It’s normal for each of us to feel blue or sad. When our best friend moves away, or we lose a job, or we receive a poor mark on a test, we all feel disappointment or hurt. We may be despondent, and it may even get us down for a few days.
Depression, on the other hand, lasts much longer. Plus, it’s so pervasive, that it can interfere with your daily life routines, and it can even adversely affect your relationships with family, friends, and acquaintances.
Where sadness is something we feel about one thing, depression is something we feel about everything. Where sadness is a normal emotional state, depression is an abnormal emotional state. Where sadness subsides relatively quickly, depression persists for long periods.
One of the most difficult challenges when dealing with depression is finding motivation and improving your mood, even just a bit. Here are 4 ways to cheer up when you’re depressed:
1. Get some sun
A 2007 article in Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience reported that sunlight is “an effective treatment for nonseasonal depression, and also reduces depressed mood in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and in pregnant women suffering from depression.”
2. Write in your journal
American researchers published an article a few years ago in Annals of Behavioral Medicine, showing that journalling can be an effective tool in managing mental health.
3. Smile
American researchers found is that people actually experience the emotions they practice, and the memories they recall corresponded to their practised memory. In other words, those who smile actually end up being happy—even several minutes following the exercise—and they typically recall happy memories rather than angry or sad ones.
4. Exercise
A study in The Primary Care Companion – Journal of Clinical Psychiatry showed that those who walk, jog, weightlift, and perform flexibility training find a reduction in their depression symptoms. Some participants in the study saw mental health benefits lasting up to a year after the study.
Do you have tried and tested tricks you use to boost your mood? Let us know in the comments below.