Living in today's society can be a stressful environment. Every day we have so much to do and our jobs and chores can sometimes make us feel low. Often people may turn to unhealthy solutions such as alcohol or other drugs to escape or help them feel better. It's very easy to turn to such unhealthy solutions as they are methods that society has subliminally taught us and promoted. How many times have you heard from someone who was upset; "I am off to the pub" or "I really need a cigarette". These types of behaviour have become common in today's society and it is a very sad state of affairs. Even on television the common cure for the blues is to turn to alcohol and there are hundreds of movies where a sad person turns to drink, cigarettes or drugs. Surely there are better ways other than damaging our bodies and our health to make ourselves feel temporarily better. But what are there alternatives?
There are lots of great ways to relieve stress in healthy ways. One of my favourite ways to relieve stress is to look at funny or hilarious pictures. There are literally hundreds of websites out there that have great collections of very funny pictures that can cheer you up to no end. A popular favourite of lots of people is to look at funny animal pictures with captions. The cuteness of the animal combined with the funny caption attached to it has always been a good recipe to make someone smile. Just looking at some funny pictures for thirty minutes can really help elevate and change your mood.
It is very easy to get caught up in with our stress and keep soldiering on and never taking any time for ourselves. This can eventually lead to more problems by increasing the severity of the issue and could even lead to a mental break down. Sometimes we need to let go of our problems and realise that all things will one day pass. As well as taking the time to de-stress with some funny pictures you could also: spend some time with your kids, take a walk in the park, have a long hot bath, reconnect with an old friend or watch your favourite movie.
There is evidence to suggest that smiling can have great effects on your mood and health (not to mention prevent you from getting frown line wrinkles). When you smile endorphins and other chemicals are released into your brain which make us feel in a much better mood. You can even try doing it right now. Force a smile and make sure it is a big one. Hold that smile for at least 10 seconds and you will notice that you feel better than you did before you smiled. Isn't it strange that such a simple thing as using certain muscles in our face can make us feel so different.
In summary it is important to smile and be happy as it can cause a chain reaction. When were happy we smile and when we smile we feel happier. Sometimes it is just a case of 'breaking the smile barrier' and getting those first few initial smiles in to set us off on a good foot. I can highly recommend taking the time to laugh and smile at funny pictures to aid you in the quest of happiness and stress relief.
