlund, who has published books such as Designed to Last, have pointed out that similar restorative effects on the brain which have been derived from physical activity have been found in other species, too. So, should we work our brains like a muscle if we want to feel higher happiness in some cognitive training programme? Well, yes. But that's not the full story. For anyone wishing to overcome cognitive impairment, then other things, such as social activities, are just as important. Five ways to fight cognitive impairment In all, there are five different categories to consider if you want to be happier in yourself and to avoid the sort of cognitive impairment problems such as memory loss and poor judgement that are all too prevalent in older age. Let's examine what we can all do to keep our brains in good condition so that we feel better about ourselves right now and in the future. 1. Cognitive training and new learning In fact, as far as your brain function is concerned, it matters little what you learn, so long as you keep engaging in learning itself. According to the Alzheimer's Association, a body which knows a thing or two about cognitive impairment, there are plenty of tasks we can give our brains which will guard against the condition in the future. According to the Association, formal education is known to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Crucially, this is the case, no matter when it's taken in life. If you think that attending classes is for children or for people who need to upskill during the early part of their career, then you're right. However, that learning is also for middle-aged people and recently retired folk is equally as valid. Regarding happiness and fighting off cognitive impairment, there can be few better tactics than learning about something you're already interested in a formal way. Picture perfect: learning a new skill can help reduce cognitive impairment Cognitive training might take the form of learning a foreign language ahead of an overseas holiday, or studying a little art history to make that next trip to the gallery a more informed experience. However, if a classroom environment is not for you, then why not consider other methods of engaging your brain with new skills. Meditation, bridge classes or logic puzzles will train your brain to work in new ways, especially games which need you to think strategically. Such activities have been widely researched in study programmes – many of them indicating clear beneficial outcomes for the brain. 2. Social activities Selfless though it might seem, joining a local community volunteer group might be the best thing you ever do for yourself. Like cognitive training, being social creates better brain functions because it forces the brain to work in specific ways. If you're locked away from the world to an extent, then not being sociable can become a habit. It may lead to the brain's neural pathways shifting over time to the extent that you never feel like engaging in social activities again. To prevent this, take affirmative steps to ensure you're not cut off from your neighbours, family and friends. “Regarding happiness and fighting off cognitive impairment, there can be few better tactics than learning about something new you're interested in.” Taking a role in your local community does not merely derive benefits for those around you; it will help your brain to remain active in a meaningful way, which will help to prevent neural problems in future. Of course, just being around people is often enough to induce the brain's chemicals that make us feel better about ourselves, so-called happiness hormones. Chatting, interacting, learning and teaching are all things that will help to keep your brain active, too. Throwing yourself into a new group is an excellent way of proceeding but – let's be honest – this isn't for everyone. Some of us are shy, and this great leap can seem too much, to begin with, anyway. If you want to take care of your brain, then take smaller steps to start with. Why not pick up the phone to a friend you haven't spoken to in a while and just ask them how they are? It's a great way to get the ball rolling, and strong social connections are a main ingredient for a good life. Get chatty: reduce cognitive impairment through being social 3. Nutritional intake Like any part of our bodies, brains are made of the matter we consume. Without the right ingredients, it's hard for the body to make the right proteins and enzymes for regeneration. In other words, the brain needs you to eat healthily for it to continue functioning correctly as you age and avoid cognitive impairment. On the face of it, eating healthily for a part of the body to remain healthy is obvious, right? However, you should bear in mind that a healthy brain is also likelier to mean a happier life, so it's not just about your physical well-being, but your mental well-being, too. RELATED: Good mood food According to a study by Martha Clare Morris, et al, of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, a hybrid of a Mediterranean and a so-called stop hypertension diet will slow down cognitive decline. Morris' work dealt with 923 participants who were aged from 58 to 98 years and engaged in what is often referred to as a DASH diet. Essentially, such a diet is low in trans fats, rich in potassium and calcium, and requires a smaller salt intake. By limiting dairy and meat in favour of vegetables, whole grains and fruit, you can eat your way to a healthier brain. “The brain needs you to eat healthily for it to continue functioning correctly as you age and avoid cognitive impairment.” Long considered to be good for the brain, the consumption of fish is also useful. According to a 2014 paper in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, baked or broiled fish eaten on a weekly basis will mean you have more grey matter – on average – compared with people who don't have this level of consumption. Bear in mind that fried fish did not make up any part of the research, however. Also, the fatty acids, like omega-3, found in fish seem to work better when consumed as food rather than as a dietary supplement, as reported in Time magazine. Perhaps this suggests fish have some unknown improving effect on brains? Dish the fish: it's a great brain-boosting food 4. Physical activity People who are physically active tend to have better brain health. As mentioned already, recent scientific studies have shown the connection between running and brain regeneration, but that's far from the full story. Of course, activities like swimming, dancing or even brisk walking will all release endorphins into the body. Not only is it good for the brain to become a little breathless due to exercise, it makes you feel happier due to the release of these endorphins. Some scientists have suggested that the body functions this way because the build-up of carbon dioxide in the body caused by exercise is balanced by the kick of natural opioids. In other words, your body rewards you with a natural high if you exercise. Few people who take regular exercise would argue that they don't feel better as a result of working out, not just while they do it, but for a significant time afterwards. “Activities like swimming, dancing or even brisk walking will all release endorphins into the body.” It's important to note that exercise is not just about maintaining good cognitive abilities. It can help the brain recover where it might have been going into decline. According to research by Elise Wogensen, et al., of the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, exercise in a large number of cases can promote cognitive recovery after an injury that the brain has sustained. Although there are some factors which are still to be established as to how this works, Wogensen's work indicates strongly that physical activity and restoring brain functions are linked, and that the rehabilitation of 'lost' brain functions is possible. Work out wonder: exercise releases endorphins, your 'happy' hormones 5. Management of heart health risk factors According to the Alzheimer's Association, the factors that are already known to impact on heart health and which combat heart disease are also fully linked to delaying or even preventing the onset of dementia. One of these is taking frequent exercise. Other measures include stopping smoking and reducing stress. Heart health can also be maintained better by keeping on top of obesity levels and of reducing blood cholesterol, both important to future brain health, too. Lastly, it should be said that anyone who has diabetes should manage this in a way that is conducive to good heart health. If so, then the brain is likely to be kept in good condition as well. ● Main image: colourbox.com happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practise, share Are you a happiness.com member yet? Sign up for free now to enjoy these benefits: ■ our happiness magazine with practical life tips and inspiration ■ share knowledge and help support others in our happiness forum ■ learn and self-develop with free online classes in our happiness Academy CBT | Friendship | Family activities | Positive thinking | Forgiveness Written by Ed Gould Ed Gould is a UK-based journalist and freelance writer. He's a practitioner of Reiki.

Old age can last half a century, says physician Louise Aronson, so it needs a better definition — and more praise. By Jenara Nerenberg on behalf of Greater Good Science Center. What do you think of when you think of “old age?” Maybe you think of it as your time of decline — something to be avoided at all costs. Many of us imagine the few short years just before our death, rather than the long stretch of time often available to explore new interests and relationships and activities. Author and physician Louise Aronson wants to change that. In her new book, Elderhood, she argues that old age or “elderhood” is a much richer, more nuanced experience than most people understand, and that treating it like an illness or pathology is the wrong approach. She believes people need to embrace elderhood as another normal phase of life — just like childhood and adulthood — with its own challenges and rewards. By reclaiming the narrative around older age, she hopes to not only support elders, but to impact family life, health, research, policy, and society as a whole. In our interview, we discuss this and more, including how to shift our attitudes around aging and what happiness looks like in elderhood. Jenara Nerenberg: How do you define elderhood? What does the term mean to you? Louise Aronson: I define elderhood as one of the three main phases of life — what comes after childhood and adulthood. It captures the years that begin between ages 60-70 and continue until a person’s death. And if a person lives until the age of 100, then that means elderhood lasts almost half a century. Human civilizations from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the early Chinese and Egyptians have been defining old age beginning between 60-70. Because people don’t like hearing that it starts so young, they’ve pushed that to the extreme, whereby people think of “old” as a debilitating phase that only lasts the very few short years right before death. RELATED: Planning a healthy retirement: stress relief tips for seniors JN: So what is the narrative shift or change in public conversation that you’d like to see happen regarding aging and elderhood? LA: Part of why I wanted to introduce the term elderhood to a wider audience — I did not make it up — was so that we would begin thinking about elderhood the way we think about childhood and adulthood. “Old age” absent the term elderhood is the subject of a lot of prejudice and bias, so we end up with phrases like “silver tsunami” and “no one wants to be old” or “aging is life’s great disaster.” By reframing it as this long phase of life with multiple sub-phases — just like childhood and adulthood — we take a broader approach and we can look at it as a society and community, and not just as individuals. So, right now having “old” be devalued, with everyone being meant to face it on their own, we hear questions like “can we cure aging?” Why are we treating something that is normal and natural and that has always existed as pathology? Louise Aronson and her book Elderhood (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019) Now, are there things that come with aging that we would feel much better without? Sure. But we don’t tend to pathologize other entire phases of life. Take adolescence. We recognize that there are behaviors that adolescents are more likely to do that are not good for them or society, but we don’t necessarily say we should get rid of adolescents the way that people often talk about older people. “Let’s go house them somewhere separately, let’s not think about them, let’s build a world for children and adults and then blame older people when that world doesn’t match with their needs or interests.” JN: What compelled you to write the book now? LA: There’s more and more out there about age, and there’s so much good stuff; but I felt like the most well-intentioned material was still insulting old age and old people by saying, “Old is only how you feel, 70 is the new 50, 100 is the new 70.” All these things are saying that being old is never in and of itself a good thing or a desirable thing and by extension people who are old are never good people or desirable people. I didn’t like that. “Now, are there things that come with aging that we would feel much better without? Sure. But we don’t tend to pathologize other entire phases of life.” I also didn’t see anything that pulled together all the different ways in which we’re addressing aging — culturally, medically, socially, historically. We tend to think we’re doing all these novel, innovative things with aging, and although some of the specifics differ, human thoughts and approaches about old age are pretty much the same as what we have in evidence from 2,000 to 5,000 years ago. The attempt to understand and adapt to aging is a very human task and such history shows how important these questions are and how existential they are. JN: What changes would you like to see within academia and medicine to reflect the needs of elder people? LA: In medicine, we tend to say that such and such population — children, women, people of color, old people — is somehow different from “the norm,” defining the “norm” as middle-aged white guys, because that’s who was doing medicine. Medical research has begun to acknowledge that children aren’t just variations of adults, and women aren’t just variations of men, and people of color aren’t just variations of white people. We need to recognize that being old is as different from being an adult as an adult is from being a child. We change throughout our lives. For example, with vaccine schedules, we have different schedules for adults and children because of different biology and behaviors. Well, biology and behaviors also change from age 75 onward. Even in diseases that primarily affect older people, the research at best will be on the younger range of older people. So, we say that older people are different, and yet we apply results from people different than them to them. Then we blame bad outcomes on old age rather than on what it was — a scientific setup that was destined to fail or hurt people because it didn’t study the target population adequately. JN: Do you think there’s a different conception of happiness that emerges during elderhood? LA: That’s such a good question. Most people are shocked to learn that happiness and life satisfaction go way up just before 60 and continuing into the 80s. So people who are older are much happier than adults in midlife, on average. On average people get happier, and part of that has to do with a real comfort with self and confidence in one’s priorities so that people are more focused on spending time in ways they value and on spending time with people that they value. So their life becomes positive and self-reinforcing. Another thing that was just reported this year is that older people generally rate their health pretty good. They look around at other people and generally conclude that, yes, their health is better than they thought it would be. So some of this is about having perspective, which takes decades, and also a comfort with who you are and where you are. “Most people are shocked to learnt that happiness and life satisfaction go way up just before 60 and continuing into the 80s.” And when you think about things like meditation and mindfulness and retreats and such, these are the things that elders are best at naturally. So it’s really interesting that we have this untapped population group that are doing the exact things that so many adults are hungry for and yet adults still disparage the very group that is living the things they wish for themselves. JN: How can younger generations be more supportive in helping to shift the elderhood narrative? LA: I think it has to be bidirectional because we have so much to learn from each other. There are increasing reports of old people giving relationship, career, and love advice to younger people and then younger people giving advice on tech and things like that. Everybody has their strengths, and I think the best relationships are the ones that work in both directions. RELATED: What teens gain when they contribute to social groups More and more older people are working, exercising, doing all these things we consider “normal activities.” Part of that is cultural change and reminds me of when my mother was in school and they played basketball. They weren’t allowed to go past half court because their “frail” female bodies would be “adversely affected” and they’d have trouble “bearing children.” We have these prejudices, so we really need to push against them. I’d like to see young people thinking about what they can learn, what they can give, and what they’ll want to do [when they are older]. How do they want to be treated? Do they want to be warehoused and ignored or do they want to be engaged? Because chances are they’ll want to do the same things they do now. They’ll want to be engaged, have sex, go out to dinner, and hear who they’re talking to. So how do you build a world that is set up for all of us throughout our lives, from childhood to adulthood and elderhood? That’s an exciting challenge that has so much exciting potential for innovation — not just in science and medicine but in tech, art, culture, and society. Whatever anybody is doing, this is the growing segment of the population and they are eager to partner with younger people to make the world better for aging. ● Main image: shutterstock/vectorfusionart Written by Greater Good Science Center This article originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Happiness.com is honoured to republish it with the kind permission of the Greater Good Science Center. greatergood.berkeley.edu

Research suggests that adolescents thrive when they can make a meaningful difference in their communities. By Meghan Lynch Forder on behalf of Greater Good Science Center. As parents of adolescents, we think a lot about what we need to do for our kids so they thrive as adults — or (depending on our philosophy) what our kids need to do for themselves to thrive as adults.
 And one of the most crucial activities our teens can engage in is contributing to their social groups. As they get older, teens can provide emotional and practical support to friends, family, and the broader community in deeper, more meaningful ways. Research suggests that kind and helpful behavior toward others actually increases from childhood through adolescence — making the stereotype of the self-absorbed teen a myth. In fact, adolescence is a sweet spot for contributing to others. With massive changes happening in teens’ brains, their newfound physical, cognitive, and emotional capabilities combine to enable them to make contributions that have real benefits to the people around them. What’s more, opportunities to make such meaningful contributions appear to build exactly the skills they need to flourish as adults. Both our teens and their communities will be better off if we help them find ways to make a difference. How the teen brain is primed to contribute What are “meaningful” contributions? When we talk about contributing, it’s not just about being kind or volunteering here and there (although both are important). It refers to “contributions of consequence” — actions that have substantial benefits to others that help to reach a shared goal. This type of contributing involves not simply taking a single action but playing an important role within a group — whether it’s a family, school, or community. RELATED: Why is volunteering important? Adolescents, it turns out, are remarkably well adapted to contribute to others. Adolescence is a time of massive restructuring in the brain, creating a faster, more efficient system. Neuroimaging studies show that the neural networks that change most significantly during adolescence are the same networks activated by contributing to others. Flower power: teens working in a community garden shutterstock/Daisy Daisy For example, the “social brain” — the intricate network of areas in the brain that activate in social interactions — matures rapidly during the adolescent years. This development increases young people’s ability to understand the feelings and perspectives of other people. Adolescents’ advancing cognitive maturity allows them to consider the complex dynamics of other people’s competing perspectives and needs to determine whom and how to help. Another area changing during these years is the “reward system,” which increases the positive feelings teens get from new and exciting experiences. This is the brain area most commonly implicated in adolescent risk taking, which strikes fear in the hearts of many parents. But evidence suggests that the same brain changes involved in adolescent rebelliousness and risk taking also drive kind and helpful behaviors, such as contributing. How adolescents benefit from contributing Giving benefits the giver. According to research, adults who contribute to others have improved moods, lower stress, and fewer health problems. Adolescents benefit in similar ways, and they get their own unique benefits from contributing, as well. For example, the increased activation of the reward system in the brain may make adolescents value giving more and feel more fulfilled by it. Young people from families in which contributing is a particular value seem to feel this sense of reward even more acutely. Adolescents also report being happier on days when they help their families. Studies have shown that students who are helpful, cooperative, and sharing tend to be more popular than those who use fear or intimidation to gain status, providing another incentive to contribute. This is particularly crucial to adolescents, who, thanks to hormonal changes beginning at the onset of puberty, are extremely sensitive to belonging and earning respect. “Research suggests that kind and helpful behavior toward others actually increases from childhood through adolescence — making the stereotype of the self-absorbed teen a myth.” The stress-reducing effects of contributing may also be especially important during adolescence, when teens’ bodies and minds are highly reactive to stress (more so than at any other age). Most importantly, contributing provides adolescents the experiences they need to complete the key tasks of this life stage: building autonomy, identity, and intimacy. Making meaningful contributions to others allows adolescents to see that they can have a positive effect on the world, giving them the confidence necessary to build autonomy and agency. When their contributions are recognized, young people come to understand their place and value in the world, developing their sense of identity. Having the opportunity to provide meaningful social support to friends and family builds the intimacy they’ll need to form positive, long-lasting relationships in adulthood. How teens can make meaningful contributions Adolescents’ increasing connections to those outside of their family allow them to have an impact in many different spheres. Here are some ways they can make substantive contributions, to their immediate family and the wider community. 1. Family As adolescents grow stronger and more coordinated, with increased cognitive abilities, their roles as family helpers can become more substantial. Adolescents can provide real, meaningful help with jobs like cleaning, cooking, and sibling care. But meaningfully contributing to a family goes beyond chores. Adolescents also need a chance to play a real role in the functioning of the family. Participating in family decision making — about anything from spending decisions to food choices at mealtime to rules around bedtime and homework — is one important way they can contribute. This sort of involvement doesn’t mean they make the decisions, but that their ideas, feelings, and judgments are a genuine part of the decision-making process. Even if their suggestions aren’t followed every time, when their perspectives are seriously considered, they’re contributing to the family. Helping hand: shopping for older family shutterstock/DGLimages Contributing to the family has benefits beyond the household. Studies show that young adolescents who participate in family decision making adjust better to junior high school, are more motivated at school, and have higher self-esteem than their peers who don’t have such opportunities. The sense of fulfilling an integral role in a family has been shown to improve teens’ well-being and sense of responsibility. It can even reduce the risky behaviors many of us worry about in our adolescent kids. There’s one caveat with contributing to family: increased chores and responsibilities that fall to adolescents as a result of parents’ physical or mental illness or other family traumas can have the opposite effect on their well-being and academic success. 2. Peers Research shows that friends are a key source of social support for teens, and that this relationship is an important avenue for contributing. The more equal power dynamics in friendships with same-aged peers allow adolescents to play a more significant role in the relationship than they often can with adults, such as by giving emotional support, offering opinions, and making plans. “When their contributions are recognized, young people come to understand their place and value in the world.” In addition to helping each other, teen friends can also motivate each other to contribute more broadly. When middle and high school students believe that contributing is a social norm among their peers, or when they get positive feedback from their friends for contributing, they’re more likely to help a classmate or pitch in money for the group. Adolescents who help others appear to inspire their best friends to do the same. As busy as your teenager may be, it’s important to leave time for just “hanging out” with friends — the chance to make a friend laugh or to literally be a shoulder to cry on. 3. Schools Just as contributing to the family is more than just doing chores, contributing at school is more than just required volunteer hours. Meaningful contributions at school will enable students to have a substantial impact on their school environment. This means involving middle and high school students in decision making around coursework, classroom practices, and school policies. Opportunities to choose seating arrangements, learning activities, or grading practices are all avenues for meaningful contributions. Being involved this way in decision making at school has been shown to increase students’ motivation and connection to the school community. Brushing up on skills: community work shutterstock/Daisy Daisy An active, empowered student government is another way for adolescents to make meaningful contributions to their school. Clubs and sports give adolescents a chance to have a real impact on their teammates, and organized service learning programs can help students impact their larger communities.
 Not all schools have the know-how or funding to provide all students with equal opportunities to contribute. For those students, community programs can be a valuable alternative. 4. Communities Adolescents are physically and cognitively capable of serving their communities and the wider world. For the most enriching experience, they need a chance to have a measurable, notable impact on the organization or population they’re helping, and they need a chance to reflect on the meanings of their contributions. High-quality volunteer programs also allow adolescents to play an active role in the organization itself. Not all volunteer situations for teens meet those standards. Programs such as 4-H, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and the YWCA/YMCA generally provide the opportunities young people need to benefit from such contributions. Yes, adolescents still need support from their parents. But a big part of what they need is for us to see them as the thoughtful, capable, caring people that they have already become. Adolescents flourish when they have a chance to make significant contributions to their families, friends, schools, and communities. That’s how they get what they need to thrive as adults who can make a meaningful difference in the world. ● Written by Greater Good Science Center This article originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Happiness.com is honoured to republish it with the kind permission of the Greater Good Science Center. greatergood.berkeley.edu

Retirement should be a time for seniors to relax and enjoy themselves, but all too often stress and isolation get in the way. Own very own senior, Marilyn Coates-Lower, says keeping your mind and body active is key to a healthy retirement. As we age, some of us may find that life becomes more stressful rather than easier. As retirement grows nearer, we look forward to the changes that this will bring, often planning to do the many things that we never had time for during our busy working lives. However, ensuring you have a happy and healthy retirement isn't always straightforward. Indeed, according to Patrick J. Skerrett, Former Executive Editor of Harvard Health: “If we're not careful, retirement can bring about many health problems rather than contentment, and that we should look upon it as a ‘process rather than an event.'” Planning a healthy retirement Some of us will have planned carefully for when we retire and will remain financially secure, while others will suddenly face a huge drop in income. Naturally, this can limit what we can achieve. According to research carried out by Dr George E. Vaillant, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, there are several ways in which retired seniors – even those 80+ – can remain happy and healthy, attaining a rewarding lifestyle that doesn't require a high income level. These ways include: Making new friends When retiring from work, you may leave many of your friends behind, but building a new social network of like-minded, similarly aged people will prove to be good for both your physical and mental health. Joining clubs There are so many to choose from, including sports such as golf, swimming and tennis, ballroom dancing, walking and bridge. They will not only get you out of the house but also provide the opportunity to make new friends. Keeping your mind and body active Why not take up a new hobby, something you've always wanted to do? Gardening is a great work out and has many mental health benefits, too. Or you could learn a new language or take a new course, or maybe discover the healing power of pets. A dog will not only be a great companion but will also get you out walking and meeting people. All of these suggestions are not only enjoyable but also provide excellent stress relief, which will keep body and soul together and make for a happier and healthier retirement. We should make the most of every moment because, as this quote from Ausonius attains: “Let us never know what old age is. Let us know the happiness time brings, not count the years.” Indeed, every day is precious, and a happy and healthy retirement can be found in something as simple as journaling or talking to a friend. Flower power: gardening can lead to a healthier retirement Stress and how it affects senior health A handy factsheet produced by the American Psychological Association (APA) Office on Ageing and Committee on Ageing suggests that, if we're not careful, stress can affect us badly as we age – lowering the chance of a healthy retirement. The APA say that one of the simplest ways to remain healthy is to eat nourishing food – helping seniors to maintain a reasonable weight – and to take regular exercise. The APA explain that stress is being caused by our bodies responding to danger, releasing hormones into the bloodstream, which speed up the heart and increase the pulse rate: the ‘stress response’. They go on to explain that research has shown that too much stress will impair the immune system, decreasing our ability to fight off disease and mental health problems. It offers several stress relief tips for retiring seniors, including: Staying positive Avoid negative talk such as, “I’m too old”, or, “I can't do it anymore”. This type of talk will not help, and, while you may feel that doing nothing is your solution: think about what you can do instead. Staying focused Never feel helpless because, no matter how difficult something might seem, there's always a solution. Each problem is a test or challenge that will keep your mind active as you consider your options. Meditation Relaxation techniques, meditation and especially MBSR (meditation based stress reduction) have been developed to deal with stress based on techniques that have been around for centuries. According to Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, just ten minutes a day can help to control stress, reduce anxiety and contribute to improving cardiovascular health, which, in consequence, will make you healthier during your retirement years. Dr Stöppler goes on to say that meditative techniques were first pioneered in America during the 1970s by Harvard physician Herbert Benson. It has since gained acceptance worldwide, by both doctors and therapists, to be a valuable complementary therapy for symptom relief of many different illnesses. “When it comes to a happy and healthy retirement, here are several ways in which retired seniors can remain happy and healthy, with a rewarding lifestyle that does not require a high level of income.” Dr Stöppler states: “No matter how the relaxation state is achieved, the physical and emotional consequences of stress can be reduced through regular practice.” Stress relief, in this form, can also lead to happiness and inner peace. For a first glance at stress relieving meditation practices, try 'Mindfulness daily', an easy-to-follow course developed by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Meditation and yoga can lower blood pressure and stress in seniors A happy and healthy retirement Every one of us will see retirement differently; how we use all this extra time that we suddenly have on our hands depends very much on individual circumstances according to Harvard Health Publications. They explain that, if your job has been tiring, boring or unrewarding, then retirement will come as a great relief. Whereas, those of us that have thoroughly enjoyed our work and thrived on the structured lifestyle will see retirement in an entirely different way; this in itself will require you to work harder to ensure you have a happy and healthy retirement. A couple who are happily married, or in a long-standing relationship, are far more likely to enjoy their retirement than someone whose home life is unstable. Healthy retirees will be looking forward to an active and rewarding time, whereas, those who are in bad health will not have this option. Whichever category you fit into, still keep as active as possible and keep your mind and body busy. Senior stress relief: seeking help One of the biggest stress relief tips offered by the fact sheet produced by the APA is to seek help before everything gets on top of you. Of course, when we talk about a healthy retirement, we are also referring to optimal mental health as a senior. Here are three ideas for achieving this: CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) This will explore and help to discover the underlying reasons for stress and contributes to change negative thoughts into positive ones. Supportive therapy Often a non-judgmental ear can help to justify why feelings of anxiety exist and to offer stress relief tips to introduce a more positive way of thinking. Relaxation training Related to meditation, it also includes education about stress and tension and how to achieve muscle relaxation. Fitness and friends: two great ways to stay healthy during retirement Stress relief: what you can do Dr Dossett recommends talking to loved ones or close friends, as well as visiting your doctor. Talking about problems that are stressing you can sometimes lead to a solution, but, healthwise, as Dr Dossett explains, your doctor will be able to check your blood pressure and recommend a healthy lifestyle change, particularly with diet; anti-depressants are also an option for the severely distressed. “Every one of us will see retirement differently; how we use this extra time that we suddenly have depends very much on individual circumstances.” He also states that one of the best stress relief tips is to focus on triggering exactly the opposite of the stress response – the relaxation response – through, as previously mentioned, MBSR, meditation or tai chi, yoga and deep breathing exercises. All of these will lower oxygen consumption and the heart and breathing rate, so reducing blood pressure and stress hormones, helping to maintain a much more positive outlook on life. As American actress Valerie Bertinelli so aptly said: “Happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy. There's going to be stress in life, but it's your choice whether you let it affect you or not.” Indeed, seniors can and will face issues around loneliness, health and potential cognitive impairment, but staying optimistic is essential. By trying out these stress relief tips for seniors, you can increase your chances of a happy and healthy retirement. Enjoy it – you deserve it! ● Main image: shutterstock/rawpixel.com Written by Marilyn Coates-Lower I am a free spirit who wakes up with a smile every morning. My life has been an adventure and, although now officially retired, I continue to work as a writer and proofreader. I live in a stunning part of Brittany, France together with my horse and cat, enjoying views of the woods that surround my house and across the valley to the village. By way of my experiences, I hope to inspire people, through my writing, to become more positive, happy and forward-thinking.

During times of economic hardship, how is happiness affected? Arlo Laibowitz examines how social contacts, religiosity and political confidence helps people to stay cheerful when facing financial pressures. The novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens opens with a famous quote which is useful to think about when considering economic hardship. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.” In the book, one of the characters, Doctor Manette, ends up in prison during the French Revolution. Debilitated by his unfair imprisonment, Doctor Manette tries to stay sane against the odds. A subject loosely taken from Dickens' biography, as during his youth he unsuccessfully tried to keep his father John out of jail, when he was sentenced for falling to repay a debt. But what does this have to with happiness? Well, there's a growing body of scientific studies that examine the relationship between money and happiness or well-being. On one hand, these studies focus on the positive effects of [increased] income. On the other, they focus on the ways in which we deal with economic hardship to maintain our sense of happiness and well-being. A study by Reeskens and Vandecasteele found that there are three factors that can soften, or as they call it, 'cushion', people facing economic hardship: Informal social contacts Religiosity Confidence in politics Money and happiness: some basic notions In their article, Reeskens and Vandecasteele firstly discuss some of the common sense notions of happiness and well-being. The most basic one is that more money makes us happier. In a famous study by Princeton University, a magic number was put on the relation between happiness and income: $75,000 (€65,000). RELATED: Money can't buy happiness (except when you spend it like this) According to this Princeton study, people that earn less than this sum, report lower happiness and emotional well-being than people that make $75,000 or more. As their income increased to this amount, respondents reported an increase in their sense of happiness. But the study found that an income increase above this figure does not lead to an increase in self-reported feelings of happiness and well-being. Cash for questions: how do people cope with economic hardship? So, does that mean that we should all aim to make $75,000 to be happy? No. In fact, a recent study by the London School of Economics, Origins of Happiness, has shown that most human misery can be attributed to failed relationships and mental and physical illness, not to money problems and poverty. Indeed, social and psychological factors are more important to the well-being of individuals than income levels. As that study’s lead researcher, Lord Richard Layard stated: “Having a partner is as good for you as being made unemployed is bad for you.” “Most human misery can be attributed to failed relationships and mental and physical illness, not to money problems and poverty.” Reeskens and Vandecasteele focused their research on some of these social and psychological factors, in studying what happens because of the negative effect on subjective well-being caused by poverty and [economic] deprivation. Here again, we find some common sense notions. The most basic one is that a negative effect on subjective well-being is caused by poverty and [economic] deprivation. But there are studies like Social comparisons of income in one’s community, that show that some people are more severely affected by economic hardship than others. How come? But money does matter. Doesn't it? Jumping forward to some of Reeskens and Vandecasteele’s conclusions: income does matter. According to their findings, up to 45 per cent of our sense of happiness, or lack thereof, can be explained by our economical situation. Economic hardship does decrease our sense of well-being. But economic situation is more than just our annual income. Factors that are important as well include: Employment status If we have to draw on our savings or get into debt to cover ordinary living expenses If we have to cut back on things like holidays or new household equipment In a glass-half-full-half-empty analogy, we can also conclude that if 45 per cent of our sense of happiness is material, economic, then 55 per cent is not. It's in this 55 per cent that three main immaterial factors come into play: social contacts, religious practice and confidence in politics. 1. Social contacts What makes informal social contacts so important? According to a study by Halliwell and Putnam, The social context of well-being, social interactions, amongst others: Reduce stress. Enable material and immaterial resources. Improve access to health care. Enable social control to discourage behaviour that might be harmful for your well-being. As Putnam famously put it: “Your chances of dying over the course of the next year are cut in half by joining one group, and cut to a quarter by joining two groups.” In it together: social contact helps you forget economic hardship Reeskens and Vandecasteele show, by examining survey responses taken in more than 25 European countries, that having frequent contact with family, friends and colleagues strongly cushions the effect of [economic] deprivation on happiness. The difference in happiness levels between people with higher incomes and those with economic deprivation dramatically drops when we look at people with frequent informal contacts. In other words: lonely affluent people are comparatively happier than lonely deprived people. Whereas socializing affluent people are still happier, but comparatively less happier than socializing deprived people. “Having frequent contact with family, friends and colleagues strongly cushions the effect of [economic] deprivation on happiness.” When facing economic hardship, we should try to maintain our social network, meet our friends, and go and see our family (although research shows this might be harder to do than when we have no financial concerns). 2. Religiosity The second factor researched by Reeskens and Vandecasteele, religiosity, can also cushion the negative impact of economic hardship on our sense of happiness and well-being. There are two effects happening here. The first one is the social aspect of religion. Interaction with like-minded churchgoers through the support, companionship and sense of belonging that we can find in informal social contacts as well. But with religion, this effect is “supercharged”, as Lim and Putnam describe in Religion, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction. Supercharged, because the effect is bigger than with regular [non-religious] friends or family. In this study by Lim and Putnam, it was also found that the other effect is a “private tie to God”, since religiosity offers “a comprehensive framework for the interpretation of world events”. Since religious people have a stronger sense that something outside of them controls things, they are also more likely to believe that their economic hardship will be alleviated by something external. “Religiosity can also cushion the negative impact of economic hardship on our sense of happiness and well-being.” When looking at the results in Reeskens’ and Vandecasteele’s research, taken from the same survey responses of 25 European countries, the effect of religiosity is relatively the smallest of the three factors, in “cushioning” the effect of economic hardship. There's still a measurable, statistically significant increase in feelings of happiness and well-being between frequent church-going deprived people, and those that do not go to church, when comparing both of these groups with affluent people. Praise be: religion brings companionship and belonging It must be noted, as Reeskens and Vandecasteele do, that this might be partially explained by cultural differences [the role of religiosity in Europe compared to the United States, for example]. When facing economic hardship, being religious or maintaining our religious practices helps in alleviating the effect of that hardship on our well-being. 3. Confidence in politics Similar to the external effect that religiosity has on the deprived, believing that politicians can alter and influence their situation is also beneficial to a sense of well-being during economic hardship. A study by Catterberg and Moreno, The Individual Bass of Political Trust, has shown that in general, the [economic] deprived have a lower level of faith and confidence in politics. But Reeskens and Vandecasteele argue that among these economic deprived, the ones that do keep faith and confidence in politics, are happier than those that don’t. Their results back up this claim. In the European survey responses the deprived respondents that had confidence in their governments, were happier than those deprived respondents who did not have that confidence. The differences are sharp. Pro-politics deprived people are only slightly less happy than their affluent counterparts. But negative-towards-politics deprived people are strongly less happy than their affluent counterparts. When faced with economic hardship, people that have confidence in politics and government show more resilience against the negative psychological effects on happiness and well-being, than people that turn away from politics. What to do in times of economic hardship So, where do these studies leave us? First of all: money can make us happy – but only up to a certain point. How we spend money is also key to deriving happiness from it. And in times of economic hardship, there are certain factors that can help us cushion its effect. The most prominent ones are having informal social contacts, and keeping faith in politics. Being religious does help as well, but not as much. For a totally different perspective on all of this, we can also start with the premise of psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book The How of Happiness. In it, she states, backed by other research, that 50 per cent of our happiness level is genetically determined [based on twin studies], 10 per cent is affected by life circumstances and situation, and 40 per cent is subject to self control and manipulation. When looked at it from that perspective, our economic circumstances are part of the 10 per cent that also include physical health, love relationships, feelings of safety, etc. RELATED: Is happiness genetic? In that case, during periods of economic hardship it might be wise to focus more on the 40 per cent of things that we can change and manipulate, such as some of the strategies that Lyubomirsky proposes: cultivating optimism, to stop ruminating and to develop coping strategies. And also to start counting your blessings or carrying out gratitude practice, as hard as it may be when faced with the next bill or credit card statement! ● Main image: Colourbox.com Written by Arlo Laibowitz Arlo is a filmmaker, artist, lecturer, and intermittent practitioner of metta meditation and morning yoga. When not dreaming about impossible projects and making them happen in the most impractical ways possible, he journals, listens to jazz, or cuddles with his better half.

Need a change from all the negative news in the media? These feel-good stories from July will lift your spirits! Ed Gould shares his Top Ten round-up from the month. 1. Baths lead to better sleep Feeling the happiness of a good night's sleep is something that many miss out on. However, new research suggests that taking a hot bath a couple of hours before you retire can really help you to nod off. As reported by CNN, according to new research from the University of Texas, bathing in hot water helps us to feel sleepy because the body naturally cools a little before sleeping. By taking a warm bath – and not a stimulating shower – you can replicate this natural process and therefore enjoy more chance of a healthy night's rest. RELATED: Can't sleep? 14 fixes to get a good night's rest 2. Huge numbers of new trees planted in Ethiopia Ethiopia is rarely in the news as a place of much happiness. That said, several news outlets, including The CEO Magazine ran with a story about saplings being planted in the country in July. In a bid to combat climate change, over 350 million were planted – incredibly, in just one day. These were spread out across the country but taken together it represents a world record. The country's tree-planting programme aims to see four billion new trees planted in total to improve reforestation rates in East Africa. Trees in Tigray, Ethiopia © shutterstock/Aleksandra H. Kossowsk 3. Ear stimulation could prevent premature ageing conditions In a study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Leeds, it was found that tickling the ear with a small electrical current could help combat certain conditions associated with premature ageing, such as Parkinson's disease. The idea behind the research is that the ear acts as a kind of gateway to the body's nervous system so stimulating it can help to promote activity in it, thereby rebalancing it. It's hoped a treatment can be developed that will help with things like irritable bowel syndrome and even depression, too. 4. Gut microbes found to be crucial in motor neurone disease The Guardian reported in July that scientists had made a breakthrough in the study of ALS, a highly debilitating form of motor neurone disease. A microbe in the gut known as akkermansia muciniphila was found to secrete a molecule in the body that slows down the course of the condition. It does so by improving the function of some of the muscle-controlling neurons found in the brain. The Israeli research team has more work to do to understand why this happens but they are currently embarking on further studies to do so. 5. Pupils practising mindfulness lowers teacher stress The link between mindfulness and better outcomes among children in school has been long-established and more and more educational authorities around the world are encouraging it in public education systems. However, according to Metro, deploying it in schools also redounds to the benefit of teaching staff, too. Work undertaken at Swansea University showed that mental well-being also improved among teachers when mindfulness courses were followed by pupils. Class act: meditating schoolkids © shutterstock/wavebreakmedia RELATED: 7 mindfulness tips for staying engaged 6. The tiger population is on the up The Daily Telegraph reported that the numbers of tigers roaming around India may have risen by as much as 30 per cent since 2014. Back then, new measures were brought in to protect these big cats. This means that well over two-thirds of the wild tiger population now lives within India's borders. The country is now on track to meet its internationally agreed commitments to improve global tiger numbers by creating safer habitats for these impressive creatures. Some 26,000 cameras are now in operation around these habitats in order to count the tiger population more accurately and deter harmful activities against them. 7. Marijuana may be more potent than aspirin According to Sky News, a scientific study into anti-inflammatories has found that certain molecules in cannabis plants could be up to 30 times stronger than common drugs like aspirin. The work, undertaken in Canada, builds an even stronger case for the use of certain therapies derived from cannabis plants. According to the lead researcher, Professor Tariq Akhtar, the molecule in question has no psychoactive effect, potentially making it ideal for a new medicine. 8. Mexico makes a wildlife reserve for endangered species According to the Rainforest Trust, it has teamed up with Turtle Conservancy and the Global Wildlife Conservation to create a new nature reserve in the Chihuahuan Desert. The idea is to help to protect some endangered tortoise species and lizards, as well as some very rare mammals in the region. In addition, it's hoped that the area will help to improve the numbers of both nesting and migrating birds. The reserve was set up after 8,850-acre former cattle ranch was bought specifically for the purpose of maintaining a new wildlife habitat. Well shell: tortoise protection © shutterstock/FOTOGRIN 9. Large study into altruism launched According to CBS, scientists are taking some of their first steps to try and understand altruism from a physiological point of view rather than focussing on the psychology. Professor Abigail Marsh of Georgetown University in the US has been examining the brains of people who are known to be altruistic because they all donated kidneys to perfect strangers. The study, she claimed, indicates that there may be specific brain functions associated with altruism. Although her work is ongoing, from her collection of brain scans so far, she has noted some enlarged areas of the brain from those people who made such donations! RELATED: The power of kindness 10. Thermal transfer technology could heat homes from subways As anyone who's travelled on them knows, underground tunnels and subways build-up heat during summer! Researchers from Lausanne in Switzerland have come up with a plan to capture this energy and put it to good use. Their idea is to use heat pumps to capture the energy and transfer it, either to heat nearby homes or to cool them down by converting the heat into power for air-conditioning. According to one researcher involved, it could save millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per city per year! Now that's great news for all of us. ● Written by Ed Gould Ed Gould is a UK-based journalist and practitioner of Reiki.

We all need friends. However, if yours are not adding happiness to your life, you may need to end a friendship... but how? Here's when to end a friendship, and how to do it in a healthy way. Humans are social beings that need a sense of belonging. Having long-term friendships not only brings us happiness but also enables us to enjoy the highs and lows of life without feeling alone. One of the most overlooked benefits of friendship is that it keeps our bodies and minds healthy. In fact, a study conducted by Harvard University found that healthy friendships promote brain health. The power of friendship is real, so why and when would you want to end one? Friends help us deal with stressful situations such as ill health, financial stress, the loss of a job, and other bad experiences. During difficult times, friends can help put things into perspective. With friends, we can engage in great conversations, laugh out loud and enjoy heartfelt support. Indeed, it explains why friendship is the basic component for any relationship; from marriage, work colleagues to our social buddies. But, at some point, you may feel that you and a friend aren't connecting well anymore, and they are not adding any happiness to your life. In that case, it may be time to end a friendship and consider making some new friends you have more in common with. When to end a friendship: 4 key signals Some people believe that friendships are for ever, but, as we all know, that's not always the case. Even friendships that have thrived since childhood evolve and can break down. People grow out of friendships, and as they grow older, they have to think how and when to end them, especially the toxic ones. Friendships change with time © shutterstock/szefei Some friends can become relentlessly needy while others disappear on you for ages without valid reasons and resurface later, hoping to revive the friendship. But a friendship should be balanced; there needs to be few incidences of one party giving or the other taking all the time. As we age, many of us become more confident in ourselves and don't have the energy for friendships that just aren't working. However, actually going through with ending a friendship isn't always an easy task! If this is something you're struggling with right now, here are four reasons that can help you identify when to end a friendship and how to do it healthily and without bad feeling. 1. Selfish friends All types of relationship should be a two-way street, whether it's a working, romantic, platonic or familial one. As such, if your friendship is consistently one-sided, then it could be time to end it. If you're pouring energy into a friend who isn't reciprocating the same care and love, then it's not fair and you may become resentful. • HAVE YOUR SAY! What are the qualities of a best friend? • Many selfish friends only show up when they're going through a rough patch and will disappear as soon as you've helped them. However, when you're in need, they'll go silent or provide little support. If you have a friend like this in your life, it's could be time to say goodbye. 2. Betrayal Friends often share secrets with each other; after all, they're there to listen and support one another. But this can be dangerous if your friend likes to gossip. In fact, friends should create boundaries about what they can and can't share about each other, to avoid betraying trust by divulging private information. Be clear what you don't want repeated: a true friend will respect that. Trust is fragile and makes up a significant part of any relationship. Gossip can easily end friendships © shutterstock/Jacob Lund While minor betrayals like gossiping may be forgiven – especially if your friend shows remorse and willingness to regain trust – some betrayals are so deep then the friendship cannot be salvaged. However, major betrayals such as seducing a friend's partner or stealing, are often unforgivable. Such betrayals break trust completely and can be difficult to rebuild. It's usually time to end a friendship when this happens. • JOIN US! Join the caring happiness.com community and make new friends • 3. Negative and pessimistic friends We all have our ups and downs, but if you have a pessimistic pal (don't we all?), you may want to reconsider your friendship. Friends who are more pessimistic than optimistic can really drag you down: complaining about their lives, always with negative energy or ruminating over past mistakes, or even being a downer about your ideas or life. Of course, friendships are about showing empathy and compassion to your friends. You may try to lift a friend's negative attitude or mood by talking to them, but if they don’t make any effort to change, this is a warning sign. “All types of relationship should be a two-way street. As such, if your friendship is consistently one-sided, then it’s time to end it.” While you obviously want to care for your friends, it's also important you take care of yourself also, and that involves avoiding friends who bring you down constantly. If you're wondering when to end a friendship, this may be a good time. In fact, it won’t hurt to take a break from them for a while or discussing how you feel. Negative noise from friends is a deal-breaker © shutterstock/pathdoc 4. You've grown apart Not all friendships end with arguments or drama. Sometimes friends simply drift apart; their life circumstances may change suddenly, as in the case of marriage, a new job, moving city or becoming a parent. It's natural when friendships are altered by such life events. RELATED: Finding your tribe – the 7 steps you need to take However, sometimes you drift apart simply because you're growing in different ways. Perhaps your interests, ambitions and shared ideas have changed. When your paths diverge to such a degree, sometimes you end up with nothing or little to talk about, and this is a sign your relationship has changed. You can always try to focus on the remaining things you have in common, although you may decide to invest less time in that friendship instead. “Major betrayals such as seducing a friend's partner or stealing, are often unforgivable. Such betrayals break trust and can be difficult to rebuild. It's usually time to end a friendship when this happens.” It's easier to accept that things are changing and that your friendship is indeed drifting apart. You may wonder when and how to end a friendship, i.e., whether to end it formally or allow it to drift away naturally. There will be sad feelings you may need to work through, so give yourself time to grieve. However, you should not beat yourself about it. Every friend adds something to your life, so appreciate the time you've spent together. Ending a friendship: how to do it So, whether your friend has betrayed you, your relationship has grown apart or you want to break off from negative friends, it's essential to know when – and how – to deal with it. The most obvious sign that a friendship's not working anymore is if you often feel exhausted at the idea of hanging out with your friend and no longer look forward to seeing them. You may even find yourself making up excuses to avoid them. In this case, it may be time to approach your friend to talk things through or to finish the relationship. Ending a friendship should involve tact and care However, if you don't feel ready to express your feelings to a friend right away, consider journaling about them first. It provides a safe space for you to vent without discussing your opinions with other people and determine when to end a friendship. How to end a friendship: unhealthy ways You've probably spent significant time together and shared the best and the worst of memories. As such, you want to end any friendship amicably where possible. While you feel some strategies may be appropriate in particular situations, it’s best to avoid the following approaches, especially if you've spent years together: Becoming aggressive and hostile Ending the friendship using a text Cutting off all contact Asking other friends to break the friendship on your behalf Healthy ways to end a friendship Always try to break the friendship cordially (although in cases of betrayal, this is not always possible!). It's an expression of mutual respect, honesty and maturity. In fact, you never know – perhaps you may want to rekindle the friendship sometime in future. Here are some tried and tested ways to end friendships: 1. The fade out In this case, you don’t seek out your friend as before. This tactic is ideal for people who want to avoid confrontation. You may decide to text instead of making a call, take a long time to get back to them, or answer with short replies. Your unavailability shows you're no longer interested in the relationship. If you're wondering when to end a friendship that has lasted a long time, this could be one way to do it if you don't want to confront and upset your friend too much. RELATED: 7 signs your friend doesn't care about you 2. Have the talk If a slow fade-out approach does not work, then talk things out. Let your friend know that you have outgrown each other, and that it's better for everybody if you stay in touch occasionally. Prepare a script about how to handle the situation if your friend gets angry or hurt. Talk honestly with your friend to end the friendship © shutterstock/fizkes 3. Take a break If your differences remain unresolved even after talking, it’s best to terminate the friendship or take a break from it for a while. This technique will help you calm down, reevaluate the friendship, develop a different perspective, and determine if you want to end it for good. Be sure to set a time in the future when you plan to meet and talk through stuff further. If you're feeling lonely after ending a friendship, there are many ways you can change that. 4. Ending it immediately If you're wondering when to end a friendship that has gone toxic or has involved a betrayal of some sort, this might be the best time to do it immediately! State that your needs are not being met and let the other person go. The approach can seem harsh, but it is also transparent and provides a chance for you to voice issues that you may have been holding back. Conclusion: when and how to end a friendship It’s challenging to find a balance between being there for others and putting yourself first. You don’t want to come off selfish, but you don’t want to surround yourself with people who won't make you happy or support you. Indeed, don’t fear breaking off such friendships as they can hold you back from your own happiness. Try to determine when and how to end a friendship early on before it creates a negative impact on your attitude, behavior and perspective on life. • happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practise, share Are you a happiness.com member? Join free now and: ■ enjoy our happiness magazine ■ share and support in our happiness forum ■ develop with free online Academy classes Empathy | Deep listening | Loneliness Written by Guest Author We're happy to publish articles by guest authors that will broaden the perspective and bring new insights. If you're interested in publishing an article here on happiness.com, please contact us.

Friendships are a powerful aid in maintaining both mental and physical health, as well as our happiness. Dee Marques explores why nurturing friends throughout our life is essential to our well-being – understand the science-backed power of friendship. A few weeks ago I met a 97-year-old lady and asked her what it’s like to reach such an age. Her reply surprised me: “Well, my body isn’t what it used to be, but I've gotten used to that. What I can’t get used to is realising that all my friends have passed away.” This got me thinking about the power of friendship, and why friend relationships are so important to humans. In fact, research shows that we’re designed to exist in groups. For early humans, isolation meant death, and social bonds increased the chances of protection, finding food and survival. In short, there was safety in numbers. Today, the power of friendship isn’t directly linked to survival, but it’s still an essential aspect of human existence. The power of friendship: what happens when we feel lonely? Humans are designed to thrive in the company of others, yet many people say they often experience loneliness. In fact, in the US, it’s estimated that 50 per cent of all Americans feel lonely. And in the UK, a study found that 9 million people (14 per cent of the population ) said they were lonely either always or most of the time. Furthermore, a UK YouGov poll from 2019 found that an incredible 22 per cent of millennials felt that they had no friends at all. The power of friendship: having close friends is important for mental health The power of friendship is such that lacking meaningful social bonds can negatively affect our physical health as well as our mental health. In fact, loneliness causes an increase in stress hormones, which send white blood cells into overdrive and wreak havoc in the immune system. Additionally, feeling isolated can put us at a higher risk of experiencing physical and mental health problems, ranging from depression to stroke or heart disease. And it’s even been suggested that loneliness-related sleep problems may be caused by an ingrained mechanism that dates back to our early ancestors, who didn’t feel safe when alone, so they had to keep their guard up and actually avoid falling asleep! What are the benefits of powerful friendships? So, not being able to experience the power of friendship can be harmful to our health. But what are the benefits of friendships? In fact, the simple action of sharing thoughts, emotions, and activities with others reinforces positive feelings and makes good memories easier to remember. Sharing also reveals the authenticity in us, allowing us to know ourselves better and to find insights in our friends’ points of view. There are also health benefits involved: some studies found that seniors with large network of friends were more likely to outlive those without social support. “The power of friendship is such that lacking meaningful social bonds can negatively affect our health. Feeling isolated can put us at a higher risk of experiencing physical and mental health problems.” We are social beings, so friendships are key to happiness. There’s relief and strength in knowing that you don’t have to handle the ups and downs of life on your own. And it seems that what we do now with regards to friendship will be reflected later in life. • JOIN US! Join the caring happiness.com community and make new friends • Researchers at Harvard University followed up on a group of 700+ people as they went through different stages of their lives and consistently found that people who felt isolated experienced a decline in physical and mental health towards mid-life, whereas those who were happy with the quality of their relationships when they were 50 were healthier and happier in their 80s than those who didn’t. Friends: quality vs. quantity If the power of friendship is so great, does that mean that the more friends we have the better we’ll feel? Not necessarily. Isolation has never been as widespread as it is today, despite the popularity of social media. This is called the social media paradox. Depression and anxiety are on the rise (especially among teenagers) and researchers have linked this to the increased use of social media, which often results in unrealistic comparisons with other people thinking their lives are better. This causes feelings of inadequacy, fear of rejection and unhappiness (and may help to account for those lack-of-friends stats in millennials mentioned earlier). Friendships are powerful but must be nurtured © shutterstock/Flamino Images As plentiful as they might be, the reality is online friends aren’t enough, and real-world connections will always be more powerful. Indeed, although social media offers the possibility to stay in touch with friends and even to make new connections, it shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for real-life friendships. In fact, what really makes a difference is the depth of the connections we have with others. Some psychologists claim that just having one meaningful friendship can make a world of a difference. Additionally, variety within friendships is also important. It’s natural to look for people who are 'like us', but it’s helpful to expand our circle of friends to include people with different backgrounds, interests, etc. Age-gap friendships are also beneficial. Each of them will bring something new into our lives, making for a richer social experience. • CONNECT DEEPLY Make connections with like-minded and inspirational people • Interestingly, the founder of a friendship site said we tend to replace half our close friends every seven years. As we go through different stages in life, our needs and interests change, so we’re more likely to be drawn to different types of people. Nurturing friendships Friendships have to be nurtured so they can grow healthily. Just like a plant, putting the seeds in alone is not enough. Ongoing care and attention are needed, so it’s crucial to make a conscious effort to invest time in our friendships. We can’t expect relationships to survive without investing in them. So, always aim to be there for your friends (both new and old), be a mindful listener, prove they can trust you, praise them, write or tell them what their friendship means, and spend time doing things together. Of course, sometimes friendships break down for different reasons and it may be that at some point you need to think about when (and how) to end a friendship. “Developing and nurturing meaningful social bonds can help you live a richer life. Take your time to invest in making new friends and nurturing existing ones.” And yes, making and nurturing friendships gets harder as we get older. Remember how easy it was to make friends as a child? Try to approach relationships as you did when you were younger: being less self-conscious, more open, and generous with your time. Volunteering is an important and fun way of making friends as an adult, as you’re likely to find people who share your concerns and values. Conclusion: the power of friendships Developing and nurturing meaningful social bonds with others can help you live a richer life, both physically and emotionally. While it’s unfortunate to see how widespread loneliness and isolation are, there is an upside to it: there are many people out there who may be feeling as lonely and in need of support as you are. So, why not do something about it? Take your time to invest in making new friends and nurture existing ones. You will all feel the benefits for years to come as the true power of friendships is real and proven by science! ● Main image: shutterstock/Olena Yakobchuk What does friendship mean to you? And what are the qualities of a best friend in your opinion? Have your say in our fourm. happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practise, share Are you a happiness.com member yet? Sign up for free now to enjoy: ■ our happiness magazine with practical life tips ■ share and support in our happiness forum ■ self-develop with free online classes in our Academy Intimacy | Attachment styles Written by Dee Marques A social sciences graduate with a keen interest in languages, communication, and personal development strategies. Dee loves exercising, being out in nature, and discovering warm and sunny places where she can escape the winter.

Der Satz "Du bist, was du isst" kann auch auf unsere mentale Gesundheit angewendet werden. Wenn du mit Angstzuständen oder Depressionen zu kämpfen hast, können diese Ideen für gute Laune Essen von Calvin Holbrook dazu beitragen, deine geistige Gesundheit zu verbessern. Wenn du dich ängstlich fühlst, deprimiert bist oder auch nur ein bisschen verärgert, kann es verlockend sein, sich Eiscreme, Schokolade oder einer riesigen Tüte Kartoffelchips zuzuwenden, um sich ein bisschen besser zu fühlen. Aber bevor du die Kühlschranktür oder Schoko-Schublade öffnest, lies lieber zuerst diesen Artikel! Denn es gibt immer mehr Beweise dafür, dass du deine Stimmung und allgemeine Zufriedenheit mit Nahrungsmitteln verbessern kannst. Aber natürlich mit dem richtigen Essen – nicht alle Lebensmittel fallen in die Kategorie: Gute Laune Lebensmittel. In der Tat hat das Essen, das du zu dir nimmst, einen direkten Einfluss auf deine Stimmung und dein Glücksgefühl. Wenn du dich niedergeschlagen fühlst, kann dies daran liegen, dass dein Spiegel des Neurotransmitters Serotonin niedrig ist. Serotonin ist ein Glückshormon, das dabei hilft, deine Stimmung zu regulieren und dich positiv und selbstbewusst fühlen lässt. Man nimmt an, dass ein Mangel daran zu Gereiztheit und stärkerer Besorgniserregung führt und Schlaflosigkeit verursachen kann. Im menschlichen Körper wird Serotonin aus der Aminosäure Tryptophan umgewandelt, die in vielen proteinreichen Lebensmitteln enthalten ist. Wenn du also Lebensmittel isst, die Tryptophan enthalten, kannst du deinen Serotoninspiegel und damit deine Stimmung verbessern. Gute Laune Lebensmittel: Iss dich glücklich Abgesehen von Tryptophan sind natürlich noch andere Säuren, Vitamine und Nährstoffe in unseren Lebensmitteln enthalten. Diese können auch zu unserer allgemeinen Stimmung, unserem Glück und unserer geistigen Gesundheit beitragen. Eine Verbesserung deiner Ernährung kann dir dabei helfen, klarer zu denken und mehr Energie zur Verfügung zu haben. „Serotonin ist ein sogenanntes Glückshormon, das aus der Aminosäure Tryptophan umgewandelt wird. Diese sind in vielen Proteinreichen Lebensmitteln enthalten.“ Tatsächlich werden in der Wissenschaft zunehmend Lebensmittel mit unserer geistigen Gesundheit in Verbindung gebracht. In einem wegweisenden Artikel aus dem Jahr 2015 in der Lancet wurde sogar festgestellt, dass Ernährung für die psychische Gesundheit ebenso wichtig sein kann wie für die Kardiologie, Endokrinologie und Gastroenterologie. Daher hier unsere Auswahl der acht besten Lebensmittel für gute Laune, die sich positiv auf deine geistige Gesundheit und dein Glück auswirken können. 1. Samen und Nüsse Samen und Nüsse sind reich an Tryptophan, welches von unserem Körper in Serotonin umgewandelt wird. Dieses verbessert und stabilisiert deine Stimmung und hilft dabei, besser schlafen zu können. Und wir alle wissen, wie wichtig guter Schlaf für das seelische Wohlbefinden ist. Also säe Samen für deine Gesundheit und füge sie deiner Einkaufsliste hinzu: Dies könne Kürbiskerne, Mandeln, Cashewkerne, Chiasamen und Pekannüssen sein. Aber Nüsse sind mit unter teuer. Wenn du also nur eine Sorte Nüsse in deinen Einkaufswagen legen möchtest, solltest du dich für Walnüsse entscheiden. Eine Handvoll dieser hirnförmigen Nüsse enthält 318 mg Tryptophan. Darüber hinaus legen Studien nahe, dass eine Handvoll Nüsse pro Tag das Risiko für Herzkrankheiten und Krebs senken kann. Das wäre nochmal ein zusätzlicher gesundheitlicher Bonus. 2. Lachs Er ist hübsch Pink, voller guter Nährstoffe und definitiv ein „Gute Laune Lebensmittel“. Das liegt daran, dass Lachs voller Omega-3-Fettsäuren ist. Dies ist ein wichtiger Nährstoff, der nicht im Körper produziert wird. Omega-3-Fettsäuren bilden einen Teil der Membranen, die die menschlichen Zellen insbesondere im Gehirn umgeben. Studien haben gezeigt, dass der Verzehr von Fisch, der Omega-3-Fettsäuren enthält, Depressionen lindern kann. Darüber hinaus kann der Verzehr von Lachs Entzündungen lindern. Und erhöhte Entzündungswerte im Körper könnten Studien zufolge eine Rolle bei Depressionen spielen. Außerdem ist Lachs eine Quelle für Vitamin D, von dem ebenfalls angenommen wird, dass es bei Depressionen hilft. Darüber hinaus ist dieses Vitamin wichtig für starke Knochen, Zähne und gesunde Muskeln. Rosa Augenschmaus: Lachs ist ein gute-Laune Lebensmittel © shutterstock/timolina 3. Eier Eier sind eine fantastische gute Laune Nahrung, da sie eine Quelle von gleich mehreren Nährstoffen sind, die mit der Gesundheit des Gehirns zusammenhängen - Vitamin B6 und B12, Cholin und Folsäure. Die B-Vitamine sind für eine Reihe von Zell- und Stoffwechselprozessen unerlässlich und spielen auch eine wichtige Rolle bei der Produktion verschiedener Gehirnchemikalien. Cholin ist ein wichtiger Mikronährstoff, den der Körper zur Herstellung von Acetylcholin verwendet. Dieses ist ein Neurotransmitter, der sowohl die Stimmung als auch das Gedächtnis reguliert. „Eier sind eine fantastische gute Laune Nahrung, da sie eine Quelle von gleich mehreren Nährstoffen sind, die mit der Gesundheit des Gehirns zusammenhängen - Vitamin B6 und B12, Cholin und Folsäure.“ In der Tat zeigten zwei voneinander unabhängige Studien, dass eine höhere Cholinaufnahme mit einem verbesserten Gedächtnis und einer verbesserten mentalen Funktion zusammenhängt. Eier essen ist ein einfacher Weg, um Cholin aufzunehmen. Allerdings muss das Gelbe vom Ei mitgegessen werden. In diesem leckeren gelben Kern ist das Cholin nämlich konzentriert. Mängel an Folsäure und B12 wurden mit dem Krankheitsbild Depression in Verbindung gebracht. Außerdem ist bei älteren Menschen mit Demenz häufig ein Mangel an Folsäure zu finden. Studien zeigen auch, dass Folsäurepräparate dabei helfen können, das altersbedingte Nachlassen mentaler Fähigkeiten zu minimieren. Daraus folgt, dass es sehr nützlich sein kann, genügend Folsäure über Eier und andere Quellen aufzunehmen. 4. Dunkelgrünes Gemüse Deine Mutter hat dir bestimmt auch immer gesagt, du sollst dein Gemüse aufessen. Und damit hatte sie recht! Dunkelgrünes Gemüse ist eine weitere Quelle für Folsäure. Gemüse wie Brokkoli und Spinat sind jedoch nicht nur wegen ihres Gehalts an Folsäure Gute Laune Lebensmittel, sie bringen auch andere Vorteile für die psychische Gesundheit mit sich. Eisen, das in ordentlichen Mengen in Blattgemüse wie Spinat vorkommt, ist an vielen neurologischen Aktivitäten beteiligt. Ein Mangel an Eisen im menschlichen Körper wird mit Angstzuständen und depressiven Symptomen in Verbindung gebracht. Eisen hilft dem Körper auch dabei, gesunde rote Blutkörperchen zu bilden. Ein weiteres Spurenelement, dessen Ausbleiben mit Depressionen und Angstsymptomen in Verbindung gebracht wird, ist Magnesium. Zum Glück ist dieses Mineral ebenfalls reichlich in Blattgemüse vorhanden ist. Brokkoli und Grünkohl sollen zudem dazu beitragen, das Wachstum von Tumoren und anderen Krebszellen zu unterdrücken. Natürlich kann der Verzehr von allen möglichen Arten von Gemüse der psychischen Gesundheit zuträglich sein, nicht nur der von dunkelgrünem. In einer 2017 von der University of Sydney durchgeführten Studie wurden 60.000 Australier ab 45 Jahren auf ihren Obst- und Gemüsekonsum, ihre Lebensweise und ihren psychischen Stress untersucht. Die im British Medical Journal veröffentlichten Ergebnisse zeigten, dass diejenigen Teilnehmer, die drei bis vier Portionen Gemüse pro Tag zu sich nahmen, ein niedrigeres Risiko für Stress hatten. Verglichen mit denen, die nur eine Portion Gemüse am Tag aßen, lag das Stressrisiko um 12 Prozent niedriger. Grün, grün, grün sind alle meine Geschmäcker © shutterstock/4 PM Production 5. Tofu Dieses weitere vegetarische Grundnahrungsmittel wird aus Sojabohnenquark hergestellt. Sojaprodukte sind reich an Tryptophan, und es ist möglich, praktisch jedes Protein durch Tofu zu ersetzen. Dies macht ihn zu einer ausgezeichneten Tryptophanquelle für Vegetarier und Veganer gleichermaßen. Tofu enthält außerdem kein Cholesterin und ist kalorienarm, zwei weitere Gründe, um dieses Lebensmittel deiner Einkaufsliste hinzuzufügen. 6. Beeren Wir alle wissen, dass Obst gut für uns ist. Aber wusstest du, dass Beeren das ideale gute Laune Lebensmittel sind, um die geistige Gesundheit zu stärken? Es gibt deutliche wissenschaftliche Beweise dafür, dass der Verzehr von Beerenfrüchten viele positive Auswirkungen auf das Gehirn hat, einschließlich der Vermeidung von altersbedingtem Gedächtnisverlust. Die Studie zeigte, dass die Inhaltsstoffe von Beeren die Art und Weise verändern, wie Neuronen im Gehirn kommunizieren. Diese Signaländerungen können die Motorik und die Wahrnehmung verbessern. Außerdem können sie dabei helfen, Entzündungen des Gehirns zu verhindern, die zu neuronalen Schäden führen. Beerenfrüchte enthalten außerdem einen hohen Anteil an wirkungsvollen Antioxidantien, die die Zellen vor Schäden durch freie Radikale schützen. Darüber hinaus enthalten sie Flavonoide, die die Stimmung regulieren und das Gedächtnis verbessern. Als wäre das noch nicht genug, sind sie zudem reich an Vitamin C, Ballaststoffen, Kalium und Verdauungsenzymen, gleichzeitig aber kalorienarm. Füge sie deinem Müsli, Porridge oder Joghurt als geschmackvollen, fruchtigen Muntermacher hinzu! Sehr beerig: Iss dich glücklich! 7. Truthahn Viele Fleischesser verspeisen diesen Vogel wohl nur über die Festtage hinweg. Tatsächlich ist Truthahn jedoch eines der besten Lebensmittel für gute Laune. Das Fleisch ist fettarm und sehr proteinreich. Dies bedeutet, dass es auch reich an Tryptophan ist und damit zu einem hohen Spiegel der Wohlfühlchemikalie Serotonin im Körper führt. Truthahn beinhaltet außerdem gute Mengen des Vitamin B6, das sich hervorragend zur Bekämpfung von Depressionen und Stress eignet und zudem noch das Gedächtnis stärkt. 8. Dunkle Schokolade Wir beenden diese Aufzählung nun mit etwas, über das wir uns wohl alle einig sind. Wenn wir uns schlecht fühlen, ist Schokolade oft eines der besten Heilmittel. Und wenn du dich für die richtige Art von Schokolade entscheidest, lassen sich sogar einige Vorteile feststellen. Die beste Sorte ist die an Antioxidantien reiche dunkle Schokolade, mit mindesten 70 Prozent Kakao. Stell die Vollmilch also besser wieder ins Regal! „Es gibt deutliche wissenschaftliche Beweise dafür, dass der Verzehr von Beerenfrüchten viele positive Auswirkungen auf das Gehirn hat, einschließlich der Vermeidung von altersbedingtem Gedächtnisverlust.“ Wie bereits erwähnt, gibt es einen Zusammenhang von Eisenmangel mit Depressionen und Angstzuständen. Die gute Nachricht ist, dass du mit einer 100g Tafel dunkler Schokolade 67 Prozent der empfohlenen täglichen Menge Eisen aufnehmen kannst. Das bedeutet allerdings nicht, dass du gleich zwei Tafeln essen solltest, um dein tägliches Ziel an Eisenaufnahme zu erreichen. Auch dunkle Schokolade steckt immer noch voller Fett und Zucker. Studien haben gezeigt, dass das Essen von dunkler Schokolade außerdem die Stimmung verbessert und dir dabei hilft, dich zufriedener und ruhiger zu fühlen. Dunkle Schokolade enthält auch Phenylethylamin, das in deinem Gehirn die Freisetzung von Wohlfühl-Endorphinen anregt. Denn Phenylethylamin ist dieselbe Chemikalie, die dein Gehirn erzeugt, wenn du dich verliebst! Dunkle Schokolade macht glücklich! © shutterstock/Sea Wave Gute Laune Lebensmittel: Zusammenfassung Wir alle wissen, dass eine Ernährung, die aus verarbeiteten Lebensmitteln, Zucker und Alkohol besteht, nicht gut für unser Wohlbefinden und unser Glück ist. Darüber hinaus kann ein Mangel an lebenswichtigen Nährstoffen für die Verschärfung der Symptome einiger bereits bestehender psychischer Erkrankungen verantwortlich sein. Und übermäßiger Kaffeekonsum ist ebenfalls schlecht bei Angstzuständen und Panikattacken. Im Gegensatz dazu, enthält die oben aufgeführte Liste mit gute Laune Lebensmitteln viele der essentiellen Nährstoffe, Aminosäuren und Vitamine, die zur Verbesserung deiner Stimmung und deines allgemeinen Glücks beitragen können. Es lohnt sich also wirklich, sich die Zeit zu nehmen, um darüber nachzudenken, welches Essen wir unserem Körper zuführen und wie es unsere Stimmung beeinflussen kann. Es ist möglich, den Nutzen dieser gute Laune Lebensmittel noch weiter zu steigern, um optimale Ergebnisse zu erzielen. Dafür wird empfohlen, diese in rohem Zustand zu verzehren. Eine Studie der neuseeländischen Universität von Otago aus dem Jahr 2018 lieferte interessante Ergebnisse: Menschen, die Produkte in ungekochtem Zustand konsumierten, wiesen ein höheres psychologisches Wohlbefinden auf als Menschen, die hauptsächlich gekochte Alternativen aßen. Die Studie umfasste 422 junge Erwachsene. Die Forscher schlussfolgerten daraus, dass die Mikronährstoffe in Obst und Gemüse leichter aufgenommen werden, wenn sie in ihrem Rohzustand verzehrt werden und daher der höhere Nutzen käme. In diesen fantastischen Rezeptideen der BBC findest du viele unserer gute Laune Lebensmittel wieder. Warum probierst du sie nicht einfach aus? Guten Appetit! ● Main image: shutterstock/rawpixel.com Geschrieben von Calvin Holbrook Calvin ist der Herausgeber des happiness.com-Magazins, Künstler und Liebhaber von alten Dingen. Er geht gerne Schwimmen, macht Yoga und tanzt gerne zu House- und Techno-Musik. Hier erfährst du mehr über Calvin.

Governmental psychologist Dóra Guðmundsdóttir explains what makes a society flourish. By Jill Suttie on behalf of Greater Good Science Center. The World Happiness Report comes out every year, providing some data about how well-being varies from country to country and how it shifts within a country from one year to the next. But what makes some countries happier than others? Dóra Guðmundsdóttir is one of many researchers around the world studying happiness and well-being at the population level. By analyzing large data sets, she's helped to uncover the “epidemiology of well-being” — how different groups within a country are faring in response to changing social and economic forces, such as inequality, recessions, and education policies. By understanding these effects, she helps a country’s politicians and policymakers make better decisions to support the well-being of their citizens. To date, she's worked with the government in her home country of Iceland, where she is the director of determinants of health and wellbeing at the Directorate of Health. I recently interviewed Guðmundsdóttir about her research and what we can do to build more flourishing societies. Jill Suttie: What made you interested in studying social or environmental factors influencing happiness? Dóra Guðmundsdóttir: When I started studying the causes of happiness, I became very interested in the “causes of the causes” of happiness — meaning, the environmental factors that keep people from feeling connected, safe, and autonomous, all of which contribute to happiness. Even though many individual choices affect happiness, how easy or difficult it is to make those choices often depends on social or environmental factors, like government welfare programs or gender equality, for example. JS: According to the World Happiness Report, happiness has been decreasing around the world (as a whole) and there is more “happiness inequality” within countries. Why do you think that’s the case? DG: There might be many reasons for a decline in happiness. One of them might be higher expectations. In many countries, people are faring better each year — living longer, healthier lives. So, maybe people have a stronger sense that they have the right to feel good. It may also be that many people are more open about their mental health so they are more willing to say when they're unhappy. Or it might be that younger generations have less tolerance for adversity and pain (both physical and mental) than previous generations. RELATED: Happiness across different cultures In terms of inequality, there has always been more happiness inequality within countries than between countries. We also see that there is more happiness inequality within municipalities than between municipalities in the same country. It would be helpful to look at those who score high in happiness and those who score low, and then monitor changes in both, to see how policies impact these groups differently. But our current measure of happiness gives us only a very limited view of the situation. We need broader measures of mental well-being to better understand differences. Icelanders are well-known for their happy nature © shutterstock.com JS: This year, Iceland was ranked as the fourth-happiest country in the world. What is it about Iceland that makes the people there so happy? DG: According to studies around the world, it seems that the most important contributor to happiness is one’s social relationships. In a small country like Iceland, it's quite easy to be in good contact with your family and friends. The majority of the population lives within an hour’s drive from the Reykjavik capital area. Another important factor related to happiness is health, and the health status in Iceland is quite good compared to other countries. We have the lowest infant mortality rate in the world and one of the highest life expectancies; the majority of citizens have access to good-quality health care. RELATED: Happiness – what is it exactly? Iceland is also a very peaceful nation — for example, we have never had an army. There's a high level of trust in the society, too. Children can go places freely and play outside without supervision. Icelanders also have quite a bit of control over their lives. They have access to quality education, whatever the educational background of their parents. And Iceland is the country with the narrowest gender gap in the world, where it's now illegal to pay women less than men for the same job. “According to studies around the world, it seems that the most important contributor to happiness is one’s social relationships. In a small country like Iceland, it's quite easy to be in good contact with your family and friends.” All of this makes it easy and acceptable to try out different things, so people do not feel that they are stuck in a particular path they have not chosen. Their level of safety and autonomy probably has a big impact on their happiness. JS: How much — and in what ways — is happiness affected by economic forces, according to your research? DG: Income only predicts one per cent of the happiness in Iceland when other factors are taken into account. That means making a higher income is not going to lead to more happiness, necessarily — it’s a fairly low predictor [of happiness] compared to social relations. RELATED: Money can't buy happiness (except when you spend it like this) At the same time, the biggest predictor for unhappiness is having financial difficulty. Those who find it difficult to make ends meet have the lowest happiness score of all groups, lower than those without a job and those with the lowest income. This means that those with the lowest income are not necessarily the same group as those with financial difficulties. There are people with high incomes who have financial difficulties, and that is worse for your happiness than having a lower income with no financial difficulties. JS: You’ve been looking at research around how economic disasters affect well-being in a country. What are your most surprising findings? DG: When we studied the effects of the banking system collapse in Iceland, we found that happiness among adolescents went up after the collapse, even though the happiness levels of adults went down. That’s because after the collapse, adults were working fewer hours, which meant parents had more time to spend with their adolescents. As it became easier for the adolescents to get emotional support from their parents, their happiness increased, even though working less may have resulted in a lower GDP [Gross Domestic Product] for the country. The natural beauty of Iceland brings joy to many JS: Do you think that having greater levels of happiness in the population acts as a kind of buffer against strong economic downturns? DG: Yes. When a person faces a challenge, it's likely that the level of well-being before the challenge would play a role in the impact of the challenge. A person who has low well-being and has few resources to handle adversity might be more vulnerable than a person high in well-being with more resources. In our study, we saw that adolescents who had strong relationships with their parents were not harmed by the economic crisis, while those who had weak relations with their parents had a decrease in their happiness. So, good relations with parents are not only good for your happiness but can also act as a buffer (protecting factor) for your well-being in times of crisis. JS: How have governments responded to your research and used it to create policy? DG: In 2007, public health authorities in Iceland decided to include public mental well-being measures in a national survey on Health and Wellbeing. That decision had an impact on both health policies and policies for the whole society. Well-being measures were then used as an indicator in the development of the Health 2020 policy for Iceland, as well as in the broader governmental policy for the economy and community, named Iceland 2020 and led by the prime minister. “Income only predicts one per cent of the happiness in Iceland when other factors are taken into account. That means making a higher income is not going to lead to more happiness, necessarily.” Public health indicators, including indicators of happiness and well-being, are published every year for seven health districts, providing profiles for each district. These profiles reflect the strengths and challenges in each district, which enables health authorities, municipalities, and other stakeholders to prioritize, plan, act, and evaluate according to the best available knowledge. For example, this information has been used to distribute financial resources for mental health services around the country. Additionally, municipalities (who score below the country average in happiness) have used the results to develop an action plan to increase happiness among their citizens. Close proximity to family helps Icelanders happier JS: What still needs to be done to increase resilience in your country, in your opinion? DG: In order to increase resilience, it's important to teach skills in schools — like, coping, self-efficacy, social and emotional learning, and mindfulness. Fortunately, we got funding from EU Horizon 2020 for developing a training program on mental resilience in schools in five European regions. The project is called UPRIGHT, and its general objective is to promote mental well-being and prevent mental disorders by enhancing resilience capacities in youths. It was designed by psychologists, pedagogists, methodologists, and technology experts from around Europe, and will focus on increasing resilience in adolescents (12-14 years of age), their families, and schools; validating the effectiveness of the program; and providing scientific evidence on specific resilience factors that contribute to promote positive mental well-being. JS: What do you think other countries can learn from your research? DG: Countries need measures beyond GDP to help them with policy planning. It’s very important to measure happiness and well-being on a national and local level and offer the results to the public, because what you measure gets attention! When you present well-being results to the public, it opens people’s eyes about differences in well-being and creates a desire to understand why the situation is like this and what can be done to improve it. It’s only when citizens ask for change that politicians listen and act. ● Main image: shutterstock/Aleksei Potov Written by Greater Good Science Center This article originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. happiness.com is honoured to republish it with the kind permission of the Greater Good Science Center. greatergood.berkeley.edu

The phrase 'you are what you eat' applies to our metal health too. These good mood food ideas from Calvin Holbrook could help improve symptoms of anxiety and depression. When you feel anxious, depressed or just a little 'meh', it can be tempting to turn to chocolate, ice cream or a huge bag of potato chips in a bid to comfort eat yourself happier. But before you open the fridge or cupboard door again, make sure you keep reading, because there’s growing evidence that you can actually boost your mood and happiness with food. Of course, it has to be the right type of food – what I refer to as 'good mood food'. In fact, the food you eat can have a direct impact on your mood and happiness. If you’re feeling down, it could be because your levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin are low. Serotonin is a happiness hormone that helps regulate your mood, making you feel positive and confident. A lack of it is believed to contribute towards negativity, worrying, irritability and even insomnia. In the human body, serotonin is converted from the amino acid tryptophan, which can be found in many high-protein foods. So, by eating foods containing tryptophan you can boost both serotonin levels and therefore your mood. Good mood foods: eat yourself happy Aside from tryptophan, other acids, vitamins and nutrients found in our foodstuffs can contribute to our overall mood, happiness and mental health. Improving your diet may also help you think more clearly and give more energy. RELATED: The gut-brain axis In fact, science is increasingly linking food to our mental health. A landmark 2015 article in the Lancet even stated that nutrition may be as essential to mental health as it is to cardiology, endocrinology and gastroenterology. So, with that, here’s our pick of the top 8 good mood foods that can positively impact your mental health and happiness. 1. Seeds and nuts Seeds and nuts are high in tryptophan which will be synthesized into serotonin, boosting and stabilizing your mood and also helping you to sleep better (and we all know how important good sleep is for mental well-being). “Serotonin, a so-called happiness hormone, is converted from the amino acid tryptophan, which can be found in many high-protein foods: good mood foods.” So, sow the seeds of health and add these to your shopping list: pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, chia seeds and pecans. Nuts can be expensive, so if you’re only going to add one of the selection to your shopping trolley, add walnuts: one handful of these brain-shaped nuts contains a whopping 318mg of tryptophan. Additionally, studies also suggest that a mere handful of nuts a day can also lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, so that's an added health bonus. 2. Salmon It’s pretty in pink, packed with nutritional goodness and a great good mood food. Salmon is full of omega-3 fatty acids, a key nutrient not produced in the body. Omega-3 fatty acids make up part of the membranes that surround human cells, especially in the brain. Studies have shown that consuming omega-3 fatty acid-containing fish such as salmon may ease depression. Additionally, salmon also fights inflammation, and increased inflammation in the body could play a role in depression, according to studies. Likewise, salmon is also a source of vitamin D, which is believed to help ease depression too. On top of that, this vitamin is essential for strong bones and teeth, as well as healthy muscles. In the pink: salmon's a good mood food © shutterstock/timolina 3. Eggs Eggs are a fantastic good mood food as they’re the source of several nutrients related to brain health –vitamins B6 and B12, choline and folate. The B vitamins are essential for a range of cellular and metabolic processes, and they also play an essential part in the production of various brain chemicals. Meanwhile, choline is an important micronutrient that the body uses to create acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate both mood and memory. “Eggs are a fantastic good mood food, as they’re the source of several nutrients related to brain health – vitamins B6 and B12, choline and folate.” Indeed, two separate studies showed that higher levels of choline intake were linked to improved memory and mental function. Eating eggs is an easy way to get choline, but you must eat the yolk of the egg. That’s because that yummy yellow stuff is where the choline is concentrated. • JOIN US! Chat and learn more about well-being and health in our online forums • Deficiency in folate and B12 has been linked to depression, and folate deficiency is common in elderly people with dementia. Studies also show that folic acid supplements can help minimize age-related mental decline, so it follows that getting enough folate through eggs and other sources may help you. 4. Dark green vegetables Your mother always told you to eat your greens, and she was right! Dark green vegetables are another rich source of folate. However, veggies such as broccoli and spinach are not only good mood foods because of folate’s mood-controlling affect, indeed, they contain other mental health benefits. Iron, found in decent amounts in leafy greens such as spinach, is involved in many neurological activities. Its deficiency is associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Iron also helps the body to make healthy red blood cells. A lack of Magnesium has also been linked to depressive and anxiety symptoms, and the great news is this mineral is abundant in leafy greens also. Broccoli and kale are also thought to help suppress tumor and other cancerous cell growths. Of course, eating all types of veggies, not just dark green ones, could be beneficial to mental health. A 2017 study from the University of Sydney looked at 60,000 Australians aged 45 and above and examined their fruit and vegetable consumption, lifestyle and psychological stress. The results, published in the British Medical Journal, showed that those who consumed three to four servings of veggies per day reduced their risk of stress by 12 per cent compared to those who ate just zero to one serving. Go green and veg out © shutterstock/4 PM Production 5. Tofu Another vegetarian staple, tofu is made from soybean curd. Soya products are rich sources of tryptophan and you can substitute tofu for pretty much any protein, making it an excellent source of tryptophan for vegetarians and vegans alike. Tofu also contains no cholesterol and is low in calories; two more reasons to add it to your shopping list. 6. Berries We all know that fruit is good for us, but did you know berries are a good mood food for boosting mental health? Strong scientific evidence from a 2012 showed that eating berry fruits has many beneficial brain effects, including helping to prevent age-related memory loss. The study proved that berries change the way neurons in the brain communicate. These signaling changes can improve motor control and cognition and help prevent brain inflammation that contributes to neuronal damage. RELATED: The 15 Best Prebiotics to Include in Your Diet Berry fruits also contain high levels of powerful antioxidants which help protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals. What’s more, they also contain flavonoids, which regulate mood and enhance memory. If that wasn’t enough, they’re high in vitamin C, fibre, potassium and digestive enzymes, but low in calories. Add them to your cereal, porridge or yoghurt for a tasty, fruity pick-me-up! Very berry: eat yourself happy 7. Turkey Many meat-eaters only tend to gobble down this bird over the festive season, but the reality is that turkey is one of the best good mood foods you can consume. Turkey is low in fat and high in protein. This means it’s also high in the tryptophan and, consequently, the feel-good chemical serotonin. Turkey also has decent levels of B6, which is great for fighting off depression, stress, and is a memory booster, too. 8. Dark chocolate OK, so let’s end our good mood food article on something we can all smile about! When we feel down, chocolate is often our top go-to comfort food, and if you pick the right kind of chocolate, you could see some benefits. Of course, the right kind is the antioxidant-rich dark variety, with a minimum of 70 per cent cocoa (put that Cadbury Dairy Milk back on the shelf!). “Strong scientific evidence exists that eating berry fruits has many beneficial brain effects, including helping to prevent age-related memory loss.” As mentioned earlier, iron deficiency is linked to depression and anxiety, so the good news is that a 100g bar of dark choc will provide you with 67 per cent of your recommended daily intake of iron (although that doesn’t mean you should eat two bars to hit your daily iron target – dark chocolate is still loaded with fat and calories). Studies have shown that eating dark chocolate also boosts mood, helping you to feel content and calmer. Dark chocolate also contains phenylethylamine which encourages your brain to release feel-good endorphins. In fact, phenylethylamine is the same chemical your brain creates when you’re falling in love! You should cocoa: chocs away! © shutterstock/Sea Wave Conclusion: good mood foods We all know that eating a diet that’s full of processed food, sugar and alcohol is not good for our well-being or happiness. Additionally, a lack of vital nutrients can be responsible for exacerbating the symptoms of some pre-existing mental health conditions. And consuming excessive amounts of coffee is also bad for anxiety and panic attacks. Instead, the list of good mood foods we’ve outlined above provide you with many of the essential nutrients, amino acids and vitamins that can help improve your mood and overall happiness levels. It's really worth taking time to think about the food we put in our bodies and how it can affect our mood. RELATED: How to Heal Your Gut – 11 Ideas to Restore Belly Health To boost the benefits of these good mood foods further, it’s been suggested that eating them in a raw state could provide optimal results. A 2018 study from New Zealand’s University of Otago found that people who consumed produce in its uncooked state reported higher levels of psychological well-being compared to those who ate mainly cooked alternatives. The study included 422 young adults, and researchers speculated that the micronutrients in fruits and vegetables are more easily-absorbed when consumed in their raw states, hence the benefits. You can find a lot of our good mood food suggestions included in these fantastic recipe ideas from the BBC. Why not give them a try? Happy eating! ● Main image: shutterstock/rawpixel.com happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practise, share Are you a happiness.com member yet? Sign up for free now to: ■ enjoy our happiness magazine ■ share and support in our happiness forum ■ self-develop with free online Academy classes Stress management | Gut health | Probiotics & Prebiotics Written by Calvin Holbrook Calvin edits the happiness magazine, as well being an artist and travel lover. He also enjoys hiking, nature, swimming, yoga, sweaty dancing, and all things vintage!

Considering escaping the consumer-driven world and living a simpler life? Calvin Holbrook is and he's not alone. Read about the 'voluntary simplicity' movement and discover six benefits of a simplistic lifestyle, including discovering your purpose, better health and increased focus. Since hitting my 40s, the thought of voluntary choosing to live a simpler life appeals more and more. Living in large and exciting cities has provided great opportunities and entertainment, but what I once found exciting I now find challenging. My brain feels increasingly overwhelmed with noise, excess stimulation, distractions, and ever-increasing crowds, all helping to pump up my anxiety levels. As a result, I find myself thinking about a quieter, more simplistic way of life, being closer to nature and in a more peaceful setting. However, living the simple life doesn’t have to mean shacking up alone in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere (although, actually, that sounds quite appealing). In fact, there are many practical and not-so-drastic ways to create a more simplistic lifestyle for yourself, and the benefits are proven by science. Moreover, it seems I’m not alone in thinking this way. So-called 'simple living' or ‘voluntary simplicity' is a recognized lifestyle steeped in history, one that minimizes consumption and the pursuit of wealth and material goods. Individuals choose voluntary simplicity in order to attain a simpler but more meaningful life. Many religious groups, including the monastic orders from the Middle Ages to the modern-day Amish and Quakers include simple living is an essential element of teachings. Living a simple life: being in nature is one attraction More recently, the modern simplicity movement arose from the counterculture movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Then, in 1981, this movement gained a new moniker with the release of Duane Elgin’s book Voluntary Simplicity. In it, he explained the virtues of “a way of life that is outwardly simple, inwardly rich.” During the 90s, the concept of minimalism, which includes elements of simple living, also became popular. What does living a simple life involve? While minimalism is mainly focused on reducing or giving up possessions, living a simple life often includes more elements. Choosing simplification creates a life filled with meaning, a life lived on your own terms. It helps create the time and space to pursue your true interests and passions. Simple living flies in the face of the common values of the Western world most of us have grown up with. Living a simple life means stripping away the nonessential stuff to focus your time and energy on the things that matter the most to you. How can I simplify my life? As I mentioned at the start, moving away for a simple, quieter life in the countryside or coast is a dream for me and many others. However, the reality is, many cannot just jump and do that because of work or family commitments. But, in the meantime – and regardless of where you're living – there are many practical steps you can take to simplify your life and feel the benefits. “Living a simple life doesn’t just mean giving up your possessions. Choosing simplification creates a life filled with meaning, a life lived on your own terms.” Examples include reducing your possessions, being mindful of new purchases, limiting your time on social media and smartphones, stopping attending social occasions you’re indifferent about and eliminating multitasking. Doing some or all of these things can bring you great benefits and happiness – so, let’s take a more detailed look at these six key benefits of simplifying your life, backed up by science. 1. Simplify your life to learn more about yourself When you’re not distracting yourself with social media, binging on Netflix series, shopping for another gadget, or filling your diary with must-do events, you’re giving yourself the time and mental space to be grateful for what you already have, plus providing the opportunity to reflect and learn more about yourself. In fact, living simply can help us find meaning and grow spiritually, as it shifts the focus away from material possessions and helps us to look inwardly. It helps to create more silence – and even solitude – prime factors for spiritual reflection. Of course, sometimes reflecting on our lives and who we are can be as uncomfortable as it is rewarding, but ultimately it helps to focus on who we are, what gives our life purpose and meaning, and what we want to do with the rest of our lives. In turn, living with purpose and a meaningful life has been to shown to increase happiness levels. 2. A simpler lifestyle can improve relationships In his essay Voluntary Simplicity: Characterization, Select Psychological Implications, and Societal Consequences, Amitai Etzioli argues that when we stop focusing our time on acquiring material possessions, we’re more likely to focus on relationships. Likewise, spending excessive time on social media or being occupied all the time can mean other relationships suffer. If we reduce or remove these things we free up more time to spend with friends and family. A simple life can improve your relationships Additionally, developing a more simple way of life may mean editing your friendship group. Perhaps you have lots of different friends that you spend time doing different actives with, for example, the 'party' friend, the 'shopping' friend, the 'gym buddy'. By simplifying your life and doing less, it could mean shifting your focus to having fewer, more quality friendships and closer relationships. The interaction between you may also be more sincere, as you will be free of the need to impress. In turn, there are health benefits attached to simplifying your friendships. Various studies have found that developing strong, solid friendships can reduce your illness risk – from being less likely to get a common cold to having a lower risk of developing obesity or heart disease. A Harvard study also found that keeping close friends could promote brain health as we grow older. 3. Simple living boosts your bank balance In many developed countries, the disparity between what we buy and what we need leads to huge overconsumption that drains the Earth’s resources and accelerates climate change. Voluntary simplicity is a lifestyle that minimizes consumption and the pursuit of wealth and material goods. Simplifying your life by reducing consumption means you will spend (and owe) less, and the benefits of financial independence can include less stress and worry, and consequently better sleep. That could benefit a lot of people: according to a UK study from 2018 which questioned 2,000 people, money worries affect 40 per cent of the population. “Living a simple life means stripping away the non-essential stuff to focus your time and energy on the things that matter the most to you.” To limit your consumption, firstly, take time to look at your outgoings and consider what you need to spend your money on. Those daily takeaway coffees? Upgrades to the latest iPhone or Samsung? Netflix and apps subscriptions? That gym membership you hardly ever use? There are so many chances to minimize our spending, so cancel what you don’t need and change your habits. Additionally, you may be being charged for subscriptions for things you’ve totally forgotten about, so go through your bank statement and check. Secondly, aim to eliminate any existing debt you have and only live within your means. Stop using credit cards and, instead, develop a monthly budget. Thirdly, if you’ve decided to simplify your belongings, make yourself some extra money by selling unwanted stuff on eBay (or donate it to charity, of course). Likewise, if you decide to simplify your social life to focus on things such as connecting with nature, walking, meditation, this will also benefit your bank balance – most of these things are free or have little expenditure involved! 4. Living a simple life is great for your health Living a simplistic lifestyle can also be beneficial to your physical and mental health. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found a link between materialism (valuing possessions and money) – and poor physical health. The team, from Knox College, Illinois, also found an even stronger link between materialism and engagement in risky behaviors that could damage physical health, including drinking alcohol, smoking and drug use. So, it makes sense that the reverse – having a non-materialistic attitude – could be positive for health. This theory was backed up in an unpublished survey from the University of the Sciences in Pennsylvania. It found that 90 per cent of people who identified as coming from the simple living movement reported improved physical health after choosing to make a change to earn less money. Almost as many respondents also claimed that their mental health had improved. Simple living in the country © shutterstock/Monkey Business Images The reasons for this could be due to the fact that developing a more simplistic lifestyle often means less stress and increased rest. This benefits could come from spending more time with friends/family, getting more physical activity, and changing jobs to find something more fulfilling and less money-orientated. Additionally, voluntary simplifiers often make a move away from big urban hubs to the countryside or seaside, which also has potential health benefits. A 2012 study from the University of Exeter showed that coastal populations in the UK are healthier than those inland, believed to be party due to the stress relief of living by the sea and greater opportunities for physical activity. The coast also offers cleaner, healthier air which helps to promote better sleep (which we know is essential for good mental health). 5. Simplistic living means increased focus Reducing possessions and commitments correlates to a reduction in distractions and therefore less physical – and mental – clutter. As you simplify your life and remove distractions, you create space to breathe and focus more carefully on what remains. RELATED: The Top 5 benefits of gratitude practice In fact, the physical reduction of clutter in your home has been proven to boost concentration. Researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute studied the effects of clutter and published the results in the Journal of Neuroscience. They concluded that clearing clutter from your home and work environments increased the ability to focus and process information effectively. Their research also showed that an uncluttered space led to people feeling less irritable, more productive and distracted less often. “Living simply can help us find meaning and grow spiritually, as it shifts the focus away from material possessions and helps us to look inwardly.” Simplifying your life by focusing on one job at a time, rather than multitasking, can also boost concentration. Multitasking used to be championed as effective, but Psychology Today reports that in reality it can decrease productivity levels by up to 40 per cent. Many of us are constantly switched on to multiple technologies: on average, we check our mobile phones every 12 minutes, causing further distractions and interruptions which affect our ability to concentrate. Choose to simplify life by limiting these interruptions: remove or reduce social media usage and switch off annoying pop-up notifications. 6. Living a simple life helps the environment While the benefits of voluntary simplicity described here are clear for the individual, simple living also works for the wider environment. It’s been previously suggested that if everyone on Earth consumed as much as the average US citizen, four Earths would be needed to sustain them. Consuming less and having fewer possessions decreases the amount of waste a person produces. In fact, there are many practical ways you can change you habits to live more simply and help the environment. Buying less clothes is a great place to start. Thanks to fast fashion, the textile industry is now one of the biggest environmental polluters and consumes energy throughout the supply chain. Recycle or donate old clothing © shutterstock/wavebreakmedia Humans consume 400 per cent more clothes than they did just two decades ago. About 80 billion pieces of clothing are consumed annually, and the U.S.A alone produces 11 million tons of textile waste each year. So, instead of buying cheap fashions, seek out more durable outfits that will last, and if they no longer fit, place unwanted clothes in a material recycling bin; never just throw them away. There are many other ways cutting consumption and waste helps to protect the environment. For example, instead of buying bottled water, buy a reusable flask. Instead of updating to the latest technology, enjoy what you currently have. As consumers we rarely consider the context and impact when buying products, for example, considering the workers and factories that made a product, the journey to the store a product made, how the packaging was produced, etc. Living a simple life means becoming more mindful of what you consume and thinking more about a product’s journey and environmental impact, therefore making more considered purchases. Conclusions on simple living According to the Chinese philosopher Confucius, “Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated.” I would have to agree. For me, it's clear these science-backed benefits of living a simpler life are enormous and can only add to increased happiness too. Simple living and sustainable living go hand-in-hand, and having a healthier environment will also lead to better health for generations to come. Rather than buying more and more possessions, consider spending more of your time and money on experiences: they leave only memories and nothing in the trash can! ● happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practice, share Are you a happiness.com member yet? Sign up for free now to: ■ enjoy our happiness magazine ■ share and support in our happiness forum ■ learn with free online Academy classes Sport & Physical Activity | Purpose of Life | Community Living Written by Calvin Holbrook Calvin edits our online magazine, loves swimming, yoga, dancing to house/techno, and all things vintage! He also works as a collage artist. Find out more.