So, here’s the thing. I had the best time ever last week, on holiday in Sicily with two friends. It was sunny, hot, beautiful, relaxing but exciting at the same time… But more about my trip in an upcoming post! All that is to say that I came back from sunny Sicily to gloomy, rainy Paris and it hit me hard. It’s been raining all day, every day for a week. It’s super dark during the day, and the lack of sun makes me want to sleep all the time and I lack the motivation to do anything. Basically, I’m not feeling well.
This is not the type of feelings we tend to promote on blogs, and I’m the first to want to appear happy and positive all the time, but nobody can believe bloggers always are happy bunnies, right? So this post is dedicated to all of you readers who aren’t feeling your best right now. There’s always an answer! And here are my suggestions…
Do NOT stay inactive
I’ve been guilty of this one for the past days, and trust me, you don’t want to be lazy when you’re not feeling good! Doing nothing, staying in bed while thinking about everything that is wrong will not help you. You’re just losing time, that could be spend getting better and forgetting about things. I know that when you feel bad, you automatically want to shut yourself up and wait, but, honestly, it won’t make it any easier for you. Instead, you should see a friend, go to the cinema (even alone, just watch a good film!), have a walk around town, go to a museum… Just take your little legs and leave the house. Time will pass so much quicker than if you just wait for it doing nothing, and you’ll actually enjoy yourself!
Listen to uplifting music
I am not a big music person, but I am the first to admit that music can really affects one’s mood. So yeah, it is a really bad idea to listen to Adele when you’re feeling sad. Partly, it makes you look like you’re in a film, but mostly, it makes it ten times worse. Instead, put on one of the many happy playlists on Spotify and let good vibes fill the room! Even as a background sound if you’re doing something else, it’ll make you feel a little better instantly. One of my favourite happy songs is ‘You’re the one that I want’ from Grease, who doesn’t feel like singing along and dancing around as soon as they hear it?
Look at old photos to remember the good times
When you’re feeling like poop, there’s nothing better than remembering that not so long ago, you were actually feeling great! I love to look back at old photos of places I’ve visited, time I’ve spent with my friends and family… It makes you forget a little your present situation, and bring back the happiness that you’ve felt. Sometimes as I look to photos, I remember exactly how I felt when the photo was taken; for example looking at a photo of the Harry Potter Studios reminds me of the excitement, happiness and emotion I felt when I stepped in there. Although I could be sad because I’m not there anymore, I would focus on how good it felt instead and how awesome it is that I’ve lived that moment! It’s the kind of ‘be happy that it happened’ thing – focus on the cool things, even though they’ve passed!
Don’t blame yourself for what is happening to you
When something bad happens, we are often tempted to blame ourselves and think we are the problem. But that’s not true! You don’t deserve any of the bad stuff that you’re going through, nobody ever deserves bad situations (well, except if you’ve done something really wrong, but then I don’t think we are responsible for major offences very often, are we?). I know for example that when I’m upset, I get very quiet and I want to be alone, so when people talk to me, it gets to my head quite easily. And of course, I feel bad for being so unkind and annoying, although I just act like the introvert that I am and avoid the social interaction that could make me angry. The result is, I always feel like I am wrong, like I am the problem. However, most of the time the problem is just that things get a bit too much and it affects our mood. You can be nice and unhappy sometimes, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person and you deserve the unhappiness! Trust me, you don’t.
Remember that brighter days will come
As the saying goes, ‘This too shall pass‘. We often feel unhappiness will last forever when we are sad, but truth is, it will go away at some point. You will feel better. You will be happy again, and laugh again, and feel good about yourself and about your life again. It took me a while to realise that, but when you put things in perspective and look to the future weeks or months, your sadness will feel so little and insignificant! Right now, I feel bad because I am stuck in a rainy country, without any real purpose as I’m on holiday, and I’m bored of that. But if I fast forward just a bit, I see myself spending sunny days walking around Paris this July, sunbathing in a park with friends, enjoying the actual summer months. It is all a matter of perspective, and of not being too stubborn. We shouldn’t feel like we are bearing the burden bof the world on our shoulders, that just makes it even worse. Just think it is a momentary feeling, and soon, you will feel good again. Positivity always wins!
What are your tips to feel better when you are unhappy? Do you have little tricks to battle moodiness?
Lots of love,
Julia x
