topic Finding joy when times are dark in Staying well

Finding joy when times are dark

Stitch — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 06:34:57 GMT

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in hearing about the things people do to cope when times are rough. Not the self-destructive things. I'm pretty sure we're all familiar with those. I'd really like to hear about the "little" things people do to try & bring a little joy to their lives.

Below is a list of some of the things I like to do - mood permitting.

Eat cheezels. Dipped in sour cream. With chopsticks.

Watch old Jerry Lewis movies. Never fails to crack me up.

Volunteer at the local Blue Light Disco. Watching 200 kids runing around & dancing with joy just makes me smile. My face actually hurts the next day.

Yell at politicians on the telly. This is excellent for venting one's spleen & always leaves one feeling refreshed.

Go to the local shopping centre and just window shop. I like to fantasise about all the nice things I'll be able to buy when I win tattslotto. It also makes me feel less alone if I'm just around other people, even if I don't know them.

Bake a cake.

Use "Google Translate" to translate song lyrics from English to Japanese & back to English again. Try it - it's a hoot.

Eat a cake.

Sing along to Hootie & the Blowfish. (Umm, can we keep this one between ourselves?)

Make something on the sewing machine. Current project - making pouches out of old woollen blankets for injured wildlife.

Have a crack at making my own fudge.

Find a spot in the sun and just sit for a while.

Regards

Finding joy when times are dark

Girl_Anachronism — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 06:44:53 GMT

Laying in the grass and staring up at the sky.

Baking muffins.

Decorating things with happy shiny puffy stickers.

A pot of Chrysanthemum tea.

Finding joy when times are dark

AGrace — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 09:40:15 GMT

Hi Stitch,

What a great idea for a thread:) I'm trying to picture myself eating cheezels with chopsticks!!! Ok, so I'll add:

Chasing my cat around (she's quite overweight, so it only lasts for 3 minutes)

Eating Chocolate (My life would be so different without it, I often think about taking out shares in Cadbury)

Spending time with my nieces and nephews (they really put things into perspective when their biggest problem in life is that they can't find the caterpillar they collected and put into a vase with grass and rocks:))

Listening to my partner speak French (thankfully he is French...just keep talking)

Reading on my tablet (Thank you for inventing Amazon Kindle EBooks)

Drinking English breakfast tea out of a really nice cup and saucer set (I can't help it my dad's English)

Singing and dancing to 80's music (sorry, I'm an 80's child and for me it was the best decade for music...Micheal Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Boy George)

Watching Swedish crime series (with subtitles of course)

Getting a massage (from anyone who's willing to give me one)

You've got me interested to hear what others do! Tomorrow I shall buy some Cheezels and chopsticks:))

AGrace

Finding joy when times are dark

White_Rose — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 11:16:29 GMT

Great posts so far. Perhaps we can refer newbies to this post for ideas on "What to do".

My joys are fairly ordinary.

Reading

Embroidery

Watching whodunnits on TV. Mostly A Touch of Frost, Midsomer Murders. Miss Fisher Mysteries and Lewis.

Walking round my garden and working out what I am going to do next.

Like AG I like being with the littlies, in my case my grandchildren. Nothing like for a new perspective.

Sixties music (age group). Singing and dancing to the music.

Being part of a discussion group every month.

Volunteering

Researching my family history.

LING

Finding joy when times are dark

Chloekat84 — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 07:12:27 GMT

Hey Stitch. Been readig everyones responses and they sound like a hoot so to speak lol. i reacon what i do when im happy and in the mood i watch a good comedy like "scrubs" or "everybody loves raymond' lol. Also a good horror is always fun. Just chatting on here to you guys keeps my spirits up. Also reading a good magazine or articles off the internet about anything really could be kids or anxiety etc just stuff to make me feel motiviated. oin out with family to have a meal is nice but rarely happens. But just being around family helps as i hate being alone and being a single mum i always am unfortunetely. I try and go to mums groups when i can but with my little one sick atm thats not happenening. I also love chocolate like AGrace lol been putting on weight from it i think. Also a nice cider while watching telly is good also. Well thats it from me for now 🙂

Finding joy when times are dark

BenD — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 17:12:49 GMT

This is such a good thread. I'll add:

Playing with my dogs - especially helpful when feeling lonely.

Getting some sunshine - For no other reason that its warm and feels good.

Kicking the footy with my brothers

Calling up a friend

Listening to Eddie Vedder's 'Into the Wild' Soundtrack

Listening to Allan Watts lectures on youtube

Thanks for the opportunity 🙂

Finding joy when times are dark

Jo3 — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 21:30:25 GMT

Hi guys

Here are my things that I do to help:

Walking down the beach or just sitting on the sand

Playing with my kelpie dog and taking her for a walk

Just being outside in the garden on a sunny day, enjoying the simple things in life

Coffee with friends

Singing and dancing to Abba!!!

Great thread

Finding joy when times are dark

elouisef23 — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 10:27:21 GMT

Wonderful post.

Preparing and drinking a beautiful, hot cup of tea

Watching great tv shows like Orange is the New Black, An Idiot Abroad, Call the Midwife etc

The smell of flowers walking past a florist or a garden

The delight in my dog's face when we go for a walk to the park

A hot shower then crawling into a warm bed

Finding joy when times are dark

AGrace — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 05:10:40 GMT

Hi Elouise,

Welcome:)

These are some great ideas. I especially like the florist one. Stepping into a florist smells heavenly. Sometimes a really nice coffee shop can smell good too, and bring a smile to your face. The sense of smell has the most powerful link to memories, so if we want to recall good memories then we only need to smell something related to that memory. The scent of rain, fresh cut grass, and vanilla are also some good aromas to take in.

Perhaps we can add to the list using an oil burner or lighting scented candles.

AGrace

Finding joy when times are dark

Doolhof — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 00:49:16 GMT

It is great to read other people's ideas and to share ways of brining happiness to your life, and maybe to other people's as well thorough suggestions.

Things that help me are :

Remembering the days my niece used to sing to me over the phone.

Being out in the garden and the sunshine.

Going to the beach or a nature reserve.

Coffee with friends.

Bubble bath with candles.

Curling up in a blanket, reading a book.

Watching a comedy show or funny movie.

Buying myself some flowers or picking them from our garden.

Doing a some craft or mucking around with paints.

Sudoku or an easy jigsaw puzzle

Chocolate and a nice cup of tea.

Sitting in the garden with the chooks.

Visiting a plant nursery even when not buying anything.

Sending a card to a friend for no other reason than to say "Hi".

Taking time out to smell the roses.

Wishing you all happy thoughts and pleasant memories, or hope for a nice day with special moments to treasure along the way!

Finding joy when times are dark

JessF — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 05:43:09 GMT

Maybe a strange one but I love being out in the rain on a winter's day. Makes me feel very alive.

Finding joy when times are dark

Stitch — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 05:29:13 GMT

Hi JessF,

I love being out in the rain too. Especially when I'm digging in the garden.

Chocolate makes me delirious with joy too, especially the good stuff. Don't know how I forgot to put that one in . . . .

My other joys include:

"Scrubs" - bl**dy hilarious

Giving my cats a good belly rub

The smell of baking bread

Burnt fig, honeycomb & caramel icecream - heaven

Giving someone a helping hand

Op-shopping - great for the "financially challenged"

Garage sales too

Sunday morning pancakes

Learning to make something new. This week I learned to make "Gyoza". 4 ingredients, dead simple. Who knew?

Seeing other people liking my thread - I'm chuffed 🙂

BenD, Thanks for the suggestion. I've been meaning to check out Eddie Vedder's 'Into the Wild' Soundtrack.

Stitch

Finding joy when times are dark

mini75 — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 10:46:04 GMT

This is a great idea! everyone has some very unique things that make them feel good. You all sound amazing.

Here are a few things I like to do......

Love taking my dog for a walk and seeing his excitement

Reading a good mystery book,

To feel the sun on your face is amazing and makes you feel alive

I have also learnt not to wait for a rainy day to use something special, like wear a fancy dress, use the good cups and saucers. I use them now because they make me feel good.

Keep the list going guy's,

mini75

Finding joy when times are dark

white knight — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 11:08:59 GMT

Watching my favourite movies

-The legend of 1900 (in my view the best movie ever made) a tale of a baby brought up on a ocean liner in the early 1900's)

-The good the bad and the ugly

- Titanic

Tinkering in the shed.

Inventions- love thinking up inventions only to find leter its all been done before lol

Poetry.

Finding joy when times are dark

AGrace — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 04:45:52 GMT

Having a bubble bath with strawberry scented shower gel

(ok, maybe not one for the guys)

Sunbaking with a really good novel/magazine

(now that Spring is here, it's even easier)

A movie night with a group of friends

(Often when you don't feel like socialising, inviting friends over to watch a movie can be an easy way to stay connected, without having to spend the night worrying about conversation)

Finding joy when times are dark

EclecticMagpie — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 08:36:30 GMT

Talking to my cats

My back fence goes onto a paddock so I talk the those animals as well, horses, a cute young cow; she's so pretty.. it even looks like she has mascara and eyeliner on. There is a ram and an ewe that comes into our yard to mow the grass lol.

I go on a site called stumpleupon - It is full of weird stuff you don't find on Google searches and matches your tastes by category

I listen to self guided hypnosis relaxation mp3s

Lay in the sun

Our property has a creek so I go for a little walk down there and self reflect

Jot down ideas for future goals

Wow I could go on and on lol