What To Do On a Bad Day

My husband sent me an article from the Harvard Business Review a few years ago, and I wanted to share it again because it's full of great tips for how to turn a bad day around! 

Here are some of my favorites:

1. Be grateful! It’s impossible to feel depressed and grateful at the same time, so when you’re starting to feel down, take a minute to list three things going well in your life.
2. Do something positive. If things are going badly, you need a little victory to change the trajectory of your mood. The article suggests sending an email you’ve been meaning to send or making a healthy snack choice. Even better: Do something that makes someone else feel good.
3. Pinpoint what’s bothering you so you can put it in perspective. Just because something went wrong today doesn’t mean things always go wrong or your day is ruined. There’s lots more to your life than the challenge that’s clouding your mood.
4. Change your routine. The author writes, "If you’re feeling miserable, don’t hunker down at your desk for the rest of the day. A change of scenery often helps signal to your brain that the current mood doesn’t need to be sustained."

That is so true! I posted a video on Facebook last week with tips how to get yourself out of a slump, and a change of scenery and pace is part of it.

Head over here to read the full article. It’s a great reminder about the power we can have over our moods!

Satu Woodland is owner and clinician of Mental Health Solutions, an integrative mental health practice located at Bown Crossing in Boise, Idaho. She sees children, adolescents, and adults.

Author

Satu H. Woodland, PMHCNS-BC, APRN Satu Woodland is owner and clinician of Hope Mental Health, an integrative mental health practice located at Bown Crossing in Boise, Idaho. She sees children, adolescents, and adults.  Ms. Woodland with her background in nursing, prefers a holistic and integrative approach to mental health care that addresses the mind and body together. While Ms. Woodland provides medication management services in all her patients, she believes in long-lasting solutions that include a number of psychotherapies, namely cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, attention to lifestyle, evidenced based alternative psychiatric care and spirituality. If you’d like to gain control over your mental health issues, call Hope Mental Health at 208-918-0958, or use the online scheduling tool to set up an initial consultation.