Dr LeCrone
03-30-2006, 11:46 AM
What’s your mood today? Do you wish you could snap your fingers and get out of the doldrums and into a happy state? Or are you so angry you could punch somebody?
Although you may believe you have little control over your moods, you can change them. But I have to warn you, it will take some effort on your part. Consider these moods and how they were shifted.
• Tom stayed in an angry mood. His friends often joked that he was the most even-tempered man they knew. “He stays mad all the time,” they said. When Tom realized that he was angry more often than not, he told his wife he wished he knew some way to reverse his anger. She told him she had always scrubbed the kitchen floor to get rid of her anger and suggested that he might try chopping some wood for the fireplace, driving some golf balls or practicing his smashing tennis serve. Tom found that if his anger seemed to rise in a certain place or around a certain person, he could shift his mood by leaving the scene. For situations where leaving was not an alternative, such as in a business meeting, he found he could practice imagery and take himself away from the scene into a place where he felt happy. He liked to imagine he was back visiting on his grandmother’s farm.
• Jane’s predominant mood seemed to be melancholy. Increasingly feeling down in the dumps, she has a feeling of unexplained sadness and uselessness. Choosing to chase the blues away, she tried aerobic exercises, dancing and telling herself – or rather that person with the sad mood inside her – to get happy. She indulged herself attending plays, movies or concerts as they broke the cycle of reality for a short period and allowed her to forget her own feelings. Gradually Jane learned to think through her feelings and to control her melancholy by finding pleasant distractions.
• Bob found himself in an almost constant state of anxiety. When no physical reason could be attributed to his anxiousness, Bob was taught relaxation techniques by a counselor. He found it was almost impossible to feel anxious if he was completely relaxed. A reversal was achieved. He found that mild exercise, warm baths, a sauna or listening to soothing music induced restful sleep and promoted a feeling of well-being. He tried to laugh again; he read funny books, watched TV comedy and joined friends who emphasized the lighter side of life. In time he discarded irrational beliefs that he had carried around since childhood. After getting rid of them, he liked the new world he viewed from a happier mood.
The next time you realize you are in a mood you don’t want to be, try to shift it or reverse it. You may, like Tom, Jane or Bob, use one or more of these ways.
• Through bodily change – Work it out with exerting physical labor, aerobics or relaxing exercises.
• Through emotional change – Treat yourself well and find pleasant distractions that will help to alter your feelings.
• Mind or cognitive change – Consciously reverse the way you think. Get rid of irrational beliefs.
• Environmental change – remove yourself from the unpleasant scene or practice imagery to put yourself in another safe or happy place.
Good moods are worth the effort.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1988
Although you may believe you have little control over your moods, you can change them. But I have to warn you, it will take some effort on your part. Consider these moods and how they were shifted.
• Tom stayed in an angry mood. His friends often joked that he was the most even-tempered man they knew. “He stays mad all the time,” they said. When Tom realized that he was angry more often than not, he told his wife he wished he knew some way to reverse his anger. She told him she had always scrubbed the kitchen floor to get rid of her anger and suggested that he might try chopping some wood for the fireplace, driving some golf balls or practicing his smashing tennis serve. Tom found that if his anger seemed to rise in a certain place or around a certain person, he could shift his mood by leaving the scene. For situations where leaving was not an alternative, such as in a business meeting, he found he could practice imagery and take himself away from the scene into a place where he felt happy. He liked to imagine he was back visiting on his grandmother’s farm.
• Jane’s predominant mood seemed to be melancholy. Increasingly feeling down in the dumps, she has a feeling of unexplained sadness and uselessness. Choosing to chase the blues away, she tried aerobic exercises, dancing and telling herself – or rather that person with the sad mood inside her – to get happy. She indulged herself attending plays, movies or concerts as they broke the cycle of reality for a short period and allowed her to forget her own feelings. Gradually Jane learned to think through her feelings and to control her melancholy by finding pleasant distractions.
• Bob found himself in an almost constant state of anxiety. When no physical reason could be attributed to his anxiousness, Bob was taught relaxation techniques by a counselor. He found it was almost impossible to feel anxious if he was completely relaxed. A reversal was achieved. He found that mild exercise, warm baths, a sauna or listening to soothing music induced restful sleep and promoted a feeling of well-being. He tried to laugh again; he read funny books, watched TV comedy and joined friends who emphasized the lighter side of life. In time he discarded irrational beliefs that he had carried around since childhood. After getting rid of them, he liked the new world he viewed from a happier mood.
The next time you realize you are in a mood you don’t want to be, try to shift it or reverse it. You may, like Tom, Jane or Bob, use one or more of these ways.
• Through bodily change – Work it out with exerting physical labor, aerobics or relaxing exercises.
• Through emotional change – Treat yourself well and find pleasant distractions that will help to alter your feelings.
• Mind or cognitive change – Consciously reverse the way you think. Get rid of irrational beliefs.
• Environmental change – remove yourself from the unpleasant scene or practice imagery to put yourself in another safe or happy place.
Good moods are worth the effort.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1988