How to Live a Happier Life

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2020 heart disease and depression will be the number one and number two leading causes of disability. Stress is the cause of most chronic diseases- obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, depression, anxiety and cancer. Depression is the leading cause of disability with more than 350 million people globally affected by this disease. Incorporating the strategies below to your daily routine will help you become happier and healthier!

10 Tips to be Happier:

1.) Be Thankful:  Write down 3 things you are grateful for. Focus on what is going right!

2.) Expect Positive Outcomes: Optimism is self-fulfilling. Resilience and persistence are what lead them to succeed.

3.) Focus on your own life!  People who live life without making comparisons are happier.

4.) Surround yourself with loving, supportive, positive friends and family. You live a healthier, happier, and longer life when you have a strong supportive social network.

5.) Learn to manage stress. Stress plays a pivotal role in initiating depression because the high cortisol levels associated with stress disrupt the brains ability to modulate the feel good chemicals of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.

6.) Live in the present! Enjoy the moment. Focus on today, right now.

7.) Volunteer!  You are happier giving than receiving.

8.) Learn to accept what you cannot change. Let go of things you cannot change or control and focus on the things you can change and control.

9.) Exercise! You can change the chemistry in your brain. Exercise helps neurons that have shriveled due to stress thrive and branch again. Exercise produces endorphins (feel good neurotransmitter), serotonin (feel good, calming neurotransmitter), and dopamine (feel good and motivating neurotransmitter).

10.) Believe in something greater than yourself. Faith!