When I’m sad there’s this nice little Chinese restaurant I like to go to. It’s like “Cheers”… they’re always glad I came, and they know my name and that I like to drink Dr. Pepper.
And… you’ve heard the ‘pretend your audience is naked’ thing for breaking stage fright? Well, when I know my boss is going to be coming in my office for a bitch session, I sit behind my desk with no pants on [true story] and they have no clue. It always makes me feel much better. heh.
Hmmm… also I like to do random acts of kindness. Even when I’m really down or upset this seems to raise my spirits a little. Sometimes I fix some sandwiches and go drop them off downtown to some homeless people, or visit a hospital and play with the little sickies in the pediatric ward.
Then there’s always calling in sick and renting 5 movies and ordering pizza in my pyjamas.
I’ve been sadder than usual for the last few weeks, so my coping mechanisms are fresh in my mind. Mostly, I read. Not new stuff either. I read old favorites – comfortable stuff that I enjoy but that doesn’t require much concentration. I started re-reading Anne McCaffery’s Pern series the day my daughter was hospitalized. Just finished them yesterday.
Ah yes… music therapy. I forgot that when I’m REALLY upset I play Moonlight Sonata over and over and over again until my fingers hurt. When I’m sad I just play something I’ve written and feel sorry for myself. heh.
I buy a good bottle of wine, play Peter Gabriel’s “So” at full volume, and better myself through browsing through everyone else’s little places on the web.
It’s odd - sometimes just reading someone else’s online diary can make you feel less lonely. Even if it has nothing to do with you.
Yell at my husband, play with the baby, cry, read, write, post it in MPSIMS, chainsmoke, drive, call a friend, listen to depressing or angry music, overanalyse myself or the situation, go shopping, draw pictures, clean, or when possible, sleep.
I buy things. Shopping always makes me feel, if not better, at least a little distracted. Today I bought a paper shredder and two pet rats (not meant to be used together).
I tend to do cartoon art sometimes when I am sad. This is because I am a terrible cartoonist, so I have no ego invested in my stick figures and smiley faces. Once I drew a very naive series of full-page portraits of various animals explaining their philosophy of life. There was a lizard explaining how he got his bass-playing inspiration from Bootsy Collins of Parliament, some cats in a hot air balloon wondering aloud why humans considered swimming pools to be a form of recreation of all things, etc.
So when I’m sad I usually go to 7-Eleven for some junk food and look at my drawings. The cats are always there, with the little one looking very worried: “Look at those humans in that water down there! Shouldn’t we rescue them?”
The big cat comforts the little cat, “Aww, they don’t want to be rescued. Humans like being in water. Let’s go get some mackerel.” So I am comforted too.
Michelle:
Tell me about your rats! I’ve always been fascinated by rats as pets, because I’ve always been scared of rats (mostly the ruby-eyed variety) and charmed by mice, which is a fascinating reaction in itself. I’ve heard rats are smart enough to be let run free in the house on their own recognizance, and friendly enough to follow you around. So maybe when somebody calls a chihuahua a “rat dog” it’s not such a put-down.
I also want a shredder, but only for credit card applications.
The thought of OfficeGirl with no pants on definitely would cheer me up.
But normally I just go for a walk, find somewhere reasonably remote so I can talk to myself out loud and nobody can see me do so, and it clarifies some of my thoughts and lets my mind calm down a little.
I also go onto ICQ to find some friends to rant to, because that’s always cathartic. I also like it if when my friends are sad they do the same to me, as I’m a good listener.
