Looking for some ways to feel better about yourself? Great! I have 19 mood and confidence-boosting ideas for you. We all have bad mental health days at times. What makes those days worse is how hard we are on ourselves.
There’s a strong mental health stigma out there that tells us we should be doing better than we are. And if you struggle with depression or anxiety, it makes you feel like a failure of some sort. But this is NOT true. Trust me, it’s not. And the truth is many many people struggle with their own mental illness. It’s not a bad thing and you don’t have to keep making yourself feel worse. Which is why I want to talk about some awesome ways you can feel better about yourself. Because YOU are awesome! If you need a reminder of that today, then here it is.
19 Ways To Make You Feel Better About Yourself
You’re doing the best you can. You’re trying and that’s all that matters. To make yourself feel better you need to be calm and realize the progress you want to see in your life will come. You will have days where you fall backward, and that’s ok. Because you will also have days where you feel on top of the world. To feel better about ourselves is a struggle we all face. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s possible to always feel better or happy no matter how perfect your life may be.
Striving for endless happiness is like striving for perfection… it doesn’t exist.
What does exist is learning how to accept who you are. That’s the easiest way to make you feel better about yourself. Whether you’re in a bad mood or a good mood. Trusting yourself and knowing you’ll push through the tough moments will turn you into a resilient badass. Sometimes that is what is required to make you feel better about yourself.
1. To feel better, pay attention to what your thoughts are saying
Instead of ignoring your thoughts, spend some time listening to them. What are they saying to you? If you aren’t feeling your greatest right now, why? Is it because of something not going how you expected in your life?
To make you feel better you need to identify your struggles and respect them. This can help you learn to listen to yourself more. From every experience and those small wins, remember what you did to make you feel better. Check out this book on Amazon which was a great read to help me feel better.
When you ignore yourself it’s easy to feel down because you haven’t fully accepted what your thoughts are trying to tell you.
2. Listen to yourself and make sure to take it easy
If you don’t want to see anyone today, clean your house, or get groceries then don’t! Basically to feel better, don’t force yourself to do something you hate. You might think “But I’m an adult and need to take care of my responsibilities.” which, yes is true. But, your chores can wait until you’re better. Cut your to-do list in half and just work on the things that you can. Sometimes our minds and bodies give us a sign, to tell us that we need a break.
To make you feel better, let the other things wait and listen to yourself. Today might just need to be a Netflix day. Yay!
3. Stop making yourself feel guilty for not feeling good mentally
When you’re depressed it’s really hard to act like you care about something when you really don’t. Like when your boyfriend wants to spend Saturday doing a bunch of errands and you’re over here like: I need to be in bed with no interruptions. Which can make you feel guilty for not supporting the people you love.
- Your mind has other plans for you and you have to cater to that.
Sometimes to feel better you don’t have to feel guilty for giving yourself a much-needed mental health day. If it’s an everyday thing, then it’s always good to talk to someone about it.
4. Write out all your worries in a journal
When you wake up in the morning and already feel like today is just going to suck, get your thoughts out. Only you can make you feel better. Write down all of your worries about your life, about the day, and just about anything. This is a great way to reel in your worries and take care of your mental health. Because once you get these thoughts, you’ll feel better about yourself and be ready to take on the day.
One way to make you feel better, try out the Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal to help you let go of worry and anxiety.
5. Buy yourself something nice, the best way to make you feel better
When you’re not feeling good about yourself, make yourself go out and buy something nice. Take a trip to the mall or buy something on Amazon you’ve been wanting. Treat yo’ self! This is a good form of self-care to remind yourself that you matter and realize that you can feel better with a little bit of a splurge on yourself. Now, you don’t need to buy the whole store or anything but something simple that makes you feel good will do the trick. This could also just be some ice cream to help boost your spirits. Let’s be honest ice cream will always make you feel better even when everything else fails.
6. Eat a healthy & fulfilling meal
You can treat yourself and eat a healthy meal all on the same day. It’s called balance! Fuel your body with the proper nutrients that you need to improve your mental health. A healthy meal makes your body feel better which improves your mindset!
7. Trust yourself more
To feel better, listen to your heart. If you’re unhappy a lot of the time, listen to why that is. If you always say yes when you should say no, learn how to set boundaries. For the longest time I did not trust myself and I always looked to other people to boost my confidence. Make your own confidence. Don’t sit and wait for a sign, stand up and take accountability. But, this never lasted because when nobody was around I didn’t feel good about myself. I spent a lot of time learning how to trust my instincts and listen to myself more, and now I feel better about myself and my circumstances. This takes some time, but if you make it a goal of yours then you will start to feel better quickly.
8. Spend time with supportive people
To feel better, it helps to have a strong support system because you can’t always pull yourself out of a funk, or make issues just disappear. If you aren’t your best today, call up your closest friends. Vent to them or ask them to hang out so you can be around positive people. Positive people can make you feel better instantly. Don’t be afraid to reach out to the people who care about you when you’re struggling mentally, because they need you to reach out to them.
They won’t judge you and care about your well-being.
9. Listen to upbeat music
Sometimes you just need some good music to pull you out of a bad mood. Dance around to your favorite songs for 15 minutes. Tune everything out and put your headphones on. Enjoying yourself where you get out of your head for a while can help you gain a different perspective on things.
Related: 13 Hobbies That Will Reduce Anxiety and Make You Feel Better
10. Write down all of your amazing qualities
Even when you’re not feeling your best you can counter your bad thoughts with good ones. Write down your favorite qualities about yourself. Is it the way you easily forgive people around you? Maybe you’re a really good listener, or like being so easygoing. Whatever traits you have, make yourself write them down. And if you can’t think of what you like about yourself, write down the things other people like about you.
11. Hang out with animals
If you have any animals at your house, spend some time with them. Cuddle your cat or go on a hike with your dog and make some friends. And if you don’t (but do like animals), go to a nearby animal shelter. If you find an animal you like, you can ask to hang out with it. And who knows? Maybe you’ll even end up getting a furry companion! Animals can be a great form of therapy because they are so innocent and pure. They are very forgiving, provide an endless amount of love, and have zero judgment.
12. Cry it out
Crying is a way to release all the built-up emotions you have in your mind and body. Sometimes you just need a good cry session to let everything out. I definitely feel better about myself after I cry things out for a little bit. If it’s just one of those days for you where you do feel on the verge of tears, don’t hold it in. Allow yourself to feel however it is you’re feeling so you can get back to being your best self.
13. Break/Punch something
So if you’re sad you cry, and if you’re angry you can punch something. I keep getting this urge to break some dishes when I don’t feel my best. That is usually a sign that some good old punches or kicks are required.
But if you’d prefer to punch something instead, sign up for a nearby kickboxing class. This can help you relieve a lot of tension…
14. Get some alone time
If you aren’t feeling your best sometimes being alone can be just what you need. This helps you re-center yourself. You also block out all of the outside noise. If you have a judgmental family, a difficult work environment, or just feel super stressed out then being alone can help a ton. Either go to your bedroom and shut the door for the night, go on a hike and shut off your phone, or take a 2-hour long bath for some privacy.
15. Go on an adventure to make you feel better
Sometimes we don’t feel our best because life feels boring. If you’re stuck in the same routine and feel like your life isn’t going anywhere, change it up by going on an adventure. This could mean a trip to the next town over or a road trip vacation. You don’t have to wait for a sign. Depending on how you’re feeling, set up a plan to get out on an adventure and explore something new.
16. Take a mental health day
If you wake up in the morning and just cannot get yourself to go to work, take a mental health day. We all need this from time to time. And don’t feel guilty about it either! A mental health day is amazing when you’re overwhelmed and burnt out. If you know you won’t be able to focus or work productively today, then it’s best to take a break from everything. This can help in so many ways and it can actually benefit your employer because you’ll feel refreshed and recharged after a little mini-break.
17. Get some exercise
Go on a run, take a hike, or do some yoga at home. Your body and mind work together to help you feel your best. Make sure to take care of your body and listen to what it needs. It already knows how to make you feel better, you just need to guide it.
Activities like running or HIIT get your endorphins going and your heart pumping, so you’ll feel better pretty quickly. And if you’re looking to calm down and be more in tune with your body, then yoga, pilates, or a peaceful walk can help you get there.
18. Read a good mental health book
If you enjoy reading like I do and like to focus on self-improvement, here are some of my favorite books to read to help you feel better about yourself:
19. Help someone else
Sometimes what you really need to make you feel better about yourself is to help someone else. Look around your life and see what areas you can help in.
- Are there people in your family who are going through their own struggles?
- Do you have a friend who could use a break from her kids?
Pay attention to other people around you asking for help and lend a hand.
