The need to cheer up
So I am feeling rather low today. It’s icy cold outside (9 degrees Fahrenheit at night, which means most of my garden plants will probably die). And I was told today that two people I work with are seriously ill: One may need heart surgery, and the other is in hospital suffering from depression.
Now I need to cheer myself up somehow. I can deal with the plants (including getting new ones) when spring arrives; and I can try to be helpful towards my colleagues when the time comes. But there’s no point in wallowing in misery at present.
What do you do to cheer yourselves up? Sweets and a lot of light are obvious answers. Physical exertion is also good, but difficult to achieve when your cheeks freeze off as soon as you leave the door. But at least I’ll be seeing some friends tonight and am looking forward to this very much.
What do you do when you feel low?
– Rike Horstmann
Read, read, read. This month has been stressful for us as well, and I am amazed at how less the laundry is getting done and how many books I have read. I am working my way through your favorite books list because I really really enjoyed Grand Sophy. Wish I had her knack for solving everyone’s problems. I am also cheering myself up by trying to find some of your older selections at used book stores….it is an amazing challenge!
There is always the thought of purchasing a sun lamp ;)
I read my comfort books, talk to my good friends, and eat food I really like. I think Leigh’s advice to pamper yourself is a great one. Also, say a prayer for your sick friends and most important: DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE. That’s what psychologists have found helps people the most when they are suffering from PTSD. It gets those endorphins moving and helps us feel that we are not helpless. It is especially powerful for kids who have been victimized (for example, in the New Orleans flood).
I second Maggie’s reply. Having had a difficult 2011, I can’t tell you how much encouragement or just thinking of you cards and e-mails meant. Like she said you do something and you also make the person feel better –
Pamper yourself. Eat dinner on your special dishes. Cook a favorite meal. Pull out the good wine – get a manicure, or take a bubble bath. Just treat yourself special.
Listen to some music that you haven’t listened to for awhile.
I drive in my car on back roads, blast songs I love, and sing along at the top of my lungs.
I also post my feelings on Facebook–I’m amazed at how warm and loving my community there is.
Chocolate. Friends. Books. Bubble bath. Movie. Quiet.
Sometimes being proactive and reaching out is the best thing. Cards, phone calls, meals are all wonderful ways to show your friends you care. I’ve found that doing those things makes me feel like I am doing *something*, even if that something is signing a sentiment penned by Hallmark. Visits when people are in the hospital really make a difference.It can help everyone -visitor, patient, patients family – refocus some energy into the positive. Take a book of jokes or funny stories or cartoons with you. A friend of mine has a folder of things that make her laugh which she pulls out on extra tough days.
Or watch a DVD of your favorite comedies. Laughter really is the best medicine.
Friends and beer. Just kidding (not really ). Sometimes, you just can’t get out of a blue mood because circumstances are really that serious and concern and worry just naturally follow. But if you’re not in a position to physically be of help to someone, then you need to tell yourself that more worrying is just wasting your present energy and bringing nothing to the other person.
So, maybe you say a prayer for that person and then decide when you next speak with them, to find out how you can help. Accepting the fact that you are sad is really a good thing, I think. Why do we always have to force ourselves to be happy, especially when you’re confronting some tough stuff? But you can try to get peaceful. Count your blessings, then get into some physical work in which you can work out your frustrations: cleaning a bathroom, or some such kind of thing. Amazing how that can help, but it does work for me. Maybe it’s a control thing. I may not be able to control all situations, but cleaning a room I can.