How to use supportive habits to change your mental state.
So today I woke up feeling like I had nothing to look forward to for the day. I didn't feel motivated to get out of bed because I didn't have any fun plans to look forward to, which has been a bit of an ongoing theme for me lately. Right now at this point in my life, I'm stuck in a bit of a rut of loneliness and boredom, which are my least favourite things to be dealing with.
Needless to say, today I woke up feeling a little depressed and unmotivated. In these times, I have to work extra-extra hard to boost my mood and show up for myself in a good way. It's quite a task for me.
But on a positive note, even know I woke up feeling unmotivated and in a low mood, I was able to turn it around and improve my mood to gain a little traction and excitement for the day.
So what happened for me to go from feeling depressed to feeling optimistic? To be honest, nothing monumental happened that changed the course of my day. No plans with friends were made and the weather did not improve to be able to go outside for more than a few minutes. What made the difference was doing small things to show up for myself. I basically decided that I wanted to have the best day possible instead of slipping into a depressed Netflix binge/feel sorry for myself day.
Once I decided I wanted to have a good day, I put in the efforts to do some little things, in hopes that they would have a positive impact on my mood and my day.
Normally, if I'm feeling particularly low, I can go for a nice adventure in nature or go see some friends and do something fun. But lately, with the lockdown orders and the cold, windy weather and everything, it's been even harder to do something that helps my mental health in already hard times.
Even know nothing happened for me to have a more exciting day, I was still able to turn things around by taking action on some small things that I could do for myself. In these desperate times, I was able to pull on some positive habits to boost my mood enough to feel O.K. and just get through the day. I'm living in a "one day at a time" state right now so these tips can apply to those situations where you're maybe going through a difficult season in life and could use some supportive advice for things that you can do that are in your control.
So here's what I did that made the small but significant difference to turn my day around. 😊
Helpful Actions:
I got dressed. Simple, I know. All of these actions are simple and seem like they won't make a difference, but they actually can. That's the point - something that seems insignificant and pointless does have the ability to help and make a difference. I got out of PJ's and threw on something comfy that I love wearing and I honestly felt a little happier. Even if I'm not going anywhere special outside of the house, I can still dress up for myself to make myself feel good. Nothing too fancy but also not PJ's. :P
Brush my teeth, do my morning skin care routine that I do for work every day, put contacts in instead of glasses. Little things like this help me to feel like I'm showing up for myself. I feel fresh and clean to start the day. Having a shower and doing my hair can also help, but I did that last night. 😊
Made my bed. This contributes to a clean house and helps me to feel like I have order and control over my house, which helps me to feel like I have order and control over my life.
Do the dishes. Dishes is something I hate doing. lol So to have a clean kitchen makes me feel good and it's one less thing I know I have to do the next day. It contributes to the feeling of control.
Open the blinds and turn on some lights in the house. Even know it's daytime, this helps to have as much light and sunshine as possible in the house, which helps to create a bright and uplifting feeling.
Light a nice smelling candle and turn on the fireplace. I figure if I'm going to be spending the day at home, I might as well make it a nice environment to be in. Smelling a nice candle makes me feel a little better.
Get some fresh air. Okay, today is not the best day for me to be outside for more than few minutes because it's very cold, windy and snowy. However, I did get out of the house to go to my favourite coffee shop to get a chai latte and healthy breakfast wrap. Just being out of the house for a few minutes to change my environment, to breathe in the fresh cool air and to be out in the world made quite a big difference. Getting out of the house really helps me to get out of my head. If you can get outside for more than a few minutes, that would be ideal but sometimes you have to make do with what you have.
I know it doesn't look like much, but when you add all the little things together, it can surprisingly make a noticeable difference. 😊 These actions are what worked for me today however, I encourage you to find your own little happiness-boosting habits. These things are good to know and to have in your mental health tool belt on days when it feels a little harder to get out of bed and motivated, for whatever reason.
Some Lessons This Taught Me:
To take baby steps towards improvements
That the little things can add up to the big things
To continue to show up for myself on days when it feels harder
How This Helped Me:
When I took actions that helped, I was able to feel in control of my mood, which helped me to feel in control of my life.
I will remember the positive effects of these actions in the future. If/when I wake up feeling low in the future, I can remember this day and how these little things did help, so next time I'll know where to start to help myself when I'm feeling a little lost in the sadness loop.
I have a cleaner house. Never a bad thing for me. 😊
I was able to be productive like I wanted. For example, writing this blog post. :P
I was able to distract myself enough from current difficult times to be able to get through the day.
I was able to lean on supportive habits to get through the day, like writing and cleaning the house instead of leaning on destructive habits, like Netflix binging all day or sleeping all day.
I hope these insights are helpful and it's also reminder to say it's okay to have a hard season, you're not alone and there's always hope to turn things around, even if just for the day. Wishing you all the happiness this week. xox
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