Change Your Mood In 5 Minutes
Stop the cycle of negative thoughts and escape a state of low mood.
Being in a state of low mood often brings about negative thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate the low mood. For example if you are feeling overwhelmed and sad you are likely to do maladaptive coping behaviors like sleeping too much, over eating or over spending. These behaviors then cause an even greater low mood. This is the perfect breeding ground for those negative self-critical thoughts that further bring down mood. How can you stop the cycle and boost mood?
Here are 5 easy to implement mood boosters.
Brain MD Calm Mind Supplement
Meditation Headspace
Take a Brisk Walk
Journal
Breath Work
Take a Natural Supplement
Supplements like this one by Brain MD can be a natural way to help your body relax. By relaxing the tension and anxiousness held within the body the mind with calm. Have you ever noticed that when you’re having anxious feelings your body feels the anxiety too. This maybe manifested in your body as tension, grinding of the teeth, shallow breathing, sweating of the palms. Relaxing the body sends feedback to the mind to halt the flow of anxious thoughts. I love this supplement by Brain MD because it was created by a doctor, psychiatrist. It contains good for you supplements like Ashwagada, there is growing evidence that this herb can be used to created a more balanced mood. In addition, there is Magnesium a natural mineral well known to calm the nervous system. I recommend using this one at night time as the Magnesium can make you so relaxed you fall asleep.
If you experience feelings of anxiousness, you know all too well the feelings of worry and uneasiness it brings. It can also create muscle tension, make it difficult to concentrate, and even negatively impact your sleep. Calm My Brain addresses all of these issues.
Featuring the ultimate calming mineral Magnesium, powerful Ashwagandha, Calm My Brain is the quickest way to ease anxiousness.
Meditate With Headspace
Mindfulness, the act of brining your full attention into the present moment. This is one of the quickest ways to ground your self, stop the flow of anxious thoughts and start to find stillness within the mind and body. I’ve used the Headspace App since 2020 during the pandemic. Headspace was kind enough to gift this gem of a tool to front line workers like myself. For me, 10 minutes of meditation a day has trained my brain to be more mindful. I have learned to catch the anxiety runaway train (a stream of anxious thoughts ) and return to the present moment.
Take a Walk Outside
Get outside. Lots of benefit without much effort. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes. Nature and movement are both mood boosters. The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed get outside and take a brisk walk. The endorphins that will follow are Dopamine and Serotonin. These are natural hormones that put your mind and body into a more relaxed state.
Journal
Get the thoughts out of your mind and onto paper. We think faster than we can write. The act of focusing long enough to put coherent thoughts and ideas onto paper slows down the mind. This can also be helpful to identify the source of worry and fear. With this clarity comes the opportunity to address the underlying cause of the anxious feelings.
Breath Work
USE YOUR BREATH TO CALM THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Deep breathing sends a signal to your brain that you are in parasympathetic mode. Let me explain:
There are two sides to your nervous system
Sympathetic – this is your activating mode. Think fight or flight. ( Running for your life from a bear)
Parasympathetic – this is your deactivating mode. Think rest and digest. (Your brain can’t focus on resting & digesting tacos if it is running from a bear)
When you take deep breaths, especially focusing on an extended exhalation, you can convince your brain that there is no threat. Anxiety is your body’s response to a perceived threat. When this happens your brain activates your sympathetic mode. Perception does not always align with reality. You have an important deadline coming up, this is important and requires attention however it is not a dangerous threat. Breath as if you are stretched out on warm sand watching the waves come and go without a care in the world. This tricks your brain into the parasympathetic mode. When you calm the body with a technique like deep breathing, the mind will follow.
Wishing you a calm and clear mind.
DOCTOR GLORY