Improve Your Mood

It's not going to be a surprise to anyone that your mood affects your health in numerous ways. I've talked about it before and everywhere you look on social media you'll find another positivity meme or promotion of raising your game through the power of thought.


The benefits of a positive mood are well documented when you look at many of the physical and mental health issues we face in modern times.

While a positive mental attitude may not 'cure' illness necessarily (there is plenty of anecdote that it does but research is light here with measurement being difficult to quantify reliably and repeatably) it certainly will promote recovery and play a massive role in the reduction of symptoms.


You may have seen the charity that gets people to knit teddy bears and send them to children's hospitals around the world. Having these bears speeds the recovery of the children in those hospitals. A positive thing to raise their mood is clearly of benefit to these kids.

You may have been for a long walk perhaps and got blisters. The blister can become mentally consuming and make the walk really hard going but as soon as you're distracted by a conversation with someone or a beautiful view you instantly forget the blister and the going becomes easier (this distraction is something I apply when my clients start to struggle). It's the positive mental attitude that's at play here.

On the negative side there are many cases of people in high stress roles getting sick. How many of us work really hard, do the responsible thing by our workplaces and our families and then the moment we relax (usually the moment we go on holiday or pause for Christmas etc) we get ill. Often a heavy cold or a stomach upset which we wouldn't normally have had before. Even worse, we put in a solid working life and then hit retirement and have a heart attack or become critically ill which makes the later part of our lives an uncomfortable time filled with pain and doctor visits or simply a shorter affair than we had planned.

Excess body fat is a common sign that you've got a little too much stress in your life. It sits around the midriff and hangs over the belt a bit.

But even with these negative impacts of high stress triggering illnesses (and this might even include some of the real nasties like cancer) many people get a mood boost. There's something potentially freeing about being told you have a life limiting illness which actually gives people a positive attitude such as a "screw the cancer, I'm going to enjoy what I have left" and then that person ends up getting better and living a longer life than expected. That's the positive mood kicking back in and doing it's thing.


Even if a person doesn't get the pain relief and the reduction in symptoms it's got to be a better way of life to be feeling positive and getting the most enjoyment you can from the time you have.

There is also the benefit of improved productivity. Something for another day is the concept of flow states. These are the times when you drop into a super focussed state which uses your subconscious mind to achieve a higher standard of work than you would have if you were consciously focussed on a task. You might have felt it already in such tasks as driving where you suddenly notice that you've driven the last half an hour but can't remember the journey. Your brain has done the job (and done it well as you've not had an accident) but you weren't consciously aware of it. Or you've done something creative and it's all just flowed out of you. Or you've been so engrossed in designing something, or house chores, or running, or surfing, or building or any other task that it's happened to a high standard without you realising it. These states are easier to get into and stay in if you're in a generally positive state.

For my part, I enjoy my life. It's relatively simple and low stress (by design). The stresses I do have are by choice (some managed stress is beneficial or we end up just drifting through and not making any real contribution or developing ourselves. Those that know me know I have two great boys and a fiancé that's managing to still tolerate me. I have enough other supportive family and a few good friends who are there when I need them. I live in the country and see green out of every window and can walk straight from the house any time I want the fresh air. I work with some great people and get a ton of satisfaction from seeing clients achieve their goals. I even like the dog (she comes back as soon as I tell her to and isn't interested in sheep or squirrels so life is simple there too).

But I haven't always had things so easy. I've done the corporate world thing and had the stresses of work, failed marriage and injury. But I've fixed it all and know how to keep myself ticking along in good order. I train on my schedule, I work on my schedule, I relax on my schedule and I play on my schedule. I employ a number of positive actions which helps with all this. I do a little meditation which helps clear my mind when I need it to. I prepare and eat good food. I get out and about. I love. I laugh. I play.

I try and do as many of the positive things as I can with my family and they're really good at feeding this positive way of life. Getting them involved also has the same benefits for them (coupled with having a grouchy bear in the house not being in their best interests either of course).

I don't like to use the "you should..." approach but I would strongly suggest that everyone finds something that helps to boost their own general mood. I mentioned already that some stress is a good thing and I would also say that some time spent in a low mood is also a benefit. It gives balance and it gives a comparison so you know how great the highs are. We all have bad days but if we can limit them and manage them so they're not so much the norm then that's something worth striving for.