Let's be real...there are days when being positive and loving yourself feels impossible. Everything's going wrong either in your own life or in those around yours. Maybe the kids are driving you crazy, work is a stressful mess, relationships are strained, etc. Whatever it is, or sometimes it's all of it, you're not alone. We all have these days. They're usually the days you keep thinking, "why did I get out of bed?!" But you know why. You had to. You can't stay in bed every time you have a rough day. If you've ever battled depression, then you know that if you stayed in bed every time you felt like that, then you'd never get up.
So what should you do when this happens? Give up and crawl back into bed? Cry and scream about the injustices of life? Sometimes, yes!, you should do those things. There are days you do need a break, you do need to vent to someone who is willing to listen. But it can't be every day, or even every bad day, so you need a backup plan. What you need is a good laugh. Do something guaranteed to at least make you smile. Watch a funny movie, stand-up comedy, or silly YouTube videos, whatever will make you laugh until you pee. Listen to music that makes you want to dance and sing. Take your kids for a walk or at least get outside for a bit. Play a game with your kids. Talk to a neighbor, friend, or spouse (preferably someone who tends to be a happy person) and can get your mind off your shitty day. Or get a good workout in...this may not make you laugh but will definitely help you clear your head and get out some frustrations.
Yes I am essentially telling you to distract yourself. This is in no way a long-term cure for depression, but it is definitely a short-term fix for a bad day. When you struggle with being negative or depressed, a lot of days are bad days. But not all of them are worthy of depressing you further or ruining your progress, and they're definitely not worthy of doing you in completely. When I'm struggling through a day like this, I frequently ask myself, what is actually wrong? Is it something big and worthy of feeling depressed? Because let's face it, there are definitely real things that happen in life that just flat out suck and it's okay to be upset about them. But then there are other things, more "first-world problem" types of things, that are petty and insignificant in the grand scheme, and sometimes they just all add up to a shitty day. Take a few moments to be mindful of what it is you're actually upset about, and you may realize it's over nothing important at all. These are the days you just need a little Positivity Tuesday bear in your life!
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