There are certain days when something happens. You have an awakening that something is wrong. Perhaps something small goes wrong and takes all of your mind down with it.
Feeling sour is part of human nature. You are not the only one. No one can avoid feeling lethargic, not being able to think straight or have emotions that are overwhelming. It is not necessarily about how to avoid these feelings but how to get out of them in a healthy manner.
Simple things are available which work. They do not need much time and special tools. They only require your focus and some activity. These are not steps to drive emotions away. They assist you in coming out of the pattern to experience an improvement in your health and have a clearer state of mind.
12 Legit Ways to Instantly Improve Your Mood
1. Time-Out and Breath
Your body often responds to your downed mood first. You start breathing uncomfortably. You might experience tightness in the chest. You can get your muscles tensed. The easiest opponents are to pause and breathe in deeper. Two or three deep, slow breaths are enough to calm your nervous system and to bring your right here, back to the present. Breathing in this manner lets your body know that it is safe and can relax your mind.
Read also: 16 Fun Ways to Take a Mental Break from Life
2. Shake Your Body
When you have emotions trapped in your head, what happens is that they get trapped in your body as well. Movement assists in unblocking that. You are not required to run or do something vigorous. Standing up or stretching or walking about your room may begin the process of changing the way you feel. Both the brain and the body are linked. When your body is in motion then your brain begins to follow. It makes you much lighter, even a little bit.
Read also: 7 Signs You’re Burned Out and Need to Take a Break
3. Take a Little Water
It seems too easy, yet you have to ensure your body receives water to operate. Dehydration makes you feel low in energy and easily lets you crash out. Often when you experience depression, exhaustion, or strain, it is actually your body telling you that it wants to be watered. A glass of water can make you feel brighter and awake.
National Library of Medicine reports show that even mild dehydration may cause mood and reduced performance of the brain. You may read more about it here.
4. Transform Your Surroundings
Your environment produces a massive impact on your mood. Being in the dark, in a cluttered, or noise somewhere can contribute to your stress even when you are not aware. Other times simply opening a window, going out a door or changing a room can be all it takes to move the energy. New environments assist you to rewrite your mind. A minor change will refresh your brain and make you feel more in control.
Read also: 81 Tiny Bad Habits You Must Give Up for a Better Life
5. Make an Easy Goal That You Can Achieve Quickly
Having a bad mood usually makes you feel scattered. Tacking a small, fast project, such as making the bed, putting one shelf in order, washing your face, can give you the feeling of order. It does not mean making everything right. It is about the reminders of you being able to do something independent of how you feel. A small win feels good when finished. This success assists in getting you out of the rut.
6. Shift Your Energy with the Help of Music
The music can be medicine to the mind. What you hear can change your emotions in a few seconds. When you are feeling down, a strong-beating or upbeat music pulls you into a better milieu. Research indicates that music influences such brain chemicals as dopamine that is a significant contributor to your mood.
This article by Harvard Health can tell you more about the influence of music on the brain and emotions.
7. Get What You Feel Out Speaking
You do not have to speak to another person but this can also be helpful. However, telling yourself about your feelings aloud can take the burden off. You could state, I feel like I am tired, or I feel like I am stuck today. Calling the feeling by name robs it of some power. You become the observer instead of getting carried away by the emotion. And that gives you more control and room to alter it.
8. Look at the Sky or Concentrate on Nature
Gazing into the sky, even in a few seconds, makes problems smaller. It relieves the pressure on your eyes and eyes straining in a closed environment. The sky is large. It helps you remember that this situation, even though it is difficult, is only a fragment of a larger design. When you are able to observe trees, clouds, sunlight, or even rain, allow yourself to observe it. The nature provides your mind with something soothing to associate with.
9. Drop the Need to Have Everything Fixed Immediately
I feel even worse sometimes because I am over-working to change my mood. You may find yourself at a place where you think you ought to be happier, more thankful, or more together. However, trying to be alright yourself only adds pressure to your condition and fails to help you to feel better. Releasing that pressure is helpful beyond any tip or technique. You do not need to be okay at all this moment. You can feel off. And such freedom can usually make you feel better sooner.
10. Change What You Are Doing with Your Hands
Engaging the hands in physical activity drags the brain out of cycles of thinking too much. Your hands are busy, so your thoughts know where to go. It may be writing a note, completing laundry, scribbling on paper, or simply flinching a hot cup of tea. This does not necessarily have to be innovative or practical. You need just to follow your hands a little. It allows your mind some relaxation.
11. Change Yourself to Benefit Another
In a bad mood, your thoughts automatically become self-centered. You can be trapped in pain, anger or sadness in yourself. The one surprising thing that you could do to lift yourself up is to it out. This does not imply ruling out your feelings. It implies expending your energy differently. You may write a nice message, inquire after another and help in some trivial way. Even little things, such as doing a good deed, can change your mood instantly.
A recent study printed in the Journal of Positive Psychology suggests that helping others can provide a boost to your mood and improve your well-being. For more, you may visit here.
12. Remind Yourself That Time Is Passing
If you can say that, It will pass. Just keep in mind that, “this will pass.”
When we are in the middle of a bad mood, we think it will last forever. It can not. There is a start, middle and end to every feeling. Explicitly saying to yourself this will pass makes your mind avoid treating the situation like an emergency. It makes you hopeful. It keeps you in mind that all this is temporary. And even though nothing changes immediately, once you know how the feeling feels, it is easier to deal with.
Final Thoughts
Having bad moods is a fact of life. They pass away, as clouds in the sky. You do not have to battle them. However, you do not have to remain trapped in them either. You can move slowly and gradually to an improved feeling. It does not require magic. It does not require a nice day. It takes only several minor steps performed with caution, and the way your mood changes.
What we can do is offer you one or more of the tools the next time you find yourself in a dark space. Allow them to have time. You might not switch your mood in half a second, but the tiniest change will help you to breathe easier. You have earned the right to fight and you can do it.
On the bad days, you can do something. You can always make your way back to yourself even when you feel nothing is going in the right direction.
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