Stressed to Better: How to Get Out of a Bad Mood

Everyone gets in a bad mood once in a while, particularly when there’s too much going on in life. Sometimes, something frustrating happens, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and you find it difficult to get back to feeling better.

But you don’t have to put up with stress or a bad mood, especially when you’re running a company or setting up a business. When you’re feeling low and out of sorts, one thing that may help is to change your mindset and explore strategies on how to raise your vibration. Holding on to a negative emotion can lead you to feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, irritable, or angry.

Here are some helpful tips that you can use to help make yourself feel better whenever you find yourself in a bad mood or feeling stressed out.

1. Stop thinking that you’re stressed

If you think that you’re in a bad mood, you’ll be stuck in a bad mood. It’s all about your perception and how you see things. So if things don’t go well for you, stop and think why not. It’s normal to feel bad when things go wrong, but it’s not good to dwell.

Determine what stressed you out or what put you in a bad mood and then talk to someone about it and let it off your chest.

Simply talking about your problem or writing it down will enable you to let it go and stop thinking about it. Bottling up negative emotions will only dampen your mood.

2. Exercise

Exercise is another healthy thing you can do to get over stress or a bad mood. Getting outside for a quick walk can help lift your spirits and refresh your mind. Exercise releases endorphins, which make you feel a lot better. The more intense the exercise, the more these chemicals are released into your body.

An exercise not only helps to get rid of your bad mood, but it’s also very good for you. It helps you stay healthy, physically and emotionally. Getting out in the great outdoors is a great way to start building up your immune system especially if you’ve been leading a sedentary lifestyle caused by the pandemic.

Even if it’s just a brief walk around the block, doing something to move will greatly improve how you feel. So take 15 minutes out of your day to go for a bike ride, play ball with your dog or go on a hike through the woods. You’ll be so glad that you did.

3. Do something useful for the less fortunate

When you’re not feeling on top of the world, doing things for other people does wonders. It makes you think how lucky we are to have all we do and brings perspective when we’re going through a tough time.

4. Think about all the good things you have

There’s always something to look back on and get a good feeling from. Everyone has been through some bad patches, but there have been some fantastic moments too. Make sure they’re not forgotten.

5. Be around people who lift your spirits

It’s hard to stay in a bad mood if others are trying to cheer you up. It also makes it easier if the people around you know what may  help, so let them know what works for you when you’re feeling low.

It doesn’t have to be people but pets can also be excellent companions when you’re feeling stressed out or sad.

For example, dog owners are able to fight off depression or stress-related issues more consistently because dogs are able to provide them with companionship and unconditional love that seem to make people happier. So spend more time with your pet or think about adopting one if you haven’t gotten a furry companion yet.

6. Meditate

If you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, sad, or even sick, meditation may help get rid of that bad mood. Here are some tips on how you can use meditation to feel better.

• Make sure you’re in a comfortable position where you can relax your body and have good posture without being too uncomfortable.

You can sit cross-legged on the floor or lay down if that’s more comfortable for you.

For starters, just be aware of your breathing throughout and be comfortable.

• Find a word to focus on as you meditate, such as “one” or “Om.”

This can help keep your mind grounded and not wander around so much, which could lead to more worries.

You can start by counting down from ten until one. Each number is ten percent of your mind getting to that relaxed and focused state, which will make it easier for the rest of your practice to go smoothly if this is your first time meditating.

• Breathe easily throughout the meditation process. Don’t try too hard to make your breathing perfect – just breathe at a regular pace and depth that feels natural. You can also make a soft sound as you exhale to help you focus on controlling your breathing.
• Meditation doesn’t have to take too long at all. Even five minutes of sitting and focusing can really clear away bad thoughts and emotions. It might take some time to stretch yourself, but it’s worth it.

That should give you a good start and should help you shed off that bad mood. Once you begin meditation, keep practicing to reap its benefits.

7. Do something nice for yourself each day

Whether it’s indulging in your favorite snack or playing on Facebook, you should do whatever makes you feel good. Just make sure that it’s healthy. Forget about things like smoking or drinking, but if you must smoke, then consider transitioning to healthier alternatives like vaping.

If you don’t look after yourself, you won’t be able to care for others around you. Be kind to yourself, do things that make you feel better as long as they’re healthy, and always make sure you’re happy.

8. Make a list of what makes you feel stressed

If stress keeps creeping up in your life, stop them from appearing by making a list of things that trigger stress. Once they’re written down, it’ll be easier to control the things that stress you out or stop them from happening.

Listing down things that stress you out will also help you look at things in a linear way. You’ll have a clear idea of what needs to be fixed and you can set out a plan on how you can work on it. For example, you might feel stressed whenever you look at a messy workspace or a messy room on top of the dozens of tasks that you have for work. Having a list will make them easier to organize, prioritize, and execute.

9. Smile when you feel like frowning

Although it sounds simple, this will help to lift anyone out of a bad mood. Even if you can’t smile through feeling down, try it. Look in the mirror and smile.

A smile triggers a chemical reaction in your brain which leads to the release of hormones such as serotonin and dopamine. Dopamine has the ability to increase your feelings of happiness while serotonin has the ability to reduce feelings of stress.

When we imitate a facial expression it activates what is known as the emotional mimicry system within our brains. This part of our brains causes us to unconsciously copy the expression we are looking at so that even if we aren’t happy when we make a smiling expression, it will lift our mood automatically.

But don’t fake it. If you pretend to be happier than you actually feel, your body won’t respond with the proper hormones to actually change how you feel. Smile like you mean in and it will make you feel a lot happier.

10. Write down 5 positive things about yourself

If we don’t tell ourselves how great we are every now and again, we start believing any old nonsense about how useless we are. Don’t be so hard on yourself and stop the negative talk.

Writing down five positive things about yourself will remind you of all your good qualities and everything that you like about yourself. This might seem pretty basic, but once you do it, you’ll find that it’s something that will make your feel a lot better.

11. Learn to say “no”

Most people are taught to be sensitive towards a situation or other people’s feelings and this is why you find yourself saying yes to most things even if you feel like saying no. If you don’t feel like going out and doing things that you don’t like then don’t do it. Only you know what’s good for you and if something is stressing you out or making you feel uncomfortable, walk away from it. Do what makes you happy and learn to say no.

Be Kind To Yourself

Bad days and stress are normal parts of life, and they can get exacerbated when running your own business. Similarly, feeling sad is an emotion that everyone experiences – a healthy emotion that makes you human.

The important thing is to not dwell on them and let them consume you. We all have our own ways of feeling better after a stressful day. Knowing what works best for you is key in controlling these triggers.

Always be grateful for everything you have and learn to understand that happiness and sadness are all part of life. The best thing you can do with negative experiences or emotions is to say “it’s okay to feel this way” or “It’s OK to have a bad day.” Instead of negating the validity of what you’re feeling, embrace it and then let go of it.