We can often get caught up in our own sadness, but we can choose to look at the positive side. It is important to stay positive as often as you can. How do you find happiness when you feel sad? Often, we find ourselves holding onto our emotions. They build up until we are overwhelmed with negative feelings. Finding happiness when you feel sad includes finding healthy ways to release those negative feelings. Here are some tips on how to find the positive when you feel sad.
Start a Journal
Journaling helps you in a multitude of ways that improve mental health. By writing down the events of your day, you can identify your fears, concerns, triggers, and more. You can analyze when you begin thinking negatively and spot negative behaviors and habits. Journaling is a way to vent when you don’t have your support system on hand. Getting in the habit of writing down your day gets you in the habit of self-talk.
Journaling acts as meditating for a lot of people, and it can become that for you. Every day, write something down in your journal. It doesn’t have to be inspirational or grand. Write what feels right to you. If words can’t express what you are feeling, draw, scribble, color, or copy song lyrics into your journal. Don’t worry about how it looks or following a pattern. Journaling is for you and your happiness, so it doesn’t matter what it may look like to other people.
Eat Healthy and Exercise
Maintaining a healthy diet and exercising are great ways to stay positive and can help in finding happiness when you are feeling sad. Not only does it better your physical health, but it also releases endorphins and dopamine that make you feel happy. Do you know that feeling after exercising when you feel energized? You feel so accomplished because you got up and moved. Yeah, exercise may sometimes stink at the moment, but once it is over, you feel awesome.
The foods you eat directly contribute to your happiness levels. Eating healthier foods like fruits and vegetables creates a lasting positive effect on your brain. It helps you feel more energized both physically and mentally when you eat healthily. Along with eating healthy foods, cooking meals personally can help you feel a sense of happiness too. When you cook for yourself, you get to feel accomplished for preparing it yourself. You provided for yourself, and you should be proud of that.
Do Something You Love to Do
Participating in hobbies is a great way to find feelings of happiness. Sometimes when we are sad, the perfect thing is painting, reading, playing a board game, or even just talking with friends. No matter what it is, find the motivation to do it. Doing something you love can provide you with a healthy distraction from the negative and jumpstart your brain to find happiness.
If you don’t feel like going out, find something to do at home that you enjoy. The important thing is to do something you usually enjoy even if you don’t really want to. Chances are, you will get comfortable in this space and find a little bit of happiness while “hobbying” it up.
Listen to Music and Get Your Emotions Flowing
Music is a beautiful way to get your emotions flowing! People may immediately think to listen to happy music, and that is a great idea. Another good idea is to listen to sad music. You may think that sounds counterintuitive, but sad music provides a lot of catharsis for many of us. Listen to a sad playlist and have a good cry. Let your emotions flow. A lot of the time, we feel immense sadness as a result of building up our emotions without allowing ourselves to release them. Music gives us the permission and safety to release in a healthy way.
Find a quiet place to sit, lay down, or even dance. Put headphones on and let the music bring your emotions out. Sing, dance, cry, even scream them out. Allowing yourself to release will bring a feeling of relief. A weight will seem to lift off of your shoulders as that burden of emotions just releases into the atmosphere. Ring the vibe up with a song you find inspiring or happy at the end of your jam session, and take a deep breath as you step into happiness.
Talk to a Therapist
If you continue to struggle with finding happiness when you feel sad, try talking to a therapist. A therapist or counselor can help you find ways to get yourself thinking positively and finding happiness. Even talking to a therapist about how you are feeling can bring about feelings of happiness. Allow yourself an avenue for emotional release.
From thinking positive thoughts to intense exercise, you can find ways to be happy when you feel sad. With Mindfuli, you can talk to a therapist that can equip you with strategies to fight the sadness you feel and look for the light. There are an endless amount of strategies to get you thinking positively, and at least a handful will work for you. You deserve to be happy, even when you feel sad. Talk to a therapist about your feelings today. The therapeutic alliance is at the heart and soul of the care provided through Mindfuli. To learn more about our virtual therapy platform, call us at (866) 973-4415.
