Norman E. Rosenthal's Blog

Welcome to my new web-based initiative about poetry and healing. Many people find poetry delightful, interesting and thought-provoking — and I hope the poems I include will evoke all of those responses – but in this venture I plan to go further. In my personal and professional experience, poetry also has the to comfort, soothe, inspire and, yes, even heal. In addition, poetry can act as a lens through we can gaze into the parallel processes of mind and brain and experience treasures that might otherwise be entirely hidden.

Dr. Rosenthal invites you to join him in this 1 minute welcome video

I understand that some may find the idea of poetry as therapy fanciful. That was certainly how many people felt when I first began to study seasonal affective disorder (SAD) over 35 years ago and suggested that those affected by SAD might benefit from therapy with bright light. One colleague whom I met at a professional event shortly after the publication of our first SAD article called me aside with a big grin and said, “Come, Norman, let’s stand under the light, I’m feeling a little depressed.” Nowadays such a remark might be taken seriously. But then it was said in high jest to signal the absurdity of the idea. So perhaps, it is fitting that my first essay on the healing powers of poetry should relate to a condition and treatment that were once thought fanciful, but are now fully accepted.

If you would like to read my most recent Poetry Rx poems, and/or find out more about poems that heal please subscribe to Poetry Rx updates via the form below.

Wishing you healing and transformation,

Norman

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Although many things are unpredictable, one thing is certain: No life is entirely free of adversity. No matter how hard you try to prevent misfortune, loss, mistakes, and accidents, setbacks are bound to occur. That is the bad news. The good news is that you can often do a lot to soften the blow of adversity or even turn it around to your advantage.

Here’s how:

Accept that adversity has occurred.

This advice might sound simplistic or even ridiculous. How could you possibly miss the fact that something bad has happened? You’d be surprised. Denial is a powerful force. Often people just don’t want to accept bad news. That recent breakup? Well, he or she is bound to come back. Not necessarily. The same goes for those risky shares you bought that then went through the floor. Oh, they’re sure to bounce back, you might think. Maybe, maybe not. If you recognize that a setback may be irreversible, you have taken a step in the right direction.

Analyze the situation, including your contribution to it.

Whether you’re dealing with work or your personal life, analyzing a situation correctly is crucial to proper decision making. For example, if you did something to cause a breakup, an apology may make all the difference. On the other hand, if conflicts are irreconcilable, move on.

Respond in proportion to the nature of the adversity

Don’t shoot a mouse with a gun. A mouse trap is likely to be more effective and will certainly cause less damage.

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Click Here to Get the Book!

Regulate your emotions and stabilize your physiology

Adversity destabilizes us emotionally and physically. We may feel sad, angry, or even hopeless. We may feel like to staying in bed with the covers over our head, eat too little or too much, and sleep and wake at all hours. Perhaps we’re evening punishing ourselves for whatever has gone wrong when in fact the very opposite behavior will likely be much more helpful. So, get plenty of sleep and light, and eat good food.

Cultivate good habits

When you do things regularly, they become habits – and good habits make it easier for us to take care of ourselves. So, maintain your regular schedule – waking, sleeping and eating at regular hours. This will strengthen your circadian (daily) rhythms, and make it easier for you to fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning. Other good habits may include exercise, meditation, and yoga. Avoid bad habits – like using addictive substances to boost your energy or settle yourself down. Bottom line: When things go wrong, you need to take better care of yourself than ever.

Reach out for help

Sometimes when adversity hits, you may want to avoid others, perhaps out of embarrassment or a wish not to seem like a “loser.” Instead, seek out the help of friends and family, who may be able to offer valuable advice, support, comfort and concrete assistance. Obviously, it makes sense to choose carefully whom you approach for help so that you are more likely to get the response you need rather than criticism or rejection.

[9:42] Norman Rosenthal on The Seven Keys to Handling Adversity

Tell a story

Research by psychologist James Pennebaker has shown that writing down one’s deepest thoughts and feelings in just four sessions of 20 minutes spread over 7 to 10 days can have lasting benefits both physically and psychologically.

Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine and the author of The Gift of Adversity, Tarcher Perigree, 2013

Additional:

The Gift of Adversity | The Huffington Post
The Gift of Adversity: An Interview with Dr. Norman Rosenthal | World …
Signs of Infidelity: 10 Clues That Your Partner May Be Cheating
11 Tips for Greater Happiness

Photo By Time Inc – http://www.time.com/time/, Public Domain, Link

I was delighted to see the Time Magazine article, featuring the research on Botox for depression that my friend and colleague Eric Finzi and I conducted.  I think that the approach holds out real promise for many people who struggle with that difficult condition.

TIME MAGAZINE: BOTOX ARTICLE

Or click on any image below

THIS IS ONLY AN IMAGE, Click to Read

THIS IS ONLY AN IMAGE, Click to Read

Here we are again at the New Year, like Janus, that two-faced god of ancient Greece, one face cast back to the old year and the other looking forward to the future – steadily or tentatively, with anticipation, trepidation or both.

It is time once again for our New Year’s resolutions. But before we resolve to do anything, let’s take stock. After all, if you wanted to fix up your house, you would first inspect it thoroughly, decide what needed fixing, and then make plans to do so. In the same vein, I encourage you to ask, “How has the last year been for me? What am I pleased about and what might I like to change?” Consider those areas of your life that most people regard as important so that you can tackle them one by one.

Here they are:

Physical health
Emotional well-being
Relationships with friends and family
Spiritual life
Engagement with the world around you

 

Physical health

First, do you have any physical illness that needs ongoing maintenance or care? This is one area where attentiveness or neglect can make a huge difference to the quality of your life. As a doctor, I encounter all too often people who skip necessary medications, dietary advice or exercise. One patient of mine, for example, a highly intelligent woman with diabetes, often forgets her daily insulin with unfortunate consequences.

Now is an excellent time to take inventory of your health, identify problems or vulnerabilities and review your plan for how to take care of them in the New Year.

But even for those of us without specific ailments, we are becoming increasingly aware of the value of preventive measures in creating a healthy and happy life. Review your diet and exercise program and make just a few small changes that can have big payoffs. For example, cut out or minimize pure sugar in your diet. Take a 20-minute walk once a day. You are more likely to stick to such simple measures than to complicated plans.

Emotional well-being

Ask yourself how you are doing emotionally, which is something many of us don’t do. Instead, we might focus on the emotion of the moment, as in “I am happy or sad, angry or lonely.” But take the opportunity to question more broadly how you are doing overall in your emotional life – a first step to any change that is needed. For every emotional problem there is a potential remedy. Sadness can be lifted, rage pacified, anxiety relieved. At the same time, satisfaction can be expanded and happiness attained. For each of these goals many solutions have been offered. They can easily be researched online, in books or by speaking with a counselor. But the first step is to ask the question, diagnose what is needed and then set out to make a plan to address it.

 

Relationships with friends and family

It is well known that happiness depends to a large degree on relationships with friends and family. Now is a good time to take stock of these and ask yourself about the health of your relationships. Often we find ourselves complaining that others misunderstand us, do too little for us or don’t appreciate us enough. But let’s not forget also to look inwards and ask ourselves whether we are doing enough for them. Let me quote here from the famous prayer of St. Francis

Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love

For it is in giving that we receive

As it has often been pointed out, we cannot control the behavior of others, only our own behavior. Being creative in how you relate to others and help them can be key to improving your relationships.

Spiritual life

Consider those practices that uplift you and make you feel better about yourself as a person. Often these very same practices also help others, in that they involve charity and kindness.  In helping others, we lift our own spirits. Spiritual practices may or may not involve a specific religion. Think about what practices are right for you and put them on your list.

 

Engagement with the world around you

On the macro level, we all share the same home – the earth – and we realize, now more than ever, that its resources are finite. The earth is getting more crowded and hotter. At the same time it is a more interconnected world. Be mindful of the health of our planet and develop some investment in the importance in our interconnectedness.

On the local level, we can support our communities in many ways, from buying local produce to helping local charities and simply being a good citizen. I think of the Dalai Lama’s famous saying, “Be kind whenever possible, and it is always possible.” This kindness should start with yourself. Your body is your dwelling place. Look after it. Your brain runs all your life’s activities. Nurture and respect it. The better you take care of yourself, the more you will be able to reach out to others in the New Year and take care of them.

With these thoughts, I wish you all a healthy and happy New Year, and hope that you manage to accomplish at least some of your resolutions in the New Year.

 

Additional Articles:

New Year’s Resolutions: Keep It Simple
Preventing Winter Weight Gain: Breakfast and The Carbohydrate Connection
What college students should know about Seasonal Affective Disorder

I was very pleased when a colleague who heads up the department of psychology at American University in Washington, DC, invited me to talk to his students about seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and the Winter Blues. Having researched the condition, which I described and named back in 1984, and treated hundreds of SAD patients since then, I have become increasingly impressed at the risk it poses to college students.

As most of you probably know by now, Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that typically arises during the dark days of the year. What is less well known, however, is that people with SAD generally experience other symptoms before they become depressed.

These include:

• Difficulty waking

• Decreased energy

• Difficulty concentrating

• Increased appetite especially for sweets and starches

• Weight gain

• Anxiety

• Decreased interest in socializing

[Video 3:33] What College Students Need to Know About Seasonal Affective Disorder

As you can imagine, having these symptoms can interfere with functioning both in your personal and professional life. They are enough to make anybody feel depressed, which is what often follows. The Winter Blues is a lesser variant of the condition that interferes with creativity, productivity and the joy of living, but is not disabling.

In a study of schoolchildren in Maryland, my colleagues and I found that by the time the students reached their senior year of high school, 1 in 20 had full-fledged SAD and 2 or 3 times that number had the Winter Blues. Although college students have not been studied systematically, my guess is that they probably suffer in higher numbers.

Here’s why:

1. Disturbed biological rhythms

Most high school students get some help from their parents in regulating their daily (circadian) rhythms. Parents often help their children get going in the morning and encourage them (with more or less success) to get to bed at reasonable hours of the night. With college comes the freedom to stay up late and sleep in the next morning. In doing so, students are deprived of sleep and light – especially the important light of early morning. Their daily (circadian) rhythms shift later (delayed), which compounds the problem.

2. Workload increases over the course of the semester

To some extent increased workload is a function of the syllabus, as many schools ease students into their studies. But as vulnerable students begin to experience fall-winter difficulties, their work piles up and they fall increasingly behind, thereby compounding the problem. Once again, the corrective input that good parents can provide is usually missing. Students often feel ashamed that they are not managing as well as they would like to – or think they ought to – and delay reaching out for help, which only makes the problem harder to reverse when they finally do so.

Advice to students who think you (or a friend) may have SAD or the Winter Blues.

1. Recognize the problem. Remember that the early symptoms often involve changes in energy, sleep, appetite, weight, concentration and engagement with others. These symptoms often occur before feelings of depression.

2. Take SAD seriously. Act sooner rather than later. Get help when needed.

3. Bring more light into your home, which can mean more regular lamps or light fixtures specially designed to deliver light levels found to be therapeutic in research studies. Light therapy is usually most potent in the morning – and the earlier the better.

4. Put your bedside lamp on a timer that turns the light on half an hour before you wake up in the morning – or invest in a dawn simulator.

5. Exercise, preferably combined with light – such as walking outside on a bright winter day or working out indoors in front of a light box.

6. Stay active socially, and schedule activities that you enjoy with friends and family members who cheer you up.

7. If you find that despite all your best efforts, you are falling behind in your work, or that your health is suffering physically or emotionally, seek out professional help. Antidepressants and other strategies can be very helpful. You don’t have to do it all yourself.

Further reading:

For more information on SAD and the Winter Blues check out additional articles by looking through this blog and my book Winter Blues (Guilford 2013)

Social Media:

In order to maximize awareness about SAD in students, please post pictures and information about this on your social media and use the hastag #BeatSAD. My details are below—my team and I will do our best to find your posts and respond.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/normanrosenthal/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/DoctorNorman

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/doctornorm/

Additional Resources:

11 Tips for Greater Happiness

Seasonal Affective Disorder: Beating the Winter Blues

How to Stop Your Emotions from Controlling You

 

Nobody wants to find out that his or her partner is cheating, but unfortunately infidelity happens all too often. If cheating is happening, you may as well know about it so that you can decide what steps to take.

Here are some signs of infidelity—ten clues to help you determine whether your partner may be cheating.

You have a suspicion that something is going wrong. Ask yourself whether you have always been a suspicious person or whether it started at a certain point—like after he or she came back from a business convention. This question helps you sort out whether there is reason to be concerned about infidelity. Remember, your emotions provide you with crucial information about your world—including how solid your relationship is.


Behavioral patterns change. He or she may start “working” later, extending “work trips” or “needing” to go out of town more frequently.


Behavior regarding mobile devices changes. For example, there may be an increase in texting, often done surreptitiously so as to suggest that the texter doesn’t want you to see what is being texted. Or the cell phone is never left unattended, but is carefully guarded as though it contains the nuclear codes.


Likewise, unexplained emails may raise suspicions. Or, after you become suspicious, your partner refuses to give you access to his or her personal email password, or to see the emails.


Your partner shows a decrease in sexual interest—at least in you. This may take the form of a partner begging off (not tonight, I have a headache) or showing less enthusiasm while making love.


It’s harder to reach your partner than before. Although everybody is unavailable at times, this often escalates when a partner is cheating.


When you question your partner about why you’ve been having a hard time reaching him or her, the response is often defensive. Sometimes you are blamed for being paranoid, which may make you feel guilty about your suspicions—until the next round of suspicious behavior.


You “smell a rat.” Fragrances are often giveaways—such as a novel soap, cologne or mouthwash. Or the absence of a smell may be suspicious—such as a partner freshly showered at an unusual time of day, like when they are supposedly just coming home from work.


Evidence that a friend or colleague at work is taking up an increasing amount of real estate in your partner’s head. Suggestions of infidelity may take the form of a territorial secretary or a colleague who enters the conversation a bit too often.


Subtle changes in the environment for which there is no good explanation—like a change in the positioning of the seat on the passenger’s side of the car.

What do you do if you find an increasing number of suggestive clues that your partner is cheating? That is an important question and a topic for another blog.

Related Reading:

11 Tips for Greater Happiness

Seven Tell-Tale Signs of Depression in a Friend or Loved One

Infidelity: Mending your marriage after an affair

A picture of the night sky in Essex

I arrived back last Thursday from a week in the United Kingdom, during which I delivered three different talks, geared towards different audiences, in London, Colchester, and other towns in Essex. My host Barry Spivack was an excellent guide, connecting me with first-rate organizations and fascinating people.

In speaking to groups of physicians and therapists, I chose “Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation,” the name of my 2011 NY Times bestseller. Transcendence talks about my own rediscovery of Transcendental Meditation at the urging of a young man with bipolar disorder whom I had been treating. He told me that although my medications had helped to stabilize his moods, what was making him “really happy 90% of the time” was Transcendental Meditation. Our exchanges on the subject sent me back to refresh my technique (I had learned TM decades before), to meditate regularly, to research the effects of TM in people with bipolar disorder and ultimately to write about the subject. Transcendence was all about what meditation can do for people who are stressed or suffering from a multitude of stress-related conditions. As such, I thought this talk would be ideal for practitioners so that they could recommend it to their patients.

[Video 2:10] #1 Washington Post Best-Seller Super Mind

As I continued to meditate, I realized that TM can do much more than simply relieve stress. It can help expand consciousness and grow our mental capacity, boosting performance and helping us lead richer lives. That discovery in myself, my patients and in the literature led me to write Super Mind. In a second talk, “From Transcendence to Super Mind,” I chronicled this progression of consciousness in those who meditate, and offered the talk to both meditators and members of the general public. It was especially memorable for me to talk with both experienced meditators and novices in Rendlesham, where a beautiful new Peace Palace has just been built. I was also delighted to return to Alternatives in London, a group devoted to self-improvement and spiritual growth, which I had first visited five years ago. I was deeply moved to find people I had met on my first visit were back again to join me a second time. Several came up to me to describe their lives and spiritual journeys in the interim.

Finally, I prepared a more academic talk called “The Quest for Innovation in Psychiatry: A Personal Perspective,” which I presented at the University of Essex, the Institute of Psychiatry in London, and Cambridge University.

Wherever I traveled, I met friendly and open-hearted people, eager to hear about the expansion of consciousness and new discoveries in brain science and how they can help all of us lead happier and more productive lives.  I reconnected with old friends and made new ones, walked through parks beneath the wide skies of Essex – their soft and magical light trans-illuminating the clouds – and came away once again in awe of that magnificent country and its people.

Wishing you light and transcendence,

Dr. Norm

Media From the UK Super Mind Tour:

Doctor behind seasonal affective disorder brings meditation mission to Britain

Pioneer of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) to give free public talk

Doctor behind Seasonal Affective Disorder is coming to Cambridge

 

Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal will be in the UK giving talks from Thursday 13th October through Thursday 20th October. Please have a look at the following information for specific details.

 

Open to the public:

 

– Monday 17th October 7.30 p.m. at Maharishi Peace Palace, Gardenia Close, Rendlesham, IP12 2GX – all welcome – entry £12.00.

To book visit: Super Mind Rendlesham

 

– Wednesday 19th October 1.00 p.m. at Firstsite Auditorium , Lewis Gardens, High Street, Colchester, CO1 1JH – all welcome – entrance free.

To book visit: Super Mind Colchester

 

Wednesday 19th October 7.00 p.m. at Alternatives at Columbia Hotel, Lancaster Gate, W2 3NS London – all welcome – – entry £15.00, concessions £10.00.

To book visit: Super Mind London

 

[Video 2:44] Dr. Rosenthal Introduces “Super Mind”

 



 

The Quest for Innovation in Psychiatry and Medicine: A Personal Perspective

(Special Presentations for the Medical Profession)

 

If you are interested in attending one of the talks below please send an email to Barry Spivack (barryspivack@yahoo.co.uk)

 

Thursday 13th October

– Colchester Hospital 1.00 p.m. – lunchtime talk to hospital doctors

– Ipswich Hospital  3.00 p.m. – afternoon talk to East Suffolk GPs

– Colchester Hospital 7.45 p.m. – evening talk to Essex GPs

 

Monday 17th October 

– Department of Health and Human Sciences Essex University  2.00 p.m.–  afternoon  talk to faculty and students

 

Tuesday 18th October

– Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London – afternoon talk

– Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford – 7. 45 p.m. evening talk to hospital doctors and GPs

 

Thursday 20th October

– Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge University – lunchtime talk to faculty

 

Additional Information:

– Find out more about the book, Super Mind

– Super Mind: Boost Performance with Transcendental Meditation (Infographic)

It was late June in Manhattan, and with the sun beating down on the tarred roads and paved sidewalks, the last thing you would imagine would be on anybody’s mind was light therapy – the process of exposing one’s self to bright light in order to feel better. Yet, there I was attending the latest meeting of the Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms (SLTBR). To my surprise, there was little mention of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), for which it is now an established first-line treatment. Rather, much of the emphasis was on bright light as a remedy for low mood and energy at any time of the year.

In a way, this should have not have been news. In fact, a 2005 meta-analysis by  Golden and colleagues, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, had already concluded that exposure to bright light is effective for non-seasonal depression; a more recent meta-analysis by Al-Karawi and colleagues confirms these earlier conclusions, as do some impressive individual studies. For example, an 8-week study of 122 depressed outpatients by Lam and colleagues at the University of British Columbia, published earlier this year, found that bright light therapy was significantly superior to a placebo treatment and at least as good as fluoxetine (the generic form of Prozac). In addition, a combination of light therapy plus fluoxetine produced the most consistent results. Controlled studies have also shown that bright light therapy is effective for depression in specific subgroups, such as elderly people.

At the SLTBR, Sit from the University of Pittsburgh and colleagues presented data showing that bright white light therapy administered at midday was significantly superior to a dim red light control in 46 people with bipolar depression. Their findings are consistent with a meta-analysis of light therapy for bipolar depression by Tseng and colleagues in Taiwan. Their findings are especially significant because depression is a major problem for people with bipolar disorder despite excellent medical care.

[Video 2:09] Seasonal Affective Disorder, My Personal Story

It now appears that light therapy may benefit people with flagging mood and energy following physical ailments. In an encouraging study presented at the SLTBR, Redd of Mount Sinai University and colleagues randomly assigned 54 cancer survivors to either bright white light treatment or a dim red light control. They found a significantly superior antidepressant effect in those receiving bright light. In addition, analysis of wrist activity data in the two groups showed strengthened circadian rhythms in the bright light group after treatment.  Their findings suggest that light therapy may exert at least some of its benefits via its effects on the body’s clock.

Circadian (approximately 24-hour) rhythms in many physical functions are found in all animals and are orchestrated by a small body of neurons called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, so named because it is located directly above the point at which the optic nerves cross (the optic chiasm). Environmental light entering through the eyes exerts a powerful effect on the SCN and thereby on circadian rhythms, influencing their strength and timing. Thus, bright (as opposed to dim) light may improve mood and energy by strengthening circadian rhythms. Genetic studies have uncovered specific genes that regulate the biological clock – genes that are identical in mice and men. In one intriguing SLTBR presentation, Albrecht from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland presented data showing that mice with abnormal clock genes (as a result of either mutations or experimental disruption) exhibited impaired behavior in animal models of depression. Both the human and animal data presented at the meeting suggest that abnormal biological clock functioning might caused depression, and that bright light therapy may improve depression-type symptoms by strengthening the body’s clock.

The situation is probably more complicated though, and there are other persuasive theories as to how bright light acts as an antidepressant – for example deficient brain serotonin transmission. Antidepressants such as Prozac are believed to work by boosting brain serotonin functioning.  Some studies suggest that light therapy may act in a similar way. In the most compelling of these, Lambert and colleagues in Melbourne, Australia took blood samples from the internal jugular veins of 101 healthy men and found that the rate of production of serotonin in the brain was directly related to the duration of bright sunlight on that day.

In my clinical experience (confirmed by colleagues I have polled), light therapy is rarely considered for non-seasonal depression, which is unfortunate. Major depression is a common problem, affecting approximately 1 in 7 people during the course of their lifetime. It can cause serious distress, disability, and even death. A significant percentage of affected people remain depressed despite competent treatment (one in three according to one major study). Given the growing body of research showing that light therapy is a well tolerated and effective treatment for depression either on its own or in conjunction with other treatments, doctors should consider using it more often – and patients should ask for it.

The abstracts from the latest SLTBR meeting can be found in the Archive section of sltbr.org.

References:

Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Apr: 162(4): 656-62. The efficacy of light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders: a review and meta-analysis of the evidence. Golden, RN, et al.

JAMA Psychiatry. 2016 Jan: 73(1): 56-63. Efficacy of Bright Light Treatment, Fluoxetine, and the Combination in Patients with Nonseasonal Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Lam, RW, et al.

Related Reading:

On the Frontiers of SAD: How Much Light is Enough?

How to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder and The Winter Blues [Infographic]

Summertime: And the Living Aint Easy

 

Today we’re going to talk about what you can do to feel happier. Now evidence shows that about a third to a half of our happiness is predetermined. It’s part of the genetic sweepstakes as to whether we are happy or are we unhappy. So, some of it is how we were born. But that leaves a full half to two thirds of things that we can do to make ourselves happier.

In this article I am going to talk about eleven things that we can do in order to feel happier. 

First of all: It’s really important to understand that one thing you might think will make you feel happier really doesn’t—having more money. Most people think that more money will just automatically make them happier. While it’s true that having more money can help you if you don’t have enough food, shelter, and/or health care. More money in this case can really make a difference, but for those of us who’ve got those basic needs covered, extra money does not translate to extra happiness. We look at those people who win the Powerball lottery and think that “Wow! if only we could do that we would be happier,” but data suggests otherwise. So what can make you happier?

Point number two: Take control of your time. What research shows is that people who are able to take control of their day are much happier than people who are on the clock all the time and have no sense that they can control their time at all. So look around and see what’s in your life which you can control. Obviously none of us can control everything, but some some things we can control: when you take a break, how long your workday is, when you have some leisure or vacation time. Those things do make people happier.

Point number three: Smile. Evidence shows that acting happy can actually make you feel happy. Let’s try it for a second, let’s smile. I know it seems kind of silly but let’s give it a shot. Try it now, can you stop reading and smile for 10 seconds or so? There you are, did that make you feel happier? Evidence goes all the way back to Charles Darwin who suggested that facial expressions are not only a reflection of our feelings but actually influence our feelings and smiling is chief among those expressions.

Point number four: Find work and activities that you’re good at and that are meaningful to you. It has often been said that if you have a job that you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Try to do something that you really enjoy, as it does make such a difference. Attempt to feel good about what you do each day during your work as opposed to feeling like you’re just sort of clocking in the time and waiting for the final bell to ring.

Watch the Video, 11 Tips to Experience Greater Happiness

Point number five: Invest in shared experiences such as vacations rather than just in things. If you realize that there’s a huge movement nowadays to declutter, you’ll understand that the accumulation of things has been overestimated in terms of how it’s going to make you feel. In fact, a lot of us feel like we’ve got too many things that kind of strangle us, but spending time—especially with meaningful people is good for emotional health. It could be as exciting as a trip around the world or as simple as a walk around the block—even hanging out in front of the TV watching your favorite show can be a very enjoyable thing to do. Be sure that you invest in shared experiences and don’t just accumulate stuff.

Point six: Stay active. Exercise boosts mood, it’s a fact. It doesn’t matter what kind of exercise, do the kind of exercise you enjoy because that’s what you’re likely to stick with.

Point seven: Get enough sleep. More and more we’re realizing the power of proper rest. Many people make the mistake of thinking that sleep is wasted time, and that the more we can cram into our wakeful hours the better off we are. Not true! What happen is that not getting enough sleep degrades the quality of our waking time, which may cause us to be less productive.

Point eight: Cultivate and nurture close relationships. Our friends and our family are really our treasures, so regard them as such; treasure them, nurture them and you will be repaid in full in terms of the happiness that results from that.

Point nine: Do good it makes you feel good. I’m sure this is familiar to many of you, but perhaps it’s not something that you focus on often enough. At night when you’re lying in bed and you’re reviewing your day, just pin point one little thing that was good—a kind word that you gave to somebody or something nice that you did for somebody. Check out the warm fuzzies that you’ll feel and realize that if you multiply that throughout the day it’s going to affect the quality of that day. And of course, how we live our days ultimately equates to how we live our lives.

Point ten: Embrace gratitude both in your thoughts and your actions. You might even keep a gratitude journal and express gratitude to others when you feel it. Gratitude is really the opposite of entitlement. If you feel entitled you’ll always feel short changed. I’m entitled to this, why am I not getting it? Why am I not getting a seat at the front of the plane, or that table in the restaurant? Try and avoid placing your attention on whatever it is that you really feel you ought to be having that you’ve been cheated out of, as that is not going to make you feel happy. Instead maybe you can look at the rainbow on a beautiful day? Gosh, I’m feeling so alive today. I can walk, I can breathe—some people can’t do those things very easily so gratitude for the simple things multiplies throughout the day and creates a sense of happiness.

Point eleven: Nurture the spiritual side of yourself whatever that happens to be. Whether it’s religion, meditation or something that enriches the internal space in your mind it is a positive thing. This has always been something that I’ve been fascinated by—in fact these eleven tips come from my latest book Super Mind.

So think about these 11 tips and which ones do you use on a regular basis.

If you enjoyed this article please share it with your social community with the buttons on this page.  This share count will tell me that the messages I’m putting out are being enjoyed and helping people. This will encourage me to write more articles like this one.

Wishing you light and transcendence,

Norm

Related Posts:

How to Stop Your Emotions from Controlling You

What Is the Super Mind – and How Can You Get It?

10 Steps: How to Manage My Anger