Finding yourself lying in bed all day for the third time this week? Sounds like me with a Peanut Butter Cup Ben and Jerry’s, and a Harry Potter marathon. If only there was a spell to make us happy when we are down. It is totally okay to feel down sometimes, honestly, there are some benefits like self-reflection time to figure out what’s upsetting you and create plans to overcome it. However, it will only truly be useful once your ready to try again pick yourself up.
Even though, sadly, there are no wands and spells, these tips you will read about work like magic. With these simple and effective strategies, you will be jumping out of bed happy, and smiling for the rest of the week.
Make Plans With Friends And Family
If there is anyone who knows you more than youself, it is the people around you that love you most. I understand when the going gets tough sometimes you want to be alone, but that will only get you stuck reflecting on what is upsetting you.
Friends and family are great resources for picking you up when your upset for many reasons. Firstly, you don’t have to go far for support, they live with or around you in most situations. Another great thing about friends and family is that they understand you and your humor, even if your feelings are hard to speak on, they will find a way to make you laugh even for a moment.
When you finally crack that beautiful smile take advantage of that moment of happiness and make plans with them. Having something to look forward to is very imporant, especially when it can create a potential core memory. I can see Joy from Inside Out cheering you on already.
Try to remove yourself from your usual settings like your home, or even your neighborhood, great examples are a trip to the movies, top golf, or even a wine tasting. When your finished having an amazing and refreshing time your now bringing a smile and potentially new mindset back to the room you were once possibly crying in.
Workout Your Happiness
When we feel down the fastest way to put the ice cream tub down is to do something that makes us feel good about ourselves again. Working out is one of the greatest ways to do this because of how accessisble it is, and the many advantages that follow a nice session.
Working out is very good for your health physically, you lose weight, gain muscle, mobility, and more, but the best benefits affect your brain. After that last push-up, crunch, or dumbell press you will have successfully done it! The smile on your face after your hard work is inevitable, and the immediate thoughts about the next session and imagining of what your dream body looks like gets more real.
As a result of working out neurotransmitters in your brain called dopamine are sending messages of happiness and pleasure to your brain which is exactly what we want for you to be happy as soon as possible. Look at you picking yourself up and building a better you! During your workout, you can release your emotions in your sets and reps in a healthy way, working in unison with the happiness you gain after your session. Now that’s a combo.
Like I mentioned earlier this strategy is great because you can apply it from anywhere, believe it or not, you dont need a gym to work out and get amazing results. Speaking of results, working out, as great as it is to pick yourself up and start smiling again, requires some level of dedication. If you find yourself being spotty with your goals I have just the post for you to ready that will make smiling and planning so much easier.
Going For Walks
Being deeply saddened can feel overwhelming, let alone locking yourself in a room for days at a time. Hours spent looking at the same four walls and the back of your eyelids, but did you know an answer to your problem lies in that very room? What?! No way. Yes, it’s true and it’s called a door.
Choosing to walk out of bed is an act of strength which is just what the doctor ordered to start feeling happy again. One of the best ways to capitalized on that strength you have mustered up is to go for a walk outside. The scenery is nice to enjoy, eases your mind, and in addtion to this, your brain is working with your body to make you happier person behind the scenes. Im sure your asking, What does that mean exactly? Don’t I’ll explain all of this to you.
First by going outside your saying hi to your friend, the sun, and he is just as happy to see you too. So much so in fact, that it increases the production of serotonin inside your brain. Serotonin, for anyone who doesn’t know is a chemical in the brain that can improve your mood and sense of well-being. Isn’t the sun just great?
A nice walk just keeps sounding better and better and it doesnt stop there I have more science for you. As you walk your body is increasing its blood flow which helps release chemicals in the brain like – you guessed it more serotonin and even others like dopamine and endorphins. So much happiness waiting for you and all you have to do is go outside, who knew? Now you do!
As you hopefully continue making a practice of these walks you may start to notice your starting to lose a couple pounds. You deserve it! Going for walks is simply healthy for your body and increases your self-esteem. If your on this page then you know we love a good self-esteem.
To Be Happy Is To Pray
If your sadness comes from loneliness this tip is just for you. As a Christian, prayer is one my favorite ways to overcome sadness, anger, honestly anything that is burdening me. Prayer is such an amazing technique for claiming happiness because of the many effects it has on your mind and heart.
Did you know praying can reduce and even remove feelings of isolation anxiety and fear? If you didn’t as my friend B.I.G. says, “Now you knowww -” We’ll end the quote there. The best part about this is the fear is not just removed from your mind, it is replaced with faith, the absolute opposite of everything fear is. Such a powerful thing prayer can be.
Often times people pray for answers, feeling stuck at a point of their lives, and not knowing which way to go. I have been there and its very relatable. When you feel this way prayer is very effective, because it builds a sense of connection to something, someone bigger than yourself. This is great because it builds that purpose and meaning. Try visiting your local community church. Being in a room full of different people praying with people sharing that same sentiment will surely be an amazing experience.
Praying is great when it comes to handling emotions, and having understanding and control over your emotions is key to feeling happy again. This is because prayer teaches us concepts such as practicing gratitude and compassion, how to forgive and place ill-feelings, and at the end, leaves you feeling hopeful and happy about life.
On the more physical side of prayer lies even more advantages. Typically when we pray, our body is at a resting position in a quiet atmosphere. While you are praying you can actually calm the cardiovascular system and in turn help reduce the stress you may find yourself praying for.
Looking Within
Did you know that it is possible to be sad and not know why? As bizarre as it sounds its actually pretty common. Acknowleding why your sad is essential to start feeling better again so our next technique is to start self-reflecting.
Have you ever played break the piñata? Im sure you remember the couple swings in the dark you took before knocking that sucker out for some candy, hopefully there was a Reese’s. Without reflecting on you problems you will be reaching for happiness the same way, unguided, taking unnecessary extra time to start feeling better. One of the better benefits of looking within your emotions is the solutions your find for the initial problem.
There are problems that bring us down that we can start to fix immediately. Which is awesome, unfortunately, that is not the case all the time. That is okay though because now that we identified what is wrong, we can begin acceptance. Understanding the why’s and how’s of a situation is important because you can gain mindfulness from this moment and avoid doing the same thing later. Acceptance can also bring a calmness to one’s mind relieving a person of stress, and help them feel happier faster.
With acceptance and knowledge of how you are feeling you have the tools you need to start fixing the problems you have discovered. Making a practice of self-reflecting can help you learn better coping skills, increase your emotional intelligence, and even build your resilience in the face of adversity. When your feeling down remember you have so much strength inside of you.