If you feel down, what startegies do you use to make you feel better?

I come off facebook, listen to loads of music other people would describe as being depressing which I find uplifting. Avoiding people, avoiding the BBC website as politics fustrates me. If Im feeling flush I might treat myself to something nice.

I also like cycling, but often forget it makes me feel better and therefore forget to do it.

NAS8954 said:

I try to go for a walk where I can hear and see birds, look at the trees, etc. and, hopefully, have minimal or no contact with people.  I also, on occasion, visit a local nature reserve where I can either walk for as long as I feel is needed or just sit in a natural environment.  Gardening (fruit and vegetable gardening) also helps although this year has not been as helpful as previous years due to the poor weather and, lately, the very hot days.

Walking definitely helps.  Recently I got a new job but I had a lot of stress because they've given me some written assignments which seem unsurmountable to me, they might as well have asked me to climb Everest...  after a long walk I was able to calm down and put things into perspective and calm down enough to actually begin the task.

I write rather chaotically, I am afraid.  I just write what I have done each day, what people I have met and what they have done or have told me, the weather, what I have eaten, any anxieties I have faced etc. There is no real structure to it or any narrative - it is all stream of consciousness

Hope said:

 I keep an extensive journal that I use to write down everything I have done each day, which helps to get things off my chest.

 

Hi Hope,

Do you just let the writing flow or do you have various sections for different aspects of the day that you fill in? I only ask because what I write down can be a bit chaotic. I myself might be better having a bit more structure.

A hot cup of tea with a little milk or lemon with some dark chocolate relaxes me. A walk in the country, where I see all the sheep , is also relaxing. Reading a good book helps take my mind off my anxieties, and I keep an extensive journal that I use to write down everything I have done each day, which helps to get things off my chest.

NAS11521 said:

Depends on the time of day.  I'm always down when I first wake up.  Drinking a cup of tea while I watch Sky' "Paper Review" does the trick.  Sometimes it makes me angry and sometimes I agree with what's said and sometimes it makes me laugh, but it always makes me feel part of the human race again.

At other times of the day reading does it for me - a thriller or a mystery that really holds my attention.

....I am down when I wake up most days also, I just go into 'automatic' as much as possible and try not to think, especially if i am in work that day. When It in am not in  work I get up and paint for a few hours......then go for a run :-)...... sometimes I might do it the other way around.

Books are great when they are page turners, it often takes a while for me to get into them but once I get going I sometimes don't want them to end......Sci-Fi is my genre of choice.

I try to go for a walk where I can hear and see birds, look at the trees, etc. and, hopefully, have minimal or no contact with people.  I also, on occasion, visit a local nature reserve where I can either walk for as long as I feel is needed or just sit in a natural environment.  Gardening (fruit and vegetable gardening) also helps although this year has not been as helpful as previous years due to the poor weather and, lately, the very hot days.

When I my rescue cat was still with me, spending time with her was a great help.  Sometimes the time was spent playing but most of the time she curled up on my lap and went to sleep whilst I stroked her.  The TV would normally be on.

...... time away from people is very restorative.

....... I really would like a cat one day..... I have read many times about the benifits (mutual of course )