Tips for Depression or even if you only feel temporarily unhinged

Tips for Depression

• Shower. Not a bath, a shower. Use water as hot or cold as you like. You don’t even need to wash. Just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. Sit on the floor if you’ve got to.

• Moisturize everything. Use whatever lotion you like. Unscented, Dollar store, or fancy 48-hour lotion that makes you smell like a field of wildflowers. Cover your entire body with it!

• Put on clean, comfortable clothes.

• Put on your favorite underwear. Black lace, those ridiculous boxers, or whatever is most comfortable. Put them on.

• Drink cold water. Use ice. If you want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost. I use lemon.

• Clean something. Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do one load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink. Mindless & doable.

• Blast music. Listen to something upbeat, dancey, and loud. Something that’s got lots of energy. Sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.

• Make food. Don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. Take the time and make food. Even if it’s ramen. Add something special to it, like a soft boiled egg or some veggies. Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something. That always makes me feel better.

• Make something. Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything you want to do that’s artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it, create something.

• Go outside. Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.

• Call someone. Call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to chat with. Talk to a stranger on the street. Have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. If you can’t bring yourself to call, text, email, or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. Even if you don’t say much, listen to them. It helps.

• Cuddle your pets if you have them. Take pictures of them. Talk to them. Tell them how you feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out, anything.

These suggestions may seem small or silly to some, but using this list has been known to keep people alive.

**Your absolute best won’t ever be good enough for the wrong people. At your worst, you’ll still be worth it to the right ones. Remember that. Keep holding on. In case nobody has told you today I love you and you are worth your weight and the some in gold. Be kind to yourself and most of all, keep putting one foot in front of the other!

My personal additions to this wise list would include;

• Pay attention to your breathing. Breath in slowly for 4 counts and then out slowly for 4 counts. Breath in deeply for 5 counts, &slowly out for 5 counts. Repeat 5 times. Then go back to your regular breathing & chill out.
• Gardening. Yes, putting my hands in the soil is divinely dirty. Watching something grow is transfixing. Eating it is an out of body experience!
• And what ties many of these things together for me… is yoga. A lifetime practice of striving for balance.