“A great way to intensify and prolong positive emotions,” says this therapist.
The end of summer seems to be drawing near, autumn is approaching and our morale risks taking a hit. We will have to pamper ourselves, take care of our body and mind to feel calm, happy and serene.It’s so easy to get caught up in the stress of everyday life, the uncertainty of the world, and negative experiences that it’s easy to overlook the good times.” says Joseé Muldrew, therapist, licensed professional counselor and founder of The Looking Glass therapy practice.
To counter the blues and find joy in life again, the therapist shares a very simple and easy-to-implement piece of advice: keep a reservoir of positive experiences to draw on in difficult times. Not to be confused with “toxic positivity,” in which we seek to remain constantly optimistic.The difference is that savoring is not meant to discredit or dismiss the difficulties and negative experiences we naturally encounter in life. It’s not about keeping yourself in a state where you only focus on the positive things in your life. Instead, it helps to recognize and appreciate both positive and negative experiences, while focusing on the positive and how that can help you counterbalance some of the more negative experiences. […] It also expands our internal resources and our ability to thrive in adversity.“, she explains in the columns of theHuffingtonPost.
His therapeutic technique can be summed up in one word: “savour”. A term that is often used to refer to a meal, but which can be applied more broadly to all areas of our lives and easily integrated into our usual routine.It is a way to intensify and prolong experiences that generate more positive emotions, such as joy, gratitude, acceptance, pleasure, love“, she lists. To truly immerse yourself in it, don’t hesitate to repeat this meaningful word to yourself every day.”It’s that simple” according to the expert. Concretely, the idea is to strengthen one’s capacity to savor by taking the time to verbalize the pleasure and comfort that one feels:
► Savor the present: interrupting a friend in the middle of a conversation and telling them you appreciate the time you spent together, practicing gratitude when walking in nature, taking a moment to appreciate the taste and flavors of a dinner…
► Savoring the past: remembering a happy memory and sharing it with a loved one, keeping a “personal” diary or creating a scrapbook about a trip or any other joyful experience you have had.
► Savoring the future: imagining positive outcomes of the things you work for, creating a “vision board” that summarizes the goals of the year, anticipating more positive emotional experiences instead of always imagining the worst…
The therapist also recommends writing down in your phone or in a notebook a list of “little everyday joys” (looking at old photo albums, making jam with fruit from your garden, admiring a starry sky, lighting a scented candle, smelling your packet of coffee, etc.) that nourish you on a daily basis and bring you joy in order to create a reservoir of internal resources from which to draw when faced with a period of stress.