There’s no doubt that life has its ups and downs. There are some awesome ways to chase away your personal rain clouds. Serious depression- the kind that lingers for days and prevents you from functioning- requires professional help. Yet, there are a number of suggestions for pulling out of a common case of the blues.
Get Your Heart Pumping
Exercising is a wonderful way to blast through the blues, and exercising outdoors is even better. Medical research says that it increases norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. These are brain chemicals, which transmit messages between nerves, are thought to be low in depressed people. Regular aerobic exercise also boosts endorphins-naturally occurring feel-good chemicals produced in the brain. Therefore, get away from the couch, embrace the elements and get your heart pumping with a workout!
Hard Work Pays Off
The trick to using work as a mood elevator is to find something you are really interested in and enjoy-not busy work– and concentrate on it. It let’s you loose emotionally. There is much power in productivity!
Hobbies Help Clear the Clouds
On the other hand you may need something that takes your mind off of work. For many, hobbies are pleasant ways to distract your mind from depression-everything from doing crossword puzzles, reading, writing and gardening. It takes your mind away from unproductive thinking and allows you to create something.
Pampering Will Pep You Up
Treat yourself like you matter. There are many forms of pampering such as getting a relaxing massage or facial, eating at your favorite restaurant, catching up on much needed rest, taking a vacation and saying ‘no’ when overwhelmed by requests.
Take A Dose Of Musical Medicine
The power of music to transform mood is common knowledge. Music lifts the spirit, boost energy or can soothe frazzled nerves. A very interesting fact is that whenever you listen to your favorite song and you get goosebumps, it’s said to be dopamine releasing in the brain increasing the feel-good sensation. So get that iPod and rock out!
You Gotta Have Friends
What’s your security in a storm? Many people find that their friends – people who will listen, love, help you to laugh at yourself and when asked will offer wise advice- are the best antidote. Sometimes our family members can react to our problems the same way we do, so having a set of good friends to turn to that offer a different perspective can definitely give you a mood boost. Also, good friends are not so quick to judge, they know how to listen and they know exactly what to say and do to make you laugh uncontrollably!
Positive Self-Talk Turns It All Around
Are you your own worst critic? Listen to your thoughts, and you may hear a lot of negativity that, unconsciously, may be darkening your mood: “I can’t do that.” “I shouldn’t have said that.” “I’ll never be able to get that done.”
Becoming aware of these negative thoughts and then replacing them with positive thoughts that allow you to be excited about life is a form of self-help therapy that never gets old and always gets better with time.
Write down your thoughts, without filtering them, and it will help you to be conscious of what you are telling yourself and it will help you to do away with being discouraged and fearful.
