Everyone has down days when they think the world is cruel and unkind. Maybe they’ve had a death in the family, lost a job, or didn’t get up on the right side of the bed. Being a friend means that you’re there in all seasons of someone’s life, both good and bad. You have the power to help them feel better by doing one of these acts of kindness.
Twenty Kind Ways to Make Someone Feel Better
What can you do to help someone who is down and out? If you’re like most people, you get to a point where you don’t know what to do or say to make things better. Here is a list of twenty things that can help you cheer others up.
1. Send Flowers
Flowers prove the beauty in this world, even when a person may not feel like it. Sending a lovely bouquet of their favorite bloom can mean the world. Contrary to stereotypes, many men love flowers, though you may need to change things up slightly to suit their preferences.
2. Buy Someone Food to Feel Better
The best way to help a person is by feeding them. Comfort foods are certainly warranted when you’re feeling blue. You can bring them something hardy, especially if they don’t feel like cooking.
No one will turn down any chocolate dessert, mac-and-cheese, or mashed potatoes. Comfort foods are the best.
3. Allow Them to Vent
Sometimes people don’t need your money, gifts, or acts of kindness. However, they want someone to listen to them. Life is rough, and when those bad days come, you need someone who truly cares and will hear you.
Don’t offer them unsolicited advice; listen to their struggles and be there for them.
4. Give Them a Hug to Help Them Feel Better
Have you ever felt down and out, and a hug just made your day better? If you want your friend to feel better, then wrap your arms around them. Did you know that a hug can be a powerful healing tool?
According to an article on the National Library of Medicine, giving a hug to someone not only bonds you but it releases a powerful surge of oxytocin into your bloodstream. Oxytocin is one of the vital hormones that helps your mood. Someone who needs to cheer up could use a hug.
5. Offer To Do Something Nice
Doing something nice for someone for no other reason than love and kindness can help them be more cheerful. If they’re having a hard time, doing something like picking up their kid from school, doing their grocery shopping, or cleaning their house is beneficial.
6. Compliment Them, Sincere Admiration Will Help Them Feel Better
When you don’t feel good, you often feel down and out. However, people need to know that there’s so much good in them regardless of their state in life. Tell them all the reasons why you like them and let them know how special they are to those around them.
7. Encourage Them
You can send encouragement in many ways. Some people like getting a card, and it’s even more special to get it in the mail. Others prefer fresh-baked cookies left on their doorstep or some other kind gesture.
You can give them a story of someone who has overcome a very similar situation to read. Get creative and find something that will inspire and help. Everyone needs inspiration at specific points in their life’s journey.
8. Send an Inspirational Podcast
Ted Talks are amazing and so motivational. You will be captivated when you listen to the stories of these people and what they’ve survived.
Some of the struggles of these speakers make your troubles seem so trivial. Find a great story that fits their season of life and send it to your friend.
9. Make Them a Soundtrack of Soothing Sounds to Make Them Feel Better
Put together some tunes of their favorite songs and send out an old-fashioned CD mix to them. If you have a CD burner, you can do this on your computer or send them through an online file. You can give them the gift of encouragement through music, which is known to calm even the most savage beast. If you don’t have a way to burn a CD, pay for an affordable music subscription service.
10. They Need to Feel Better Faster? Help Them Create a “Gratitude Sandwich”
You may not understand the term to make a gratitude sandwich, but it’s essential to learn how to process the bad things. For instance, you name a good thing that’s happened, but the bad thing in the middle, and finish it off with another good thing. It’s a way to alter your reality so that people focus more on the positive than the negative.
11. Take Them to Their Favorite Place
Everyone has a spot or a place that brings them joy. Maybe it’s a bench beside a lake in your town, or it could be a restaurant. Take them to their spot to help cheer them up when they feel down.
12. Take Them to Happy Hour
There’s nothing wrong with happy hour. Sometimes alcohol is a great way to make someone feel better. Just make sure your friend can use it in moderation. Additionally, you don’t have to drink to go to the bar, as they have fantastic prices on food too.
13. Quote Positive Affirmations Over Them
If your friend is going through a rough time, you can quote positive affirmations over them. These little positive phrases can pick them up and give them the strength to keep going. Say things like:
- “You will get through this dark time.”
- “You’re strong, and nothing can keep you down.”
- “You will rise above your storm and be a victor.”
14. Show Empathy, Not Sympathy
It’s easy to confuse empathy and sympathy, but when you empathize with someone, you feel the pain as your own. No one needs someone to sympathize with and tell them all the right things; they want someone to understand and share their feelings on a deeper level.
15. Help Them Get Some Rest
Rest is a great way to shut off your mind and not think, and many people use sleep as a coping mechanism. Help your friend in any way so that your friend can get rest. This may mean watching their kids, taking care of errands, and doing things to ensure they have space and time just to shut down their minds.
16. Bring Out the Boardgames
Nothing brings on a smile quicker than an old-fashioned board game. Sometimes it’s nice to put down the cell phones and bring out the old-school games. They can bring out your competitive side and give your friend something else to focus on rather than their struggles.
17. Go for a Drive with Some Great Tunes That Will Help Feel Better
Music is a powerful motivator. If you add some great tunes to a car with the windows down, you’ve got a fantastic therapy session.
Why is it that driving, listening to songs, and the fresh air hitting you in the face seems to resolve so many issues? A good old road trip with a change of scenery may be just what the doctor ordered.
18. Take a Walk Around the Block
Walking is good exercise, and according to the National Library of Medicine, walking is another way to boost your oxytocin levels. A quick 20-minute walk around the block can work wonders for everyone involved.
19. Hit the Mall, Even if It’s Just Window Shopping
Why not have a little retail therapy? Something is terrific about going to the mall that seems to make you feel better. It’s hard to be upset when you’re filling your bags with goodies you can’t live without.
If you don’t have the extra funds, window shopping is excellent too. Some people like to go to the mall just to people watch, which can be pretty adventurous. It’s really all about just enjoying your company.
20. Try Acupuncture to Feel Better
If your friend is up for doing things outside the box, you can take them to an acupuncture session. When you’re upset, your hormones get all out of whack, which only makes the situation worse. Thankfully, you can help take care of your moods naturally without using harmful substances.
According to Acupuncture Massage College, this ancient art is known to help with mood swings, headaches, sleeping difficulties, and concentration issues. Who knows, maybe the answer to making your friend feel better is doing something radical.
Final Thoughts on Making Someone Feel Better on a Bad Day
Did you know that the average person has around sixty bad days per year? This is from a study published in Bustle. However, your bad days can be significantly influenced by circumstances. When you see your friends or loved one’s suffering, you often feel very helpless and don’t know what to do.
The best thing you can do is be there for them and empathize with their situations. However, sometimes getting them out and about will do wonders for their mood and lift their spirits. Those around you can feel better by your kindness and a smile of encouragement.
Remember that one day it will be your turn for encouragement, and the kindness you show to others will come back to you.
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