{"id":1825,"date":"2011-10-31T12:01:34","date_gmt":"2011-10-31T16:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/?p=1825"},"modified":"2011-09-06T23:39:35","modified_gmt":"2011-09-07T03:39:35","slug":"the-happiness-%e2%80%9cdrug%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2011\/10\/the-happiness-%e2%80%9cdrug%e2%80%9d.html","title":{"rendered":"The Happiness \u201cDrug\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

I always encourage people to do what they can to find real happiness. I don\u2019t mean the kind that comes from making a purchase and feels good until you find the next item that will make you happy. I\u2019m talking about the inner kind, that keeps you content even when life isn\u2019t going the way you\u2019d like. Happiness doesn\u2019t just make you smile as you get things you like or have lots of fun. The true kind creates an inner peace with many benefits.<\/p>\n

A big result of being happy is it can greatly improve your health!<\/p>\n

Studies show that happiness is good for your physical well-being. Researchers at the University College in London<\/strong> studied almost 3,000 adults who were considered healthy. They found a correlation between the people who had more good moods and lower levels of cortisol, one of the stress hormones. <\/strong>High cortisol levels have been shown to raise blood pressure, create other physical side effects of stress, and lower your immune system so you\u2019re more likely to get sick. So being in a good mood because you\u2019re happy doesn\u2019t just feel nice in itself. It can help you avoid getting sick.<\/p>\n

The science of happiness keeps getting more convincing about the strong link between positive emotions and the body.<\/p>\n

The mind\/body connection keeps proving how powerful it can be. In a study with 10,000 Australians, participants answered questions to determine their level of happiness. After three years, almost everyone who considered themselves happy and satisfied with their lives reported good health. This study strengthens the link between happiness, fulfillment with life and long term health. Lead author of this study, Mohammad Siahpush, Ph.D., said, \u201cEverything else being equal, if you are happy and satisfied with your life now, you are more likely to be healthy in the future.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Have I convinced you yet to make yourself happy?? When I was as DoorMat I put my energy into make other people happy. I thought that made me happy too but it really didn\u2019t. I got sick more in those days but never thought about why. As I got more positive about my life, I noticed I also felt better physically and thought it was a coincidence. Now I know better.<\/p>\n

The more positive emotions you create within yourself, the happier you\u2019ll be and you have a good chance of seeing your health improve.<\/p>\n

The more negative emotions you allow to rule you, such as anger, resentment, jealousy, fear, bitterness, etc., the more you\u2019ll be prone to get sick. Happy people also tend to live longer. Since I became one, my stress level is way down. Those negative emotions can really hurt you. So the next time you\u2019re faced with someone\u2019s request that makes you unhappy, remember what I\u2019ve told you and do your best to make choices that will increase your positive emotions instead of bringing you down. Happiness is truly good for the health, so do your best to build it in you!<\/strong>
\n*********************<\/p>\n

Take the self-love challenge<\/strong><\/a> and get my book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways<\/a><\/strong> for free at http:\/\/howdoiloveme.com<\/a>. And you can post your loving acts HERE<\/a><\/strong> to reinforce your intention to love yourself. Read my 31 Days of Self-Love Posts HERE<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Please leave comments under my posts so we can stay connected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I always encourage people to do what they can to find real happiness. I don\u2019t mean the kind that comes from making a purchase and feels good until you find the next item that will make you happy. I\u2019m talking about the inner kind, that keeps you content even when life isn\u2019t going the way…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,15],"tags":[973],"class_list":["post-1825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-happiness","category-self-love-acceptance","tag-happiness"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Happiness \u201cDrug\u201d - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2011\/10\/the-happiness-\u201cdrug\u201d.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Happiness \u201cDrug\u201d - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I always encourage people to do what they can to find real happiness. 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Let Me Count the Ways, a She's appeared on hundreds of TV and radio shows, including Oprah, Howard Stern, and Good Morning America and has been quoted in dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Marie Claire, and Men\u00b9s Health. After being a consummate People Pleaser who felt unworthy of getting her own needs met for many years, Daylle found a path of self-love that enabled her to build her self-esteem and reinvent herself into a dual career. She learned to get taken seriously without being overtly assertive when she became one of the first women to start an independent record label (on a dare!) and learned to play ball nicely and successfully in an industry dominated by men. To help independent musicians empower themselves, Daylle writes music business books for Billboard\/Random House, including the very popular Start & Run Your Own Record Labe and I Don't Need a Record Deal! Daylle's books have been translated into over 10 languages and are popular around the world. She speaks for colleges, organizations and corporations. Through her company, Project Self-Empowerment, Daylle creates programs and materials to help people empower themselves. One goal is to raise the money to self-publish her book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways and give it away for free in colleges and through organizations, to give thanks for all her blessings. 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