“If you light a Lantern for another it will also brighten your path”

As we face the holiday season and possibly yet another lockdown and isolation from friends and family, it is so easy to slip into a malaise or depression, and become self-centred and insular.

Things can so easily get overwhelming, and we can spin so out of control that we become overwhelmed, as our reptilian brain try’s to take over to survive. 

One of the quickest ways to get out of this negative mind set, is to do something for someone else that needs help. As soon as you focus on somebody else and their needs your whole body will respond positively. It does not have to be anything extravagant or huge.

This simple act can really create an amazing healing effect as a set of chemical reactions in the body that will start to repair some of the negative effects that depression can have the body.

So what have you done this week to help somebody else that has made them smile with gratitude? What small act could you do today to really give somebody hope and brighten their path? 

Emotions are an embodied phenomenon, the surge of energy you feel when adrenaline is secreted is frequently the emotion of anxiety. The connectedness and empathy you feel when oxytocin is secreted is frequently labelled joy.

If left unchecked anxiety can have devastating effects on our immune response and general health and wellbeing and can lead to chronic illnesses that become equally as bad as chronic heart disease, diabetes and asthma.

That is why it is so important to understand that you can change what is happening internally, by simply starting to focus on something else that could help another person. As you see the positive result however small it will change the chemical responses in your own body and support you as you face your own challenges.

Picture “Peace” Diane Leonard American Impressionist Artist taken from her Beach collection.