{"id":15527,"date":"2019-02-27T02:18:34","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T02:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=15527"},"modified":"2019-03-01T23:29:30","modified_gmt":"2019-03-01T23:29:30","slug":"a-danish-word-the-world-needs-to-combat-stress-pyt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/a-danish-word-the-world-needs-to-combat-stress-pyt\/","title":{"rendered":"A Danish word the world needs to combat stress: Pyt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marie Helweg-Larsen<\/a>, Dickinson College<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Danes are some of the happiest people in the world<\/a>, and they also happen to have a lot of cool words for ways to be happy.<\/p>\n

You may have heard about \u201chygge<\/a>,\u201d which has been the subject of countless books<\/a>, articles<\/a> and commercials<\/a>. Often mistranslated to mean \u201ccozy,\u201d it really describes the process of creating intimacy.<\/p>\n

But another word \u201cpyt\u201d \u2013 which sort of sounds like<\/a> \u201cpid\u201d \u2013 was recently voted the most popular<\/a> word by Danes, beating out \u201cdv\u00e6le\u201d (to linger) and \u201ckr\u00e6nkelsesparat\u201d (ready to take offense).<\/p>\n

Pyt doesn\u2019t have an exact English translation. It\u2019s more a cultural concept about cultivating healthy thoughts to deal with stress. As a native Dane and a psychologist<\/a>, I think the concepts that underpin the word are applicable to people everywhere.<\/p>\n

A way to move on<\/h2>\n

Pyt is usually expressed as an interjection in reaction to a daily hassle, frustration or mistake. It most closely translates to the English sayings, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it,\u201d \u201cstuff happens\u201d or \u201coh, well.\u201d<\/p>\n

You might shatter a glass in the kitchen, shrug and say, \u201cpyt.\u201d You might see a parking ticket lodged under your windshield wiper and, just as you become hot with anger, shake your head and murmur, \u201cpyt.\u201d<\/p>\n

At its core, it\u2019s about accepting and resetting. It\u2019s used as a reminder to step back and refocus rather than overreact. Instead of assigning blame, it\u2019s a way to to let go and move on.<\/p>\n

You might say \u201cpyt\u201d in response to something you did \u2013 \u201cpyt, that was a dumb thing to say\u201d \u2013 or to support another person \u2013 \u201cpyt with that, don\u2019t fret about your coworker\u2019s insensitivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pyt can reduce stress because it is a sincere attempt to encourage yourself and others to not get bogged down by minor daily frustrations. One Danish business leader has suggested that knowing when to say \u201cpyt\u201d at work<\/a> can lead to more job satisfaction.<\/p>\n

Overcoming the tendency to blame<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a rich strain of psychological research devoted to understanding how we interpret and react to other people\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

Study after study show that we are happier<\/a> and live longer<\/a> when we have fewer daily hassles. And in some cases, what constitutes a hassle might be tied to how we interpret what\u2019s happening around us.<\/p>\n

Pyt can help people avoid the tendency to blame others. Say you\u2019re late to an appointment and there\u2019s a person in front of you who\u2019s driving slowly. It can feel irrationally personal.<\/p>\n

But research shows<\/a> that we get angrier when we explain someone\u2019s behavior by pointing to their incompetence, intentionality or poor character.<\/p>\n

By saying \u201cpyt,\u201d you\u2019re deciding that it\u2019s not worth letting someone else\u2019s actions, which are out of your control, bother you; it\u2019s \u201cwater off a duck\u2019s back.\u201d You can also use other strategies, such as thinking about situational constraints \u2013 maybe the driver was ill \u2013 or considering whether this will be an issue in two hours, two days or two weeks.<\/p>\n

Of course, you wouldn\u2019t say \u201cpyt\u201d in response to being seriously wronged. And the word shouldn\u2019t be used when you ought to take responsibility. Nor should it be used as an excuse for inaction.<\/p>\n

Danes who teach positive psychology have also written about how applying pyt to too many aspects of your life isn\u2019t healthy<\/a>, especially if they concern your core needs or values.<\/p>\n

Hitting the pyt button<\/h2>\n

Letting go can also be facilitated by doing things<\/a> like walking in nature, doing yoga or mediation, exercising, keeping a journal or engaging in creative work.<\/p>\n

Or you can always get a pyt button. Danish teachers use pyt buttons to teach their students<\/a> how to let go. Teachers<\/a> find that it can help children cope with smaller frustrations \u2013 \u201cI lost the game\u201d or \u201cI can\u2019t find my favorite pencil\u201d \u2013 and it helps to teach them that everything can\u2019t be perfect.<\/p>\n

These are important skills to learn. Research shows that perfectionism is related to worry<\/a> and depression<\/a>. Meanwhile, self-compassion<\/a> and social support<\/a> can help prevent perfectionism from leading to these negative outcomes.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the pyt button has become popular among Danish adults, who can either make one at home<\/a> or buy one<\/a> that, when pressed, says, \u201cpyt pyt pyt\u201d and \u201cbreathe deeply, it will all be okay\u201d in Danish.<\/p>\n

And in this case, there might be an English equivalent: the reset button<\/a>.\"The<\/p>\n

Marie Helweg-Larsen<\/a>, Professor of Psychology, the Glenn E. & Mary Line Todd Chair in the Social Sciences, Dickinson College<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marie Helweg-Larsen, Dickinson College Danes are some of the happiest people in the world, and they also happen to have a lot of cool words for ways to be happy. You may have heard about \u201chygge,\u201d which has been the subject of countless books, articles and commercials. Often mistranslated to mean \u201ccozy,\u201d it really describes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":15524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[293],"tags":[5943,5942,4214,415,228,2197,5941,3171],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15527"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15541,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15527\/revisions\/15541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}