how do you cheer yourself up...

I enjoy college & the NFL football seasons more than any drug to tell you the truth. I love watching & betting on football & I enjoy it alot, especially if I win money :) I can talk about sports betting all day. Other things I enjoy doing is playing chess & other board games with my 6 & 9 year old neices. In the summer time we skateboard & go bike riding.
 
Well, definitely hobbies I enjoy that not only make me happy but relieve stress (especially painting) and exercising always makes me feel better about myself too. There's also being around people and animals you love (animals especially make me happy because they'll never let you down like people do and are always there for you no matter what--when you come home and someone is so excited to see you, almost as if you've been gone for years, you can't help but smile). Listening to upbeat music will always improve my mood and believe it or not, smiling will genuinely make a person feel better. If you just make yourself smile, endorphins are immediately released and while it's no drug or cure it actually works, if anything because you'll laugh at yourself for smiling at such an odd time.

There's actually an endless amount of things that make me happy but it has taken a long time to find them out, and that's the unfortunate part =/ Going from depending on drugs to having nothing to "depend" on will turn a person's world inside out and upside down, especially if a person uses for years. They end up forgetting or neglecting the things that used to make them happy so it's hard to believe that you'll ever feel happy again without chemicals. Fortunately this isn't the case =)
 
usually its just the little things...

listening to music, taking a nap, enjoying a cigarette, reading a book, being with friends, watching a movie.

what helps me alot is making a gratitude list everyday. listing three things that i am thankful for today.
knowing that things could be so much worse. and that i got it good. i am blessed.

The list is a great idea. I had a therapist suggest to me once that any time I felt bad I do this. I also began doing this when making decisions, especially regarding people. Sitting down and writing out the pros and cons of a person or situation can really help you put everything on the table and make a much more objective decision versus going off of raw emotion (or lack thereof). You absolutely have to be 100% honest with yourself though!
 
They end up forgetting or neglecting the things that used to make them happy so it's hard to believe that you'll ever feel happy again without chemicals. Fortunately this isn't the case =)


Question is do they take the chemicals like pain meds for pleasure or the pain they are suffering? If you're tking pain meds for pain management & you get hooked because you like the way they make you feel, then I understand your comment.
 
Friends, cooking, Starbucks, reading, BL, campy entertainment, music, shopping, painting, video games, driving around, doing my makeup/hair, knitting, chilling with the cat, painting, taking a nap, funny blogs
 
'I'm sure we will all die soon from a nuke or something. I hope they all suffer."
Haha.
When I'm not too down I enjoy the thought of helping people.

Nothing cheers me up when I'm truly down. Nothing.
 
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Because of the nature of my depression (ie the severity), I find myself incapacitated 90% of the time that I'm not on some sort of medicine; be it legal or otherwise. A shite state of affairs but such is life - which is manageable because I'm responsible about it as I really cant afford not to be.

Anyway, if I'm too down, out and lowly to engage with people (which - as difficult as it can be to achieve - is the best therapy there is) I'll spend some time alone, exercise my days away for a week/however much time it may take, make sure I'm sleeping properly (6/8/10hrs a night - always even numbers to ensure as effortless a rise as possible relative to the circadian wave) and find something relative to my struggle that I can empathise with (eg a film on the topic of depression) - though I havent found many people who would agree with that last one however its what tends to work for me.

When on the rise back to my capable self, what gives me a boost back to my own normality is helping people out who are in a similar circumstance. I find it very...I find it almost empowering. Yes, I think thats right.
 
I daydream, then I remember that I need to take my meds!

but seriously I like to dream or visualize what I'd like to change in my life, once I get the vision in my head I picture myself moving towards it. It actually works on alot of levels, for one it lifts my mood at that moment, it gets me moving on a track that is positive and productive, and most of the time I'll realize the vision that I have.

I'm the opposite of a lot of people in that rational planning doesn't work as well for me as visualizing does.

Or sometimes I'll just think about a girl I like and wonder if she likes me, sometimes just thinking of a girl I fancy gets my heart beating faster and my mood improves as long as I don't attach any expectations to my daydream.

Reading helps alot too.

Taking a walk.

Having a cup of coffee with or without a friend.

NOT going to the bar.
 
Getting out of my house/ town. I went on a random trip to birmingham last weekend and it really sorted me out. But generally, sleeping, baking, shopping, running, music, dancing, talking to random people, seeing friends, drawing, cheesy movies, making lists of goals/ things I need to do.
 
Try to remember something, anything that has in the past made me laugh until it hurt. This will at least make me smile.

I haven't laughed until it hurt for several years and I know opiates have robbed me of this simple pleasure.

Also, as I am an Englishman, I fully subscribe to the belief that there are very few situations in life that cannot be measurably improved by a nice cup of tea! Lol.
 
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I tend to watch comedy films that make me laugh like 'Freddy Got Fingered' or 'The Young Ones' that was a brilliant short lived series here in the UK.
 
lift , box , hike (when weathers nice) anything to get endorphins flowing. Then hopefully my insomnia is straight (when im down i normally am not sleeping) and I can just chill listen to my music and make some beats while managing to take care of business online.
 
Music, good friends (the ones who actually listen and support me), and Bluelight usually cheer me up. :)
 
I think i speak from everyones true fucking heart when i say, you cannot cheer yourself up if you want to get high and cannot. I dont care if your clean from heroin for 25 years, if you still have the want to use, well my friend, use and be a happy addict, or dont use and be a miserable sober guy.

completely disagree. that's the type of defeatist logic used in an attempt to justify getting high
 
go shopping(if im able to get out of my appt. w/out panicing)
play with my animals
go through my things and give stuff away
 
This thread is way too full of excellent tips to be sitting all the way on page 5!

I came to the realization that a regular yoga practise has become essential to my continuing good mental health. There's nothing like focusing so heavily on what is going on in your physical body while you're in a tough pose, that you come out the other side and realize that you've been able to completely exorcise your demons for that time. YMMV of course; I've also found that I get my best positive thinking done after about the 10-15 minute mark when on a good run.
 
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