Do you ever have one of those days where you’re just “off” from the second you wake up? Have you ever had something happen to you in the middle of the day that completely changed your emotional direction? I consider myself to be a fairly emotional woman, and so it doesn’t always take much to turn my mood. The problem I have is that I can’t always change it back. Many times, once something has happened to make me feel sad or worried or stressed I can’t seem to get to higher ground.

I have found that more often than not, it is my own attitude that is creating most of the problem. When I’m feeling dumpy it’s generally because I’m feeling bad about something in my life that I haven’t resolved or completed. Rather than focus my attitude on the positive, I get trapped in thinking about what I haven’t accomplished. In other words, it’s not the initial problem that’s keeping me in a bad mood, it’s my own view point. So, I have been experimenting with different ways of hitting the emotional reset button and once I started trying, I realized that it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it was. Here are some great tips and ideas to try next time you’re feeling stuck in the dumps.

1. Go to the gym. Getting in a good workout helps in more ways than one. Exercise not only releases those famous endorphins which naturally improve your mood, but going to the gym can also have a positive effect on your attitude. After a workout, I leave feeling good about myself because I did something positive for my health. Add to this list it’s ability to relieve stress and increase your energy level and working out becomes even more valuable.
2. Find a Distraction. Distraction can be a great tool. Read a book, watch a movie, read the news or your favorite blog. Call a friend and talk abut something other than your troubles, take a walk, or play ball with your dog. Sometimes all you need is to change your focus for a bit- it can give your brain the break it needs to reset. Once you come back to it, you often realize the situation isn’t nearly as bad as you thought it was.
3. Take a nap. Falling asleep and visiting your dreams for a while is the essential reset button! I find that things that looked hopeless the night before, seem trivial to me the next morning. A good 30 minute nap can have the same effect.
4. Journal. I am a hardcore journal keeper. I have stacks of dusty spirals in my closet. If you’re stuck in a bad mood, try reasoning with yourself. Ask yourself what is bothering you? Why is it so important? What is the worst case scenario, and would your life literally be “over” if that happened? Then ask yourself if spending all your energy being upset or bummed about this one thing is really worth wasting a day of your life. In my opinion, being in a crappy mood makes it impossible to enjoy all the good things around us, so think of it in terms of what you’re giving up just to be in a bad mood.
5. Get Serious. If all else has failed and you are still feeling low, then it’s time to get serious about what’s bothering you. Sometimes there’s a reason the reset button doesn’t work! If it’s something truly important to you then isolate the problem and give it your full attention. Journal about what the issue is and how you feel you can resolve it and feel better. Then, DO IT. Take a mental health day off from work if you need to, but until you look it straight in the eye and tackle it once and for all it is consuming time and energy that you could be putting towards something that brings you joy.

There are a lot of different ways to emotionally reset yourself, and some methods will work better than others for each of us. The important thing I think is to remember that being in a bad mood really energy expenditure that is wasteful! Find out what helps you to reset yourself so that you can enjoy the rest of your day. You’ll be glad you did.

Here are some other places with great ideas:

• Joy to the Planet
  
• Fit Links: Mood Boosters
• 31 Sneaky Mood Boosters
• Take a test and find out about how your mood swings

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