Do you think your mood has been low lately? We all go through moments when it seems that positive emotions and thoughts are not going to return and at these times it is very important to know strategies that help us increase our mood to avoid entering a loop of negative sensations and sadness. Our mood will depend largely on our habits and our well-being will depend on them. How to improve your mood? In this Psychology-Online article we will show you how to lift your spirits: 10 tips effective psychological
Tips to lift your spirits
Often our mood declines and we ask ourselves how we can improve our mood? Below we want to show you a set of guidelines that will help us better control our mood as well as exercises to lift your spirits. You can apply this set of strategies in your daily life and you will see how you will immediately begin to notice small improvements compared to the moments when you feel most down.
1. Habits to lift your spirits
How to lift your spirits? Throughout this article you will see different tips that will help you lift your mood, but perhaps this is the most important. Our mood is conditioned by our physical and emotional well-being and these are related. If we don’t take care of ourselves, our mind will feel more tired. Must acquire good habits to take care of our body and our mind.
In addition, changing habits tends to generate positive changes in our mood, because expectations towards changes keep us active. All of this increases if the changes we propose also contain a significant objective for ourselves, which is why it is advisable to look for a goal that gives us motivation and enthusiasm.
2. Sleep and rest schedules
A bit in relation to the previous advice, the hours of sleep can cause imbalances in our emotional state, which may be related to the lack of energy that occurs when sleeping for a few hours. To lift your spirits it is necessary sleep and rest properly for enough time, but not more than necessary. Experts recommend sleeping approximately 8 hours a day.
3. Physical exercise to lift your spirits
Playing sports has proven to be one of the options most effective to raise our mood And this is because when we do sports our body produces an increase in hormones related to pleasure and happiness! The release of these hormones occurs due to the activation of our body and thus, sport manages to activate these sensations of well-being and increased energy.
It is not necessary to make great efforts, there are many exercises to lift your spirits, because any activity that exercises our body will help our body. We advise you to choose the activity that you like the most, such as cycling, doing Zumba classes, going for a walk… any exercise will help us and the most advisable thing is to be able to do it about 3 times a week for between 20 and 60 minutes.
4. Change of thoughts
It is normal that in a low mood our mind is invaded by many negative thoughts and it is true that it is perhaps one of the most difficult factors to control. However, we can try be aware of our thoughtstry to understand them and once we are clear about what thoughts are causing us to feel this way, we must look for change them for more positive thoughts. For this it can help you.
5. Social support
It is very common that when we feel depressed we lock ourselves at home, the plan we most want is to lie down on the couch or in bed and watch a series that distracts us. However, this measure is counterproductive, as it further increases the feelings of emptiness and sadness. To increase our mood we must activate our body and our mindand if we stay at home we enter a dynamic that favors a low emotional state.
Given this, it is advisable to leave the house, force yourself to the extent possible and healthy to socializeso call some friends and even if you don’t feel much like doing activities, you will see how shortly after going out you start to feel better.
6. Relaxation techniques
Stress can be one of the main drivers of discomfort, causing our mood to appear low. We must try to avoid or combat stress and to do this, there are many techniques and strategies that can help you. Some of the most effective techniques to reduce stress are relaxation techniques, such as , you can also use mindfulness or breathing exercises.
If you are subject to many stressors in your life, consider starting to introduce these exercises into your routine, as they will help you reduce the stress that comes with a very busy life in a matter of minutes. These exercises can be practiced daily and will not take more than a few minutes.
7. Laughter therapy
Trying to laugh at times when you feel sad can be a difficult task to accomplish. However, we must keep in mind that Laughter produces a psychological effect on our body., which will produce an increase in our mood. Perhaps it is difficult to laugh naturally at this time, but there are many activities that can help you laugh out loud, such as: watching a humorous movie, hanging out with your friends and remembering embarrassing experiences, going to see a monologue,…
8. Reflect
Many times we feel low in spirit without knowing very well why. Recognizing and discovering the problem should be one of the first steps to be able to improve our mood and it is true that many times, we feel so fatigued by our low mood that we do not make an effort to think about what is happening to us. Discover what makes you feel bad and assess whether its importance is enough to make you feel that way. Whatever the answer, the next step will be to find a solution. If we do not know what is happening to us, we will not be able to solve it.
9. Foods to boost your mood
It is common that when we are in a low mood we overeat and not all food favors our mood. In addition, its abuse can cause problems in our body and thus also affect our mind. However, there is a set of foods that act directly on our mood.
One of them is the chocolate, which has the advantage of increasing the serotonin levels in our body. Serotonin is recognized as the hormone of happiness and in addition, it helps to enhance performance, improves circulation and is a powerful natural analgesic.
Another food that helps improve mood is the banana, since it provides large amounts of energy to our body. In addition, like chocolate, it produces an increase in the production of serotonin.
10. Music to lift your spirits
It may seem silly, but music can transmit very positive feelings to us, since music has the virtue of causing an emotional impact on us. When we feel down we tend to listen to melancholic, sad, veiled and slow music, which can maintain our low mood. To lift the mood we must listen to those songs that manage to awaken positive emotions in ussince we tend to associate music with our own emotions.
How to raise self-esteem
Our self-esteem directly alters our mood, since low self-esteem will lead to greater discomfort. Therefore, it is essential to take care of the perception we have about ourselves. To improve our mood it is very important that we start with take care of ourselves and before that, you must start from stop beating yourself upNo one is perfect and we all make mistakes and these must be accepted and respected, because mistakes will help you continue to improve and grow. Don’t beat yourself up, accept yourself with all your virtues and defects, and above all the criticisms you make about your defects, prepare them in a constructive way. To do this you can start.
On the other hand, to increase our self-esteem it is very important to think positively, since maintaining low expectations of ourselves will limit us from what we want to achieve, which will confirm the low expectations we had about our abilities, causing us to enter a loop.
In addition to this, we must avoid comparisons. There will always be someone better than us in some aspects, in the same way that there will be people who do not have some of our qualities. We all have our virtues and defects and we must seek to improve ourselves, not comparing ourselves to others.
Phrases to lift your spirits
There are many phrases that can help you reflect and improve your mood. Words can inspire many emotions. Read them and let the words begin to change your mood!
- In the midst of every difficulty there is an opportunity.
- Always remember that you are bigger than your circumstances, you are more than anything that can happen to you.
- Everything happens for a reason, live, love, learn from life.
- Make your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile.
- Never despair. But if it comes to it, keep working despite the desperation.
- Life is short. Don’t waste it regretting your mistakes or worrying about your future. Enjoy the trip without getting lost in the traps of hedonism.
- True happiness is found within you.
- Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who is in a good place had to start from a worse place.
- It doesn’t matter how many times you fall but how many times you get up.
- A valuable helmsman sails even with his flag destroyed.
- It doesn’t matter if you failed yesterday, today you have the opportunity to try again.
If you want to see more phrases to lift your spirits, you will find them in the following article: .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The power of good feelings. Mind and Brain, 8, 74-78.
- Greenberger, D., & Padesky, C. (1998). Control of Your Mood. Paidos Iberica, Ediciones SA
- Preston, J. (2002). Lift that spirit: simple remedies to combat depression. Robinbook Editions.