’ve been a bit off this week and I can’t really figure out why. Everything is fine I’ve just been what Mr Smaggle refers to as the Grump-Puss. He calls me kitten, so when I’m grumpy, I become the Grump-Puss… have we all vomited in our mouths a little bit now? Good. Let’s move on.
It can be really difficult to pull yourself out of a funk but it’s important to at least try to figure out how to cheer yourself up when you’re feeling glum. Here are a few tricks I use when I’ve got my cranky pants on… and they’re much more fun than going for a run around the block.
Clean something
A drawer, the bathroom, the kitchen sink or even yourself. How can you feel sad when you smell like a god damn garden of roses or your pens are all lined up neatly in your drawer?
Find a puppy or a kitty to play with
I don’t have a dog (but everyone knows I want one!) so I just politely ask people in the street if I can pat their dogs. Most people love it and I get to have a snuggle with a cutie pooch and feel a thousand times better. Win.
Ask your funniest friend to text you something hilarious
My bestie is one of the most hilarious people on the planet so when I’m feeling low I just ask her to text me something funny. Last time she wrote something about setting free a swarm of killer bees to feast on my face. She’s pretty dark. I love it.
Do some handstands
Seriously do some handstands. They’re amazing at making you forget your troubles and if you just ate your lunch you have to concentrate really hard on keeping it down so that’s an added distraction. Win.
Take to the bed
I’m pretty sure I read this line in a Bronte sisters book when I was a kid but I just love it. It’s like shit is getting super serious when you ‘take to the bed.’ Make yourself a cuppa, get naked if you so desire and take to the bed for a bit. Close the door and ban your family. Do it. Extra points if you dramatically wail ‘I’ve taken to the bed!’ every time someone tries to talk to you.
Avoid the internet like the plague
The internet is a cesspool of horrible scum bags with no respect for themselves or you… and that’s on a good day. If you’re feeling like shit, Facebook is not your friend. Step away from the laptop/ipad/smartphone.
Find some awesome kids to hang out with
One of my mates has a son that just cracks me up. Watching him exist can provide me with hours of entertainment. They live an 8 hour drive away from us but I can tell you if we lived in the same city, I’d be at their house the second I was feeling a bit cranky. He does this amazing double spoon yogurt eating thing that had me in tears last time I was there. So good.
Get a little action
Sex always makes you feel good. It’s science. You can’t argue with it. You don’t even need another person if you catch my drift…
Take it out on your pillow
Remember when you were a kid and you’d scream really loudly into your pillow? Did anyone else stop doing that once they became an adult? If you’re feeling like you’re about to explode just go for it. Rip into your pillow and release all that toxic energy. You’ll feel tops afterwards. Promise.
[divider type=”standard” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]
Do you have any tricks you use to cheer yourself up? Yoga? Tea? Chatting to your mum?
[divider type=”standard” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]
P.S Did you know that I have a Smaggle weekly newsletter? You should click the link and subscribe. Last week’s newsletter had a fact about penguins and an April Ludgate gif. True story.
36 Comments
-
ab/fab post thanks smags!
you are a tonic yourself hun!
yesterday mr m was feeling really down;( so we went out and had a lovely walk!
then he went to the library and I to the second hand shop! … bargains galore!;0
anyhoo! he borrowed a Dylan moran dvd and we watched it! he is hilarious! good for the serotonin and dopamine! … <3 it and you! m:)X-
Author
Thank you my love! Dylan Moran is the BEST! He’s so grumpy. Love it.
-
-
Some great tips here Carly. Although I have been ok of late but I will keep these in mind. V x
-
Oh that’s so good to hear! I love it when people are feeling good!
-
-
I’m in the middle of a crap depressed low at the moment.
I am getting some joy from cleaning things as you suggested and decluttering. I just halved the dvds that were overflowing from two drawers in a cabinet. I don’t know why but getting rid of hidden clutter than no one can actually see makes me so happy. If only cleaning the parts people could see made me that happy.
I like to put on silly pop music that is a guilty pleasure and sing ad boogie as I do chores etc.
Do kind deeds for my kids (of course if they were the reason I was grumpy I might second think that one). I will do some of their jobs for them and they always cry out with glee and thank me with hugs. They hate making their beds so if I do it they feel like they won the lotto. lol
READ, a book that is escapism. So nothing too serious.
Put my face on. I can easily not wear makeup for a week or more so I often pluck cleanse and all that jazz and put on my face. I instantly feel better. Bonus points when I wear my fav scent too.
Tea and bikkies. I am trying to eat more whole foods… but tea and bikkies just makes me feel like a happy kid. Dunking bikkes never gets old.
xoxo Love ya face Smags.
-
Me too! Mr Smags and I ditched all our DVDs and CDs years ago. We never watched them and ended up without a means to play them! Oh man if I wasn’t doing #whole30 I’d be SLAMMING bikkies and tea!
-
I think I will end up ditching them all eventually. But I just kept the total favs for now. Ones my kids and I still do pull out to watch. I was tempted to ditch them all.
I think I did half the months minimalist game in one day today.. lol
-
-
-
I’ve been known to take an hour to go get a litre of milk. Sometimes when I’m feeling really blergh I’ve gotten in the car, hit the freeway for a cruise and sing a long to a cd. Only works when there is no peak hour traffic.
-
Oh lord! Imagine getting in the car to have some alone time and hitting peak hour? That would SUCK! I find driving really stressful (I do it and it’s okay but if someone else wants to drive they totally can. I won’t fight them.) but a nice long walk to a far away shop would be brilliant. I love just walking around and listening to podcasts.
-
-
Love it! If I am feeling grumpy the tumblr ‘text from my dog’ page makes me laugh every fkn time :o)
Bike rides help me too, or listening to crappy 80’s soft rock (ie Def Leppard, God love em).
Even GirlTalks fantastic mashup of All Day (the bit at the start where it has Black Sabbath and Ludicrous mixed up saying ‘Move bitch, get out the way) Love it. Always makes me smile :o)
-
I LOVE text from dog! So hilarious. Haven’t read in a while actually. Must re-check it out!
-
-
Singing out loud is a great way to make yourself feel better, it actually boosts serotonin levels in your brain. I find a few songs never fails to pull me back to feeling ‘slightly above average’ if I’m feeling terrible. 🙂
-
I used to start my day like every day but our flat is so small and Mr Smags gets up way after me that I have to be quiet! 🙂
-
-
or alternatively, read Smaggle 🙂 thank you x
-
Ah! That’s so lovely of you! xxx
-
-
I’ve had a crap, depressing week, so your post is perfectly timed! I’m currently studying for major exams, so I can only afford short breaks. Things I’ve tried to make me feel better: keep exercising (I do a bootcamp-thingy at the beach between 6-7am each day; seeing the sunrise each day is sooooo good; plus exercise helps with my mood), watch some of my current favourite sitcoms (e.g. Parks and Recreation, The Mindy Project, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), take myself out for gelato (did that yesterday, and it was awesome), send myself flowers (I’m doing this tomorrow), avoid alcohol (very hard for me actually, but I promised myself I’d have a month alcohol-free before this exam; didn’t count on a break-up during that time period!).
-
Holy shit we are actually ligit twins. Those are all my favourite shows (excpet Mindy Project because I haven’t watch it yet!). I’m totally going to send myself flowers today! Love it! I’ve been doing 20 mins of exercise every morning this week and it makes such a big difference.
-
It took me a while to get into The Mindy Project, even though I love Mindy Kaling. But then I marathoned it a few months ago and was hooked! I’m sending myself flowers from here tomorrow: http://www.littleflowers.com.au/
-
-
-
I’m really loving your posts lately! You’re so real and so fun. I hope you feel a bit brighter soon. I tend to eat chocolate or get my bubba to laugh which distracts me from how I’m feeling. Cleaning also helps. I love looking inside a neat drawer or a clean kitchen bench.
-
Oh thank you that’s so lovely of you! I’m doing the #whole30 so I can’t do chocolate but tea and some almonds will surely suffice! 🙂
-
-
You are such a gem. You’re feeling off, so you wrote this post to help others. I could smoosh you!
This week is off for me too – neck out, boring job, that time of the month, yada yada yada. So I’ve taken time out for myself to go to the physio and get my neck treated, I’ve walked every single morning with Amalfi and after work I’m taking him to the dog park, plus tomorrow night I’m catching up with some girlfriends for wine and a goss fest – which means I’m going to put on a bit of extra makeup and wear a pretty dress. Yay! x-
I WILL SMOOSH YOU!!! Oh good girl – Amalfi cheers everyone up! I wish I was in Adelaide! I’d come crash yo partay!!!
-
-
You did it again (in my best Britney Spears voice.) It’s like you’re my virtual life coach! Yay you! I’m totes going to try the “take to my bed” tactic, that’s one I haven’t tried. If I’m down in the dumps, going for a run and baking a cake (but not at the same time, ) usually see me right.
-
Ha! Yay! love it! I’m smack bang in the middle of the #whole30 so no cake for me but running really helps!
-
-
Lots of great suggestions in your post and from others – I hope you are feeling better now!
You sound like you are feeling something I was just reading about (and feel from time to time – but I’ve never heard it described like this, from Sarah Turnbull’s All Good Things). I loved this description, and the approach of the Tahitian people to feeling ‘bleuh’, or ‘over it’ or ‘fiu’ – see what you think:
‘J’etait fiu’: the last word, ‘fiu’, was Tahitian. Pronounced ‘phew’, everyone on these islands knew exactly what it means. She was fed up / over it / over everything. What had caused Nelly to feel this way she didn’t say: there could be one reaon or many or none easily identifiable. The expression refers to a state of mind that might account for a for a decision to spend the day in bed or to walk out on a husband or wife or simply disappear for a while, perhaps to an outer island to stay with relatives. A local psychiatrist who studies the condition likened it to depression. Importantly, instead of denying it or maintaining appearances, Polynesians allow themselves to succumb to it. Just like the wet season rains, feeling fiu is considered a normal part of the life cycle and it is understood it will pass eventually.’
-
Oh totally! I was also wondering if it might have been stress – I was a spread a bit thin last week and getting really bad headaches so I think that might have been the issue!
-
-
Just had a giggle in the lunch room imagining dramatically announcing ‘I’ve taken to the bed!’ Hilarious.
-
I swear I’m a heat beat away from doing that right now! 🙂
-
-
Apparently smiling improves your mood; so sometimes if I know I’m being a grump I force myself to smile and hope for the best. Meditation also helps. 😀
-
Oh yes! I find meditation that ends in a smile really helps!
-
-
LOVING this list!!! Awesome ideas!! I have defn attempted one or all of these at one point in time. Jx
-
I believe tea solves most issues. I have my cranky pants on tonight so off to make a brew. Completely agree on the puppy front and I think I will have to “Take to the bed!” very soon.
-
LOVE this article! Saved for glum days!
x Luciana
-
Great post. I’ve scheduled a number of social media free weekends to help with this. Unfortunately last weekend wasn’t one of them and an old blog post on minding the (thigh) gap made a comeback and I took a beating. It was shared with a men’s group apparently and the comments came thick and fast and were abusive to say the least. I was already having an off week and I came close to hitting delete on just about everything.
Pingbacks
-
[…] And if this time of year is the worst for you, here are some tips to cheer yourself up. […]
-
[…] Und wenn diese Zeit des Jahres ist das Schlimmste für Sie, hier sind einige Tipps, um sich aufzumuntern . […]
[…] And if this time of year is the worst for you, here are some tips to cheer yourself up. […]
[…] Und wenn diese Zeit des Jahres ist das Schlimmste für Sie, hier sind einige Tipps, um sich aufzumuntern . […]
