Perhaps it was a little depressing to focus yesterday on things that won't make you any happier. To make up for that I must alert you to new research suggesting that lots of little positive experiences can make you happier.
It had been previously thought that people had a general baseline level of happiness which was mostly immune to outside experiences. This new study suggests that while one-off but profoundly positive experiences, like winning the lottery, won't affect you in the long run, small frequent boosts, like regular exercise can have an effect.
One thing that won't be making anyone any happier at the moment is the shorter days and lack of sunlight. Light therapy has often been a treatment option but other alternatives are being explored, such as the use of light boxes gradually as you wake up. There are of course alarm clocks you can now buy which wake you up with light and claim to bring wellbeing. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has used them.
And there's a really nice post on PsychCentral about how we go through life with the pain of a thousand cuts.
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