How to Improve your Mood

It’s no secret that many of us are struggling right now more than we would. Most of the things that put a smile on our face are forbidden, but not ALL of them. That’s where today’s little tidbits of advice come into play. 

Yes, there’s a variety of little things you can do on a day-to-day basis which within the space of just a few seconds can bring a little cheer back into your life and perk up your mentality and mood. Some may sound silly, some may sound obvious, but at the end of the day as long as they work that’s all that matters. Ready?

Smile at yourself in the mirror

It might sound ridiculous but smiling at yourself in a mirror makes you feel slightly uncomfortable and silly to the point that your false smile becomes a real smile. Try it. 

Spend a little time with your pet if you have one

Comfort and knowing that we are responsible for someone else brings a great deal of joy to our lives. It also puts our mood into perspective. When we spend time with our kids or our pets, no matter how needy they can sometimes be, it brings a great deal of joy to our lives. It’s proven to emit certain hormones that give you a wider third-person perspective to realize that life isn’t all doom and gloom and what you are surrounded by is in fact very important and a beautiful reason to be alive. 

Laugh

This one is a bit of a no-brainer. Have that comedian you adore or that TikTok / Instagram profile that makes your dimples grow. Laughter is one of life’s greatest medicines, so if you’re ever feeling blue, a couple of minutes of watching something humorous will set you back on good form. 

Talk to upbeat people

Our brains and bodies release a hormone called oxytocin to strengthen the relationships we have with those around us. Your brain/body releases oxytocin to strengthen relationships. Oxytocin gets released during light caresses, sex, when someone shows they trust you, and sometimes even simply with talking. When released, oxytocin increases feelings of attachment for another person, as well as feelings of trust

Have Sex, Masturbate or get a Sex Toy

I’m not kidding – and while some people may laugh at this (good, I made you happy), sex emits a surge of hormones that really lift our spirit and mood. If you live by yourself or don’t have a partner then put things back into your own hands right now in your bedroom. There’s no shame in talking about topics like this. Mental health is a serious and complex thing and sex has been proven to have a positive impact on our moods through the release of countless hormones. 

De-clutter or Re-arrange things in your room

Changing an environment can help us feel refreshed, enabling us to bust out of a negative mood. Clutter spikes cortisol, getting rid of it decreases it!

Listen to sad songs and cry. 

Might sound a little counter-productive, but allowing yourself to get rid of those pent up emotions is a release. Once you’ve had that release your happiness meter is re-filled and you’ll be less likely to dwell on the negativity. 

Compliment someone else

Tell a friend they look nice in a photo, drop a message to someone out of the blue reminding them of something you loved that they did. Basically, if you can give a compliment to someone, go ahead and do it. Research has shown that we get a spike in happiness knowing we are making others happy. 

https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/scientifically-proven-ways-improve-your-mood/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/hide-and-seek/201701/10-simple-ways-improve-your-mood-when-youre-feeling-down

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/health-wellbeing/mind-body/5-tips-to-boost-your-mood/

https://greatist.com/happiness/34-ways-bust-bad-mood-ten-minutes#8

How Sound Techniques Can Improve Your Mental Health & Wellbeing

Here we have a sense we don’t often think about beyond just music yet it has so many benefits for our mental health and wellbeing, especially in promoting calmness.

If we’re at home chances are we’re surrounded by the same person or people and that can lead us to feeling quite irritable. Isolating ourselves, plugging in some earphones and just listening to SOMETHING can detach us from that reality and for a brief moment allow us to escape 

Sound as a Healing Therapy

Sound as a healing therapy dates back all the way to the Ancient Greek times, where it was used to help people with mental health issues and those in pain. Over the years with more technology and understanding we’ve been able to cultivate this more than ever and specigically when it comes to music, improve our mood and mindset. Whether listening to music, singing to music, moving/dancing or playing an instrument – billions of signals are fired through our brains, giving us a sense of euphoria and calmness. That’s why there’s such a thing around singing in the shower. 

Meditation

There are so many different types of meditation each of which offer their own benefits. For a full list click here.

• mindfulness meditation

• spiritual meditation

• focused meditation

• movement meditation

• mantra meditation

• transcendental meditation

• progressive relaxation

• loving-kindness meditation

• visualization meditation 

There’s also something called Ambient Meditation which I discovered recently. As we’re working from our homes this could very well be a saving grace. Instead of focusing on peaceful sounds, it helps us combat and normalise the distractions of life, such as traffic, creaking radiators and the general distasteful noises we encounter throughout the day. By normalising them, we can become more productive throughout the day. 

Sound Hypnotherapy

This is a technique I have used for years in order to help me drift off to sleep. Whether anxiety of insomnia, I’ve had my fair share of difficulty attempting to get some shut eye and the various apps (such as Calm and Breethe) that offer hypnosis sessions have been a saving grace. 

ASMR - Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response  

It might sound a little weird, but I’m going to just say it – I love the sound of people eating soap. Yep, a hard bar of soap. I know, weird right? But its true. And I’m not alone. ASMR highlights noises that subjectively our brains find incredibly relaxing and focus on. (Let me be clear in that they spit the soap out, they aren’t actually swallowing it – so please DON’T start doing this yourself – it’s also about the noise of others, not ourselves.)

ASMR is described as feeling like a mild electrical current running from your brain slowly all the way down your body and is initiated by auditory and visual stimuli. Things like gentle whispers, loud chewing, tapping or repetitive sounds are all classed as ASMR sounds. It took me a while to figure it out as I thought I was just getting irritated and frustrated, but when you begin to actually concentrate on it you do inf act begin to feel more relaxed and alert. Odd, but affective. 

Podcasts

There’s so many genres, everything from learning to self-guidance, wellbeing and more. It doesn’t just need to be about bettering yourself either, follow your passions and listen to something you find genuinely interesting. One particular thing we should all be on the hunt for right now is something to make us laugh – laughter is life’s medicine I always say! Every time we smile of laugh our body sends a surge of positivity through our bodies into our brains, resulting in us feeling better. The same goes for each time we learn something and feel self-growth.  

Self Healing: https://open.spotify.com/show/0oHwerYHy5f1cYzd9qldsP

Binaural Beats Sleep: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX8h3zQNo57xG