Mental Health: Do you feel unsatisfied with your life? Then this one minute read is for you

Many of us don't feel content in our current lives. Most people often think to themselves, "this is not the life I pictured I would have one day when I was a child. Where did it all go wrong? Will I ever find happiness and true contentment in this lifetime?"

My simple answer to you is yes, you will! We all have the power to lift ourselves up into the existence we so desire. I promise you this is possible and I should know because I am doing just that!

Dream big, fantasize, and try different things. This is my advice to you. We are all so unique and therefore only we, ourselves, can figure out what is right for us in life. There is no "one size fits all" solution. However, we can give each other ideas of things worth trying and/or advice in the form of a recall of our own personal experiences and achievements, and who knows, you might just land up finding your "true self" in this way (or help someone else find theirs). So read more interesting articles and socialise more with people you find fascinating!

We can learn so much about ourselves from others. How? Through the ideas they can create in our own minds about things. For instance, I would never have known I am passionate about photography, if it wasn't for the interest to try it out, sparked in my mind by the experiences of others. I would never have known I like live classical music (instrumental) performances/concerts, if I didn't decide to follow the advice of a friend and attend such an event. Remember to also share your life experiences with others!

We all deserve to have a life we love -To have interesting hobbies, a career we are passionate about, fantastic romantic relationships and a strong bond with friends and family and it is only we, ourselves that are standing in our own way. We create barriers in our lives by NOT believing we can achieve and by not being willing to try new things and embrace the change that comes with these! We also tend to live our lives in such a fast paced way that we forget to make time for others. This is a major no, no! Your nearest and dearest are very important, so make yourself, make the time to visit with them. 

As mentioned above, don't be afraid to try new things, because what do you have to lose in doing this? Just don't follow others blindly and attempt to do stupid things just because they recommended it (a good example of this would be me, attempting to make my life easier by cleaning a shower with a combination of vinegar and bleach one afternoon, because I read on-line that this is the simplest and easiest way to achieve fast, amazingly clean results, however what the blog failed to mention was the fact that this combination creates a lethal chlorine gas which, in effect, almost killed me). Do your research!

Happiness is almost within your reach so what are you waiting for? Start building your ladder so you can grab it!

Here's to the great journey ahead and here's hoping you find yourself along the way!
xxxxxxxxx

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(Mental Health) - Food for the soul: Don't act your age!

Yes, you read the heading of this post correctly! Don't act your age once in a while and do all the things a child would, such as play board/TV/computer games, watch animated movies, play hide and go seek and such.  

What few people realise is that play is not only important for the development of children but it is equally important for the well-being of adults.

The benefits of play for adults are numerous and includes things such as an increase in energy levels, the enhancement of brain functionality, stress and anxiety relief, depression prevention and creativity enhancement to name but a few.                                                                  

    

Playing (games such as tennis, monopoly, hide and go seek) with other adults can also improve your relationships as well as help to further develop your social skills.

Does the value of,"playing as if you were a child" sound far-fetched to you, even though you have now read of some of the benefits? Well don't take my word for it, just "Google" the topic (play for adults) and you will find a wealth of information confirming all I have said as well as some articles linking back to scientific evidence to back up these facts. This topic has long interested me and I have actually been doing some research on it for years. Do your homework and it will overwhelm you just how beneficial recreational childlike play is!

I must say that I am living proof of the benefits since I too make play a part of my regular routine in the form of building puzzles, colouring in pictures, playing games on my Xbox/Nintendo/PC and rolling around on the grass with my dogs (just like a child would) amongst many other childlike activities. 

Just how has this benefited me you may ask? Well I am a 35 year old woman with normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, I hardly ever get sick and when I do (the flu) it never lasts for longer than two days. I still have all my teeth, - no grey hairs, my weight remains constant and I have very few lines and wrinkles.

I am also a very happy person who very rarely has a down mood or demeanour. Now I do realise that my diet and overall healthy habits have a lot to do with all this, however I am convinced that my "play" sessions are big contributors as well, because since I started my little "play" routines I have noticed a huge change in myself in that I don't seem to care that much about what other people think anymore and I don't sweat the small things in life (in other words I don't stress as much anymore over petty nonsense).

Still sound ridiculous to you? Well many people in New York City would beg to differ, since they all pay big bucks for the chance to play like children in Brooklyn's very own "Adult Play School". Their reason for doing this? Stress release mainly I would think, but I am sure they also do this for many of the other reasons (and numerous proven benefits) I chose to make play part of my routine. 

Still not quite convinced? Well then take my little challenge. For exactly one month, try to play for at least an hour every single day, doing things such as;

2. Playing a board game of some sort with others

3. Playing any type of TV or computer game

4. Watching an animated children's movie

5. Playing outside with your dogs (running around with them etc.)

6. Finger painting a picture

7. Sculpting items out of play dough

8. Playing a game of hide and go seek with your children/friends

9. Building with Lego or other blocks

10. Colouring in a picture

This list is in no way extensive and you can add any other forms of play you wish. The more childlike it is, the better. However any form of play will have its benefits, - stress release normally being the main one. 

Once you have taken the challenge and completed it successfully, I guarantee you will feel so much better and no longer find the whole concept of "playing" ridiculous. If not, well then what did you really lose, except an hour a day spend doing something outside of watching television or sitting in traffic?

Happy playing y'all.

xxxxx

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Happiness Tip - Cut out all negative people in your life - (even if you are related to them)

This part of the statement/quote, "You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family", made by Harper Lee, sure rings true! We indeed cannot unfortunately pick our families. 

Sometimes we get lucky and are born into amazing families with amazing people in them, and other times we don't quite hit the jackpot. 

Some families are so horrid that the people in them treat each other worse than enemies would. Jealousy being the biggest factor here I have seen. It is so sad to think that members of our own families would be so jealous of us that they would try and make our lives a living hell just for the sake of feeling better about themselves. 

Unfortunately, however, we cannot change this and our families are still our families and we are meant to love, honour and respect them no matter what...... Right? WRONG! 

Today I am going to tell you something that just might change your life forever. Yes, it is true that our families are our blood, our kin. However, this does not mean you have to automatically just like/love everyone in your family and take all their crap. 

Our Makers intention for us is to live a good, wholesome life and even though families are huge in the bible and all sorts of religions for that matter, I seriously doubt our Creator would want us to keep negative elements in our lives. 

Look at it this way. Say for example you are someone who was severely abused as a child (mentally/emotionally or physically), do you think it would be expected of you to just get over this fact and treat your parents as if they are the world's best parents? I think not. It would be much healthier for you to just cut them out so that you can truly heal. Now I know some radical cult type religion followers will strongly disagree with this statement, but if you have ever read the whole bible (or any holy scripture/book for that matter), and put all the pieces together, you will realise that it DOES in fact boil down to the following:

1. Do not commit murder/rape

2. Live a good, wholesome life in which you are fair to others

3. Do not steal

4. Have respect for nature and all living things

5. Have respect for yourself and your body

6. Acknowledge and be grateful towards your maker

The list is in no way extensive, it is just an example given of the just of things. It is simple. If it is good, do it/follow it. If it is negative, cut it out. This includes ALL people who are making your life hell. 

We all in anyhow know that blood is not what makes a family. So many people have the world's greatest parents, siblings or extended families, even though they share no DNA with each other. What makes a real family, is true, unselfish love. 

So next time, for example, you achieve a great feat in life and someone in your "family" breaks you down instead of praising you for it, remember this article/posting and do the following:

Step 1 - smile broadly

Step 2 - ignore all statements

Step 3 - block that person out of your life for good

Step 4 - notice how much more stress free, calm and relaxing your life becomes

We are all precious like diamonds. Therefore we deserve to surround ourselves with gold, and not mud (even if we come from the same mine as where the mud is laying).

xxxx