I've been in an absolutely vile mood for most of the day and had a really hard time getting out of it. Then I found this online, and for some reason it made me smile.
How to Cheer Up
First, it's important to deal with the any initial feelings of denial, anger, guilt, and blame. Though these feelings are perfectly natural, they won't help you feel better. When something bad happens accept that it has happened. You don't have to like it, but accept it. Denial won't make it go away.
Though temporary negative moods may even be helpful in dealing with a bad event, they won't help you recover and move on with your life. But a positive attitude will help you move forward. Most of us recognize this, but we often have trouble finding ways to elevate to more positive moods and attitudes. Research studies show the following interventions will help.
Communication - In times of stress and anxiety, sharing your feelings with a supportive person helps to lift your spirits. The act of verbalizing what you're thinking and feeling is often enough to help you get past initial negative feelings.
Meditation - Meditation calms, energizes, and diminishes stress. Find a quiet place to sit comfortably and focus on breathing deeply and slowly. This basic meditation will help.
Exercise - Physical exercise calms the mind and redirects thoughts and energy away from worries and concerns. Take a brisk walk, tackle some housework, or go to the gym; any form of exercise will help cheer you up.
Three good things - Identify three good things that have happened in the last 24 hours. Even the most routine positive event is helpful in lifting your mood, such as a good meal, a safe commute to work, or a cheerful hello from a friend.
Gratitude letter - Take a few moments and jot down a brief note of gratitude to someone who has been helpful to you recently. Again, this need not be an extraordinary helpful gesture, but a kind word, a supportive presence, or a sincere attempt to cheer you up are worthy of your gratitude.
Acts of kindness - Providing a kind act toward someone else not only helps that person but lifts our spirits in return. So even though you might be feeling down, strive to do something kind and helpful to another person.
I guess this is all completely obvious, but I've found myself in a trap of bad moods for the past few days and this really helped me swallow my pride and snap out of it. I've been planning a longer post about why I've been so frustrated lately, as well as about why it scares me all to hell, but I just haven't had the heart to tackle it. So this was a good first step. I guess Spinoza was right in suggesting that understanding a certain emotion provides one with all the strength one needs to counteract it.
N. has been thinking about slow: I have been thinking about small. I think I need to work microscopically, carefully, true to myself - and to finish things. Standing in my parents' house in Montreal, I admired my mother's masterful renovation of the downstairs kitchen: it is concentrated in a small space and a real delight, down to every detail. But the rest of the place is concrete, pipes and wires. It was a good reminder of how she and I and a number of other people in our family always take on too much, always dream up dramatic ideals without so much as even giving a single thought as to how they will be realized. I think it's called 'costing' or something like that. Skipping this step more often than not seems to destroy an otherwise fantastic project. In other words, it prevents it from ever actually materializing.
I came to a very similar conclusion when thinking about the Poet's dramatic style and, to a certain extent, the nature of theater in general: it's not for me or, at least, not really. The medium itself entails so much abstraction that it really does work best for expressing monumental themes, or absurdity. Writing for a small theater reminds you that all you get is a black stage stripped bare and a few voices and some small props - perhaps the voice of God on a crappy speaker. Or two bums, waiting around for a form of said God. If you're really lucky, you stage the plotting of a Danish prince. But you will never see the last twenty minutes inside Anna's head, unless you make her say everything out loud - and that doesn't really work.
So I think film still makes better sense to me. Ideally, I'd like to represent some of the microscopic reactions that make up our everyday experiences. Meteorology of the soul, or something like that. I guess they call that psychology, or phenomenology. Film as phenomenology? Or just. thinking. small. Writing a single scene at a time, down to every detail. Learning how to express each individual human emotion, building up a kind of grammar. Figuring out the different kinds of camera and stock and shutter speed so that I get the kind of clarity I am looking for.
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I saw this drawing at the MoMA a few days ago, but it wasn't called 'Mmasturbator' there. It was called 'Thirty Years Old.' I liked that title a lot better.
I've been thinking about building little walls lately, between myself and almost everyone else. And of moving into a bright bare studio with white walls and lots of skylights; or converting my new bedroom into a private little cafe (can't find a really good one in Atl). Though talking to C. today was pretty good.
Julia Haas is McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow in the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research focuses on decision-making.
