COM121 Responses
Reply to Alan Zimmerman
Hello Alan, in your post, you have talked about doing the things that you love to change your moods. In addition to your idea, the use of distractions has been recommended as one of the most effective ways of controlling human emotions. Distractions help in taking the mind off stressful situations and ideas and therefore give an individual a sense of comfort. According to Matheny & Ashby (2016), distractions have been proven to control emotions for people with anxiety-related conditions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders and even in patients suffering from acute and chronic pain. Psychological research has found that the amygdala, a part of the brain that controls fear and memories, is usually stimulated when an individual is under immense emotions such as stress, anxiety, and shock. This research also found that distractions can stop this part of the brain from being activated and therefore helping in controlling emotions (Matheny, & Ashby, 2016).
References
Matheny, K. B., & Ashby, J. S. (2016). Effects of Mindfulness Meditation and Distraction on Mood and Attention in Veterans with PTSD Megumi Omonishi Alan Stewart. emotion, 5.
Reply to Jenny Casselman
Hello Jenny, I agree with your sentiments concerning the effective use of mood contagion to control the performance of individuals at the workplace. On a significant proportion, the effectiveness of using mood contagion to cause positive effects at the workplace greatly depends on the individuals in charge. As a leader, the mood of the juniors hugely depends on those of the leader. This is to say that before the leader embarks in cultivating a positive attitude among the employees, they should have a positive attitude and therefore lead by example. Research has found that the mirror neurons the human brain tend to influence the mood of individuals based on the people that they come into contact with (Davies, 2017). For example, if on a particular day, the manager gets to the office while he is joyous and all psyched up, then the other workers will follow in his steps. On the contrary, if the manager gets to the office looking gloomy and angry, these are bound to be the general feeling in the office all day.
References
Davies, W. (2017). How are we now? Real-time mood-monitoring as valuation. Journal of Cultural Economy, 10(1), 34-48.
PSY103 Responses
Reply to Gabriel Lacktman
Hello Gabriel, as individuals, we are bound to experience several benefits as a result of exercising gratitude in our personal life. Apart from experiencing these benefits at the personal level, exercising gratitude is bound to improve the relationship between individuals at different levels. At a personal level, a research conducted by Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, found that couples who exercise gratitude are bound to be happier and more fulfilled with life. Furthermore, they tended to be more positive and were more open to each other as compared to those that do not (Harvard Medical School, 2019). At a professional level, expressing gratitude was found to contribute to improved productivity at the workplace, especially when the appreciation was top-down, that is, the managers noting and congratulating their juniors’ positive performance where it befits. This shows that gratitude, which may be considered to be a simple thing, can lead to some positive change at the personal level and, by extension, to others surrounding us.
References
Harvard Medical School. (2019). Giving thanks can make you happier. Harvard Health Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier.
Reply to Denise Hernandez
Hello Denise, you mentioned random acts of kindness as one of the things that you would do to increase your happiness. I believe that kindness is the greatest thing that anyone would give to humanity. Giving back to others is one of the most fulfilling exercises which can positively contribute to changing the world. On top of adding to your happiness, kindness has been associated with improving the health of individuals. Being kind helps individuals in eradicating the feelings of worry, fear, and stress, which have been closely associated with the aging process. In addition to that, it has been scientifically proven that kindness contributes to the release of a hormone, oxytocin, which in turn contributes to the release of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps in reducing blood pressure and, by extension, heart diseases through dilution of blood cells in the body, which then shrinks inflammation (Harding, 2019).
References
Harding, K. (2019). The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness. Atria Books.