Stand Up to Misery!

I’ve realised over the last six months or so, that I have a real tendency to wallow in misery.

It’s a response practised from childhood; to sink into a problem and get stuck in the misery of what’s gone wrong, without much thought to possible solutions. I’ll complain emphatically and passionately, describing my misery in great detail. If I’m really digging my heels in, I’ll put on some sad, sad songs which add a whole other layer of feeling to my pain.

It’s not a good look and it’s something that I really want to change.

And I’m finding that the best place to start is with body language and movement.

Because when I talk about ‘sinking’ into the mood, I mean this quite literally. You can picture the body language right?! I’ll be slumped, part-horizontal on the sofa, head down with a face wearing a frown, my body language closed and small.

When I catch myself doing this and sit up, stand up and move – it offers an immediate mood boost.

Our minds and bodies are inherently connected. Though we’re not always conscious of it, our body language often paves the way or reinforces certain types of thoughts, feelings, attitudes and beliefs in the mind. Therefore, if we are self-aware and deliberate in the way we move, we can choose the direction of our mindset.

Getting up isn’t going to cure depression in an instant, but it might help.

Simply put, if your body language is confident, active and constructive, your mind is likely to follow suit.