We have all felt down or upset about something at one point or another in our lives. The key to dealing with moments like these, is to be positive. There are many ways you can distract yourself from increasing depression or the sense of being sad in your life. If you play sports, then that’s a good start. Doing sports distracts you from a lot of negative things and it also adds exercise to your life.

Talking to a professional psychologist is great too. Some people may feel uncomfortable to talk to a therapist, so some solutions to this would be writing in your journal. Socializing with people is the best thing to do while being down in the blues. Another way to stay positive is to find the optimistic viewpoint in a negative situation. If you are in a negative situation, maybe you have been lazy, made a mistake, failed a test, etc. Ask yourself, “What is one thing that is positive or good about this situation?”

The Clarion interviewed Mrs. DiGeronimo to see how she likes to stay positive.

The Clarion: So how do you like to stay positive?

Mrs. DiGeronimo: I make a real effort to have a sense of gratitude. I stop myself and think about how lucky I am to have things in life and to have a deep sense of gratitude.

The Clarion: What was a moment in your life that was negative?

Mrs. DiGeronimo: Like everybody, I have had very difficult challenges in my life, and sometimes it’s very hard to be grateful when life stinks.

The Clarion: How did you face these challenges?

Mrs. DiGeronimo: Good question, I had to remind myself to be kind to myself. If I was going to beat up myself then what hope was there for better days? For getting out of this? There are times we have to be kind to ourselves.

The Clarion: What can you tell others?

Mrs DiGeronimo: Attitude can be a habit…you can train your mind to always look at the negative and that can become contagious. If your hanging out with people that are negative and always looking at the negative side, they’re influencing you to feel that way. It’s mindfulness to make yourself stop. You can stop it. Replace negative thoughts with a word of gratitude. Are you going to go negative all day long or positive? Stop and replace. Stop and replace. You can develop this habit and become a more positive person.