Staying on Top When Your World's Upside Down

“That’s one of the peculiar things about bad moods – we often fool ourselves and create misery by telling ourselves things that simply are not true. And the strange thing is that we usually don’t have the vaguest suspicion that we’re being conned by our misery and self-doubt.”
David D. Burns: The Feeling Good Handbook

Any time you are feeling one of those bad moods, use an Emotion Deflection Question (EDQ) to change your emotional channel. Start by simply asking yourself whether your current mood or emotion is helpful. If your answer is no, ask yourself what mood or emotion would you like to be feeling at this moment (what would be the most helpful mood for me to be in right now?).

Once you have identified your desired emotional state, ask yourself this question: If I were feeling that emotion right now, how would it be reflected in my physical posture and in my facial expression? Imagine yourself looking in a mirror and seeing a reflection of yourself with that look on your face and that bearing to your body. Make that mental image as vivid as possible. Now (here comes the hard part) force your body posture and facial expressions to conform to that mental picture. Drape your face with that look of happy confidence, and wrench your body into that upright posture. Go for a brisk walk, moving twice the speed of normal.

It won’t be long before you find your emotional state actually moving in the desired direction. This is because (as we know from the science of psycho-immunology) not only does your mind talk to your body, your body talks to your mind, and your mind listens. When your body is saying “we are happy and confident,” your mind gets the message.

For more on the power of body posture, watch this 18-minute video of the TED Talk by Harvard Professor Amy Cuddy: The Power of Posture.