It’ll start off a day like any other; you’ll wake up, rub the sleep from your eyes, open your curtains and admire the milky haze of morning, and then it will hit you -- hard. You have a case of the blues and you don’t know what to do. You’ve fallen faster than a Black Tuesday banker, and revival seems impossible because nothing can make you happy, not even the all-consuming warmth under your covers.
Sadness is a necessary companion to happiness, but if you let it fester in your brain for too long it may damage you. So, how can we combat it? How can we politely tell sadness to pack its bags?
1. Primp.
Everyone needs to primp on a certain level. It doesn’t matter how far you go, either. Take a shower, wash your hair, dry it if you want to (or just let it air dry, doesn’t matter). Change your underwear (please), and make sure you brush your teeth. Nothing sours your day worse than bad breath.
And if you want to continue, then please do! Clean your ears, clip your toenails, paint your toenails, put on your face, plop your eyeballs in, and then admire all that wholesomeness in the mirror because you put effort into your appearance and you should feel good about that.
2. Eat.
Goodness child, you need to feed yourself if you want to listen to Adele in peace -- at this point, you aren’t exactly sure if all that sobbing is coming from your tummy or your tediously constructed playlist. I mean, have you ever wondered why they call it comfort food? Listen, I know that it’s difficult for you to even get out of bed, right now. You just want to be alone and sulk, maybe cry a little and that’s OK. Do that, take some time to bed sad and breathe for a moment. But you may find a little happiness, just a little, in trying out that new recipe or simply ordering a pizza and eating the entire thing by yourself. It’s the little things, after all. However, if you do go the pizza route why not invite a friend or two over to share it?
3. Talk.
Not everyone is going to be your go-to person for situations like this. Maybe you feel like your parents don’t understand you, or maybe you love that friend like nobody’s business but they just cannot offer the type of comfort you need right now. Just remember that those people love you, even if they cannot always give you what you need.
Luckily, there is usually that one person we can always go to. Personally, my go-to peeps are usually the honest folk -- the people who can elaborate for me why I’m feeling the way I am or what I need to do to fix it. These people may be harsh sometimes, and that’s fine because you need that, too. You need someone to tell you when it’s time to wipe the tears away and return to the world of the living (because while chilling in an oasis of sadness seems the better option, it really isn’t).
4. Cry.
This isn’t easy for anyone. You don’t want to feel weak and exposed like this, but you’ve reached your breaking point for the third time that day and you desperately need to moisturize your face -- the old-fashioned way. Crying is essential. You are not weak because you cry. You are not a baby because you cry. Shrek’s onion layers probably gave him a good kick in the feels every now and then, and I’ll bet you there were water works whenever that happened, too. Beyonce cries. Johnny Depp cries. Dwayne Johnson cries (I think). There’s no shame in it. And don’t you feel slightly better now that you’ve unleashed the waves? Your eyes are tired, your nose is runny, but that ache in your chest has finally dissipated.
5. Move.
Sometimes, putting on your face and grooming yourself to perfection isn’t enough. Sometimes, you have to leave your bedroom. The horror! Please, just do this. And while you’re at it, put on some shoes and walk outside. Sit on the porch. Put on clothes (if you’re feeling up to it) and go somewhere. Actually, let me rephrase that: Please put on clothes if you’re feeling up to going somewhere, but then run around naked in your house all you want. I promise no one will mind. You could even exercise if you’d like. Granted, the gym is not my go-to place for comfort and relaxation (Pizza Hut is), but I do find that staying active can steadily chase the apathy away.
6. Laugh.
This is the perfect day to bring up your Netflix and eat the last of the ice cream. You might also want to watch something funny just to lift your spirits, because laughter is a glorious medicine. You could literally spend hours just watching funny cat videos, or even create some of your own if you have a kitty. While you’re at it, grab your kitty or your puppy or whatever and give it a quick cuddle while you’re still caught in the throes of giggles.
If you have a fish, just grab the entire bowl and tell that fish how much you love its sense of humor.
7. Dream
You’re not exactly tired, just drowsy. You’ve been that way the entire day, and your face might hurt from crying so much. The sun is retreating but those awful feelings are still sticking to you like your own sweat. So what do you do now? You might feel like you’ve run out of time to make things better at this point. After all, it’s getting later and later and your friends cannot stay awake forever. Pizza Hut will be closing soon. There’s no light outside and you’re surrounded by darkness again. No, not surrounded. Not really.
Honestly, you still just kind of feel alone. Well, then, this is the perfect time to repeat step one. You should go primp again, but this time primp for bedtime because I think you’re dozing off. Take another shower, or a bath if you prefer, and then put on some sleepwear, or just climb into bed as you are, and rest.
Relax your muscles and your mind so you don’t start over-thinking things. You need sleep because tomorrow you’ll have a fresh chance to make things better, to work to make yourself happy again. But now it’s late and all you really have to do is close your eyes and dream. Dream of anything you’d like. There are no limits for a beautiful mind.
And when you wake up in the morning, I promise you’ll be okay.
