How can I make myself feel better?
By
OptimistMinds
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Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
This article will center on showing you ways you can instantly make yourself feel better.
How can I make myself feel better?
Sometimes life can make it harder for you to feel better. The stress of everyday life, and dealing with frustrations, can often take a toll on you. If you feel you are having a bad day, or if you have been dealing with difficult times in your life, know there are some ways you can make yourself feel better.
Take a break
If you are going through a difficult moment, the first thing you can do to make yourself feel better is to take a break. Step back from your work, or whatever it is you are doing, and take some time to think about something else.
You can listen to some soothing music, or just sit and relax. You will probably go back better to whatever you need to do.
Go outside
As a way of focusing on something else, to make yourself feel better, you can also go outside, and maybe even take a small walk. Doing 20 minutes of exercise a day will most likely help not only your physical health, but will also improve your mood, and cause you to feel better right away.
Listen to some music
Listening to music is something that will usually lead you to feel better. It is not only enjoyable, but it can have a positive effect on your mood. Many research has shown that listening to music will often improve your perception of happiness.
Give some time to others
Helping others is a known way to feel better about yourself right away. It can be doing a volunteer job, helping a neighbor out, or even giving a helping hand to a friend. When you do that, you will most likely have a rush of positive emotions.
There are many ways you can help people around you. You can help a friend that is moving to a new apartment, help an elderly person cross the street, or even help from a distance if you donate to a charity.
Feel gratitude
Research has shown that when you can feel grateful, you will most likely feel better about yourself. That is because it will help you reassess all the positive things you have in your life.
If you don’t know how to practice gratitude, you can do an exercise in which, once a day, you will take a look at your life, and tell yourself three things you are grateful about. It can be the simplest things, like having a roof over your head. But that will surely make you feel better right away.
Learn to forgive
Learning to forgive can be one of the ultimate ways of making yourself feel better. And it is not only forgiving others but yourself as well, which sometimes can be the hardest thing to do. By doing so, you will be able to understand that we are all humans, and we are all bound to make mistakes.
Separating them from your value, or the relationship you have with others will prevent you from dragging sadness around, and instantly make you feel better.
Share how you feel
Talking about how you feel can help you get a sense of relief, and like any form of externalizing your feelings, can make you feel better right away. That is because once you let it all out, you can get a better notion of what is going on, won’t feel so overwhelmed by it, and will feel less alone.
You can often talk to a friend or family member, or if you think opening up to them can be hard, you can look for professional help. A therapist will surely be able to listen to you and help you understand what you are going through, making you feel better.
Be around people that make you feel good
When you are feeling down, getting some comfort and positive support from people close to you can make all the difference. It is important to have people that will raise you when you don’t quite know how to raise yourself.
But sometimes, we can be surrounded by people that won’t help with that. So if you understand that this is what is happening to you, try to discover what are the people you can count on to make yourself feel better.
Make some plans
People that can find a balance between dealing with the matters of now, and what they want out of their future are usually better at dealing with their mood and tend to feel better about themselves.
So if you are not feeling great, you can work on that balance. People will often use mindfulness, a meditation technique that will help you focus on the present, aligned with planning for the future as a way to help you cope, and understand that things won’t be this difficult.
Do some positive self-talk
An instant way to feel better is by doing some positive self-talk. Telling yourself about all the positive aspects of your personality will allow you to feel better about yourself in no time.
A good way to practice positive self-talk is by making daily affirmations. It doesn’t mean that you will trust it right away, but most of all, that you will begin to change your patterns of thought to more positive ones, making you feel better.
Practice self-care
There are many ways one can practice self-care and feel better about themselves. You can do that when you eat healthily, realize you are taking great care of your body, and feel more energized.
You can also feel better when you set aside a period of your day to do something you enjoy. It can be staying home and reading a book, or rewatching a show you love. But when you take the time to do that, you learn that you are valuable, and feel better right away.
Another manner of self-care is exercising, and as seen earlier, it can have many benefits. Aside from that, journaling can also be a form of self-care. As you do it, you will find a way to externalize your feelings, get a better understanding of them, and gradually feel better.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): How can I make myself feel better?
What are the main causes of sadness?
People can become sad for many reasons. They can be sad because they are having a hard time in one, or some, of their relationships. Or they may be struggling to do a good job in their work, or study.
Aside from that, some people may feel extremely sad when they are dealing with some illness, or with the sickness of a loved one. They can also be sad because they lost a loved one, be it by death, or the end of a relationship. Moving to a new place is also something that can make a person sad.
And when a person feels overwhelmed, or like they lost control over their life or emotions, they can also feel sad. Feeling lonely in a relationship, or being alone in reality can also lead to sadness. In the same way as going through new thought patterns, that is usually more negative.
What causes people to be happy?
It is important to keep in mind that happiness is subjective. What makes you happy, won’t necessarily make the other person happy. But it seems that people who describe themselves as happy will often have healthy and positive relationships.
They also have a mentality that having time is a lot more important than having money. But this doesn’t mean that money is not important. People will often say they are happy when they feel a sense of financial security, which can improve their sense of well-being.
Happy people will also take some time to do the little things that bring them joy. And even having this time can give them gratitude, and cause them to feel happier. Helping other people, and showing kindness is another thing that can easily make people feel happier, in the same way as exercise.
Another big thing that causes people to be happy, is spending their money and energy on experiences. Those will usually make the person happier than when buying things. And being able to focus more on the present, than on the past or future, can also make you happier.
What is the difference between sadness and depression?
People need to know there is a difference between sadness and depression since they may often think that being sad already means a person is depressed.
You should know that sadness is just one of the many manifestations of depression. And differently from the emotion of sadness, when a person is depressed, that sadness will touch all aspects of the person’s life.
But when a person is sad, it usually means they are sad about something. One particular thing, or as a reaction to one event. In that case, once the person deals with the situation that is causing them to be sad, or deal with the emotion.
When dealing with depression, the person will need to go through treatment, go to therapy, and sometimes even take medication.
What are the best forms of self-care?
There are many forms of self-care, and the best one for you is usually related to what you are passionate about, and what makes you feel nurtured. Sometimes listening to good music, or a podcast on the topic you like can be a way to feel good.
To other people, it can be getting a massage or taking some time to care for themselves at home. And to others, it can be quality time with friends. Whatever is your form of self-care, make sure to make it a part of your life, and have fun.
Why is being with friends make me happy?
There are many reasons why being with friends will make you happy. The first reason for that is because being with them will make you feel like you belong somewhere, and this sense of being connected can make you feel happier.
It can also be something that will give you a sense of purpose, and improve your sense of confidence and self-worth. When you are among friends, you may often share the difficult things you may be going through.
Being with them, and listening to what they have to say can also make it easier for you to step out of negative thought patterns, and make you happier.
Conclusion
This article focused on showing ways you can quickly make yourself feel better.
If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to write them in the section below.
References
https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/ss/slideshow-tips-to-feel-better-fast
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-make-yourself-feel-better-right-now-5093352
https://www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-feel-better-about-yourself?hs_amp=true
