How to help your mental health
By watching chick flicks or the Hallmark Channel
I know sometimes I become distracted and lose my happy place, whether it is because of stress, becoming bored with the task at hand, or the simple fact that I want to turn a frown into a smile, I go to the Hallmark Channel or Up Faith and Family to watch a movie.
Smiling, is one of God's greatest gifts and, for me, I am put in a good mood almost every time when I watch an inspirational movie. When I watch a Rambo movie I am not smiling up to my eyes, mind you, Rambo movies are not made to make the audience belly laugh or giggle. Going to a movie theater to watch a horror movie has never made me leave the theater with a crooked smile. Sure, I will watch an action movie, but that doesn't necessarily mean I am jumping for joy because Arnold Schwarzenegger took out 100 evil-doers.
Most of the time, I am a very pleasant individual, very pleasant. There isn't anyone I know who has not had a rough day now and then. When you lose a family member or a friend, you have that pang in your heart. What is wrong with watching a feel-good movie? Maybe I'm just a little sensitive. Maybe I just don't like blood and guts, which is absolutely true! However, I could watch a feel-good movie every day, all day.
Believe me, I hear it all the time from family, friends, fans of my books, and people I don't even know. They are enthralled with the way I raise my emotional state to a positive level. I am asked all kinds of questions about what I watch on television. “You are the size of a linebacker in the NFL. Why do you proclaim to watch chick flicks?” What is wrong with watching a chick flick? Hey, I am an emotional guy. I write psychological thrillers. In every psychological thriller there is a love story in there. You must be an emotional person, in the heart, to write such a novel. How could you possibly open your heart to the audience if you don't have one?
I am a veteran. A man who put his blood, sweat, and tears out to defend the land I love. If you believe I was reading Danielle Steele on the battlefield, you would be absolutely out of your mind. When you leave the battlefield, your mind plays tricks on you. Everyone you see is the enemy. Anger fills the body, and for some individuals, hate has replaced their blood. I am a psychologist, completely enamored with the human mind. When anger replaces my blood, I meditate and after meditating, I open a good book, or I watch a movie that puts love back in the heart and blood back in the veins.
I am the quintessential jock, being a jock doesn't make your heart any less pure and emotional. I've had tears in my eyes, walking off a field, because I left every breath and every emotion on that athletic field. Call me what you may; however, I doubt 99.9% of the world would say anything to my face. That is just the reality of the situation. I also believe more than 80% of the country would watch some type of chick flick or a Hallmark movie. Several studies have been done by the best psychologists in the world, I would put any amount of money on the line that I am correct.
I do not participate in the use of tobacco, nor do I consume large amounts of alcohol, I drink alcohol occasionally. I feel I can relieve my stress in other ways to put on a happy face. Believe me, there are several ways I relieve stress. I work out like a maniac. God just didn't hand me this body; he makes me work for it every day.
Several veterans take up crochet to relieve stress after coming home from battle. Some adopt a service animal to get those good feelings they had before they left to protect this nation back inside themselves. Believe me, nothing is off the table when you come home after protecting this nation. One of the main reasons veterans come home and start taking illicit drugs, is the fact, there is nothing immediately available to change their mental state. Are you starting to see why maybe a movie makes me take a deep breath and enjoy smiles on a small screen?
For me, it does not matter what vehicle you use to get a genuine smile back on your face. As long as you get that legitimate smile on your face again, the right way, I say put the popcorn in the microwave, grab a big cold drink and watch the Hallmark Channel or a chick flick an enjoy the hell out of it!
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