SOME DAILY ACTIONS TO FOSTER HAPPINESS AND POSITIVE EMOTIONS

Not everyday is good, but there’s good in every day. EXERCISE Increasingly robust evidence suggests that exercise is not only necessary for the maintenance of good mental health, but it can be used to treat even chronic mental illness. For example, it is now clear that exercise reduces the likelihood of depression and also maintains mental health as we age. Exercise appears to be as good as pharmacological interventions across a range of conditions such as milmoderate depression, anxiety and dementia.

Not everyday is good, but there’s good in every day.

EXERCISE

Increasingly robust evidence suggests that exercise is not only necessary for the maintenance of good mental health, but it can be used to treat even chronic mental illness. For example, it is now clear that exercise reduces the likelihood of depression and also maintains mental health as we age. Exercise appears to be as good as pharmacological interventions across a range of conditions such as mild-moderate depression, anxiety and dementia.

To learn how you can motivate yourself to start working out or to know more about the link between exercise and mental health, you can visit any good psychologist or licensed psychologist in Hong Kong.

To read the full article on why exercise is so essential for mental health, click on the link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/what-works-and-why/201803/how-your-mental-health-reaps-the-benefits-exercise

Meditation helps reduce stress and anxiety, which can lower heart rate and blood pressure. A basic meditation exercise:

MEDITATION

• Sit quietly and close your eyes. Relax your muscles and breathe slowly.
• Count your breath; count each inhalation and each exhalation as one. When you reach ten go back to one.
• When thoughts come to your mind, don’t engage with them actively. Note them and decide to come back to them later.
• Continue the exercise for at least 10 minutes.

To learn how to meditate and do yogic breathing, it’s essential to talk to someone who’s actually been doing it for a long time and knows the ins and outs of meditation and breathing. Dr. Ghazi Kaddouh is a practicing psychologist in Hong Kong who works with patients/clients on various mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD and who incorporates mindfulness meditation and breathing in his holistic approach to therapy.

BASIC STUFF

• Surround yourself with people who lift your spirits.
• Keep a daily gratitude journal. At the end of each day write down three things you did that you should not have done. How would you act next time around. Then, write down three things you needed to do but didn’t do. Finally, write three things you are grateful for. Make this a daily habit.
• Throughout the day, check frequently with yourself how you are feeling. Rate from 0-10. If your rating is 5 or below asks yourself what’s going on. After you have identified the reason for your low score, ask what’s the most helpful way for you to resolve it.