In my previous sharing, I talked about simple good pleasures in physical form such as food, sleep and exercise.

Now, let’s talk about the simple and good psychological ( mental ) pleasures.

What do we mean by “psychological” pleasures?  It simply means good pleasures which feeds upon the mental / mind and emotional well being. Our mind represents our beliefs and thoughts.

Try to begin each day with a short morning walk around a nearby park. This short walk may helps us to begin our day with a good dose of purpose, meaning and energy.

Good music is certainly food for the mind, emotions and the soul.  It can be soothing, comforting, healing as well as energizing. Music therapy is a well established treatment to relieve stress, reduces anxiety and depression. Music has great potential for healing of the emotions, helps children with autism and improves memory for persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. I recommend that we keep a list of our favourite tunes and songs in our mobile phones so that it is easily accessible when we need an uplifting of the soul!

Laughter is the best medicine 🙂.   I think this phrase sums it all. So, please do not take yourself too seriously.

Next on the list of good simple psychological pleasures is self expression.  Self expression comes in many forms.  It can simply means writing our thoughts and feelings on a piece of paper, drawing, sketching, doodling, singing or dancing.

Self expression is the key to mental health.

Human beings are essentially highly creative and social beings. We need avenues to communicate our ideas, thoughts and feelings. We either do it verbally or non-verbally. Have you ever notice a child who has created a completed art or craft work?  A healthy child will be extremely eager to share the creative work with his or her parents, teachers or friends. They want to communicate the pride and joy of their work. Similarly, when a child is in pain or distress, what is their first reaction? They cry freely, communicate their sorrow to any concerned individuals and seek comfort to ease their pain. So, let us learn to communicate our feelings.

Take time for recreation and play.  Even adults needs moments of fun and distractions from our daily responsibilities and make time to play.

Courtesy of http://wynantshealth.com

Last but not least, take time to nurture someone or something.  It could be a nurturing a child or even ourselves. It could also be helping the less fortunate.  Taking care of pets or managing a garden patch is great too. We can self-nurture by talking to our mentors, reading good books or listen to good talks such as those found in TED talks.  Observing the growth and development of a child or a garden of greens and flowers provides meaning and satisfactions which is priceless.

That’s all for now. We shall talk about good healthy social and spiritual pleasure on my future postings.

Enjoy good pleasures!

Dr. Vincent