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Cassandra Di Lalla (she/her/hers), Low Entropy Volunteer Writer

What do I do to take the edges off a bad mood? Well, the fact of the matter is that we all have good days and bad days, so the trick is to find a happy medium — find your zen, ground yourself and learn to balance. But Cassandra, it’s so much easier said than done. Yes, yes it is. It won’t be easy, but if you’re challenging yourself, then you’re stimulating your mind and in doing so, you’ll be hyper-focused on the stimulation rather than the negativity, the not-so-happy vibes or the challenge as a whole.

You need to exercise your mind and trick your brain into thinking that all is well. Once you’ve mastered that, things will seem much simpler or easier to manage. But that’s a long process, as are many other things in life. There’s never an easy way out . . . or is there? We’re the rulers of our minds, the protectors of our hearts and the physiologists of our bodies. We know what we’re thinking and we know what we’re feeling, but we’re also the best people to understand our own physiological reactions to negative or unpleasant situations. 

Luckily, our brains can retain a whole lot of information, not only the bad but also the good along with many other things. It’s almost like we are made half-robot and half-human — in some aspects, we’re programmed to do things very systematically or methodically, and in the other halves of our beings, we are given total free will to do whatever we please, however we please. It’s only normal that we experience all kinds of emotions at any given time, regardless of the situation.

You know the saying “Eat, pray, love?” Well, I enjoy good, wholesome foods. I pray. I meditate. I drink tea. I do crafts. I write. I spend time with my cat and dogs, and I volunteer on a farm with alpacas, llamas and horses. These are just a few things I like to do with the love that I have to offer. 

When you hit a rough patch during your workday or routine things like grocery shopping, give yourself a moment to assess the situation. Do you know what triggered the negative energy? Is it in your control or within your reach to eliminate those negative ions floating around? Was it caused by a sudden emotion that flew in, or was it brought on by something that someone said or did?

Sometimes, when you take a step back to have a moment of clarity, or when redirecting your energy into something else and allowing yourself to focus on that new idea — you realize that you have more control than you thought. By using this strategy, you’re putting a much higher priority on finding the good and wanting to feel content, rather than remaining fixated on feeling triggered and like you can’t get out of that bad mood or, more importantly, that mindset. The mind is a very powerful thing and our thoughts can be extremely intrusive; it’s not uncommon for our minds to play tricks on us, and for our thoughts to play along. 

When a person is not in a very good mood, it’s common for them to not want to do anything until they feel better. I personally need to allow myself to feel what I feel because time seems to be my very best friend in that moment. We need to take the time to breathe and relax in order to prevent our bubbles of frustration from bursting.

I love self-reflection because it allows you to develop inner calm, or strengthen the bond that you have with your inner self. It allows you to regenerate from those awful feelings that you had, and turn them into kinder and more pleasant feelings. Self-reflection is like the iridescent shimmer you need to lift you up, and the sparkle in the sun that gives you your radiant smile. Some days, you may even want to stop what you’re doing to get those five or 10 minutes outside to breathe in the fresh air and fill your lungs with laughter instead of filling your day with anger.

Always try to look at your glass half-full instead of half-empty. This ideology is a lot more meaningful than you might think, but also less complicated than it seems.

So, going forward, your mantra each and every day should be that of positivity — a ritual comprised of vitamins, nutrients and everything good that life has to offer. Remember, balance is your buddy. 

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Cassandra Di Lalla lives life purposefully. She enjoys reading, writing and mental health initiatives. She’s an animal lover for life and an innovative individual always finding new ways to create.