Life is like a rollercoaster of emotions, you have your highs but then you also have your lows. Everyone experiences bad days, be it as complex as a fight with a loved one, or something that puts you off like stubbing your toe. Bad days are unavoidable, but the ability to do something to change your mood is not. Here are 10 tips which can potentially help you bust your bad mood and brighten your day!

1. Take a walk: Walking serves as a good form of exercise in addition to being a great stressbuster! Walking and absorbing the beauty of your natural surrounding distracts you from your stress and with a clear brain, it allows you to think about how to deal with situations properly. Mild depression and stress can be alleviated through brisk walking due to the release of endorphins and can improve your mood and your self-esteem.

2. Meditate: Meditation helps increase your focusing power as well as boosts your cognitive abilities. This allows you to clear out the constant stream of worries in your head, and helps motivate you to work towards something productive.

3. Take a nap: Probably the best way for a daily mood fix, napping helps reduce stress hormones in your body and improves your focus and emotional stability. A short 15-20 minute nap everyday can also help reverse the effects of a poor sleep schedule and boost your immune health.

4. Eating: Your mood can often be bad due to hunger. So get down to treat yourself once in awhile, because eating or snacking on a favorite food can instantly help you feel better and lifts your spirits! Make sure to make yourself a healthy snack, especially after a long tiring day, and just unwind and munch on some goodies. 

5. Listen to soothing music: It’s time to get those ‘Feel Good’ Spotify playlists running! Listening to soothing music is one of the most popular methods to instantly brighten your day. It doesn’t even have to be music, some people even prefer to listen to the sound of rain and thunder to make themselves happy. Did you know the video “Rain Sounds - 10 hours”, has over 31 million views? Perhaps the soothing sounds of nature are truly effective, and definitely worth a try.

6. Call a loved one: Talking about your stress and sharing your problems with a loved one can often be helpful as it lifts off some of the emotional deadweight from your shoulders. Being social creatures, we find solace in the company of another, so, calling up a loved one, even if it's just to check up on how they’re doing, will instantly brighten your mood and reduce anxiety.

7. Sniff certain scents: This one may seem weird, but it is actually scientifically proven to make you feel happier in a matter of a few seconds. Sniffing scents like that of orange or lavender can drastically reduce stress and improve mood swings. Time to start peeling those oranges and cut out negativity from life!

8. Imagine positive situations: The mind is a powerful tool, and its capability to imagine ambitious and positive situations, or rather “build castles in the sky”, actually helps to brighten your mood by boosting your motivation. So, it is totally normal to dream about giving your acceptance speech at the Oscars: do what makes you happy you know.

9. Play with pets: One word: PUPPIES. Even though you may not be a dog, or cat, or animal person in general, studies have shown that spending time with an animal drastically reduces your stress level and releases endorphins which help you feel all warm, fuzzy, and happy inside. 

10.  Get a massage: The thought of someone giving you a massage and releasing all those knots on your back, is itself relaxing. Getting a massage helps with depression, anxiety, anger and stress relief: all of which are factors which contribute to a bad mood. Do a spa day once in awhile and feel like royalty while quadrupling your level of comfort and happiness. 

A little self-care goes a long way. Even if these techniques do not work for you, just know that everyone is different. Perhaps you might rather do something you have a particular interest in as a way to destress. Whatever method you use to maintain your happiness is up to you, as long as you are aware that a positive mind is crucial to a healthy body.

References:

1. Deuter, Melissa. “15 Surefire Ways To Brighten Your Mood”. Huffpost. 2014. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/melissa-deuter-md/brighten-mood_b_5865532.html

2. Newcomer, Laura. “34 Ways to Bust a Bad Mood in 10 Minutes or Less”. Greatist. 2015. https://greatist.com/happiness/34-ways-bust-bad-mood-ten-minutes