We all have those days when we can’t seem to get anything right. You wake up late, spill your coffee down your clean white shirt, can’t find your keys, another driver has a go at your driving skills and then you get a parking ticket… Whether you’ve got out of bed on the ‘wrong side’ or whether the whole universe is against you, sometimes things really just don’t go your way.

Well, unless you’re superhumanly positive when rubbish things happen, then you’ll find yourself in a bad mood that you can’t shake off and well, your day just gets worse and worse…

If you’re feeling down in the dumps, try these 10 tips to turn that frown upside down!

1. Find a spot beside a sunny window – get your vitamin D and soak up some sun! Serotonin, known as the happy hormone for its ability to lift moods and make us have a spring in our step.
2. Challenge the grumpy thoughts –think about why you’re feeling in a bad mood, is it just because something went wrong today or is it something deeper? Challenge your negative thoughts with positive ones.
3. Sit up confidently – if you find yourself slumped over your desk with your head in your hands, change your body position and sit up confidently, it’ll reduce the stress hormone cortisol and make you radiate positivity and confidence.
4. Eat breakfast – Research shows that eating your breakfast in the morning keeps your mood at a high and increases alertness.
5. Smile – even if it’s the last thing you want to do when you’ve spilt coffee all over your white shirt, just smile – it’ll slow your heart rate down and reduce your stress levels.
6. Put your hand on your heart – It may sound silly, but placing your hand over your heart will help you feel reconnected to your body and grounded. By soothing your body and being kind to yourself, you’ll remind yourself of what’s good about you.
7. Breathe deeply – breathe in and out deeply for five minutes, it’ll calm you down and help clear your mind.
8. Write feel-better lists – write one list of all the things you’re grateful for and that make you happy. Next write a list of all the things that make you grumpy – read both lists and you’ll realise the things on the negative list are insignificant in comparison.
9. Eat every four hours – keep your blood sugar levels stable, any excuse for a snack, hey!
10. Have a boogie around your sitting room – Exercise releases feel-good endorphins, so put on your favourite tunes and have a dance around!

And my bonus tip is Vitamin G – go gardening! Having a potter in the garden as nature is always good for the soul and if you can stand barefoot on the grass is even better – this helps with reducing stress by keeping you grounded and I find it helps me when things get overwhelming by calming the mind.

Garden Your Way to Better Mental Health

In 2021, the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) released research that revealed those who garden every day have wellbeing scores 6.6% higher and stress levels 4.2% lower than people who don’t garden at all. Surveying more than 6000 people the research showed a significant association between gardening more frequently and improvements in wellbeing, perceived stress and physical activity.

I find growing from seed supports mindfulness because you’re “in the moment” and not thinking about anything else. Nurturing the seedlings to full grown plants and flowers is so rewarding and its why I created my Wellbeing and Mindfulness kit which contains three packets of seeds to sow and grow, plus recipe cards to make lavender shortbread, calendula balm (renowned for soothing skin) and a mint mocktail and mint tea which is supposed to aid digestion. There’s also a mini colouring book with positive affirmations and a notebook to jot your thoughts down. Makes a thoughtful gift.

Here’s the link for more info…

https://borderinabox.com/product/wellbeing-seed-gift-box-recipe/