Laugh… stand in front of a mirror every morning (and as often as you like through the day) and just start grinning at yourself and then laugh out loud for at least two minutes… laughter is infectious and after a little while it will soon spread… and if it feels ridiculous then it is working! If it helps things along just think of jokes, funny things you have experienced or heard about, even what you would look like if you just could not stop smiling all the time. The brain cannot tell the difference between “forced” and “real” laughter so you get the feel-good chemical release and other benefits that comes from laughing anyway.
And laugh some more…..watch funny programmes on TV, listen to radio comedies, read funny books and comics/magazines (e.g Viz), see movies that make you laugh, go to comedy shows, be with people who are fun to be with… take a light-hearted look at the world… just refuse to tune in to anything that does not amuse and make you smile.
If you are emotionally stuck… (a.) Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth for three minutes, making the out breath slightly longer than the in breath (count to 7 In and to 10 or 11 out). (b.) Ask your unconscious for a solution to, or relief from, your problem, and then move your eyes in large circles, clockwise then counter-clockwise while counting out loud from fifty to one (c.) Shift your position.
If you are depressed … some kinds of depression are related to functional brain asymmetry, meaning the right and left hemispheres are not functioning coherently. Since physical movements on one side of your body activate the opposite side of your brain, add such movements to anything else you are doing to deal with your condition. Here are some suggestions for you… (a.) Throw a tennis ball from hand to hand and gradually widen the gap. Practice doing it with your eyes shut. (b.) March with knees lifted high. Touch opposite hand to opposite knee with each step. (c.) Fold your arms quickly and notice how you do this (right arm first over left or the reverse) …then do it the exactly the opposite. Practice until you can do it as quickly and easily as your normal way and then progress to alternating between each way. (d.) Practice writing with your other hand (in fact practice doing the opposite of anything you normally do with your dominant hand or foot).
To change your mood from down to up: (a.) Simply recall the details of a happy experience in as much detail as possible. (b.) Pay attention to all the sensory details… especially the pictures that come to mind and the sounds, the sensations you experienced, even the tastes and smells of that time… be there again and intensify. Make the picture bigger, more colourful, vibrant and juicy… (c.) When you feel things strongly, “anchor” the response by pinching the web in between your thumb and finger and let those feelings stay strong or get stronger still as you hold it for 15-30 secs. This creates an association in your mind between the sensation of touching that area and the feelings you are experiencing. (d.) If want to instantly access that response again, just trigger that anchor by touching that area. Since we tend to remember sad or depressing experiences when we are down, also practice making a list of positive memories when you are in a good mood, to refer to when you are not.
Build a happy mindset in 30 seconds… just spend 15 seconds twice a day recalling in detail a pleasant experience from the day before. This can give an instant 15% boost in cheerfulness.
And if you need a quick boost… Sit up. Body posture directly influences mood so sit with your back erect, eyes up and front, head high, and chest pushed out… it instantly lifts your mood and makes you feel more confident.