5 Ways To Get Out Of A Funk

Whether you’re having a bad day or a bad week, sour moods an inevitable part of life. Learning how to get out of a funk is key to returning to your ordinary self.

A few general notes: Up and down cycles are natural parts of existence, and they don’t mean you’re failing in the effort to become more peaceful or happy. Moods are tools to connect with the world around you and your own true self.

No matter how down you feel, keep treating yourself well, with love and compassion. This will pass.

Here are five easy, but powerful ways to get out of a funk.

 

 

1. Embrace your funkdom.

We live in an era of positivity worship. Of course we all want to be happy, but emotional ups and downs are a natural part of life.

Feelings of sadness or frustration are important invitations to look a little deeper. Trying to flip the switch and just be happy doesn’t always work. And even if it does work, you might be burying feelings that your highest self is asking you to examine for your own evolutionary benefit.

Buried feelings always resurface, so better tackle these feelings head on and inquire within.
 

 

Don’t worry, a simple negative thought isn’t going to automatically manifest into some horrible reality. And embracing sadness does’t mean you’ll wallow in it forever. Accepting it totally is the first step to dissolving it.

Sometimes the best way to get out of  a funk is to stop resisting your emotions and instead just let them be. They tend to pass much faster that way.

 

2. Frolic in nature.

Flee to the forest, soak up the sun on the beach, or walk among the cacti. Spending time in nature is a scientifically proven way to get out of a funk.

British researchers recently discovered taking group walks in nature  diminished feelings of depression and stress. And research conducted in the United Kingdom found walking outdoors put study subjects in a meditative state.

Research aside, spending time in nature re-connects you to the natural order, the unending source of innate creativity that resides inside us all, but that we forget sometimes during the daily rigors of life.

While relaxing amidst the trees, our problems have a way of working themselves out on the subconscious level. We emerge refreshed and renewed, comfortable once again that we humans represent a small fraction of the mysteriously beautiful universe, and content to let our lives unfold as part of the mystery.

 

3. Play

Go to the park! Swing! Dance! Have fun! The daily grind sometimes leaves us stressed out and with little time to be free and indulge the inner child that never grows up.

Playing and laughing is a wonderful way to re-energize your zest for life and get out of a funk.

 

4. Meditate

Some funks demand escape, but other episodes require presence. If your sad feelings are a result of ongoing psychological difficulties, a life situation you’re having trouble accepting or changing, or something a little longer lasting than your average bad day, meditation provides a means of feeling those feelings and listening to your inner wisdom as it directs you to a possible solution.

Download a free, powerful guided mediation for emotional healing below:

Facing those inner feelings helps you become fearless. They present an opportunity to know yourself better and connect with your true self.

Viewed in this way, sad feelings aren’t so much negative as they are an opportunity to dive a little deeper and connect with your soul. You won’t feel this way in the middle of the funk, but once you rise, you might even feel grateful for the down cycles. As Osho says:

“Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth.

Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That’s its balance.”

5. Exercise

Hit the gym, the trails, or take a strong yoga class. Elevating the heart beat and taking big, deep breaths cycles oxygen and blood throughout the body, helping you get out of a funk.

Exercise causes the brain to release happy chemicals from your brain, the same neurotransmitters influenced by anti-depressants. In fact, exercise is increasingly gaining attention as a treatment for depression, in some cases boosting the mood as effectively as prescription drugs.

What helps you get out of a funk? Share your tips in the comments below.

 

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