There are times when we wish to run away and leave behind our worries, especially when our days don’t play out as we expect them to. The moment we experience a sad event at the beginning of our day, it is difficult to foresee an optimistic end. Our mood is stained with apprehension, concern, and distress. Our hearts sink into a pile of anguish, and as our day carries on, our problems feel like snowballs, growing and then consuming everything around us until we finally feel that there is no way out. Instead, a dead end awaits us. However, it is important to overcome this barrier and find our way out of the blind alley.

Under enormous stress, sorrow, or anger, our first instinct is to escape, which is similar to the physiological fight-or-flight response. However, this is not a healthy approach for whatever our problem is. Though it is crucial to elude certain dilemmas, the first step is to overcome the issue rather than to avoid it because fighting it head-on is better than fleeing. In fact, engaging in distractions only represses emotions.

Whether it is anger or sadness, one must deal with the root cause of a situation or otherwise swallow up his or her feelings. When an individual seeks a solution, it involves contemplating the issue at hand, and therefore, venting his or her emotions rather than keeping them bottled up. Like too much oxygen in a balloon, it will pop without ventilation.

Hence, finding a solution, as difficult as it may be, is a crucial step in gaining a clear and peaceful mind.

There are various ways to tackle issues head-on. For instance, we can place our trust in a friend or a family member to talk about our problem and to listen and discuss the conflict together—their added perspectives can help us come up with a solution that we may not have considered before. Even if the discussion does not result in a solution, it can relieve stress and anxiety by talking about it with someone else.

Another method is creating a step-by-step to-do list as a way to approach and remedy our concerns. Planning out a day can actually ease hardships because spontaneity can cause stress, which can turn a great day into a horrible one. We could have a difficult exam or a job interview to prepare for, but instead, we worry it is too challenging, and we procrastinate. Of course, the anxiety still exists because it’s only hidden temporarily until we do poorly on our exam or interview. Then stress accumulates and the cycle begins again.

Undoubtedly, the procrastination approach is unproductive. Instead, writing a goal-oriented plan to study and prepare in the future is a solution. Whatever the issue at hand, thinking and planning ahead by coming up with a list of what to address, how to address it, and how much time the tasks require helps one feel responsible and calm.

Finally, keeping a journal to write down and describe our issues and emotions is an effective means to not only clear our minds but to improve our moods. We can even take it a step further and write stories using characters who deal with the same problems. In reality, the art of storytelling can help us confront our issues with less anxiety. After all, the world is our own creation and imagination; there is nothing to fear. In fact, any artistic project could benefit us. Whether it is making music, singing, drawing, or painting our problem, creative expression can help vent our emotions and return our mood to its glorious state.

Responding to the situation and reversing our anxious mood creates a sense of accomplishment.

Once our mind has addressed the dilemma, healing through self-comfort is the next step. Comfort food, for example, helps diminish emotional stress. In fact, some food even offers a sense of nostalgia, taking us to a time when we were content. This can be particularly effective if there is one meal linked to a lot of happy memories. Eating the meal may trigger those memories once again and lighten our mood.

Similarly, engaging in enjoyable activities may ease our mental state. One method is to interact with furry animals. For example, cats and dogs are known to be therapeutic; they relieve our loneliness and support us with unconditional love. Ultimately, their behavior enhances our self-esteem.

Finally, our last step is to free our mind from the issue altogether and to escape the dead end appropriately. Utilizing entertainment and music is the most common method. Comedies, in particular, which can be in the form of movies or even jokes, are an effective way to incite laughs and elevate our mood. In fact, anything that evokes laughter is a good source. Of course, books are no exception either. They can be even more effective than films as stories force people to concentrate mentally on the plot. As a result, our minds focus on what we’re reading instead of wandering and becoming consumed with thoughts of worry or concern.

Perhaps one of the best and healthiest forms of healing for the mind and body is exercise. Research shows that working out relieves stress and increases the release of serotonin, a chemical heavily linked to happiness. A run or a walk amidst nature will not only clear our mind but also help us think better. This is because our heart pumps quicker, and, therefore, pumps blood into muscles and organs, including the brain. Consequently, it frees our mind in order to think clearly. We could then use our “freed minds” to examine the issue closely another time. Moreover, the number of endorphins, or mental painkillers, also increases, which naturally improves our mood.

However, there are times when one day of bad luck can result in ongoing pain and hardship until finally, depression hits us hard.

Often, quick solutions such as these cannot begin to clear feelings of despair and gloom, though they may go a long way to do so. In this case, it is best to find professional help, but one of the best strategies to use at a time like this is self-reflection.

Depression surfaces for various reasons, one of which stems from a loss of meaning in life. We struggle to find purpose or become disillusioned under a nihilistic universe, and we’re unable to see the “light” in life again. To put the concept into perspective, as children, we look up to our years ahead with anticipation and excitement—dreaming of our ideal future life and career and making goals to achieve them. We dream because this provides us with meaning, and our lives are purposeful to us since we have goals to fulfill. Ultimately, we look forward to the wonders that will come of them.

That said, depression often arises when we have lost our will or dream or when there are no goals in sight. At this time, we should reflect and re-examine our lives. We can ask ourselves various questions: What motivates us? What are our passions? This will perhaps lead us to find something we like to do or wish to achieve. It may provide us with a purpose, dream, goal, or plan again, and we’ll eventually regain our meaning.

We all have bad days and deal with challenging circumstances. When problems and worries accumulate into a great mountain, they become major obstacles. However, our instinct to escape in such circumstances is purposeless. Instead, the process of finding our way out and improving our outlook is to address the problem, engage in self-care, and then withdraw. If bad days eventually turn into depression, we can search for our own meaning in order to ease the pain. Ultimately, we have the power to turn grave circumstances into positive outcomes.