Could Laughter be the Key to Happiness?

Laughter is infectious; we all know the amazing feeling of losing yourself in the energy of laughter. But could laughter be the key to happiness? People have started to harness this and create laughter workshops, where you go to laugh, even if it starts out as a forced laugh, the endorphins and benefits still affect your body and mood.

Research has shown the health benefits of laughter are far-reaching, studies have shown that laughter can help pain relief through the releasing of endorphins, increase the immune system, decrease stress, change the “negative” chemicals in the mind, ease conflict, lighten burdens, inspire hope, connect you to others and generally just make you feel better, more energetic and happier, bringing your body and mind back into balance.

“Your sense of humour is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.” Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.

This may all seem a bit far-fetched, can laughing really help you to feel better ? We know the benefits of exercise and how that helps us to reduce stress hormones. It helps our bodies to feel more energetic, it clears our minds and allows us to have clear focus again. So can laughter do the same thing? If we build laughter into our day just as we do with exercise we can increase our happiness. Laughter is an incredibly strong medicine for mind and body – it is free, convenient and beneficial in so many ways.

So how do you get more laughter in your life?

We can find laughter in so many ways, maybe for you it is laughing at films or the TV, laughing with friends, comedy clubs, funny clips on line, joining a laughter workshop, the list is endless. Or if all else fails you could just fake it. Just smile and start to laugh – as with listening to a song and how it change your mood, so can laughter. Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can also help. This combination can help you to look at the world with a different perspective, to see the funny side in life. It is too easy to allow life to feel like a weight on our shoulders, but you can learn the tools to see life in a different way. To allow yourself the freedom to let go and just laugh and enjoy the world for what it is.

Try it now - smile, laugh or giggle and feel better about your day.


By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information. 

© EKTherapies

Can we Change our Perspective?

Can we change the way we look at things? Does it really make that big a difference? How come you can feel really low and then a good song comes on the radio and by the end of it you feel all uplifted with a spring in your step? Does what we say to ourselves really affect us that much?



“Whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re right.” Henry Ford



It can be hard to keep a sense of perspective in our lives. We are constantly bombarded with seemingly urgent things, like phone calls, texts, instant messages, emails, tweets etc. It can feel that we live each day in a constant rush against time with an endless list of things to do. We tend to focus on the negative, what we have to do, what we haven’t achieved, rather than focusing on the good in our life.


Changing your perspective can be incredibly refreshing, it can help you see the good in life and calmly tackle any challenges that come your way.



“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein



It sounds almost too easy to be true but if we work with The power of The mind we really can change how we think and consequently how we feel. Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to learn the tools to let go of the past or those niggling thoughts and enjoy life.

Here are a few simple ways to change your perspective; give one a try today and see how you can feel calmer and more positive.

• Open your eyes and see the world around you. It can be all too easy to focus inwards, and whilst it is good to look at yourself it is also important to notice the world around you.
  
• Ask “Will it matter in five years?” Almost always the answer is that it won’t matter in a week let alone five years. Some moments are life changing but most of what we worry about, with hindsight or clear thinking, is really not worth any stress.
  
  
• Write down how you are feeling. By putting pen to paper you help to clear your mind of all your thoughts and you can start seeing the situation more clearly, understanding where you need to focus your energy in order to change it.
  
  
  
• Stop and take stock. It is good to strive for goals but it is also just as important to stop and breathe, to enjoy what you have created. When you go home tonight, look around you and smile, say thank you for what you do have in your life.
  
  
• Go for a walk / break state. When you are feeling like everything is getting on top of you or your mind is wearing away, try going for a walk, break the state, change what you are doing. Walking helps you to de-stress and gives you a chance to clear your head and gain a clearer perspective.
  
  
• Be in the moment. Whatever it is you are doing, whether it is housework or sending an email or even walking in the park, be in the moment. Enjoy that moment for what it is. Absorb the world you are in, look around and take it all in for this moment.
  
  
  
• Ask “why” and keep asking. Next time you are struggling to get a perspective on something ask why you are doing it. Challenge your inner self for the answer. It may be that you are pushing for something that you don’t really want.
  
  
• Have “downtime”. Think about how much time you really give yourself in a day to de-stress. Even if you find just ten minutes in the day give these to yourself to sit and breathe, maybe go for a walk whilst being in the moment, or read a book. Allow yourself this down time.
   

These are just a few simple suggestions, there are so many more ways that you can change your perspective and how you feel about the life you are living. Even though nothing has changed in your life, if you change your perspective then it can feel like you are living a new happy life.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information.

© EKTherapies 

Live Life!

The Guardian published a fascinating article in February about the top five regrets of the dying, written from the findings from a palliative nurse. I found it an interesting read, thought-provoking and well worth sharing.

“ Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how we might learn from their wisdom. "When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently," she says, "common themes surfaced again and again." Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Ware:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. "This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."  

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard. "This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed, deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. "Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. "Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. "This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. How many times have you thought: “I wish someone had told me that before?" So often people do advise or warn us but we carry on regardless. It is important that we learn from our own mistakes but we can also learn from the wisdom of others – if so many people realise retrospectively that they should have changed their perspective on what is important in life, maybe we should listen more. "

Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to change your perspective on life and see where you need to focus your energy. It can help you to realise your goals, release any anxiety, fears or old expectations, allowing you to be the person you want to be. This gives you time to focus on the wonderful life you have created, with all its wonderful twists and turns.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information.   

© EKTherapies

Could Laughter be the Key to Happiness?

Laughter is infectious; we all know the amazing feeling of losing yourself in the energy of laughter. But could laughter be the key to happiness? People have started to harness this and create laughter workshops, where you go to laugh, even if it starts out as a forced laugh, the endorphins and benefits still affect your body and mood.

Research has shown the health benefits of laughter are far-reaching, studies have shown that laughter can help pain relief through the releasing of endorphins, increase the immune system, decrease stress, change the “negative” chemicals in the mind, ease conflict, lighten burdens, inspire hope, connect you to others and generally just make you feel better, more energetic and happier, bringing your body and mind back into balance.  

“Your sense of humour is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.” Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.

This may all seem a bit far-fetched, can laughing really help you to feel better ? We know the benefits of exercise and how that helps us to reduce stress hormones. It helps our bodies to feel more energetic, it clears our minds and allows us to have clear focus again. So can laughter do the same thing? If we build laughter into our day just as we do with exercise we can increase our happiness. Laughter is an incredibly strong medicine for mind and body – it is free, convenient and beneficial in so many ways.

So how do you get more laughter in your life?

We can find laughter in so many ways, maybe for you it is laughing at films or the TV, laughing with friends, comedy clubs, funny clips on line, joining a laughter workshop, the list is endless. Or if all else fails you could just fake it. Just smile and start to laugh – as with listening to a song and how it change your mood, so can laughter. Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can also help. This combination can help you to look at the world with a different perspective, to see the funny side in life. It is too easy to allow life to feel like a weight on our shoulders, but you can learn the tools to see life in a different way. To allow yourself the freedom to let go and just laugh and enjoy the world for what it is.

Try it now - smile, laugh or giggle and feel better about your day.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information.   

© EKTherapies