There are just some days that are doomed from the start. When you can’t even say ‘Good Morning’ when greeting someone because it just feels so far from the truth. And whilst some bad days can be turned around and made into good ones, some are just unsalvageable. So at The Optimist, we want to give a few tips and tricks for surviving the bad days and give a little bit of hope that tomorrow will be better.

Tip One

Give yourself grace

Not every day is your day, and that’s okay. So instead of beating yourself up, reminding yourself of upcoming deadlines, or staring at the unwashed dishes and pile of laundry in the corner of the room, breathe. As Billy Joel sang “Slow down, you’re doing fine, you can’t be everything you wanna be before your time”. In other words, take a break, be kind to yourself. You wouldn’t force yourself to walk on a broken leg, or sing operatically with tonsillitis, so why would you force yourself to act as normal when you’re not feeling okay?

Tip Two

Baby steps towards surviving

Sometimes, getting out of bed feels like the biggest task in the world. The thought of feeding yourself, brushing your teeth, doing skincare and getting dressed for the day becomes an overwhelming challenge and leaves you frozen, unable to move. So my best advice is, one step at a time. Speak to yourself like you’re talking to a toddler. “Okay, we’re going to get out of bed in three, two, one… well done!” Patronising and a little weird I know, but trust me, it works. 

Tip Three

Do the bare minimum 

Planned to deep clean your room today? Crack open your window. Wanted to start eating healthy and go to the gym? Have a sip of water and walk up and down your stairs. You don’t need to make drastic changes all at once. These little things are massive achievements when everything in your head is screaming at you to stop.

Tip Four

Reach for your comfort blanket

Not literally, but if you have a favourite soft toy then I suggest giving them a big cuddle. I mean someone that makes you feel safe and happy. A partner, a friend, a family member. Give them a call, a message, a letter by carrier pigeon if need be. Just reach out. You don’t need to go through this alone. It doesn’t even need to be a person. Give your pet a big cuddle, go outside and ask to pet someone’s dog on a walk. Or even just ring your parents in the middle of their very busy and quite stressful work day, and force them to put your dog on facetime so you can make kissy noises and tell them in a high-pitched shriek how much you love them (sorry again for that one mum). Basically, you’re not alone, even when you feel like you are.

Tip Five

Just don’t think about it!

Kidding. What I mean is distract yourself. You can analyse and work through what is causing you to feel like this another day. If you don’t feel up to it, you don’t feel up to it, remember, today is just about surviving. Instead, put on your favourite film, rewatch your favourite episode from your favourite series, reread your favourite book. Just do anything that you know you like and enjoy. It might not make you happy right now, but it’s familiar and comforting, which is what you need.

If you are enjoying reading about making your day better – try our readers methods to turn their days around.

Tip Six

You are what you eat

Or in this case, what you listen to. I know when you’re sad, the default setting is to watch that sad film that makes you cry every time, or put on the playlist you curated specifically full of sad songs. Trust me, Phoebe Bridgers was my third top artist on Spotify last year, I know the attraction. But there are scientific studies proving that listening to happy, uplifting music does have a positive impact on your mood, whereas sad, depressing songs, surprise surprise, lower your mood. So instead of putting on your Moody Mix, visit The Optimist Spotify page through the link below,  where we have carefully crafted a playlist of happy, optimistic songs designed to lift your mood and put a smile on your face. It might be artificial happiness, but it’s better than nothing. 

Tip Seven

Be lazy

I’m giving you permission. It’s okay. Stay in bed all day, scroll on TikTok for hours, you’re allowed to. In fact, I’m encouraging it. Order your favourite takeaway straight to your door and eat it out the container. Order as much as you want and don’t bother worrying about putting the leftovers in the fridge, or the spillage on your duvet. Sit in the darkness because you can’t be bothered to get up and turn the light on. Don’t brush your hair, stay in your pjs, only move to get water or go to the toilet. Tomorrow you can start again from scratch, but for today at least, it’s about surviving.

Tip Eight

Just keep going

Sometimes it feels like there’s no point anymore. It feels like you’re not going to get better, that you’re going to feel like this for the rest of your life. And whilst I can’t promise there won’t be any more bad days, because there will be. Or that there won’t be times where you just want to curl up in a ball and cry yourself to sleep, because you will. But there will also be so many times where your stomach hurts because you’re laughing so hard, so many beautiful sunrises and sunsets to see, so many happy moments with the people you love. There’s so many more animals to pet, new favourite songs to listen to, new favourite films to watch, new favourite foods to eat, new favourite holiday destinations to visit. There are so many new favourite things you’re yet to experience, so hold on, don’t give up hope just yet. Keep on surviving the bad days. After all,  there’s always tomorrow. 

To learn how you can help someone else feel better, read here.