Mental Health

How to Get a Cheerful Mood Instantly in Seven Simple Steps.

Effective tools and approaches to deal with unexpected mental discomfort

The Power of Moving from Negative to Positive Mood Instantly

The mood is a state of mind. Daily stress can adversely affect our mood. It can put us in an irritable, angry, or sad state. Our thoughts and emotions manifest as moods. Moods relate to our perspectives.

Changing our mood from negative to positive is easy in natural ways. These intentional habits can significantly improve our physical and mental health. Body and mind are connected and inseparable.

I introduce seven practical and effective tips to improve our mood instantly when needed.

Seven Effective Tools to Beat Stress and Improve Mood

Mood swings might have profound mental health implications, so they require the attention and support of healthcare professionals. Therefore, I excluded them from this article.

1 — Intentional Breathing

When we feel tired and overwhelmed, our sympathetic nervous system takes over. It can put us in a fight, flight, or freeze state. These states are part of our natural protection process directed by the survival system.

However, we need to activate our parasympathetic nervous system to get rid of the survival state and move to a thriving state.

One of the easiest and most effective ways is intentional breathing. Controlling our breath can produce fast results.

Breathing exercises can significantly reduce our stress and anxiety. In addition, they boost our mood. There are many breathing methods documented on the Internet.

One of my favorite ones is the Wim Hof Method. He published some promising results in scientific papers.

2 — Smile and Laughter

We can change our physiology by smiling and laughing deliberately, even if there is no humorous trigger. Smiles and laughter can change neurochemistry quickly and hence can improve our mood rapidly.

We can easily smile and laugh for no reason by using visualization and imagination techniques. I

n addition, we can make laughter part of our ritual and lifestyle, as I mentioned in this article titled Laughter Therapy for Wiring the Brain for Joy & Happiness.

Smiling and laughing for no reason is not as crazy as it might be perceived. It is a therapeutic practice.

3 — Stretching and Gentle Workouts

Even though exercise is a physical activity, it can significantly impact brain chemistry. So, exercise can be used as a mental health tool.

We don’t have to go to a gym or run miles to work out. Small stretches and gentle workouts can quickly boost our energy and mood. These micro-movements can have macro psychological benefits.

For example, when working or studying, a short break and stretch of our muscles followed by a ten-minute walk can do wonders for our mood leading to better mental health.

4 — Dancing with Uplifting Music

Dancing might look like physical activity, but it also has a mental effect. The brain loves rhythmic movements.

Physical and sound rhythms can optimize our neurochemicals. The best part of the dancing is with uplifting music.

It might be awkward to dance in the workplace, but I witnessed creative people putting on headphones and dancing gently in front of their computer screens a few minutes every hour.

Those people are more creative, productive, and happier than sedentary and shy people from my observations.

5 — Rest and Occasional Power Nap

Chronic and emotional stress poses risks to our physical and mental health. A little pressure is essential, but we face serious health situations when our stress levels pass the threshold.

Stress hormones, such as cortisol, keep us active even if we are physically tired. We may be unaware of our growing stress. Therefore, rest is essential to cope with stress effectively. We can rest by sitting down and breathing mindfully.

We may lie down, close our eyes, and relax our muscles. There are many other ways to rest, such as listening to music, dancing, and even gentle workouts such as Yoga and Pilates.

Sleep deprivation can increase our stress. So when we don’t sleep well on some days, the solution could be a power nap for 15 to 20 minutes.

6 — Self-Talk, Expressive Writing, & Social Connections

I used self-talk and expressive writing as therapeutic activities for many years. They are easy and natural once we make them a lifestyle habit.

Writing our thoughts and emotions can significantly decrease our stress and anxiety and boost our moods.

In addition, finding someone to talk with face to face or on the phone in stressful situations can be invaluable.

Quick and friendly conversations with a few giggles can instantly change our mood.

7 — Mindful Living

I left this point to the end as it covers the previous points. Mindfulness practices can naturally enhance our mental capabilities.

The mechanism is improving focus, attention, working memory, and task switching. When we keep our focus and attention on specific objects or activities, we use the power of our prefrontal cortex to help us tame the amygdala.

Even though some mindfulness practices, such as meditation, are perceived as a spiritual and religious activity, anyone can practice meditation without following religions or spiritual beliefs.

Meditation is used in medical practices, especially by mental health professionals nowadays. These tools can increase our self-love and enable empathy and compassion towards others.

Mindfulness is a lifestyle habit. It means living in the moment by watching our thoughts, emotions, and behavior, accepting without judgment. It gives us the power to regulate our emotions.

We can be mindful while working, studying, and socializing. The key point is focusing on the task at hand. Breathing can be used as a grounding technique.

Conclusions and Takeaways

Our daily mood plays a substantial role in our happiness, creativity, productivity, and life satisfaction.

We can easily transition from a negative to a positive mood with simple lifestyle habits.

However, we are all different. Thus, we may need various tools and approaches. Therefore, I introduced seven practical tools that worked for me. They helped me sustain my motivation.

They are part of my life-hacks and mental health first aid kit. I hope some of them may resonate with you.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

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