Bad day? The 3 advice from a psychiatrist to bounce back

Terrible traffic jams, tension with a colleague, catastrophic bulletin for children, argument, broken boiler … Is your day rotten? It is not too late to catch up with it.

Today, it was clearly not your day: everything that could be wrong … went wrong! You are damaged in the sofa, without energy, the hope to zero and ready to show the teeth if the slightest drop still makes your vase overflow. “The emotions of stress experienced throughout the day, if they were not regulated at that time, accompany us until evening, explains Marine Colombel, psychiatrist and author of I fight against mental fatigue. They then risk resetting at the slightest opportunity ”.

There is a way to get out of it!

The doctor nevertheless wants to be reassuring: “There is really a way to get out of this big moment of stress. As long as you take a step back from its ruminations, come back in the present moment and use your body in support”. She thus offers three practical tips.

1. Listen to your emotions

The ideal is of course to do this little job after each stress felt, but it is not too late to get down to it in the evening, was only to avoid an agitated night which will mortgage your next day. “We generally have the impression that we have to manage our emotions with our brain,” explains the psychiatrist. This is false! Emotions, it is above all a reaction of the body which must adapt to a change of environment. “

So observe it: your stomach tenses? Does your intestines get tangled? Do your hands are shaking? Is it fear, anger, shame? Naming your emotion is already an important step. Then ask yourself this very simple question: is this emotion legitimate? “If it is yes, it may be necessary to act on the situation, says Marine Colombel. If it is not worth it, put yourself back and wait for it to decrease naturally.”

2. Get out of your ruminations

It is the lot of all the bad days: they may be over, the negative events that have dotted them continue to loop in our mind, adding a layer of painful emotions with each passage. “First, we must realize that we ruminate because the process is often automatic.” Marine Colombel advises to come back to the present moment, using her body in support, for example during a meditation where you will be seated or lying down and where you will review each part of your body. You can also channel your attention to your breathing or an object that you examine in detail: its shape, its noise, its texture …

Are your thoughts come back next? It does not matter: every minute of disconnection is already doing a lot of good!

3. Pay attention to the sugar!

“After a bad day, you will undoubtedly have the reflex to throw yourself on sweet foods in order to have your dose of dopamine, predicts Marine Colombel. But the sugar does not relieve. Worse: it causes a micro-inflammation in the body which promotes stress and anxiety with a delayed effect. Keep a healthy diet despite everything or, if you cannot prevent yourself from chocolate, limit yourself to a little side and eat it and eat in full awareness ”.

Good idea: join our free challenge a month without sugar. Start it when you want.

Other tracks still …

There are many other tracks to save a bad day: put your setbacks in writing, dance, walk in nature, contemplate a child to play and marvel … Above all, keep hope, because it is likely that tomorrow, everything will be better!

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