In a Bad Mood? This Can Help

We all have times when we are in a bad mood, and we're not very pleasant to be around. We might not know the reason, and sometimes we don't know what to do with ourselves. Here some ideas that might help you deal with your bad mood.

© Louis Blyth - unsplash.com

The help of other people

Firstly, other people can often help us with our bad moods. Sometimes talking to somebody can really help. However, if you want some help with your bad mood you need to work out what emotion you are experiencing. Even better, tell another person. Now, it may be difficult to say exactly what your emotion is. However, see if you can try to narrow it down to a broad category of feeling.

When we're talking about a bad mood, typically there will be two sorts – feeling sad or feeling angry.

This is important to know because what the other person can do is different for anger and for sadness. For instance, if you're feeling angry you might want the other person to stay out of your way or, you might want to express some anger and frustration.

On the other hand, if what you're feeling is sadness, then you might want them to listen to you or to offer you some support.

Or maybe you mean something entirely different when you talk about being in a bad mood. If that's the case, and you know it isn't sadness or anger, then run through some of the other feelings that might be. Is it boredom? Frustration? Disappointment?

The more you can work out what is you are actually feeling and thinking, the more you can get the right sort of help from another person. The clearer you are about what's going on, the more you'll know what you need.

Do something for yourself

Secondly, try to do something for yourself. Maybe you feel you're in a bad mood because you've got too much work to do or you're under too much pressure. In these circumstances, it's easy to feel like you don't have any power.

If that's the case, try and do something good for yourself. It's surprising what taking back a little bit of control – even taking five minutes to go and get a coffee or look out the window – can do for a bad mood. We can do a lot for ourselves when we remember the link between vulnerability, stress and coping.

Tune in

Thirdly, try to distance yourself from all of the thoughts that go along with being in a bad mood. Try to put aside all of the details about the situation – who said what to whom, who got offended and why. Try to put all that aside for a moment, and focus in on how this is affecting you physically. Does it make your heart beat faster? Are your shoulders feeling tense? Are you feeling a bit buzzy or nauseous in the stomach?

Whatever it is that you're experiencing in your body, focus in on that.

For many people, merely doing this can make you feel better

This will pass

The most important thing to remember about a bad mood is that, like all moods, it will pass. There will come a time when you feel better, so do what you can to get yourself through this temporary stage.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Was this interesting? Read what I have written about the difference between moods and emotions.

-Tim Hill