Discover ‘Made You Smile Back’ Blog & Community
Discover ‘Made You Smile Back‘ and be rest assured you’ll be brimming with anticipation and excitement waiting for more and more blogs written that cares about what YOU think, that brings articles on subjects that are most important to YOU! But even more importantly, that isn’t about hype, negativity and just another virtual advertising campaign!
Made You Smile Back is a whole different type of blog. This isn’t about recipes or bucket-list destinations or the ever-popular, ‘do you wish to learn how to blog’ blog!! No, THIS blog is dedicated to providing a unique ‘go-to’ website you’ll want to bookmark to get your daily and weekly dose of thought-provoking content and inspiration and cheer. We all need coping mechanisms and the ability to learn self-care in taking care of not only our physical self but our mental health as well, right?
Made You Smile Back is proud to be a ‘mental health awareness advocate’ and strives to bring encouragement, positivity and actual value-added articles and referenced resources to help you if you’re having a down day. This is a blog where you can ‘reach out’ whenever you need to get in essence, a ‘virtual hug’.
The Journey Begins
It was no accident that the ‘mission statement’ for Made You Smile Back is:
“Turning Your Tears of Sadness Into Tears of Happiness!”
– Umair Qureshi
Let’s face it, folks, both you and I know all too well no one can be happy ‘all the time’. No one is immune from suffering from depression from time to time. We all have down days in which we come face-to-face with some of life’s most difficult challenges.
Let me ask you a question. When you DO experience these days or ‘moments’, what do you do? Yes, there are many ‘coping’ skills you can employ, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to just tap into a place where someone actually cares? Where your feelings are heard and where you can find empathy and support to help you get through that moment?
If you find yourself not able to immediately connect with your ‘best friend’ or ‘loved one’ to talk to, are you not looking for an outlet you can easily connect to and immediately feel better, right?
Wouldn’t it be nice to simply be able to go to a site via your smartphone or laptop which provides immediate much-needed encouragement and upliftment?
Made You Smile Back is your ‘no judgment zone’ website. There are inspirational quotes available that you can scroll thru and find one that resonates with you for reflection.
In addition, there are over 50+ blogs to read covering topics ranging from “I Just Want To Be Happy” to ’10 Powerful Steps in Overcoming Anxiety Attacks” to ‘It’s Okay to be Silly Once in a While’ to ‘Beyond Sadness Helping Your Friends Smile Again’ to even ‘The Awesome Healing Power of Journaling’ plus many more.
See if the following resonates with you, especially those sitting at home behind your laptop or texting away on your smartphone as you’re reading this…
My First Experience Seeking Encouragement & Inspiration on the Internet
Before we go any further, please allow me to briefly introduce myself to those who are new visiting this blog. I’m Beth Elkassih, and I am the proud owner and creator of this blog you’re reading, Made You Smile Back. Let me share with you my first experience seeking encouragement and inspiration on the internet.
Question… If you wanted to ‘open up’ and discuss something that is somewhat personal but yet something you really really needed help with, who are you going to turn to? Someone you trust, right?
I remember all too well of feeling isolated and alone spending literally ‘weeks’ holed up in my own created ‘rabbit hole’ of despair in the not too distant past. I knew I was suffering from depression. I desperately wanted relief and didn’t know where to begin.
“I Just Want To Be Happy Again!“
So…with my laptop in hand, I began to search the internet for answers. Let me share with you what I found.
- Psychology-related websites mainly describing what symptoms you may have that indicate you’re experiencing depression, anxiety, sadness, etc. (Listen, I ALREADY KNEW what my symptoms were! I was depressed.)
- Suicide Resource websites. (Fortunately, I never got to this point.) BUT! If you’re reading this blog and you feel you may be, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reach out and call this number immediately! – National Suicide Prevention Hotline – 1-800-273-8555
- A ton of advertisements for various mental health medical professionals… (Great resources I’m not denying, but… yes, of course, I figured I may need professional help but that’s not what I was searching for!…)
- Coaching Counselors and on and on…
When I finally crawled out of that deep dark hole of despair a good nine months to a year later, I made a promise to myself. I vowed that ‘one day in the future I was going to find a way to help others who were going through the same struggles as I was!’
I soon realized that there just weren’t any really good value-added websites that one could go to to just get simple words of encouragement and maybe a few tips on how to cope. I was also looking for some type of ‘chat room’ where I could relate with others who may be dealing with the same issues.
Thus, the evolvement of ‘Made You Smile Back’ came to fruition. And I would be totally amiss if I didn’t tell all of you, I KNOW that Divine Intervention played an important role as well to see to it that this ‘life’s journey’ came to be.
Since inception, these are the current benefits and resources available to my readers:
- Inspiring and Thought-Provoking Content — Currently there are over 50+ individual blog articles among several categories including, ‘Achieving Happiness’, ‘Well-Being & Self-Care’, ‘Gratitude & Kindness’ and even ‘Miscellaneous Musings.
- Inspirational Quotes — These quotes are not only carefully selected for being encouraging and thought-provoking, but you shall find ‘original quotes’ from me as well for reflection. In fact, I have 2 digital e-books full of inspirational quotes and awesome uplifting graphics as well!
- Happiness Quiz – Just how happy are you? This is a fun quiz to take and based upon your answers, you will find out which range you fall in and where your ‘happiness quotient’ is sitting at.
- Anxiety Quiz – Along the same lines as the Happiness Quiz, I also created an original thought-provoking quiz to check on how anxious or worried you may be. It’s not just a quiz, but also provides value-added content on assessing your own personal level of anxiety and coping strategies one can employ to overcome and improve.
- Opt-ins — Readers are able to subscribe and receive various free resources such as ebooks about attaining happiness, handouts on how to cope with anxiety & sadness, a mini-happiness journal and ebooks on ‘Miracle and Happiness Quotes’. This list is ever-expanding and is available to exclusive subscribers/members who are provided a password to access the ‘soon-to-be’ Made You Smile Back Resource Page.
- Happiness Lifestyle Coaching has recently been rolled out involving one-on-one customized ‘coaching sessions’ which will help you regain your happiness, learn to find yourself again while facing everyday life struggles.
- Coming Soon — Plans are being made to incorporate ‘Happiness Challenges’ for readers, including Podcasts discussing trending mental health issues, a ‘Made You Smile Back’ Shop which offers to its readers products which shall be carefully selected for the benefit to you, my valuable readers, and finally, plans are being looked at to offer a ‘Mobile App’ for daily inspiration on demand.
Facebook Now Promotes Social Group Communities
Did you know that there are now Facebook communities that are composed of ‘like-minded’ members who actively support and engage with one another?
Made You Smile Back was also created to take advantage of Social Media, to get the word out as well. Facebook just recently has changed a lot of their policies in 2019 and are now giving special attention to the creation of both public and private Facebook Groups. In fact, in 2019, Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, outlined the changes to the news feed and a move “from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.”
With the encouragement from my web developer and business mentor, Umair Qureshi, Made You Smile Back immediately saw the benefits of creating such a group alongside Made You Smile Back’s Facebook business page. Thus, ‘Achieving Happiness’ was created in mid-2019 and now boasts over 1000 active members.
Let me reassure you. I don’t only ‘talk the talk’… believe me, I have ‘walked the walk’ as discussed above. I know all too well what it feels like to be sad, feeling alone and struggling to figure how why I was feeling the way I did. Sound familiar?
Made You Smile Back regularly posts thought-provoking inspirational quotes every day. In addition, all members are also able to share and post their own individual inspirational quotes as well. But not only that, members are also encouraged to engage with other members as well in expressing their own personal concerns and challenges and kindly asking for encouragement, support and advice.
Just recently, I have added ‘Facebook Lives’ which are ‘live videos’ that I stream right into your livingroom via Facebook on a scheduled basis. This is such a new and engaging platform in which I can do mini-webinars on topics that are most meaningful for my readers!
“People love to belong, especially to a community of like-minded individuals and businesses. They like to have a safe environment where they feel they can open up a bit more, be among the first to hear breaking news, or share fresh ideas with one another. “
So, if you want to explore this new option and start engaging with others who can relate to how you feel and even have the opportunity of helping others with encouragement, please accept Made You Smile Back’s invitation to join this inspirational, thought-provoking Facebook Group!
Facebook’s Messenger Feature Enables ‘Chatting’
Do YOU like to have the option to actually have a one-on-one conversation with someone who is actively ‘listening’ to you and who truly cares? Made You Smile Back also uses this other amazing Facebook feature available within Facebook Groups to do just that. No more sending an email or typing in a comment in a website ‘chat room’ and having to ‘wait’ to get a response. You are now able to ‘chat live’ with other like-minded Facebook members.
In Conclusion…
My readers are very important to me. I want each and every one of you to feel welcome when you come to this site. I welcome any and all suggestions on how to improve it and make it the best that it can be.
I leave you this graphic image as my new mantra. I would love for you to join in the conversation below with your comments. Many Blessings. Thanks for taking the time to discover ‘Made You Smile Back‘! Take Care!
If you haven’t already, as the creator of Made You Smile Back, I also offer your personal invitation to become a subscriber. I promise to deliver consistent value-added content on a regular basis and of course, you would have 24/7 access to our Resource Page. I thank you in advance. ?
