02 Jul 19 Simple Tips for Overcoming Sadness
Although we all want happiness, we'll all experience sadness.
No matter what we do to live positively, negative things will still happen.
Happiness might be desireable but sadness and depression and anxiety and more are normal, human emotions.
The good news, however, is that there are things we can all do to overcome sadness and grief and many of them are quite simple…
by Emily Filloramo from LifeHack
“Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future.” – Paul Boese
To overcome sadness, you need to let go of your old stories. You were born happy and you stayed happy until caregivers, teachers and peers unknowingly said unpleasant things to you. Now, new events can trigger these old hurts and thus make you feel more sad than they should. So when you catch yourself thinking about the old unpleasant events, engage in the tips below to overcome sadness.
1. Decide you are ready to let go of the pain, no matter what.
If you don’t make peace with the past, the associated toxic energy will eventually show up as health, weight and mood issues. You might even go to the grave with regrets. Let it go. It’s not worth the misery of bad mental and physical health.
2. Change your attitude towards your situation. You are not your story.
You’re only hurting yourself if you don’t change your attitude. The person who caused you sadness is not in pain, you are.
Your brain can be “rewired” with an attitude change. Dr. Joe Dispenza’s TEDx talk shows you:
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How old feelings are wired into memories.
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How the thought of your bad memories triggers stress responses and turns on your disease genes.
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How changing your negative attitude to compassion can release the old hurts and positively reprogram your brain.
3. Don’t focus on the suffering, focus on the gifts.
If you keep talking about the pain, its impact will be enlarged and you will drive others away with your constant rumination. Holding on to your “dark cloud” will make you lonely and miserable.
Focus on the gifts of the negative experiences instead.
The Universe purposely gave you negative experiences for the evolution of your soul. You are the only one who can make “lemonade” out of your “lemons.” The Universe rewards you with happiness when the lemonade is made. Your story of triumph will inspire others to get out of their sadness.
4. Exercise, meditate or do yoga to release the sadness.
Clear the muck from your brain. Whatever exercise and/or mindfulness modality works for you, just do it.
Here’s an example: When a former boss said something hurtful to me, my mind couldn’t stop replaying the hurt because his criticism triggered a younger “part” of me that held old wounds. So I went to Bikram Yoga (yoga in a 105 degree Fahrenheit room) four days in a row. On the fourth day, during Camel pose, my body shook and I exploded in an “ugly cry.” I knew the shaking and the tears were the boss’s toxicity leaving my body and mind. After class, the negative energy was completely gone and my brain was done thinking about this hurt. I overcame my sadness. The next time I saw this person, I was not triggered.
5. Watch a funny movie.
If you are laughing, you can’t be sad. Your brain can only experience one emotion at a time…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE