Quick Happiness Fixes

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,: 2024

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We'll explore practical tips to boost your mood and bring more serenity into your day. Stay tuned. So, now that we’ve covered a few science-backed habits to build into your everyday routine, let’s take a slightly different approach. Though habits can be powerful things, sometimes you just need a quick fix to step in and help you shake a bad mood. Life doesn’t always go to plan, and sometimes it’s worth having a “happiness toolkit” to whip out in an emergency situation. If you are thinking “Well, my emergency coping mechanism is food,” then you’re actually not too far off the mark—more on that later. In this chapter, we’ll look at a handful of practical tricks you can use in the spur of the moment to lift a low mood and brighten your day. What Makes a Happy Song Happy?

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ls and reduce anxiety (Scott,: 2023

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It turns out that there are predictable characteristics of songs that people universally claim are happy. Neuroscientist Dr. Jacob Jolij at the University of Groningen set out to un-weave the rainbow and come up with a mathematical formula for a happy song, as well as the ultimate feel-good playlist. He began by closely analyzing the music of the British electronic band Alba and found that every single song was about a cheerful situation (or else fun, nonsense lyrics), was a little faster than the average song (an average of around 145 beats per minute—20 more than the average pop song), and was always written in a major key, which sounds peppy and confident. These three elements, he would soon learn, play a big role in our perception of how “happy” a song sounds. While Jolij admits that a happy song is “highly personal and strongly depends on social context and personal associations,” he still set about compiling his own mega-playlist of the world’s happiest songs. Now, it’s important to note that Jolij didn’t publish this research in peer-reviewed journals, but people seem to like his analysis anyway! If you’re compiling your own playlist, take a page from his book and look for the three key elements, and then turn up the volume when you’re feeling down! The songs were - •“Don’t Stop Me Now”—Queen.

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•“Dancing Queen”—ABBA. •“Good Vibrations”—The Beach Boys. •“Uptown Girl”—Billy Joel. •“Eye of the Tiger”—Survivor. •“I’m a Believer”—The Monkees. •“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”—Cyndi Lauper. •“Living on a Prayer”—Bon Jovi. •“I Will Survive”—Gloria Gaynor. •“Walking on Sunshine”—Katrina and the Waves.

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to have on the human brain. A: 2013

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When you hear a really good song and you feel an incredible rush of good feelings, it’s because your brain is literally awash in pleasurable neurochemicals as the dopamine reward system is activated—the same ancient system that activates when we anticipate sex, food, or the thrill of gambling. But the researchers also note that how much you like a new piece of music is heavily influenced by what you’ve liked in the past. “Depending on what styles you’re used to—Eastern, Western, jazz, heavy metal, pop—all of these have very different rules they follow, and they’re all implicitly recorded in your brain,” Salimpoor says. “Whether you realize it or not, every time you’re listening to music, you’re constantly activating these templates that you have." Professor Catherine Loveday is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Westminster, and she’s been studying the way the brain processes emotions for years. Her findings echo Salimpoor’s. When we listen to music we know and love, especially music from our past, we experience a boost in activity in the reward pathways in the brain. The music we listen to during our teen years and early twenties has an especially powerful impact on our later memories because of what psychologists call a “reminiscence bump”—a period from about ten to thirty years old we are especially fond of reminiscing about.

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The elements of the music get tied—physically and conceptually—to our autobiographical memories and sense of self. So, when we listen to the music that was the soundtrack of a time in our lives when we were laying down the foundation of our identities, we may experience a particularly potent feeling of well-being. A little bit of nostalgia, in other words, can be a powerful coping mechanism! When we return to potent emotional memories and events from our past, we are reconfirming our identities, reinvigorating ourselves, confirming our values, and connecting deeply to a time, place, and social group that we feel we belong to. On top of that, we get a satisfying dopamine hit that boosts our mood and may even strengthen our relationships and friendship groups. Salimpoor calls music an “intellectual reward” and an exercise for your entire brain, but it’s also a very effective way to quickly shift how you feel. Let’s put all of this information together - How can we get the best out of music when it comes to increasing our well-being and happiness? The good news is that you’re probably doing it to some degree already.

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Luckily, most of us now have access to all the music in the world and can easily find old favorites or endless new avenues to explore online. So, the next time you’re feeling a little lethargic, sad, disappointed, or stressed out, use the magic of music to revisit old neural pathways of joy, connection, and meaning. Create your own playlist for a dose of fortifying nostalgia and include all the “greatest hits” from your own history. This is not unlike value-based self-affirmations—you are tapping into a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and value, only this time you’re doing it in musical form. Choose songs that rev you up, make you feel hopeful and inspired, or just make you want to get up and dance. If you have warm and cherished memories around those songs, all the better. Maybe you choose a life-affirming song that reminds you of certain people you love and treasure—by listening to the song, you not only get a dopamine surge, but you also strengthen all that neural circuitry responsible for feelings of closeness, belonging, and gratitude. But don’t just stick to the songs you know.

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Add a little novelty to the mix and use music recommendation apps to suggest new music to you based on what you already like. Or, take a leap into the unknown and choose something new at random. Neuroscientists haven’t yet figured out how ordinary people can magically induce certain brain states at will, but if they could, that magic would probably look like a pair of earphones and a few good songs! Injecting Happiness . When it comes to happiness, there may be some wisdom to the “fake it till you make it” advice. Specifically, there is now research suggesting that a smile—even a fake one—can actually make you feel better. Yes, even a fake smile can trick your brain into thinking you're happy! Smiling sends a signal to your brain to release feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which can help boost your mood and reduce feelings of anxiety.

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But it's not just about faking it. Cultivating genuine happiness and fulfillment through smiling involves a deeper psychological shift, one that involves focusing on the positive in everyday situations and letting go of negative thoughts and emotions. So, the next time you're feeling anxious or down in the dumps, try smiling. It may feel awkward at first, but your brain will thank you for it. The conventional understanding is that we smile because we are happy, but cognitive neuroscientists have suspected for years that it may also work the other way around—we feel happy because we are smiling. In other words, our facial expressions can influence our internal experience of emotions. While most people know that Botox injections prevent the person from fully expressing their emotions, it turns out it also prevents them from experiencing those emotions themselves and recognizing and understanding the emotions of others. This makes sense—our facial expressions have evolved as part of our emotional and communicative makeup, and if our faces are frozen, it’s likely others can’t register, for example, that we feel surprised or angry.

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ournal Emotion (Davis et al.,: 2010

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Researcher Justin Kim made a fascinating addition to this line of research. He and his colleagues investigated the effect of Botox treatment on a person’s perception of emotional experience, and they were actually able to monitor this effect in the brain’s amygdala, which is the brain’s emotional center. Kim et al.’s research suggests that the amygdala is sensitive to facial feedback and that the ability to smile is a big part of expressing happiness, feeling that happiness, and understanding the happiness of others. What does this mean for us? Well, it means we literally have a way to influence our amygdala and therefore our inner experience of happiness from the outside in—when we smile (even if we don’t quite mean it) we are activating certain neural pathways and networks associated with happiness. When someone else smiles and we see their smile, register it, and reflect it back to them, we are participating in powerful nonverbal communication that can actually impact our mood for the better. Isn’t that amazing? The look on someone else’s face can have concrete effects on the electrical activity in your own brain!

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Even if you’re feeling low, smile. Smile at others and you might be surprised just how easily you are “tricked” into actually feeling that happiness. If you feel phony smiling when you don’t feel happy, don’t worry—research led by Dr. Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos at the University of South Australia found that faking it really does have real-world benefits. The research scenario went like this - Participants were asked to hold a pen between their teeth, which forces a kind of “covert smile,” i.e., a fake one that nevertheless enlists all the muscles needed for a genuine smile. Then, the participants were offered a range of stimuli, and their brains were observed. Again, the amygdala was seen to be influenced—when participants held the pen between their teeth, they reported more positive emotions, and this could be seen in their brain activity. What’s more, the covert smile changed the way they perceived other people’s facial expressions. “When your muscles say you're happy, you're more likely to see the world around you in a positive way,” said Marmolejo-Ramos.

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The activated smile muscles appeared to stimulate the amygdala, which then created positive emotional feeling states. It’s as though our muscles are telling our brain, “You’re happy. The thing you’re perceiving right now is making you happy.". If your muscles say you are happy, your brain believes it. So, our perception and our motor movements are blended together. Does this mean, then, that frowning and scowling can make us feel bad in the same way? Possibly, although the research has yet to be done. But there’s reason to believe that if you want to make yourself happier, it could be as simple as plastering a smile on your face and waiting for your brain to catch up!

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Knowing what we know about the brain’s facial feedback systems, there are a few practical ways to bring more happiness into your life - •When you talk to people, try to do it face to face rather than just via a phone call, since this way you can modulate your own emotional state by communicating nonverbally with them. It goes without saying that you should smile while doing so! If you’re on the phone, smile anyway—you’ll trick yourself into feeling happier, and this will show in your voice. •“Smile at a stranger in the street” seems like slightly lame advice, but it could be a potent way to inject your day with some good vibes. •If you’re in the middle of an unpleasant task or feeling overwhelmed or bored, smile. You can convince yourself that your current adversity isn’t all that bad after all. •If you’re feeling down, watch some silly videos or standup comedy and, even if you’re not quite feeling it, push yourself to smile and laugh. Even if you’re just laughing at yourself for being ridiculous, you’re getting that amygdala working, and that’s what matters!

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Eat Ice Cream . Could it be that this book is giving you license to go ahead and guzzle ice cream to feel better? Well, yes. Yes, it is! Picture this - It's a hot summer day and you're feeling a bit stressed out. Your mind is racing a million miles a minute, and you need something to calm you down and settle your nerves. That's where ice cream comes in. This beloved treat contains an amino acid called L-tryptophan, which can reduce nervous system activity.

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That's right, this natural tranquilizer is known for helping to reduce anxiety and promote sleepiness. Additionally, the sheer act of indulging in a delicious treat can be a mood booster in and of itself. But there's also some science behind it—eating ice cream can release endorphins in your brain that make you feel good. Plus, the cool and creamy sensation of ice cream can be quite soothing on a hot day. So next time you're feeling a bit anxious, don't hesitate to reach for a scoop (or two!) of your favorite flavor. It just might do wonders for your happiness, fulfillment, and contentment. It’s not just a tired movie cliché that unhappy people need an immediate dose of Ben and Jerry’s to lift a bad mood.

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Sciences conducted a study in: 2010

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d diet on mental health. In a: 2017

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These diets are also high in fiber, which is essential for gut microbiota. We’re increasingly understanding that the gut is really the driver of health, including mental health, so keeping fiber intake high through the consumption of plant foods is very important." A German study from the University of Konstanz found the same result—a diet high in plants led to higher overall happiness levels. Though other food categories influenced happiness, they consistently found that it was fruit and vegetables that contributed most to well-being. You’ve heard it before - A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, good fats, nuts, whole grains, and lean meats is the best for overall health and wellness. So, what about our ice cream cure? Looking at the data available, it’s likely best to consider ice cream a quick-fix happiness intervention, rather than a long-term approach. Though ice cream is delicious and a carrot won’t pick you up after a breakup, consistently eating refined and sugary foods is likely to decrease happiness in the long run, not increase it.

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Also, since ice cream is one of those foods that most of us have registered as a pleasurable, special treat, part of the pleasure we derive from it probably comes from the fact that we don’t eat it all that often. If ice cream isn’t really your thing, and you have some other much-loved comfort food, the same rules apply. Relive Happy Memories . We’ve already briefly encountered the power of nostalgia in the section on listening to familiar music, but what about simply taking a trip down memory lane? Could this make us feel happier? Taking a stroll down memory lane can do wonders for our mental health. When we relive happy memories from our past, we tend to feel a sense of warmth and comfort. This is because nostalgia has the power to transport us to a time when life felt simpler and more carefree.

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When we feel anxious about the future, reminiscing about our past can remind us of our resilience and strength. Knowing that we have overcome challenges before and can do so again can also provide us with a sense of stability and security. Ultimately, nostalgia can help us feel more content and happier in the present moment. Nostalgia often kicks into gear by accident—when we’re reminded of the past by familiar sounds, smells, people, or situations. But what’s happening in the brain when you reminisce? Kentara Oba and colleagues published a research paper in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience that looked at this very question. He wanted to know why exactly we feel so good when remembering things from the past. When we revisit “autobiographical events” from the past, the study concluded, we boost our psychological resilience.

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The team assembled a group of women and exposed them to nostalgia stimuli—i.e., visual cues to remind them of their childhoods. Then, they used fMRI scans to track what was going on in the brain. The researchers found that this reminiscing activity increased activation in areas associated both with memory and reward. These two areas of the brain appeared to be working together to create this unique experience we call nostalgia. They also found that the effect was somewhat individual and that certain individuals had stronger reactions to nostalgia than others. Recalling memories tends to increase blood flow in the areas of the brain associated with emotion—the frontal, limbic, paralimbic, and midbrain. It really is as though we are living those emotional situations again. But that’s not all.

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The hippocampus, substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, and ventral striatum are also activated, and these regions are associated with the brain’s reward system. If you’ve ever heard a song from your past (a song that you don’t even really like!) and felt a little pop of pleasure, it was likely because your brain’s dopamine/reward system was activated. Of course, if the memories of this time were painful, it’s a different story, but simply recalling places, people, or events from the past gives your brain a burst of recognition that registers as pleasurable. Many people tend to get nostalgic without realizing that their memories are serving as a kind of coping mechanism and way to regulate negative feelings in the present. But we can also choose nostalgia deliberately as a way to alleviate the occasional low mood. We can look at old photos, go through a box of curios, listen to music from our childhood, flip through old journals, sniff smells we connect to the past, or recreate a dish that belongs in our personal history (this has double power if that food happens to be ice cream!). But, remembering that nostalgia has concrete, measurable effects on the brain’s release of dopamine, it stands to reason that we can become addicted to it in the same way we can with any other bad habit, like consuming junk food or alcohol.

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Like ice cream, it would seem that trips down memory lane are best when they’re only occasional and not our predominant state of mind. Wishing away the present while yearning constantly for the past will naturally not make us happy but dismissive of and unappreciative of the present—where we actually live. But, if your nostalgia breaks leave you feeling warm and fuzzy and with more strength to carry on in the present, you’re probably doing it right. When it comes to memory and happiness, there is something else to consider - We can actively build new memories right now, in the present. If past memories are like a happiness inventory we can draw on when we’re feeling down, then what about adding to that collection? Meik Wiking is a prolific happiness author and the Chief Executive Officer of the Happiness Research Institute based in Denmark, and he’s interested in the art of not just remembering happy memories but making them. He talks about, for instance, the fact that as we get older, we experience fewer and fewer “firsts,” which makes life feel like it’s moving faster and faster. But when we do something novel, we cement it in our memory, and it acts like an autobiographical touchstone in our history to return to.

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Wiking’s first piece of advice for making memories is to choose deliberately to do something for the first time. His second suggestion is to use the power of photographs. Like most people in the world, you probably have thousands of snaps on your smartphone, but Wiking recommends curating only one hundred (or choose a number you like) that represent the happiest moments of your life. If you can, print them out and put them in an album. Every time you flip through it, you give your brain a dose of dopamine and cement your autobiographical sense of self. Another option is to keep your own private online photo journal and add a picture to it daily. Take inspiration from the many artists who take a snap of themselves every day—in ten years’ time, they’ll have an impressive collection to look back on. You could do this not only with photos but any image.

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Create a scrapbook of maps associated with special places in your history (for example, a couple can keep a book documenting the places of their first kiss, proposal, wedding, first home, etc.). Make a visit to your old hometown—and bring a family member with you!—or keep curios and knickknacks from memorable trips. Keep symbolic items that remind you of noteworthy firsts or special moments—the first dollar you earned, a gift from a now-deceased grandparent, or a prize you won for poetry in the third grade, for example. As you identify these items or mark a special occasion, literally take a moment to pause and notice what is happening. Take an emotional and mental “snapshot” of the moment and imagine yourself filing it away for later. Life can sometimes get routine and automatic, but if we take the time to bring in the extraordinary, the new, and the wonderful in small ways, time will feel as though it slows down. Try to make even insignificant occasions a little more special, and as you do so, draw on all five senses to etch the memory in your mind more deeply. Scent especially is a powerful memory trigger because it is closest anatomically to the amygdala and other memory centers in the brain.

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This explains the feeling of a certain smell carrying you straight back to a moment in the past, seemingly without your conscious or verbal brain being involved! Why not wear a new scent on every holiday as a kind of olfactory keepsake? Smelling that scent will forever act as a pathway to that memory. Ultimately, creating new memories is all about attention. We cannot embed certain sensory experiences in our memories unless we have paid attention to them first. This means that if you want to create better quality memories, it’s worth deliberately removing certain distractions and attention-hoggers from your life - i.e., endless smartphone notifications, ads, and unnecessary texts. Instead, streamline your digital life and be a little more discerning with the media you surround yourself with. Choose to be engaged with what matters to you; the more you focus on the meaningful things, the more meaningful they will feel.

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If you ask people at the end of life what they most remember, its usually moments of joy and connection with loved ones. Every time you notice a little moment of this kind, it becomes one pixel in a bigger picture. And if those pixels are deliberately selected for their happy feelings, the overall picture becomes one of happiness, too. Famed cognitive research psychologist Daniel Kahneman has noticed what he calls the peak-end effect—i.e., our memories have nothing to do with the overall or average emotional experience but to the extreme point and the end point. For example, when remembering your wedding day, you may be inclined to remember the peaks (one specific moment during the vows) and the end (the memory of driving away from the party at the end of the night, thinking, “What a day that was!”). Sometimes, what we remember as a peak moment is not always pleasant. A moment of struggle can still be remembered fondly. The entire wedding could fade in your memory, but you never forget the thunderstorm the day began with or the moment your drunk uncle accidentally sat down on a slice of wedding cake.

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earchers published a paper in: 2019

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In their experiment, they asked 203 study subjects to complete a battery of psychological tests before and after an EFT intervention to see what, if any, effect the intervention had. They also followed up on their results one year later. The findings were impressive - There was an increase in happiness by thirty-one percent, a reduction of depression by thirty-five percent, and a reduction in anxiety by forty percent. The team even noted some physiological improvements in things like blood pressure and cortisol levels—and the effects did appear stable after one year. So, what is EFT, anyway? Gary Craig is credited as the founder of this modality, which is a kind of “energy psychology” based on the principle that thoughts and feelings are actually forms of “energy.". Granted, this approach is not mainstream, and the research supporting it (over one hundred studies to date) is not perfect, but EFT is growing in popularity because people are interested in more straightforward, natural ways to improve their well-being. In particular, the technique of EFT “tapping” has been acclaimed as a way to address a wide range of issues, from addiction to mood disorders to phobias.

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The great thing about EFT tapping is that you can practice the technique yourself with only a little training. The technique is something to use specifically when you’re feeling stressed or if you encounter a particular psychological challenge. People have claimed to use EFT tapping before stressful or difficult events, for example. Here are five simple steps to try EFT tapping for yourself. Step 1 - Zoom in on what the issue is. You first need to identify what the problem is and what you’re trying to achieve. It’s best to focus on just one issue at a time. For example, you may have an upcoming presentation to deliver and are terrified of public speaking.

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Step 2 - Test initial intensity. Look at the problem at hand and rank it on a scale of one to ten according to its emotional intensity. This is important so you can see the impact of the tapping and measure its effectiveness. Let’s say you rank your pre-speech anxiety at around seven. Step 3 - Set yourself up. Choose a simple reminding phrase that you will then repeat while physically tapping your “karate chop point”—find the outer part of your hand and tap at the fleshy middle point on this ridge. Your phrase is meant to note the problem you’re facing but embed a sense of acceptance and acknowledgement despite it. For example, you can say “Even though I find public speaking difficult, I completely love and accept myself."

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Step 4 - Go through the sequence. Now, you literally need to tap yourself on different parts of the body while you repeat this chosen phrase. This tapping can be done by an EFT practitioner or yourself. The order of tapped areas goes like this - . Top of the head. Beginning of the eyebrow (directly above and to the side of the nose) . Side of the eye (at the corner, on the bone). Under the eye (around an inch below the pupil, again on the bone).

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Under the nose (between nose and top lip). On the chin (midway between lower lip and bottom of chin). Start of the collarbone (where breastbone, collarbone, and first rib meet) . Under the arm (around four inches below the armpit, on the side of the body). Two or more fingers are used to make the tapping movements, and the tap is repeated around five times on each area. Where you have two points (for example, one either side of the eye), you can tap one or both. Step 5 - Check the intensity. Once you’ve completed the tapping sequence, check in to see how intense your feelings are now.

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EFT. Morgan Clond published a: 2016

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In other words, CBT may be comparable with EFT, but more research will be needed. If you’re thinking about trying EFT for yourself, it might be a good idea to seek out a practitioner first, just to show you the ropes. EFT has some support for certain conditions, especially anxiety-based problems, but the only way to find out if it works for you is to try it! . Flower Power . The old Chinese proverb tells us that if you only have two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one and a lily with the other. It turns out that this advice is not just poetic, but it may actually be true - Flowers can literally feed the soul just as surely as bread feeds the body. If you’ve ever felt your mood soar after receiving flowers, or if you once smiled a little at a vase of daffodils in the window, there may be a scientific explanation.

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Professor Jeanette Jones wanted to find out why the human brain feels so rewarded by the sight of colorful blooms. Her study had three categories - First, she wanted to understand the effect of flowers on women, then she wanted to know how flowers affected both men and women, and finally, she wanted to explore the affect they had on older people. Jones sent out ostensible thank-you gifts to 147 different women. Some were candles, some were fruit baskets, and some were flowers. Jones instructed the delivery men to act as observers. When these observations were analyzed in a lab later, they confirmed what most of us probably already know - Flowers make women happy. In fact, they consistently produce a “Duchenne smile”—so-named after the researcher who first identified this genuine, unfakeable expression of happiness. But the men and elderly people who received flowers also showed a boost in their overall mood, as measured by their behavior and self-report.

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s published her findings in a: 2005

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But can our fascination with flowers be measured in the brain? Another study by Lowri Dowthwaite, a lecturer in psychological interventions at the University of Central Lancashire, found that flowers can produce measurable bumps in people’s dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin levels, all of which create feelings of trust, bonding, well-being, and pleasure. Whether it’s because of an ancient association of flowers with life and abundance, or flowers make us happy simply because they’re pretty is still up for debate. But if you’re feeling depressed, try flowers - Grow them, sniff them, gift them, or just buy a bunch for yourself and put them somewhere you can admire their simple beauty. One beautiful example of how I personally utilize flowers to alleviate anxiety and enhance my overall happiness is through the creation of my own backyard flower garden. As someone who experiences occasional bouts of anxiety, I have discovered that immersing myself in the natural beauty and therapeutic aroma of flowers can be incredibly soothing and uplifting. Each morning, I take a stroll through my garden, carefully tending to each plant and marveling at the vibrant colors and delicate petals. The rhythmic process of nurturing and caring for these flowers helps me ground myself and find solace in the present moment.

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Witnessing the growth and blooming of each bud brings me a sense of accomplishment and joy, serving as a powerful reminder of the beauty and resilience of nature. The act of gardening itself acts as a form of meditation, allowing me to focus on the task at hand and momentarily release any worries or stresses that may be weighing on my mind. This intimate connection with nature and the enchanting allure of the flowers fill my heart with a profound sense of calmness and serenity, creating a sanctuary where I can retreat and find respite from the pressures of daily life. Summary - •Though happiness is a habit, there are also plenty of immediate happiness “quick fixes” to use when you’re feeling low and need something to pick you up. •One great way to be happy is to use music. Pick songs that are relatively quick in tempo, written in a major key, and have positive and uplifting lyrics. •You may find that nostalgic music from your past is especially good at summoning up good feelings. •Studies done on the effect of Botox on people’s ability to express and interpret facial expressions point to the interplay between our moods and our biology.

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Being able to mirror other people’s expressions is important. Even though we think we smile because we’re happy, we are also happy because we smile. This means we can often create good feelings by smiling—even if we don’t quite feel it. •Ice cream has been shown to be one of the greatest comfort foods that genuinely boosts mood, primarily because of its associations. A healthy diet is best in the long term, but an occasional treat can be a legitimate pick-me-up. •Recalling happy memories or making new ones has been shown to predict happy feelings. •Finally, EFT tapping is an approach that can help you alleviate anxiety. Remember, small changes can make a big difference, and if you're looking for more tips and strategies to manage anxiety and find lasting peace, head over to Nick Trenton's website at bit.ly's slash Nick Trenton.

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Thanks for joining us on The Path to Calm. Until next time, take care and be present. you