Having a Bad Day Mentally? 10 Simple Ways to Restart Your Day

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Last Updated on April 23, 2022

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Is today going rough? Finding obstacles at every turn? Here’s how to turn any mentally bad day around and hit that “reset” button!

Imagine this: It’s 9am, and so far nothing has gone right. You woke up to a stressful email, your coffee maker stopped working, you ran late but didn’t realize you needed to get gas until you hopped in your car…the list goes on! You realize you might be having a bad day mentally.

It’s not even noon, but you already have no hope that the day will improve. You might be tempted to label the few bad circumstances you’ve encountered as “a bad day.”

So what do you do? You throw in the towel and write the whole day off as bad! Does this sound familiar?

It is so easy to fall into this trap. When you’re in a bad mood, this can easily taint your whole perspective and cause you to think in terms of all or nothing. Bad things have happened in your day so far, so it must be a bad day.

These simple but effective tips for hitting the “reset” button on your day will help you shift your mindset AND take productive action to turn your bad day around!

This post is all about having a bad day mentally and how to restart it.

How do you know if you’re having a bad mental health day?

If your outlook feels more negative than usual, or you feel that “in a slump” feeling, it’s probably safe to assume you’re experiencing a bad mental health day.

You can look for signs and symptoms of a mentally bad day, like:

Increased anxiety, restlessness, or feeling on edge
Loss of interest in things that normally excite you about the day
Feeling sluggish and demotivated
Generally negative and pessimistic
Low energy

If any of these symptoms ring a bell, don’t fear! The day doesn’t have to go to waste, or be a completely bad day from start to finish. There’s several ways you can turn it around and salvage it!

The mindset behind learning how to restart a bad mental health day

Let’s first take a look at the psychology behind why a few things going wrong = a bad day in so many of our minds!

This is an example of a couple unhealthy thought patterns: mental filter and all-or-nothing thinking.

Mental Filter – Nitpicking a single negative aspect and dwelling on it so much that it influences your overall perception of reality.
- Example: “I got a parking ticket this morning. Now my whole day is ruined no matter what.”

All-or-Nothing Thinking – Thinking in absolute terms of “always” or “never.” It’s where you fail to recognize grey areas or compromises, with very black and white thinking.
- Example: “I already blew my diet by eating a slice of pizza. Might as well eat 5 more slices, since there’s no going back now.”

The problem with both of these unhealthy thought patterns is that you aren’t allowing yourself the opportunity to consider another, more positive outcome!

Yes, today might have started off bad, but a couple bad experiences is not an indication that the rest of your day is tarnished. There is also middle ground. It’s possible for a day to be partially negative mentally, while also having some really positive, stand-out parts to it too!

So if you can accept the new, more rational perspective that you CAN turn your day around, you CAN have a good rest of a “bad” day mentally, and you CAN have some control over what happens next, you will feel so much better and be in a position to make proactive changes to “bad days”!

So here are 10 simple self-care strategies for restarting a mentally bad day.

1. Take a deep breath and distance yourself

When you’re in a bad mood, it can be hard to get yourself out of that funk. So the first lower-energy thing you can do is to simply take a step back from it all.

Go to another room or the bathroom if you need to. Do breathing exercises and physically remove yourself from any stress that’s happened. By breathing deeply, you’re encouraging your body to calm down and manage your fight or flight response.

Do you ever struggle with anxious thoughts? Learn how to understand and manage them better with my (free!) printable anxiety tracker! Grab it below!

2. Choose to deal with what happened or accept that you can’t change it

If the cause of your bad day was something out of your control–like something breaking, or receiving bad news, the best thing to do is accept what has happened and decide how you will move forward in a way that lessens the impact it has on your day.

You can’t change what happened, and your natural reaction to the situation is valid. So in this case, acceptance is next. Because what matters now is how you approach the rest of your day.

But if there’s something you can do about what’s happened so far in your day, tackle it! An unexpected bill? Pay it now if you can, rather than putting it off. A negative email awaiting your response? Cool off for 20 mins, then respond to it.

The sooner you can put negative energy behind you, rather than avoiding things and letting them hang around, the better.

3. Do something positive and uplifting to restart the bad mental health day

Like I said, I know how much being in a bad mood can suck your energy away. But pushing yourself to do something you know usually makes you happy can make all the difference.

Here are several ideas for positive activities you can do to restart your bad day mentally:

Go for a walk or move your body in some way
Journal some gratitudes
Watch funny YouTube videos
Listen to an uplifting podcast
Express yourself in an artistic way–drawing, dancing, painting, etc.
Meditate
Eat a good meal

4. Talk it out

Either with a friend, a family member, or even a therapist! Venting can actually be a great stress relief and help you to make sense of your thoughts. Additionally, hearing insight from someone else can give you a fresh perspective.

If you want to get better at tackling life’s daily stressors or just want to talk things out with someone who can help you, talking to an online therapist can be super beneficial.

I always recommend Online Therapy because it’s a comprehensive, effective online therapy toolkit based on CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy–the leading standard in psychotherapy) at an affordable monthly cost.

FIND AN ONLINE THERAPIST

5. Get a change of scenery

Ever wish you could walk up and get away from a bad mental health day? Well, do it! At least for a bit. Get yourself out of the house or away from the office even just by going for a 10 or 15 minute walk. This will work wonders for a good restart to your day.

Taking yourself away from a negative environment, even just by taking a break from it, can do the trick.

6. Get laughing

Yes, I know you might be in no mood to laugh, but if you can make it happen, it helps! Laughing even for a short time can help to push negative emotions out of the way.

I suggest putting on a YouTube video or TV show you know will make you laugh. Aim for something predictable, rather than scrolling through Tik Tok where you don’t know what kind of content you’ll get.

7. Plan out how you want the rest of the day to go

Pick out productive and/or uplifting activities so that you don’t feel like your day has gone to waste. By all means, give yourself time to feel out your emotions, but make sure not to let it drag down your entire day if you can.

Start with something as simple as a to-do list (love this super cute to-do list pad from Etsy!). Make sure you jot down an enjoyable activity or two so you can feel like you’re making the most of your day and give yourself a good restart!

8. Meditate

Even if meditation isn’t something you normally do, give it a try even just for 5 minutes and see how it goes!

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to lower cortisol (the stress hormone) levels in the blood, meaning that it reduces stress and anxiety and promotes improved mood.

Just close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and be present in the current moment without passing judgment on the thoughts that come into your mind.

Headspace is an incredible resource I always recommend for meditation if you’re simply not sure where to start. They have so many different meditation focuses, such as for sleep, stress, focus, and more! Get 14 days free on Headspace right here!

9. Log out of social media

For a number of reasons!

It’s usually a huge time suck
It usually doesn’t make you feel any better (social comparisons on social media really suck!)
It makes us feel super demotivated

You know when you’re scrolling and scrolling for hours and you feel like you’ve dug yourself too deep to put down the phone and do something better?

The longer you scroll, the harder it is to stop and do something else. And if you start to feel bad about yourself after seeing the new house someone just bought, or the new girlfriend your ex now has, that can wreck your frame of mind and your day! And leave you feeling demotivated.

So if you feel like your day is being wasted away, it’s best to cut yourself off from social media. Put your phone down, live in the moment, and do something that will make you feel good to restart your day.

10. Take a real break

You know when you’re trying to be productive and make the most of your day, but you can’t seem to get up out of your funk and get things going? You might find yourself glued to your phone, laying in bed or sitting on the couch, and you just can’t. get. moving.

BUT at the same time, you think you’d feel guilty if you took a real, intentional break after wasting so much time! You’re thinking of a break as a “time waster” when really it might be exactly what you need.

If instead of getting a task started you mindlessly procrastinate to avoid the task, you might benefit from taking a real, intentional break.

This means taking time to close your eyes and relax. To go for a walk. To drink tea and stare out your window. It means no screen time, no slumping and sulking and feeling guilty that you should be doing something else right now.

Give yourself the permission you deserve to take a meaningful break and then get to work on turning your bad mental health day around!

This post was all about having a bad day mentally and how to restart it.

You don’t have to let a half-bad day turn into a full-bad day. If your day isn’t starting out so great, it is 100% possible to hit the “reset” button and turn things around for the better!

Learning how to restart a mentally bad day in a productive, mindful way is the key to a successful mental health day.

It’s important to first work on reshaping unhealthy thought patterns like the “mental filter” or “all or nothing” mindset. Then, you can take action to make the day more positive and fulfilling.

While some things might not be in your control (like bad news, a flat tire, etc.), there are a few aspects that totally are in your control (like mindset shifts, how you respond throughout the rest of the day, etc.).

So take advantage of what you can control and take charge of your day!

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