Singing the Blues

We all feel down from time to time. How do you combat the blues? What’s one tip you can share with others that always helps to lift your spirits?

A few minutes ago, I finished watching the season 2 finale of the British television show My Mad Fat Diary and Rae Earl has been having an exceptionally hard time. She was on the outs with her mom, her friends are all mad at each other, and her best friend is nowhere to be found. Upon speaking to her therapist Kester, he asked her to tell him why she thought she was a bad person, why she always breaks things, why she was a disappointment. The second half of their conversation went as such:

Kester: Now I want you to tell me what you don’t like about yourself. But be honest with me. Don’t be clever, don’t be angry. Be honest.

Rae: I’m fat. And I’m ugly and I ruin things.

Kester: Try and find some sense of how long you’ve felt that way

Rae: I don’t know. Since I was about 9 or 10

Kester: So this is an opinion that you formed a long time ago about yourself. I want you to imagine a 10 year old version of yourself sitting on that couch. So this is the little girl who first believed that she was fat and ugly and an embarrassment. I want you to imagine her sitting there right now. Now tell that little girl she’s fat.

Rae: I’m not gonna do that.

Kester: Tell that little girl she’s ugly

Rae: I don’t want to.

Kester: Tell that little girl that she’s an embarrassment and she’s useless because that’s what you do everyday when you say that to yourself. And you convince yourself that you’re an embarrassment. A burden. Do you think she’s ugly?

Rae: No.

Kester: Or fat? No? Or an embarrassment? Or horrible? Or worthless?

Rae: Stop it! Just stop it! NO! Alright, no.

Kester: What do you want to say to that little girl? If she said to you that’s how she felt about herself, what would you tell her?

Rae: That she’s fine. That she’s perfect.

Kester: Then that’s what you need to tell yourself every time you feel that panic. That anxiety. You need to soothe yourself like you would little girl. Yeah?

Rae: Yeah.

Kester: You need to tell yourself that everything is going to be okay. If you commit to that then I promise you, you will be able to face anything. And it starts right now. Everything starts right now.

I’d say that’s pretty good advice for any situation. It never helps to put yourself down, especially if other people are already doing it. You can’t count on anyone else to pull you up, especially if you don’t want to be pulled up. You have to do it yourself. You have to be kind to yourself and then you can be kind to others.

Pinbacks!

1. Red Lines « Averil Dean
2. That Bad Mood of Yours Is Contagious | Musings | WANGSGARD
3. Daily Prompt – Three ways to shift the blues | Nicola Kirk
4. More Than Just the Blues: Anxiety and Depression and How To Deal | Sincerely, Ms. Roberts
5. Blue As Blue Gets. | Forlorn Hope: A Diary Of A Broken Heart
6. Out of the Blue | Charron’s Chatter
7. Till You Are Whole Again | Flowers and Breezes
8. Daily Prompt | “Down in the Dumps?” | The Mind of Profex
9. Daily Prompt: Wash Your Troubles Away | A Day In The Life
10. A Few of My Favorite Things | Trent’s World Blog
11. How to Beat the Blues – Prayers and Promises
12. Dior dress! | 1+1=11
13. Dp challenge: singing the blues and how to lift your spirit. | A cup of noodle soup
14. “Nobody Likes to But I Really Like to Cry”: Daily Prompt – Singing the Blues | samallen230
15. JUST WHEN DO PEOPLE REALLY STOP GROWING UP??? | DANDELION’S DEN
16. Daily Post, Are You Spying on Me? | Our Baby Dreams
17. Blue Ku… | Haiku By Ku
18. When I’m feeling Blue… | Raspberry’s Daydreams
19. Daily Prompt: Singing the Blues | littlegirlstory
20. Day 16: Make A Writing Prompt Your Own | Roe Knows Best
21. Feel the Bass | Daily Prompt | Word Disorder
22. I’m Feeling the Blues | A Blog for Laura Lee
23. How to beat the blues: 10 FREE steps to happier you | Blog is where the Home is
24. The Turkey Vulture Blues | The Zombies Ate My Brains
25. it’s been a hard day’s night | eastelmhurst.a.go.go
26. Bullies and The Steeler Nation
27. Loneliness | Life is great
28. Blues | I’m a Writer, Yes I Am
29. Nothing a glass of wine can’t solve? | Tales of a slightly stressed Mother!
30. Blues Prevention | Emotional Fitness
31. Daily Prompt: Singing the Blues | My Atheist Blog
32. Swallowed ghosts | shame
33. Daily Post: Singing the Blues | Love your dog
34. Singing the Blues | Real Life Co.
35. …and the ED kids just sat back and observed the carnage. | Never Stationary
36. Crack me a nut | The Seminary of Praying Mantis
37. Before…After… | Simple Heart Girl
38. The Veil | field of thorns
39. Diary – Daily prompt | Forty, c’est Fantastique !
40. daily prompt: singing the blues | meraki geek
41. Daily Prompt: Singing the Blues | SIM | ANTICS