The world lost yet another beautiful soul to the demon that is depression. For anyone familiar with Robbin Williams’ work, it was almost unbelievable to hear that the beloved comedian took his own life after battling with depression for long.
Though there’s much more to depression than sadness, staying upbeat is one way to ensure that you or a loved one don’t get consumed into this abyss. Without sounding too much like a self- help article, here’s a (generally) happy person’s guide to happiness!
Make peace with who you are:
There will always be someone with better grades than yours, someone with better hair, or someone with a better social life, but that doesn’t take away from who you are. Appreciating someone ? Depreciating yourself! The first step towards a cheerful disposition is being comfortable with your mind and body. Once you’re grateful for who you are, what you have, the world will definitely seem more inviting.
Exercise and sleep:
With the pace that our lives are at, it is easy to fall into a rut. Break away from melancholy! An active lifestyle is a scientifically proven key to a happier life, as is a well- rested mind. Exercise keeps you motivated, gives you a certain sense of accomplishment and also helps you sleep better.
If you’re one of those people who get grumpy after having to climb a single flight of stairs, you need to include some form of simple physical activity in your life now!
Listen to upbeat music:
At times when you’re feeling low, make a conscious choice of listening to peppy tunes. Your definition of ‘peppy’ may range from Pharrel William’s Happy to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, build an instant stress- busting playlist and play it on loop. I’ve never seen someone tapping their foot and being morose at the same time!
Realistic goals:
One thing that gets a lot of us down is feeling demotivated, and even useless. This usually happens when we miss out on achieving a target or worse still, when the target we’d set looms ahead, bigger and more intimidating than it had originally seemed. Set short term realistic goals for yourself, achieving these will give you the motivation to take on the next challenge. The lesson here is not to underestimate your skills, but to make sure that you don’t overburden yourself.
Illustration Credits: Mehr Gill
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