Eight Things You Can Do to Feel Happy Quickly

We all have days where we feel particularly blue or sad. When you feel this way, you probably wish you could feel happier. Thankfully, there are simple things you can do to achieve happiness quickly. The next time you feel blue, try one or more of these activities.

Laugh: Laughing is a great way to feel happy quickly. When you laugh, it releases endorphins in the brain, which help you feel good. Watch a funny television show, read a funny comic, or visit a funny website. For instance, you might enjoy I Can Has Cheezeburger or I Has A Hotdog.

If you are somewhere where you are not able to watch a funny show or look at funny websites on the Internet, just thinking about the funny show or website you plan to view later can help lift your spirits. Research by the University of Irvine tested 16 males whom all agreed that a videotape was funny. The researchers told half of the men they were going to see it three days beforehand. The men who were anticipating seeing the videotape experienced biologic changes immediately. Furthermore, when they watched the tape, their stress hormones significantly dropped while they experienced a rise in endorphin levels.

Help Someone in Need: When you're feeling blue, one of the best things you can do to feel happier is to take the focus off of yourself by helping someone else. Spend a couple of hours volunteering in a soup kitchen. Do you have a loved one who is elderly or disabled? If so, take him or her to the store, rake his or her leaves, or cook him or her a nice meal. If you attend a church, spend some time participating in one of the volunteer programs it offers. Donate blood. Provide help at a local animal shelter. These activities will help you feel good about yourself and provide interaction with others as well.

Exercise: It is well-known that exercise increases feelings of well-being by increasing endorphin activity in the brain, yet many of us do not make time for exercise. Exercise doesn't have to take up a lot of time to be effective, however. If you don't have time to go to the gym for a full workout, take a walk when you get home from work, throw a Frisbee with your kids on a Saturday afternoon, play a game of basketball with your partner one evening, or take a short jog before heading to work. You could also get exercise by riding your bike to and from work instead of driving, do some yoga exercises in the morning, or take an aerobics class on the way home from work.

Spend Time with Your Pet: Whenever I'm feeling sad, I spend some time with my kitties. Sometimes I get out the laser pointer or the fishing pole toy and play with them. Other times, I will sit and pet them while they sit near or on me and purr. It never fails that they bring me joy when I'm not feeling well.

Likewise, if you have a cat, you can spend some quality time sitting and petting or playing with him or her. If you have a dog, you can play fetch, sit and pet him or her, or take him or her for a walk. Spending some quality time with your beloved pet will undoubtedly bring you happiness.

Make a Gratitude List: When we feel sad, we may not remember what we have to be thankful for in our lives. Instead, we may get in a rut where we think everything in our lives is bad. Thus, making a gratitude list will help you feel happy and remind you of the good things in your life. When you are feeling down, try making a list of 5-10 thing for which you are grateful. Perhaps you are thankful for your family, your friends, your home, your job, your car, your pets, the clothes you are wearing, and the food you eat. Making a list of things you are thankful for will help you put things into perspective. For instance, perhaps you don't like your job some days, but you can still be thankful that you have a job. A sense of appreciation for what you have will lead to more happiness.

Take a Walk Down Memory Lane: Taking a walk down memory lane can bring you joy when you are feeling sad as well. Think about the recent happy times you shared with your family and friends. Alternatively, get out your photo album (or look at your digital photo album on your computer) and remember the good times you had with the family and friends. Think about how much fun you had on your last vacation.

However, be advised that looking at photos of someone you lost in your life may make you feel sadder. Thus, it's best to stick to viewing photos of things you know will put you in a good mood.

Something I have personally done is to write down things that friends have said to me that really made me smile and feel good about myself. I have also printed out e-mails that friends have sent to me that I found brought me a sense of well-being. I keep these in a binder. When I'm feeling very sad, I will get out this binder and look through some of the things friends have said to me in the past. Their words make me smile and lift my spirits. You could keep things your friends have said in a binder like I do, in a pretty, decorated box, or anywhere else you feel comfortable keeping them. Make sure you put it in a convenient spot so that you can easily access it when you're feeling blue.

Plan Something Fun: If you're feeling down, call up a friend and plan to do something fun with him or her. Plan to go on a lunch date, to go shopping, to go to the spa, or to go to a coffeehouse and catch up. Just knowing that you have plans to do something fun will help you feel happier. You will have something to look forward to, which can take your mind off of the sadness you feel now.

Be Around Positive People: Another simple way to achieve happiness quickly is to socialize with positive people in your life. If you cannot visit a positive friend or family member, call or e-mail the positive individual for contact. For instance, when I felt sad in college, I would go visit or call a very positive, happy friend. Just talking to her or being around her made me feel a lot better because her happiness was contagious. Likewise, negativity can be contagious. Try not to be around individuals who bring you down when you are feeling depressed; this will only compound your feelings, making them worse.

We all have times where we feel sad, depressed, or down, but engaging in some of these activities may help you feel more joyous and help you get through difficult times.

Sources:

I Can Has Cheezeburger:
http://www.icanhascheezeburger.com

I Has A Hotdog:
http://www.ihasahotdog.com

Reader's Digest: 20 Simple Ways to Get Happy:
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/20-simple-ways-to-get-happy/article16181.html