4 Things Psychologists Do Every Day To Feel Happier

“Here are some great tips to lift your mood!”

— Dr. Dale

From 4 Things Psychologists Do Every Day To Feel Happier

While there’s no one secret to happiness, regular self care can go a long way towards boosting your mood. People find joy in different places, so the key is to identify healthy habits that please you — and make time for them daily.

“As Aristotle put it, ‘Happiness is an activity’,” says Jason Wheeler, PhD, a psychoanalyst in New York City. “Lots of things in life just happen to us, but many other things we have to do, and being happy is one of them.”

So what do mental health experts do to harness happiness? We asked three therapists to share the everyday self-care strategies that help them stay positive and grounded, even during times of stress. Here, four of their get-happy habits to try for yourself.

1. Be mindful

The term “mindfulness” probably conjures up images of yoga or quiet meditation, but Wheeler says it’s possible to embrace this way of thinking while doing many different forms of exercise. His mind-body workout of choice is swimming, since the repetitive motions naturally lend themselves to mindful thinking.

“To swim well, I must concentrate just on what I am doing,” he explains. “I exist from stroke to stroke, from breath to breath.”

Plus, swimming is a terrific low-impact workout. “When I’m done, I don’t feel sore, but refreshed and energized,” Wheeler says, adding that 30 minutes to an hour of swimming is the perfect meditative break during a busy day.

2. Take notes

Don’t just get grateful at Thanksgiving. Studies show that expressing gratitude can lead to benefits like better sleep and lower risk of depression. And unsurprisingly, mental health experts are all about it.

“If I’m getting down or feeling anxious, I’ll make a list of things that I’m grateful for,” San Antonio-based therapist Kasi Howard, PsyD, tells Health. “It flips my mindset and keeps me from ruminating on things that are stressful, or from focusing on the negative. Plus, it’s a big mood lifter.”

Ready to try it for yourself? Our gratitude challenge will have you feeling happier and more appreciative in just 21 days.

Studies show that expressing gratitude can lead to benefits like better sleep and lower risk of depression.

3. Sweat it out

Another proven happiness-booster? Cardio workouts. “Running is a source of sanity for me,” says Howard. “Not only is it my stress relief, it’s also when I think of ideas.”

There’s a scientific reason why Howard feels particularly sunny after a sweat session. Exercise causes a spike in adrenaline throughout the body, which is followed by a release of mood-boosting endorphins. And even relatively small amounts of exercise can make a difference; one recent study found that light physical activity was associated with a greater emotional benefit compared to moderate and high-intensity exercise. Sweat, smile, repeat.

4. Connect with others

“I spend a little quiet time with my husband every day talking about ‘us,’” says Gail Saltz, MD, Health’s contributing psychology editor. “Doing so keeps our relationship strong, and that makes me happy.”

Saltz and her hubby may be onto something. Communication is key in all relationships, especially romantic ones. In a 2015 study of newlywed couples published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, researchers found that wives who perceived their husbands to be habitually suppressing their emotions reported lower marriage quality over time. So go ahead, express yourself.

Flu 2017 - The Good News And The Bad News

“Flu season is around the corner. Here’s what to expect this year from the American Council on Science and Health.”

— Dr. Dale

From Flu 2017 - The Good News And The Bad News

New reports out of Australia contain some sobering news. The number of influenza cases this year is 2.5-times that of the same time period last year. Since the flu season down under begins in July, these data may give us a glimpse of what to expect in the US this winter.  New South Wales, which has the highest population of any state in the country, had more than 35,000 confirmed flu cases in August. To put this in perspective, the previous record for most cases in a month was 16,686 this past July. August 2016 had 13,602 cases and August 2015 had 12,901. 

A very bad year

Clearly, the flu is hitting Australia very hard. Does this mean that we are in particular danger this year? Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) says not necessarily, because of the unpredictability of the virus.

"There's nothing really unusual about this year except that it's a high year in Australia, which is what you see every once in a while... [Australia's curve] is clearly much higher than the curve of last year... All the flu-ologists, myself included, say the only thing that you can predict about influenza is that it's going to be unpredictable." 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Good news, bad news

Although it is troubling to see a record number of cases in Australia, the good news is that this year's vaccine matches quite well with the predominant Australian strain, H3N2 (1). The bad news is that vaccines are less effective against H3N2, which causes more severe disease than most other strains. Dr. Vicky Sheppeard, the director of communicable diseases at the New South Wales Health Department explains:

[Early data indicates the four flu strains in the vaccine are well-matched to circulating viruses,"  [but] It is known that one of the strains in the vaccine [H3N2] is less effective in preventing infection, despite a good match."

Dr. Vicky Sheppeard, the director of communicable diseases, NSW Health

So, even though, as Dr. Fauci points out, that vaccine which will be used this year is "essentially identical" to the vaccine being used in Australia, "An intelligent guess, therefore, is that the north will probably have a bad flu season." 

And, just like the composition of each year's vaccine, which must be decided six months before the start of the flu season (2), predicting what the flu will finally do is at best as an educated guess. Dr. Paul Offit, the chief of the division of infectious diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a former American Council advisor concurs.

Preventing influenza infections is one of the most difficult tasks in medicine. Every year the virus mutates. Some years the virus is particularly aggressive; some years not. It's like predicting the stock market.

Dr. Paul Offit, the chief of the division of infectious diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

What to do? As is the case frequently in medicine, there is no ideal drug or vaccine for a particular condition. So the risks of an imperfect treatment must be weighed against its benefits. With flu, this is a no-brainer. Even in years where the coverage (match of circulating strains and those in the vaccine) is terrible (3), I roll up my sleeve. Flu is a very serious disease (4) and the vaccine is very safe. Adverse effects, if any, are mild and transient. One serious adverse effect, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is estimated to occur in 1-2 people per million vaccinations.

There is the information. I hope you make the right decision.

Notes:

(1) H stands for hemagglutinin, a viral surface protein, which is responsible for binding the virus to the host cell and enabling it to fuse with the host cell membrane, allowing it to penetrate the cell. N stands for neuraminidase, a viral enzyme that is responsible for cleaving the virus from the membrane once it enters the cell. Both proteins are essential for replication of influenza virus. 

(2) Selecting the strains covered in each year's vaccine is a daunting task. Investigators must make an educated guess of which strains to include based on predominant strains circulating in Asia and Australia six months in advance since it takes that long to grow the vaccine in eggs. Sometimes the predominant strain in Asia will end up not being be the predominant strain in the US. Worse still, even when the circulating strains and those chosen for the vaccine may be a perfect match, the vaccine can still be ineffective. This is partly because the virus can mutate during that time, which renders the vaccine less effective, or even ineffective. 

(3) The 2014-5 season vaccine was very ineffective. It reduced illness by only 19%  far less than a "good" vaccine (50-60%). But 19% is still better than nothing.

(4) Flu kills between 3,300 and 49,000 people per year in the US. The average is about 36,000. For perspective, here are annual mortality figures for selected cancers;

• Breast - 40,000
• Prostate - 27,000
• Colon - 50,000
• Lung - 156,000

Its National Relaxation Day. Here Are 7 Science-Backed Ways to Chill Out

“Struggling with work-life balance? This is a good read for you.”

— Dr. Dale

From Its National Relaxation Day. Here Are 7 Science-Backed Ways to Chill Out

BY MARKHAM HEID

August 15, 2017

America is uptight. Whether it’s a headache, problems sleeping, or feeling down or depressed, a full 80 percent of us are dealing with at least one stress-related health symptom, according to a 2017 study from the American Psychological Association (APA).

While the APA highlights the current political climate as a major source of anxiety for many of us, the truth is Americans have long had a problem chilling out. We work crazier hours and vacation less than almost any other nation on Earth. We also suffer from higher rates of burnout.

Jack Nicholson may have put it best in a 1986 interview: “Life used to be work until five o'clock and then you were meant to have some fun, some nourishment, some leisure. Americans don't understand leisure. They don't have a clue. They understand work; they understand play . . . they do not understand leisure.” (If you ever want to kill a few hours in the most entertaining, wisdom-infused way possible, read some old Jack interviews.)

“People develop a habit of carrying around more tension than they need to, and the more tense you are, the more easily you become anxious,” says Michelle Newman, Ph.D., director of the Laboratory for Anxiety and Mood Pathology at Penn State University.

Relaxation, Newman says, is the release of physical tension—and therefore a great way to keep your anxiety under control. How can you relax? Here are seven proven techniques

BREATHE THIS WAY

“People think ‘take a deep breath,’ but that’s the worst thing you can do,” Newman says. Sucking in a big breath of air is basically hyperventilating your lungs, and can make your anxiousness worse, she says.

Do this instead: “Put one hand on your chest and another on your abdomen just above your belly button,” Newman advises. Your goal is to breathe “diaphragmatically,” which means you’re sucking air down toward your stomach as opposed to into your chest.

“If your lower hand is moving while you breathe, you’re doing it right,” she says. “Try to take slow, shallow breaths,” and you’ll quickly calm yourself down, she adds.

LAUGH

Whether a person is suffering from back pain, cancer, or the after-effects of a traumatic experience, “laughter therapy” seems to be an effective way to feel better and combat stress-related anxiety, research shows.

Identifying exactly how laughter does this has proved tricky. But research from Lee Berk, Dr.PH., of California’s Loma Linda University, suggests a good laugh can unwrap or counteract all the tension-increasing, anxiety-driving processes that go on in your brain and body when you’re frazzled.

So fire up a funny video or podcast. You’ll feel more relaxed in no time.

TAKE A BREAK FROM YOUR DEVICES

Checking email and sports scores, posting on social, texting your family, listening to music . . . you probably do many (or all) of these things every time you pick up your phone—often in rapid succession.

Bad news: That kind of "media multitasking" may shrink a part of your brain linked with emotional control and anxiety regulation, finds a 2014 study from University College London.

If you can manage to pry yourself away from your phone, ditching it for an hour or two—or at least restricting yourself to one activity, like replying to texts or listening to music—should help you mellow out.

CLENCH, THEN RELEASE

Newman says "progressive muscle relaxation" is a proven way to decrease tension and anxiety. "Your goal is to systematically tense and then release different muscle groups," she says.

Tensing your muscles first is important. "When you first tense the muscle group and then release, it's like a pendulum that, when it swings to one side, will then swing farther to the other side," she explains.

She says there are lots of online sites or apps that can walk you through this practice. Here's one 10-minute guided program from Brigham Young University.

GET TOGETHER WITH A BUDDY

For decades, psychologists have recognized that hanging with friends is an effective shield against stress and anxiety.

One 2015 study found spending a lot of time on your own can lower your brain’s levels of feel-good chemicals in ways that promote anxiety and hamper “fear extinction”—or your mind’s ability to calm itself down.

Getting together with friends has just the opposite effect, says Robin Dunbar, Ph.D., a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford in the U.K. Some quality time with your buds triggers the release of endorphins in your brain. “Since these endorphins are opiates, they give us a bit of an opiate-like high, and that just makes us feel good,” he says.

EXERCISE

Newman says almost any form of exercise—from weight training to yoga—can be a great way to unwind and combat anxiety. Mounds of research show exercise triggers the release of endorphins and other feel-good brain chemicals that combat tension.

But it’s important to step away from work and other stressors while you’re sweating out your anxiety. If you’re checking email or conducting business calls while you work out, you’re not going to get any of the relaxation benefits. In fact, those activities, coupled with the physical stress training places on your body, could actually promote anxiousness.

SPEND TIME IN NATURE

Going back to the early 1990s, research has linked time spent in nature with lower rates of anxiety and stress. Especially if you live in a city or urban environment, escaping to the woods or mountains for an hour or two seems to help your brain and body mellow out, shows research from Australia.

Why? For most of human history, people lived among plants and trees and water like any other animal. It’s possible we haven’t “fully adapted” to living in nature-bereft city environments, the Aussie researchers write.