Free 365 Ways to Live Happy by Meera Lester Page A

scream into a pillow. This technique releases the pent-up energy holding those negative feelings inside and works especially well for anger or grief. Sob your sorrow into the pillow. Or, scream the words of anger that you can no longer hold in. Empty out the feelings. If necessary, pound the pillow with your fists. You may need to get a bigger pillow or even a new one if your beating destroys it. It's a small price to pay for expressing rage. Repeat the process until you know the emotion is spent and there's no longer a need to do anything. Then, when your peace is restored, do something to make yourself happy like listening to beautiful music or sipping your favorite tea.
137 Skim Pebbles Across Water
    At some point when you are in crisis mode, you need to feel expansive and push away the walls of your crucible. When you can steal ten to twenty minutes, retreat into nature and do something mindless, like skimming pebbles across water in a reservoir, lake, river, pond, or sea. If your thoughts start to plow that same old field of concern about the crisis you are facing, sink into an awareness of only your breath. Be mindful of the cycle of inhaling and exhaling. Then, if you can, guide your awareness into the space between breaths. Experience the limitless boundary of your mind and return to serenity.
138 Ignore Melodramatic Rhetoric
    You know a drama queen when you see one. Understandably, people in crisis react differently but drama queens are all about being the center of attention. Calm, clear thinking is what is most needed in dealing with a crisis; melodramatic or emotionally inflammatory rhetoric is not helpful. If Chicken Little runs to you and shrieks that the sky is falling and everyone is going to perish, he is either genuinely panicked or vying for attention. One way to deal with him is to not react. Reassure him in a calm, quiet, unfazed tone: “I can see that you are upset. I assure you the sky is not falling. You are overreacting.” Let your quiet demeanor and words stand in stark contrast to his prostrations. If he continues, leave the room and reclaim your mental/emotional equilibrium. Don't give away your power to have happiness.
139 Drink Fresh Juice
    Can you say antioxidants? During a crisis, your body responds by releasing turbo-charging stress hormones that flood your cardiovascular system to prepare you to deal with the emergency. But stress hormones flooding the system can also cause damage. Antioxidants, substances found in certain fruits and vegetables, act as scavengers of free radicals (by-products created when cells use oxygen) and can both prevent and repair free radical damage. Squeeze or use a juicer to extract the juice from organic vegetables and fruits such as oranges, lime, strawberries, carrots, apricots, peaches, cantaloupes, and green leafy vegetables. Pomegranate, purple grapes, and cranberries are high in phytochemicals and are good antioxidant agents as well. Drinking fresh, organic juice is especially good for when you are under duress.
140 Take a Sauna or Steam Bath
    If you believe that time spent in a sauna or steam bath is healthy because sweating releases unwanted material from the body and improves circulation, you are correct. Make sure that you are in good health by checking with your physician before stepping into a sauna or steam room. Also, it's important to drink lots of water to replace what you lose from perspiration. Taking a sauna or steam bath can eliminate toxins and excess sodium, relax tense and sore muscles, and enable you to relax into your happy place.
141 Read a Passage in an Inspirational Text
    What kind of crisis are you facing — financial, medical or health, spiritual, educational, or relationship? Whatever it is, you can bet that others have faced similar situations. Life beats up on everyone from time to time. If you don't want to reach out to a trusted friend or professional, find hope, optimism, and perhaps a path out of your situation in the stories