Topic Tuesday tonight at 7pm AEST / Do carers have a right to be happy? *CLOSED*

well there you go astrengthinever! Great minds eh?

sorry all, I gotta love you and leave you now.

Some of the books on happiness I love are:

The How and Why of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky which gives a really easy read on the research. It shows how powerful those small daily choices are

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin which outlines a year in her life where she tried all sorts of strategies to be happy

And the classic (although not the easiest read) is Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman

One of the best things I got from The Happiness Project sounds so incredibly trivial but has become pretty important to me. She talks about the importance of being physically comfortable. Making sure you are warm enough, have comfy clothes, the things you need. It made me realise how often I used to sit around with freezing feet, wishing I had bothered to change out of my work clothes.

Now I take the time and, strangely enough, I really am happier in my uggs and sweats with the heating and lighting on just right.

It really can be the small things!

Yes such a good point, our happiness and well being can be so important to our loved ones. I think there are times we need to "disconnect" and take care of our own happiness.

I'm interested to hear what others think about this?

I have a daughter with Anorexia ( which she has suffered from for 5 years) Every day I wake up and feel happiness as I love my daughter and husband. I try to balance my life with looking after the 3 of us, seeing family & friends, working to get a little money and enjoying the small things ( sunshine, flowers, coffee, 774 radio, Australian life etc) I try to eat well and keep moving ( need to exercise more) and i like time to myself just to do whatever. I like to achieve things - they don't have to be big - like getting the washing done, making phone calls , reading emails and creating a tasty meal.

thanks for the suggestions @Viv and @astrengthinever. Can I ask why in particular you suggested these books? - What about them may be helpful for other carers? I'm asking for others who might be reading this conversation that might be thinking, why would these books be helpful for them?

Great advice @Bearcub! I like how you recognise daily achievments and make time for things that make you happy. Finding a balance is important. Did it take a while to learn to find happiness when your daughter first became unwell?

Just check the time. Time has flown by tonight! We only got another 30 minutes!

@Bearcub You really are walking the walk. You're doing so many things right. Balancing all those competing needs, getting in the small pleasures and satisfaction from jobs done. And keeping your priorities sorted. I hope all this has indeed brought you closer to happiness.

You, @Viv, @strengthinever and so many others tonight have shown that there are different paths that can get us to the same destination. We just have to work out which will work for us. And keep on it as long as our time and energy allows.