Most people find it difficult to keep a smile on their face day after day.

But Brighton agony aunt and author Christine Webber says it is possible to turn this feeling around - and she has set out to teach the rest of us how to Get The Happiness Habit in her new book.

Christine said: "In that sort of situation a lot of people would worry about what they had done to upset the boss. But if you go back and look at the situation rationally it is possible to see how the reaction probably had nothing to do with you.

"Perhaps the boss was having a bad day and had things on his mind or it could be that he just has poor social skills. People need to spot when they are being irrational. It happens when someone's had a break-up - it's perfectly natural to feel hurt and rejected but it's totally irrational to say things like, 'No one will ever want me ever again'."

A former television and print journalist, Christine then became an agony aunt for magazines and newspapers. She also managed to fit in a psychotherapy course, which she puts to good use as a sex and relationships expert on the website www.netdoctor.co.uk and as the agony aunt on Gloria Hunniford's Channel 5 show.

Now Christine has used her skills to write Get The Happiness Habit. She said: "I look around and there are so many people who look so miserable all the time. There are masses of people who don't spot when they are happy, let alone try to think positively when they're not.

Christine's tips for happiness include:

1. Learn to spot when you are happy

2. Learn to choose happiness whenever you can

3. Change what you can and accept what you can't.

She said: "If you're stuck in a traffic jam, what's the point of getting angry when there's nothing you can do about it?"

Christine and her husband, Argus doctor David Delvin, moved to Brighton about a year ago. She said: "I'm a very happy person and I love the theatres and the stimulus of the town."

Get The Happiness Habit is £6.99 from all good book shops from tomorrow.

Check out our comprehensive health pages for other 'happiness' tips

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.