Weapons Against the Blues

We asked: What is your best tool for dealing with the blues? And of course we had some great responses:

New! "Believe it or not I always clean the house. Now I plan one project a day to feel useful. Today I cleaned out a bookcase,tomorrow, I mop the kitchen. and I spend alot of my time on the internet and love a good book. I tend to get mad rather than depressed. I am allergic to the drugs such as mobic, celebrex etc..so no pain relief.. would be nice." -Barbara

"Chocolate? He he he. No, I think just to have a good cry and talk about what I'm feeling with Ben (my fiance'). Music helps. A hot bath. A warm heating pad where it hurts that smells good. Getting out of the house as soon as I feel better. That is a big part of not letting it eat away at you. Get back on the horse, ya know?" -Kashana

"I put on some of my favorite music, and/or call a friend. Sometimes I give my self a good "talking to" in front of a mirror, telling myself that things could be much worse, and that I had better shape up.Try it. It works for me most of the time" -Marilyn

"I have Arthritis. It effects my life. I deal with it as best I can. Being sad because I have RA is not going to help me feel any better, so I may as well try to be in a good mood. I choose to be happy. Also, a smile from my 2 year old or a hug and kiss from my 4 year old and I am Happy!" -Sue

"A positive mental attitude, counting my blessings and realizing how lucky I really am." -Robin

"Sewing" -Marion

"Not that it is an answer but my drinking has increased fairly dramatically over the course of this year." -Elizabeth

"I am off Effexor now and find that getting involved with other people has helped me with the blues. If I feel I'm helping someone then I'm not focused on my aches and pains." -Barbara

"Taking a walk, dancing, trying to think about wellness (what IS healthy about me) instead of sickness and never getting better. This is not easy to do." -Gaye

"I turn to my Lord in prayer" -Gloria

"Medication, positive self-talk, action vs thinking about it, and communication with other people by giving of myself (sometimes whether they want it or not!)." -Melanie

"Thinking and doing for others. When I start feeling sorry for myself, I think of all my friends on the alt.support.arthritis newsgroup...how some of them are bedridden, several have arthritis at a far more advanced stage than I do, etc. Sometimes that helps me to focus more on what I can do than on what I can't." -DeeTee

"I try to back off of the things that bothers me the most, whethter it is work or whatever. I try to do the best to relax." -Vickie

"read scriptures, exercise, eat chocolate" -Peggy

"Support from others in ASA and the 12 Step program I belong to. Both are good places for me to talk about how I'm feeling, feel the empathy of others and find some peace with myself and my OA" -Raven

"I always try to stop the depression before it flares up. I remind myself of all my blessings. My friend's child was recently in the Cancer & Blood Disorder Ward of Children's Hospital...I remind myself there are other people suffering far worse." -Terri

"Getting out of the house and being around people." -Linda

"I just try to have a positive outlook and I believe strongly in the power of prayer. So I pray alot and I have a wonderful mother whom I live with and she is a wonderful person and my very best friend." -Sharon

"I do something fun like swimming, which I enjoy. I belong to the Y and go there frequently. Or I do something that will make me laugh, like read something comical or watch a video." -Susan