Have you ever found yourself in a bad mood, but you don’t know why? Or maybe you know exactly why you’re in a bad mood, but you’re having a hard time shaking it. We have all been there. Everyone experiences bad moods from time to time — it’s an inevitable part of the human experience. However, dwelling in negative emotions for an extended period can affect our overall well-being and relationships with others. Here are some ways to help you snap out of a bad mood and regain your emotional equilibrium.
Step 1: Acknowledge Your Feelings
The first step towards shifting from a bad mood is to acknowledge your feelings. Sometimes, we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life, suppressing our emotions and not giving them the attention they deserve. However, ignoring or dismissing your feelings can make matters worse over time.
Recognize your mood without judgement. There is a power in naming your feelings. It’s okay to feel upset, angry, or frustrated. These are all natural responses to certain situations or experiences, and sometimes even necessary. Acknowledge your feelings by naming them, and remind yourself that it’s okay to feel this way. It doesn’t make you weak or less of a person. In fact, it makes you human.
Step 2: Understand the Root Cause
Once you’ve acknowledged your mood, try to understand what triggered it. Ask yourself questions like: What specific event led to these feelings? Is it a larger pattern of events or a single instance? By understanding the root cause of your mood, you can work on addressing the situation effectively.
Perhaps reflecting will allow you to recognize a boundary that needs to be set, or a cognitive distortion that negatively contributed to your perspective. You may even recognize that your feelings change—perhaps you acknowledged in step one that you felt angry, but upon reflection of the root cause, you realized that in actuality you were disappointed and it came out as anger. There is a lot of value in understanding what caused our emotions so we can be more proactive in the future.
Step 3: Practice Breathwork or Meditation
Practicing breathwork or meditation can be incredibly helpful when you’re trying to shift out of a negative mood. These techniques help to calm your mind, reduce stress, and promote a sense of balance and peace.
Try a simple breathing exercise: Close your eyes, breathe in deeply through your nose for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of seven, and then exhale through your mouth for a count of eight. Repeat this cycle a few times. You’ll likely notice a sense of calm and relaxation washing over you. This is because deep breathing stops the release of adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones), and triggers the release of endorphins, the happy hormone.
Step 4: Engage in Physical Activity
If you’ve seen the movie “Legally Blonde” then you probably remember Elle saying, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.”
Elle had a point. Physical activity is a proven mood booster. Exercise releases endorphins, which are chemicals in your brain that act as natural painkillers and mood elevators. Whether you choose to go for a run, take an exercise class, or simply go for a walk outside, any form of physical activity can help you snap out of a bad mood.
Step 5: Re-frame Your Thoughts
Cognitive-behavioral techniques can be highly effective in helping you shift your mood. The idea is to identify negative thought patterns and re-frame them into positive ones. For example, instead of thinking “I’m terrible at this,” you could think, “I’m still learning and improving.”
Start to take notice of the way you talk to yourself. Does it tend to be negative? Write down some of your thoughts and then challenge those thoughts. What evidence do you have to support them? What evidence do you have that contradicts those thoughts? We have automatic thoughts that are rooted in irrational core beliefs and we tend to treat them as facts without ever challenging them. Sometimes the simple practice of exploring your thoughts more can help you to recognize when they are irrational which will help bring you out of a funk.
Step 6: Reach Out to Loved Ones
Sometimes, the quickest way to shift out of a negative mood is connecting with someone you are close to and who understands you. Quick—think about one person in your life who you feel yourself around and who makes you smile or laugh. That’s the person to call or visit when you are in a funk. Whether you choose to share your troubles with them or not is up to you—but just connecting with that person will likely elevate your mood.
Step 7: Engage in Activities You Enjoy
Doing something you love can help distract you from negative emotions and promote a positive mood. Whether it’s playing a sport, listening to music, cooking, or reading a book, engaging in activities that make you happy can make a significant difference in your mood.
You may have to force yourself to do the activity at first. When we are down, our motivation is low which can perpetuate those negative feelings. It becomes a vicious cycle. Break that cycle and commit to doing something you typically enjoy—even if you don’t feel like it initially.
Step 8: Practice Gratitude
The research on the positive effects of daily gratitude are clear and it shows that it can significantly shift your mood. Try to identify three things you’re grateful for each day, specifically right before you fall asleep. They don’t have to be big things – sometimes, it’s the small joys like a cup of coffee, a delicious meal, or a nice gesture from a stranger that can bring a change in your perspective.
Our brains are designed to always seek out and remember the bad things to protect us from danger. This has negative impacts on our mental health, though, so it is equally important to find the good and acknowledge it. Once you start writing it down daily, you will notice your behavior shifting—you will find yourself looking for the positive rather than the negative!
Step 9: Seek Professional Help
If you find yourself stuck in a prolonged negative mood that you can’t seem to shake off, don’t hesitate to seek professional help. Therapists and counselors are trained to help you navigate your emotions and can provide you with effective strategies to manage your mood. You don’t have to combat it alone.
Step 10: Practice Self-Care
Lastly, remember to prioritize self-care. This includes eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and ensuring you have some downtime to relax and unwind. Prioritizing your physical health can have a profound effect on your emotional health. So often we put our needs last and then can’t understand why we are unhappy. We have to shift away from feeling guilty about prioritizing ourselves sometimes and view it as a necessary part of life.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s important to remember that emotions, both good and bad, are part of our shared human experience. They make us who we are and contribute to our personal growth and development. So, the next time you find yourself in a bad mood, acknowledge it, understand it, and know that you have the tools and the strength to shift it. You are not alone in your journey, and it’s okay to ask for help when you need it.
Remember, happiness is not a constant state, it’s a process. A process that involves ups and downs, good days and bad days. What’s crucial is how we navigate through these phases and how we bounce back from our low days. So go ahead, snap out of that bad mood, and embrace the beautiful journey of life with all its ups and downs. You’ve got this!
