Your Happiness Factor

   We all have negative thoughts sometimes.   These dark thoughts (known as automatic negative thoughts) just come into our heads and, most of the time, we can just throw them off. At other times they just overwhelm us.  This is so when we are depressed. But sadly these negative thoughts can actually make us depressed.  When we get into the habit of constantly chastising ourselves and telling ourselves we are no good and we are worthless, the feelings we have in response can send us spiralling down.   These thoughts seem to feed upon each other, so deeper and deeper we go!   Thoughts like these can send us spiralling down into depression. This concept is the guiding principle behind cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), a type of psychotherapy which was developed by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s If we think something often enough, we begin to believe it's true!  Then our feelings start to match what we think about ourselves. How do we raise ourselves back up a

div style="line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">   People under stress or suffering from phobias sometimes experience moments of sudden and intense anxiety. This can leave you shaking, feeling confused or disorientated, with rapid heartbeats, a dry mouth, sweating, dizziness and, sometimes, chest pain. Chest pains should always be checked out with your doctor immediately, just to make sure it is nothing more serious. The symptoms usually peak within 10 minutes. But they can last anything between five minutes and half an hour. If you know something triggers a panic attack, it is best to avoid it and seek help from a physician or counsellor.   But Professor Paul Salkovskis, a psychologist at  King’s College, London , says it's important not to let your fear of panic attacks control you. “Panic attacks always pass and the symptoms are not a sign of anything harmful happening,” he says. “It’s important not to restrict y

Image by alforque via Flickr Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. Burnout reduces your productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give. The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life – including your home and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away and take advice from your coach,  counselor  or medical adviser.  But, if you can, it is best to prevent burnout in the first place Your Personal Burno

   Generalized anxiety is a relatively common problem, affecting 3-4% of the population.  It turns daily life into a state of worry, anxiety, and fear. Over thinking and dwelling on the "what ifs" characterize generalized anxiety. As a result, you feel there’s no way out of the vicious cycle of anxiety and worry, and you can then become depressed about life and the state of anxiety you find yourself in. Generalized anxiety usually does not cause people to avoid situations, and it isn’t having a "panic attack. It’s the   thinking, thinking, thinking, dwelling, dwelling, ruminating, ruminating, and inability to shut the mind off that interferes with your ability to deal with life. Quite often, other thoughts seem almost non-existent because the anxious feelings are so dominant. Feelings of worry, dread, lack of energy, and a loss of interest in life! Many times there is no "trigger" or "cause" for these feelings and you realize these feelings

   The next few posts here are going to deal with anxiety and stress - f irst - anxiety!  Anxiety is the feeling of fear we all experience when faced with a threatening or difficult situation. It helps us to avoid dangerous situations, makes us alert and motivates us to deal with problems.   It can save our lives by making us run away from danger. We all feel anxious sometimes.  It is normal.  But for some of us – about one in ten – anxiety becomes a problem.  It gets in the way of living the life we would choose.   It can turn into panic attacks and phobias. Some of us just seem to be born more anxious than others. Research suggests these problems can be inherited through our genes. But even someone who doesn't naturally worry can, under enough pressure, become uncomfortably  anxious. This video introduces us to the five  anxiety disorders and why they develop. If you have any thoughts on this they will be very welcome. Related articles Why I am

Changes in life like redundancy affect us all deeply. They change us and they change our relationships. Redundancy is like bereavement and can leave you with the same gut-wrenching sense of loss, the furious “why me?”. Everyone says it’s not personal, but of course it feels that way to the one who has lost their job. But that sense of loss isn’t just felt by us, it is felt by those close to us as well. Their lives have been changed and probably in ways they would never have chosen for themselves. Sometimes in mass redundancies you can turn that anger outwards and on to the employer or the perceived cause of the problems for example the Bankers. Then the group binds together against the world. If a whole community is facing difficulty, there is likely to be lots of support from within that community – think of the pit villages in the North East of England between the thirties and the seventies. Under siege you pull together. But most of us live in communities without that kind of tradi

   We all feel down sometimes.   I’m talking about those days when something has gone wrong or those odd days when you just wake up feeling down.    I'm not talking about depression here!  If it is happening on more than the odd day, then please have a word with your doctor because depression can strike anyone of us and you will need help to overcome it!  But let us assume you are not ill, you just feel down today. First of all understand that it is OK and perfectly normal to feel down now and then.  It may just mean that you need to take a rest.  Anyway, if you just want to feel brighter, try on these simple techniques to raise your mood. Get a pen and some paper and write down 20 things you are grateful for right now.   It might be the film you watched you last night.  It could be your favourite soap – I love Coronation Street and East Enders .   It can be as simple as the blue sky above you or the smell of the earth after rain; or even what you had for breakfast. Bu

Action for Happines s is a new movement for positive social change . They're bringing together people from all walks of life who want to play a part in creating a happier society for everyone. For fifty years we've aimed relentlessly at higher incomes. But despite being much wealthier, we're no happier than we were five decades ago. At the same time we've seen an increase in wider social issues, including a worrying rise in anxiety and depression in young people. It's time for a positive change in what we mean by progress. Read more