you may want to direct this towards the areas you'd like to improve and what hasn't worked for you, to avoid this becoming ChatMe.. posted by kcm at 7:28 PM on February 22, 2006
kcm - The question is intentionally broad, as I am hoping for a wide variety of answers.
I'm looking for ways to break habits and set patterns that are more in line with what I really want and need. posted by Afroblanco at 8:01 PM on February 22, 2006
Buy a copy of "Don't Shoot The Dog". Use the training methods inside to train yourself from old habits to new.
In the mean time, learn to meditate. The physiological and psychological effects of a calm mind and an aware body cannot be overstated. posted by tkolar at 8:05 PM on February 22, 2006
Excercise every morning. It makes you healthier physically. And it also gets your endorphine levels up for the rest of the day. You can excercise later in the day too, but in the morning is best if you have time. If the habbits you talk about include smoking, if you really commit to excersizing, it will help you commit to not smoking as well.
Start a new hobby/revive and old one. It will keep you occupied. It may give you a chance to meet new friends if you join any groups related to said hobby. posted by gauchodaspampas at 8:08 PM on February 22, 2006
The core concepts of Buddhism, The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path, are essentially an age-old method of figuring out what causes unhappiness, and learning how to overcome it.
This core portion doesn't rely on any diety worship or belief in unsupported concepts like karma, reincarnation, energy....all of that is baggage that has been added-on over time to these core concepts.
If you're looking for something to read, there is a book named "Buddhism Without Beliefs" by Stephen Batchelor that discusses Buddhism from a rational/agnostic perspective. posted by jsonic at 8:15 PM on February 22, 2006
Marry a good woman. posted by evariste at 8:22 PM on February 22, 2006
I'd second jsonic. If you're looking for a guide to happiness without gods or drugs, Buddhism is the standard.
But DirtyCreature also has a good point. If wealth is an option for you, maybe try that first. I've heard good things about wealth. posted by scottreynen at 8:47 PM on February 22, 2006
The online text Psychological Self Help text is good. It doesn't seem to use extended belief systems in order to provide answers. posted by sien at 8:48 PM on February 22, 2006
Art School. posted by R. Mutt at 8:48 PM on February 22, 2006
Scientology.
ok, not really posted by evariste at 8:57 PM on February 22, 2006
Conext is everything. What's specifically wrong now? posted by Gyan at 9:01 PM on February 22, 2006
*groan* posted by Gyan at 9:01 PM on February 22, 2006
scottreynen wrote... If wealth is an option for you, maybe try that first. I've heard good things about wealth.
Wealth is more of a mood enhancer. If you're basically happy, wealth will make you happier. If you are basically a stress puppy, wealth will make you even more of a stress puppy. posted by tkolar at 9:41 PM on February 22, 2006
Buddhism, yoga, and CBT are working wonders for me. No god stuff (though I'm reconnecting with a sense of the spiritual), and I'm in the process of coming off the meds. posted by scody at 10:27 PM on February 22, 2006
Stoicism: how to deal with adversity. A philosophy advocated by slaves (Epictetus) and emperors (Marcus Aurelius) as well as modern self-help writers (M. Scott Peck).
write the word 'breathe' upper left, the word 'smile' upper right, on the mirror, where you brush your teeth in the morning, posted by hortense at 11:50 PM on February 22, 2006
This served the purpose for me, along with a couple of sessions with a good hypnotherapist.
Not totally related, but FWIW, I'd steer well clear of 'life coaching'. posted by chrissyboy at 11:50 PM on February 22, 2006
If you're positive that you are not depressed then I would go with the recommendation for meditation. In particular mindfulness meditation is good for spotting where your habits are working against you.
Not everyone will agree with me here, but in my opinion if your brain chemistry is out of whack you're going to find it very hard to acquire and maintain control of yourself without tackling the problem directly, in a physical way. Since you've ruled out drugs (which I think is a reasonable initial position, almost nobody likes the idea), you're left with nutrition, exercise, and light.
Light therapy is obviously something that most people think of as a treatment for SAD specifically but it is increasingly being tried out for other types of depression and seems to be useful (IANAD). It's certainly helping me. So my unconventional suggestions would be: 1) Try to maximize the amount of natural light you get. 2) See if you can get a free trial of a light box and/or dawn simulator and see if they help.
In fact, as I said I do support most of the suggestions above - they do work. What I'm suggesting is that you really need some kind of basic feeling of physical well being to work with first. posted by teleskiving at 1:02 AM on February 23, 2006
I also liked Using Your Brain for a Change. I was fascinated by Neuro Linguistic Programming for several years, and it seemed to have some fairly profound effects on the way that I think. Although, I would have a tough time telling you exactly what those effects are.- posted by jefeweiss at 7:05 AM on February 23, 2006
I can think of quite a few systems - out of which I would recommend the work done by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his seminal work Flow, or alternatively you could look at something like the Fourth Way doctrine as defined by P.D. Ouspensky in The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution and The Fourth Way.
Between the two systems, Flow is defined as means of understanding happiness and then inducing it on a more regular basis into your life whereas The Fourth Way is a self-improvement doctrine partially based on the work of G.I. Gurdjieff. posted by KayTerra at 12:53 PM on February 23, 2006
Thank you all for your help. This was exactly what I needed. posted by Afroblanco at 5:16 PM on February 23, 2006
read the book dune, and read the book the tao of pooh...read them both again, read dune one more time. think really hard. you will be fine. posted by stilgar at 8:24 PM on February 23, 2006
I recommend Getting Things Done
It's more of a meta-improvement system. It doesn't recommend specific things for you to do to improve yourself, but is instead a general "system" for being more effective at accomplishing any goals and fulfilling your purposes. posted by archae at 9:03 PM on February 23, 2006
I've always thought the pursuit of 'happiness' is mostly about breaking our own internal habits that steer us away from that path.
To that end, n+1 for mindfulness meditation, and my umpteenth recommendation for Feeling Good : The New Mood Therapy. Mainly geared toward people feeling depressed, but wholly helpful in identifying behavior patterns that are less than productive and more importantly learning to eliminate them.
Good luck! posted by softlord at 6:11 AM on February 24, 2006
« Older
Is it OK to read girls shorts ...
| what are some of the must-see-...
Newer »
Subscribe
. Mainly geared toward people feeling depressed, but wholly helpful in identifying behavior patterns that are less than productive and more importantly learning to eliminate them. 
posted by kcm at 7:28 PM on February 22, 2006