How to Get Through a Mental Fog And Increase Your Happiness

Feel Better Now When You Don’t Feel Your Best

Mental Health is Self-Care.

Mental health is a serious thing, but when we are experiencing a mental fog, it may feel like feeling good again is quite out of our reach.

Being in that state, even for a moment, can take our day into a totally different direction than we had planned.

Your mental state is internal and not a physical aesthetic, like your clothes, or your makeup or hygiene. We can easily clean our bodies if it’s dirty or put on our lipstick, do our nails, wear a beautiful dress, and groom ourselves in whatever ways are best for us.

But feeling in a low mental state is not so easy to hide from ourselves or even others for long.

Here are some ways you can lift yourself when in a mental fog:

• Acknowledge your mental state and how you feel and refrain from forcing happiness in that moment. I truly feel that it is better to strive for self-care over happiness. When our goal is to take care of ourselves, we are more likely to do things that are good for us. And when in a mental fog, just resting in that and being OK with not feeling 100% is a form of taking care of ourselves.
• Have a tantrum if you need to. Cry. Scream things outloud if in a place where is no one else there to scare off. Throw something or hit something (you won’t need later off course) if you need to.
• Give it time to pass. Everything is temporary even if temporary may last for hours or days. Allow yourself to have your moment, and try to avoid judging yourself for your current mood.

Remember we all have those moments, and that it is part of your journey in this life. Your emotions are not you. Often they are really a tool to bring your awareness to what needs your attention most in that moment.

• Be intentional about getting into a better place, and make that something to look forward to.

Use a Positive Focus.

I wouldn’t suggest most social media, because there can be so much negativity there that can spiral your mood even further down. Some good distractions could be an uplifting, funny sitcom or favorite daytime television show, or clips of funny dogs or children (if you like both) on Youtube or a similar platform.

• If you are fortunate to have a special person or a very trusted friend or a pet available to you, get yourself a nice, long hug. Never underestimate the power of a heartfelt embrace to improve your mood.

In fact, it has been shown that hugging someone for 20 seconds or more can increase your “feel good” hormone, oxytocin

• Resist any thoughts where you are comparing yourself to others. Especially if during your mental fog you are around other people, who seem much happier than you. Just because they’re not having their moment during your moment, doesn’t mean that they’re happy all the time. If being around seemingly “happy” people at the time when you are feeling anything but, makes you feel even worse, remove yourself from their company. Sometimes being good to yourself involves being in solitude, if you feel it is safe for you to do so.
• If you can muster it, get out for a few minutes. It could just be in your backyard or balcony, if you have one and if that is a relaxing place for you. It could also be in a park, on the beach, along a water front area, or a safe public space with a bench. A nice thing to do during that time is to just people watch. I can’t tell you how many times I have been in a real funk mentally, and just observing other people, without actually interracting with them, was so helpful.
• If all else fails, just take a nap. Sometimes the world can seem much different when we take a real break from it, by going into slumber. When we wake up we may feel more refreshed, and if the issue still persists, our resting mind may beable to better tackle the situation in a much better way.

How To Be Happy Though Matter What Through Daily Loving Acts Towards Yourself

So the take away of all of this is to get intentional about increasing your own wellbeing. No one else can do it for you, because no one else knows your internal mental state like you do.

Even making the smallest effort to face yourself when you are in a period of a mental fog, can bring about just the right amount of upliftment to help you to feel better eventually.