Healthy Ways to Turn a Bad Mood Around, Part 1: Breathing Deeply

Sure, there are techniques that can get you out of a bad mood temporarily but don’t help you in the long run — eating sugary treats, drinking alcohol, “retail therapy” (shopping for things that aren’t budgeted for), etc.

Those activities will boost your “feel good” hormones but they will have long-term negative consequences later — which will NOT help you with that future bad mood.

It is my hope in creating this series that you will find your own combination of techniques to help you get back on track quickly when a bad mood strikes.

Way #1: Breathe deeply.

Breathing deeply helps in so many ways — physically, mentally, and emotionally. Breathing delivers more oxygen to your cells which simultaneously calms and energizes you.

Focus on the sound of the air as you inhale and as you exhale. This takes your mind off of your bad mood for a few minutes.

One of my favorite breathing exercises is to think of your breathing as a shape.

A triangle: breathe in for a count of 7, hold for a count of 7, exhale for a count of 7 (imagine the triangle).

A square: similar to the triangle but add a hold for a count of 7 after you exhale and before you inhale.

7 is a good count to begin with. If you want to increase the count and it is not uncomfortable, go for it!

Last tip — Inhaling through your nose gets the oxygen deeper into the lungs where more of the oxygen-exchange cells are located. More oxygen delivered to your body is beneficial in so many ways.

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