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My sweet readers, I have to say, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed today. Do you ever feel that way? What do you do when you’re in a funk? I’d love to hear… xoxo
P.S. Winter blues and summery photos.
(Photo by Maple Syrup Only)
Le sigh
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good music usually…black keys, avett brothers, edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros….
boyhowdydaily.blogspot.com
loud music usually helps get me through. :) Hope you’re feeling better now
-Tsuki
I am feeling down lately. Is there a song out there that without fail always puts a smile on your face?
I’d love to hear it :).
Volunteer! It’s guaranteed to snap you out of ANY funk you’re in. Even if it’s just donating, researching, encouraging others to participate…
that little photo of the sheep… i love that kind of break-your-heart cuteness on a really bad day!
i completely understand the desire to turn to your favourite comfort things in harried times, i actually just wrote about it! glad to know you are in better spirits (with the likes of hundreds of supporters here, how could you not?) :)
Buying new snow boots! This New York City winter has left me with some very cold feet indeed!
Hope you are feeling better! January has been such a drag!! Here’s to a great new month!! Thanks for all you do. Your cheerful disposition has often brightened up my day:)
xo
Remind yourself that it will pass. Emotions come and go like the waves of the ocean. Then do something to make yourself laugh. Sometimes I browse YouTube for Ellen interviews. She’s always good for a laugh. Or Robin Williams standup.
Meditation too. I have a technique that I know that is quite profound. But with a baby that is hard…
Also just now that you are doing a great job with your son. All of the love and time you give will pay off. My kids are 7, 12, and 14 now. Wow. It’s so worth all the work. I have 3 best friends for life.
xxoo
Make a wish-list of all the things that make you happy… :)
I know I’m a little late but I wanted to comment on this post to say I hope you’re in better spirits soon! This time of year is so tricky.. sometimes the winter blues get me out of nowhere.
Anyway I usually try to spend time with friends (whether it’s going out or having them over for a game or movie). For me, the more people the better! Also, one trick I tried last year that really really worked was leaving my Christmas lights up in the living room until springtime. I think sometimes the abruptness with which the holiday season ends can trigger some bummer moods. Lastly, what I’ve loved doing lately is going out for quiet walks at whatever time of day is my favorite (for me: early early morning or just before sunset). The massive snow piles really transform the neighborhood around me, and it’s fun to explore everything in this new light.
Hang in there!
Hilary
http://togetherinadream.blogspot.com/
It depends on what kind of funk I’m in really!
School day blues: Fresh air, food and friends.
Winter blues: Outdoor adventures, crafting and movie nights.
Last year I did amazing things and this year I have absolutely no money blues: Working out, going to the bookstore, and calling a friend long distance.
All of these are interchangeable, of course. :p
a bowl of cereal, hot cocoa, a new book….my son would say new socks..that’s a guy for you…
Sitting with my funk in silence. Sometimes just feeling it out and consoling yourself is the loveliest thing – you’re not reliant on anybody or anything. Just you.
I think a living room dance party is the ultimate mood-enhancer. :)
I like to go to the Met for a stroll. It helps me get out of my own head, a bit. Think about bigger things.
bring the baby on an Eataly outing and get some yummy pizza and gelato!
Hugs to you.
Hope you are back to feeling good soon xxoo abby
According to science (http://www.slate.com/id/2282620/) just admitting that one is in a funk should help, not only yourself but also your readers! So thank you for being so honest!
Someone making me laugh, a chat with a friend, reading my favorite blogs, a walk in the city. Have a great weekend! :)
I understand Joanna, lately if have been feeling a little overwhelmed either. But then I found these amazing pics of rainbow cakes and it made me smile!
http://mandykoster.blogspot.com/2011/01/rainbow.html
xo Mandy
I usually go for a shower, cup of tea and borrowing someone’s dog … Hope you feel better soon!
i recommend copious cups of fancy, loose leaf teas, followed by painting nails any color you like, buying a trashy magazine, then going out for dinner.
hope this helps!
winter is hard.
x
Leela
I’ve been feeling this way a lot lately. This did the trick for me: http://johannainman.blogspot.com/2011/01/pick-me-ups.html
I hope it helps!
Pinetree Spa at 17th & 6th where i get a 1hr. massage for $45. I’ve, without exception, never had a bad massage there. They’ll even walk on your back! (sometimes I sneak down there from Rock Center on my lunch break. shhh…)
oh the winter blues, you’re not alone, joanna! i loved reading the other comments, look at what a sweet community you’ve created! and that helps everyone with the most important thing, not feeling alone in your blues.
as for kicking back into cheerful gear – if you can still move, a brisk walk or dancing followed by baking sound good. but if you can’t quite muster that energy yet, i love to have an over-the-phone tea date with my best girl, even better if you can do it in person! xo
oh the winter blues, you’re not alone, joanna! i loved reading the other comments, look at what a sweet community you’ve created! and that helps everyone with the most important thing, not feeling alone in your blues.
as for kicking back into cheerful gear – if you can still move, a brisk walk or dancing followed by baking sound good. but if you can’t quite muster that energy yet, i love to have an over-the-phone tea date with my best girl, even better if you can do it in person! xo
Change your perspective. Don’t read any more comment! Take baby and go for walk, museum, eat the best apple in the fridge, at the park! Look up at the sky and think about how you are connected to everything in the universe, and soak it all in. OR, think about what your life would be like if you lived 200 years ago, yikes. That always makes me feel better!!
breathing in and out slowly and having a laugh with a friend
An indoor picnic that involves eating pita pizzas and chocolate, and drinking expensive red wine while sitting cross-legged on the floor.
It feels delightful – especially on a week night!
Joanna, the following help me:
-plants. Maybe buy yourself a cheap bouquet of daisies (the friendliest flower)? Putting them in a vase in your house will change how an entire space feels.
-Give yourself something to look forward to. Small things work wonders here. Sometimes even the notion of buying a famous 4th street cookie to eat on the commute home is enough to banish work blues. (magnolia bakery for you in NY?)
-I usually read your blog and glance at a couple others. Seeing these other women who are able to find something whimsical, sweet, or beautiful always inspires me to feel better and reminds me that the world is full of wonder and possibility and limitless interesting things.
-Lucky magazine, a guilty pleasure. Worn Journal, excellent!
-the NY Times Style section Modern Love column. A treasure! (as is the rest of the NYT but not always the place to get perked up).
-hug your little “too cute it hurts” duck that hubby gave you. Anything that reminds you of your son and hub is a good thing.
I hope these help. And thank you for all light you have brought into my dreary days.
I wish their was a “like” button for some of these, they are fabulous. Hmmm, Random acts of kindness always helps me… maybe a neighbors will get some cookies this afternoon and you will get a lifted spirit… Productivity has always been very key to my happiness, sometimes I do something knowing there will be a quick rewarding outcome…hey fresh baked cookies might fit the bill… two birds one stone… Hang in! Spring is coming!
I paint a picture! Love the one you posted, by the way!
Very impressive. I like the that cute dog.
I never understood the winter funk until I moved from year-round sunny CA to Germany in 2009. Over the grey this month, I found just a little retail therapy for new spring styles (floral prints and pink!) helped lighten my mood – & my wardrobe.
I’s all about boosting your serotonin and testosterone levels. Excercise. Eat bananas, almonds, turkey and chocolate. Help someone. Do something new. Make love.Get daylight.
This is the worst time of the year according to me, winters are always too long.
That is exactly how I feel today too Jo.. I hope you’re feeling better!x
I have been feeling that way too! All this week and I can’t figure out why, but man it’s been hard to feel inspired! I almost did a blog post like this today as well because I was completely clueless as to what I was going to post about.
Hope it gets better for both our sakes:)
dancing in your underoos to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=339ixMtHrVk
:D
There must be something in the air. Pasta and red wine always does the trick!
All that snow would put me in a funk too! HOw many snowstorms has it been for New York in 2011?
For me- I curl up by the fire, with a nice glass of wine, and read or watch some good trashy TV to make me smile. Or I get out the laptop and go through all the inspiring blogs out there and let them improve my mood. Of course, sometimes, there isn’t a heck of a lot we can do – just got to ride it out.
My boyfriend and I like to look up beautiful/exciting/fun things we want to do with our lives.
Lately his have been Landscape Architecture internships in places like Phoenix and Vancouver (very different huh?)
And I’ve been looking at clothes I want to wear for my trip to Paris, London, Barcelona, and Madrid this summer. Yahoo!
Feel better :)
When I am in a funk nothing pulls me out like shopping. Shopping for my favorite food, for my husband’s underwear, it doesn’t matter. I am pulled out of my funk.
I’m sorry you’re feeling down! I hate it when that happens. Feel better soon. I think surrounding yourself with loved ones helps. Sending you lots of cheery thoughts from the West Coast!
Photos of Toby…
Couples walking holding hands…
Wool socks on hard wood floors…
Playing guitar…
Building a fire and being cozy with a good book…
Red lipstick…
Cats
the only thing that ever works for me is finding someone else to do something for. Taking someone else a pot of soup or making someone else’s day never fails to ban the funk. I know you will pull out of it soon :)
Cheese
Fresh cut flowers
Cyndi Lauper
Planning a themed party
More cheese
Damn, I swear there must be something going on this week, I wrote about this on my blog too a couple of days ago. I suppose if it gets really bad I get out of the house or stay in a try to doodle something silly.
reading.
laughing with my son.
http://colormekatie.blogspot.com/
listening to and dancing to Michael Franti
walking outside in sunshine with my son and our puppy
a walk outside? Or cuddling up with my special guy. Or a soak in the hot tub in the deck (we snagged the most amazing rental house last summer!), with a bottle of mineral water or a glass of wine!
a hot scented bath, a super hot cuppa tea. get in my pjs, and a good book :)
Gummi Bears!!!
Vodka!
I find having a quiet day can sometimes make me feel worse. I need to go for a run – then spend some time with people I love -go for lunch or visit a gallery together, otherwise the fun will last more than a day.
x
After a very cold windy rainy week this video of the prada spring/summer collection really makes me smile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBBGE7vz02s
I hate January and February in the midwest. My strategies to defunkify include: fresh flowers, cooking, getting crafty (valentines!), hand written letters to older relatives or old friends, and oddly enough-decluttering. Hang in there. March is coming!
Sing happy songs at the top of your lungs.
Lighting some candles with soothing scents (I personally love jasmine or christmasy like scents) and snuggling with my 80lb labrador, sunny :)
i hope you feel better xox
I so understand your feeling! We are being relocated from Toronto to an island in the pacific and I’ve been packing 8 suitcases, storing my apartment and traveling 20 hours around the world with our baby. So what do I do? I just think of all those people in the world who are probably undergoing really bad situations compared to mine and then I just give thanks to God for all that I have. And some ferrero rocher always help ;)
Mine is something you cannot swallow, it does not come out of a bottle, it is not housed within a massive shopping centre nor does it involve anyone else doing anything for me. My guaranteed cure for an out-of-sorts mood is to be in my garden (with my four-legged side kick/gardening assistant)getting dirt under my nails and on my knees, working up a sweat being the lawnmower or harvesting my vegie patch for tonight’s dinner! Hope your day improves!
Same here. This week has been kinda awful.
What always works for me is a nice long talk with my mom. I might cry (her responses are so sweet), but I always feel great afterward.
Yikes…me, too. just couldn’t compartmentalize my life today and found myself worrying about EVERYTHING at once.
Hope pretty blogs and chocolate chip cookies help.
Although easier said than done, yoga. Even when in a funk I make myself go. The first 15 min I’m hating myself wishing I were someplace else, but then I let myself go…..it’s the best, in the end :-)
Dear Jo,
Living in Brazil I never get the blues from wintery time! However, being a dysthymic it can happen to me very often, so I have to be resourceful! Today I just got a new kitten! I am having lots of fun with it ( my old cat, on the other hand, is not thrilled at all!!!!!!)
Wine, a good movie and some shoe shopping. Or kisses from your ADORABLE little boy. Hope you feel better soon.
Dear Jo,
Those days happen to me more often than i would like. Sliced avocado drizzled with a generous amount of condensed milk always calm me down. That, and indulge in some cheesy but good romance novels. I love reading your blog, btw :) xoxo
Hm, I like to make a to-do list and then put at least one thing I’ve already done that day on the list so that I can cross it off and feel productive!
I find that any kind of task with a concrete outcome is really helpful, like cooking or cleaning or fixing something–any activity where the end result is tangible. I’m a graduate student, so I spend 80 gazillion hours a day tapping away at my laptop, and the results, while rewarding, sometimes feel a bit low in terms of the hands-on pride that fixing a broken table or something can do.
hope you feel better!
A good art project, like making necklaces or painting, a glass of wine, and really loud, really soulful music. Works every time.
– Ariana
I wish my way of cheering myself up was a bit more sophisticated: I plop myself on the couch in my favorite sweatshirt, watch Real Housewives on Bravo, eat Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream and read my blog list. Hope you have a better day tomorrow!
YES! Just last night I actually had a “woe-is-me” breakdown which my husband and I laughed about today :)
Cures that worked:
Fro Yo Sundae
Vitamin D
Long phone call with my big sister
Back rub
Ambien
:)
i put on head phones and blast one of what i call my “happy” songs and take a few moments to listen, dance, and sing until i feel better!
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