Fearne Cotton - Happy From Head to Toe: A journey through the body to help you find your happy

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First published 2022

Text copyright Fearne Cotton, 2022
Illustration copyright Stef Murphy, 2022

The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

Cover Illustrated by Stef Murphy

Interior design by Sophie Stericker

ISBN: 978-0-241-46672-8

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Im a presenter and an author, and in my job I get to talk to INCREDIBLE people about mental health and happiness. More importantly, Im a mum of two kids, Rex and Honey, and step-mum to two teenagers, Arthur and Lola. We spend a lot of time talking about happiness in my family, whether its when we feel happy and why, or the times when happiness seems to have disappeared. Honey finds happiness when she is drawing, whereas Rex is happiest when hes poking around in rock pools by the sea. Different things bring us joy there really is no right or wrong when it comes to happiness.

Everyone wants to be happy. But what does happiness feel like to you? For me, it feels as good as eating a giant chocolate cake with thick icing on top and cream in the middle. And if happiness feels this good it makes sense that we want to have it around us whenever we can.

Sometimes we think we can only feel happy if certain things happen for example, if we get good marks at school, win a game or competition, or get the perfect birthday present. Happiness might show up in those moments, but that type of joy doesnt tend to stick around for long. You may feel good for a few hours or maybe even all day but then it begins to fade. This is very normal and is a good reminder that we cant always rely on these moments to feel happy. So what can we do to bring ourselves happiness when it seems to have faded? How can we find our happy whenever we want?

We each have our own happiness supply that lives inside us, but sometimes we all need some help to find it. In this book, I will be suggesting tips for you to feel calmer, confident and happier even on boring days or during challenging situations.

Happiness is never far away we sometimes just need the right tools to find it.

I want to add a little note here to say that in those times when we dont feel so happy, there is no need to worry. Feeling angry, sad, jealous, annoyed or confused is totally normal and part of being human. We are not meant to feel happy all day every day that might even get a little bit boring, and take away the magic of the moments when happiness comes and surprises us unexpectedly. Life is constantly changing, and that means we are bound to feel a mixed bag of emotions along the way. So dont worry about happiness disappearing every once in a while it will come back.

Often, we think happiness just happens in our mind. We believe our brain is running the show and deciding whether we experience happiness or not. But thats not the full story. Think about it for a minute. Where does our brain live? In a glass jar on a shelf? No! On its own little cushion in our room? Nope! Of course not! It lives in our BODY. Much like our heart or lungs, our brain is a part of our body we just often talk about it as though its a separate thing altogether. A happy, healthy mind is so closely connected to a happy, healthy body. How our body feels affects our brain and this works the other way around too. If we are hungry, havent slept enough or even if we havent been able to go for a poo, itll affect our brain function and our overall happiness. Equally, when our mind feels stressed or overwhelmed, our body reacts. For example, we may experience constipation, headaches or tense muscles in our body or face its all connected. When our body is in balance, our mind functions better and vice versa. And, best of all, there are many ways we can look after our bodies to give ourselves a better chance of feeling HAPPY!

Im going to show you how our remarkable minds and bodies are connected. Give this a try now. Ask a family member or friend to gently massage your shoulder muscles. How does it feel? Hopefully if theyre any good at massaging youll feel instantly calmer and maybe even happier. I know this works for me. But if it doesnt work for you try taking one big deep breath in for a count of four:

and then gently breathe out for the same amount:

Do this two or three times, and notice how your heartbeat slows down a little and your mind seems to relax, with fewer thoughts and hopefully fewer worries racing round it.

In this book we are going to journey through the whole human body to see how we can create even more happiness in our life through that amazing connection between our brain and body. From the top of our head right down to the tips of our toes, there are lots of things that we can do to care for our bodies and make ourselves feel a whole heap better.

Now, as I explained at the start of the book, Im a presenter and also a writer but I am not an expert on the human body. Everything I have learned has come from trying new things or from being taught by brilliant, clever people who know a lot of cool stuff about how our brains and bodies work. So Ive invited them along to give us top tips throughout the book on how to look after our bodies and feel good. Some are doctors, some are great thinkers and some are experts in looking at ways to keep our bodies in balance.

Are you ready to embark on a journey through the human body and discover how to find your happy?

In this book, well be going on an adventure through all your extraordinary and clever organs, limbs and body parts. If at any point you get lost and are not sure where in the body we are, come back to this page and take a look!