Happiness Is A Choice

Matters of the mind can affect matters of the heart.

A new study by McGill University and Université de
Montréal researchers has found that major anxiety
and/or depression, can double a coronary artery
disease patient’s chances of repeated heart ailments.
This is one of the first studies to focus on patients
with stable coronary artery disease — not those who
were hospitalized for events such as a heart attack.

“We found that both major depression and generalized
anxiety disorder were more common in cardiac patients
than in the general community,” said principal
investigator Nancy Frasure-Smith, a professor at
McGill’s Department of Psychiatry and a researcher
at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal
(CHUM) and Montreal Heart Institute. “On average,
cardiac patients without these disorders had about a
13 percent chance of a repeated cardiac event over
two years, compared to 26 percent of those with either
major depression or anxiety.”

Dr. Frasure-Smith coauthored the study from the January
edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry with
François Lespérance, a Université de Montréal
psychiatry professor and head of the CHUM’s Department
of Psychiatry. “This is the first study to demonstrate
that anxiety and depression can have a strong impact
on people with stable coronary artery disease,”
said Lespérance.

The research team interviewed 804 people, patients
with stable coronary artery disease who were still
monitored by a physician, yet had been discharged
from hospital two months prior. Frasure-Smith and
Lespérance found 27 percent of interview subjects
were affected by depression and 41 percent showed
signs of anxiety. Major depressive disorder was
diagnosed in roughly 7 percent of patients while
about 5 percent had generalized anxiety disorder.

“Now that we know that anxiety and major depression
are both markers of increased cardiac risk, it is
imperative that these patients receive the best
treatment for both their cardiac and psychiatric
conditions,” concurred Frasure-Smith and Lespérance.

According to Dr. Robert O. Young, a research scientist
at the pH Miracle Living Center states, "the thought
attack will generally always proceed the heart attack."

"Doing anxiety and/or depression requires a tremendous
amount of energy and when you are consuming energy
you are producing the metabolic acids that cause
heart attacks and strokes."

"Being happy is a choice and when you are choosing
happiness over anxiety, worry or depression you are
producing 2 to 3 times less acidic metabolic
waste products."

"Doing happiness requires less energy and thus reduces
metabolic acids that can make one sick and tired."

"Happiness is alkalizing!" according to Dr. Young.

The following is a wonderful article
by Darshan Goswami, M.S., PE, concerning
happiness as a personal lifestyle choice.

Simple Secrets of How to be Happy!

Being happy is really a choice we make. The secret
of Happiness is simple, very simple - what is it?

You decide if you want to be happy!

We all strive for happiness in life. Like many,
you probably think achievements such as education,
marriage, family and social/financial status make
you happy.

However, studies of happiness in several countries
have found that these achievements have little to
do with your happiness. For millions of people,
happiness has remained a rather elusive goal. They've
tried to buy happiness.

They've sought it through materialistic and
pleasurable activities such as buying a new SUV
or going on vacation. But nothing has seemed to
work. For most people these changes, new possessions
or temporary pleasures, might work for a while but
will eventually become part of your status quo, and
their power to deliver happiness will fade.

Researchers now strongly believe that your brains
is hard-wired in ways that, at least to some degree,
determine just how happy you're going to be. Some
psychologists believe happiness is genetic. Other
scientists say they may have located an important
area of the brain where happiness is generated.

As powerful as these genetic predispositions may be,
happiness is still partly within your control,
says David Myers, PhD, the John Dirk Werkman Professor
of Psychology at Hope College in Holland, Mich.
"It's rather like our cholesterol level --
genetically influenced, yet also influenced by our
habits and attitudes."

While these ideas are debated, you don’t have to
wait to begin discovering happiness within yourself.
You see happiness comes from your social relationships,
enjoyable work, fulfillment, high self-esteem, a sense
that your life has meaning, and joining civic and
other groups.

Your life is sprinkled with ample opportunities for
discovering happiness. Search for the small things
that give you a little laugh or a smile. Take time
to be with your family and friends. In the long run,
these are the treasures that will enhance your happiness,
not some grand achievements that only give you a
lift for a short while.

One way to steer your life toward happiness is simply
to count your blessings. Happy people know that they
don't get to be happy all the time. They can appreciate
brief moments, little victories, small miracles, and
the personal interactions that bring real happiness.

Research has proven that happy people live longer, are
healthier, are more successful, enjoy more fulfilling
relationships, earn more money, and are liked and
respected more.

What is Happiness and How Do You Achieve It?

Happiness seems to be a selfish goal. Happiness doesn't
depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends
solely upon what you think. So start each day by thinking
of all the things you have to be thankful for. Your
future depends very largely on the thoughts you think
today. So think positive thoughts of hope, confidence,
love and success. You can be happy if you are a
productive and useful member of society, share with
others and help unselfishly.

Most experts agree that there are no shortcuts to
happiness. Even the happy people do not experience
joy twenty-four hours a day. A happy person can have
a bad day but still experience pleasure in the small
things in life. If you're not feeling happy today,
fake it. In experiments, people who were manipulated
to smile actually felt happier.

Don’t postpone happiness until you reach a certain
goal, like getting a promotion or pay raise to go
on vacation. Studies show that these effects are
short-lived. Don’t focus on negative thoughts;
balance that by consciously spending a few minutes
every day thinking about the good things in your
life. Like eating a balanced meal or getting enough
rest, practice this everyday and, each day, try to
extend the time you spend on positive thoughts.

Everybody has their own characteristics that lead
them in different directions towards happiness.
Perhaps, at best, these discussions are useful
to provoke thoughts and reactions, which might
help you to focus on what can be done to make
your own life consistently happy.

Again, there is no rule or special formula that
can make a person constantly happy. Instead,
happiness comes from developing positive social
relationships, enjoyable work, fulfillment, a
sense that life has meaning, and joining civic
and other social groups.

Take time to meditate, or say a prayer, thanking
almighty God for all you have. A spiritual dimension
is an essential component of happiness.

Can Money Buy You Happiness?

A lot of people share a fairly common misconception.
They believe that having lots of money can make you
happy. Some even say that the more money you have,
the happier you can be. Others believe that having
money is not spiritually or socially acceptable,
and that money is the root cause of all evil.

Are any of these beliefs really true? To answer
this question, begin by asking yourself what money
means to you, and how do you treat it when you
have it?

Depending on how it is used, money can create
powerful, positive changes in the world. Having
money allows us to function more easily in the
world, it buys food, clothes, provides comfort
in our lives and in the lives of others. However,
because attachment to money is based on fear, it
always creates insecurity.

The desire to have more money, and thereby feel
more secure, never ends. Security can never come
from money alone. Some of the people who have the
most money are also the most insecure. Does this
mean you must give up the desire to attain wealth?

Not necessarily.

In and of itself money is neither good nor bad.
It is what we choose to do with money that determines
if it will have a positive effect on others,
society, the world, and ourselves.

So, it cannot be said that money is essential for
happiness. But, most people recognize that money
is important in the 21st Century because it can
give people comfort and freedoms. But, does raising
a nation's income, as measured by gross domestic
product (GDP), raise the population's overall
level of happiness?

Intuitively, you'd think the answer is a
definite yes.

However, a survey conducted by The Wall Street
Journal found otherwise. Other studies also show
that, in many countries, "although economic output
has risen steeply over the past decades, there has
been no rise in life satisfaction and there has
been a substantial increase in depression and
distrust."

For example, since World War II, GDP per capita in
the U.S. has tripled, but life satisfaction
(measured by surveys that ask something like,
"overall, how satisfied are you with your life?")
has barely changed.

Also Japan and Western Europe had a tremendous
rise in GDP per capita since 1958, yet measures
of national happiness have been flat. One reason
may be that a rising economy produces rising
aspirations. There are many villages in the world
where people do not own shoes but the people are
extremely happy and friendly.

How to Bring Happiness in Your Life

“Don't worry, be happy.” This sounds like such
a simplistic phrase, but there is great power
and wisdom in it. This tells us to focus on what
we want rather than what we don’t want. When we
focus on what we want, our actions take us nearer
to our goals in life.

One way to guide your life toward happiness is
simply to count your blessings. Dr. Myers points
to research showing that people who pause each
day to reflect on the positive aspects of their
lives (for example, their health, friends, family,
education, freedom) are more likely to experience
positive feelings and happiness.

These are the principles I use to be happy. They
work for me, and I hope they work for you:

1) Improve your relationships with friends and
family – Happiness starts at home. Start by
improving your relationship with your parents,
brothers, sisters, and children. Smile when
you greet them, do things for them, don't allow
them to get angry with you. Maintaining healthy
loving relationships and friendships can promote
happiness. Remember that love makes you beautiful.

2) Be an optimist - Optimism generates good
feelings.

3) Develop a genuine smile and laugh a lot - act
happy - It works. Smile into the mirror for a
half hour without stopping. Smiling makes you
happy and the more you smile the more happy you
become. We all like people who smile. It also
makes us more attractive.

4) Pray - Become religious or spiritual - This only
works if you believe in God. If you want to be happy
then ask God to make you happy. Prayer helps you
accomplish things.

5) Be generous and share with others - Give more
than you receive because being generous will make
you happy.

6) Treat time as a friend - Don't watch the clock.

7) Exercise your mind - Keep yourself busy with
some new project or ideas.

8) Work your body - Exercise regularly. Studies
show that aerobic exercise is an antidote for
mild depression and anxiety. "Happy minds reside
in sound bodies," says Dr. Myers.

9) Have fun in life - Keep cool under pressure.

10) Pursue achievable goals.

11) Have high confidence in yourself.

12) Respect the disadvantaged.

13) Age gracefully.

14) Give compliments - Take every opportunity
to be complimentary. Want to make someone like
you? Every time you meet a person smile and
give them a compliment.

15) Be honest - With honesty comes openness.
People respect honest and open minded people.

16) Keep an open mind - Most people seem to
think that they know everything that they need
to know. There's plenty of wisdom to go around.

17) Treat difficulties as challenges –Life's an
adventure and every obstacle in life is one of
its challenges. Treat life as a game. What fun
would a game be if you could never lose?

18) Maintain the alkaline design of your body,
mind and spirit with an alkaline lifestyle and
diet!

www.phmiracleliving.com

Conclusion

Being happy is really a choice we make. The
secret of Happiness is simple, very simple -
what is it? You decide if you want to be happy!
Happiness is free. You can feel happiness, this
very minute, if you so choose.

If you continue to focus all your energy and
attention on what you want, you’ll soon find
yourself happy. Realize now that true happiness
results from sharing generously of yourself,
your mind, emotion and spirit, with all those
who come in contact with you.

Be an optimist.

Do kind deeds for others unselfishly. Explore
the deeper resources within you by praying to
God from your heart. Through sincere prayer
and mindful meditation you will attain the
highest achievement in life - the discovery
of your eternal happiness with God.

We need to set our goals wisely and to develop
happy-thought strategies and to surround
ourselves with encouraging and positive people.

Pursuing truth, wisdom and a virtuous life - or
just getting on with the duties and chores of
daily life at work and home, often brings
happiness as a by-product. My ultimate goal is
to bring happiness to all my friends, family
and all souls that come in contact with me.
How can I possibly accomplish this?

Simple… I sincerely hope that after reading this
message you will SMILE for me.

That will make both you and me happy!

The Most Affordable Insurance Policy You’ll Ever Find…
is The pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet!

www.phmiracleliving.com

And it’s 100% NATURAL*

Many dietary and metabolic acids can damage your
body’s cells because of stress, less-than-perfect
acidic diets, food additives, environmental pollutants,
even your own body’s natural metabolic processes which
always produces acids that can make one sick, tired and
unhappy.

Now you can prevent and/or reverse harmful acidic waste
products with the pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet.

The pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet helps to support
the alkaline design of the body, mind and spirit
and thus helps to support a healthier and happier
"YOU".

"When you start feeling better, you start thinking
better and when you start thinking better you
start doing better," states Dr. Robert O. Young

So make up your mind today to start doing "Happiness!"