There seems to be a lot of creative friends out there who also suffer from seasonal or occasional depression and/or anxiety. It affects everyone, though it seems to fall heaviest among the artistic and creatives such as cosplayers, artists, and comic book creators.
I recently posted on social media about this and asked others what they regularly do to stay positive during these times. The answers below were responses from that post. Now, I’m not saying all of these will work for you, but there is a good variety you can try.
The first step in the process is knowing you’re having an issue. Separating yourself from the issue and knowing it’s not you personally, but something separate on its own. Much like getting a paper cut, we don’t plan on getting one but it happens. This doesn’t mean you are broken or that you are a bad person, as many people go through this. It’s just a chemical thing in your brain.
When I find myself feeling this way, I use the rule of “put a name to your pain.” By this, I mean ask yourself what is the one thing that is making you feel this way? And I do mean one thing. Not a vague, blurry answer, but one thing. If you can’t name that one thing that it is, as I said above, it’s likely an imbalance in the chemistry of your brain. This is where the answers below, from social media, may help you.
- Don’t dwell on the past, but try to learn from it. The future is not here yet, you can change things. Live in the moment; try to make it the best moment can be.
- Take a 15- to 20 minute hot shower with high-end, nice-smelling bath products.
- State of mind, “if this is the worst thing that happens to me today, then this is a good day.” Tomorrow might be a better day, but I need to get through this one first.
- Fill my time with crafting or being creative.
- Pull myself up by helping other people out, even if it is just taking a photo for them.
- Make plans and set goals to achieve them.
- “Be the hero,” as said above, and help other people out and practice my martial arts.
- Working on my Cosplays and working out.
- Lift weights.
- Make a conscious effort to decide my mood. Focus on what I do have control over and what I do not and focus on what I can affect.
- Cuddle and play with my dog.
- Write, go for long walks, take supplements to improve my mood.
- Stay away from negative people, talk about how I feel with someone, post funny memes.
- Boxing and martial arts to clear my head.
- Watch self-help videos while cuddling with my dog.
- Surround yourself with things that make you happy, get out of the house.
- Start each morning with thoughts of what I am grateful for.
- Listen to music that I enjoy and escape into a good book.
- Find my Zen place, take supplements, take a nap. or a walk in the woods.
- Fix things around my house, build things, try to be creative, even occasionally destroy something.
- I let the voices out of my head by writing to keep my sanity.
- Cute pet videos on the internet.
- Being creative, watching positive shows and cartoons.
- Focus on what I can change and try not to stress about what I cannot.
- Try to get enough sleep, make time each day to do something for yourself.
- Take care of your health; if you are in pain or not feeling well, it will affect your state of mind.
- Listen to uplifting or invigorating music.
- 30 minutes of Yoga each day.
- Make my bed every day. That way I know I started my day on the right foot getting my routine in order taking control of my day.
- Take time to meditate daily.
- Attempt to make others laugh, as laughter is contagious and it cheers me up.
- Sing along to songs on the radio while I drive to and from work.
- Play video games to escape for a while.
- Smile and hopefully help others smile.
- Just get outside and enjoy the outdoors – the fresh air makes me feel better.
- Shut out the negative and speak positively, helping to reinforce the positive attitude.
I hope that, in some way, these offered pieces of advice help you. If you find that none of these help and you can’t find anything that does help, there is no embarrassment in seeking professional help from a trained therapist. Sometimes we just need that person to listen to us without judgment to help us get ourselves into a better place.
With that I wish you a Positive and Wonderful Day.
