MY LIFE: 5 things I do when I just can’t…

Courtesy Creative Commons

We all have days where at some point we throw up our hands and just mumble (or scream) “I just can’t…”. We’re not being dramatic – those of us who battle chronic pain and illness are already so much behind the eight-ball that even everyday stressors can have a big impact. When we have a day where everything goes wrong, sometimes it seems easier to just give up. But there are things we can do. Here are five of my coping methods:

1. Get away from other people: When I’m in this mindset, I am not good company. I yell at my child (though sometimes, like today, she deserves it), I snap at telemarketers who are unlucky enough that I actually picked up the phone, and generally I am a cranky, um, witch. So I afford myself a strategic retreat.
2. Eat or drink something, anything: I know sometimes when I have a bad day, food and drink just do not sound appealing. But I need to eat. We all do. So at times like this I search for something I can handle, even if it’s not good for me. Eating something unhealthy is better than not eating at all, at least in my opinion.
3. Find a distraction: Right now I’m watching Foyle’s War, a 9-season British TV show (only 3-5 episodes per season, but they’re each like 90 minutes long) set during WWII and just after. I like historical stuff, and I love British TV shows. After that I might go back to documentaries. Love those too and I have a bunch lined up in my various queues.
4. Do something relaxing: Put on your Himalayan salt lamp, essential oil diffuser, run a bath, use your markers to color, or whatever else serves to relax you. Hell, do all of them. I do!
5. Spend some “stupid time”: Do you like watching cat videos? Endless fanvids from your favorite TV shows? Doesn’t matter what it is, if you laugh or your mood lifts, these things have done their jobs.

What things do you do to fix a crappy day?