Things to do when you're feeling sad

As you may know I have had an anxious week of worry, my usual optimism and positivity failed me massively and I just felt sad.  Really sad.  Lay flat on you face, eat your body weight in Ben and Jerrys sad.

And so I thought Id do a post on the top ten things to do when you feel sad.

1. Comfort eat.

Contraversial Im sure, but sometimes there is nothing for it but to eat ice-cream or cake.  For me, though I do love a dollop of Ben and Jerrys, I like to cook something lovely for myself.  The act of preparing and cooking takes my mind off the stresses and strains that Im facing and I love to sit and eat something amazing.  Whether it is a gorgeous salad with avocado and marinaded juicy chicken or a perfectly cooked rare steak.

Comfort eating doesn’t have to be junk food, but from time to time you really need to fill your soul.

2. Hide in your cave

My cave is deep under my duvet, curtains closed, fluffy feather pillows, occasionally an eye mask with my iPod and headphones on.  Sometimes I need to go there and lick my wounds and have a good old cry all alone.

I recently discovered a new cave in the hammock I set up in my garden! I take a pillow and blanket and I set it up so as I lay there I can only see sky and tree.  It is the perfect outdoor cave!

Cave clothes tend to be jamas or joggers and old tshirts for me…

3.  Watch some terrible TV

Netflix is my friend.  Seriously I love my netflix more than is natural.  When Im feeling particularly sad I like to hunch down in the aforementioned cave and watch Ru Paul’s Drag Race, or romantic comedies (my guilty pleasure is The Proposal with Sandra Bullock) or documentaries or hours and hours of TV dramas.

Sometimes life sucks ass so hard that you need to disappear into a world of TV.

4. Get pampered

We can’t all afford to run off to a gorgeous spa for the weekend, but we can give ourselves a manicure and pluck our eyebrows.  A face mask can cost a quid from the supermarket and if all else fails, a good old soak in the bath with a fuck ton of bubbles.

Doing things to make yourself feel good can only help.  If you can get someone else to give you a foot rub or paint your nails then all the better!

5.  Listen to the music of your youth.

If my husband hears me wailing and warbling along to Alanis Morrisette he knows to stay away…  Feeling shit reminds me of being an angsty teenager and so sticking on some 90s indie takes me right back.

Put on some music that reminds you of good times or terrible times and sing/weep/laugh your way through your malaise.

6.  Get talking

In all seriousness, if you are feeling shit then the old adage of a problem shared is a problem halved is generally true.  Speak to someone you love and trust and let it all out.  We all have crap times in our life and we need to  speak to those around us, asking for help and advise is not a sign of weakness.

7. Do something fun

Whether it is a girls night out or a night in on the sofa, an evening bowling or a night at the cinema.  Do something fun, something that you enjoy.  It may be an effort to get the oomph to get going but it will be worth your while in the end.

8.  Think of all the good things in your life

It is so easy to get bogged down with the bad things, the things that are going wrong right now.  Its easy to say ‘nothing ever goes right for me’ or ‘this isn’t fair’.  I certainly have been saying these things this week.

But the reality is that thinking of all the shite will never make you feel any better, make a list of the good things in your life no matter how small.  I know this sounds cliche and cheesy but writing it down makes you have to think about it.

9. Have a big cry

A big, snotty, wailing wall, woe is me sob fest.  Seriously, get it all out!!!  Get the tissues flowing, snot down your arm, arms thrown to the skies.  Shout LOUD, kick your feet, lay flat on your face.  Scream, swear like a sailor, call the cat a c**t.

There.  Feel better?

Our lives are so controlled, we keep our emotions in check and have that British stiff upper lip, but sometimes you need to just let all that emotion run free.

10. Tell yourself that everything will get better

No matter how shit things are right now, things will get better.  We have a saying in Sheffield “It’ll be reight”  And you know? It will.  Life is all about the peaks and troughs and so you have to take the good times with the bad.

Sometimes it doesn’t feel like that, but our only choice is to believe everything is shit and always will be or to try and find that silver lining and think that things will get better.

Love Sam xx