I think we all have days where we just don’t feel like being sociable, being polite, or dealing with people or problems. I don’t know how you deal with that, but most of the time I recognize it, acknowledge it, and go with it. Frankly, I don’t have the patience anymore to try to hide it or pretend it’s not happening. Sometimes I’m just plain crabby and I own it.
We all have our reasons to get cranky or out of sorts, but I think how we deal with it varies. I know some people are embarrassed that they get crabby and try to ignore it. Other people revel in it and feel like it’s their due to just treat people poorly or take out their temper on unsuspecting people in their path that day. I think it also depends on the reason for it and the length of time that you’re in a funk.
Obviously, the bigger the reason you have for a bad mood, the more you’re going to feel entitled to have one. Also, if your bad mood lasts longer than a day or two, it’s probably something you’re going to want to address in one way or another. The kind of bad mood I’m talking about is the run-of-the-mill being cranky mood, with no real underlying reason for concern. I tend to just deal with those. I kind of enjoy being crabby once in a while. I give myself permission to not have to be quite as polite or put up with things I normally would. Being humans interacting with as many people as we do while living our stressful lives is exhausting! Every now and then, we need a break. That doesn’t mean I can be rude or mean to people though. I try to keep more to myself and limit my interaction with other people to avoid that. If you’re close to somebody and need to spend time with them, it doesn’t hurt to give them a heads-up; they may be more sensitive to your mood and forgiving of things you may not mean to say.
When I get cranky, I try to make time to be by myself. Nobody else needs to share the fun. If my bad mood makes me feel angry, I try to find something that will expend some energy like cleaning or getting outside and walking. If my mood is more gloomy or distressing, I will watch a sad movie so I can cry and get it out. The worst kind of bad mood, for me, is when I can’t pinpoint what is wrong or what I want to do. Then I’m just left floundering around. I’ll try reading a book, watching a movie, or binge-watch a t.v. series. I have a Pinterest board with all funny stuff in it that I’ll go through. Most times, though, when this happens, I get easily distracted and can’t sit still. My go-to fix for most of my bad moods is the kitchen. I get lost in cooking or baking. It takes my mind off things. I’m doing something that keeps my brain and my hands busy, but it’s also not rocket science where I have to give it my full attention.
Living the busy lives that we do, I feel like we all need an occasional time out. With any luck at all, we take the time we need and do whatever we have to do to avoid getting into a funk in the first place. If you do end up there, though, I hope you have a good method in place to make yourself feel better faster. I’m curious, what are some of the ways that YOU use to cheer yourself up, to get yourself out of a funk?