• Exercise. Even 15-20 minutes a day can make a difference in your mood. If you can't get yourself to take a simple walk find a class or a friend to motivate you to schedule weekly exercise.
• Maintain a Positive Outlook. If you tend toward negativity, start paying attention to those things that you say to yourself. If you hear yourself saying "I will never feel better" or "Nothing ever goes my way" force yourself to make a switch mentally. Next time you hear those negative statements change your thinking to be positive and supportive of yourself.
• Talk. Seek out a family member, friend, counselor, therapist, spiritual leader or mentor. Getting connected to others is key to feeling better. That may mean using the phone or getting out, even once a day, to have a social contact.
• Get busy and get out of the house. If you tend to find it hard to get off the couch schedule things for yourself to do. Make plans with a friend who will drag you out of the house if needed. Plan a volunteer activity to get you out of the house.
• Start acting the way you want to feel. For example, this could mean if you want to be smiling more and feeling hopeful, start by changing your behavior. Even if you don't feel like smiling, researchers have found that the act of turning the sides of your mouth up (otherwise known as smiling), can actually improve your mood. When people ask," how are you?", respond by saying something hopeful or positive rather than focusing on something negative.
• Schedule a Routine Physical Exam with Your Doctor. Find out if there is something going on with your health that could lead you to feel less energetic or depressed. Sometimes people are quick to say depression is the culprit for all their problems. There are biological, as well as psychological reasons people may feel depressed.
• Do some writing or start a diary. Writing may help you gain some ideas or insight around why you are feeling sad or depressed. Writing about how you feel, especially if you get into a daily habit, can have noticeable effects on your mood.
• Get enough sleep. Find out how many hours of sleep you need and stick to getting those hours. Most people need between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. For some, even one hour less of sleep can increase irritability and impact your mood.
• Take care of your body. Reduce your use of illegal drugs, caffeine and alcohol. Sometimes the very substance you think is helping you to relax can have an effect on your sleep cycle.
• Make an appointment to start psychotherapy or to see your doctor. Consider having an evaluation with a medication prescriber to see if anti-depressant medication can improve your mood along with psychotherapy.
• Change what can be changed. Sit down with your therapist or friend and make a list of all the things that are making you unhappy. Evaluate the cause of your sadness or depression and take action to improve your circumstances. Focus on what you can do rather than where you are stuck.

Lisette Lahana's Northern California Office (El Cerrito) (800) 928-9085

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