I’m not talking about mental illnesses in this post. I’m talking about when your mood is usually good and positive, but stress or a life event has temporarily got you down, or left yoy feeling overwhelmed. If you think there could be something more serious or chronic going on, please consult a doctor. I promise you, there is always a way to feel better – even if that’s only with time. If life is just stressful at the moment, try one of these ways to improve your mood. In his post, you’ll learn some things that you can do today – right now – to to improve your mood and feel better about yourself or your circumstances.
Exercise More Frequently
Exercise is popular for its mood-enhancing effects. This is a well-known fact in the scientific community. It boosts chemicals in the brain that make you feel more capable and positive. In fact, some mental health specialists often recommend exercise as an antidote to lots of mental health disorders. Therefore, if you’re feeling down and low, get off the couch and start moving your body. Something as simple as a 20 to 30-minute walk will vastly improve your mood, and if you can throw in some heart-pumping physical activity, you’ll probably find yourself feeling much more energised and positive. If it’s exercise outside, even better – just being in the fresh air and seeing the world going on around you, can often put things you are worrying or stressing about into perspective. Try to not do things that are detrimental to your health either – like smoking. If you have a smoking habit, try switching to vaping, for example. Vape juice is a lot less damaging than smoking to your body and it’s a good way to ease off the cigarettes. What other bad things could you swap for something less detrimental?
Start Journaling and Drawing
No matter how bad things are, there’s always something positive happening in your life, even if it’s difficult to see right now. So, why not focus on that “light” that’s still shining somewhere and write things down in a gratitude journal. Don’t just write in it, but draw or illustrate your hopes and dreams too, or think about some other drawing ideas to go aside your text. Pause right now and reflect on your life. What’s going well? What wouldn’t you change? What small thing could come out of this difficult situation that might improve your life? No matter how small it is, write it down and keep going. Most of the time, you’ll find that you have a lot more going for you than against you. Turn this into a daily habit and it will help to improve your mood and outlook. Write down one thing that you’re grateful for every day, and remind yourself of that thing throughout the day.
Hang Out With Family and Friends
Unless your family and friends are toxic and have a detrimental effect on your mood or your self-esteem, you should definitely spend time with loved ones, or at least try to widen your circle and make new supportive friends. Do fun things like see a movie, go out for some dinner, attend a concert, or whatever your favourite pastimes are.
If you don’t have many good friends, make plans to start making new positive friends – you’re always stuck with family, but can always choose your friends. Think about what clubs you could join, or who on the periphery of your life you could reach out to to bring them a bit closer.
Go on a Weekend Getaway
When was the last time you got away from the hustle and bustle of your daily grind? If you can’t remember, maybe it’s time to go on a weekend getaway or even just take a day off work and go somewhere different for the day. It could be a road trip, a staycation, a 2-day hike, camping or just a trip to another city to go shopping. Pick something that works for you and makes you happy and excited. Getaways and vacations have a way of recharging your batteries so you feel much better about yourself. They give your brain some space to think things through, and often the result will be that things aren’t as bad as you thought.
Do these things, and you’ll find that you’ll be a happier person for it, with a more positive outlook.
You can see more of what i’m doing, over on my Instagram.
