Is there something fundamentally wrong about feeling low? The question itself is pregnant with the answer. The human mind has been engineered to feel anything and everything and feeling low and depressed is just one of the many components that make up this hugely diverse spectrum of affective behaviour of humans. Thus, to put things into perspective: it is no way wrong to feel down and depressed, but it is wrong to leave the problem of feeling down unattended. What can be done to come out of it? What are the ways to beat the blues? Explore these simple yet effective hacks to uplift your mood.
Set a Time in Your Daily Routine for Feeling Sad
First, reserve some time in your daily routine to feel sad. Feeling low, sad and depressed are not difficult things to handle as long as the mind has the willingness to come out of these. Once one gets used to feeling low, it gives way to manic depression and the person find himself being sucked into the quicksand of his feelings. The harder one tries to get out of it, the further he gets into it.
The point here is that when one cultivates depression, it makes sense to make a routine out of it. Reserve a time slot in the day to feel bad and depressed. Only then shall the mind rebel against it and create the way out of the vicious circle of depression.
Keep Moving, Don’t Sit Idle
Second, have you observed that feeling low in general is associated with the feeling of being stuck? People affected with depression tend to accumulate a heavier burden of negative feelings when they are motionless. When circumstances move from bad to worse, people tend to get stuck at a place. The static and negative frame of mind renders the body motionless.
Here is the catch. Remember the adage that a rolling stone gathers no moss. This holds true for people suffering from depression as well. Keep moving, do not sit idle. Do not allow negative thoughts to breed in the mind. Walk around, take the stairs and go out for a jog. Improved blood circulation in the body has a good effect on the mind and allows it to come out of depressive feelings.
Push Yourself Towards An Activity
Third, feeling low can literally freeze a person. It is normal for a person feeling low to develop cold feet and give up on one’s journey towards life goals. It is like an invisible chain of thoughts that holds one back from pursuing anything. Life loses meaning in the absence of a strong sense of purpose. Aspirations simmer down to a low and dreams die young.
The greatest of all battles is the one that a person fights against himself. To break free from depression one has to first believe that it is possible to be at war against oneself. There are parasitic demons in the mind that only thrive being keeping negative thoughts alive. Do not throw in the towel. Accept the challenge and take up the fight. Fight come what may and at the end you shall certainy not regret.
Catch Up With Some Comedy
Fourth, when one feels low for a length of time, fun and frolic go out of the window and life becomes an unending journey with no destination in sight. Under these circumstances people very often choose the wrong platforms and media to vent out their feelings. Many people lean on television sops and opera and cinema to keep themselves engaged. But given the bad state of mind that they are in, most of the genres of entertainment that showcase anger, jealousy, vengeance and sorrow actually do more harm than good.
It makes enormous good sense for people to lean on the comedy as a genre of entertainment to uplift their mood. When people are down and out, emotionally drained and do not have the courage to face the hardships that life brings, comedy serves as good medicine. Laughter allows people to replace negative thoughts with some much-needed tonic of fun and frolic. Comic television shows and movies from the comedy genre are actually very good stress busters and can be of great help in such cases.
Listen to Energetic Music
Fifth, there is an association between the mood of a person in general and his or her choice of music. People that suffer from depression and feel low about themselves usually prefer stoic silence around themselves. Some others opt to listen to sad songs and melodies that only serve to aggravate the problems of sorrow and displeasure in their lives.
Listening to energetic music can be a good way to escape the blues. Anything that is rhythmic and cheerful helps. Peppy dance numbers and songs that spread happiness can be very good antidotes to feelings of depression, loneliness, and sorrow. Energetic music infuses energy into people and gets them to distract themselves from chains of negative thoughts and in some cases ushers them towards subtle body movements like the tapping of the feet, shrugging off the shoulder and nodding of the head, which are all signs of reclaiming the lost energy.
Use Fresh Fragrances at Home and the Workplace
Sixth, a common symptom of feeling low and depressed is surrounding oneself with an unhygienic, unclean and stale environment. The staleness in the physical environment surrounding a person feeling low is essentially a manifestation of the closet of negative thoughts brewing in their minds. Very often people suffering from depression are observed to be living behind closed doors, keeping windows tightly shut and not allowing sunlight and fresh air to permeate into the surroundings. Odors are known to influence the mood, behavior and productivity. The stinking odor inside a closed environment and the stale air that people breathe when they are emotionally exhausted only oush them further towards greater depression.
Open up to a new environment. Open the doors and windows, make way for sunlight to get inside and let the stale air escape. A fresh odor at workplace or home is known to help people combat negative thoughts and stay emotionally balanced. Use a natural air freshener to spread a pleasant fragrance across the rooms and create a cheerful environment.
The fight against negative thoughts and depression cannot be won single-handedly by any person. A multitude of things that create a “feel good” factor need to fall in place for the concerned person to emerge triumphant against the negative thoughts oneself. Small things that surround us in our immediate environments can go a long way in enabling us to win the battle against negative thoughts and depression.