Like winter in Game of Thrones, bad days will inevitably come. But knowing how to overcome adversity and get your mind right after a less-than-stellar day is essential for your well-being. Try one of these best ways to decompress after a difficult day.
Stay Active
One way you can turn the negative of a bad day into a positive is by cultivating your frustration and getting active. Any activity that will elevate your heart rate and break a sweat allows you to release your tension and be ready to take on tomorrow.
Exercise provides immediate stress-relieving effects through increasing endorphins, the brain’s feel-good chemicals. Take your workout outside and get vitamin D to make it count even more, especially if you work from home.
Watch a Game
Turning your mind off and watching a game is a great way to zone out for a few hours. You can get several psychological benefits from watching sports, so you don’t need to feel guilty if you plop on the couch and watch your favorite team duke it out with a hated rival. If your squad emerges victorious, any problems you had earlier in the day vanish, and you’re a happy camper. However, if the game is trending in the wrong direction, feel free to turn it off.
Go to Your Comfort Movie
Maybe you only like football, and it’s a Wednesday evening with nothing to distract you, leaving you feeling restless and sad. That’s when you turn to your trusted comfort movie or TV show to give yourself a pick-me-up. No matter how old you are, you can always count on some piece of entertainment to cheer you up. Maybe it’s a romantic comedy that gives you fuzzy feelings, or perhaps you want to watch Vin Diesel destroy a parking garage with his fist. If it makes you happy, it’s the right choice.
Turn the Screens Off
Mindless entertainment isn’t an escape for some folks who prefer to free their mind through Zen-like activities. Seeing endless news and social media posts on your phone will likely worsen your mood. Disconnecting from the world and steering clear of your screens is a wonderful way to decompress. When you can free yourself from distractions, you can put 100 percent of your focus on calming your mind and creating a more positive mindset.
Spoil Yourself
When all else fails, treating yourself to whatever makes you happy is the best way to decompress after a bad day. Online shopping or stopping by your favorite ice cream shop gives you the instant gratification needed to feel better. The key to treating yourself is not overindulging or partaking in things you can’t afford. You don’t want the future you to suffer the consequences.
The best ways to decompress after a difficult day can help you overcome any obstacles that life throws your way. We all can relate to feeling down in the dumps occasionally, but knowing how to dig ourselves out of it helps us keep moving forward.
