My tools to cope with low mood

Welcome back!

I briefly touched on the topic of ‘Loneliness’ in my previous post as part of the mental health awareness week. As I mentioned, when low mood strikes I tend to go ‘on my island’. I wanted to share my tools with you here, you never know it might come in handy for someone also struggling. Here it goes:

Getting enough sleep! Obvious, but not always easy. Switching off isn’t the easiest thing for me as I tend to come alive in the evenings! But with a few set rules (no screens after 9:30pm) & knowing what relaxes me (dim lighting/candle lights, relaxing music, a soothing cup of tea, a warm bath, reading) I can get there.

Food. What I eat has a big impact on my mood. I try & cut out sugar, dairy & bread for the most part as my body seems to thrive on this combo. I usually keep at it for a while… then I forget… and then I get at it again. Everything is in a flux of change with me.

Meditation. It calms the nervous system, connects me to my breathing, slows my thoughts. My biggest struggle is to show up for a daily practice day after day. It’s work in progress. I try the best I can. If you’re struggling doing it on your own like me you can get guided meditations.
I use the Calm app or find videos on youtube.

Pick up the phone & call a close friend. Not necessarily to talk about my struggles, but just to connect. Usually this cheers me up for a bit.

Get into my body & out of my head. Exercise, dancing freely or some physical challenge usually does the trick. Worth mentioning, the more challenging, the more it brings up resistance, the greater the reward afterwards. Crazy right??
Knowing my limitations, I tend to look for the action that pushes me past my comfort zone. Go for a run or go for a swim in the (cold) sea usually does it for me.

Before nodding off, listing what I’m grateful for. If I remember to do this for a week I can really feel it makes a difference. Right before going to sleep I go over my day & think of what I’m grateful for. I have a mala* bracelet for this & with every bead I’ll name something I’m grateful for. When I haven’t done it for a while it’s quite hard going but practice makes it easier & easier.
(*a mala is a prayer bead necklace often used in Hinduism)
Double winner as this usually sends me off to sleep!

Find a book/documentary/youtube movie that uplifts. Even better, one that contains universal wisdom/truth, reminding me I’m not my problem, making me gain perspective, making me take a step back, remembering I’m part of something bigger, reminding me I’m not alone.

Connecting with nature: sit by a tree, meditate by a body of water, bask in the sun, go for a hike, swim in the sea, bring a sketch pad & draw what I see (with no expectations!)… or my fave: go for a brief walk & list everything I appreciate about what I see. An appreciation walk!

I might do a Part II of this as I have a few more tools up my sleeve but this is quite a lot to get started already.

So long!