Many people experience depressive symptoms in their lives. These depressive symptoms will vary in both severity and the duration, and they can affect how we feel and function in our daily lives. These symptoms can also be difficult to overcome and cope with. People who experience these depressive symptoms may go through a series of different emotions and experiences, before feeling down or low on life.
There are many mental health conditions which can lead to feeling down such as anxiety, depression and anxiety. Often when someone is experiencing a low mood, they’ll feel too tired to do anything, which can lead to further depression. If you have ever felt this way before, then you’ll know the struggle.
However, there are some ways in which you can try to combat these feelings and improve your mental health. When we’re feeling down or depressed, it’s always helpful to have a couple of strategies up your sleeve in case you’re feeling low, and you want to try and shake off your low mood.
5 Tips to Get Yourself Out of a Low Mood
Try to avoid ‘what if’ thoughts – I am sure many of us have been in a situation where we’ve thought about the “what ifs”, and it’s lead to negative thinking, and made us feel worse.
Often, the “what ifs” we’re worrying about are not worth worrying about in the first place, and worrying about them can lead to low moods, so try not to worry about the ifs and maybes, and focus on the here and now.
Try to focus on the good – Managing our emotions is difficult, but it helps if you’re able to focus on the more positive things in your life, rather than just the negatives. It’s only natural for our moods to shift throughout the day, week or month, but it’s important not to completely shut yourself off from happiness.
If you’ve ever found yourself drowning in negative thoughts, and you feel overwhelmed by the bad things in your life, try to take a step back and focus on the bright side.
Practice gratitude – Gratitude is a way to recognise the good parts of your life, and the small things don’t always need to be big things, when you do have so much good going on too.
Try to concentrate on the these positives, and be thankful for each and every one of them, as there are many people across the world that aren’t as fortunate.
Take a break – Every day, we spend time on menial tasks that make us feel like we’re not getting anything done; especially if you work from home. Most people don’t give themselves the freedom they deserve, and end up feeling guilty for taking a break, which is just silly.
This is exactly how our mental health can take a turn for the worse, so it’s important to have time out for yourself every day, so you’re then able to come back rejuvenated and refreshed.
Have a recharge – Many people find themselves struggling with their motivation, and find themselves procrastinating. We want to achieve more, but end up feeling trapped in a system that keeps them stuck.
Sometimes, it feels as if it’s hard to break out of this never-ending cycle of frustration and negativity, but this is where taking time to reflect on your dreams can help you create positive change in your life. Give yourself some self care, and some me-time, where you can recharge your batteries, and just enjoy some downtime, as it’ll renew your motivation and give you some get up and go to get your work done.