When I'am feeling Blue....

Why choose Blue when the rainbow has other colors too? Any change in life can lead to stress. And if it is a life changing event most of us tend to get the blues. Probably you have relocated to a new city and are taking your own sweet time to understand and merge with the general atmosphere .May be you are the one who’s just been married or had a kid and despite of all the euphoria around you , you feel stressed because you desperately want some ME time. Or you could be the one who lost that seemingly perfect job to the grueling reality of the economy. And in this long list, how can we forget you- yes YOU, who’s been crying over that break up since ages . By now you must have been advised by all the people you know and the strangers you don’t, to get your groove back. Because your stress is terribly leaking out and has begun to stress them out too. So, not for others but for yourself you need to reclaim your life and this is how- • Set a routine: In the initial days of the event breaking the monotony of life seems pleasurable. So all those late nights and subsequent late mornings give unparalleled ecstasy. But not for too long. Gradually a sense of meaningless and unproductively seeps in and before you know it you are a very dark shade of blue. However much you might hate it, but a routine gives us a sense of purpose. So whatever your situation in life might be right now set a routine, as it would compartmentalize you life into smaller time blocks and when that happens it gets easier to slowly start taking control over life once again. • Your situation is not your identity: Not only do these statements sound different when I say, “I am unemployed” Vs “I don’t have a job” but they also make you feel different about yourself. Stop internalizing your situation to such an extent that you associate your sense of being with your problem. Problems are often external events, over which we do not have much control. And the best part about problems is that sooner or later they go away, but they should leave us better and not bitter. Understanding that a job or a relationship is just parts of life and not life itself, would go a long way in building a strong self image. Why build a permanent self image on the basis of temporary events? So the next time you tell yourself “I AM poor” you might hear an inner voice correct you, “You AIN’T poor. You just don’t HAVE money right now and that is a temporary situation”. And my dear, you are not single you just don’t….. • Go out and play: Not just because it keeps you healthy but it has been proved that physical activity produces feel good hormones. When we feel low we usually don’t want to move a limb or socialize. This leads to piling up of both physical and emotional energy and before we know it we are a very active human bomb ready to explode, even at a Hello! So, for the safety of all things and people around you, get out and pick up an activity that you enjoy. • Discover the world outside and within: Happiness is a great companion but Pain is the ultimate teacher. Our saddest phases in life teach us more about people and ourselves than anything else. Use this phase to understand and accept the world and emerge wiser. If the idea of spending an entire day with yourself suffocates you then you have been missing out on a very beautiful friendship –which is with yourself! Most of us cling to toxic and destructive relationships for the fear of being alone. All of us, at some point in time experience a sense of emptiness and we in vain search for someone or something that would fill the void. But the truth is YOU are your own hero, there’s no one who would come to recue you. Truth is always that simple! Come to think of it, if you befriend yourself you will forever have a companion. You will swiftly glide from being emotionally dependant to being blissfully independent. • Something moves inside us when we learn: So you think your life is almost over because there’s nothing new to look forward to. And that is leading to a lot of boredom which is in turn taking you closer to the much hyped and less understood state called depression. Before you hit the rock bottom and gloomy becomes your middle name, you ought to shrug off inertia and pick up something new to learn. Sadly, learning is often linked with the consequent monetary benefits. It shouldn’t be so. Learning challenges the limits that we have set for ourselves and enables us to marvel at the vastness of everything that makes up life. There’s an entire universe inside of us and with every cell in our bodies changing dynamically there’s no reason why we should accept being dormant as a way of life. • Don’t take everything personally: Well now, as it happens with negativity, we tend to project our own ill feelings on people and situations. The waiter, who was rude to you, had his own problems in mind and knew nothing of your circumstances. Or those girls, who were giggling behind your back in the bus, were just having a good time and definitely not mocking you. All these hallucinations would be taken care of if you have a positive self image. Use your imagination to build one. And in the end, remember THIS is just a phase and this too shall pass.