February 20, 2024 • 12 mins
Feeling like your energy reserves are on empty and your mood is stuck in a rut? We've all been there, and in this episode, I'm excited to share some strategies that can help jump-start your day and recharge your batteries.
In this episode I explore some simple, yet powerful activities and practices that promise to lift you out of those tough spots. Plus, I'll let you in on some personal favorites, like meditation apps and creative hobbies that have made a real difference in my life.
But it's not all about the tried and true; sometimes, it's the unconventional paths that lead us to peak well-being. In this discussion, we'll venture into the less charted territories of mood enhancement and energy boosting.
I'll talk about the importance of tailoring your own toolkit of techniques, chock-full of science-backed methods that fit your unique personality and lifestyle.
Hopefully this episode will as a personalized pick-me-up plan, ready to deploy when the blues hit.
Find episode links, notes and artwork at:
https://blog.dirobi.com
This show is for informational purposes only.
None of the information in this podcast should be construed as dispensing medical advice.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dave Sherwin (00:11):
Hello and welcome to the Diary of the Health Show.
I get something a little offtopic today called what to do
and you feel like crap.
And the reason I'm doing thisis because sometimes I feel like
crap and I don't think I'm theonly one and occasionally it's
debilitating for me.
Not that often, but I would saytwo to three times a year.
(00:33):
I have I don't want to call itan attack, but at least a day,
maybe an entire day, where Ijust can't perform, where I just
feel so overwhelmed, so down,where life is so hard that I
can't get myself to perform, todo stuff.
(00:54):
And I don't know if you havethose days, and maybe I'm sure
some people have worse and morethan I do.
I don't know what it's like tobe anybody else.
All I know is that betweenthose days that are almost
completely debilitating for meand other days that are just
probably the normal type ofbeing down or just not having
(01:16):
great energy, we all go throughthese types of experiences and I
thought you know how to diginto this and spend a little
time on it for myself and foryou.
You, those of you listening whoread the title and thought,
yeah, I'd like to know what hefound out.
So I did a little research andthere are several science backed
strategies for boosting mood,and I'm glad I dove into this
(01:38):
and I hope you enjoy what Ifound.
Feeling down low or justdownright miserable is an
inevitable part of the humanexperience, of course.
Whether it's due to a bad dayat work, rough patch in a
relationship or just a generalsense of malaise, we all
encounter these moments.
Now here is the number onething that I think.
That think is the ultimatething to do when you feel like
(02:02):
crap, and that is to get moving.
Dead simple, but numerousstudies have highlighted the
mood boosting benefits ofexercise, and here's a quote
from the Arnold.
I love this.
This is recent.
This is a quote from hisnewsletter, I believe in 2023.
He said I'm like all of you.
Sometimes I wake up and I justdon't feel like getting out of
(02:25):
bed, whether I slept poorly ormy brain chemicals are just out
of whack that day, I couldn'ttell you.
All I know is I have lessenergy and the world feels like
a black and white movie.
I just don't have the fire inmy belly that defines my life.
This is where I might not belike all of you.
On those days I drag myself outof bed, feed Lulu whiskey,
shnelly dutch dutch schnitzeland cherry his animals, and get
(02:48):
on my bike to go to the gym.
I do that because I've beenaround for 76 years and I've
learned that the surest way toturn the world to color is to
get physically active.
And sure enough, almost alwayswhen I'm riding back from the
gym my life feels like a moviein color and the fire in my
belly is back.
I couldn't say it any betterthan that.
(03:09):
Thank you, arnold, for thequote.
It's fantastic.
Number two from science connectwith nature.
Spending time outdoors has beenshown to have a positive impact
on mental well-being, whetheryou take a leisurely stroll in
the park, hike through the woods, simply sit in your backyard
just getting outside.
I happen to live near awetlands area and almost every
(03:29):
morning, midday and evening Itake my dog out for a walk.
We get our 10,000 steps a daydoing this and it's an
incredible way to rejuvenate, sothat works really well for me.
But whether you're walking orjust even sitting outside, it
can actually raise thoseendorphins, make you feel better
.
Next, of course, is practicingmindfulness and meditation.
(03:50):
These are not just techniquesanymore.
These are things that have beenproven through multiple studies
to help people to feel betterand have more peace, better
energy, more meaning in theirlives.
Just taking a few minutes everyday, whether it's focusing on
your breath, engaging in guidedmeditation or simply being in
(04:11):
the present, can help calm yourmind and elevate your mood.
I have two apps that I wouldn'tbe without.
One of them is called InsightTimer.
It's the largest meditation appon the planet.
It has a variety of things Iuse, from meditative music that
I sometimes simply listen towhile I have a nap or lie down,
two courses and the other one isWaking Up by Sam Harris.
He has a daily meditation thatI really enjoy, as well as a
(04:34):
library with excellent teachersand a variety of different types
of meditation, from vipassanato zhouchen and natural
awareness meditation, etc.
And sometimes when I'm walking,I repeat the Tik-Nut Han mantra.
I don't know if you've everheard this.
It's a simple little poem.
I have arrived, I am home.
(04:55):
In the here, in the now, I amsolid, I am free.
In the ultimate I dwell.
And in this simple poem Irepeat it sometimes as I walk to
my footsteps.
Tik-nut Han used to talk aboutkissing the earth with your feet
, which is a really nice kind ofa thought and a centering
(05:20):
thought, and I find that whenI'm walking, if I sometimes
repeat that little poem, it justhas an incredible centering and
calming effect.
Number four engage in creativeactivities.
Expressing yourself creativelycan be a powerful way to lift
your spirits and take your mindoff of whatever is ailing you
(05:41):
mentally.
Whether it's painting, writing,playing, music or crafting
Engages your creative.
These creative activitiesengage your emotions and your
mind in a very positive andproductive way For me.
I play guitar.
I try to play every single dayand I'm also what's called an
A-Full.
This is a new habit I picked upabout a year ago.
(06:03):
Adult fan of Lego.
I have grandkids and they grow.
All kids are into Lego and as Iwas buying Lego for one of my
grandkids, I discovered Legokits for people 18 and up and I
got to tell you because I'm notthat great of an artist at all.
Other people can paint, theycan draw.
Those aren't my talents.
But I found that you give methis set with 2,000 pieces of
(06:28):
Lego in it and I'll go throughthat methodical process of just
building something kind ofintense and it really works for
me.
I enjoy it and the satisfactionof completing that is terrific,
and so, whether it's Lego orpainting or music, whatever it
is, these are things that helplift our spirits and get us out
(06:51):
of a funk.
Number five revisit your diet.
Too many sugary carbs, too muchcaffeine or not enough sleep
can be the cause of irritabilityand anxiousness.
Make sure you're following theprinciples in our diet.
It will be undiated, which isabsolutely free to ensure that
you are getting the nutritionaland exercise lifestyle that
(07:14):
helps you stay positive.
So obviously we want to blockany source of negativity in our
life.
There's no use havingreactionary methods to overcome
anxiousness and depression if weare doing ourselves some level
of self-harm that's causingthese things.
(07:36):
Number six is practicinggratitude.
This is something I need to domuch better at, and I don't know
about you, dear listener, andwhat your experience is with
gratitude, but cultivating asense of gratitude shifts our
focus from negativity topositivity.
Taking a few minutes every dayto do a gratitude journal, or
(07:57):
whether it's just getting up inthe morning and reminding
yourself of everything greatgoing on in your life this is a
habit I know many people have.
I have never done a great jobof cultivating it in my own life
, so this has been a goodreminder for me to be more
grateful, express my gratitudemore to other people and to
remind myself how blessed Ireally am.
(08:19):
So good reminder here for meand hopefully for you as well.
Number seven exploreout-of-the-box solutions.
There could be something outthere that could really help
your life in a positive way.
That might be a little bitdifferent For me.
I don't drink and I'm opposedto recreational drugs.
(08:41):
However, I came across thevalue of mushrooms years ago,
both nutritionally andpsychedelic, and I've been
watching the studies on peoplewith PTSD and depression and
I've been watching the Netflixdocumentaries like how to Change
your Mind and for a long, longtime, for many years, and I've
(09:02):
been very, very careful aboutthese things, especially when it
comes to psychedelics.
But after seeing all theresearch and doing my own kind
of self-evaluation, I decided Iwanted to try psilocybin and so
I started to dose 100 to 200milligrams a day, three to five
(09:26):
days a week, and then once every90 days or so I will do a
larger dose in a kind ofcontrolled setting where it's
kind of a combination ofmeditation and journaling and
whatnot, and I got to tell youthat has worked wonders for me.
Now I know it doesn't workwonders for everybody and there
(09:49):
are other similar drugs or youknow, foods, plants that can
have this effect.
For other people.
I like that psilocybin issimply a dried mushroom.
It's not a chemically treateddrug, a chemically created drug,
(10:10):
and I'm not giving medicaladvice here to anybody.
I'm just telling you my process.
I just was intrigued how thesenatural compounds I mean there
are herbs and there's thingsthat grow in nature that have
powerful psychological effects,and for me psilocybin is
something that really helps mein a very positive way.
(10:32):
And we're talking tiny doseshere.
I'm not talking about gettinghigh, I'm talking about a very,
very small amount that justseems to really work with a sort
of underlying anxiety that Isometimes have, and psilocybin
seems to be just a sort ofnatural cure for that.
(10:53):
Not perfect, but I think,generally speaking, my life is
much better when I am microdosing psilocybin.
So again, I'm not sellinganyone on doing exactly the same
thing as me.
All I'm saying is there may besome out of the box solution for
you that you haven't tried yet,that you ought to do some
(11:14):
exploration and a little bit ofgrown up experimentation After
getting really good advice andreally doing your own homework
and research, and that you mightfind something, whether
psilocybin or something else,that makes a huge difference to
your general well being.
So, in conclusion, feeling likecrap is a common experience.
(11:38):
None of us is going to avoid it, but it doesn't have to define
our entire day or week, andhopefully some of these science
backed ideas will make adifference for you and we'll
help you to come out of a funkor feel better or just generally
have some kind of plan so thatnext time you feel somewhat
(11:59):
overtaken by negativity, you cantry one or two or three of
these things, get out of thefunk, back to your old self,
feeling terrific, and I hopethat you get something like that
out of this podcast.
Until next time, this is DaveSherwin, wishing you health and
success.
Hello and welcome to the Diary of the Health Show.
I get something a little offtopic today called what to do
and you feel like crap.
And the reason I'm doing thisis because sometimes I feel like
crap and I don't think I'm theonly one and occasionally it's
debilitating for me.
Not that often, but I would saytwo to three times a year.
(00:33):
I have I don't want to call itan attack, but at least a day,
maybe an entire day, where Ijust can't perform, where I just
feel so overwhelmed, so down,where life is so hard that I
can't get myself to perform, todo stuff.
(00:54):
And I don't know if you havethose days, and maybe I'm sure
some people have worse and morethan I do.
I don't know what it's like tobe anybody else.
All I know is that betweenthose days that are almost
completely debilitating for meand other days that are just
probably the normal type ofbeing down or just not having
(01:16):
great energy, we all go throughthese types of experiences and I
thought you know how to diginto this and spend a little
time on it for myself and foryou.
You, those of you listening whoread the title and thought,
yeah, I'd like to know what hefound out.
So I did a little research andthere are several science backed
strategies for boosting mood,and I'm glad I dove into this
(01:38):
and I hope you enjoy what Ifound.
Feeling down low or justdownright miserable is an
inevitable part of the humanexperience, of course.
Whether it's due to a bad dayat work, rough patch in a
relationship or just a generalsense of malaise, we all
encounter these moments.
Now here is the number onething that I think.
That think is the ultimatething to do when you feel like
(02:02):
crap, and that is to get moving.
Dead simple, but numerousstudies have highlighted the
mood boosting benefits ofexercise, and here's a quote
from the Arnold.
I love this.
This is recent.
This is a quote from hisnewsletter, I believe in 2023.
He said I'm like all of you.
Sometimes I wake up and I justdon't feel like getting out of
(02:25):
bed, whether I slept poorly ormy brain chemicals are just out
of whack that day, I couldn'ttell you.
All I know is I have lessenergy and the world feels like
a black and white movie.
I just don't have the fire inmy belly that defines my life.
This is where I might not belike all of you.
On those days I drag myself outof bed, feed Lulu whiskey,
shnelly dutch dutch schnitzeland cherry his animals, and get
(02:48):
on my bike to go to the gym.
I do that because I've beenaround for 76 years and I've
learned that the surest way toturn the world to color is to
get physically active.
And sure enough, almost alwayswhen I'm riding back from the
gym my life feels like a moviein color and the fire in my
belly is back.
I couldn't say it any betterthan that.
(03:09):
Thank you, arnold, for thequote.
It's fantastic.
Number two from science connectwith nature.
Spending time outdoors has beenshown to have a positive impact
on mental well-being, whetheryou take a leisurely stroll in
the park, hike through the woods, simply sit in your backyard
just getting outside.
I happen to live near awetlands area and almost every
(03:29):
morning, midday and evening Itake my dog out for a walk.
We get our 10,000 steps a daydoing this and it's an
incredible way to rejuvenate, sothat works really well for me.
But whether you're walking orjust even sitting outside, it
can actually raise thoseendorphins, make you feel better
.
Next, of course, is practicingmindfulness and meditation.
(03:50):
These are not just techniquesanymore.
These are things that have beenproven through multiple studies
to help people to feel betterand have more peace, better
energy, more meaning in theirlives.
Just taking a few minutes everyday, whether it's focusing on
your breath, engaging in guidedmeditation or simply being in
(04:11):
the present, can help calm yourmind and elevate your mood.
I have two apps that I wouldn'tbe without.
One of them is called InsightTimer.
It's the largest meditation appon the planet.
It has a variety of things Iuse, from meditative music that
I sometimes simply listen towhile I have a nap or lie down,
two courses and the other one isWaking Up by Sam Harris.
He has a daily meditation thatI really enjoy, as well as a
(04:34):
library with excellent teachersand a variety of different types
of meditation, from vipassanato zhouchen and natural
awareness meditation, etc.
And sometimes when I'm walking,I repeat the Tik-Nut Han mantra.
I don't know if you've everheard this.
It's a simple little poem.
I have arrived, I am home.
(04:55):
In the here, in the now, I amsolid, I am free.
In the ultimate I dwell.
And in this simple poem Irepeat it sometimes as I walk to
my footsteps.
Tik-nut Han used to talk aboutkissing the earth with your feet
, which is a really nice kind ofa thought and a centering
(05:20):
thought, and I find that whenI'm walking, if I sometimes
repeat that little poem, it justhas an incredible centering and
calming effect.
Number four engage in creativeactivities.
Expressing yourself creativelycan be a powerful way to lift
your spirits and take your mindoff of whatever is ailing you
(05:41):
mentally.
Whether it's painting, writing,playing, music or crafting
Engages your creative.
These creative activitiesengage your emotions and your
mind in a very positive andproductive way For me.
I play guitar.
I try to play every single dayand I'm also what's called an
A-Full.
This is a new habit I picked upabout a year ago.
(06:03):
Adult fan of Lego.
I have grandkids and they grow.
All kids are into Lego and as Iwas buying Lego for one of my
grandkids, I discovered Legokits for people 18 and up and I
got to tell you because I'm notthat great of an artist at all.
Other people can paint, theycan draw.
Those aren't my talents.
But I found that you give methis set with 2,000 pieces of
(06:28):
Lego in it and I'll go throughthat methodical process of just
building something kind ofintense and it really works for
me.
I enjoy it and the satisfactionof completing that is terrific,
and so, whether it's Lego orpainting or music, whatever it
is, these are things that helplift our spirits and get us out
(06:51):
of a funk.
Number five revisit your diet.
Too many sugary carbs, too muchcaffeine or not enough sleep
can be the cause of irritabilityand anxiousness.
Make sure you're following theprinciples in our diet.
It will be undiated, which isabsolutely free to ensure that
you are getting the nutritionaland exercise lifestyle that
(07:14):
helps you stay positive.
So obviously we want to blockany source of negativity in our
life.
There's no use havingreactionary methods to overcome
anxiousness and depression if weare doing ourselves some level
of self-harm that's causingthese things.
(07:36):
Number six is practicinggratitude.
This is something I need to domuch better at, and I don't know
about you, dear listener, andwhat your experience is with
gratitude, but cultivating asense of gratitude shifts our
focus from negativity topositivity.
Taking a few minutes every dayto do a gratitude journal, or
(07:57):
whether it's just getting up inthe morning and reminding
yourself of everything greatgoing on in your life this is a
habit I know many people have.
I have never done a great jobof cultivating it in my own life
, so this has been a goodreminder for me to be more
grateful, express my gratitudemore to other people and to
remind myself how blessed Ireally am.
(08:19):
So good reminder here for meand hopefully for you as well.
Number seven exploreout-of-the-box solutions.
There could be something outthere that could really help
your life in a positive way.
That might be a little bitdifferent For me.
I don't drink and I'm opposedto recreational drugs.
(08:41):
However, I came across thevalue of mushrooms years ago,
both nutritionally andpsychedelic, and I've been
watching the studies on peoplewith PTSD and depression and
I've been watching the Netflixdocumentaries like how to Change
your Mind and for a long, longtime, for many years, and I've
(09:02):
been very, very careful aboutthese things, especially when it
comes to psychedelics.
But after seeing all theresearch and doing my own kind
of self-evaluation, I decided Iwanted to try psilocybin and so
I started to dose 100 to 200milligrams a day, three to five
(09:26):
days a week, and then once every90 days or so I will do a
larger dose in a kind ofcontrolled setting where it's
kind of a combination ofmeditation and journaling and
whatnot, and I got to tell youthat has worked wonders for me.
Now I know it doesn't workwonders for everybody and there
(09:49):
are other similar drugs or youknow, foods, plants that can
have this effect.
For other people.
I like that psilocybin issimply a dried mushroom.
It's not a chemically treateddrug, a chemically created drug,
(10:10):
and I'm not giving medicaladvice here to anybody.
I'm just telling you my process.
I just was intrigued how thesenatural compounds I mean there
are herbs and there's thingsthat grow in nature that have
powerful psychological effects,and for me psilocybin is
something that really helps mein a very positive way.
(10:32):
And we're talking tiny doseshere.
I'm not talking about gettinghigh, I'm talking about a very,
very small amount that justseems to really work with a sort
of underlying anxiety that Isometimes have, and psilocybin
seems to be just a sort ofnatural cure for that.
(10:53):
Not perfect, but I think,generally speaking, my life is
much better when I am microdosing psilocybin.
So again, I'm not sellinganyone on doing exactly the same
thing as me.
All I'm saying is there may besome out of the box solution for
you that you haven't tried yet,that you ought to do some
(11:14):
exploration and a little bit ofgrown up experimentation After
getting really good advice andreally doing your own homework
and research, and that you mightfind something, whether
psilocybin or something else,that makes a huge difference to
your general well being.
So, in conclusion, feeling likecrap is a common experience.
(11:38):
None of us is going to avoid it, but it doesn't have to define
our entire day or week, andhopefully some of these science
backed ideas will make adifference for you and we'll
help you to come out of a funkor feel better or just generally
have some kind of plan so thatnext time you feel somewhat
(11:59):
overtaken by negativity, you cantry one or two or three of
these things, get out of thefunk, back to your old self,
feeling terrific, and I hopethat you get something like that
out of this podcast.
Until next time, this is DaveSherwin, wishing you health and
success.
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