Battles with Low Mood
If you're experiencing low mood, you may find getting to work or staying productive and creative a struggle. It may also be impacting your home and social life or broader well-being. It may be difficult to recognize when a low mood is impacting you, but sometimes even more daunting when you realize you need to resolve the situation. Fortunately, the conversation around low mood is becoming more and more normalized, and everyone struggles with this from time to time. There are several ways you can tackle low moods for an improved quality of life, both at work and at home, and knowing where to look to find help is the first step.
Let's explore some of the classic signs and symptoms of low mood, and our top tips for how to tackle low mood to improve your sense of wellbeing and overall health.
What Is Low Mood?
Low mood impacts us all from time to time and can range in length of time or severity. When we find ourselves struggling to deal with our usual responsibilities, becoming more irritable or miserable, feeling less inclined to be social or take part in our usual hobbies, or having difficulty sleeping, these can all be indicators of a period of low mood. Low mood can appear seemingly out of the blue, or as a result of stress or worries in life.
When recognizing yourself in a period of low mood, it's important to remember that this is a common experience for everyone, and speaking up and finding ways to help yourself is important. A low mood can last from days to weeks, but a low mood that feels extreme or to last longer may be a sign of depression. This may be helped by speaking to medical professionals or seeking the support of talking therapies.
Now we understand a little more about low mood, let's explore some of our top tips to help manage these periods and get you back to yourself.
Top Tip to Overcome Low Mood
Reach Out
If you can, reach out to a trusted friend, family member, colleague, or medical professional to talk things through. Keeping worries and feelings to yourself often only makes things worse; sharing them with someone you feel safe with can help release some tension and help you find a healthier way to deal with things.
Get Some Fresh Air
Getting out into some fresh air or open landscape can make a huge difference to your mood. If woodlands or a lake are nearby, or even a local park, make use of them. Studies have shown that getting into nature can improve overall mental health, so a walk, a sport, or even some gardening can change the mind. Taking time away from the bustle of everyday life and reconnecting with nature can be a great boost to mood and a way to release stress.
Gentle Movement
We know that exercising regularly is a huge benefit to physical health, but it also boosts our mental well-being. Take a walk or a jog or maybe try some yoga to get started, or pick up an old sport you used to love. Even a little exercise can go a long way.
Get Enough Sleep
If you're struggling with low mood, it's likely your sleep is also affected in one way or another. Whilst it can be difficult, getting enough sleep is important to help the brain recover and restore, even more so in periods of low mood. Explore healthy sleep routines you can start introducing and create a comfortable space to get a decent night's sleep.
Write It Down
Having a private space to explore your thoughts and feelings can be a great help to manage low mood without the worry of opening up to someone else. It can also add a different level of perspective to understanding ourselves and help navigate life's stressors.
Meditate
In a similar way to journaling or taking up some gentle movement, meditating is a great way to get back into the body and out of the head and feel less isolated in a low mood. Focus on a few minutes, to begin with, just focusing on your breathing, and see where it takes you. There are plenty of online courses, apps, and books to help you get into meditation for the first time.
Eat Well
What we eat plays a huge part in our mood management. Take time to eat well, with a broad range of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and fish if you choose to eat these. Staying healthy is a whole-body journey. Staying hydrated can help clear aches and pains, too.
Connect With Others
Reach out to others in your community and engage with people in a new way. Interaction and connection are an incredible relief to low mood and feeling isolated and are often found in places we haven't looked before. Engage with a local community group or explore a new bookstore or coffee shop.
Stretch & Rest
Allow time to stretch and rest your body. As important as exercise and sleep, keeping your body healthy and flexible helps manage physical and mental health and also helps release stress and improve blood circulation
Interact with Wildlife
Interacting with wildlife can be a great chance to engage with the natural world and focus on a new perspective. Whilst you may not live in a particularly rural area, wildlife is rich when you take a moment to look around - notice birds overhead or resting in your neighborhood, look out for flowers or trees in your community. Take some time to appreciate their presence.
The Road To Joy
Low mood can feel like a huge hurdle for many of us, and finding peace and contentment can feel like a continued struggle. Whilst we can't always manage the stressors life brings to us, we can choose how to manage our feelings and the actions we take. Looking after our physical and mental well-being is essential, and practicing some of these tips to overcome low mood can be another tool for preventative and curing care for low mood, today and tomorrow.
