How to Make Yourself Feel Better when Sad (and Depressed) - 19 Ways.

Maybe you’re asking yourself, “what is wrong with me?” because you find yourself feeling down and sad, or maybe even depressed. Let us reassure you first that there is nothing wrong with you. As the above two charts show, several Americans also go through feelings of sadness, anxiety, and depression. And thus, it is perfectly normal and part of life to feel melancholic and sad every now and again.

Feelings of sadness and in extreme cases, depression are as old as humanity. These are feelings that are an inevitable part of life. We will all feel sad at one point in time or another in our lives. And when those feelings of sadness come, it is important to find healthy, good and helpful things to do to make you feel better.

And in this article we will be showing you some helpful ways to make yourself feel better when sad and depressed. The results of the above surveys carried out, especially the more recent one for 2021 that reveals a sharp increase in cases of depression, show that it is all the more important to have conversations around helpful ways to make ourselves feel better when sad (and depressed). Come along as we explore together ways of making yourself feel better when sad and depressed.

We have more for you in this very rich and helpful article on How to remain positive in difficult times.

What to do when you are feeling down – 19 Ways to make you feel better when sad.

This list of 19 items of things to do to make you feel better will go a long way in making you feel better when sad.

1. Sleep.

Sometimes, our feelings of sadness and feeling down could be a result of being overworked or just tired. Tiredness and inadequate sleep as a result of being overworked can affect one’s mood and definitely make you grumpy and unhappy. And thus, a generous amount of sleep would do you a world of good.

And even if your sadness has nothing to do with being tired, turning off everything and getting a generous amount of sleep still helps greatly. You wake up feeling refreshed and energized after at least 8 – 10 hours of sleep.

Check out How to stop thinking while sleeping for helpful suggestions on not thinking of what may be making you sad while sleeping.

2. Go for a jog/run.

This would help clear your mind even more. Jogging/running will get your juices flowing, not to mention the added health benefit of keeping fit that it comes with. Have your favorite mindfulness/jogging music on as you jog. It would help with giving an amazing sense of calm and refreshing energy after the jog. This would in turn lift your spirits and have you energized.

3. Take a walk.

If jogging/running isn’t so much your thing, or you want to vary your routine, taking a walk is another great therapeutic way to make yourself feel better when sad.

The walk will help clear your head and lift your spirits.

4. Go out to a movie.

Look for a funny movie and/or romantic comedy to watch on the cinema’s movie list and remind yourself that life is meant to be filled with laughter and fun. Getting lost momentarily in the world of the movie you are watching is another good therapeutic way to deal with feelings of sadness and feeling down.

5. Take a long drive.

Long drives have a way of clearing your head and recharging and revitalizing your batteries. It normally helps to have a motivational or inspirational song or message playing in the background. This would help with filling your mind with positive helpful thoughts on the drive rather than having negative thoughts. You can also use the drive to speak to yourself and motivate yourself.

6. Have a self pep-talk.

Positive self-talk has an incredibly powerful effect on lifting one’s spirit. When you speak to yourself, those words have a way of either making or breaking you because it comes from a place of deep belief. And so, turn this powerful tool into your best weapon.

Tell yourself that things may look bad but they will be better. That you will not let sadness or depression ruin or rule your life and that you are in charge of your life and would make it. Whatever positive self-talk works, find it and speak it to yourself and you would be amazed at how much better you will feel.

You can also check out How to think positive when everything is going wrong to help you with the mindset disposition for having positive self-talk.

7. Just cry.

Crying has an incredibly releasing power and brings untold relief. You don’t need to cry in public. But do not hold back the tears in the privacy of your room if you feel the need to bawl out your eyes because of the sadness and pain you might be feeling. Releasing your emotions in this way would help you deal with the hurt, pain, sadness, or grief you might be feeling.

8. Go for a swim.

Swimming is another incredibly therapeutic leisure activity that helps with making one feel better when sad. Gliding away in the water brings an incredible sense of calm that would leave you feeling energized and refreshed afterward. And not forgetting the awesome health benefits it also comes with.

9. Hang out with friends.

Depending on what is causing you to feel sad, it is sometimes best to be around good friends when you feel sad. They would provide helpful succor in uplifting your spirits and ensuring that you are not drowning in a sea of sorrow. This is especially important if you are going through sadness as a result of grief and/or the loss of a loved one.

You would like this related article on Benefits of surrounding yourself with good friends.

10. Get busy in the kitchen.

Whipping up something in the kitchen is another great distracting and therapeutic activity for feeling better when sad. Whether your favorite thing to do in the kitchen is cooking a new type of dish or baking a different kind of confectionary, get busy in the kitchen. You would feel better afterward and especially when you settle down to enjoy what you prepared.

You can even make it more enjoyable by inviting your friends over and making it a cooking session and picnic or barbeque combo. The cooking combined with the enjoyable company would definitely lift your spirits.

11. Help someone.

Doing something selfless always makes one feel better when sad. When you help someone else, it releases feel-good hormones that would lift your spirit. It also shows you that your life may not be as miserable as you think it is and that there is so much more to be happy for and live for.

Check out our article on Ways to show generosity to others for some suggestions of ways and activities you can engage in to help someone else.

12. Journaling.

Carrying so many sad thoughts on your mind can weigh down heavily on you mentally and increase the heaviness that comes with feeling sad and unhappy. And this is why journaling is a very good exercise to engage in especially when you feel sad and unhappy. It would help you get out how you feel on paper and unburden your mind from the weight of sadness.

Journaling helps you process how you’re feeling and why you’re feeling the way you feel. It is a great way to interrogate and process your feelings. You will notice that after writing how you feel down, you would feel a lot lighter and not weighed down.

13. Weekend getaway.

A time away to a different setting and environment would give you fresh energy and have you revitalized and reinvigorated.

14. Meditation exercises.

Meditation exercises like yoga are great mindfulness exercises to engage in especially in times when you feel sad. Such mindfulness exercises have a calming and uplifting effect on the mind.

15. Spoil yourself.

And why not spoil yourself for a treat. Remember you have only life and you don’t want to spend all of it feeling sad and miserable. Spoil yourself to one or more of the following: