How to Change Your Mood

When things don't go our way or stress at work or home gets us feeling down, we become uncooperative and grouchy. Though feeling this way is normal there are times when we would like a bad mood to go away. Try these strategies for pulling yourself out of a bad mood:

• Trace the source of your bad mood. Uncovering the cause may give you clues on how to remedy it.
• Make a list of all the positives in your life.
• Exercise. Physical exertion produces natural chemicals in the brain that are responsible for creating good moods.
• Socialize. Isolation can make a bad mood even worse. Go ahead and call someone, invite some people in that you haven't seen in a while.
• Seek humor. Nothing dissolves a bad mood faster than laughter.
• Do something nice for someone else.
• Change your immediate environment by moving the furniture, or changing your bedspread.
• Listen to your favorite music, paint a picture or go make a snowman.

"All About Moods," Bottom Line Personal, June 15, 1996, p. 9-10.

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