I had an experience a month ago where I was feeling quite overwhelmed. I went for a walk in the bush and found that although I was in nature, my mind kept drifting back to the source of the anxiety.
I decided to get firm with my mind. I would keep gently bringing my mind back to the present moment and being grateful for nature, the sea, and what I was seeing and experiencing right then and there.
After about 5 minutes, my mind stopped drifting and my sense of well-being shot up. I wondered if it was going to last, but it did. That same level of anxiety around that topic did not return at all.
Something that runs in my family is volunteering. Antoinette and I have done a LOT of it in our lives, and we both love it. In a review of the research on volunteering and philanthropy, Konrath (2014) found that volunteering increases psychological well-being across ages and cultures. It boosts happiness, empathy and health! For me, working towards something that is more than the self has always been important, to help people who are worse off than me. Even thinking about it, I can feel energy moving in my heart centre.
Another fun fact: A group called Gratitude Seeds found that writing a letter of gratitude increases your happiness from 2-4%, but calling the person and telling them increased it to 19%! It also seems that the most significant jump starts from the lowest amount of happiness, meaning that if you are depressed or down, that is the BEST time to pick up the phone and tell someone how grateful you are for them.
Much Love and stay safe, Jen
