Dec 22 2008
Strategies for avoiding holiday depression
I know through the emails I receive and the feedback I get from my GROW group members that a lot of people find the Christmas period very unsettling and depressing. Often it brings into focus what we don’t have or highlights difficult family relationships.
I came across a very good paper from the Internet called “10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy”. Whilst I usually shudder at these formulaic papers that promise happiness and fulfillment, this is a little different in that it is based on quantitative studies from positive psychology from the likes of Ed Diener, Standford Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, and ethicist Stephen Post. They have studied people all over the world. Here are 10 scientifically proven strategies for getting happy.
- Savour Everyday Moments
- Avoid Comparisons
- Put Money Low on the List
- Have Meaningful goals
- Take Initiative at Work
- Make friends, treasure family
- Smile even when you don’t feel like it
- Say thankyou like you mean it
- Get out and exercise
- Give it away, give it away now
For full details of the paper go to the news section of www.IamBackFromTheBrink.com
I think this is a very interesting list as it really parallels my experience in overcoming depression.
Make 2009 depression free
Whilst most of you would know that I don’t believe in quick fixes for depression, I believe the key to starting a more fulfilling life is to take appropriate action. I am going to be reading this paper to my GROW group tonight and ask them if they would like to choose 2 of these strategies that they would like to concentrate on for the next 3 months.
When we meet back on January 5 I will ask them to describe what they will be doing to make these things a higher priority in there life. Over the Christmas break when things get a bit difficult they can reflect on what they will be doing to make 2009 more pleasant.
I hope all my readers and visitors have a restful break and feel the sense of a new dawn in 2009.
Kind Regards
Graeme
Graeme Cowan
