It’s been nearly three months since COVID-19 has largely wreaked havoc here in the US and much of the globe. And many people have found themselves seemingly caught in a downward spiral that has no apparent way out. These times and these current challenges have brought change unlike anything expected or anticipated. While the current view and forecast for many appear overwhelming, the human spirit is resilient, and we have a very stout and extensive history of overcoming. This means we have hope and a great deal of control if we do not surrender it.

A downward spiral is defined as when we find ourselves slipping into a lower mood and our mental health feels as though it is in a decline. It is a slippery slope and often hard to handle as we may not really understand the situation. This drop in mental health drains our intellectual functions and heightens the effect of hopelessness, frustration, and irritation. In this state, our thinking is less reliable, and we do and say things we normally would not in a higher mood state. It’s been proven that we actually lose points of both IQ (intelligence quotient), a measure of a person's reasoning ability and EQ (emotional intelligence), the ability to understand, use, and manage ones’ own emotions in positive ways to mitigate stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.

The rapid changes our globe has experienced in the recent three months has triggered many to feel out of control and stressed, further compounded with being isolated (quarantined) for this extended period of time.

The first step to slowing, stopping, and altering course of the downward spiral is to identify the causes that change our mood negatively. Understanding the signs that things are not going well requires self-awareness and listening to how different situations make us feel. Sometimes these cannot necessarily be avoided, however, bringing awareness will allow us to adjust and positively change our course.

Several years ago, Dr. Larry Senn created the “Mood Elevator”. In this simple yet profound tool, we can quickly gauge where we are on the mood elevator and change our mood.

The GREAT NEWS is we have abundant control over our mood by our thinking, our thoughts. Our thoughts create emotions which create actions which create results.

Here are some actions to take now to stop the downward spiral, move to the positive side of the mood elevator, and remain there!

1.     Be mindful of your feelings, your state of mind, and the root causes of the negative feelings. Make a conscience and honest effort to account of where you are on the mood elevator. Stop negative and unhealthy thoughts from becoming an emotion.

2.     Be responsible for you. Being of sound mind is a combination of proper care, nourish, application, and continued growth in mind, body, soul, emotion, and spirit.

3.     Realize your thoughts may be unreliable in the downward spiral. Delay making key decisions, create space, and move up the mood elevator. If you must act immediately, use caution and do not exaggerate. Seek council of others to confirm a sound decision.

4.     Change your viewpoint through gratitude, creativity, hope, and humor. Adding a daily gratitude practice is a powerful mood acceleration. It has been said that discontent cannot exist in a grateful heart. The top end of the mood elevator provides perspective and clear vision for optimal handling of challenges and complexity.

5.     Be self-aware and attentive to your influence. Moods are infectious. The culture and mood of a family, team, and organization, is most greatly influenced by the influence of their leader.  

Where do you find yourself on the mood elevator?

Are you in a downward spiral?

What can you do TODAY to alter your downward spiral and positively change our outcome?

“You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it.” – Paulo Coelho

Get out of the river (the downward spiral) now, it is within our control!

Never give up and Get Creative!