Things I Do When I’m Feeling Down
I’ve struggled with depression since high school. For awhile, I didn’t really know what it was. I thought it was normal teenager hormones to cry at the drop of a hat — for anything both happy and sad. I thought it was normal to feel kind of numb.
Even though I take my medicine routinely and care for myself, bad days still happen. I call these day grey-cloudy days. I feel like a grey cloud is hovering above me. I feel dark and like rain is pouring down over me wherever I go.
Sometimes I get super frustrated that I’m doing so much to care for my body and my mental health and I still have grey-cloudy days. When I have those days, I like to slow down and take extra care of myself. Here are some of the top things I do when I’m feeling down:
- Take a long, hot bath
- Go to bed early and get extra sleep
- Go to the gym and sweat it out
- Sit in a sauna and sweat it out
- Lay on the couch and binge Netflix
- Listen to an inspirational podcast
- Force myself to get out of the house and around people that care
- Sit outside and get some fresh air
- Read a book and get lost in someone else’s story
- Make a list of things I am thankful for
- Brain dump all of my thoughts, worries, negativity onto paper to get it out
- Snuggle with my boyfriend
- Go for a drive, crank up the music and roll the windows down
- Admit to my family, boyfriend and friends that I’m having a hard day/week. Sometimes it helps to just get it off your chest.
- Turn on a good song and dance it out
- Stay off my phone as much as possible- social media and trying to keep up with responding to people often makes me feel more overwhelmed.
These are just a few things that tend to help me feel a little better when I have a grey-cloudy day. What types of things help you feel a little bit better when you’re struggling with depression? Share below! I’d love to compile a masterlist of everyone’s tips for coping and feeling better!