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I’ve been wanting to share my ideas to shake away anxious or depressing moods for a few weeks, & I think it happened at the perfect time!  My list was recently tested since the big ol allergy attack & now I’m pretty confident in it.  At least one of the ideas below can get your spirits lifted, because there’s nothing uglier than a bad mood or ANXIETY.

DISTRACT, DISTRACT, DISTRACT.  That’s kind of the ultimate goal.  Distract your mind.  Typically, I’m trying to steer clear of sadness, anxiety, stress, or worry. 

When I graduated college, I listened to gangster rap 24/7 – afraid of the other radio stations.  After receiving a college degree & barely getting an interview at Starbucks, I was having a rough time.  And gangster rap had it’s special way of keeping my mind in a “fuck you” spirit, which was better than sad pop or country songs pushing me closer & closer to a quarter life crisis.  

I suggest, starting with one idea & moving to the next if it doesn’t work.  And when you find one that does work – milk it for awhile.

10 EASY WAYS TO CHANGE YOUR MOOD
1. Talk to Yourself:   A loving dialogue.  I learned this from Yoga.  Have you ever tried telling yourself nice things??  WAY more difficult than it sounds. Be nice to yourself, tell yourself kind things:  “I am happy.  I am brave.  I am strong.  I am healthy.  I’m doing the best I can.  I’m powerful. I am ok.”   Try it!

2. Podcasts:  Podcasts basically cured my anxiety.  I can 99% depend on them to relieve anxiety.  I listen to Joe Rogan when I need a distraction or Juicy Scoop when I need background noise & a quick laugh.  All of my Insta Stories at the park? I’m ALWAYS listening to a podcast.  I bring my headphones everywhere & pop them in w a podcast –  waiting rooms, shopping, when I’m getting ready, cleaning, working…

3. Music:   Even if you’re around other people – at work, next to your boyfriend, at the park.  Put your headphones in & find music that makes you feel good.  Try a few different genres, even if you’ve never heard of them.  i.e. Rap, when I need a confidence boost.  Country, when emotional.  Kygo Station when I have anxiety.  Pop, for a distraction.  Explore.

4. Shop:  I mean don’t get addicted here, but if you’re stressed – browse at the store or online.  Buy something that makes you happy or that you’ve been needing.  Even if it’s super small.  You’ll feel accomplished.  (Enter >> Amazon.)

5. Driving:  Take a break. Go for an easy/no traffic drive.  With music.

I would argue one of the best things about Dubai, if not the best, is how much you can explore & simply see.  Without having to pay anything or work very hard.  Not without effort, Dubai sets records & created a visual piece of artwork.  You can fill your entire trip just driving around exploring the different landscapes – for FREE.  Sometimes paying for the view, isn’t as good as actually searching for it yourself.

I wanted to show you how to make a trip adventurous without spending a ton of money!  I feel like I’m a master at going on budget friendly trips, including Dubai.  Food & drink is expensive, but there’s SO much to do for free, or nearly free – if you can just get yourself there.  You wouldn’t even be able to finish this list in one trip!  And if you do, I can add to it 🙂

This is MY checklist when I go back – things to go stare at.  And they never get old.  Even when I lived there, going to stare at the items on this list was one of my favorite things to do.  And a way to ensure I won’t waste my precious money.

1-  Burj Khalifa
This twinkly building still takes my breathe away.  Because it’s right outside the Dubai Mall there’s plenty of space to go walk around the building & look at it yourself – without paying a dime.  Get yourself to the Dubai Mall & walk outside.  You can eat near it, shop near it, walk near it, or just sit down & stare at it.  The fountain show that plays outside the building at night will also take your breathe away.  Go check it out during the day & at night for completely different views.  Until Dubai builds their next world record setting building, this is the top spot for me.  And you absolutely need a GoPro to fit the whole damn thing in a photo, OR spend $$$$ to have a tourey sales man take one measly photo for you…

I never know if I should write how I feel right when I’m feeling it or wait until I get my thoughts together… For example, Jury Duty.  I walked out of Jury Duty feeling like I couldn’t breathe.  I was fucking rocked, and scared, and anxious.  For a week I couldn’t sleep without having nightmares.  Surprisingly, my immediate reaction was to hate blogging.  The first thought I had was “fuck my blog”.   Although it’s my creative outlet,  my experience on Jury Duty made me feel like I was wasting precious, valuable time working on my silly blog.  I needed to be doing more!  A week or so passed and I started thinking I need to write this all down in my blog, change my blog, change people!  But then I felt I was too wrapped up in emotion, not thinking clearly.  Now, I’m a month past Jury Duty and feel like I’m rational, yet still kind of wish I would’ve written everything down when I was irrational.  When people are super expressive with feelings I listen to them, even if they’re wrong, there has to be parts to take away.

A month ago I had to report for Jury Duty.  I recently registered to vote and the two results in that decision were (1) Donald Trump as my president (2) Jury Duty summons.  Real winning decision making skills right there, Ha!

My first reaction with Jury Duty was, anxiety.  Because that’s what I do best.  “What if I have a panic attack while I’m there”  “There’s no way out of this”  “What if I can’t breathe” “What if I can’t talk” “How long will it take”  “What if I don’t show up”.  Welcome to my brain.

Everyone told me their Jury Duty stories & how they tried to get out of it or why they weren’t chosen or how strong minded they were so no way someone would pick them, or it’s probably a dumb case, so annoying to go to Jury Duty.

I had NO idea how fucking hard it would be for me.  I happened to get chosen to be a Jury member.  12 out of 80 something people were chosen.  I have a few thoughts on that.  If you have an education, compassion, you’re smart, you listen, understanding, morals & ethics – you SHOULD be a chosen member for Jury Duty.  When I started hearing what some of the other Jury contenders were saying, I thought holy Jesus I better be chosen.  No way they’ll let these fucking stubborn assholes make a judicial decision, right?! And I was right – they chose me.  And they should choose me.  They should choose you too, if you’re smart and a good listener.  It is your duty and it is your responsibility.  ESPECIALLY if you’re making decisions about someones future.  If you don’t do it, those stubborn assholes will, and that’s not acceptable.

The Case.  I’m going to summarize what was a week long journey of my court case the best I can.  In reality, the details of the case itself wasn’t the traumatizing part of Jury Duty so I don’t want it to be the highlight of this post.  There was a domestic violence dispute where a woman ended up with a cut on her hand and the defendant plead not guilty.  This was a felony case because of the claim of the use of a deadly weapon.  When it came time to deliberate there were two different charges we could sentence the defendant with, or decide he’s not guilty.  The jury decided the harsher of the two, a felony.  The second decision was his sentencing.  Because he already had a felony on his record and spent time in jail, the Texas law requires a minimum sentence of 25 years.  My jury members wanted to really stick it to him so they gave him a 26 year sentence, as kind of a “ha ha”.  The defendant stood up, heard his sentence, ran his fingerprints, and went to jail until he likely will pass away.

This list is quick & to the point!  But I highly recommend anything you can get checked off, whether you’re visiting now or in the future this list will work.