ABC of How to Cheer Yourself Up

 Feeling down in the dumps after your holiday?

Or depressed that you didn’t get away?

August can be a drag if you aren’t on holiday. Everyone else seems to be off, regular routines are disrupted, and nothing seems quite right. Credit cards are maxed out, we feel sluggish and things seem a bit of a chore. We complain about the heat, but hate it when it rains. You just need to remember ABC to cheer yourself up and get rid of August Angst. (These tips do work all year as well!

A

Acknowledge your feelings

We often “should” ourselves, saying I should be happy, I should be grateful… However, beating yourself up only makes you feel worse. Give yourself a break, and realise that humans are not made to be happy all the time. The film Inside Out and The Guesthouse, Rumi illustrate why other feelings are also important. Don’t try and bury your feelings, but accept them as thoughts. You are not your feelings. The more you deny they exist, the more your emotions will control you.

Sit for a minute and ask yourself what you are feeling. Try and see what need is behind feeling that way. If you are angry that others are having a good time and you are working hard, it might be that you need some fun in your life, or you need more help. Ignoring or denying your feelings will not make them go away. Research by Matthew Lieberman at UCLA proves that when people put words to their emotions the primitive brain calms down and the logical one starts to take over.

Accept responsibility

Once you have acknowledged your emotions, you then have the choice of what to do about them.If you feel someone else is to blame for your feelings, click here.

I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it’s only a choice of attitude. Judith M. Knowlton

It’s up to you whether you continue to feel those feelings. You can choose to be angry, fearful or jealous, or you can change the way you see things. In this article, find out how changing your perspective not only make you happier, but healthier as well. If you need help in changing your perspective, here is a tool to download. Sad to GLAD 

 B

Be present and grateful for what you have

Be aware of what is happening right now. Smell the roses, notice the little pleasures in your life now. Don’t focus on the pains of the past or the worries of the future. Gratitude is one of the most effective ways of lifting your spirits.

Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it. William Feather

Believe that it will all work out in the end

Think back to what worried you in the past, and how things eventually sorted themselves out. Look at all the good things that have grown out of painful times, the lessons you have learned and the friends that you’ve made.

Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. Vaclav Havel

Cheer yourself up by reminding yourself of all the challenges you have faced successfully.

C

Compassion

Have compassion for yourself, for the hurts you have borne and the struggles you face. Care about other people, especially those who are hard to get on with. Research shows that people who practice compassion to others lift their own spirits.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  Dalai Lama XIV

Struggling to be kind to some people? Here is a tool that will help A6 RoseTinted Glasses.

Comedy

Laughter releases tension, boosts our immune system and connects us with others–if it arises from kindness and understanding. Humour can be cruel or kind–if you aren’t sure, direct your humour at yourself. Sometimes just looking in the mirror and pulling a silly face is enough to lift our spirits. Watching an amusing film or a silly game with children will help to chase the gloom away. Here is a great film that always makes me smile.

For more tips on how to cheer yourself up, make life easier and resolve disputes, click here.