What is low mood?
Low mood can happen to anyone, in fact it is very normal to feel low in mood from time to time. Having allergies sometimes makes children and young people feel low in mood more than normal.
Everyone reacts differently to feeling sad, upset or angry.
Children and young people have said low mood can be:
- Often feeling sad, upset and down
- Feeling irritated very easily
- Not wanting to do things you normally enjoy
- Not going out with friends
. - Feeling more tired or finding it hard to sleep
- Eating more or not wanting to eat as much as normal
- Finding it hard to concentrate at school or at home
- Feeling angry
If you feel low in mood, it is important to talk to someone you can trust about how you are feeling. This can be a parent, brother or sister, teacher or friend.
Feeling angry
Low mood can also feel like anger. Sometimes anger can affect what you say or do before you even recognise you’re feeling angry.
The first step to managing anger is learning to recognise your personal warning signs that help you know that you are feeling angry.
Some of these warning signs might start when you are only a little irritated, and others might start when you are very angry. Circle the following warning signs that you think happen to you.
You may choose to share your warning signs with parents and caregivers, or others in your home. They can help you notice these warning signs when they happen. Once we know our warning signs and know when we are experiencing them, we can try to help ourselves feel better.
| Mind goes blank | Say nasty things | Face turns red |
| Body or hands shake | Feel sweaty | Throw things |
| Scream and shout | Stare at others angrily | Have an angry face |
| Punch walls | Clench your fists | Start to feel sick |
| Want to argue | Feel hot | Crying |
| Walk around the room | Go quiet | Can’t stop thinking about the problem |
| Breathing feels fast or heavy | Get headaches | Feel easily annoyed |
The link between allergies and low mood
Children and young people with allergies can feel low in mood sometimes. This can be for a number of reasons, like getting used to having allergies, feeling like you can’t go out with friends or go to friends’ houses for parties, and feeling different from your friends.
Ways to manage low mood
Children and young people have told us that the following things can be helpful to boost and lift your mood:
- Gratitude journal
- About Me worksheet
- Positive thinking journal
- Setting goals
When these are practiced and used more, they will change your thoughts, feelings and behaviour, and boost your mood.
Gratitude journal
Keeping a journal of all positive things that have happened during your day can help.
Try to write at least three positive things a day. They do not have to be big things, they can be small and simple things that have made your day better. These could be things like having a nice lunch or playing an enjoyable game with your friend.
| Monday |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| Tuesday |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| Wednesday |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| Thursday |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| Friday |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| Saturday |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| Sunday |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| Highlights of the week |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
About me
Children and young people tell us that when they feel sad or upset, it is good remind ourselves about happy things in our lives and how well we are doing. This can be done by using the ‘About Me’ sentence worksheet. You can do this as often as you like, or whenever you feel down.
- I was really happy when…
- Something my friends like about me is…
- I’m proud of…
- My family was happy when I…
- In school, I’m good at…
- Something that makes me unique is…
Positive thinking journal
Keeping a positive thinking journal can help in the same way a gratitude journal can. It helps us to think about all the positive things that can happen each day.
| Monday | Something I did well today… | |
| Today I had fun when… | ||
| I felt proud when… | ||
| Tuesday | Today I accomplished… | |
| I had a positive experience with… | ||
| Something I did for someone… | ||
| Wednesday | I felt good about myself when… | |
| I was proud of someone else… | ||
| Today was interesting because… |
Positive self-talk
Sometimes it helps to remind yourself of your strengths and what helps you to cope with feeling low. You could write these on a piece of paper and keep it in your pocket, to look at when you are feeling down.
These are really personal things, so it might help to talk to a friend, member of your family or teacher to try and work out what your positive self-talk could be.
Some children and young people have used statements like:
‘It’s okay to have bad days, but today is going to be better…’
‘I’m going to look out for the positives today…’
‘I won’t always feel like this, the feelings will pass…’
Setting goals
Setting goals is a good way to keep focused and think positively about the future. Children and young people say it feels really good to have something to work towards and you feel happy when you achieve your goals.
Your goals do not have to be anything big, but small steps that you want to achieve. You can set daily, weekly or monthly goals.
Here is an example of setting weekly goals and recording what you do each day to help achieve it:
This week, my goal is to:
Read a chapter of my new book every night before bed to help me unwind.
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 8pm read chapter 1 | 8pm read chapter 2 | 8pm read chapter 3 | 8pm read chapter 4 | 8:30pm read chapter 5 | 8:30pm read chapter 6 | 8pm read chapter 7 |
This week, my goal is to:
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
This week, my goal is to:
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
This week, my goal is to:
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
