happier, healthier you
By taking steps to reduce your psychological stress, you can help your body reclaim a healthier, more
balanced regulation of inflammation, which is associated with myriad serious illnesses and conditions,
including heart disease, autoimmune diseases, asthma and cancer. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon
University recently found that stress increases the levels of cortisol, known as the stress hormone, in
your body to such a degree that it makes the cells immune to its inflammation-regulation effects.
We all know that being around critical people is stressful and can even knock the wind out of our
self-confidence and become depressing while being around those who are kind and supportive lifts
our spirits and makes us feel better about ourselves. Unfortunately, many of us face that kind of
criticism 24/7 from ourselves. Instead of being self-critical try practicing self-compassion. According
to Dr. Kristin Neff, an associate professor of human development at the University of Texas at Austin
and pioneer in self-compassion research, self-compassion is very much like compassion, consisting
of “feelings of kindness, care and understanding for people who are in pain, so that the desire to
ameliorate suffering naturally emerges. Finally, compassion involves recognizing the shared human
condition, fragile and imperfect as it is.”
Dr. Neff, who authored the book, Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity
Behind, and other researchers have found that people who rate higher in self-compassion have more
confidence, are optimistic, less depressed and anxious and even have healthier romantic relationships.
(
People who genuinely embrace compassion are not only happier than
most people, and feel they live meaningful lives, they also experience
lower inflammation levels than people who are happy as a result of
living a hedonistic life, according to a new study from the University of
California, Los Angeles and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
(
If you’ve got
the blues and
need a boost
of feel-good,
try putting on
your favorite
music.
If you’ve got the blues and need a boost of “feel-good”, try putting
on your favorite music. It really does work according to McGill
University researchers who found listening to music one enjoys
increases the release of dopamine — no matter what kind of music
it is. You just have to love it!
Look at the funny side of life whenever you can. Humor and laughter are natural pain relievers,
immune-system boosters and stress busters and can help us cope better through the hard times in
life, according to the Mayo Clinic.