5 Ways to Improve Your Mood and Outlook

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Depression is often discussed in a way that minimizes it to a purely chemical condition, but in actuality, many negative emotions are caused by circumstances and occurrences with an individual’s life. On the other hand, optimizing your body chemistry by consuming a healthy diet is an excellent way to reduce the effects of depression, anger, and other moods that can have you feeling down and out.

Thus, there are various factors to consider when trying to determine the source of a bad emotion and how to put a stop to it in your everyday life. With that said, here are five things you can do to reduce the incidence of mood swings and create a more enjoyable lifestyle overall.

1.      Fix Your Diet

Most people overlook how profound of an effect diet can have on the way you feel and how you think. Many times, mood swings and bouts of depression are directly related to low blood sugar, nutrient deficiencies, chronic over usage of stimulants like sugar and caffeine, or other poor dietary habits. Try drinking water instead of soda for a while and make it a point to consume mostly whole foods. You don’t necessarily have to become a vegan food lover, and a rare snack of the processed variety won’t hurt, but if you’re wanting better moods, less junk is always better.

2.      Pick up a Hobby

Giving yourself something new to do will help keep your mind occupied and away from the wondering thoughts that may lead you back down the rabbit hole of depression. It can be something as simple as starting a collection of some sort or taking up a sport at the local gym.

3.      Be More Social

Loneliness and depression go hand in hand, so if you’re always alone and feeling sad with no one to talk to, it makes sense that your outlook on the future could suffer as well. Make it a point to make a few friends or reignite some old relationships and you’ll probably feel good that you did.

4. Start Working on that To -Do List

Staying goal oriented and continually making progress is a great way to release a rush of endorphins and serotonin because the brain’s pleasure center tends to issue a feeling of reward and satisfaction whenever a new achievement is tackled.

5. Focus on Success Instead of Failures

Everybody wins some and loses some, but it’s important not to dwell on your losses, even if they are more numerous than your wins. In fact, some of the greatest achievers of all time had to endure a hard-fought journey to the top, and during such battles, failures are almost always going to be more common than successes, so you just have to learn from them.

Give Positives More Weight Than Negatives

By latching onto successes and giving them much more weight than the failures, while also practicing the other tips mentioned above, you can begin to dismiss the shortcomings of your past along with all the detrimental emotions that come along with not letting go and moving on.

Author’s bio: Maggie Hammond is a retired nurse and freelance writer, exploring and writing in the U.S. in retirement. An advocate for public health and nursing qualifications, she feels passionate about raising awareness of the current strain on public health organizations. Email: maggiehamm

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