Test: What’s your personal mood booster?

When your stress levels go up, your mood takes a dip. You may initially feel energised when your diary is full, you’re in the middle of a crisis or facing a big deadline, but long-term pressure can have a drip-by-drip effect on your emotional resilience. Your mood is especially vulnerable if you tend to respond to stress by overthinking.

It feels useful at first then after a while you may find yourself craving distraction to give your mind a break from rumination. But sometimes the solution can become part of the problem if the distraction you choose adds to your stress levels, like too much time on your phone or mindless eating. Instead, prioritise time for what will really soothe your nervous system – for some, it’s a creative project, for others, exercise, breathwork, yoga or meditation techniques make the most difference.

Think of it as emptying a cup that’s being filled drip by drip – you might not be able to stop the drips, but you can stop your cup overspilling. When things feel overwhelming, allowing regular moments to simply pause and acknowledge how you’re feeling can also give you an instant uplift. In the longer time, building moments of calm into your day has an accumulative effect, topping up your emotional energy tank and protecting your mood in the process.