5 Easy Ways to Shake Off a Bad Mood

 　　Everyone gets into a big ol’ bad mood sometimes. I’m talking about the kind of mood that throws a spanner in the works, has you fuming¹ at every little thing and threatens to ruin a perfectly² good day.

　　Sometimes these moods happen just when you don’t want them to and they can get in the way of doing what you want to do in the way that you want to do it. Here’s how to shake them off quickly so that you can get back your life.

　　1. Leave the room

　　Get a change of scene. Right now. Bad moods can be triggered by all kinds of things and often it’s something around you that ticked you off, and if you stay in the same environment it’ll continue to nag³ at you and play on your mind. Go to a new environment, surround yourself with different things, different people and different sensations and it’s easier for you to leave your bad mood behind you.

　　2. Give yourself a treat

　　When you’re in a bad mood it’s easy to look for things to fuel that bad mood or reinforce it. Why? Because you want to feel like your bad mood is valid⁴, so you look for things to validate⁵ it and make it right.

　　Break that habit by doing the opposite, no matter how strange it might feel. Watch a funny movie, play your favourite song, go for a walk in your local park, grab a coffee and a slice of pie in that great Coffee shop. Do something that feels good and puts a smile on your face, and your bad mood will be history.

　　3. Have a BMW

　　When I’m in a coaching session with someone it’s pretty obvious if they’re in a bad mood. When that happens I say to them, “Right. You have 4 minutes to Bitch, Moan and Whine⁶ all you want. When the 4 minutes is up there’s no more moaning, deal?”. Then they let rip for 4 minutes.

　　Taking just a couple of minutes for a BMW (as I like to call it) can get everything right out there, everything that’s bubbling away. The key is not to pause or think - a BMW session is just getting it all out there. Often you’ll find that you run out of steam before the 4 minutes is up and sometimes you’ll just end up laughing. Either way, when you’re done you’ll feel lighter⁷.

　　4. Hit the gym

　　Physical exercise has a direct influence on our mood, and countless⁸ studies have shown that exercise releases endorphins and serotonin (the body’s pleasure chemicals) that positively⁹ affect your mood. Hitting the gym not only releases those feel-good chemicals, but it’s a great distraction¹⁰, diverting your attention away from your bad mood and giving you something to do that occupies your body and mind.

　　5. Let yourself off the hook

　　Fact of Life # 37 - Bad moods happen. Sometimes, it’s just fine to let the bad mood ride. If things are niggling you and bad moods are a familiar deal to you, then it’s a good bet that something’s not quite right somewhere in your life. Letting the bad mood ride allows you to go to those dark places where you wouldn’t normally go and see what’s there.

　　You don’t have to wallow in it, but letting it happen can be surprisingly liberating¹¹. Your bad moods are just as valid as your good moods and when you come out the other side you might just have learned something about what’s really going on.

　　每个人都有心情坏透的时候.我在这里要谈的坏情绪,是指那种无中生有, 对鸡毛蒜皮的小事大光其火,硬要把好端端的一天搞砸.

　　有时候你在干着什么,或你正打算要干些什么,这样的坏情绪就突然无端地冒出来. 这儿有几点建议帮助你快速摆脱它们,重新回到生活轨道上来.

　　1.离开房间

　　马上换一个环境.任何东西都可能招致坏心情,而它们往往就在你周围.所以如果你继续呆在同一地方,你的脑子就会不停地想着它们.换一个环境,脑子里换些其它的东西,其他的人,其它的事,这样你很快就会把坏心情甩到脑后.

　　2. 善待自己

　　如果你心情糟时,很容易再寻上些火上浇油的事.为什么呢?因为你好象感觉你的坏心情是有理的,因此你自然会去找些事情让它越发有理.

　　打破这种习惯,不管感觉上有多奇怪, 要朝反方向努力.看一部喜剧片,听你喜欢的音乐,到你附近的公园去散步,到一个好的咖啡店,喝杯咖啡吃块派.脸上带点微笑, 做点高兴的事,你的坏心情马上就会过去.

　　3.发泄一通

　　如果有人在我的培训课上心情不佳,我马上能看出来.这时我会对他们说:"好吧,我现在给你们4分钟时间,让你们随便发牢骚,漫骂,诉苦,但4分钟一过,你们得马上住口,这个主意如何?于是他们在4分钟里大大发泄了一通.

　　花几分钟时间用于BMW(给这种方式起的名字,即发牢骚,漫骂,诉苦),可以把事情就地解决,让坏心情烟消云散.关键是不要停,不要多想 - BMW就是把一切都发泄出来.你会经常发现,四分钟还不到,你已经发泄完了,甚至有时还以大笑收场.不管哪种结果,你都会发现你轻松了不少.

　　4.去健身

　　体力运动直接影响我们的心情.无数研究证明,通过运动可以释放体内的内啡呔(镇痛作用荷尔蒙)和血清素(体内产生愉悦情绪物质),对人的情绪产生影响.所以健身活动不仅释放体内产生愉悦的化学物质,而且让你的脑子和身体有别的事可忙,有效地帮助你转移对坏情绪的注意力.

　　5. 解脱

　　生活的事实 - 总会有坏心情的时候. 有时候坏情绪上来的时候,也该任其自然. 但如果你老是心情不佳,那么你的生活可能在某些方面出了问题.坏情绪可能帮你触及到你平时不会想,不会看到的你生活中的一些阴暗面,但你也不必沉溺其中.它的爆发可出乎意外地让你得到解脱.你的坏心情和你的好心情对你具有同样的意义,当你从坏心情里解脱出来时,你可能会有所领悟.

1 fuming   

愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟

参考例句：

• She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam. 她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。
• I was fuming at their inefficiency. 我正因为他们效率低而发火。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 nag   

v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人

参考例句：

• Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
• Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。

4 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

5 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

6 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

7 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

8 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

9 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

10 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

11 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）