Best Wellbeing Hacks For Mood Enhancement

[Dr Dave Nicol]

I’m not a huge fan of “Hacks” but feelings and moods are such transient things that I wondered what mood hacks you guys use if you’re feeling kinda shitty? Here are my top three:

1. Exercise… or maybe that’s more accurately movement. Don’t know why, but moving just helps me process difficult emotions. Sometimes that’s endorphins, but other times I think it’s just moving so I can feel like my problems aren’t on top of me. And if it’s anxiety I’m feeling then walking near trees always helps. Again, perhaps odd, but it works for me.

2. Writing – with a pen and paper. Gets the stuff in my head out and I’m always in a better place. Not usually a perfect place, but better.

3. Beer –  there i’ve said it. Unwinding in a quiet pub – near people, but not necessarily with people I’ve always found to help. That’ll be the extrovert in me.

[Adrienne]

I wouldn’t consider these things life hacks either, but merely ensuring that my lifestyle is sustainable and that I’m feeling like I’m making progress towards my goals in all aspects of life. For me, exercise has always been a big one. On busy days at work where I’ve been physically/mentally/emotionally drained, I find I can process the day significantly better when I have been for a walk (30 min is usually more than enough) and then I try to do some meditation before bed. This generally helps me to clear my head/do some debriefing and then be ready to have a good night of sleep.

Sleep is the other essential one; I try to set good routines with sleep and aim for 7-8 hours. Obviously this isn’t always achievable, particularly when on call etc. but most of the time it works when I’ve been feeling a little low or drained.

Having a really good bunch of friends or people to exercise with is also something that really helps me. Pre-COVID I was working solid 10 hours 5 days per week, plus on call, and I aimed to go to swim training and gymnastics a total of 4 nights per week. There were so many nights where I felt so crappy after a big day that I kept saying to myself “I’m not going to go tonight, too tired, too hungry, too physically drained” but once I was there and had spent an hour or more swimming laps in the pool or learning a new skill at gymnastics, I felt amazing and it was a great mood uplifter. On the flipside thanks to COVID restrictions and not being able to swim or train where I normally did, I saw a massive decline in my mental health and this has been a big challenge for me over the past 12 months in particular. But, things are starting to open up again and my outlook has improved. Just have to find that outlet that floats your boat.

Exercise won’t be everyone’s cup of tea though – most people I know will sit themselves down and watch a good series on Netflix or similar, which is great. Un/fortunately for me I can’t sit still long enough for that sort of thing, so exercise will have to do.

[Dr Dave Nicol]

Totally feeling all of that Adrienne. ESP the sitting still bit. It’s the hardest thing of all! Too much Netflix and I start to feel quite edgy and restless. Can’t agree more on the number of times I’ve nearly canned my plans for training cause I’m tired, only to force myself and be incredibly grateful that I did there after. 🙂 Movement is magic!

[Lianne]

I agree with the above!

Some simple “hacks” I use while working are things like the box breathing technique (inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4s, exhale for 4s, hold for 4s and repeat) and the double breathing technique (inhale through nose twice then long exhale through mouth) to calm my brain when required!

[Author]

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