Picker Uppers for the not so Upper Crowd

[Whiskey]

We'd had a ration of depressed/mental health related posts and a lot of people give a lot of really good advice. However, those threads get real long, real fast, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to post the things/hobbies you have that pull you out of a dark spot. Maybe it'll give someone who doesn't know what to do and has lost interest in all their hobbies or just needs a kick start to get out of a pit. Most of my things are fairly cheap, since I'm fairly poor, but there are some extensive/expensive ones in there too.

This might seem a bit odd, but one of my boosters is taking a shower/cleanse. I wash down, do a deep condition in my hair, afterwards I do a facial mask, brush my teeth, moisturize and blow dry my hair. Its kind of a "Well, I've already done this much, might as well get out and do something" routine.

I make a point (and I use Yelp.com/yelp app on my phone) to find a new place to eat once a week. Something cheap, local, and usually ethnic.

Computer repair. This is kind of a double edged hobby. It'll send me from 0 to 60 in half a second, but once I get something fixed I feel like I just conquered the world. I guess the same goes for household repairs too.

And the gym, naturally. Getting down there is a little tougher though.

TL;DR What makes you happy?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Find a park on a nice day, bring a book and/or take a walk.

Clean your living space.

[Solumina]

Cleaning. If my living space is cluttered and chaotic then my mind will be cluttered and chaotic too.

[Plaidman]

It use to be roleplaying Dungeons and Dragons. Now I don't have the energy to do that.

I have no energy to do anything except go to like, six websites.

I'm keeping an eye on here.

[Whiskey]

It use to be roleplaying Dungeons and Dragons. Now I don't have the energy to do that.

I have no energy to do anything except go to like, six websites.

I'm keeping an eye on here.

Thats the bad part. You have no energy to do anything because you don't do anything! :P Its the same with sleep. If you sleep too much, it makes you relentlessly tired.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Cleaning. If my living space is cluttered and chaotic then my mind will be cluttered and chaotic too.

I said cleaning too, but the truth is half the time I either don't feel like it or I just don't know where to start. (I also live in an old-ish apartment, so even when things are cleaned they don't necessarily look clean because of the years of dirt from tenants who don't really care. So that doesn't help, either.)

If you're like me...watch Hoarders and it'll make you feel better about your own place

[Whiskey]

I said cleaning too, but the truth is half the time I either don't feel like it or I just don't know where to start.

If you're like me...watch Hoarders and it'll make you feel better about your own place

I'm all up in this thread trying to work out work-related rage. My place is a hot mess most of the time. The only way I can clean is to pick one small area and start there. I generally go:

Kitchen Counters
Run around picking up dishes, do the dishes
Sweep, mop
Pick up laundry and put in baskets
Vacuum

etc.

Organize and destroy!

[Solumina]

See now I'll start with any dishes that may need doing but then I go for things like the light switches (those get really really gross), then sinks. After that I will pick a small spot, usually my vanity but sometimes my desk and then that place will be perfect, like a little shrine to the gods of cleaning and organizing, if I get one spot done I move on to the next. I'm really awesome at hyper focusing, which isn't always a good thing but it's kind of my thing so I make it work.

[trailerparkmedic]

My apartment used to be a wreck, but Fly Lady's techniques helped me get it (mostly) under control. I really do feel better when it's clean and my daily 15 minutes of decluttering always feels like an accomplishment.

When I'm feeling really down, I go out for ice cream. It forces me to leave the house, I usually get some sun, and I get deliciousness.

Oh, and I'm totally guilty of watching Horders to feel less bad about my place.

[Mishi]

I tend to read when I'm feeling sad, I fall into books and then nothing seems quite so bad anymore. I need someone to babysit though, I'm deaf when I read.

I garden when I'm angry, dig holes in the stubborn, root and rock filled dirt in our yard and then plant something that will make me happy when I look at it.

When I'm feeling down, I clean and/or pick flowers for the multitude of vases that I have. Sometimes painting, cooking or exercise works better to cheer me up, I'm just grateful that I don't get that down feeling very often.

I don't do any of it alone though, I have two little munchkins always following me, asking questions, saying/doing funny things and chasing the dogs. It's hard to be sad when my 3 year old is doing the bottom dance, and in the process, is mooning everyone waiting for their swimming class.

[Der Cute]

When I'm feeling sad/blue, I try to go for walks.

I went to the grocery store today, with my baby in the stroller, and enjoyed myself.

I also go play with my plants a little bit. They're pretty much self-sufficient, happy, growing, but when I'm sad, I go tend to them a bit.

Another thing I do is pet my kitties. That always makes me smile.

Cleaning is kind of my main duty around the house, so it's not something I really enjoy, its now autopilot.

[Magpie]

When I had a lot of stress from undergrad (used to not do my homework because I was stressed about being behind on my work...), I found that volunteering (with Girl Guides in my case) really helped. I had to go every week, because I had made a commitment. Once I was there I got my weekly dose of socialising. (And estrogen, since I'm in engineering).


I'm not big on socialising, it might be more accurate to say I despise it, and find it stressful. However, as an extrovert, failing to do so is also quite stressful, so I need to go, but I need some really big incentive sometimes. With a social club I wouldn't necessarily go every week, because it's just for me, if I don't feel like going, whatever. But with volunteering I had that extra kick to get moving, which is often what you need if you're depressed.

[Whiskey]

When I had a lot of stress from undergrad (used to not do my homework because I was stressed about being behind on my work...), I found that volunteering (with Girl Guides in my case) really helped. I had to go every week, because I had made a commitment. Once I was there I got my weekly dose of socialising. (And estrogen, since I'm in engineering).


I'm not big on socialising, it might be more accurate to say I despise it, and find it stressful. However, as an extrovert, failing to do so is also quite stressful, so I need to go, but I need some really big incentive sometimes. With a social club I wouldn't necessarily go every week, because it's just for me, if I don't feel like going, whatever. But with volunteering I had that extra kick to get moving, which is often what you need if you're depressed.

And if you don't want to deal with people, I volunteer at an animal shelter. Minimal people interaction, mostly caring/loving on the animals. Occasionally you have to deal with someone asking how you, and you personally, can murder all those poor widdle babiez. I've never personally euthed an animal but fix your goddamn animals. /rant.

[Seshat]

I'm trying to remember to play some music, do some art, and do some free train-of-thought writing every day. It helps. It's not enough to 'fix' me, but it does help lift the mood overall.

[Elspeth]

Thanks for this thread. I will try some these other ideas. Always looking for new ways to help my brain not be sad

Reading

Playing video games. I beat up pixels :P

Getting out of my normal rut. Mall or movie or something. I like to window shop.

Also watching some of more silly anime. One of those over the top ones. Excel Saga comes to mind.

I will try to think of more