Improve your mood right now with these ten simple ideas
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Feelings of depression can have a major impact on your mental health. So here’s ten things you can do right now to improve your mood and enhance your wellbeing
From the archive: Mountain Rescue Magazine Summer issue 77, July 2021: Jane Rosso, the Fire Fighters Charity Psychological Services Lead,
Connect with a loved one
With lockdowns and pandemic behind us, there’s never been a better time to reconnect with those closest to you. And, if you’d prefer to stay indoors a while longer, we can connect with friends and family online, over the phone, by text, or maybe even with a more retro approach. Making a social connection can help to combat some of the feelings of loneliness you may be experiencing. Why not get creative and make them a nice card or postcard, then tell them how much they mean to you inside?
Be kind to yourself
Take time to breathe, stop, relax and nourish your soul. Do nothing except count your breaths. Tomorrow is another day. If work is not going so well today, take a break, talk about the difficulty you’re facing, try a different approach and start the new day with a fresh outlook.
Help someone else
Helping others makes us happy by developing connections and feelings of confidence, control and optimism. What can you do to help someone else right now? Could you collect donations for a food bank or one of our clothing banks? Or could you just don a pair of rubber gloves and head out to do a litter pick in your nearby area?
Be joyful
What could you do that would make you smile? Laughter and smiling lift your mood, decreasing stress hormones and helping you to overcome feelings of anger. Laughter also increases feel-good endorphins and releases physical tension. So put on your favourite comedy or look up a comedian you like on YouTube and enjoy. You could even try experimenting with laughter yoga.
Do something different
When you feel in a rut, do something to break the monotony of your routine. Get up earlier to do a short yoga workout, meditation or tai chi before you start your day. Take a mindful walk while there’s still daylight, paying attention to your senses and noticing your surroundings. If you work from home, consider setting an alarm every two hours to get up and do star jumps, heel raises, lunges or running on the spot for thirty seconds, just to get your blood pumping.
Drink less alcohol
We drink for many reasons. Boredom, relaxation, unwinding after a hard day, because we ‘deserve it’, for fun, celebration, anxiety, habit or just ‘because’. But that extra glass of wine or pint of beer may have a detrimental effect on your wellbeing, aggravating pre-existing conditions or disrupting your sleep. Try alcohol-free drinks or replacing the desire to drink with a tip from this list.
Shift your focus
Focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t. Develop a positive mindset. Rethink difficult thoughts, so ‘I’m bored’ becomes ‘I’m going to use this time to learn a new skill’. Use your time deliberately, put down your phone, take up a new hobby, reach out to someone, read a book, decorate your house or do something creative.
Boost your immune system
Living a healthy lifestyle has so many benefits for both your physical and mental wellbeing, not to mention giving you a better chance of fighting off nasty bugs. Look into healthier food or drink options and take steps to improve your sleep hygiene.
Explore
Develop a curious mind for the world around you. This could be from your armchair through new sights via YouTube, Google Earth or museums and galleries. Or by going for a walk on a new route in your local area. Research local community groups for activities you can do, such as a community litter picks, book swaps, art classes or a choir. If events aren’t happening right now, register for future face-to-face meetings to give yourself something to look forward to.
Be grateful
Research shows that practicing gratitude can have many positive implications in a person’s life, improving your physical and psychological health, enhancing your ability to feel empathy, improving your sleep, opening the door for new relationships, increasing mental strength and resilience and generally making you feel more optimistic. So take a few minutes each day to reflect on what you feel grateful for, and see the difference it can have on your life in the long term. What will you do to improve your mood?
The NHS Health A to Z offers more information about the Five Steps to Mental Wellbeing. Or head to Mind for more thoughts about how to feel better about yourself.