#Dammit meaning how to#

Even if you're naturally shy, acting extroverted will have a positive impact on your mood, according to a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 'Anything we do to promote our social relationships is a great way to achieve happiness,' says Elizabeth Dunn, assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. When you're feeling down, meeting up with friends (let alone mingling at a cocktail party) sounds less than appealing - but making the effort can really pay off. 'After only ten minutes, the people who'd been looking at pictures were happier and more motivated the ruminators were in a bad mood,' she says. For a study, Nolen-Hoeksema left one group alone with their thoughts and showed another group pleasant images. ('It's pretty mindless, so it's easy to ruminate while you're watching,' Nolen-Hoeksema says.) Even looking at pretty pictures can be enough to improve your mood.

Break the contemplative cycle by doing something constructive to distract yourself: Go for a run, get a manicure, play with your dog - just avoid television. 'Rumination - whether rehashing things from the past or worrying about the future - worsens and lengthens periods of depression and can make everyday bad moods more intense,' says Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, professor of psychology at Yale. With all due respect to Socrates, many psychologists find that the unexamined life can in fact be well worth living. In this case, you might end up with: 'My house is cluttered, but pretty clean.' By repeating that thought, you'll stop generating anxiety with unreasonable negativity.ДonвЂ™t dwell. Write down a negative thought you often have - for example, 'I'm a slob.' Ask yourself: Does this thought contribute to my stress? Where did I learn this thought? Is this a logical thought? Is this thought true? 'These questions will help you get at an accurate restructuring of your original thought,' Domar says.

Needless to say, the refrain doesn't do much for your mood. 'Our brains are like tape recorders, and they often replay the same negative thoughts,' Domar says. 'When something you're doing to improve yourself starts to feel like a chore, it's not as effective,' Lyubomirsky says.Д¬hange your tape. When Lyubomirsky asked two groups to jot down things they were grateful for, either three times a week or once a week, only the latter group felt significantly happier. Expressing gratitude has been shown in numerous studies to improve mood - as long as you don't overdo it. 'That's when you get so absorbed that you're completely engaged in the moment, which creates very positive energy,' Kashdan says. The key is to engage in activities outside your comfort zone, says Todd Kashdan, professor of psychology at George Mason University - especially those that require skill. Inquisitive people are more likely to derive meaning and pleasure from any given day, according to a study published in Motivation and Emotion. 'It's the most researched psychotherapy intervention today, and in many studies it's been found to be as effective as antidepressants,' says Alice Domar, a psychologist and director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Research in Waltham, Massachusetts.ДЄ few techniques to try on your own couch:Д«e curious.

#Dammit meaning how to#

But today, many psychologists are focusing their work on just how to bring about that shift in perspective - cognitive therapy. The idea that we can affect our moods by changing the way we think isn't a new one (2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Epictetus said, 'We are disturbed not by events, but by the views that we take of them'). With numbers like that, it's certainly worth considering the specific behaviors that could lead you down the path to bliss. That means an impressive 40 percent is generated by our daily thoughts and actions. Sonja Lyubomirsky, psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, theorizes that 50 percent of our happiness is determined by genetics and only 10 percent by major life circumstances.