"The purpose of our lives is to be happy." – Dalai Lama
Hi there,
Here’s something fun that landed in my inbox recently. A patient of mine sent me this humorous anecdote:
Our beloved friend and well-known Mr. 2024 is retiring on the 31st of this month. His 12 wives, 52 children, and 365 grandchildren will attend his grand send-off on Tuesday, 31st December, at 23:59 hrs.
However, his family asked me to inform you that he’s taking with him ALL your problems, sickness, disappointment, frustration, shame, and rejection.
His successor, Mr. 2025, promises to compensate you with long life, good health, blessings, joy, and breakthroughs. CHEERS!
Reading this made me smile, and it got me thinking: positive emotions—like joy, gratitude, and love—are more potent than any over-the-counter medicine. Let’s dive into this secret weapon for a good life.
Happiness isn’t just a feeling; it’s the key to living a good life. When we’re happy, our body’s immune system gets stronger, our stress melts away, and our relationships become better. Letting go of old emotions like fear, anger, and sadness helps clear the way, but the real magic happens when we focus on building positive emotions right now.
In this blog, I’ll share how positive emotions can improve your health, Few simple ways to grow them, and a fun, easy tip I’ve learned from my teachers, patients, and life that can add more joy to your everyday life. Let’s make happiness simple and doable!
WHAT ARE POSITIVE EMOTIONS?
Positive emotions are the feel-good states we strive to experience daily: happiness, joy, and love. Let’s explore them further:
Happiness: The sense of contentment and satisfaction with life’s moments, no matter how big or small.
Joy: A heightened feeling of delight often sparked by meaningful interactions, achievements, or experiences.
Three types of love:-
The first type is the feeling you get when you love yourself, your life, and others. It is a feeling of love that comes from within you and that you then project outward into your life.
The second type of love is received by you from others; it is also called "social support." I purposefully separated these two kinds of love that which you give to yourself and others versus that which you receive—because the talk about them as two distinct actions, and also because not everyone excels at both.
Finally, the third type of love, is an unconditional and spiritual type of love, which has no sense of separateness, no sense of "you" or "I."
Today we will focuses on the first type of love, which is the love, along with the happiness and joy, you create in your own life and then spread to others.
Case Study: Sana's Journey to Healing
Sana, a 59-year-old woman, was diagnosed with a challenging combination of health issues: uncontrolled diabetes, early-stage ovarian cancer, and a terminal prognosis. Four years before her diagnosis, she had left a high-stress job to enjoy life more, a decision that later proved to be pivotal in her healing journey.
From the beginning, Sana chose not to see her illness as a battle but as a chapter she could learn to embrace. She realized that the key to acceptance was finding gratitude, joy, and fun in her life wherever she could. One of her first steps was to bring joy into her everyday moments—like buying the perfect pair of hiking shoes and taking herself on a solo hike. Walking in the mountains brought her peace and a smile, reminding her of the beauty and simplicity of life.
For Sana, joy, kindness, and gratitude became her true medicine, complementing the conventional and alternative treatments she pursued. Now, six years later, she remains cancer-free and continues to prioritize happiness, love, and laughter as part of her daily health routine.
Her story is a powerful reminder: even in the face of serious illness, focusing on positive emotions can help the body heal. Whether you’re undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, or taking heavy medications, finding time for life-giving activities—like meditation, spending time in nature, or simply doing something that makes you happy—can make all the difference.
Sana’s journey shows us that healing is not just about treatment but about transforming your approach to life itself. When we focus on joy, love, and gratitude, we pave the way for profound change and even recovery.
She swapped her high-stress job for solo hiking trips and found solace in gratitude, fun, and kindness. Today, she’s been cancer-free for six years. Joy and happiness became her true medicine.
The science backs her up. Research shows that positive emotions are like rocket fuel for the immune system. Here’s what happens when we feel love, joy, or happiness:
What Happens to Our Bodies When We Feel Positive Emotions?
Science has shown a powerful connection between the mind and body. Our emotions, driven by deep-seated beliefs, trigger the release of hormones in our brains. These hormones instruct our bodies on what to do. For instance, when we feel fear or stress, the body enters "fight-or-flight" mode, preparing to confront or escape danger. But when we feel joy or love, the body shifts to "healing mode," focusing on repairing cells, digesting food, and fighting infections.
Interestingly, these two modes cannot function simultaneously—our bodies are either in fight-or-flight or healing mode. To activate healing, we first need to turn off the stress response. One way to do this is by releasing suppressed emotions from the past. Once stress is reduced, the body naturally begins to repair itself. However, we can amplify this healing process by intentionally cultivating positive emotions like love, joy, and happiness.
Positive emotions act as a supercharger for the immune system. When we feel these emotions, our brains release a cocktail of healing hormones, such as serotonin, oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins. These hormones communicate directly with our cells, triggering vital changes like:
Lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol (the stress hormone)
Improving blood circulation
Deepening breathing to bring more oxygen to cells
Slowing digestion for better nutrient absorption
Boosting white and red blood cell activity to strengthen the immune system
Increasing natural killer cell activity to help fight cancer
Clearing infections
Detecting and removing cancer cells
The Healing Power of Endorphins and Positive Emotions
Your body doesn’t distinguish between a genuine smile—like when watching a comedy—or an intentional one. Both trigger the release of endorphins, powerful feel-good hormones that flood your system with healing messages. These endorphins reduce inflammation and boost immune activity around damaged cells, promoting repair and recovery.
Western medicine recognizes that cancer cells are damaged cells caused by toxins, viruses, bacteria, or genetic mutations. However, the predominant approach focuses on destroying these cells through chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, assuming they’re beyond repair. In contrast, some alternative approaches explore whether cancer cells can be rehabilitated into healthy ones.
A groundbreaking study on early-stage prostate cancer patients supports this idea. Participants were divided into two groups: one followed "watchful waiting," receiving no treatment but close monitoring, while the other adopted an alternative regimen featuring a plant-based diet, daily exercise, and stress-reducing practices to increase happiness.
The results were striking. In the watchful-waiting group, six men required chemotherapy due to cancer progression, while none in the alternative group did. Moreover, the alternative group saw a 4% decrease in tumor markers, compared to a 6% increase in the watchful group. Remarkably, follow-up research showed that the alternative regimen could even turn off activated cancer-related genes within three months.
These findings underscore a powerful truth: strengthening the immune system—through positive emotions, lifestyle changes, and stress reduction—can profoundly impact the body’s ability to heal. While further research is needed, the evidence points to the transformative role of joy, love, and happiness in the healing process.
Happiness is a Habit
When patients talk about feeling more love, joy, and happiness to aid their healing, they often liken it to habits like flossing or working out—something you practice daily to see the benefits.
For many patients, especially those facing serious illnesses, feeling happy seemed almost impossible in the aftermath of their diagnosis. Fear and uncertainty initially took over. However, quickly realizing that staying stuck in fear wouldn’t help their healing process or make life enjoyable.
At first, they had to deliberately take small steps to spark joy, even if just for a few minutes. They might watch a funny video, attend a yoga class, or call a loved one. Gradually, these moments of joy grew into a regular part of their day. The more you prioritized activities that brings happiness, the more natural and long-lasting those feelings became.
You Don’t Have to Feel Happy All the Time
Committing to feeling happy for at least a few minutes a day is not the same as believing you must be happy all day, every day, to improve your health. Unfortunately, this misconception has caused unnecessary guilt for many patients, especially those who understand the impact of stress and fear on the immune system. The pressure to maintain constant positivity—particularly when dealing with a life-threatening illness—is both unrealistic and counterproductive.
While it’s true that stress, fear, and anger can weaken the immune system, suppressing these emotions with forced positivity only adds guilt to an already heavy burden. Instead, many healers, including my teachers, advocate for feeling and releasing all emotions fully—whether positive or negative. This practice allows for authentic emotional expression and creates space for more genuine moments of happiness between emotional waves. Consider young children: they might erupt in anger one moment, but after fully experiencing and releasing it, they return to joy within minutes.
One patient, Samar, a 60-year-old battling prostate cancer, exemplified this beautifully. After an initial shock at her diagnosis despite living a healthy lifestyle, Samar turned to both conventional and alternative medicine. Following a recurrence, she fully embraced the healing journey, including humor and playfulness as integral parts of her approach.
“When I notice my cynical attitude taking over, I play with it,” Samar explained. “I name it ‘Cynny’ and let her say everything she wants. I exaggerate complaints and bring them into the light. It’s fun, it’s freeing, and it shifts me into a state of grace and optimism.”
Action Steps for Cultivating Daily Happiness
The unfortunate reality is that many of us struggle with happiness. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 4.5% of the Indian population—roughly 56 million people—suffers from depression. Millions more, while not clinically depressed, lead lives filled with boredom and dissatisfaction, emotional states that do little to support our immune systems or overall health.
The good news? As Sana and Samar discovered, even amidst great challenges, it doesn’t take monumental effort to bring happiness into your life. It does, however, require consistency—making a daily appointment with joy, just as you would for a doctor or therapy session.
Like physical fitness, happiness requires deliberate effort; it doesn’t just happen by itself. Start small, commit to it daily, and soon enough, those positive feelings will come naturally.
Here are some practical steps to increase positive emotions and support healing:
A Prescription for Fun
1. Start Your Day with Joy or Gratitude
Begin every morning with a smile or a moment of gratitude. To spark joy, watch a favorite YouTube clip, read a joke, or flip through photos that make you smile. To cultivate gratitude, keep a journal by your bed and write down five things you’re thankful for before starting your day.
2. Be Mindful of Your Media Intake
In a world overflowing with information, much of it negative, it’s important to monitor the content you consume. Make it a habit to experience a moment of joy or gratitude before watching the news or scrolling through social media. Experiment with limiting your news intake; you’ll stay informed without letting negativity weigh on your emotions.
3. Choose Uplifting Entertainment
The shows and movies you watch can influence your emotional state. While crime dramas and thrillers may be gripping, they often trigger stress responses. Balance your viewing habits by adding at least one comedy to your weekly lineup—it’s a simple way to boost your mood and your immune system.
4. Surround Yourself with Positive People
The company you keep has a significant impact on your emotional well-being. Reflect on your relationships: do certain people energize or drain you? Gradually limit time with those who bring you down and prioritize relationships with individuals who uplift and inspire you.
5. Engage in Activities That Bring You Joy
Joy often comes from doing, not just consuming. Identify activities that bring you happiness and integrate them into your life. Examples include exercising, gardening, singing, dancing, meditating, or cooking. Even small acts, like calling a friend or gifting someone a small present, can brighten your day. Commit to engaging in joyful activities at least three times a week.
6. Rediscover What Makes You Happy
If you’re unsure what brings you joy, reflect on past moments when you felt genuinely happy. Make a list of these experiences and think about how you can reintroduce similar activities into your life. If certain activities aren’t feasible (e.g., traveling), look for alternatives that evoke the same feeling—like exploring a new local restaurant or attending community events.
7. End Your Day with Gratitude
Each night before bed, ask yourself, “Did I experience at least one moment of happiness today?” If yes, take a moment to be grateful for it. If not, revisit the steps above and resolve to create a joyful moment tomorrow.
A Final Word
The life-affirming message of this blog is beautifully simple: chronic stress hinders your body’s ability to heal, while even a few minutes of happiness each day can act as powerful fuel for your immune system. Just as you wouldn’t skip your medication, don’t skip your daily dose of joy.
I personally make it a point to seek moments of love, laughter, and happiness every day, and I encourage you to do the same. Remember, even five minutes of happiness daily can be as vital to your health as any treatment—it’s the ultimate medicine for both body and soul.