First: one of my big go-tos to turn around a bad day is exercise. I can already hear the groan from some of you, ugh, exercise, nooooo. And so I wanted to say that when I am trying to turn around a bad day, I actually don’t feel motivated to exercise the way I do on a day that’s running smoothly. I feel resistant, I don’t wannnnna, I don’t feel like it, all of that, just like any other human being. But I make myself do it, because I find that 20 minutes or so of just getting into a workout often creates a “break” of some kind between ruminative thoughts about why life happens to suck at the moment. I’m into CrossFit—I find that intense exercise helps me turn off my brain a bit more because I have no choice but to focus on the workout—but I’ve had success also with going for a long walk or doing some push ups. There are numerous studies that exist showing positive connections between exercise, and alleviation of depression or anxiety and they’re easy to look up if you want to see the research basis for this.
Second: I try to really pay attention to the impulses to do things that I know aren’t going to help. For instance, when I’m sad, yeah, my thoughts turn to having a glass of wine, or sugar. I pay attention to that and in fact what I do is try to get metacognitive about it, sort of observing the observer. I’ll notice myself think, “Ah, glass of rose would be great right now,” and then I’ll think, “How interesting that today has been a sad day and suddenly you’re craving alcohol. Interesting to notice that false desire—alcohol won’t solve this.” I’ll do the same thing with sweets. By no means am I perfect about this, by the way, but it’s been a helpful practice to consciously and intentionally remind myself that giving in to sugar or alcohol—or disappearing into TikTok or numbing out in some other way—won’t actually help.
Third: another big go-to is to try to do something really nice or helpful to make someone else’s day better. Can I take a chore off of my husband’s plate? Can I be extra nice to that person I see when I’m out walking the dog? Can I offer to help someone with something? Because any of those things create a feeling for me of connection, and usefulness. I like feeling connected, I like feeling useful, and when I can create those feelings I generally feel better. Bonus, it helps someone else, which is also great!
Fourth: I’ll process out anger or sadness. Literally, I’ll scream into a pillow, or try to consciously cry, to get to the root of some feelings. Sometimes I think that our feelings don’t always need to be intellectualized. Sometimes I think they just need to be fully, and completely, felt.
Source: www.yourcourageouslife.com/how-to-turn-around-a-bad-day/