How do you cheer yourself up when you feel so down?

[Single Worker 1230]

I'm finding that since I've gotten older, the less technology around when life is glum the better. We are so wired now and involved in everyone else's lives as they are in ours. Talk to friends that have the same interests as you do not those that are just interested in themselves. My mother died when I was a teen. All of my grandparents have died. However they are always with me. I find that if I turn the technology off, I can be closer to them. I can think about the wonderful times that we had and laugh about them.

This is why I have dogs. I go out and train or do something with the dogs. I'm fortunate that I live in a beautiful area that has a lot of open spaces. I will take my dogs out for long off leash walks. I might be out for several hours. Just me the dogs, and sometimes a pocket camera to take photos. This gives me a time to reflect and to enjoy. I talk to the people that I miss as I feel that they are there in this solitude. The exercise helps as does the sunshine. I've found that I do much better when I walk away from all the technology and noise.

If this is during the cold awful winter, I'll watch funny movies. Mindless movies with simple plots. The ones that are so stupid that just just have to laugh. Again I turn off the phone, cell phone, and computer when I do this. After all this is my time.