How to Feel Better Quickly, Easily and on the Cheap

I facilitate something called the Happiness Club. We meet monthly in a local community room. It’s not a “club,” it’s a place to come learn tips and techniques how to live happier fuller lives, how to manage the stress of the day and how to build up resiliency to life’s challenges.

It delights me the wealth of opportunities available to us to feel better naturally. You don’t have to fall back on sex, drugs, and rock & roll to get that feel-good feeling. (I do give music and sex a big thumbs up however!)

As for “drugs,” sometimes we do need something to regulate or boost our system. We had a gal teach us about Bach flower remedies. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, google it or go to your natural foods store. Another month, a woman presented Aromatherapy and we had a smell fest. Simply breathing in certain scents can bring you back to a state of calm.

Fun stuff, right?! I know! And so simple! That’s the kicker, we often overlook the simple stuff.

One of the simplest is remembering to pause and take a breath. A few deep breaths amidst whatever “crisis” you’re in can return perspective in a jiffy. Deep breathing affects your heart and your brain, the two things we need when making decisions. When faced with a dilemma, instead of saying, “I need to think on it,” try “I need to breathe on it.”

Last month we had a reflexologist teach us points on our hands and feet that we can rub to relieve pains and symptoms throughout the whole body. If you have a headache, you can rub along the hand under the thumb.

We’ve had a gal come and provide chair massages too. Coming up we have EFT Emotional Freedom Technique (some call it tapping). When you are freaking out about something coming up in your life, you can tap meridian points on your face and body to relieve the distressing thought.

The benefits of laughter cannot be underestimated as well. We’ve had laughter exercises as part of the club meetings, but always we laugh whether it be an “exercise” or not. Laughter may be the first thing that comes to mind when someone asks how to feel better quickly, easily, and on the cheap.

That’s a great example too, because everyone can relate to an experience of feeling better, even in a tough time, because of a good laugh. Laughter can break the tension in a room, laughter can unite people, laughter does a world of good in a world of ways.

What it boils down is that there are countless way to help ourselves feel better naturally. The root word there is nature.

A quick, easy, and free way to feel better immediately is to go outside. A hike in nature is highly recommended, but if you are at work, all you need to do is step outside and breath some fresh air. (That means stepping away from the smokers.)

Take a ten minute break and simply go outside. Do nothing but breathe. That tiny pause in your day will change the momentum of the entire rest of your day. When it feels like you are going to implode and you don’t think you have time to take a break, that is exactly when you need to do so.

Even if all you have is a parking lot to wander, take a look at the sky. Maybe there is a tree or a flower somewhere. Maybe a bird. If not, imagine them there. Pretend there is a glorious mound of purple wildflowers right under the parking lot lights.

Some of the other ways I’ve taught how to feel better on the cheap include coloring, blowing bubbles (with a wand and with gum), blowing a party horn, Silly Putty, Play-Doh, anything like that. Keep a tiny jar of Play-Doh in your drawer. You’ll be amazed how two minutes spent in creating a clay dog changes your whole day.

Another low cost item is a hula hoop. If you don’t have room in your workplace, keep it your car for those breaks to the parking lot or a lunch time escape.

There are many quick, easy, and cheap ways that you can implement a mood booster into your day. What works for you?