I’ve battled with depression and anxiety off and on for years. If you’ve never dealt with it before, consider yourself lucky, it sucks a big one. Anywhoo, one of the things I learned to help me cope with these ill feelings is to remove negativity from my life and replace with positivity. This sounds obvious but when I say this people think big things like toxic friends, bad jobs, drug use, etc., but I’m talking on a small scale too, like, the music you consume or the TV you watch.
I’m a huge fan of dark media. I love scary movies, gritty crime flicks, and angry music. I love complex story lines and stuff that makes your stomach churn. And while, I don’t believe any of this has ever affected me by putting me in a bad mood, I do believe the hopeless and frustration found in such media can negatively impact your life if you are already in a dark place. The last thing a depressed person needs is a diet of hopelessness. It’s like already feeling sick and still scarfing down the second half of that Bigfoot pizza. No one wins in that scenario.
So whenever I find myself slipping and feeling down, I start avoiding all the dark stuff. I stop watching horror, I stay away from suspense, I avoid the news, social media, and anything that might trigger further hopelessness. Of course, I can’t just sit around and stare at a wall all day, so I replace this dark stuff with positive stuff like feel good music, rom coms, and sitcoms. I call it my diet of positivity and while it doesn’t turn my mood completely around, it definitely doesn’t make it any worse. In fact, consuming such light hearted media tends to give my brain a much needed break, and this usually buys myself time to heal and start feeling better.
Recently, things haven’t been so honky dory. Family drama has ensued and it was only multiplied over the holidays, and I found myself watching this grey cloud start to skew things. It’s a bit different this time, because I’m suffering indirectly, but a lot has been put on my plate and I’m dealing with it the best way that I can. After a week or so of not feeling so hot, I started my diet of positivity and that is actually what led me to catching up on The Good Place, which as you know, had an impact on the creation of this blog. So obviously, some good stuff out of this.
Since I decided to start from scratch and intentionally choose the television that I watch this year, I’ve decided I want to stick to more lighthearted stuff. I think it makes me happier and keeps me out of the dumps. It’s amazing what a few laughs a day can do to your sense of well being, and I’d much rather walk around looking like a happy go lucky idiot than Jeffrey Dahmer.
Be First to Comment