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Rosa, I have also been suffering from depression, so I completely understand how debilitating and lonely it can be. One of the things that keeps us in depression is the constant negative dialogue in our heads - it’s not easy to start feeling better when that voice in our heads keeps reminding us that we are failures or unworthy; that constant rumination tends to focus our attention on reliving hurt or regret from the past - or worrying and fearful about the future; it’s a bit like having your mind hijacked by an incessant, negative voice intent on keeping you locked in a depressed state. Recently, I learned about ‘mindfulness’ and it is making a huge difference for me. Here, on the Happiness.com website, there is a free 8 week, online course you can do called MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction), which teaches you how to quieten that negative self talk. MBSR has been extensively studied by neuroscientists and it has been shown to have a physical impact on our brain’s neural pathways - helping to alleviate both depression and anxiety. When I first started, I was horrified at the thoughts that ran rampant in my mind. It is helping me to be more present in the ‘now’, while changing that dialogue into one of love and self compassion - for me, just becoming aware of the pattern of thinking and being able to now interrupt it, is a victory! At the top of the screen, you will see a tab called ‘Academy’, click on that and choose the option MBSR. I would also suggest getting the book ‘Full Catastrophe Living’ by Jon Cabot Zinn. He actually developed the MBSR program and the book is required reading as a part of the course. best of luck darling!

Hi Maggie, So good to hear that you took matters into your own hands. I had similar experiences with doctors and just didn't feel the heart connection or a genuine care. Often there was just a lack in seeing or even questioning the bigger picture, but to me it didnt make sense to just treat symptoms without really knowing what caused them. After leaving a few hospitals with such a feeling I began to rely more and more on my own research and reasoning. We are the closest to our own bodies and deep down we notice every little change and the body knows what is good and bad for it, we just have to learn to listen. Especially since the majority of all diseases are preventable lifestyle diseases,I found using my own body as the laboratory to just experiment with different choices to be very effective. In my case there were also several stress and gut related issues that lead to various other symptoms. By learning more about my gut microbiome and how to treat it really well, most of these symptoms disappeared and my overall mental and physical well-being is steadily improving. Now I am not fighting symptoms with harmful medications anymore, but take them as a clue as to where I am out of alignment with my body, mind and soul. Instead of being in a war with my body, I listen and care - that is such a game changer.. Since you mentioned arthritis, I found this paper on the correlation between osteoathritis and the gut microbiota very insightful and interesting: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6330556/ Thanks for sharing and all the best to you, Julius

A month ago, on the New Moon, I decided to take my Health into My Hands. Had been going to doctors on / off for 15 yrs when arthritis started to show up in my body. first doc said not much to do... So I did my own research & changed my diet a little & took supplements. Things were better for a few years, than stress took its toll on my body & a year ago arthritis went into my back.. All docs could / would offer me was 3 types of pain killers that did not help at all. By chance on the last New Moon I came across the Keto / Fasting plan & Bingo I am off ALL tablets & look forward to getting my Life Back..

My experience in sitting meditation at first it was hard to do it alone but by practicing over and over again, you'll get used to it. I can focus more if l am doing it in my bedroom. I started last year and it really help me concentrate with my studies and it is good stress reliever too. When I meditate, I choose the time when my roommate and neighbor is at work. When they make noise, it will take time for me to focus. Time and place is very important for me to do my meditation.

This week's topic is "Stressful Communications: Interpersonal Mindfulness". As the different types of formal practices are discussed already in the earlier week, where you are also welcome to share this week's experiences with them, this weeks forum entry is about the informal practice, the communication calendar. As we practise applying the skills we are learning in this course to our everyday lives; we are cultivating our natural capacities to be more flexible and to recover more quickly during challenging interpersonal situations. As we grow our awareness of emotions, we may better understand the messages we are sending to others and receiving from others and the barriers to being with ourselves and others in heartfelt and authentic ways. “Once you can communicate with yourself, you’ll be able to communicate outwardly with more clarity.” Thich Nhat Hanh Psychological stress arises from the interaction between us and the world, so we need to take responsibility for our part in relationships with people who “cause us stress” By this, we mean taking responsibility for our perceptions, thoughts, emotions and behaviours. If we react unconsciously when we are having a problem with another person, just as with other forms of stress, this usually makes matters worse in the long run. One of the most useful insights was reading myself when I was about to shut down in a conversation. These days I feel my chest getting tighter, and I become aware that I am no longer listening with an open heart but that I start feeling attacked and I am putting my armour up which will not allow the conversation to come to a satisfying result as I do not hear the other person anymore. Depending on the situation I might take a deep breath and open up again, or I'll explain that I am closing up and need a pause, sometimes I'll excuse myself to the bathroom for a bit to reconsider. If I get to walk the dog for an hour through the forest that's best but that's not always possible. It can also be helpful to repeat what I understood that the other person said in my own words, so we are both sure to talk about the same thing. This shows the other person I am listening and gives us both a chance to be clear about what we are talking about to avoid misunderstandings and assumptions. Have you noticed any changes in how you are communicating with people since you started this course? What have you noticed?

This weeks theme "Working with Stress: Mindful Responding instead of Reacting" invites us to look closely at our mental, emotional and physical discomfort. Pain of any kind (physical, or mental) is our primary experience which can cause suffering and heartache. We may have no control over the situation that caused the pain; however, when we push this away by resisting it, we generate more pain and suffering. Although all life has pain, a mindful life can be free of the additional burden of suffering. If we can gently move towards acceptance of our pain, even a little by saying perhaps “this hurts… can I be OK with this”? We can avoid or reduce suffering. In other words, we can gently pay attention to our experience as it is at that moment without trying to block it out or feeling overwhelmed. I am curious about the experiences you share with the practice of "turning towards" the unpleasant. If you did this course in it's early stages it was the "Soften, Soothe, Allow" practive which is very similar so this is a good space to also share you rexperiences with it here. Are you aware of how resistance shows up for you? Can you describe it? I remember doing this exercice a lot around the feeling of unworthiness, of not being good enough. I was so afraid that if I would look into those feelings they would grow and overwhelm me, crush me. It took me lots of different attempts to finally have the strength to look at them and the closer I looked the more I realized that there was no big, no valid reason behind them, just some notion I picked up from an abusive relative. Only my fear of looking at them, investigationg them made them strong. This has a physical componet too. As I tried to push them away, hide, ignore the feeling of not good enough I made myself small, crouched down, let the shoulders sink and when I dared to look I rose up to my normal size - nothing more than that. I don't think of myself as flawless or anything the like, but I accept myself as a lovable human with good intentions who fucks up sometimes, but now as I see myself as lovable I can also apologize more easily and make things right again. Before with the strong feeling of unworthyness a mistake did feel like I lost my right to exist now it's just that - a mistake which I make up for but which doesn't make me a bad person.

Hi, Everyone! This looks like a great place to be! I am not on or do not trust Facebook, or Twitter anymore. I keep finding out that there are too many harsh people on those. I want to be with other happy folks. I even tried some Senior forums; I am 53 ? they are not that great either loll. I don't feel 53 at all. I still love cartoons, comic books, etc. my inner child:-). I love doing Art acrylic, watercolor painting, drawing, and multimedia art. I love writing, movies, books, computers, and outdoor activities and animals. I have an awesome cat I adopted named Ginger:-). It's starting to snow which I love. All seasons are awesome! I am happy to see a friendly forum. I am a very spiritual person, also. I have had a lot of stress in my life as well and am doing a lot of letting go. Not always easy, but it's a balancing we are all doing and helping each other and our beautiful planet. So lovely to meet everyone! Lots of love, light, and hugs! This is one of my paintings, I do acrylic pouring also this is my latest. ?

The main topic in week 3 is "Mindfulness of the Breath and the Body in Movement: There is both pleasure and power in being present." For week 4 it's "Learning about our Patterns of Stress Reactivity: Wherever you go, there you are." In the two Mindful Yoga exercises, we tune in closely into our bodies which is similar to the bodyscan yet completely different as we are moving. What came up for you during the exercises? How do the practices evolve as you get more familiar with them? Share your experiences during the Mindful Yoga/ Movement exercises with your fellow participants. Personally, this is the exercise where I lead most from my own experience when guiding a group. Like for any other mindful exercise I have a script and a dramaturgical arch for the practice (yes, you do have that in mediations too) but here I let the practice and the group to guide us more. Where, what do we move next? While I enjoy mindful yoga, I struggle with mindful walking. I was mindfully walking in the most beautiful surroundings, in busy streets, even in Plum Village, and yet I struggle to find any sort of engagement with the practice I seem to be stuck with boredom. Now that I have said it out loud, I wonder if it'll change. Acceptance precedes change.

Der Ruhestand sollte eine Zeit sein, in der sich Senioren entspannen und amüsieren können. Aber allzu oft kommt es zu Stress und Isolation. Für einen gesunden Ruhestand ist es deshalb entscheidend, Körper und Geist aktiv zu halten. Das geht auf verschiedene Arten. Was sind deine Stressfrei-Tipps im Alter, welche Pläne sollen deinen neuen Lebensabschnitt prägen?

Unter einer guten Work-Life-Balance stellen sich die meisten einen gesunden Ausgleich von Arbeitsleben und genug Zeit für Privatleben, Freizeitaktivitäten und Familienzeit vor. Work-Life-Balance kann aber für jede Einzelperson etwas anderes bedeuten. Bei Familien beispielsweise bedeutet eine gute Work-Life-Balance genug Zeit für die Kinder zu haben. Andere möchten Zeit für pflegebedürftige Angehörige haben, für wieder andere steht das Ausüben von Hobbys und Sport im Vordergrund. Was alle gemeinsam haben, ist der Wunsch, genug Erholungsphasen und weniger Erschöpfungssymptome durch zu viel Stress und zu hohen Anforderungen im Arbeitsleben zu haben. Mehr und mehr kommt der Trend zu einem simplen Lifestyle auf, der eine bessere Work-Life-Balance ermöglicht. Die Idee ist ganz einfach: Je weniger konsumiert wird, desto weniger Geld wird für das tägliche Leben benötigt. Die Kosten lassen sich senken und es muss weniger gearbeitet werden. Letztendlich träumt jeder von einem dynamischen Gleichgewicht zwischen Arbeits- und Privatleben. Wünschenswert wäre es doch, die Arbeit zu tun, die einen erfüllt und glücklich macht, aber eben noch genug Zeit für sich selbst, die Familie und soziales Engagement zu haben. Eine gute Work-Life-Balance – was meinst du? Schwierig, oder machbar? Wie setzt du das um?

I tend to do that too and it can be such an energy thief. I think I have the same technique, I try to busy myself spending time with friends or going to the gym. I think exercising is a great way to take a break from any stress or negative thoughts, and it really clears my head. Sometimes it can also be good to vent with a friend just to get it out of your system. In some cases it feels like nothing works, and then I guess you just have to put yourself in rice ??‍♀️

Technically, every day is self-care day, but if you live a busy life, that's not always possible and we forget to take time for ourselves which often leads to stress, exhaustion and tension in the body. I've started doing something called self-care Sundays where every Sunday afternoon I take 2-4 hours completely for myself to do slow down, replenish my energy, and do something I love that makes me feel energised and relaxed. This includes either all or some of the following: Take a guilt-free nap Journal for at least 15 minutes Yoga or body stretches Hair mask Face mask Long bath with sea salts and dried flowers Eat a healthy dinner Read a few pages of my favourite book What are some of the things you do to unwind and reconnect with yourself?

I would say yes and here is why: The most influential course I took was "the science of happiness" about which I wrote an article for the Happiness Magazine a few years ago when happiness.com was just a little blog. Since then many things changed (for the better), and I think it is fair to attribute a big chunk of it to this course because it convinced me to start with meditation. I then did an MBSR (meditation-based stress reduction) course, and a few years later I am a certified meditation and MBSR teacher. What is your favourite course and why? How did it influence your life?

Das ist ein gutes Thema. Klamotten kaufe ich am liebsten slowfashion. Noch wichtiger find ich aber seinen eigenen Stil zu finden und nicht mit irgend einer Mode mitgehen. So ist man nicht gezwungen zu konsumieren. Ich lebe seit über 20 Jahren Fleischlos, da ich unter anderem die Massentierhaltung nicht unterstützen möchte bzw. mir damit bewusst machen möchte wo denn mein essen herkommt. Aber ich muss dazu sagen, dass ich aus praktischen Gründen manchmal Fisch esse. Gerade wenn man unterwegs ist oder eingeladen wird, ist es oft einfacher wenn man die Auswahl hierfür hat. Ähnlich ist es bei mir beim Plastikkonsum. Ich versuche oft darauf zu verzichten, aber der Alltag ist ganz ohne schon sehr schwer, wenn man kaum Zeit hat. Bestes Beispiel Jogurt, den ich gern für meine Kinder kaufe. Der aus richtigen Gläsern ist viel viel teurer und zum selber machen bin ich bislang noch nicht gekommen. Die meisten plastikfreien Alternativen sind für mich derzeit mit einem erhöhten Geld oder Zeitaufwand verbunden und das bringt mich oft in einen gewissenskonflikt, bei dem ich mich manchmal frage: ist das gesund? Also gerade plastikfreier zu leben setzt mich schon teilweise echtem Stress aus. Kennt das noch jemand? Ich weiß manchmal nicht wie ich damit umgehen soll.