Snap Out Of It

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If you’ve ever been told to “snap out of it,” you’ll know it’s rarely the magic cure the speaker thinks it is. More often than not, it feels like being told off for having feelings, like telling someone with a broken leg to just run it off.

But while we can’t flick an emotional light switch, we can influence how we feel. And that starts with understanding our state.

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Episode Transcript

Richard (00:00):
Hey, there you, how was your week?
I've been concentrating on thelines for a play I'm in.
It's quite a big part, so lotsof lines to learn and I'm doing
okay.
I'm quite confident that it'llbe all right on the night, as
they say.
The psychology of theatre workfascinates me.
Any acting really.

(00:20):
'cause you have to literallychange who you are.
You have to jump into the mindand body of someone else and see
everything differently.
Instead of reacting how youwould react.
You have to react as if you aresomeone else with a different
personality in a different stateof mind.
And that's what today's episodeis all about, changing our

(00:43):
state, changing our mood.
And you've probably experiencedit yourself.
You could be in the middle of amassive row with your partner,
properly fired up, and then thephone rings and it's a mate who
wants to confirm your plans forgoing out for a meal tomorrow
night.
So you answer and your tonechanges.

(01:04):
You calm down.
And then when you hang up, it'shard to go straight back into
being fired up all over again.
Your brain has shifted state.
So when somebody recently saidto me that they needed to snap
out of their bad mood.
My first thought as a therapistwas, well, there's usually a

(01:26):
reason for the mood.
Let's look at that.
But actually, there are timeswhen a quick shift is possible
and appropriate.
Not always, obviously.
And snap out of it can sound abit dismissive, but we can learn
to move into a better state ofmind.
And I use the word state becausethat's what we use in therapy

(01:48):
quite a lot.
And you can think of your stateas the combination of what your
body is doing, what you arefocusing on and what you are
saying to yourself.
It's like wearing tintedglasses.
Blue tinted glasses make theworld feel cold.
Orange tinted lenses make itwarm.
The world hasn't changed.

(02:09):
Your state has.
So start with your body.
Your posture and movementconstantly sends messages to
your brain.
So if you slouch, stare at thefloor and sigh your brain pairs
that up with sadness and defeat.

(02:29):
Sit up straight, open yourselfup a bit.
Hold your head high.
Take a deep breath.
You're sending a signal ofstrength and safety instead.
Even a fake smile can help, dueto what's called the facial
feedback effect.
Your brain notices the musclesyou are using for smiling,
especially the ones around theeyes and says, ah, I guess we

(02:54):
must be happy.
Movement is powerful as well.
Walking, stretching.
Even dancing, especially dancingactually.
In fact, a huge analysis of over200 studies from the other year
found that exercise was moreeffective than antidepressants
for mood improvement and dancingcame out top.

(03:16):
Your GP might not prescribe it,but it's a brilliant way to
shift your state.
If you are anxious, start a bitsmaller.
Try controlled breathing.
In for four.
Hold for four.
Out for eight.
It tells your nervous systemall's well.

(03:38):
And direct your focus.
Your attention is like aspotlight.
Whatever you shine it on becomesyour emotional reality.
Focus on what's wrong all thetime, and you're gonna feel
worse.
Deliberately notice what's goingright, even the tiniest of
things, and you'll feel a shift.
Now you're not ignoring yourreality, you are choosing which

(03:59):
parts to magnify.
And mind your language, in manyways.
The words you use inside yourhead really do matter.
If you call something adisaster, you're gonna react
like it is one.
Think of it as a challenge andyou might find the energy to
deal with it.
And ask yourself, you know,would I say it like this to a

(04:19):
friend who was struggling?
'cause if not, adjust it.
Your internal voice can be apowerful tool for change when
it's kind.
So shifting state can be donequite quickly.
It might only take a minute tototally push your whole day in a
different direction.
Just by standing up, if you can.
Shoulders back, chin up, takethree slow breaths and stretch,

(04:44):
smile even slightly and saysomething kind to yourself.
If you want the full version ofthis episode, including lots of
guided hypnotherapy tracks aswell to help you step into a
better state.
You can find loads right now onmy Patreon page.
Link is in the show notes.
Or just look me up on Patreon.

(05:07):
So be kind to yourself this weekand I'll speak to you soon.
See ya.