6 Songs to Make You Happy

Music soothes the soul.

Depression can sometimes jump up and grab us by the throat to strangle feel-good feelings right out of us.

Fight it with music. Listening to music you can sing along with will get all those good endorphins to start moving around in your brain creating happier feelings that will lift your spirits.

Other things that will get those endorphins moving are singing along to the tunes and dancing as you sing.

Don't feel shy. You want to get those happy feelings back, don't you? Turn the music up and grab another member of the household for a little jig, which is always fun for creating a great memory. You not only make yourself feel happier, but you make others think you might be a little crazy and give them a laugh, too. You are spreading the joy.

If you are by yourself, then get jiggy with it. Let the music lead you and go with the flow. Sing and dance all over the house or apartment and hope that no one is looking through the window.

I wrote this hub in 2012. Below are some of my all-time favorite happy songs, but now I have a new one that I have to add that definitely makes me happy when I am listening!

Pharrell Williams' "Happy" song has created a wave of happiness across the world since being released first in November of 2013 then under Columbia Records label in December 2013. It spread like wild fire in more than 20 countries across the globe.

Williams has given the world a song that truly is "Happy." You want to dance, sing, smile, and laugh when you hear this song. Williams pulls us in and makes us feel included. What a wonderful gift he has given to the world.

Katrina & the Waves came out with this song in the early 1980s, and it has been a favorite every since its first introduction. Why? Because it is upbeat, fun, and youthful. Imagining yourself "Walking on sunshine" with a stride in your step and free spirit in your heart as you sing along. Don't just sit there! Look at that jaunt in her step as she sings this song. It makes you feel crazy and carefree. You have to love that.

"I can't see me loving nobody but you for all my life" are words that will spring to your mind when you are feeling low. The title "Happy Together" makes this tune sound happy because it is happy. If you don't have someone in your life, sing it to yourself. Wrap your arms around yourself and give yourself a big hug. Sound silly? Maybe, but you will feel better.

As you watch this video of lyrics written and performed by Bob Marley, pay close attention to what it says. "In every life we have some trouble./When you worry, you make it double." What profound words! Get up and sway back and forth from foot to foot. Snap your fingers, whistle with the music, and add a few little smooth twists and turns; and "Don't worry, be happy."

Listening to this upbeat tune from The Sound of Music can turn any anxiety into feelings of gratitude for the small things around us that bring us joy. "Whiskers on kittens," and "Silver white winters that melt into Spring" can help you think of the beautiful things in this world. Go ahead - you know you want to - that's right... Get up and spread your arms wide and twirl as you listen and sing. What a great release!

Listening to "Cherry Bomb" makes you think about simple, good times in the past. Times that innocence still lived within you. It helps remove some of the worry that brings you down. John Mellencamp's voice carries you along with a snap in your fingers and a dance in your feet. There are no hidden meanings because "We were young and we were improving." Not only will you want to dance and sing to "Cherry Bomb," but your mind will take you back to times in your life that will cause you to smile now because those times were either so sweet or so ridiculous, and there is nothing left but to smile at how you have grown. You can't change the past. You can only learn from it to live in the present.

Depression is real and it can be serious if not treated. If you can create a playlist of songs that make you remember or feel something special in your life, either past or present, you need to keep it with you during those dark times. You can also use your smartphone to get free website music from iTunes Radio, Pandora, or iHeart Radio, type in the song or artist and start listening to the same type of music.

Memorize the words and tune to your favorite songs, so at a moment's notice, you can pull them up and they can run through your head. Listening to the words and feeling what is conveyed will help you move up and out of the doldrums and back to your real self. Remember to move with the music and its upbeat sound in order to create the chemical reactions that enhance the endorphins to dance in your brain, making you feel better about yourself and life. It is true, music heals.