Techniques can help change moods

Many individuals notice their spirits lift when the clouds are gone, the sum breaks through and the sky is blue again. In this season of stormy weather, as you watch the path of the dark clouds, see the zigzag of the lightning and hear the thunder roll, do you experience a feeling of heaviness, anxiety or even fear? Then as the storm passes and the clouds are blown away, do you feel exhilaration, a zest and a feeling of “it’s time to get back to work, to get on with the day?”

It’s the same feeling many individuals have described after a depression lifts. As the heavy feeling leaves, their problems don’t seem overpowering. They can see the light in the sky, a break in the clouds, more blue than gray.

Or have you ever been in a bad mood and had an unexpected event occur that changed your mood from anger to happiness, from anxiety to peace?

Although technology hasn’t perfected a way to change or control the weather, there are ways you can change your moods. That is by learning to understand them and finding coping techniques that work for you.

If you are angry, feel victimized, you probably try to get rid of your anger by talking to someone who will listen to you. Talking to the person who caused that anger may only help if both of you are willing to work at problem solving, compromising and redefining of the problem. Anger means you have responded to a situation in the “fight or flight mode.” If you can’t redefine the situation where fight is not necessary, you may stay angry. Also, if you can’t take control of the situation, it may be necessary to resort to flight and leave the scene until control is established.

If you are in a depressed mood, you can change and lift that depression through a variety of ways.

• Use exercise and physical activity. If prolonged anger has resulted in depression, try something very physical, like chopping wood or batting a ball or pounding a pillow, to release the anger and tension.

• Heat therapy. Relax in a hot tub, take a sauna. Allow your tensed muscles to let go.

• Try a diversion. Rent a movie that will enthrall you for several hours and get your mind off its “worn track.”

• Change the scenery. If you can’t leave the house or the office, practice imagery. In your mind, find a place of remembered peace and happiness. Resort to that place.

• Try humor. Even the dreariest situations can be made humorous by exaggeration or by making them ridiculous. See yourself and the situation in a different light. Learn to laugh at yourself or at the target of your anger.

• Associate with happy, upbeat people. Solitude may work to diminish anger, especially in its initial stages, but depressed people need lively companions for recovery.

Just as the storm clouds pass away, so can bad moods, if you alert yourself to recognizing them as they first appear, and then practicing techniques to alleviate them. At first, you may forget to use them when anxiety or anger strike, but through practice you will be more aware of what it takes to make clear skies for you.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1989