One tool to shift your mood instantly
Gratitude is an amazing, free, and always accessible tool for instantly changing mood and changing mood patterns over the long term. According to UCLA Health, practicing gratitude can reduce depression and anxiety, improve life satisfaction, reduce stress, and improve sleep.
How can you practice gratitude? Try any of these ideas. The goal is to retrain the mind to find things for which to feel appreciation. It might help to put your hand over your heart to bring the focus away from your mind and into your body.
1. Make a list. Write down everything that comes to mind, it can be small or big, and can be in any category: people, health, basic needs, career, finance, or anything else. It can be three things, or 100 things. You can try doing the ABCs and come up with one thing for each letter.
2. Use it as an antidote to negativity. If you notice yourself feeling down, irritable, or just a little off, use that as a sign to take a few moments to shift your perspective. Sometimes, switching to gratitude can actually help bring clarity about what’s really bothering you. It might help you notice you need a glass of water, or you want to connect with a friend.
3. Call someone and express your feelings. Relationships with other people, like gratitude, can be a big part of improving mental and emotional well-being. Humans are innately social, and reaching out to a trusted friend or family member to share appreciation can boost your mood, and maybe even brighten another person’s day.
4. Pray. Praying isn’t necessarily religion-based, and the act of connecting with a benevolent energy, whatever that means to you, can offer profound relief and a sense of interconnection and safety. Praying is an ancient practice. Some have negative associations with praying if it was used to induce guilt or shame instead of create a connection. So if this one doesn’t work for you, let it go. If you’re curious and open-minded, try thanking the clouds for rain, the earth for food and beauty, and the sun for shining. Or you could thank your socks for keeping you cozy.
5. Focus on your body. Our bodies work hard for us all day and all night, for as long as we are alive! They often go un-thanked, and can take much abuse without complaint. Maybe your feet could use some appreciation, your heart, your ears for allowing you to hear the sound of a loved one’s voice. Can you thank your eyes for taking in the beauty of the world?
I hope this is helpful, and maybe even fun! Happy Gratituding :)