12 Unique Ideas On How To Get Out Of a Bad Mood

I have had my fair share of bad moods, from feeling sad and angry to feeling desperate and empty. However, a bad mood is not the end of it! So here are 12 unique ideas on how to get out of a bad mood. Are you ready to turn that frown upside down? Let’s begin!

Actually, before we begin, a disclaimer time.

Disclaimer I. I am not a qualified psychologist, my advice is only from my perspective and if you are feeling really bad and depressed, please, seek professional help so you can get better as soon as possible! Be brave; it will get better!

Disclaimer II. If I mention depression in this article, I mean the state of a bad mood and lack of interest in life, not speaking of clinical depression or something that should be cured with a specialist’s help.

Now that we are done with the formalities let’s get into it! :)

What is a bad mood?

A bad mood is when you experience negative emotions and it affects your perception of life. People can feel it differently. For some it can be irritability or anger, for others it can be a feeling of depression or sadness.

But we can all agree that a bad mood consists of emotions that don’t make us feel happy and content. And that staying too long in a bad mood can be damaging to our health – mental and maybe even physical (if you believe in psychosomatic).

Also, maybe you are just stuck in a rut? If it sounds possible, check out this article – 9 effective ways how to get out of a rut!

Intensity of a bad mood

Now, there is a difference between “I don’t want to get out of bed” bad mood and “Aggghh, I can’t believe we don’t have milk. AGAIN.” bad mood. So, I distinguish 2 types of bad mood – light bad mood and severe bad mood.

Disclaimer III. The terms “light bad mood” and “severe bad mood” are of my making. They might be real psychological terms, but so far, I haven’t found proof for that. That said, I think you will find it quite logical why I made the separation. 

Light bad mood

A light bad mood is something we all have from time to time. It is a part of life to feel all emotions, even the negative ones. It usually means that you have some negative feelings but they don’t control your life, just impact it in some (more or less minor) ways. Most activities and ideas listed in this article are to remedy a light bad mood. 

Severe bad mood

A severe bad mood is when the bad mood just won’t go away and it starts to affect or even control your ability to do daily tasks and make decisions. For example, it feels beyond reach you to finish tasks (even small ones). Or you feel like it is impossible to go out (even with friends) or do anything else. Usually, a severe bad mood has been around for months or even years.

In this case, you should consider seeing a specialist (for example, a therapist) who can help you find the reasons and solutions exactly for you. A targeted approach and personal support can help you get out of a severe bad mood more effectively and quickly.

However, if it is not possible for you to see a specialist right away (I know, life happens), look into self-help courses and books and psychological techniques you can do on your own. If you have the option, talk to a friend or someone else you trust. 

You can also do the remedies for a light bad mood listed in this post. Some can be useful to shift the inner thoughts into a different perspective, for example, looking for “why” or feeling gratitude. The other activities can give you a shimmer of excitement and a flush of happy hormones, that in the long run can build up and give you new perspectives and outlooks on life. Which can help!

Getting out of a bad mood or even depression is doable, and it is possible for you – it just might not be something you can do in the blink of an eye. Maybe you need two blinks. ;) Keep your hope and desire burning for a better life for yourself! And it will come true.

If it is not a clinical condition – it’s all about a perspective. So, start working on that. From your ideas how the world works and what you think of yourself.

1. Find your “why” – How to get out of a bad mood

Why look for the “Why” and not just do some surface level quick fixes? Two reasons:

1. If you don’t address the root cause, the bad mood could keep popping up.
2. Maybe the cause is easily fixable and you can get out of the bad mood for good in just a few moments!

And a secret 3rd reason – even if the root cause is not THAT easily fixable, most likely you still want to tend to it to improve your situation.

So, take a step back and evaluate your state of mind.

Let’s start with questions about your physical state:

1. Have you eaten? You will be surprised what good, healthy food can do for a mood. There is the term #hangry for a reason. Also, don’t think short-term, think about what your nutrition has been the past months.
2. Have you slept well? And not just tonight, for a longer period of time. Evaluate how you feel after waking up and do you get up in the night or sleep till the morning. Sleep deprivation is another big reason for a bad mood and high irritability.
3. Do you exercise? A sedentary lifestyle can impact your mood negatively more than you would like to.

External inputs that can put you in a bad mood:

1. Did something happen to put you in a bad mood? For example, a negative interaction with someone, rejection of any kind, or a health issue (like cold, muscle pain, etc).
2. Did you overdramatize a small event? Maybe someone looked at you in a weird way and it made you self-conscious. Or you have a breakout and you worry something more could be wrong with your body and you obsess over this thought.

Internal discrepancies that can impact a bad mood:

1. Does your everyday align with your values? If not, it can slowly drive you into a bad mood.
2. Do you enjoy the company of people you are in? Maybe your friends have a lot of sarcastic jokes and you don’t like it. Maybe they don’t talk good about themselves and other people and you don’t like that. All of it can slowly put you in a bad mood.
3. Have you recently realized that you want more in life and feel defeated with where you are at? Facing reality and realizing that you have a lot of work to do can be a reason for a bad mood. Also when you know you want (and deserve) something better, but you are still in this moment with “lower quality” everything, it can feel annoying and irritating.
4. Do you feel powerful or powerless? If you want to change something in your life, but you feel like you cannot do anything about it, it can put you in a very bad mood. Feeling powerless is the gateway to anger.
5. Are you disappointed in yourself? If you haven’t achieved something you wanted by this time (or what society tells you you should have), disappointment in yourself can easily turn into a bad mood.
6. Are your current goals too far out? Actually, there is no such thing as “too big goals”. BUT! There is a such thing as not pacing yourself correctly when setting your goals. You want to know your end goal (aka THE BIG GOAL), but you need to know what are some smaller goals that will get you there. The next goal should feel achievable with a certain amount of work. If you go for the end goal right away, it might make you feel like a loser and put you in a bad mood, even when you are winning.

What to do with the “Why”?

Use these questions as prompts and inspiration, and find your reasons why you are in a bad mood. Once you know the why, you can act on it in the long term.

However, be careful and don’t get stuck in the “Why” phase. It is good to know, but knowing itself won’t fix anything. Knowing the “why” is like knowing which bus will take you to the mall. But If you don’t take the bus, you won’t get to the mall.

2. Inspire yourself with affirmations – How to get out of a bad mood

If you have any bad thoughts lingering in your mind that don’t give you a rest, try turning them into positive affirmations. 

Start like this.

Create a table with two columns. In one column, write down everything that annoys you, that you don’t like, and that puts you in a bad mood. Next to those statements in the other column, turn them into positive affirmations or gratitude statements.

For example:

Hopefully, the right column – the positive affirmations and gratitudes – will inspire you and make you feel good about yourself and your life!

Writing affirmations

Writting affirmations gives hope, and getting back hope is very important. Hope (aka positive expectations that it’s going to get better) on some days gives us a reason to go on and keep fighting. 

And using the phrase “I am grateful for..” for your affirmations is very powerful too because you can be grateful ONLY for those things that already ARE in your life. So you are sending a strong signal to your subconscious and the Universe that you already ARE those positive things you want to be or you already HAVE those things to desire.

3. Feel gratitude – How to get out of a bad mood

Bad mood sometimes is just us bitching about the great things we have. “My diamond shoes are too tight” kind of moment. So, stop bitching, start feeling gratitude!

I love this prompt – say gratitude like you might not have anything tomorrow. It gives you a great perspective and this way, it is easy to feel gratitude for simple things like warm water, bed, apartment, eyesight, etc. Even if the things in your life are not what you would want them to be, it is such a blessing to have them the way they are (especially, if they ought to disappear tomorrow!). 

How to practice gratitude

1. Take a piece of paper and write down 100 things you are grateful for now and in the last year.
2. Make it a habit – write down 3–5 things you are grateful for every day.
3. Look around your house, right where you are sitting, and say “thanks” to things you have in your range of vision. Try to really appreciate them.
4. Say thanks to your body, body parts, internal organs, and yourself. Best to do it in a mirror.
5. Do a gratitude meditation. You can find free ones on YouTube.

4. Feel your emotions – How to get out of a bad mood

Sometimes a bad mood is a symptom of an emotion that has been stuck in you for a while. It means you haven’t felt it, but rather suppressed it. So, to get it out and to feel better, you need to feel the emotion.

But here comes the tricky part.

How do you properly feel an emotion? And how to even know if you have suppressed emotions?

Let’s start with the second question.

You might have suppressed emotions if:

• You don’t feel anything;
• You feel empty;
• You feel unexplainable restlessness or even anxiety;
• You feel like crying but cannot cry;
• You feel irritated but don’t know why.

How to feel suppressed emotions

First, you need to understand that emotions alone cannot hurt you. It might feel like it, but they won’t. You have to let them pass through you. It’s like a wave that comes strong but then returns back to the ocean.

Second, they need to come out in a safe way. By that I mean – you don’t want to yell at a stranger (or loved one!) or workout so hard that you hurt yourself. A safe way is healthy for your body – mentally and physically.

Below are some examples of how to feel and let pass “the most popular emotions”.

How to feel anger

1. Punch a pillow with all your heart until you feel better. If there are sounds coming out of you, let them!
2. Throw a pillow to the floor. Similarly to punching the pillow, you can throw it to the floor.
3. Wring out the towel. Let your anger out by wringing the towel as hard as you can.
4. Scream into a pillow or in your hands. Or go out and scream into the wild if you can find a place that’s appropriate for that.

Sometimes people suggest doing physical exercise to release anger, but I have found that it can be dangerous and I do not recommend it. Exercising while being really angry can lead to injury that you will regret later.

How to feel sadness

If you can get yourself to cry, it is a very good way how to express sadness and let it out of your body. If you are not a crier, that’s OK! These activities can still help you feel the emotion and eventually feel better:

• Watch a touching movie;
• Listen to epic music (I suggest the works of Hans Zimmer but it can be anything that resonates with you);
• Sit in silence and let yourself be;
• Meditate – either do something you usually do or try a meditation for sadness (YouTube has options);
• Do yoga. Yoga works similarly to meditation but is paired with movement. I recommend Yoga With Adriene. She has short yoga sessions for depression, grief, suffering, nervous system regulation, and more.

Feeling emotions

The best thing you can do for yourself is to let yourself be. Listen to your body. Listen to your soul. LISTEN. Don’t judge or hate yourself. Remember that your body is trying to tell you something important with this bad mood or even depressed feelings. Listen to what it has to say. And when I say listen to your body (which is kind of an abstract task, isn’t it?) I mean stay still, accept what you are feeling, stop fighting it for the moment, and just ask yourself – why am I feeling this way? Don’t judge, observe.

If you have suppressed your emotions for a very long time, it can be a long process to get them out and feel them properly. Again, a therapist can be a great guide to help you with exploring your emotions (and a bad mood). There are also self-paced courses that teach how to feel emotions, release them in a healthy way, and integrate them into yourself.

In the online coaching field about emotions, I can recommend Laine Kaleja. I am a part of her program “Inner Peace” which talks a lot about how to deal with emotions. Unfortunately, at the moment that particular course is just in Latvian. But she has a 1:1 coaching program in English which I believe should be good too!

Disclaimer (again). This is not yet a paid partnership with Laine Kaleja.

5. Delay gratification – How to get out of a bad mood

Getting fast dopamine kicks (with short-form videos, scrolling, video games, TV, etc) can really throw our overall gratification system out of balance. Especially, if you use social media and TV as tools to avoid your feelings. After a while, you get used to the “fast” dopamine and even though you scroll and scroll it just doesn’t give that satisfaction, doesn’t scratch that itch. And you still feel empty, quite unhappy, and in a bad mood.

If you can relate to that, it is time to endure some boring time and do something with delayed gratification!

What delayed gratification means – you do work (or any task) NOW but get the results LATER. It can be an hour later or 2 hours later. It can also mean a day later. And it can also mean months or years later. The gap between work and gratification, makes the end results much sweeter and fulfilling.

You will be surprised how good you feel after you have done something meaningful and get the result some time later.

Ready to try it out?

What to do to get delayed gratification

• Clean your house. Cleaning is a tedious task that most people don’t enjoy, but they enjoy the end result. As a bonus, you get movement in and can even let out some bottled-up emotions by scrubbing the floors.
• Do paint by numbers. It takes a lot of patience and dedication to finish those paintings. And usually, you cannot get them done in one day. A great project to do instead of scrolling social media!
• Start learning – enroll in an online course. There are different length options – from self-paced to weeks or months.
• Build a skill. Depending on the skill, you might start to see some improvements in a week or a month!
• Read a book. It takes time to finish a book, but it feels very satisfying to close that back cover, nod your head, and say “Finished!”.
• Create a garden or grow a plant. Nothing teaches us patience as planting seeds and waiting for them to grow. You can get something for your windowsill or just get a house plant to look after and see how it flourishes in time.

6. Have a rest day – How to get out of a bad mood 

Sometimes all you need is just a rest day to get out of a bad mood. Responsibilities, goals, and deadlines can really put a weight on life (and your mood). Especially if you have noticed that you get in a bad mood after you’ve been stressed for a longer period of time, a rest day is definitely something you might need.

This is a day to take care of yourself and treat yourself. Be kind and loving. Accept where you are at. If you don’t feel like getting out of bed or the house, don’t do it. Stay in, listen to yourself, and let yourself enjoy whatever you want to enjoy. And if you don’t feel like enjoying anything, that’s also okay!

Leave worries and expectations outside your rest day. Take a breather and focus on yourself.

What to do on a rest day?

Anything you like! :) But if you have been in a bad mood for a while now and don’t know where to start, here’s a handy-dandy list of what most people find relaxing, enjoyable, and happiness-inducing.

• Have a long bath or hot shower. Let the water flush away all your troubles and the bad mood.
• Enjoy your favorite food. Make it, order it, or go out to eat it by yourself (or in good company).
• Watch a fun and exciting TV show or a great movie. Don’t forget about snacks and a warm blanket!
• Read a book.
• Do an activity you enjoy – from booking a class to doing something at home.
• Sleep in.
• Go outside. Feel the weather on your skin. Enjoy the moment!
• Get a massage and/or visit a SPA.
• Get a manicure and/or pedicure.
• If you are craving it – move your body! If you have been sitting a lot, it will be a great addition to a rest day.

How long should you rest?

Is one day of rest enough? Most probably not. But take what you can. If you can get a few more days free of responsibilities, do it. But if you can get just one day, take that day too. One rest day is better than no rest day. Just make sure you have planned the day after the rest day beforehand, so you don’t have to worry about tomorrow.

7. Go outside for a walk, a long walk – How to get out of a bad mood

Put on your walking shoes and just walk. Go out and walk. And come back only when your mood has improved. If you live in the city, supplement your walk with a coffee and something tasty (if you want to). If you have the option, drive to a trail, and walk there (nature is always a bonus and a great mood booster!).

If you need a goal for a walk, you can set a goal to achieve a certain amount of steps. For example, 10,000 steps will get you about a 1.5 to 2 hours long walk. Or you can set a goal to go to a certain place and back.

Walking is a great remedy for bad mood because:

• You get your body moving and it gets you out of stagnant thoughts.
• You get to see other people (if walking in the city) and it can spark some inspiration or other thoughts.
• You have time to hear your thoughts and feelings.
• Or you have time to listen to a good podcast or great music.
• Fresh air and the space around you make you feel more free. Feeling free always helps to reduce a bad mood!

8. Fix your nutrition – How to get out of a bad mood

Will a vitamin shot kill your bad mood right then and there? Most likely not. But can nutrition play a role in having a worse mood than you should? Definitely!

First, check your eating habits. If they are not the healthiest, try adding more vegetables, fruits, good fats (cold-pressed olive oil and so on), and steamed (or boiled) foods (to avoid fried everything). Reducing sugar and caffeine is always a good step to a healthier diet.

Second, check the vitamin and mineral levels in your blood. Maybe you feel tired all the time and that puts you in a bad mood. And maybe you are tired because you don’t get enough of some vitamins or minerals. So, to check that – go see your family doctor or get a blood test for vitamin and mineral deficiencies!

Disclaimer IV. I am not a doctor, so don’t take this as medical advice.

9. Journal – How to get out of a bad mood

Sometimes all you need is to write down your emotions and feelings. And that’s where journaling comes in. Make your favorite drink, get snacks and a blank page of paper, and start writing! Don’t think about it – let it all out.

Maybe you will start to notice that you have some unresolved emotions for someone (and therefore that puts you in a bad mood). In this case, you can switch from journaling to writing a letter to that person. You don’t have to send it, but it will help you to get your thoughts in line and be clear on your position.

And once you know what’s the reason for your bad mood, it gets easier to resolve it.

Video journal

Another option – create video entries about how you feel at the moment. You don’t necessarily need to talk about your bad mood, just highlight what’s going on lately. You can do one long session (just like with writing) or do small video entries for a period of time. If you do the latter, they might give you some real insights into what’s going on and why you are feeling down. And once you know that, you just have to fix it!

10. Go into a good kind of discomfort – How to get out of a bad mood 

Have you been stagnant lately? Avoidant to try new things and staying with the same old, same old?

A bad mood can really just arise from a lack of excitement and lack of growth in life. We as humans need to grow and level up. It gives us a life purpose and a spark of joy.

But to make it more fun, our brain is determined to keep us safe in our comfort zone. Why? Because the main goal of our brain is to keep us alive. The brain does it by being resistant to change because change is unpredictable and for the brain, it screams “Danger!”. We may be unhappy or in a bad mood right where we are, but we are alive. And in brain’s book – that’s a success!

Here are some sources to learn more about comfort zone: Kelly Blackmon’s view and article from Walden University.

So, to combat a bad mood, get out of your comfort zone! Explore some uncharted territories and push yourself a little.

Dealing with things outside your comfort zone helps you to believe in yourself again. And it can help you to break the loop of bad mood and feeling trapped into your boring mundane life.

Not sure how what to do to get out of the comfort zone? Here are some ideas!

Small things to do to get out of the comfort zone:

• Try a new workout video on YouTube
• Cook a meal you haven’t made
• Take a different path to work, school, or just on your morning walk
• Smile to a stranger
• Try a new hairstyle (like braids, up-dos, etc)
• Start learning a new language with Duolingo
• Comment something nice on every Instagram post you see
• Wear a new outfit – something you usually wouldn’t but think is cute

A little bit more challenging things to do to get out of a comfort zone:

• Start a new hobby that requires you to go out of the house (for example, dancing, bouldering, martial arts, language learning, singing, and anything else)
• Learn something new. From professional skills to interests and hobby skills. You can use free resources online or commit to a course.
• Express your opinion if you have been more on the shy side.
• Start a 30-day challenge of any kind. For example, don’t eat sugar, do a social media detox, tidy your house with the Konmari method, quit coffee, start cold showers in the morning, do 20 squats every day, and so on. The challenge can be anything you have always wanted to do or find exciting!
• Go to a concert or event. Preferably something you don’t usually attend but consider interesting. And while there – start a conversation with a stranger!
• Get your blood pumping – do something exciting! Go mountain skiing or snowboarding, drive a carting or rodel track. These activities will give you a fresh dose of adrenaline and endorphin mix which can help you to get out of a bad mood fast. However, use this tip wisely, as you don’t want to become addicted to the adrenaline rush which in the long term can get unhealthy fast.

Next-level things to do to get out of your comfort zone:

• Travel by yourself somewhere. Either in your country or abroad.
• Do an old-school “Yes Theory” challenge – For example, survive in a foreign city for 24 hours without money, ask strangers to do something together.
• Start a Social Media account. Start sharing your passion and thoughts online. It can be an Instagram, TikTok, YouTube account, or even a blog. You don’t need to make it into a career, firstly, do it to challenge yourself!
• Enter University or College. Pick up a new profession or skill base! Nothing puts one out of a comfort zone as going back to school.
• Start therapy. Even though therapy itself should feel quite comfortable, starting therapy and starting to work on yourself can be challenging and uncomfortable.

11. Sweat it out and flex it out – How to get out of a bad mood 

A workout often can improve a bad mood in less than an hour. You get a lot of positive impact with a workout:

• Physical movement (which leads to mental thought movement as well)
• Endorphin and dopamine influx
• A sense of accomplishment
• Water therapy afterward (aka a shower)
• Get the ball rolling for taking care of yourself (healthy eating feels more natural after a good workout)

If you pair your workout with your favorite music, it is a double-power!

The only thing to keep in mind – don’t do a workout very angry or when in a self-destrutive mood. You might push yourself too hard and “punish” yourself for not being able to do something, which can lead to injuries that you will regret later on. First, let your anger out with more gentle activities, like punching a pillow or a very long walk.

Don’t have a gym membership? No worries, YouTube got you covered. For first-timers, here are my two favorite workout channels: Move with Nicole and FitnessBlender.

Don’t want to do a workout? Put on your favorite music and dance! It doesn’t matter how you do it – just jump, move your hands, do steps, do dancy squats, and so on. Express yourself.

12. Let go of control (a little bit) – How to get out of a bad mood

It all depends on who we are as people. Some people can easily get over small things, pivot goals and switch from “beast mode” to “chill mode”. And then there are some people who get stuck in the serious mode of life. They push themselves, blame themselves, and go through life with a bleak “I haven’t yet done enough to have fun” mood.

I’ve been the latter, and I can tell you – it doesn’t bring you closer to happiness (or good mood). It could actually push you even further. If you recognize yourself somewhere in that pattern, listen up! It’s time to lighten up and let go of that heavy burden that’s not serving you. And probably putting you in a bad mood.

Here are some ideas on what you can do to lighten up and get yourself out of a bad mood:

• Dance it out or shake it out. Put on your favorite music and just dance!
• Go out to a party. Take your best friends and go for a night out of dancing.
• Go to a concert. A concert where you can sing along and dance along is a perfect way how to let go. Plus, you get the energy and good vibes you can get just in a live concert!
• Watch (or attend) a comedy show. Comedy is great because comedians are the masters of making fun of serious topics as well as themselves (and the audience). It is healthy to laugh a little about yourself and not take everything so seriously!
• F*ck it and do something “not productive”. For example, watch TV all day, do something creative like ceramics or painting (no matter how good you are at art), go shopping, and so on.

In conclusion

It is not an easy journey, fighting a bad mood and feelings of depression, so I want to say to you – don’t give up, keep going even when you don’t want to. Keep believing in the good in yourself and others even when it is crazy hard. And NEVER EVER lose HOPE. Keep that ray of sunshine even when you don’t want to. Hope will get you through it.

After all this bad mood talk, are you ready to restart your life? I’ve got you covered – check out this article about 7 ideas on how to restart your life when you are ready for a change!

Your turn!

Which idea on how to get out of a bad mood will you implement right now? Let me know in the comments so I can support you! :)

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