4 Weird Tips and Tricks That Help People with Anxiety and Depression Relax
You'll find that anxiety and depression are the by-products of a person's thoughts. If you feel depressed for some reason, you may find everything to be hopeless, dismal, and negative. You may find it difficult to notice the good things in life if you are feeling anxious or depressed. Initially, you may have to make an extra effort to notice your blessings, gifts, and strengths. These energy-draining states may take time to heal, so you must be patient with yourself.
However, once you start to notice one good thing in your life, thinking of other things that make you happy will become easier. Quite often, getting out of the state of anxiety and depression requires external stimuli. If you are feeling anxious or depressed and need a mental lift, there are a few ways by which you can feel happy again. These four weird tips and tricks are proven to help people with anxiety and depression. So, you might as well give them a try.
1. Clear the Clutter
When you are surrounded by a lot of stuff lying around chaotically, it can seriously affect your brain. The visual clutter can distract you and hamper your ability to process information. Cluttered space is believed to increase cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, in your body. This is observed especially in women more than in men.
But either way, you must sort out the rubbish that surrounds you and curb the clutter. This will not only give you something productive to work on, instead of just sitting there brewing up the negativity in your brain but will also make you feel much more calmer. In addition to this, you can donate a lot of things that you don't use, to charity. Doing a good deed will surely make you feel like a useful and helpful human being.
2. Go Shopping
If you feel anxious or depressed, buying yourself something nice can help you feel less sad. It doesn't necessarily have to be something fancy or expensive, you just need something to amp up your happiness for the time being. Be it a soft toy, small electronics, or Hush blankets, treat yourself with something that makes you feel happy. Shopping is believed to be a kind of therapy that instills a sense of control you have over the environment when you make your own decisions and choices.
If you shop smartly, it can surely help you snap out of your current mood. However, make sure you buy things that fit in your budget and don't make you feel guilty about it later on. You wouldn't want to be anxious or depressed because you spent the money you don't have.
3. Wander Off Into Nature
Being close to nature is believed to be a great mood uplifter. The smell of fresh leaves or grass can stimulate your "happy hormones". Even a short 5-minute walk can be therapeutic for people who feel anxious or depressed. However, if you're stuck inside your house due to bad weather or covid restrictions, there are other ways to find natural stimuli. As weird as it may sound, listening to nature sounds or even just by looking at the pictures of lush green fields or your dream destinations on your screen, can lift your spirits exponentially. The main point is to shift your focus away from the negative thoughts that occupy your mind.
4. Tickle Your Funny Bone
No, you don't need to tickle yourself because that would be super weird and possibly quite unproductive. Essentially, what you need to do is find something funny to watch. Be it funny videos of people falling, funny fails, humorous podcasts, movies or books, reading jokes, or watching stand-up comedy on Netflix, immerse yourself into things that make you laugh out loud.
Laughter is probably the best medicine and one of the best mood lifters. It'll help you trick your mind into forgetting about the things that make you feel anxious or depressed. With a few good laughs, you'll feel your anxiety washing away from your mind as well as your body.
These tips can't replace clinical treatment if it is a case of serious depression or acute anxiety. If you need help, you must convey your feelings to a close friend, family member, or doctor. However, clearing away the clutter that surrounds you, a healthy shopping spree, connecting with nature, and focusing your attention on funny things can help you get rid of the sadness and will make you feel relaxed to the core.