Another Trick from The Entertainer
Outside of performing and creative endeavors, cough cough click here cough cough I am always experimenting with ways to manage being bipolar.
This is one of my favorite things I’ve used a lot with success since shortly after being diagnosed.
Now this is gonna sound REALLY silly.
An effective trick for being anxious, depressed, upset, bored, basically any state you don’t want to be in is to… Change your state.
Now hear me out. It could be real simple, if you’re sitting down, stand up. If you’re in your pajamas, change into different clothes.
Remember how your mother always said when she saw you sitting on the couch bummed “take a walk, get outside”. Its the same thing.
Some moods you don’t want to be in will respond to a small state change while others require much larger changes. Take a shower, go for a drive, eat something REALLY spicy, watch a movie with a ton of jump scares. Those last two are particularly effective for me and will jolt me right out of an anxiety driven state.
Like any mental health tip, I’m sure a lot of you will just pass this by and not even try it. Seriously give it a go. Take off your shoes, put on some music. Small things to change your state can be really effective and start the ball rolling to get you out of your rut.
Experiment. Have fun with it. And if you don’t believe this can work do me a favor, right now, change your state in some small way and just clock how it effects you.
And if you can’t come up with a way to change your state on your own, here are some ideas I’ve used:
Color changing smart lights : I’m a lazy bastard and having my Smart Speaker change the literal color of the room I’m in is a quick effective state change I use ALOT.
Smart Speaker : Throwing up random years, decades, genres of music really can change the mood… if you know what I mean.
Room Change : This works even in a studio apartment, I have watched Netflix on a laptop in the tub because I was depressed and sick of my living room before I moved into a place with more options.
Clean your house : This is a state change in two ways; it gets you up off your butt and changes the visual of your home. You also see this bit of advice on how to deal with depression in a lot of places. At the very least, make your bed.
VR game : If you have a VR device you can go crazy here, scary games, exercise games, or just sight seeing on the moon. Great way to get out of your own head.
Change the media : Go watch a show you’ve never seen before, or even better one you think you’re gonna hate. Sometimes, wondering ‘why people like this crap’ can be a great way to shift focus.
By now, I’m sure you get the idea. Change something, change anything. Just try it. What could it hurt?
Oh and did I mention I’m making a game?
