How to Keep Going When Life is Getting You Down

This article has tips on how to keep your spirits up, and how to keep going when things in your life are looking bleak. We all get depressed and stressed; it's good to know some ways to bring yourself back up again.

Instructions

• 1

  Listen to music. Music can make you feel better, or help you to deal with whatever you're feeling. Whether it's classical to help you relax, country to help you cry, or metal to get your anger out, music can be a great way to deal with or change your emotional state.

• 2

  Write affirmations. When things seem bad, take out your journal, or make a file on your computer, and start writing affirmations. Affirmations are kind of like the "dum-dums" you wrote as punishment in school, only for a good purpose. An example would be to fill a page over and over with the sentence "I am strong, and my life will get better." Or "My work pays off, and I make good money."

• 3

  Meditate. Take some time to visualize things that make you feel better. You can try with or without music playing. Take time to think of things that make you calm or happy, or to visualize the things that you want to bring into your life, like money, happiness, health, or whatever your goal may be.

• 4

  Spend time with people you enjoy. If you have family and friends, hang out with them and do things you enjoy. If you can't be with them physically, call someone and chat on the phone. Talk about things that make you feel good. If you're a shut-in or don't like the phone, get online and use an instant messenger, Twitter, a social site, or whatever you can find to communicate with people, even if they're just friends online.

• 5

  Exercise. Whether your thing is yoga or kickboxing, any kind of physical activity can be good for your mental and physical health. You can even pretend your punching bag is someone you don't like if it makes you feel better.

• 6

  Read a good book, or watch a movie that you enjoy. Escaping from reality can be exactly what you need from time to time. Video games can serve the same purpose.

• 7

  Take up a hobby. Idle hands are the Devil's playground, so they say. An idle mind can be just as bad. Sometimes, you need something to focus on, or something productive to do, and it can make you feel a whole lot better about things.