I listen to some of my favorite songs. Depending on what I choose, they either make me feel better or sink me to the point of absurdity, at which point I snap out of it.
I stew in my own juices for a while, then call up a friend and moan and whine to him. He listens, laughs at me, and whines back. Then we both get out our gratitude lists, and remember what it used to be like, then I go exercise. I repeat the process as necessary.
Thanks for all the replies everyone. Even after a good night’s sleep, I still feel blue.
A few comments;
Sexywriter
I believe it was in the Flagon with the Dragon 
And, sex isn’t really an option without a partner.
Cyndar, Cyn I’m going to try shopping. I’ve got a couple of used book stores I haven’t been to in a while.
Zen I got a smile from your compliment about “All I do is read one of Fenris’ threads!”. And it reminded me of a joke:
This sad faced little guy goes to a bartender and says “I’m so sad. My heart is heavy. What do you recommend?”
The bartender replies “I always go see the Great Clown, Pagliacci. He can cheer anyone up.”
The little guy runs out of the bar, sobbing and goes to a priest and tells him “I’m so sad, I feel like crying, Father. What do you recommend?”
The priest replies “I always go see the Great Clown, Pagliacci. He can cheer anyone up.”
And again, the little guy bursts into tears and leaves the church. He goes to a doctor and, with tears in his eyes says “I’m so sad, Doctor. The priest and the bartender recommended going to see Pagliacci. Please help me. What do you recommend?”
The doctor replies “The priest and the bartender were right. The Great Clown, Pagliacci can cheer anyone up.”
And the little guy breaks into tears and sobs “But doctor…I am Pagliacci!”
Starbury Driving is a great idea: I haven’t gone for a drive for the sake of driving in years. (The booze doesn’t seem like a bad idea either)
HP Ellison Weltschmertz: perfect! That exactly describes what I’m feeling…(those wacky Germans. What a cool word! Weltschmertz, schadenfreude, is there any emotion they can’t describe?) The stages you listed sound pretty familiar, with the substitution that on step two I tend to feel irratitated at myself (for feeling this way) than actual anger
Fenris
Things I do to make myself feel better when I’m blue (that is, if I’m not so blue I can’t get out of bed).
[ul]
[li]I bake. In the past few days, I’ve been baking like crazy. I made bagels the other day (which is great, because the dough needs alot of kneading, and kneading relieves stress) and today I made chocolate chip cookies.[/li]
[li]I walk. I put on my good shoes and a parka and I walk to where ever my nose points. Sometimes I’ll borrow a car and drive to the beach or some other great place.[/li]
[li]I bathe. I fill my bathtub with bubbles from Lush and I get a really good book (or a friggin’ lousy Harlequin romance novel, depending on my mood) and I soak for hours. I look like a prune when I get out, but it’s worth it.[/li]
[li]I clean. (This is highly unusual, but it happens every now and then.) I’ll usually focus on one small detail, like cleaning my windows or scrubbing the bathroom or reorganizing my kitchen cabinets.[/li]
[li]I drive. I don’t have a car of my own right now, but when I have access to a car, I’ll gas it up and go. I pick out some feel-good music and play it really loud and sing along. I may look like an idiot, but hey, it makes me happy.[/li]
[li]I sleep. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes it’s a wonderful thing to crawl into clean sheets completely naked and just drift off.[/li][/ul]
*I listen to classical music, like Mozart or Beethoven.
*Watch my favorite movies.
*Listen to Weird Al.
First, I’d consider processing with a trusted friend exactly what is getting you down. (Sounds to me like this has lasted more than a couple days or so.) Was there a precipitating event? Does dysthymia run in the family? Is this actually anxiety presenting itself as depression?
I’ve read your posts before and you strike me as a spiritual person. Perhaps you are simply in a rut and need a new challenge–something to stir your soul, to get you jazzed, to excite you and tap into your naturally passionate nature.
Perhaps a weekend spiritual retreat out in nature would help jump start the process. Consider shaking up your routine, perhaps by challenging yourself with a mini-project doing something you’ve always wanted to experiment with but never have.
Also this: consider the therapeutic benefits of falling in love again. Does wonders for those neurotransmitters.
Fenris: there’s some sad things known to man, but ain’t nothing sadder than the tears of a clown when there’s no one around (-Smokey Robinson).
When I’m blue, I have a stiff drink and listen to some stand up comedy. I find it hard to feel bad when I’m laughing and a light buzz helps as well.
If I ever feel blue, the first thing I do is try to wash the damn blue paint off.
you should smile or laugh.
It’s been proven that smiling, whether you feel like it or not, has a beneficial effect on your body. It releases enzymes into your bloodstream that in turn trigger responses in your brains pleasure center, and before you know it, you’re smiling for real.
You could be suffering the end of winter blues, as many people do, especially those in more overcast areas (ie seattle) or those that live in areas with prolonged periods of night time (ie alaska). There is a lamp, though i do not know whether you can purchase it OTC, that doctors will suggest you use. It provides light as any lamp, but it also emits energy that you normally will only get from the sun (exactly which type I’m at a loss for right now), and has also been proven to help those with this particular type of melancholy.
If that isn’t a possibility, and none of the other home remedies seem to work, spring is just around the corner, and I’ve yet to meet a person whose depression spring couldn’t ease.
For me, I eat. I also will watch cartoons like looney toons (its always fun to watch some guy get crushed by an anvil don’t ya think?), love stories (unless I am sad because of a guy), disney (this doesn’t really help if you are in the type of mood where happiness and love make you want to kill the tv though). Another thing that has always helped was making myself feel pretty. Take a long bath, fix your hair, go to a salon etc. If none of this works, hang out with your buds a lot and put on a fake happy face until it disapears (and it usually does).
It’s not? Then what have I been…
Oh. Nevermind.
-L
If I’m really down, and I’ve got the meds, I’ll take 2 or 3 Percoset (or Vicodin, etc.). Sets me straight right quick.
Otherwise, sad music (Radiohead, perhaps, or Blonde on Blonde) and lying down feeling sad and drifting off to sleep. Sometimes wallowing feels good.
Oh, and cookies.
I find that going and getting a really good hair cut always makes me feel a million dollars. Some new clothes if I can aford it too then I go to a Coffee Shop knowing I look just great.
I usually turn on a disney movie, pop some popcorn, and call scott and make him come over and snuggle with me. Which leads to really good sex. Afterwards, I fall asleep by his side on the couch, or on my living room floor, or occasionally in my bed.
I’m not sure which part it is, but somewhere in there cheers me up
I,m depressed too.
This is pretty much what I do. Or I clean, maybe write.
When I feel down, I usually force myself to get up and do something. Take a baseball glove and ball to the park and throw the ball against a wall for a while (get a little excersize, plus I can vent some anger and frustration that way), go for a walk, go to the store and buy myself a little something (video game, movie, book, etc). Basically I just try to keep myself busy and eventually I feel better.
Meet me. Seven years ago, I went into a deep depressive episode in late November. I spent the next 6 or 7 months in what I jokingly call a temper tantrum, since being furious at the world and everyone in it was the only way I could get myself out of bed in the morning to get to work. By June I was suicidal and telling myself that I really wasn’t going to change my mind if I took an endless swim in a nearby river–one that I knew plenty of people had drowned in. Thank heavens, I finally figured out that I needed HELP, and got it. I’ve been on medication ever since and finally finished therapy last spring. Except for a brief episode two years ago when I wound up in the psych wing of a local hospital, I haven’t been anywhere near that bad.
I don’t know about anyone else here, but I tend to regard my clinical depression as an entity almost completely separate from me that tries to suck life from me so it can grow. It’s this black, amorphous shape that’s attached to me by a thin umbilical. I’ll never be able to sever that cord, but nowadays I can close it down to the point that I remain mostly unaware of the beast.
Fenris, I tend to wait it out, while trying to distract it. Usually this means a really thick book, sometimes new but frequently an old favourite. I’ll turn the TV on, lots of lights on, grab a cat, and sit and read. Preferably with snacks and milk nearby. Sometimes it means I put on the most depressing music I can find and just isolate myself from anyone and anything (including the cats, but they’re pesky critters :)) and wallow in it until it passes. Sometimes I call up a friend and say “let’s go do something”. This is the method that works best, so I’m trying to make it the default instead of the alternate. If you have friends nearby, try to spend some “face time” with them. If that’s hard to arrange, call them on the phone. If you can’t do that, come here and share and we’ll gather 'round.
I’ve got a good shoulder for crying on if you need it.
What I do for myself is to read a good book (I’m currently re-reading The Once and Future King, by T. H. White), cuddle with a pet and a blanket, tune in the classical music station on every radio in the house, or watch a funny movie, and try to smile (apologies to Drain Bead. Even if you don’t feel like smiling, second-order conditioning is supposed to give you the idea that because you are smiling, you are happy. Some sort of Pavlovian and/or Skinnerian principle.
Activity is also supposed to help to get your serotonin levels up.
I don’t know if this is your bag, but my preferred remedy for the blahs is hot sauce and beer. (Coincidentally, this is also my preferred remedy for colds, broken hearts, splinters, ringworm, and the decay of our public schools.)
There I am with my mouth, nay, my entire GI tract set afire by sweet Cholula; sweating, my nose running, unable to catch my breath, and then, and then, a cool sip of Bass ale and I touch the face of God.
But maybe that’s just me. In general, though, I think a culinary solution to that down-low feelin’ is an avenue worth exploring.
Most times when I’m blue, downright depressed or somewhat suicidal, I find myself reaching for my Morrissey CDs. He and The Smiths are a strange comfort - reminding me that whatever shite I’m going through, they have it worse.