Ten Things You Might Try For Combatting A Persistent Bad Mood

Subtitle: Taking this opportunity to harness Truly Formidible Force that is my own personal brand of Attention Deficit Disorder & make one of those lists you surely must be craving these days.

Dear Reader: Will you please share your most successful methods for combatting the occasional lingering funk that undoubtedly hits us all at one time or another? No really: you will do us all a favor if you'll leave a simple comment here, telling the world (or the 7 other people who will ultimately read this page... whatever,) how you buck up and turn your bad moods around. Because this is the third day, running, in which I have had to face decidedly UN-me perspectives and recognize the presence of Some Serious Crankiness, I thought it might be fun to actually come up with a plan for combatting my own irritable mood. Perhaps by the time I actually publish it, thinking back over the day's useful (and less so) attempts to get a handle on this day before it's completely wasted, I'll know whether or not it's worked. In no particular order:

1. Music. Just realized I've been working trying to focus on work all morning without the presence of music. Which is just ludicrous, really. Of Course I'm in a bad mood! (Although this excuse wouldn't have held water yesterday or That Evil Monday.) I chose a mix of guys whose voices I generally enjoy: David Gray, Travis, Jason Mraz, Elvis Costello and Old Stone Revue, a local band I haven't seen in months which is an error I should fix really soon, if they're playing any local gigs.  So far this choice, alone, has made a positive impact.
2. Acknowledge The Problem. Which is multi-faceted, really, but the most imminent block to my day's productivity is A Headache Of Truly Mythic Proportions. Obsess and perseverate over the headache, and come close to convincing myself that I probably have an inoperable brain tumor. Force myself to recall my eye doctor's "Do you have a lot of headaches?" during my last eye exam, after which she imparted to me the interesting news that my optic nerve is itsy bitsy and apparently I'm lucky not to have headaches every day of my life.
3. Recline on the sofa and channel a habit of my less sane conventional, deceased grandmother by moaning into the telephone, trying to relay Just The Right Level Of Intensity of my headache. Which of course does no good whatsoever, other than to cause others to feel bad and likely wish they'd called someone else.
4. Further acknowledge that while sometimes headaches do take care of themselves, that's no guarantee to a pain-free existence. Pick my moaning self up off said sofa and take some ibuprofen. About 6 hours later than I should have.
5. Having felt so empowered by the popping of pain medication, contine channeling the voices which declare "Better Living Through Chemistry" and ingest an Adderall, too, for the first time this week. Of course I hate the idea of popping pills to get through a day. Naturally I do. I'd rather do some nice yoga and drink some herbal tea. Get Real. As if. Smile as the pill goes down, recalling the likelihood that it will return to me some modicum of focus followed by the ability to actually concentrate and stop confusing my clients who are accustomed to my ability to turn projects around in a timely manner. Ignore the semi-persistent voice from the way back of my mind that won't quite let me forget some of the less-appealing side-effects of this prescription, since I really, really, R E A L L Y do need to get a lot of work done today.
6. Read, and then reread, the story of a woman named Sofia who was the victim of a detonated landmine yet miraculously lived and went on to create more than a "Mere" admirable life.  Add Henning Mankell's two books about Sofia, Secrets in the Fire, and Playing With Fire, to my reading list. Remind myself that a) I have legs, and b) just because my attention span is at times most formidible an opponent to the success of a career that demands an ability to focus on an extreme number of details and juggle a variety of tasks that aren't all as fun as the actual design elements, and some days the need to almost literally fight with my very brain to accomplish those required tasks, I have a gloriously cushy existence when compared to the challenges faced by many of the people in cities I may never visit. Decide to honor the struggles of fellow-humankind and do everything in my power to stop whining about things that probably don't matter that much if I look at the big picture a little more closely than I might most days.
7. Dig a little deeper than usual into my wardrobe while choosing today's attire. Recalling the pleasant sensation of noticing a few approving glances from more than one of the attendees at last night's Linking Greensboro Networking event, decide perhaps dressing for comfort Just Because I Can isn't necessarily a good rut to have fallen into. Subsequently chose a cute top which A Self-Respecting Woman would wear in public when I dressed for the day, rather than my default secret attire which could by rights qualify me as a candidate for What Not To Wear on those days when I'm not meeting with clients.
8. Further recall my pleasure in seeing people last night whom I don't normally run into.
   
   Danielle Hatfield, for example, to whom I didn't even offer the tiniest hat tip in yesterday's rant over whether or not I was even attending, in spite of the fact that I know she and others worked tirelessly to pull this event together, in hopes of connecting local people who might be able to collaborate and help each other out. (Of course we know there are other reasons, too, that some people attend such events, which was most evident as Dena and I walked toward the entrance to Studio B and had to hold my tongue (mostly) concerning the length of the babydoll dress the cute attendee ahead of us was sporting as she sashayed into the throng awaiting us.)
   
   Another person it was lovely to see was Tom Lassiter with whom I shared a group dinner at last year's Converge South, then later ran into at one of the Dot Matrix Project events and have thought of contacting each time a client wants to discuss the best online options for presenting video on their sites, but have never bothered to do before. Tom was most gracious when, in spite of immediate recognition of my mistake, I called him Ed (a name I oddly used recently when I met yet another person whose name was decidedly not Ed.) Tom had a kind sense of humor about my error, and responded with equal measure by voicing the possibility that my own name might be Candice, or some other alternative to Melody!
9. Read a bunch of post-BlogHer09 pieces which had the remarkable power of making me simultanously wistful that I had been there and smugly pleased that I had no part in at least the less-admirable elements of this year's female-focused blogger con. Remind myself, harnessing the more balanced and diplomatic of my faculties, that people are people and there is no chance on earth that more than a thousand unique individuals will converge in a single location without presenting evidence of grace, generosity, kindness and helpfulness while at once offering up the equally-prevalent traits that I don't think I'm going to give any attention to here, since I realize there must have been far more incidents of the former and I think I'm just going to enjoy focusing on the positive now, after all. (In spite of having spent far too much time earlier wrapped up in the blog-based retelling of some of those less-admirable qualities that could have surely made my attendance there at least a little more stressful than I like to actually encounter on any given day.)
10. Made a list. The sheer act of naming something...of actually writing it down, allows me to calm my mind and get a handle on things. And? Since writing this list took just about the same amount of time for that Adderall to kick in? I'm done now, and suddenly a sense of calm seems to have settled over my brain. Which means that as soon as I post this piece, I will return, once more, to the more important list that awaits me. Which would be the list that, once successfully addressed, will enable me to charge people some money and I will feel actually qualified to say I worked today. Which will very likely do more to lift my spirits than all the items on this list combined.

If you read to the end, a) thank you! and b) I'd still really like to hear your own list. I am surrounded by some really awesome people, many of whom are inspiring in their ability to harness positivity. A dose of your insights would be really welcome today!

Comments

[Dena]

What do I do when in a funk? Mmmm... depends on the cause of the funk, I suppose. Quite often I'll just take the day off if I find that not only am I not being productive, but I'm making my funk worse by berating myself as I sit in front of my computer for not getting more work done. It's a vicious cycle so I walk away and allow myself a day (or 1/2 day, whatever) to just read, walk, watch TV, cook, exercise... whatever I want to do. Usually lie on a couch and read.

You especially will hate this one, but I suggest unplugging for a day. Especially if you have a headache and it IS that optic never that's causing it - squinting at a screen will probably only make it worse.

Exercise always helps me feel better and science proves it elevates our moods.

And finally, like you, I name the problem. Often I find my funk is actually fear of something I'm afraid to tackle. Once I name it and think about it (what's the worse that can happen), I feel better.

Hugs from Blair also help. Want me to send him over? =)

Hope today is a good one.

[Melody]

Thank you for playing! These are great. Naturally hugs from Blair would be best, but I like 'em all. Although part of the pressure of already feeling behind would be compounded by taking even MORE time off. Sadly there's a catch 22 in my funk. Was. :) Not now...

Today's been much better, thank you. So much work, so much productivity. I'm noticing patterns from today, too, and trying to see if there are little things I might be able to reproduce on demand. (Such as going to a client's site to do something, only to find that said client is in the middle - only I didn't know this - of trying to make some S E R I O U S design changes to the site. Imagine that overwhelming urge to move your furniture around at 11pm. And those changes are being done live and not necessarily going quite as smoothly In That Moment, as had been expected. THAT'LL get the adrenaline going! Which helped for sure, I'm convinced.

I have to hunt down the ones that were added on Twitter, too. For anybody who shows up here later and won't see those...

Cheers!

[tamara]

I'm probably not the person to comment on this at the moment since medication is in my daily schedule because of the funk I slipped into. Unplugging sounds good. I ran away from home for several hours, sat in the parking lot of the local shoping mall, sipping on a cafe mocha and chatting with a dear friend who let me rant....about the people I live with. Sometimes life is harder than it seems it should be and being cranky is a natural response to being agrivated, tired or beaten down. Hang it there as it says in the Bible "this too shall pass"

[Joy]

For a headache induced funk: Excedrin+hot bath+lavender.

For any other kind of funk -- count your blessings. I'm serious.

[Dad]

Is this for men too? I have two suggestions which work for me when I'm going through a tough time.

First, Keep on living! I've got a lot of living to do. That's why I decided to up my projected lifespan to at least a hundred. A few years ago, a doctor told me that if I take care of myself, I might live to be seventy! Ha! I wish I could ask her if that's still her prognosis! Later, I told another doctor that if he could make (one of my vital organs) last another thirty years I wouldn't need it after that (I was fifty-five at the time). But I've told him since then, "I've changed my mind--I'm going for a hundred!" There is simply too much to do in life to get it all done by seventy, or even eighty-five.

Second, when I reach an impasse in my productivity (I learned this in preparing sermons) I give my mind a chance to "settle down." There can be so many distractions. Rather than fight them, I get away from the distractions, then give my mind time to work. It will then begin to focus on the task at hand. I find that I become more productive as the joy of study, work, or whatever takes over.

It works for me, and who knows, it may work for others as well!

Now I like the last thing that Joy said in her comments. She's right--our blessings always outweigh the things that are trying to drag us down!

Love

Dad

[Brenna]

You know what the worst part of being in a funk is for me? The guilt. How DARE I not be grateful for the wonderful life that is mine! Which of course sucks even more, cause now I'm funky and guilty too. What do I do? Sometimes I clean something really well. Usually while listening to good music. If I don't feel better when I'm done, at least I've Made A Visible Difference somewhere. Sometimes I take refuge in a glass of wine and cooking a dinner that involves lots of chopping while listening to NPR or This American Life. My - how domestic I sound! Unfortunately this last one is more difficult at the moment. Mostly I try not to yell at the kids, and wait for it to pass. Which it does. One way or another.

[Deb]

I just now read this, so hope it's not too late for another comment.

I've tried everything under the sun to fight a funk, but what works more than anything is to simply give in to it.

For instance, walk around (shuffle in old slippers, if you have any, it will add to your general crankiness) and glare at any and every inanimate object that happens to offend you at the moment. Perhaps a cobweb you only now noticed, or a piece of furniture you never did like in the first place--and why on earth did you put it there where it looks so out of place? Glare, I say, and then mutter, "Dumb!" I don't suggest doing this to animate objects such as spouses or kids. They don't appreciate it.

Okay, so shuffle along glaring and muttering. Find your particular brand of junk food in the cupboard or fridge and trudge off to bed with it. (If you don't have your favorite kind in store, ad lib. I once squirted chocolate syrup over Cheerios, so desperate was I for something to make my teeth ache. It tasted horrible, but I did it and so can you.)

Now, I don't care if it's 1:30 in the afternoon, off to bed you go. Find a horrible Lifetime movie, snuggle under the covers, glare darkly at the TV screen, and start stuffing your face. You already have a headache, right? Glaring will probably not help any, but at least you can mumble irritably that the cause of your headache is all that glaring and TV watching. You'll have something to blame it on, you see. The awful Lifetime movie will either have you laughing hysterically that anyone would even think to produce and/or act in such tripe, or you'll find yourself tearing up, suddenly maudlin and as melancholy as an Irishman in his cups. This is good. This feeds your mood. Go with the flow, don't fight it.

Indulge yourself like this for however many days are necessary. This all depends on how long it takes for your funk to get bored out of its ever lovin' mind. See, if you try to soothe it away with long soaks in the tub or beautiful music, you'll only irritate it. No, you'd best be taking my advice and bore it away with your slovenly habits.

Maybe it's just me. But it works.

[Melody]

Okay, all these answers are good. I loved seeing your names here. Each one of you has provided me food for thought, and something to really consider for next time such a weigh descends upon me. But for my money? Deb, you're the one who really got me laughing today. Next time I find a funk, I'm pulling up this page and rereading your words; I'm betting they alone will do the trick...or at least some of it!

Thanks for all your comments. Come back and comment again. We like comments 'round here. :)