5 Ways to Boost Your Mood
Get Yo' Booty Bumping aka Exercise
Shocking I know. But there is a reason this tip makes so many lists when it comes to “upping” your mental status. If you take a second to scan our wondrous world wide web you’ll find a surplus of backed-by-science articles linking the benefits of exercise for mental health. But I don’t need to be a lab coated whizz to honestly tell you exercising is my personal number one mood booster. It knocks my worries, anxieties, and stresses out of the gosh darn park and replaces them with clarity.
So if you’re feeling in the slumps, or your anxiety is about to brim over, go move your booty. If you have a gym membership great, if you don’t, also great. The world is yours. Come up with an ‘apartment routine’, run around the block, heck crab walk around the block. Get that heart pumping, your butt bumping, and some sweet air in your lungs. There will be only positive results.
Step Away from the Madness
This means : take a freaking break. I’m am totally addicted to my work (I’m talking an average of 14 hours a day, sewing in my sleep addicted). And I am totally terrible at taking breaks. But! I am getting better at it because the more often I implement breaks in my day, the more stable I feel. And I don’t mean just sitting down. Make it a break about you. Take 20-30 minutes to do something you like - if that means a fresh swipe of mascara and a lipstick re-apply, catching up on your memes or taking a groovy stroll to your local coffee shop, then do it. It’s important and you’ll end up being more productive in the long run. Tell that to your boss.
Talk to someone who makes you happy
Call someone who makes you happy (I call my mom, no lie, she’s great) and ask them how they are doing. It’s easy to get caught up in our own lives and our own problems, so switching your focus on to someone else can actually be a really big relief. I know personally that it helps put things in perspective and it reminds me that there is more going on then just me and my issues. Even if the person you call isn’t their usual cheery self, if you’re able to help them through something you’ll feel good about it. And hey, you may even find solutions to your own problems through assisting them with theirs. Who knows? Just call.
Declutter your work zone
If you’re not at work, then declutter your home zone. Most of us live very busy lives, borderline hectic, verging on insane. The world is, in my opinion, more fast paced than ever and sometimes that can leave our surroundings in chaos. My sister will verify that I am a walking tornado. I attribute it on my ‘creative-brain’ and often tell people I thrive in a messy studio (which is mostly true). But some days, when I’m feeling just super wigged out, I clean up my work area and suddenly I feel much more on top of things. It’s like vacuuming the dust in your proximity can actually help vacuum up the dust in your mischievous little mind. So if you need a quick mood booster, pick up that broom and sweep your worries away ( just not under the rug).
Eat good food
This is imperative. Food is information to our body, and our physical and mental selfs respond to it. I am a stress eater, and what’s worse is that after I make poor food choices, I get even more stressed about my lousy eating. So the best thing to do is opt to eat good food and let nothing else even be considered. Whole foods, fresh foods, (dark chocolate is okay too!). Just none of that packaged food, fried food, wrapped in plastic ‘food’.
If we haven’t had time to pack lunch to bring to the studio, then Yanna heads to the market (oops I’m skipping my break) and prepares us a nice crunchy ol’ salad with some fruit on the side. And I feel amazing after. I feel energized, and light and crisp as a newborn baby all thanks to good food.
So there you have my 5 tips on how to be a mood boosting badass.
Pssst as a fun side note Mental Health Food writes about the positive effects vitamin C can have on one’s mental health. And you know what’s loaded with vitamin C? KIWIS.
