What actually makes us happy? There are lots of things we think will make us happy, but that kind of happiness doesn’t seem to last very long most of the time. One of the reasons for this, is a brain feature called the Hedonic Treadmill. The Hedonic Treadmill is when we feel happy or sad for a time, but then return to feeling normal. So, even though we think earning lots of money and buying things will make us happy, we can’t buy happiness, and increasing happiness doesn’t necessarily come from working hard.
For example, when you get a new phone it can make you feel really good. But it doesn’t take long before we get used to it, and eventually just take it for granted.
There are several hormones that are responsible for happiness, and these are endorphins, which are increased with exercise, serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin.
Luckily, it’s easy to increase our general sense of happiness, by doing a few simple things…
5 Tricks to Being Happier
- Having meaningful connections to the people and the world around you
- Learning new things, and always challenging yourself to improve
- Living an active lifestyle and keeping physically active
- Taking notice of the good things going on in your life by keeping a gratitude journal at the end of every day
- Giving time, money and attention to other people
Happiness is a tricky thing, but doing these things every day, you will start to see your general feelings of happiness increase.
Feel like you need to increase your self-esteem? Read this.
Do you feel like you need to feel happier? Maybe talk to someone? You can reach out to our support community here for confidential help and advice.
