We all experience feeling down, the way we deal with it though, that’s quite personal. I’d like to share five things I do when I’m feeling quite down, and no not depressed, I feel that most of these things are too hard to do when feeling depressed, which is something I myself am very familiar with. Maybe I’ll share more about that later but for now I myself am still struggling to practice what I would preach when depressed, and these things might be able to prevent from spiralling into a depression, at least for me.
Look I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, I’m simply speaking from experience. These things might not work for everyone, so take them with a grain of salt! I made a promise to share more of the things that bring me a bit of happiness in my life, which with this platform is an important message to share. Besides me there are many other people dealing with mental illness so if only one of them finds these posts helpful then my mission is complete!
One thing I want to stress is that these are not meant to suppress your feelings, always try to embrace and not judge your emotions, they ask our attention for a reason! These are tools that help me feel a bit better while I’m still embracing my feelings, not shoving them away. Now here are the 5 ways I deal with feeling down:
- Connection: Sometimes all we need is a listening ear, or a big hug, I know it sounds super corny, but sometimes knowing we’re not alone is all we need. You could talk with a loved one or someone who went through something familiar. Just make sure you feel safe and comfortable speaking with this person, otherwise it might have the opposite effect.
- Movement: When I’m feeling down It’s very easy for me to disappear into the couch or on my kitchen stool, this can sometimes lead to hours with little to no movement. To make sure this doesn’t happen I either go out to take a walk or practice some yoga, regardless of what you do moving the body helps release feel good chemicals in the brain such as endorphins. Another way yoga and walking (or any other exercise) helps me is that it makes it easier for me to stop worrying by bringing me in the present moment, connecting with my body and breath and when walking with my beautiful surroundings. Don’t push yourself just set simple goals, like a 10 minute walk or 1o minute yoga practice, before you know it you might find yourself in a nice flow of movement and energy and before you know it that 1o minute walk turned into an hour or than 10 minute yoga flow turned into an hour-long flow.
- Cleaning: I think we all are familiar with that feeling of calm after you cleaned your room or house. You can even go a step further and might use some sage to smudge the house. Regardless of how you clean the house the process might become as mindful as taking a walk. I also always feel a bit content after cleaning knowing I’m still productive.
- Hobbies/Passions: Most of us have probably been told to “go find a hobby”, and honestly sometimes it helps. It took me almost all my life to find a hobby that became a passion of mine, which is creating recipes and sharing them through pictures on instagram and this blog. So sometimes when I do feel down I try to cook a new dish or recreate a dish I really love, cooking for me can become a form of meditation. I’m not telling you to go find a hobby, I think they have to come to us and when they do, use them when possible!
- Self Care: If all fails try pampering yourself, take a shower or bath, cook yourself (or order) a delicious meal. Try listen to your favourite music, music that makes you feel happy, light some candles and read a book, just be kind to yourself.
I hope these tips are a bit helpful and maybe they’re not! Regardless of if they work or not I challenge you to find what works for you, to become aware of this, simply becoming aware of what works and what doesn’t is enough. Just make sure that you’re being kind to yourself. It’s okay to feel down sometimes, just make sure you stay in charge and it doesn’t overwhelm you. Here is where I have to stop because I’m not there yet myself, I still have moment where I’m drowning in melancholy, and that’s fine for now.
One Love,
A.J.
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