How do you make yourself feel better?

[magicdanw]

I guess this is a tie-in of sorts with the crappy feelings thread. I'm just curious how other people deal with and get over the bumps in life's journey. Hopefully we can share and learn, and come out better able to face life head on.

At times, I myself get rather depressed, often over small, specific things that manage to jab my buttons with a hot metal rod. Like today, when I saw an early copy of my high school yearbook (to be distributed this week) and discovered that they printed the wrong picture of me, so I look really ugly and am not even smiling a little.

Anyway, I usually am pretty bad at dealing with the rough patches of life. Occasionally I've found that watching the lovely Amber Benson film Chance can boost my spirits, but other times I feel too distressed to sit down and watch a film, or am reluctant to watch it, preferring to wallow in self-pity. Reading can also help, but it of course depends on the material. Some books or authors just bring me lower that before.

That's my take on this. Anyone else want to share?

[Dorothy]

helping others always makes me forget the sh*t I'm dealing with myself. Even though my problems are bigger sometimes, helping a friend out still takes my mind off of them. Makes me feel like I can handle it again.

If I had a girlfriend I'd go for the snuggles instead offcourse... but I'm not that much of a lucky girl right now lol

[magicdanw]

If I had a girlfriend I'd go for the snuggles instead offcourse... but I'm not that much of a lucky girl right now lol

Preaching to the choir here Yeah, helping other people is always nice.

[StaceAngel]

Alright, this will sound kinda bad, however it will always be true. There is always someone out there doing worse than you. That's not supposed to sound all arrogant but more like, you have a lot of good things in your life and yeah theres a bump in the road, but the problem you have? Someone out there is dealing with the same glitch but they don't have the same resources, the strength or the people around them to lift them over said bump.

Once i remember that, i realise the bump isnt very big, i just have to step around it and carry on because i am heaps lucky it was THAT small.

Don't sweat the small stuff. It's ALL small stuff.


Hope that helped.



Stace xXx

[JustSkipIt]

Either I go work out or I talk to friends. I try to have a "only complain to one person" rule but I don't really enforce it. But I try to limit it because otherwise, I'm just wallowing. But my friends are fantastic and great listeners and tell me when I need to take some action too.

[Zooeys_Bridge]

I get in bed and watch [i]Stranger Than Fiction[/i[/ It works every time. Makes me feel...bigger than myself, so it's all okay.

[Psy]

Usually, when I've got my own shit to deal with and don't want to (which is always), it's about that time one or more of my friends come to me with their problems and I deal with that. Not that my friends have a lot of problems but... okay they do. Lol. As much as I hate that they're going through tough times, it is a welcomed distraction. And... yeah. Makes me feel a little bit better knowing that I can help. They're always there for me, as well. I just don't like to talk about my problems or whatever may be bothering me. *shrug* So I don't.

So, other than that, I play really loud and fun music. Usually it only takes a good song or two to make me feel better.

I've been doing this a lot lately. Lol.

[Dorothy]

yeah, singing till every window in a 5 mile range is shattered usually does the trick too

[Psy]

Yep, kinda like what I'm doing now.

At 2 o'clock in the morning.

[Guest]

...through an acknowledgement of my actual feelings without indulging in group support. Save for situations of extreme grief when it becomes vital to express outwardly the emotions coursing inside to someone truly empathetic, I think bouts of depression are best worked out alone through a gradual and honest re-appraisal of one's attitudes (whenever possible).

As JustSkipIt mentioned, the "only complain to one person" method is also pretty good as it prevents the subconscious mind from constantly mapping in the state of depression - It thus gets eroded much quicker. Doing all those things that could actually make someone happy during this particular instance becomes as important even if it includes listening to or watching morbid or depressive tracks and videos.

There had been a period when I would try and help the majority of people (acquaintances and friends included) through listening and allowing their own emotions to flow but after a while, I found that it only helped in temporarily blocking access to my own thoughts on my crappy feelings situation while sponging others' unhappy feelings. A void was necessitated thereafter so as to eject all these overpowering emotions.

I have adopted a new form of coping mechanism since the beginning of this year and it works just fine in the sense that it at least keeps me halfway happy throughout the hard period – it includes being in tune with nature such as tranquil, long walks in green areas coupled with meditative music. I have always liked the two so it's quite a pleasure.

Hmm...I haven't as yet tried the singing out loud but it does sound cool Jayce and Dorothy ^^

[Leaf]

For me, nothing but nothing beats the magic of laughing at myself. Frequently. And loudly. It is the single most useful skill I have learned in my adult life.

And if that ever fails, I currently have 2 favorite backup plans in my arsenal. The first is to go to Prospect Park during off-leash hours and spend a few minutes watching 50-80 dogs running around and playing in an explosion of canine enthusiasm. And the other is a Pixar short film called Boundin' that is like 41/2 minutes of pure joy. The sheep freaking tap dances. What more could you want?

[Paint the Sky]

I usually sit in a dark room and listen to singers like Leonard Cohen, after a while I usually feel better. I know I'm feeling really bad if I can make it through Bird on a Wire without forwarding to the next track.

Another method is beer, pizza and a double bill of Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club.

[masterjendu]

I have a punching bag. Unfortunately I just broke it, but before that it was very useful!

[Foomatic]

I cuddle with my dog. When he falls asleep, he looks adorable. When he starts dreaming, his legs twitch and he barks. That usually amuses me so much that I forget what I was upset about in the first place. And it's quite relaxing.

I feel ya on the punching bag, Jen. We had a slam man for a while, and just smacking him in his stupid face felt so fucking good.

[singgirl]

I listen to music. If I'm really angry, it's usually really loud, angry, music. I need someone else to yell so I don't.

[dlline]

sex and drugs

[Willowtree252]

sex and drugs

amen JB works for me to.

[umgaynow]

I have to agree Chance is an excellent shitty day movie although I usually go with either Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory or something by the Marx Brothers...although none of those seem to be working for me at the moment so I have just been reading non-stop so I can't think of the sad stuff

[magicdanw]

I have to agree Chance is an excellent shitty day movie although I usually go with either Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory or something by the Marx Brothers...although none of those seem to be working for me at the moment so I have just been reading non-stop so I can't think of the sad stuff

:( Sorry to hear that. Which Willy Wonka movie? The old one is nice, but I just love Johnny Depp in the new one!

[umgaynow]

The original one...I thought the Johnny Depp one was a travesty...the Gene Wilder version was perfect...why mess with it?

[Zodiax]

I tend to marathon either Buffy, Grey's Anatomy, House or the Vicar of Dibley, sit down on my comfy couch with a bag of chips and eat my sadness away.

yes, extremely unhealthy, but it works anyway >.<

[Willowtree252]

I dive off deeply into a story and only come out for food sometimes not even that or when all else fails take a long nap

[magicdanw]

The original one...I thought the Johnny Depp one was a travesty...the Gene Wilder version was perfect...why mess with it?

I loved the music from the new one, and I just thought it fit the book a little better than the original movie. But agreed, Gene Wilder was a great Wonka as well.

[gorn]

I drink.

[JujuDeRoussie]

The original one...I thought the Johnny Depp one was a travesty...the Gene Wilder version was perfect...why mess with it?

Even more perfect is th ebook itself.

Topic: I try to listen to what I call "Candy Pop Music" (Mika), and read a bit of The Little Prince or another book for children. They put a smile on my face. Sometimes some poetry is good too, but as I read almost only Charles Baudelaire, it is not that much for getting better. Lol.

If I can I walk too. Some good music on while walking is great.

[singgirl]

i have to agree with the sex and drugs idea, too... but then they usually only distract me... for some reason it only takes a few measures of "debaser" by the pixies to get me grinning at least a little.

[umgaynow]

I just have to hear her voice

[sabina]

I read lesbian fanfic. Usually the happiest, sappiest kind i can find. That usually does the trick if it really is a small thing.
I also like the dancing like a lunatic and singing out loud approach

If for some reason i get annoyed or angry or upset while going out then ermm i drink. That has variable results, lol. I usually do get better at the moment but the hangover in the next morning usually has me swearing off alcohol as an outlet. Though on the bright side i end up seeing whatever it was that got me upset in the first place in a whole new light, usually in the omg, it was so not worth it light, lol.

When it is something major that is upsetting me then well i don't have any fast recipes to deal with it. I just try and process it, learn something from it if i can and put it in perspective. It is true that no matter how big one problems are there are always other people with worse problems.

Oh edited to add something i forgot... Also working out always helps me.

[Willowtree252]

if I have a phone in my hand I am feeling better who knew that belonging to someone could sooth ones empty soul.

[love_2003]

If the internet is working I usually come to the kittenboard website and read the happy feelings thread. A majority of the time though I just listen to a playlist on my ipod that I created called 'inspiration'. Its a collection of songs that make me want to keep going.

The one sure thing that works though is watching the cat play with a piece of string. It always makes me smile.