Trying to maintain a good mood can seem like a losing battle depending on the day. Sometimes something unpleasant doesn’t have to have happened. The bad mood already wakes up with us.
The problem becomes more worrying when you start to live in a bad mood, irritating yourself with little.
It is no coincidence that the popular saying “laughing is the best medicine” exists. While bad mood aggravates mental and physical health, good mood drives away pathologies and attracts people and opportunities.
If you don’t understand how cultivating joy can bring so many positive results, you need to know that humor affects all spheres of your life . When you are well, the professional, the family, the social and the love are also.
It seems like a simple concept, but many people are unable to connect the dots. They are busy finding reasons to be even more irritated with life. Let’s understand why!
How mood affects your health
Both negative and positive emotions have a major influence on mental and physical health . When you feel something, your body increases the production of certain hormones . These, in turn, alter brain chemistry.
The depression is perhaps the most known disorder resulting from hormonal imbalance in the brain.
In this sense, it can be concluded that negative mood releases equally negative hormones, such as cortisol, the well-known stress hormone . Note the behavior of stressed people and you will soon notice irritability and impatience.
High spirits, especially laughter, stimulate the production of positive hormones , such as endorphins. This release contributes to the maintenance of this emotional state. Humorous people are soon recognized by their constant smiles, that is, by their happiness.
Below, we’ll look at other ways that mood affects health and how small problems can easily get worse.
Effects of bad mood
Constant moodiness, in addition to being a catalyst for disease, can signal the existence of undiagnosed pathologies.
When someone is in a state of constant irritation, the body produces more cortisol. This, by itself, brings dozens of negative consequences, such as hair loss, high blood pressure, muscle weakness, weight gain, osteoporosis and, in the case of women, it can disrupt menstruation.
In addition, bad mood can cause high blood pressure, hyper or hypoglycemia, insomnia, gastritis and migraines . The immune system is also affected, making the moody person more susceptible to illness.
Bad mood also attacks thoughts. The person in a bad mood sees everything as an obstacle and increases the proportion of simple problems. Instead of solving them, she complains, gets angry and yells at those around her.
The anger is not the only emotional reaction, however. It is common for individuals to feel sad, unmotivated, isolated and basically depressed .
Effects of good mood
Conversely, good humor strengthens the immune system and prevents the onset of mental disorders. The heart also works best when you are at ease with life. Blood circulation improves, protecting the body from cardiovascular disease.
A good laugh is able to relieve stress and muscle tension. In fact, the muscles can be relaxed for almost an hour just because of a good laugh!
Mental health, then, is one of the biggest beneficiaries!
Positive mood quickly dispels cholera. You have probably been angry because of an uncomfortable situation, and when you laugh with a friend or see something funny, the urge to fight is gone. It’s the famous “never mind”, as if you never felt that bad.
Likewise, good mood minimizes the symptoms of anxiety, stress and fear , reducing the likelihood of developing a mental disorder.
The result of this is a more abundant social life and better work performance . People around you notice who puts everything in their projects. Therefore, opportunities arise more easily.
Strategies for maintaining a good mood
Now that you know how important it is to take care of your mood, it ‘s time to learn how to maintain it . See below the powerful strategies that we have separated to help you maintain a good mood every day!
- Practice gratitude
By thanking for the good things, whether these people, achievements or material goods, you can break the pattern of negativity . Therefore, he sees reality as it is instead of analyzing daily events in detail. Fanciful speculations, common in anxiety , are also combated.
Additionally, gratitude has the power to bring you into the present. You realize that you have everything to experience small joys throughout the day, even in the most critical moments.
- Express your feelings
Do not keep worry and sadness inside you. Look for healthy ways to express these feelings. Talking to trusted people and asking for advice to feel better can help.
If you do not believe that you will be understood, choose to express yourself through a creative activity , such as painting, photography, music, among others. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the skills to create stunning works. The main issue here is self-expression.
- Learn to laugh at yourself
You may have heard the phrase “don’t take yourself too seriously” , right?
This advice is extremely valid because people tend to attach great importance to what happens to them. While it is important to do your best at everything, accepting mistakes with good humor is also important.
If you have failed or been criticized, analyze what happened to learn from him. Acknowledge which trait contributed to the final result and have a nice laugh. After all, everyone goes through similar moments in life!
- Challenge yourself
When you remain in your comfort zone, boredom and discouragement take over. You get so used to mediocrity that you don’t feel like doing new things and having fun.
The human being needs challenges. That is, if you believe you are stagnant, look for the new one . This can be a course, a different skill or a new friendship.
If you can’t think of anything exciting, know that on social media, you can find people with varied interests . Without a doubt, you will find a niche to your liking.
- Cultivate good relationships
In the same way that relationships are affected by the quality of mood, mood is affected by the quality of relationships.
Are your friendships good for you? If you feel not, try to find out why. Are family conflicts too much for you? Try to look at them from a different perspective to improve living with relatives.
However, if you have not found a solution, minimize interactions and stay as far away from the toxic relationship as possible.
- Stimulate humor at all times
Tell funny stories and look for them in your social interactions, avoiding unpleasant subjects.
If you feel uncomfortable with the silence, break the ice with a smile or a joke. So, by cheering up the people around you, you also become in a good mood!
If you’ve been hit by a sudden wave of pessimism , watch a fun video or an episode from that cool series. Even singing the favorite song of the moment helps to lift the bad mood.
- Look for what is good for you
Your time is very precious. So much so that it is not worth stressing about certain situations or subjects.
That is, people are often irritated by uncontrollable factors, such as a traffic jam or a rude response.
However, forget it!
So, when you feel bad, watch a comedy movie, talk to a loved one or play with your pet. In fact, these activities can be done at any time to strengthen positivity.
- Exercise often
Exercise and physical activity are extremely beneficial to health. During practice, positive hormones such as endorphin and dopanime are released. These are responsible for elevating the mood, making us feel good and managing negative emotions.
- Take care of your thoughts
The quality of your thoughts is linked to the quality of your emotions. Therefore, it is common for you to feel sad or happy when imagining a certain scene or remembering a past event. So be aware of the type of thinking that is going through your mind. Are they just complaints or criticisms of yourself?
- Get therapy
The therapy can also elevate your mood and help you to cultivate a positive mindset. Through the development of emotional intelligence , the patient is able to choose what will or will not affect his mood. Instead of blindly surrendering his emotions, he stops, breathes and thinks about it.
In addition, the therapy also works with the forgiveness and detachment of banal conflicts, as with the line breaker at the bakery. That way, you don’t waste energy or time on events that don’t directly affect you. Nice, isn’t it?
The Vittude is an online therapy platform. Here, you will find experienced psychologists in the most diverse lines of psychotherapy. To get to know them, just do a quick search on the site.
