8 Ways to Boost Your Mood from Blue to Bliss
According to Wikipedia, Cliff Arnel created a calculation including the weather, time to break new year’s resolution, arrival of credit card bills with holiday expenses, and more to determine that the most depressing day of the year is the Monday of the last full week in January. Whether you find this calculation valid or not (and later Arnel admitted that it is not valid), there is still value in realizing that while outside factors can influence your feelings and moods, you CAN CHOOSE how you feel! (unless there is a medical condition involved.) Ready to move from blue to groove? Try some of these:
Allow yourself to feel sad.
Whatever we resist, persists. Rather than spending energy resisting the sadness, just allow it… for a while. Have a good cry, or whatever works for you, and then you will be ready to move on.
Change your self-talk.
One of our favorite questions we use with clients is, “If you speak to your friends the way you speak to yourself, how many friends would you have?” Choose to speak to yourself as kindly as you would to someone you love. Monitor the voice in your head and if it is being self-critical and/or focusing on everything that is wrong or hopeless, press your mental “STOP” button. Next, replace the language with words you would say to a support a friend in your situation. Repeat as needed to shift your perspective.
Check your diet for Omega-3’s and sugars
Research shows people who are feeling depressed have low levels of Omega-3 in their bodies. We know that shortly after eating fast burning carbohydrates and sugars, our blood sugar spikes and then drops reducing our energy. For more on a brain-healthy diet, read Dr. Daniel Amen’s article http://www.ofspirit.com/danielamen1.htm
Get some exercise - move that body.
Being outside is a mental shifter and is even better when done with a friend. If you are on your own with limited time, try a series of ceiling stretches-to-toe-touches. (You might remember “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Knees and Toes” from elementary school…). Or dance! Just pop in your favorite music and shake your booty. Whatever it is, move your body at least 30 minutes each day, six days per week. According to the Journal of Preventive Medicine, several weeks after you establish this regular exercise routine, you’ll begin to feel relief of your depression symptoms on a much more consistent basis.
“Inhale blessings. Exhale gratitude.(C)”
This takes only a minute or two and can create a positive mental state change. During a slow, deep inhale, think about the blessings in your life (we all have some..) and during a slow exhale feel grateful for each of those blessings. Repeat at least three times in a set and notice how you are feeling. This is also helpful to reduce stress and improve the quality of your thinking.
Do something to help someone else.
When we shift our attention to the needs of someone else and take action to make a difference for them, that act of kindness increases the level of serotonin (a brain chemical that causes a feeling of well-being) in our brains. Research shows that even watching someone else doing an act of kindess increases the serotonin level in the observer.
Keep a gratitude journal.
Focus on what you are grateful for in your life by writing about it. Oprah has recommended keeping some type of gratitude journal. Some people list three-five things each day, others write entries in at the start and end of each day, while others challenge themselves to list different things with each entry. Can’t think of a thing to be grateful for? Read through your past entries for a boost of gratitude.
Get some sun.
People with low amounts of Vitamin D are 11 times more likely to be depressed, studies show. That’s why getting outside on sunny days, utilizing a sun lamp when it is cloudy and eating Vitamin D-rich foods is important (or supplementing if necessary). Consult your doctor about your Vitamin D levels as a blood test can determine how much supplementation you may need.
Feeling “blue” versus being depressed.
If you try these strategies and still feel overwhelming waves of sadness and low energy, you may be experiencing clinical depression and we encourage you to see your health care provider.
Not sure if what you are feeling is depression or the ‘blues’, note some of these symptoms of depressions:
- Drawn-out periods of sadness or not feeling “up to it,” individuals who are always feeling not in the mood, who’d rather mope around the house and feel sorry for one’s self is the finest example for this symptom of depression.
- Feels hopeless, pessimist: speaking of feeling sorry for one’s self, a different common symptom of depression is when an individual actually feels like he/she has nothing to look forward to in his or her lifespan. As for being the pessimist, those who exhibit this symptom of depression are commonly really negative about matters; again, the feeling of hopelessness comes in to mind.
- Guilt-driven, loss of self-worth and helplessness: additional symptoms of depression that may be easily seen on individuals who prefer to mope around all day long are these. Whenever an individual feels so guilty over something, that really makes one a very sad individual who feels like he or she doesn’t deserve to be happy. Thus, the loss of self-worth, if that individual feels like he or she isn’t worthy of being happy or enjoying one’s self then that’s clear revealing symptom of depression.
- Fatigue, always tired: individuals suffering from depression are actually lacking of physical vitality at all times. A depressed individual might well be on their way to not simply a mental illness but depression may actually be terrible for one’s physical health too.
- Having trouble centering: an individual who’s suffering from depression has this revealing symptom of depression. Wherein one’s lack of interest with respect to the outside world or for virtually anything for that matter may lead to that individual’s inability to lose track of things and really not be able to remember things that occurred or what others said. Lack of interest really makes depressed individuals very inattentive.
Hear this…depression isn’t something to be embarrassed or ashamed about. If your bladder was spewing out a toxic infection, you would think nothing of getting it checked out. Yet, often we resist seeking help when it is our mind spewing out toxic stuff. Seek support! You deserve to feel joy and bliss.
Today, on Blue Monday, and every day, choose bliss!
Blessings,
Melanie and Lynette
