How To Turn Your Bad Day Into A Good One
We all have them—bad days. Especially with the holidays, tiffs with relatives or your patience thins while braving the shopping crowd. How, exactly, do we turn our less-than-stellar moods around and stay sane?
The Tiny Buddha blog suggests everything from turning on a song that makes you happy to deep breathing to writing down what is bothering you, then writing down something you are grateful for. Their blog also suggests signing out of Facebook. (Can you do it?!)
“Many studies have shown that checking social media can actually trigger depression because we often compare ourselves to our peers, creating feelings of inadequacy and doubt,” Tiny Buddha said. “Heavily limit your exposure to your Facebook or Twitter feed… Keep in mind that most people are always going to put their best foot forward, so don’t compare your insides to somebody else’s outsides.”
Great advice, I think! By the way, if you have never read the Tiny Buddha books—like Tiny Buddah: Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions and Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Loving Yourself—I suggest ordering them now for you or loved ones who could use them. I reread mine constantly.
Therapists, too, feel changing your negative mood around is all about action. “Change your chemistry, and you’ll change your life,” said clinical psychologist Deborah Serani, Psy.D, and author of Living with Depression. “When a murky mood hits, I always try to do something to shift my neurochemistry.” Doing something active “increases dopamine and oxytocin, feel-good hormones,” she said. Serani also focuses on the five senses to feel better, via things like music, eating something, lighting a candle, and using essential oils on her temples and wrists.
Still in bad spirits? Then check out this post by The White House Black Shutters blog, a list of “31 Ways To Have A Better Day.
Ideas include:
- Jump up and down a few times.
- Pray.
- Go outside. Take a walk around your yard. Kick a ball around. RUN out and back in.
- Give someone a genuine compliment. Email and tell them what they mean to you.
- Set a timer. In 15 minutes you will do X. In 20 you will do X.
- Read a story. Add silly voices.
- Make something. Get crafty. Bake something.
- Plan dinner and get it all ready to go. If early enough, throw something in the crockpot.
You can even print out the list here!
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