One day up, next day down: That's a symbol of silver lining over my life's dark cloud

Everyone in life once or often feels that

I don't regret what I've been through. I've had ups and downs, super highs and some really low lows. I've been so blessed that I could never say, 'I wish this didn't happen.' It's part of who I am. There's nothing in my life that's so simple and easy.

Some days I wake up feeling great and don’t know why, other days I wake up in a low mood with or without consciousness of the reason. What I didn’t learn in childhood is that ups and downs are not always related to problems or something you did to cause them. And on top of that, attempt to suppress and analyze bad feelings sometimes makes me feel even worse.

The need to be proactive arises in times when I just want to feel good and don’t know how to get there. I confess that I am just as confused by my high energy, optimistic days as I am by my slumps. I am mostly not aware of how I feel or why I feel happy or sad, frustrated, lonely, guilty, or just overly sensitive. I often hear people saying “I’m having a bad day” followed by a list of the terrible things (which individually are really not that terrible) that happened, in an effort to try to explain away their low mood. It doesn’t help to pile them up and vent.

The fact is, every day has its good moments and unfortunate glitches, but sometimes we only see the negative and start to collect it throughout a day or week or month. The question of why I feel this way is not as important as how I can change my emotional state when I cannot simply fix a problem of which I am aware.

Through my own life experiences I have learned that I do have some power over my moods beyond the “snap out of it” and “don’t feel that way” approach. It takes a little time and effort, but with practice, we can get better at identifying, accepting, and yes – managing our own feelings. And finally I’ve arrived at a list of solutions for all those, who are somewhat like me. If you want to feel better, there are few things that can help.

The most likely causes of feeling low are physical; not enough sleep, low blood sugar, or the need for exercise. It could also be stress, lack of fun, need for human contact, lack of choices, or worries about other people. It is also important to recognize that when you focus for too long on what you don’t like about someone or something, you are guaranteed to end up with a low mood and find yourself attracting bad feelings like a magnet.

First of all, remember there is probably nothing wrong with you except that you are human and this is what human beings experience. No one is happy and energetic all of the time. It is ok to allow yourself to feel down, but if you want to feel better, these things may help. With the help of these things, it is likely that you may feel better

1.    Unless it is something obvious, stop trying to figure it out.

2.    Breathe deeply and drink more water.

3.    Don’t push and drag yourself through the day. Allow your feelings and thoughts to come and go on their own without judging.

4.   If you usually race through your day, slow down; drive slower, walk slower, talk slower.

5.    If you tend to be immobile when you are down, move more and be sure to continue to open up your posture throughout the day.

6.   Use all of your senses to notice good things around you – nature, laughter, love, kindness, music. Comment on those things or write them down.

7.    Skip the morning and evening news. Avoid reading or listening to anything negative.

8.   Eat healthy at least for today – make it something delicious.

9.   Make eye contact with people. Emotional connections with people raise our spirits.

10. Gather your “tools” and use them – pray, read positive things, be around those people you like, smile, and allow loving energy to flow from you.

11.  When a better mood returns, notice what you are doing that makes you feel good.

12. Bring a feeling that there is a problem, but it will resolve by itself.

13. Or maybe, there is a problem, but it is smaller and less important.

14. Or, there is a problem and I know I need to address it but it’s not essential that I do it today.

“It is in darkness that you find the light; it is in storm that you find peace; it is in sorrow that you find joy because life is a paradox and a polarity.” ~ S. Birch