If you’ve never been depressed, skip this post and enjoy your life as a robot.
For the rest of us who experience periods of depression and need to reboot: here’s what works for me.
It doesn’t matter if your blues are long term, short term or situational…and it really doesn’t matter what brought them on. As Beyoncé and the band Prozzak sing, “Sucks to be you.”
Keep these tips in your arsenal. Write them down if you have to. Email them to yourself or to a friend. One of them is bound to work. And let me know how they (and any other tips) work for you:
Don’t Fight It
If you can’t shake your blues, there’s no need to pretend. You’ll exhaust yourself trying to keep up appearances and just dig yourself further down. Sounds simple because it is.
Look For (And Laugh About) The Bizarre and Absurd
Humor works wonders. Look deep within the funniest, oddest situations and you’ll find there’s a celebration of the imperfect.
When You’re Depressed, You’re Simply Tenderizing
(Vegetarians — look away from the screen. Right now.)
If you’ve ever tenderized meat, you know what’s required to prepare for marinating. When you’re depressed, you’ve already taken the pounding. Your emotional fibers have been broken up, hacked and flattened.
Congratulations! You’re already halfway toward full marination.
Now, it just takes time, and what you do with that time is up to you:
Some prefer adding chemicals to aid the process.
Some just let things rest for a while.
No matter how you choose to tenderize, each process relaxes and “denatures” the muscles, loosening tension and enhancing flavor. It takes time. It’s so hard to wait, but it’s worth it.
Exercise your body, even if it’s just walking. Drag yourself somewhere, like a walk from the far end of the parking lot to the front door of the grocery store. A tiny taste of endorphins leads to an appetite for a bigger bite.
If you’re unable to move yourself, start by watching others move, like I did when my sons dubbed themselves The Ukulele Brothers and got me laughing so hard I couldn’t help but shake off the weight of the world:
Stop Comparing
It’s hard not to focus on everyone’s perfect lives and carefree attitudes. You want those. You once had those. You lost them. But you’ll get back there. Remember, we all ride the waves at different times. I promise.
Thank you!! I really needed this post today – I’m marinating well – in chocolate!
Not a bad way to marinate!
Life isn’t easy. It’s how you deal with it that’s important.
oops, didn’t finish….. I figure I’m going to take dance lessons!!!
I tend to move at a hummingbird’s pace, but every once in a while my wings just stop and I crash. I think it is very important to be gentle with ourselves when we are feeling low. Like you said, it’s important to just kind of accept the feelings and believe that they will — eventually — pass. It isn’t easy when you are in the hole though.
Thanks for visiting me today.
Love your blog, Renée! Thanks so much for the “like” and for reading. Congratulations on Freshly Pressed (which is how I found you). Can’t wait to share your writing with others.