I've had a lot of stress-related health issues this year, and one of the ways I've been trying to help combat the stress is to actively try to be happy. It doesn't really come naturally to me most of the time; I get really caught up in stressful thoughts and it's hard to find my way out of them. So I started making mental notes of the things that cheer me up and I'm cramming them into my day. I go for walks with my dad regularly, I started meditating, and I've been doing little craft projects just for fun. I have a little note on my monitor that says "listen to music and pet Arrietty!" Whenever I'm working in silence or listening to the news, I'll see that note and switch over to my Killers playlist to lighten my mood. And honestly nothing melts away my stress like a good cuddle with my cat, so when stress is starting to weigh me down I spend some time with Arrietty. She's usually by my side all day anyway, but petting her and hugging her helps a lot.
I've also been trying lately to watch more happy, corny movies. Anyone who knows me well would be shocked (I literally get movie recommendations all the time that go something like "it's depressing, you'll love it!" or "it has a happy ending but I think you'd like it anyway!" haha!) but it's not as bad as I expected lol. Corny movies can be really fun and I'm actually enjoying them way more than I thought I would. My mom had been trying to get me to watch this Netflix Christmas movie, The 12 Dates of Christmas, for the longest time but it just didn't seem like my type of movie. I finally watched it with her last week and it was delightful! And I felt so happy and relaxed the whole time I was watching it. Considering that most of my favorite movies either make me cry or leave me feeling a little despondent, it was quite a change of pace lol!
Trying to be happy isn't a cure-all for stress, but it's helping, and it feels like a worthwhile goal even if eliminating stress is just a byproduct. We should all try to be a little happier. It can't hurt :)
