Happiness

6 Ways to Be More Compassionate About Your Body Image

Author By Ashley Laderer, Contributor
Posted:
woman smelling flowers wearing a shirt that says resilience

We love summer, but we don’t love the negative messaging surrounding body image and the harm to self esteem that it typically breeds. Summer means pool parties and beach days, people wearing their swimsuits, and being a little bit more scantily clad in general. You’ll also likely see an influx of articles about the best workouts and diets for a beach body, but let me tell you a secret: if you have a body and you’re on the beach…you’ve already got a beach body.

Developing better self confidence and self esteem is something that doesn’t come easily to a lot of us. It’s easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to others in the summertime, and to kick yourself for not looking exactly how you wish you looked. We have to work hard at building a better body image — and while we’re doing that, we also have to remember to be kind to ourselves.

Continue reading 6 Ways to Be More Compassionate About Your Body Image

What Role Does Physical Environment Play in Your Mental Health?

Author By Jamie Wiebe, Contributor
Posted:
man waiting for the subway pulling his hair in stress

Mental health isn’t simply about what’s going on inside your head. What’s happening outside your head is important, too — from a cluttered bedroom to a poorly-lit office to the view from a window — it can all impact your well-being.

Physical environments directly impact our psychological health. It’s easy to see why: we spend a lot of time thinking about what’s around us. And all that external stimuli has an effect! Maybe the laundry hasn’t been folded in three days, and it bugs you every time you go to bed. Or your kitchen is dark and gloomy, and so cooking dinner makes you sad. Continue reading What Role Does Physical Environment Play in Your Mental Health?

5 Ways to Turn Your Day Around NOW

Author By Reina Gattuso, Contributor
Posted:
A smiling fox with his eyes closed

Science knows the secret to happiness — and it’s a lot more simple than you’d think.

That, at least, was the message of a recent New York article that summarized the scientific consensus on what makes humans happy. And, well: turns out that you could probably guess the answers. Beyond having your basic needs met, money, as your mom probably could have told you, does not buy happiness — though it can buy free time to do what you want, which does make you happier. Gratitude is good. Social connection is important. Doing things for others makes us feel better about ourselves.

This is all well and good for the long term. Sure, we all plan to incorporate more family time into our days, take up a hobby, and give back. But when you’re having a crappy day, it’s not enough to plan for the future — you want to know how can the research on happiness can make your day better now.

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How Setting Micro-goals Can Increase Happiness

Author By Jessica DuBois-Maahs, Contributor
Posted:
Writing a list of micro-goals

It’s easy to feel pressure to make, and then meet, life-changing resolutions at the start of each year. Maybe you pledge to lose 50 pounds, get in a workout in every day or go completely sugar free. But once January wraps up, many find themselves unable to fully realize them, leaving a lingering feeling of discouragement and frustration in its wake. But there is another way — setting realistic micro-goals.

The idea is simple: For any goal you are aiming to accomplish, micro-goals break down the large task into manageable, bite-sized parts. Rather than thinking about nailing that big-picture accomplishment, stay focused on achieving small nuggets of progress and go after them one tiny increment at a time.

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What Is Happiness, Anyway?

Author By Renee Fabian, Contributor
Posted:
Person sitting by the ocean

If you Google the phrase “how to be happy,” you’ll be met with about 207 million answers.

There’s the recent study that examined how much money a person needs to make to lead the happiest and most satisfied life possible ($95,000/year for overall satisfaction, and $60-75,000 for day-to-day happiness). There’s a quiz on how to be happier at work, infinite mommy blogs detailing how to find personal happiness as a mom, wellness publications offering unconventional ways to boost happiness, religious content exploring what happiness looks like as a Christian … you get the point. Everyone has something to say about what it means to be happy. As a result, happiness feels almost like a myth.

Continue reading What Is Happiness, Anyway?

Why We Can’t Wait Around for That Big Happy Moment

Author By Stephanie Jade Wong, Contributor
Posted:
time to be happy written in beach sand wave behind

“Why We Can’t Wait Around for That Big Happy Moment” originally appeared on Shine, a free daily text to help you thrive.

“Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness” – Pearl S. Buck

It was a chilly evening in my cramped Brooklyn apartment, so I lit a candle and rolled out a yoga mat. I got into Child’s Pose, and, out of nowhere, I started crying. It wasn’t just a few tears I could dab away with my shirtsleeve—it was a snot-induced, ugly cry. I asked myself, “Why do I feel so unhappy?”

I think about happiness a lot, and I often wonder if I think about the emotion more than I actually feel it. On my tear-stained yoga mat, I realized that I hold out for happiness. Maybe I’ll feel it momentarily, but it’s fleeting. I’m always thinking of the bigger picture and waiting to be happy. Continue reading Why We Can’t Wait Around for That Big Happy Moment

How I Learned to Love My Dark Side

Author By Anna Meyer, Contributor
Posted:
demon in mirror cartoon image

How I Learned to Love My Dark Side originally appeared on Shine, a free daily text to help you thrive.

I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m sensitive. Like, we’re talking so sensitive that I can get stressed out from watching The Great British Bake Off because I see the stress in the competitors faces as they race to put a Victoria sponge cake in the oven.

I’ve had people in my life give me flack for being so sensitive, and often I’m self-conscious that I’ll come off as weak or unable to handle what obstacles come my way. That’s why I consider sensitivity my “dark side.” Continue reading How I Learned to Love My Dark Side

Why Happiness is Overrated, According to a Therapist

Author By Jor-El Caraballo, Talkspace Therapist
Posted:
green color pencil drawing smile on figures

Often times people come into therapy hoping to finally tackle issues like anxiety or depression. Clients have come into my office wishing for me to share my keys to “happiness.” Sometimes they are disappointed to find I actually don’t think happiness is a reasonable goal.

There is a lot of information, particularly in the positive psychology movement, about finding the keys to happiness. You can use affirmations and daily validations to help lift your mood. You can organize your life and change your behavior, all in an effort to secure this feeling of happiness.

There’s a lot of validity to those suggestions. Nonetheless, I think it’s a bit of a stretch to search for “happiness” to begin with. Continue reading Why Happiness is Overrated, According to a Therapist

This Easy New Year’s Resolution Will Make You Happier

Author By Ken Fields, Talkspace Therapist
Posted:
woman smiling street

Weight loss/fitness is the most popular New Year’s resolution and the one the highest number of people give up on soon after they proudly declare it. Wouldn’t you rather pick a New Year’s resolution that’s easy to stick to?

Do you want your resolution to make you happier in two seconds or less? You can, right now. But you need to do something very simple:

SMILE! Continue reading This Easy New Year’s Resolution Will Make You Happier