MOOD

By: Anonymous Member

Hi! How are you feeling today?

Or, actually, maybe a better question is: How are you feeling right now, at this very moment? Because I’m willing to bet that through the course of today, you’ve already experienced a mini rollercoaster ride of emotions that you can’t possibly sum up into one word...unless that word is “meh”. Most likely, though, you probably would just lie, say you’re doing good, and hope that that would conclude your brief interaction.

There could be many factors for why you had a series of mood swings. Maybe you woke up ten minutes before the bus arrives, and your mom is yelling and berating you for being irresponsible, immature, and all sorts of other synonyms until, somehow, you find yourself being scolded for all the mistakes you did from when you were six. You finally get to the bus stop...but you were two minutes too late. Then, there’s school. I’ll stop here before this turns into a rant.

Aside from my hypothetical situation being unusually specific, there’s a shared commonality between all the factors listed above. Yes, they’re all sucky, but the similarity is much broader than that: they’re external factors.

External factors can have varying levels of impacts on different people. Simply put, what’s wonderfully exciting to you could be a tortuous ordeal to someone else. Therefore, external factors don’t determine your mood. In fact, only 10% of your mood is influenced by external factors. The other 90% has everything to do with your mental perception.

So, good news: your mood is in your hands. It’s up to YOU to decide how you feel about a certain situation. So, hey, even though you missed your bus and your mom drowned you in insults, you can still find a way to lift your mood and be happy. Here’s how.

1. Smile and Laugh

Remember that phrase: “Fake it till you make it?” As toxic as it sounds, faking smiles and laughter actually has a positive psychological impact. Smiling more when around other people will make you more approachable and tricks your brain into feeling happy. Laughter also has similar effects-- in fact, it’s even better at lifting your spirits. It is proven to increase dopamine levels, oxygenate our bodies, and cool down our stress response system making it highly linked to boosting moods.

1. Exercise

Ugh, yes, the dreaded exercise. The sweat, the excruciating physical movements, the dry, thirsty throat...I could go on forever. Trust me when I say that I hate to admit it, but exercise does improve your mood. If it helps, you don’t have to exercise intensely or regularly-- even just doing an hour of exercise (regardless of intensity) a week can do wonders for your mood and well-being. It can even prevent depression. All you have to do is to get at least some minimal exercise like a stroll outside or better yet, yoga.

1. Engage in cultural activity

A study of 50,000 adults found that there was an increased happiness and reduction in anxiety and depression for those who participated in cultural activity. This is your calling to be an active participant in your community and cultural heritage! Some ways you can engage more with your culture is by doing some common cultural practices at home or being part of a cultural club at your school.

Of course, there are many more ways to improve your mood and mental health, but the ones listed above should be a good start. Remember that you are in control of your mood--not the other way around! So, the next time someone asks you how you’re feeling, you don’t have to lie when you say you’re good :))