Beating the Winter Blues

Thursday night our Relief Society had an enrichment focused on "Beating the Winter Blues".
I wanted to remember some things, so here are some of my notes.

Ezra Taft Benson gave us 12 steps to be more optimistic:

• repentance - because really, wickedness never was happieness.
• prayer - if you pray always, you can conquer satan.
• service - if you look around, it's not nice, but there is always somebody worse off than you... if you help them to feel better, you will feel better in return.
• work - being busy is always better than being bored...
  
• health - the physical body affects the spirit... the healthier the body, the healthier the spirit.
• reading - good books, you'll learn and grow so much.
  
• blessings - count them... you'll see the miraculous things that have happened in your life.
• fasting - it clears the mind & strengthens the body & spirit.
• friends - it's always wonderful to have those people that you can turn to in good & bad times... family, Heavenly Father, & Jesus Christ should be among those. If you want to get friends remember to be a friendly person!
• music - affects our souls tremendously... change the song and it can change our mood/outlook/attitude.
• goals - having something to work towards can keep us focused always striving to be better.
• endurance - make it to the end (and try to do it happily) it will lead to exhaltation.

other things we can do to feel good about ourselves:

• look good: get ready in the morning, you'll feel so much better if you're clean
• have a hobby
• have something to look forward to doing
• get out of the house
• make your prayers more specific
• do something you don't normally do
• get enough sleep
• keep your mind busy
• exercise
• learn to radiate love and good cheer: it will affect everyone we come into contact with... including yourself.

Music & the Mind

music can affect our souls, moods, energy levels.
if we memorize a good (uplifting) song we can use it to push out bad thoughts or feelings.

nostalgic music relaxes us, slows us down.
up-beat music raises your pulse and gets you going.
singing can be mood conditioning.

Music can:

• match your mood
• calm your soul
• uplift your spirits
• empower you
• make you feel better about everything

Laughter is the Best Medicine

laughing even fake laughing can uplift our spirits.
laughter releases a drug (forgot to write down the name of the drug) that makes you feel good. it also gives you a full body massage. laughter can help you keep a positive outlook on life. there are laughter yoga classes, corporate laughter meetings, and laughter clubs. it's been proven that laughter can help your health. it can diffuse stressful situations.

My Mom gave the little lesson on laughter being the best medicine. I think that she is truly an amazing woman. She has gone through quite a bit and still keeps on laughing. (I really hope that she writes her memoirs... I'd really enjoy reading that book.) When she was getting her head literally screwed into a metal cage for radiation when her tumor came back it hurt like the dickens, but she laughed. It wasn't funny at all (in fact they made my dad leave the entire wing of the hospital while they were doing it) but there she was laughing. The nurses cam in later and told her that her laughter had calmed the nerves of the lady in the next room waiting to get her head screwed. My mom feels pretty bad about that... because it wasn't funny, but it's one of those things in life that you have to laugh or you'll cry...

Life can be tough... but it can also be really funny.