March 20 has been declared as the International Day of Happiness by the United Nations. For the second year standing, this global celebration signifies a day dedicated to the overall happiness and well-being of people. In case you weren’t aware of the background, the initiative to declare a day of happiness came from Bhutan, a country whose citizens are considered to be some of the happiest people in the world.
In recognition of the International Day of Happiness—and to help you nurture your happiest, most confident self—below are tips on behalf of ascarfreeme.com. While ascarfreeme.com is an online social community dedicated to helping people cope with the emotional and physical impact of acne scarring, the tips reflect insight shared by self-esteem experts at the National Association for Self Esteem.
• Smile! - Although a smile may seem like a natural, involuntary response to a funny joke, something cute or positive news, smiling can also have an impact on other aspects of your well-being. Smiles can lift your mood and decrease stress levels, all while improving the world around you.
• Find a Support Group - One of our most important social and emotional needs humans experience is the sense of belonging. Being part of such a group can establish a bond of caring and support which is especially important when we are facing a challenging time in our lives. A support group can help you deal with challenges and lead you to become healthier, happier and with improved self-esteem. It can help individuals regain self-confidence and a sense of empowerment.
• Give Yourself a Break…from Social Media - Comparing yourself to celebrities and models on social channels can hurt your self-esteem and increase negative feelings and halt your happiness. Remember, with countless retouching apps and photo filters to choose from, we now have the ability to falsely imitate perfection. As “perfect” as someone’s skin may seem, no one is perfect.
• Commit to Confidence - Confidence and happiness are cultivated over time—it’s not something you can achieve overnight. It takes work, focus and patience. Commit to this by creating a mini-list or monthly benchmark for yourself. Think of it this way: you can’t just jump on a treadmill and run a six minute mile without training for months, you need to make slow, steady progress. It’s important to set mini goals and track them to accomplish the greater mission.
For more information, please visit www.ascarfreeme.com for more tips on improving confidence and increasing self-esteem when living with acne scars.