The Happiness Initiative
I am practicing positivity in my life right now. Just in case you don't know, things were pretty rough last year and being positive was difficult. I do not like to be a negative person, so I am actively practicing positivity.
I was helped along yesterday by an article on the MSN page, http://living.msn.com/life-inspired/find-happiness-in-unexpected-places . This little article was just enough to continue me on my path towards being happy in my work situation and reminded me that happiness is a learned habit - thanks, amygdala!
Much like learning to do anything else, our brain needs practice in being positive. The article states that our brain evolved as a finely tuned instrument for survival. We had to be able to recognize negative or dangerous situations, react to those situations quickly, and engage in our fight/flight response immediately to simply stay alive. As a result, our brains have a tendency to react more strongly to the negative happenings in our lives. We have to help out that amygdala every once in a while to see the other things going on - the daisies, the good books, the ice cream cones. By actively practicing happiness, we give the fight/flight response a rest, and we are able to see positives in more situations than before.
I work with kids who have VERY finely tuned fight/flight responses. Many of them have had to develop sophisticated strategies to avoid abusive situations. Those patterns are difficult to change, even when they are no longer in dangerous situations. It is amazing to see the amygdalar (is that a word?) response to a nonthreatening (at least to me) stimulus in a small child. One of the most important parts of our job is to assist clients in learning about safety and how to respond to potential threats.
Working with a client who has reason for fear is often challenging. It requires patience on the part of the therapist in waiting for the client to approach, in providing examples of appropriate reactions and responses, in teaching what society expects, in modulating responses, and in sharing the joy of accomplishment. The therapist cannot install enjoyment into the client, the client has to make the active decision to engage, enjoy, participate, and find their own happiness in their treatment.
We are fortunate. Music is a great way to find enjoyment and induce engagement, participation, giggles, and relationships. Music therapy is a wonderful modality for assisting clients to find some happiness, to give the amygdala's fight/flight response a break, to provide positive interactions that offer so much more than just talk.
(Did you notice that the second suggestion for turning negative situations into less stressful situations was to sing?)
Off to find a positive at work today.
I was helped along yesterday by an article on the MSN page, http://living.msn.com/life-inspired/find-happiness-in-unexpected-places . This little article was just enough to continue me on my path towards being happy in my work situation and reminded me that happiness is a learned habit - thanks, amygdala!
Much like learning to do anything else, our brain needs practice in being positive. The article states that our brain evolved as a finely tuned instrument for survival. We had to be able to recognize negative or dangerous situations, react to those situations quickly, and engage in our fight/flight response immediately to simply stay alive. As a result, our brains have a tendency to react more strongly to the negative happenings in our lives. We have to help out that amygdala every once in a while to see the other things going on - the daisies, the good books, the ice cream cones. By actively practicing happiness, we give the fight/flight response a rest, and we are able to see positives in more situations than before.
I work with kids who have VERY finely tuned fight/flight responses. Many of them have had to develop sophisticated strategies to avoid abusive situations. Those patterns are difficult to change, even when they are no longer in dangerous situations. It is amazing to see the amygdalar (is that a word?) response to a nonthreatening (at least to me) stimulus in a small child. One of the most important parts of our job is to assist clients in learning about safety and how to respond to potential threats.
Working with a client who has reason for fear is often challenging. It requires patience on the part of the therapist in waiting for the client to approach, in providing examples of appropriate reactions and responses, in teaching what society expects, in modulating responses, and in sharing the joy of accomplishment. The therapist cannot install enjoyment into the client, the client has to make the active decision to engage, enjoy, participate, and find their own happiness in their treatment.
We are fortunate. Music is a great way to find enjoyment and induce engagement, participation, giggles, and relationships. Music therapy is a wonderful modality for assisting clients to find some happiness, to give the amygdala's fight/flight response a break, to provide positive interactions that offer so much more than just talk.
(Did you notice that the second suggestion for turning negative situations into less stressful situations was to sing?)
Off to find a positive at work today.
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