Do any of these gloomy thoughts sound familiar? It’s likely they do. The occasional case of the blues is perfectly normal, but that doesn’t make dealing with it any easier. If you allow them to, negative thoughts can fester and lead to serious depression. That’s why it’s important to take action early to bust yourself out of a slump.
你曾有过这些悲观的想法吗？有可能。偶尔有些悲观的想法很正常，但是生活并会不因此而能轻松些。要是你任由消极的思想蔓延，你就会陷入严重的沮丧情绪。这就是为什么要及早采取行动摆脱闷闷不乐的原因。
While these suggestions won’t eliminate your problems, they can help you break a negative thought pattern and stop feeling depressed. If you think you might have a serious mental health problem, don’t hesitate to see a medical professional.
尽管这些建议不会帮助你解决实际问题，但它们却能帮助你打破消极的思维定势并摆脱闷闷不乐的情绪。要是你认为自己存在心理问题，可千万别犹豫去看心理医生。1. Understand the emotional cycle - Life is an emotional roller coaster. Some days you feel like nothing can stop you. Other days you feel utterly hopeless. Most of the time you’re somewhere in between. Understanding the pattern of positive and negative emotions will help you put your feelings in perspective. Next time you feel down, just remember that it’s a natural emotion that will inevitably pass. Knowing that a feeling of depression is only temporary makes it less dreadful.
1.了解情绪周期——生活就像是乘坐情绪的过山车。某些日子你觉得人生充满希望，而另些日子你又觉得人生毫无希望。更多的时间里，你处于这两者的中间状态。理解积极情绪与消极情绪的变化样式可以帮助你正确对待情绪问题。下次感到郁闷时，请记住这是一种不可避免的自然状态。知道了情绪低落只不过是一种暂时的状态而已，会让你把闷闷不乐看得不那么严重。2. Spend time with positive people - Nothing affects the way you think and feel more than the people you interact with. Thoughts (both positive and negative) are contagious. If you are surrounded by negative people, it’s only natural that you’ll start to think and feel the same way. To improve your outlook on life, spend time with positive people. Search them out and try to understand the way they see the world. Chances are their happiness will rub off.
2.与乐观的人相处——没有什么比你周围的人更能影响你的想法和态度了。想法（不论是积极的还是消极的）是可传染的。要是你周围都是些消极的人，那你肯定也会开始消极起来。要想改变生活的面貌，多花些时间和乐观积极的人在一起吧。寻找那些人并从他们身上学习如何以乐观的态度看待世界。大多数情况下，你将会分享他们的快乐。3. Reflect on past success - In the wake of a colossal failure, it’s easy to forget everything you’ve ever done right. Take a few minutes to remember your past accomplishments and build yourself up. What made you successful before? What are your strengths? Frequently, this exercise will build self confidence, help you figure out what went wrong, and generate ideas for success in the future.
3.回想过去的成功——沉浸在失败的巨大阴影之下，你会忘记曾经做对事情的所有经历。花几分钟回想一下过去的成功让自己振作起来。什么因素令你成功？你的优势在哪里？通常，这项尝试会让你建立自信心，它帮助你发现失败的原因并激发使你成功的想法。4. Focus on gratitude - It’s human nature to measure ourselves against those ahead of us on the social ladder. Studies have shown that people care more about being richer than their friends than actually making more money. When you consider everything good in your life and compare it to the problems of less fortunate people, the issue that’s making you depressed won’t seem as serious.
4.怀有一颗感恩的心——人的天性就是拿自己与比自己社会地位高的人相比。研究表明，比起朋友，比起实际的赚钱，人们更关心如何变得富有。当你多想想生活的美好，多与比自己生活困难的人相比时，你就会发现让你郁闷的问题并不那么严重。5. Change of scenery - One of the best ways to change the way you feel is to change your environment. When you get in a slump, you start to associate your problems with everything around you. It can get to the point where your environment is a constant reminder of your problems. This can be a dangerous cycle. The solution is to change things. Change doesn’t have to be radical. Cleaning up, adding more lights, or including pleasant decorations can completely change the mood of a room.
5.改变周围的环境——改变心境的最好方法是改变周围的环境。当你意志消沉时，你就会把自己的问题与周围的环境联系起来。很有可能，你周围的环境会时时提醒你，自己很失败。这有可能成为一个恶性循环。解决的办法是改变。改变不必是革命性的改变。清理卫生、多些灯光，或者添置小摆设都可以改变整个房间的氛围。10. Do something to help yourself - Above all, the best way to stop feeling depressed is to take action. What is your biggest problem? How can you alleviate it? Once you decide to stop moping and start moving forward you won’t have time to feel depressed. Action will occupy your mind and give you something to look forward to. Once you get some results, you’ll build momentum and positive thinking will keep getting easier.
10.帮助自己——最后，摆脱闷闷不乐的最佳方式是采取行动。你最大的问题是什么？怎样才能减轻痛苦？一旦你停止郁闷并开始向前看，你就不会觉得那么痛苦了。行动会占据你的思想，会让你向未来着眼。一旦你取得了什么成果，你就会得到动力，积极地态度也会让你更轻松的前进。
6. Break your routine - Going through the same routine, day after day, can be monotonous and depressing. It often leads to getting caught in a rut. To get out of it you need to temporarily change your routine. If you can, take a day off from work. Do something you don’t normally have time for or something you’ve never tried. In the long run, taking a day off every now and then to get out of slump will make you happier and more productive.6.打破旧有惯例——整日遵循同样的生活习惯，会让你陷入单调和消沉的状态。这也常常导致人们陷入旧有惯例不可自拔。为了改变，你得时不时的临时改变生活习惯。如果可能，休息一天不要工作。做一些你平时没时间做的事情，或者做一些你从未尝试过的事情。从长远讲，时不时的休息和调整会让你摆脱闷闷不乐并能使你的工作更有效率。7. Interact with animals and nature - It’s funny when you consider how humans put so much importance on their own tiny problems. Animals don’t think this way. A little bird doesn’t mope around because it isn’t an eagle or because another bird beat it to a tasty seed. Animals live in the present moment and they show love unconditionally. Observing and interacting with them will help you get over your problems.
7.与动物和自然交流——当你想到人类把自身的小问题看得多么严重时，你可能会会心一笑。动物可不那么想。小鸟不会因为自己不是雄鹰，或是因为别的小鸟发现了美食而闷闷不乐。动物们都活在当下，并且无条件的表现出对生活的爱。观察它们并与它们交流会帮助你解决自己的问题。8. Get moving - As Johnny Cash famously suggested, “Get a rhythm, when you get the blues.” Moving to a beat makes everyone feel better. The same is true for movement in general. Hitting the gym or going for a walk will help you shed the lethargy that comes with feeling depressed. The more enthusiastic your moments, the better you will start to feel.
8.动起来——Junny Cash曾有句名言：“情绪不好时，就开始跟上节奏吧。”舞动起来，的确让所有人感觉良好。同样，别的运动也是这样。健身、散步都会驱散走郁闷带来的死气沉沉。你拥有越多热情的时刻，你就越能感到高兴。9. Think about the big picture - As Carl Sagan made evident with the Pale Blue Dot, we’re insignificant creatures living in a vast universe on a tiny planet. In the long run, everything we do will probably be forgotten. Some might find this depressing, but it shouldn’t be. It means that all our problems are illusory. In a million years no one will remember what you did or didn’t do. What matters is the present moment and enjoying every second of life that we’re blessed with.
9.从大角度想想——Carl Sagan曾用《黯淡蓝点》（译者注：卡尔萨根，生前为美国康奈尔大学教授，《Pale Blue Dot》是其著作。）作以证明，我们都是生活在巨大宇宙里一个小小的星球上的渺小的生物。从长远讲，任何事情都会被遗忘。有些人对此感到郁闷，但实在没有必要这样。遗忘意味着我们所面临的问题都不那么绝对。一百万年后，没人会记得你做过什么或者没做什么。重要的是当下，好好珍惜和享受我们活着的每一分钟吧。