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When feeling down...
what do you guys do when you feel down?
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Whassup, Craig? care to share?
"A problem shared, is a problem..." that everybody else can think" thank goodness it ain't happening to me...!!"
I know nasty stuff happens.
I know it hits us all.
But I also know, from many years' experience, that it's like tar-and-feathers... so I give myself a definitive time.
I allow myself the priviledge of feeling down for, say... a half-hour.
I actually time it on my cooker timer. that way, when the buzzer sounds, I give my final sniff, throw the soggy tissues in the bin, take a deep breath, get up and do something both positive and creative.
Or maybe I don my coat and go for a brisk walk. (This actually releases hormones into your system, which elevate the mood... FACT.)
Anything, but to allow a pervasive, 'negative' depressing emotion get the better of me!
My three cents' worth...
But feel free to air your gripe... that's ultimately what we're here for....
just being seperated from loved ones and feeling stuck, I know it'll pass, but it's still not fun.
I'm moving very soon, and I know after that things will get better.
maybe the wait is doing me harm mentally?
like the quotation says:
"Oh Lord give me patience - but fer Chrissakes, hurry up!!"
I just tell myself :
"Do I have a choice in how long I wait?
Can I make time go any faster?"
The answer is (unfortunately) invariably 'No' to both, so then I realise, well, I'm stuck with it.
so I can either wallow and feel sorry for myself, which I have to admit sounds tempting, because it involves chocolate at some point,
Or I can just say, "well, ok then, so what do I do now?'
Fill your time with something to do.
*old-lady Irish Accent*
The Devil foinds work fer oidle hands... to be sure to be sure...!"
Socialise. Mix with people. Go out and even if you don't buy anything, just look round the shops, or go to the local gym for a work-out, a swim or just to sit in a café and watch the world go by.... on a nice day, take a book, go sit in the park and feed the ducks....
When Nick had to go all the way across the country to work, we were separated for two months or so... it was hateful. I never ever want to do that again.
But I lost weight, I walked more, I threw myself in finding the company of others, and at bed-time, I could say,
'Yay! Another day over...! Every day is one day less!!"
That's all I'll say on the subject because I'm sounding like a sanctimonious mother.... But good luck, and hang in there!
I have a little trick:
I stop what I am doing and find a growing plant. I focus my attention on a single leaf and, very softly to myself, I describe in as much detail as possible what I am looking at: colours, shapes, smell, taste even, etc.... After a couple of minutes, I find I am feeling better.
Now, I find that I don't really wallow in it - I'll dip my toe in to check out the temperature of the "downess" that I'm getting ready to wade into ...
Then I usually end up shaking myself and then recalling and remembering the teachings of Buddha. Sometimes I just sit and evaluate and accept these feelings. For what they are - not adding to or taking away from them. Then, since I've acknowledged these feelings - I start to acknowledge good feelings and goodness that I have in my life. I find that when I focus on these two aspects, the good that I have in my life far outweighs the "down" I may be feeling at the moment.
Other times, I create something. A song, lyrics, a painting, work in the yard, clean house. If I'm creating something, sometimes I let these feelings come through in what I'm creating. Other times, if I'm working in the yard or cleaning or practising - I try to focus on what I'm now doing at the moment and try to put these other thought aside. Because, you see, I'm not doing something else at the moment. I've given these thoughts their time in the limelight - but now that I'm doing something else, I'm not trying to be mindful of what I'm currently doing.
And ... it's kind of like the monkey mind during meditation. I find that if I pick up my guitar to work on something - sometimes my mind keeps going back to what was making me feel down - but I have to stop and say, "Okay... I've done that, but now I'm doing something else which requires my time and effort."
Don't know if this helps.
-bf
LOL, trust me, it isn't sometimes. :grumble:
In the ninth century, Te-shan Hsuan-chien, a renowned lecturer on the Diamond Sutra, sought to challenge the upstart Zen school. On his journey he met an elderly tea seller, and sought to purchase some refreshment. She noticed his copies of the Diamond Sutra and numerous commentaries that he was carrying with him.
She said if he could answer a question she would ask about the Diamond Sutra, then the tea was free. But, if he couldn’t then she wouldn’t serve him at any price. She then asked him, “The sutra says that one cannot get hold of the past mind, one cannot get hold of the future mind, one cannot even get hold of the present mind. So, which mind are you hoping to refresh?”
Unable to respond, he burned his copies of the Diamond Sutra and its commentaries and undertook a path that would eventually lead him to become one of the most famous Zen teachers of his day.
And,
The Zen master Hakuin used to tell his students about an old woman who owned a tea shop in the village. She was skilled in the tea ceremony, Hakuin said, and her understanding of Zen was superb. Many students wondered about this and went to the village themselves to check her out.
Whenever the old woman saw them coming, she could tell immediately whether they had come to experience the tea, or to probe her grasp of Zen. Those wanting tea she served graciously. For the others wanting to learn about her Zen knowledge, she hid until they approached her door and then attacked them with a fire poker. Only one out of ten managed to escape her beating.
I just don't understand yet.
I'm very uncomfortable in my ignorance.
I'll sit with my discomfort and look at it.
Craig, if you need a quick fix, Fede is correct. Exercise. 20 minutes of cardio. Get your blood pumping and a good sweat going and you won't believe the change that comes over you. Your brain will release endorphins very quickly and it should last between 3-12 hours.
I'm still very uncomfortable in my ignorance. I'm resisting. I'll go sit.
Smile, because on the other side of the world I'm up.