Laugh More & Rediscover Joy in Living, Loving and Learning
“We don’t laugh because we are happy, we are happy because we laugh.”
~William James
Laughter is like good medicine that brings healing to the body and mind. Some report that the average child laughs about 150 times a day while the average adult laughs 4 to 8 times a day. What a difference! And what difference laughter can make. A doctor once described laughter as “internal jogging.” Just as jogging releases endorphins and leaves you feeling good so does laughter. You can revitalize the habit of laughter through practice and a gaining a new perspective on things. You can learn to laugh at yourself when you make mistakes rather than beat yourself up.
What do you do for fun?
Everyone needs a good balance of enjoyable activities in their lives. It’s never too late to try or learn something new. Sometimes people get stuck in a rut of doing the same things because they assume they won’t like it or they’re afraid to try something unfamiliar to them.
Disclaimer: This course is intended for personal growth and development. It is not intended to take the place of professional treatment. Participants are advised to consult their own health care professional regarding the treatment of medical and mental health problems. Neither the instructor, NewDayCounseling.org, and BeHappy4Life.com take any responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, action or application of information applied in this course. See entire
1) List at least 2 things that have been enjoyable to you. Describe how it makes you feel to do them.
2) Start a “Gratitude Journal” for one week. Describe what the experience was like and how it affected you.
3) Identify 3 warning signals that trigger depression in you.
“Our life is a gift from God. What we do with that life is our gift to God.”
Our spiritual life is a personal experience. Everyone has their own quest in understanding the immaterial part of us—the soul, the spirit. And everyone has spiritual needs that long to be fulfilled. The common question, “What is the meaning or purpose of life?” reveals man’s longing for spiritual understanding and fulfillment.
How are spiritual needs met?
The answer to that question may come more easily for some people with strong convictions and faith whereas others may be seeking for answers along their journey of life.
Some ways people seek to meet spiritual needs include:
Prayer; meditation
Living in the present
Appreciating nature
Enjoying solitude
Reflecting; journaling
Loving others unselfishly
Attending place of worship (church, synagogue, temple)
Relationship with God
In what ways do you explore and meet your spiritual needs?
What is most fulfilling to you? Why?
“…a basic law: the more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for. This, of course, is a fact. Thankfulness does tend to reproduce in kind. The attitude of gratitude revitalizes the entire mental process by activating all other attitudes, thus stimulating creativity.”
~Norman Vincent Peale
Gratitude is said to be the ideal mental attitude. That is because a grateful person is a happy person. People who are happy count their blessings. They focus on what they have rather than on what they don’t have or on what is wrong in their lives. People suffering from depression tend to focus on what is wrong and how bad they feel, making it difficult for them to experience the joy of gratitude. And if this progresses into murmuring and complaining, it keeps them in a state of depression and discontent.
Telling someone who is depressed to be thankful for all they have can actually make them feel worse. Guilt about being depressed can intensify their depression. Instead, it’s better for a depressed person to practice being aware of things that are going right in their lives, no matter how great or small. Recognizing simple, everyday blessings is more helpful than looking at the big picture. For example, a depressed person can be thankful for their home and family, but learning to recognize, appreciate and enjoy a loving hug, help with a chore, a new furnishing for the home, ability to pay a bill, and so forth can help to develop a daily habit of gratitude. And that is how to have a heart of gratitude—one blessing at a time.
A helpful way to establish this new habit is to have a “Gratitude Journal.” Every day you write down at least one thing that was a blessing. It can be anything—something that went right that day, new insight, a phone call you received, a good deal you got shopping, and so forth. This exercise helps to train the mind to recognize and acknowledge the good things. As it is practiced, it comes more naturally and it becomes a habit or way of life.
Gratitude is like love in that the more you give away the more you have in return. Making the effort to express thankfulness to others—verbally, artistically; words, card, letter, phone, gift and so forth enlarges ones heart of gratitude.
KEY POINTS:
• Being thankful is an attitude that contributes to happiness
• Feeling guilty about not being thankful worsens depression
• Simple awareness of small blessings and what is going right helps to
put gratitude into practice
• Practicing gratitude can become a good habit and healthy lifestyle
For more activities to practice gratitute, click here.
Even with all the help and treatment you may receive and all the progress that you make, there will be times when you may become depressed again. This is called relapse. The best way to prevent relapse is to recognize the warning signals. What kinds of thoughts trigger depression? What feelings disturb your peace? What kinds of behaviors lead to a low mood?
Remember, when we talk about overcoming depression is doesn’t mean it will never happen again. What it does mean is that it doesn’t have to control your life. You can improve your coping skills and manage your feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. You don’t have to be at the mercy of your feelings anymore. You can overcome depression and take your life back again. You can have joy in life and live it to the fullest.
Watch & Listen
to a very moving passionate video to encourage, strengthen & remind you that you are loved. You
are a precious gift to others. No matter what you are going through, there is
Prayer; meditation
