As Neil Diamond sang in his song Song Sung Blue “You and I are subject to the blues from time to time…” Awesome blues! Those feelings of sadness, hopelessness and blahness. They usually occur after a happy event, before the occurrence of something sad or simply for the simple reason that it is winter and we are tired of it. They can also be triggered by a nostalgic trip down memory lane, especially around Christmas or New Years. When we fondly reminisce about the “good old days” and linger too long on our memories, we risk having a bout of sadness. I always say that the past is a wonderful place to visit, but a dangerous place to stay. Whenever sadness comes, they can absorb the joy of life and give new meaning to the word “down.”
Here are five ways to effectively fight the blues and win every time.
1. Put the blues in perspective.
It helps to remember that melancholy is just feelings, feelings that flow from our dominant thoughts and, like any other feeling, pass away. When we feel affectionate it passes. We don’t feel affectionate all the time. When we are angry, the anger passes. The same applies to the blues. You’ll find they go by faster if you don’t stop at them. Just relax and wait for them to pass. While you wait, here are some effective strategies you can apply to ensure your fast approval.
2. Thought Replacement
If the sadness comes from our negative thoughts and we are able to control the thoughts we have, then whenever we have a fearful, disturbing, lonely or depressing thought, visualize it leaving your mind and being replaced by a happier and more pleasant one. Create a bank of happy and pleasant thoughts to use as a replacement.
3. Forget yourself in the service of others.
I think it was Tennyson who said, “We must lose ourselves in action or wither away in despair.” He was grieving the loss of a dear friend and found that serving others helped him forget his hurt for a while and helped him heal. There is nothing more effective than forgetting yourself in the service of others to banish melancholy. “I was sad because I had no shoes when in the street I met a man who had no feet.”
4. Learn to relax.
Sadness often appears when we are stressed and overloaded. Physical and mental relaxation helps restore calm and peace to our hectic lives and, in the process, improves our resistance to sadness.
By the way, laughter is a great way to cut stress in half and promote healing relaxation. It’s impossible to worry when we laugh and worry is one of the main stress inducers.
5. Look for comedy in your chaos.
Funny things happen to us every day. When they do, most of us let out a short laugh and move on with life. In my books, I teach the art of “exploiting the moment,” whereby I encourage my readers to extract every ounce of humor from the funny things that happen to us every day. When you do this and give yourself permission to laugh out loud and enjoy yourself fully, you reap the many therapeutic benefits that laughter provides. It helps to constantly remember that life is too serious to take seriously.
As the song says, the blues comes to all of us from time to time. They are just part of the human condition. The next time you’re depressed, try some of these suggestions and experience how you, too, can beat the blues and win.
