A Four Ingredient Recipe for an Improved Mood
If you are experiencing a low mood, decreased motivation or simply would like to improve your quality of life- I highly recommend incorporating these 4 behaviors into your daily routine. Not only do they not require a large amount of time, they also are scientifically proven to improve your mood!
To generate a deeper understanding for the effectiveness of this recipe, I would like to provide a brief explanation on neurotransmitters and the integral role they play in mood regulation. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals in our brains that are responsible for regulating our mood, calming our nervous system, and improving our feelings of connectedness with others. Neurotransmitters that play a key role in our mental health are Serotonin, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Oxytocin. Serotonin is responsible for sleep, appetite, and happiness. Dopamine is responsible for creating associations with activities that provide us benefit or pleasure. Norepinephrine increases alertness, attention, and energy. Oxytocin activates our attachment system and strengths our bonds with people and pets.
Now that we have a baseline understand of the powerful role these chemicals play in improving our mental health, let us get to the 4 ingredients:
Once Daily for at least 2 weeks:
Connection: Go out of your way to reach out or connect with someone who is important to you. Reaching out to let someone know you are thinking about them will have the mutually beneficial reward of releasing increased dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin in your brain while also doing the same for the other person.
Movement: Engage in movement or exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes daily. Whether its yoga, walking, or weight training, increasing your heart rate and improving blood circulation will contribute to increased norepinephrine and dopamine.
Confidence: Prioritize doing something for yourself that strengthens feelings of worth. Such as identifying and working toward a goal, taking a little extra time to get ready in the morning, or participating in an activity that you are good at.
Gratitude: I personally think gratitude can be misconstrued as toxic positivity and fluffy- so hear me out on this one. During increased times of stress, depression, or anxiety, our brain’s negativty bias is heightened. As a result, our brain gets stuck on rumination patterns and negative thought spirals. Engaging in a gratitude practice can allow our brain to become rewired to be able to access an optimistic or positive thought more naturally. Some not so cheesy ideas for practicing gratitude: look through pictures of your pets or vacations you have gone on, while brushing your teeth before bed think of the things throughout the day that went well, keep a note in your phone and write down every time someone gives you a compliment or says something kind.
While these behaviors can be helpful for some, many people still need to try medication and seek professional guidance. Please contact a mental health professional or medical provider with further questions.
-Abby Jones, LMSW, LMAC