Fighting Low Moods
17 Sep 2015
What do you do when you feel low?
This question has troubled me for several years now. I am still quite not sure what the answer is but I have definitely am on the path of finding it. In my experience, as humans, we tend turn a deaf ear to this. It's probably since we tend to view feeling low as a sign of weakness.
The Science behind feeling low
There is no single reason why we feel low. Science hasn't found an answer yet. It probably has something to do with the level of serotonin in our body. But we aren't sure yet. What we do know is that Serotonin helps alleviate our mood. For this reason it is used in anti-depressants. This awesome video by ASAP Science explains the science behind depression very well.
What can I do to make myself feel better?
I have noticed that a few things work. I have listed 3 of them here.
Feeling low is generally an over reaction of the mind to a situation. Take a step back, and count the list of this you achieved this week or the week before. You will notice that you have progressed more than you had imagined. It's the case of two steps forward and one step back. That step backward looks bad but overall you have still moved forward.
Get out of the house. One of the first instinctive reactions to feeling low is huddling in the comfort of your bed. This generally doesn't get you anywhere. Stepping out of the house forces you to change your environment. It also forces you to do a string of activites that you might have not ended up doing. For example, you might decide to take a shower before stepping out. What you might not realise is that taking a shower has already alleviated your mood. Feeling happier is now easier than you think.
Do something that you love doing. This is where having a hobby has a huge benefits. Love running? Go for a run. Like Gymming? Exercise for 30 mins. Like blogging? Write a blog post. When we do things that we love, our body generated endorphins. Endorphins make you feel happy and make you more resistant to pain. Endorphins are hence called
the feel good chemical. So take out your note book and write that novel you always wanted to write.
There is one thing common in all the above options - it gives you a sense of achievement, however small. When we achieve anything we feel good about ourselves. So work towards making those small achievements when you are low. It will accelerate your recovery to a happy mood.
Keep achieving, keep smiling.
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