How To Get UP When You’re Feeling Down
How do you get yourself up when you’re feeling down? And everyone feels down now and then. Even Charles Darwin…
If you suffer from clinical depression or emotional pain is severe, seek professional help. But if you experience an occasional dark mood, you can either submit to it or climb out of it. And there are ways to do that.
Nothing can bring a person down faster than not feeling good physically. So first…
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
DON’T
drink too much
eat too much
spend too much
be a couch potato
DO
eat natural, HEALTHY FOOD
drink lots of WATER
get enough SLEEP
walk, EXERCISE
Sometimes an off mood is the body telling us to slow down and relax. But if you feel lethargic, you need the opposite: activity. Get up and get moving. Get outdoors and breathe fresh air. Take a walk. Immerse yourself in the wonder of nature.
Human bodies are designed for regular physical activity. The sedentary nature of much of modern life probably plays a significant role in the epidemic incidence of depression today. Many studies show that depressed patients who stick to a regimen of aerobic exercise improve as much as those treated with medication. Andrew Weil
EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS
Acknowledge how you feel without judging yourself. Verbalize your emotions. Talking is a catharsis. It releases pent up energy. Words put rambling thoughts and feelings into order and help us better understand ourselves and our moods. Talk to another person, talk to yourself or write about your thoughts and feelings. What precipitated the feelings? What are the thoughts behind the emotions?
When you hold your breath, eat when you’re not hungry, drink too much or distract yourself in some way from what you’re feeling, you are repressing energy…It is temporarily out of sight but not out of mind. In spite of best efforts to keep it hidden, repressed energy leaks out into our bodies, feelings and behavior. From Healing Feelings.
FORGET YOURSELF
When we feel down, we tend to become self-absorbed. And the more self-absorbed we are, the lonelier, more isolated we feel. Ecstasy is a sense of joy — the opposite of sadness. It literally means self transcendence – to stand outside yourself. We get out of ourselves by putting our focus on others, extending ourselves.
Overcome dark feelings by being a bright light to someone else. A kind word and a smile can make a stranger’s day. Expressions of appreciation to friends and family can mean more than you would imagine. Go to a nursing home and visit people who have no family. Adopt a pet or volunteer at a shelter. There are countless volunteer opportunities. Meet people. Go to community and church gatherings. Reach out. Open your heart. Nothing can lift our spirits faster than making a positive difference in someone else’s life.
SMILE AND LAUGH
Psychologist Paul Ekman who extensively studied faces said, “What we discovered is that expression alone is sufficient to create marked changes in the autonomic nervous system.”
The look on your face has a direct effect on your body! Smiling sends a message to your brain and body that everything is good. You immediately start to feel better…As the subconscious gets the message that all is well, your outlook and behavior are affected. From Make The Best of the Rest of Your Life.
Get yourself up with fun and laughter. Laughter is an instant mood lifter. It can overcome feelings of fear, isolation, depression, anger. Play games. Watch sitcoms and funny movies. Enjoy a laugh out loud book like The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
Dark moods don’t come out of nowhere. They are trying to tell us that something is missing in our lives. It could be people. It could be creativity. It could be faith in a greater power. It could be learning and growing. What do you long to do that you are not doing? Life gives us nudges when we get stuck. If we don’t move out of our comfort zone, life is likely to kick us out.
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