Imagine laughter

It's understandable that you may be feeling gloomy these days. The world economy is turning and you may be feeling forced to make changes in lifestyle that you didn't predict. You are not alone!

Happiness may seem a distant memory, but the good news is that you can control the way you feel. Science is discovering evidence that shows we can change our feelings. In an article I recently read the simple act of imagining a different emotion triggers brain activity; and research indicates that imagining laughter reduces sadness. Wow! Here's an excerpt from the article:

In 2004, scientists at Bowling Green State University in Ohio tested for that path when they studied people's ability to control their own emotions. Using the same brain scanning technique as Davidson, the psychologists reported that even when people simply imagined emotions, their thoughts triggered mood-related neuronal activity.

When subjects imagined laughter, their left-brain "happiness" circuits were stimulated and they reported a reduction in sadness. When they imagined crying, their right-brain negative emotional circuits were triggered, and they reported a decrease in happiness.

While psychologists continue to try to nail down the causal relationships between mood and brain activity, what has become increasingly clear is that to some extent human beings can affect - even control - the plasticity of their own brains.

"Happiness researchers have learned a great deal about how people can become happier and stay happier," said U.C.-Riverside's Lyubomirsky. "Of course, I wouldn't call it "training our brains,' but training ourselves - that is, learning to practice certain ways of thinking and behaving, like expressing gratitude, following intrinsic life goals, practicing optimism, investing in relationships - all of which, we now have scientific evidence for, increase our happiness."

Read the full article here.

When we're feeling down and unhappy the hardest thing to do is think about changing our 'state' of mind. But it strikes me that this is an option that's easy to do. You don't even have to committ to making yourself happier. Try it now:

1. Imagine someone laughing for at least 15 seconds
   
2. Visualise what you see and hear
   
3. Honestly assess how you feel.
4. Do it again!
   

There's nothing wrong with feeling sad. Finding ways to move out of this whenever you can empowers you - and that might just feel good!