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A Gloomy Sky Can Dampen Our Mood - Here's How To Get Your Sparkle Back

Hi everyone,

This will be a sort of follow-up to the previous piece on social media and the outside world. This time I'll be focusing a bit more on the world around us.

Photo by slon_dot_pics from Pexels
 

One thing I've been learning over the past few weeks, is how to appreciate the gloomy days. Or at least find some form of comfort in them. Let's say you wake up at the weekend, or on your day off: 

You open the blinds to a grey sky. 

There are puddles on the pavement. Maybe you can see them dance a little while light raindrops fall. 

All opening the curtains seems to have achieved is letting a load of grey light into your house. Your posture slumps and you wonder what you can achieve on a day like this?

Does that sound familiar? I for one always dread seeing rain on the weather forecast. But we can't avoid these days forever.

The trick is to change the way you think about it all. If you've had any kind of therapy, whether that be CBT, psychotherapy, counselling etc - you'll likely have come across a suggestion like this.

One of the most effective ways to change your thought process is to change the way you act. Give yourself more options. If you're stuck with only one option, such as staying indoors all day, you'll likely always have the same patterns of thought.

  My therapist once told me "weather is just weather. It's us who attach an emotion to it"


Try going out for a walk. Wear suitable clothing and wrap up warm, and the outside world will be more bearable. Not perfect, just bearable. Put on your favourite beanie. You won't even need to bother with hair or make up. Compose a small shopping list if you need an extra incentive, or motivation. You can go out for as long or short a time period as you want. But go out. 

Photo by Guilherme Rossi from Pexels

 

Whilst you're out, observe things. The rain is likely to have enhanced the colour of nature. Stop and look at a field, or a hedge, that you're passing by. Look at the little droplets of water on the leaves.

Stop and read a sign, or a plaque on a bench. How long has the bench been there, and who is it honouring?

If you've brought one, think about your shopping list, is there anything missing? What aisles are the items in?

If you pass a coffee shop or a bakery, try to get a glimpse of the menu. You don’t have to do it there and then, but see yourself one day, in the future, walking in to that bakery or coffee shop on a day like this, embracing the warm air as it touches your cold face. Exploring the menu and having to choose between two or three items that you’d really like. 

 

Photo by Jonathan Borba from Pexels

That first bite of your favourite snack, or a hot croissant. You might find that these sensations have improved your mood, maybe even warmed you up a little. Isn’t it amazing what you can do with your mind?

When you get home, put on some warm clothes and switch the heater on. Make your favourite drink. Have a snack. You're likely feeling a bit more lively and maybe even more inspired or motivated. And what's more, you've given yourself options for days like today! 

Photo by Rachel Claire from Pexels

 

I have found that the overcast days bother me a lot less than they used to. Of course they’re not ideal, I’d rather go out into the garden and read a book in the sun. But the cloudy days are more bearable. 

Don’t limit your activities on days like this, it may be chilly outside, but you can come home whenever you feel like it, and that thought alone can help to encourage you to make the most of your stroll to the shops or around the block.

 

That's all for Today! As always, let us know your thoughts and any cool tips you might have for coping with gloomy or overcast days.

Follow Matt! @Matt_jl_24

 

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