By Deborah Gilbert
News and Information Services
Tired of feeling gloomy or grim? You have company. On average, most of us spend about three days out of every 10 trying to shake off a bad mood, according to a U-M study.
But how we attempt to raise our spirits varies dramatically. “There are about 14 different strategies we use to counter our bad moods,” says Randy J. Larsen, associate professor of psychology. “Some of them—such as taking action to solve a problem or consoling ourselves by remembering past successes—are quite effective while others—like screaming and complaining—make us feel worse. The strategies we choose depend to some extent on our personalities.”
Larsen, who presented his research Aug. 21 at the American Psychological Association meeting in Toronto, studies mood prevalence, intensity and regulation. His current study involved 55 college students who recorded their moods twice a day for four weeks. They also checked off which of the 14 strategies they used to alleviate their bad moods, and reported on their moods before, during and after they implemented the strategy. The data included a total of 3,003 mood reports.
“By noting their moods before, during and after the mood repair effort, we could chart how effective each strategy was,” Larsen said.
The most frequently used strategy was distraction—such as watching television or reading a magazine. “But unfortunately, distraction, while the path of least resistance, has little effect on mood.”
The next most frequently used strategy was taking action to solve the problem causing the bad mood. “Direct action, on the other hand, does elevate mood greatly and, better yet, may solve the problem that is giving you grief.”
Resolving to try harder the next time was as effective as taking direct action, Larsen added. “I suspect the situation determined which one they used. If students had some control over a situation, they might use direct action. When they didn’t, they contented themselves by resolving to do better in the future. Both strategies elevated moods.”
Another effective strategy students used to cheer themselves up, he discovered, was to remind themselves of successes in the past. The moods of students who used this approach soared to the top of the chart.
“But despite its efficacy, students used that strategy least often of all the 14 strategies. It is implausible that only a few had past successes to remember, so it seems that they just haven’t learned the technique.”
Another very successful strategy was self-reward. “Treating themselves to something special was nearly as effective as remembering past successes. But again, students rarely did this—it was the 12th most common strategy.”
Venting—yelling when they were angry or crying when they were sad—was quite common but it was one of the least effective strategies. “Students who vented started out feeling miserable but felt even worse when they were done,” Larsen said. Venting was the seventh-most common strategy used.
Licking wounds in solitude was another favored strategy—fifth most common—but it too was ineffective. “Students who went off to be by themselves felt even worse while they were alone,” Larsen said, “and not much better when they came back.”
Socializing and drowning sorrows in beer were two moderately effective strategies. “Students who did so achieved some immediate relief, but it was short term. Once they were back home, they felt as bad as before and, in the case of drinking, sometimes worse.”
Both personality and situation determined which strategies were used. “We were surprised to find that depressed students were likely to do both the highly effective and ineffective strategies. We had expected them to do only the ineffective ones, but that was not the case. They tried to solve problems and reward themselves as often as they vented and retreated into a cocoon. They did little socializing or drinking, however.”
Extroverts relied on socializing and drinking to make themselves feel better, “but they also had fewer bad moods to contend with,” Larsen added.
Students who were experiencing a great many negative events in their lives tried all the strategies and tried them often.
