Feeling a bit down tonight. How do you guys like to lighten up?
Physical exercise to the point of exhaustion then eat and then have a 2hr hot bath. It doesn’t solve the problem that made me sad but it “restores” me to a point where I can address the problems.
Completely stop for 2 minutes.
Listen to music.
Walk.
Also it helps me to go into the sadness. Like basically accept that I’m sad and that this is what I’ll experience for a while. It’s the rejection of it that makes it unbearable. And then I can listen to it and process and that’ll speed things up.
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast :)
Make something. Doesn’t matter what. Write something, draw something, bake something, make noises with an instrument (even if you don’t know how to play it), sculpt some clay, cut some wood, anything. Play Minecraft even.
And don’t feel like you’re forcing yourself to do something, just give yourself a way to physically express how you’re feeling. You don’t have create something useful, you don’t have to show what you made to anyone, it’s about the process and it’s just for you.
I honestly believe humans have evolved an innate drive to create things, to see the physical world around them respond to their actions, even if they’re pointless. And I believe that when you don’t do this you will feel like something is missing.
Happy cartoons!
I’m sure you’ve heard of Bluey by now. Its so good, wholesome, and heartfelt. Everyone’s watching, regardless of age.
Here’s one of my favorites for happy feels: Kipper the Dog
Its a Pre-K show that’s just super chill and pleasant. Feels like a warm blanket and cocoa. This one is definitely more for children, but its ok to indulge your inner child and tell it that things are okay.For a more sophisticated palette, Hilda is the most criminally underrated animated mainstream cartoon in recent memory… that somehow got a full run regardless!
Three seasons and a movie on Netflix. Its beautiful and kid appropriate but definitely for all ages, and pretty damn serious a lot of the time. But its still rather uplifting in how a lot of things aren’t problems, because Hilda is so spirited and determined in a way you can truly believe in.My little Pony, new and old, really does the trick for me, but its not for everyone, of course. Pound Puppies and A Pup Named Scooby Doo also hit that vibe, though of the old shows mentioned, its probably the best written. (Never got into Care Bears, but it could probably work too, if you’re looking for Sunshine and Rainbows)
I raise to you: Ladybug.
Pet my cats and listen to cheerful song
Pizza, followed by dessert.
Maybe I’ll order myself a pizza tomorrow to celebrate the weekend :)
Pizza Friday is the best friday
I vape a load of weed put my headphones on and have a Trance Party
Getting some sleep (sober). I’ve learned that the world seems harsher when I’m tired. After a night or two of good sleep, things feel less of an issue.
I just remember that everything is going to die with the heat death of the universe and I feel at peace.
Meditation is the best for me. Not striving to get out of the “down” state, but just being there, present, watching it, feeling it, being with it. You know that sooner or later it’ll go. Just as being cheerful also goes. Arts are also wonderful. For me it’s music. For some people painting or writing. Those are ways in which you can connect with your feelings and discover some really neat things when you can really connect. You channel your complex emotions into creativity. I personally think that playing a videogame or having a distraction can some very specific times get you out of a mood, but most of the time it will just be avoidance of something that is happening within you. We are so used in avoiding ourselves. Be it a videogame, TV, a reel, a joint, a beer, a chat, whatever. For me there are few things better than what happens when you manage to overcome the boredom, fear, anxiety or whatever keeps you away from being just where you are and decide to just stay there and look at it with eyes wide open. Something opens. It’s probably not fireworks nor spiritual epiphany, but a subtle thing that has the taste of real. And that real is oh so liberating.
I put googly eyes on things.
One time,
at band campin college, for April Fool’s, someone placed a Ton of sheets of adhesive googly eyes on the bulletin boards around campus.They didn’t stick them on anything, they just made a bunch of little slips of eyes available and let the magic happen.
Rewatching Parks & Rec episodes always cheers me up.
Binge info. I look up whatever random question was bugging me earlier that day/week/month, and try and read everything even tangentially related. By the end I’m distracted enough I forgot about being sad.
Not a solution though. On the upside, I got to learn a bit more.
I feel like a piece of shit who’s worthless and just makes life worse for everyone around me.
Can somebody please help me to feel better? :'(
When I feel like that, it tends to be projection. I’m making myself sad and making my own life more difficult, not anyone else’s. I don’t know if that helps helps, but you probably don’t need much guilt about it.
Thank you. That actually does help. :)
Play this and get back to me on your fearsona. Mine is a little whippet.
Well shit. That hit deep.
Thank you.
I just played the whole thing…
…I’m gonna be honest. That was hard. But…it helped.
…I thank you. :)
Edit: By the way, mine is a common housecat, but one with grungy hair and a scaredy-cat disposition. ;)
Do remember- it really is trying to help. Negative self talk really is a useful social animal trait that’s just going a bit haywire, so figure out what its trying to do and be nice to it.
Also, pain can be experienced first as emotional distress, especially if its pain you’ve lived with for a long time, and its just hurting extra bad.
Sometimes its easier to do self-care when you picture it as outside of yourself.
So when you’re really feeling like shit, try acknowledging its concerns, rational or irrational, and then tell your little red cat its doing a good job and its safe to take a nap.It isn’t a magic fix, but its an actual process to go through. And that feels better than just stewing.
That makes a lot of sense. I never considered personification of anxiety as a therapeutic tool.
Thank you. :)
P.S. By the way, that really was a well-done game, clearly made with attention and love. Very good. :)
You are with yourself 100% of the time. You can be a friend to yourself and try to help yourself out or you can kick the crap out of yourself which will not solve anything and in addition will make you miserable. What’s done is done, and you’ve clearly thought a lot about it and found your behavior unacceptable in those instances. You can incorporate those lessons and become a wiser person or you can punish yourself endlessly for your mistakes and get nothing. You aren’t good or bad, you are capable of doing good or doing bad.
Caffeine, and spend money.