1 . The driver who cuts you off in traffic. The neighbors who don’t pick up after their dog. Situations such as these get our hearts racing and send our stress levels skyrocketing. Anger isn’t a pleasant feeling. Some of us bottle up the feeling, while others explode in a wild rage (狂怒). Both habits do considerable harm to our bodies, our minds, and our relationships.

“Anger may feel uncomfortable and a lot of people think they have to get rid of their anger,” says Patrick Keelan, a registered psychologist in Calgary, Alberta. “But anger is an emotion built into us to signal that something needs to be addressed. When we take notice of that signal and actually wrestle with the problem instead of turning a blind eye to it, we’re usually much better for it.”

Unfortunately, many of us have been conditioned to keep our emotions hidden. Increasingly, research is suggesting that this can have long-term effects on our health. Investigators at the University of Rochester noticed that people who contain their emotions tend to live shorter lives.

Is it better, then, to scream and howl whenever something makes you mad? That’s probably the reason why “rage rooms” have popped up in many American cities, where folks are invited to let steam off by violently smashing (打碎) stuff in a “safe” environment. However, the research indicates that when people display anger aggressively, it can actually increase the intensity of the anger — and increase the likelihood of aggressive actions in the future. It doesn’t take much imagination to predict how such behavior can affect your relationship with your spouse, your kids, or your colleagues. It also hurts your health. A large 2016 study at McMaster University found that people are more than twice as likely to have a heart attack after an angry explosion.

If we shouldn’t bottle up our angry feelings but aggressive behavior isn’t healthy either, how should we handle things that tick us of? It’s the extreme highs and lows that cause the damage. If you’re able to apply techniques that smooth out some of those peaks and valleys, you can have a gentler ride.

2 . It is important to have positive feelings in our daily life.

“Compared _______ some unhappy people, those who are always pleased and relaxed are less likely to suffer from colds,” _______ a new study. The researchers from New York University said, “being happy helps the body _______ diseases.”

“It seems that positive feelings may reduce the _______ of illness,” said the chief researcher Sheldon Cohen.

In an earlier study Cohen found that people who were _______ caught colds less often. And they seldom told their doctors that they felt _______.

In this study, Cohen’s team _______ 193 adults every day for two weeks. In this period, the people told researchers about their happy or sad _______ that day. Two weeks later, all of them were made to catch colds by doctors, and they had to stay _______ in a room for six days.

The results ________ that each in the study was equal to fall ill. ________, people who were lively and relaxed said they felt happy during the research. Their illnesses were less serious and lasted for a ________ time.

Cohen believes that ________ people have positive feelings, their body may produce a kind of chemical that helps to ________ illnesses. So if you ________ your health, please look on the bright side and make yourself happy all the time.

4 . For people suffering from depression, there’s an all-natural treatment they should use — getting more exercise. It could help fight depression, even if people have a genetic risk, new research shows.

For the study, researchers collected information from nearly 8,000 people and found those with related genes were more likely to have depression over the next two years after examining them. But that was less likely for people who were more active at the study’s start, even if they had a family history of depression. Higher levels of physical activity helped protect even those with the highest genetic risk of depression.

Both high-intensity (高强度) exercise and low-intensity activities were associated with a reduced risk of depression. Adding four hours of exercise a week could lower the risk of a new episode (一段经历) of depression by 17%, according to the study. “Our findings strongly suggest that, when it comes to depression, being physically active has the potential to remove the added risk of future episodes in individuals who are genetically risky,” said lead author Karmel Choi. “On average, about 35 additional minutes of physical activity each day may help people to reduce their risk and protect against future depression episodes.”

Depression is a common mental illness globally, with more than 264 million people affected. “Depression is so ubiquitous, and that underlines the need for effective approaches that can impact as many people as possible,” Choi said. And mental health and primary care providers can use the findings to advise patients that there’s something meaningful they can do to lower their risk of depression.

8 . Think about the last time you felt a negative emotion — like stress, anger, or frustration.     1     Was your mind cluttered (凌乱) with thoughts? Or was it paralyzed, unable to think?

The next time you find yourself in the middle of a very stressful time, or you feel angry or frustrated, stop. Whatever you’re doing, stop and sit for one minute.     2     Take the entire minute to do nothing else but feel that emotion.

If you feel you need to hold on to the emotion for a little longer, that is OK.     3     When you feel you’ve had enough of the emotion, ask yourself if you’re willing to carry that negativity with you for the rest of the day. If not, take a deep breath. As you do that, release all that negativity with your breath.

This exercise seems simple — almost too simple.     4     By allowing that negative emotion the space to be truly felt, you are dealing with the emotion rather than stuffing it down and trying not to feel it.     5     When you lose yourself in the emotion, and realize that it is only emotion, it loses its control. You can clear your head and proceed with your task. Try it. Next time you’re in the middle of a negative emotion, give yourself the space to feel the emotion and see what happens.

Remember to take the time you need to really immerse yourself in the emotion. Then, when you feel you’ve felt it enough, release it — really let go of it. You will be surprised at how quickly you can move on from a negative situation and get to what you really want to do!

9 . Ways to Brighten a Cloudy Day

When I was a small child, I’d curl up on my parents’ bed after the sunshine had warmed it. It was a pleasant place of peace and safety that I struggled to find in later years.

    1     As I learn to enjoy those memories of a regular life, I found more smiles and sunshine than I’d ever thought possible. Try one of the followings for the best result!

Get outside, move and breathe.

Fresh air and sunshine can have a magical effect on your feelings. Sometimes when you are feeling down, all that you need to do is simply go outside and breathe.     2     So if you start to feel down, go outside, let the sun hit your face, go for a hike or whatever.

Do something nice for a complete stranger.

Buy a coffee, pay a bill, give a smile and a “thank you” when none is required. You may even reach out and help strangers who live far away from you.     3     It also feels very, very good.

Laugh from your stomach.

    4     And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter disappears. A moment spent in full enjoyment of laughing is a great way to release stress and refuel your smile.

Try something not included in your normal life.

Most of us eat from a very short list of food. Eating something entirely different will do more than expand your sense of taste.     5    

We need to live each moment wholeheartedly, with all our senses. Only in this way will we find what a wonderful world it actually is!

10 . “This will never do.” I kept telling my husband as he set the table one Thanksgiving. I wanted everything to be ______, because my parents would come. Criticisms from my childhood ______ rang in my mind. So whenever my parents visited us, I ______ myself for more faultfinding. The unhealthy pursuit of perfection ______ the joy from our celebration. Gradually I ______ the reason for Thanksgiving, and I found myself, like my parents, ______ people around me.

Then luckily, I read from a book, “Too much criticism hurts; necessary praise helps. Put your praise of someone in ______ so that the person can save and read it.”

So the next Thanksgiving, I ______ to my husband and my son, “We’re each going to write a message saying what we ______ about one of us.” Despite their eye-rolling, we soon finished and exchanged our ______. My son sat up straighter after ______ what his father had written about him. And I felt so uplifted myself when I read “I am proud of your cooking.” That was a life-changing ______. Since then my family has the ______ and we do it year-round―not just the fourth Thursday of November.

I no longer just focus on finding fault with others. I’m more ____________ how I can help the people around me feel loved and appreciated. Especially in writing, because behind every ______ is the power of love.