topic What do you usually do to stay calm and positive? in Staying well

What do you usually do to stay calm and positive?

coco123 — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:29:14 GMT

When you get up.. When you have bad days.. When you think you've had enough at workplace, at home, everywhere. I guess it's mood swing. Please share. Thank you.

What do you usually do to stay calm and positive?

AGrace — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:01:10 GMT

Hi Coco,

On a really bad day I dont get up. I non-judgementally stay in bed, read, write, and relax.

On semi bad days I:

Have a shower, practicing mindfulness using the 5 senses while im there

Go for a walk, or if the weather is bad go to Bikram Yoga

Tell my partner how I'm feeling so someone knows I'm a bit off

Write, read, draw, paint

Catch up with a friend who knows what I'm going through

Clean & cook

Take time to do meditation & mindfulness during the day

Go shopping

The key for me is to pass the hours by, ride the wave of any urges, and schedule things in for the following day so I know I've got things to look forward to.

Would love to know what others do? What do you do?

AGrace

What do you usually do to stay calm and positive?

geoff — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:27:04 GMT

dear Coco, when we wake up and have a day or feel pretty low and know it's going to be awful, we suddenly begin with all the negative points in life, because that's what we all tend to do, we can't deny this, so as the day progresses we end up a total mess, and all we want to do is sleep and snug under our doona.

So we wake up and feel like this, so already we know these bad points in our life, and if we travel through them again then this won't help you at all, because time after time they have always brought us down, so we know this already, and what's the point in bringing them up again, everytime we feel awful, because it means that we haven't been able to solve them or at sort them out, so now nothing will change.

Try to push them to one side, you know they are there, but at the moment you're not strong enough to solve them, and now won't be any different.

So in return you have to try and do something that you like to do, either before your depression or now when you feel OK, because as soon as you start to dwell on those negative points you won't begin to feel better.

It can be an enormous job and maybe asking too much especially when you feel down, but it's the strength that you have to try and teach yourself, I know it's hard, but just take baby steps a bit at a time. Geoff.

What do you usually do to stay calm and positive?

coco123 — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 10:44:40 GMT

Dear AGrace and geoff,

Thank you very much for the advice. I'll try to stay positive whenever I can and shush my inner critic. Some of the (somewhat positive) things I like to do when I'm down:

Say "I love myself" quietly for several times (just to temporarily forget negative thoughts I have)

Physically stay away from anybody (I do not like to argue, shout at anyone)

(try to) sleep

listen to angry/heavy metal music (hahaha) and exercise

Google some motivational articles or funny cartoons online

Read novels that makes me think my life is not that bad (eg books by Jodi Picoult)

😄

What do you usually do to stay calm and positive?

mini75 — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 08:02:27 GMT

Wow! You guys are all doing the things I want to be doing like, reading, writing, walking, relaxing, yoga. But so often I put everyone else first and forget about me.

Starting now I am scheduling in me time everyday to help with my bad days which then turn into bad weeks. Ranging from sadness, loneliness, anger and emptiness.

I am aware i should be doing this but don't. Time to fix me.