Via stageleft, Occam's Carbuncle has a To-Do list for men trying to maintain through the hard times, aka "The Shit".
A lot of the stuff on OC's list crosses gender boundaries -- exercise, with its release of all those lovely little endorphins, will always make anyone feel better (and look better, which also helps). And certainly a judiciously-paced medicinal drink or two can take the rough edges off most any situation. (But drinking while exercising -- not recommended, especially on a stair climber.) However, being a guy, OC notes that he can't really speak to what women do to Get Through Shit. I'd say everything on his list, plus:
1. Redecorate, renovate, do whatever it takes to make familiar surroundings look new.
2. Clean. Obsessively.
3. Bake bread. (I dunno, it worked for me.)
4. Dress it up a bit. Not a gown and tiara, just ditch the sweats for awhile. Don't leave the house without looking in a full length mirror. (While some might call this "appearance-obsessed", I disagree -- it's just dressing with a little self-respect.)
5. Do something completely unselfish that helps someone else. (I started taking my dogs to visit a Seniors' Home -- sounds corny, but it worked. For them and me.)
That's a few of the things that helped me get through some Shit, but I'm sure there's more. So how do you do it? How do you get through when Life's Great Shit-hammer falls? Post at Occam's place to addendum his list.
|