Module 7- Life´s ups and downs

¿What makes you feel good?

These days most of doctors and scientists agree that our physical health is closely related to our psychological WELL-BEING. But just what have the experts discovered about what makes us feel good...

SOME
THINGS

THAT CAN
MAKE YOU
FEEL BETTER...

Whatching soap operas on TV:

One rather surprising piece of research found that on average, people who regularly watch soaps on television are significantly happier than those who don´t! Psychologists beleive that is because such programms provide viwers with imaginary set of friends, and a sense of belonging to a community, in the same way that a club or a church might.

A lively social life

According to experts, companionship
and social support are vital to both our
psychological and physical well-being
one reason, perhaps, why married
people tend to live longer than unmarried
ones.
Modern researchers emphasise the value
of “group social activities” in this respect.
Relationships we form at church or in clubs tend to be more supportive and uncritical than those we form at work or in the family, says professor Michael Argyle, of oxford brookes University, and these positive relationships IMPROVE OUR SELF-ESTEEM, which is vital to our physical and mental health. This is backed up by recent research which shows, perhaps surprisingly, that people who spend more time with others actually get fewer colds and viruses than those who stay at home on their own. In fact social support is so important to our mental and physical well-being that it may even increase ouor life expectancy! Another piece of research found that people who belong to strong church groups, not only claim to be happier than those who don´t, the suffer form less than half the number of heart attacks than the rest of the population, and live up to four years longer!!!

Self- indulgence

Many scientists these days beleive that
indulging in life´s little pleassures:
A BAR OF CHOCOLATE,
A GLASS OF WINE,
A SHOPPING TRIP,
EVEN A CIGARETTE,
Can actually improve your health, because of
the psychological lift it gives you.
There is the evidence , for example,
says professor David Warburton of Reading
University,
that old people living in residential homes who have a cocktail hour each day actually live longer! Indulging – in moderation- in the small pleasures of life can make people calmer, alleviate stress and provide positive health benefits.
There is a lot of truth in the old saying that “a little of what you fancy does you good”