If you’re anything like me, occasionally you find yourself in a funk. Not a physical, I-need-a-shower kinda funk; and not a Play that Funky Music, White Boy getcha movin’ kinda funk. Just an I’m in a funk kind of way. Here are some ideas for dealing with it:
- Practice gratitude: make a list of 3-10 things right now for which you can be grateful.
- Go for a walk; invite some humans &/or dogs along.
- Feed yourself. Honestly, sometimes your mood has everything to do with hunger.
- Drink a large glass of water. Repeat.
- Take deep breaths.
- Stretch.
- Pray.
- Phone a friend; bonus points if it’s a) your bestie or b) someone you haven’t talked with recently.
- Take a nap.
- Get alone somewhere.
- Write out all the feels; don’t think, just let the ink flow.
- Pet an animal.
- Work out hard: sweat the bad feels out to let the good feels in.
- Play your sport. If you don’t have a regular sport, gather some friends for a quick game of whatever suits you. Dodgeball is fun.
- Laugh! Watch YouTubes of laughing babies or silly animals, or late night TV, or just laugh at your own silliness.
- Try a new perspective. Sit upside down on the couch. Or rearrange the furniture.
- Smell a rose, preferably homegrown. Inhale down to your toes.
- Read a good book or flip through a magazine.
- Listen to music. Or make music if that’s your thing.
- Cook your favorite food. Share it with someone.
- Serve someone. Take cookies to a neighbor you don’t know well and have a quick chat. Or find out what a shelter organization (homeless, immigrant, old age or hospice) needs and do something for them.
- Put on some music and dance. Lose yourself in the music and the movement.
- Go for a swing on an actual swing.
- Enter another world: if your world isn’t working, find one that does in a book or a movie or a TV show or in your imagination…write your own new world!
- Take yourself on a field trip to a zoo or a museum.
- Learn something. Indulge your curiosity.
- Play a game with others. My favorites: Chinese checkers, UNO, Spot It, HuggerMugger, Taboo. Others like: Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Mexican Train (Dominoes), Hand and Foot, Cards Against Humanity (caution: lewd humor). If you can’t decide on a game, do a puzzle.
- Do something daring. Try a new-to-you adventure activity; register for a class; turn the shower on COLD and dare yourself to jump in.
- Travel: there’s nothing like it, even if your travels only take you to the next town. Imagine yourself a tourist and see your own locality with new eyes.
- Make something. Anything. Take something old and make it new. Take things apart and put them together differently. Play with the art supplies of your childhood: crayons, colored pencils, markers, any paint supplies, play-doh or clay. Don’t worry about what things look like, just enjoy the creative process.
- Knock some things off your to-do list. Start with the most annoying task and get it done already.
- Discern the reason behind your funk and do something about it.
- Find your happy place! For me, that’s the beach. The ebb and flow, the salty smell, the sand between my toes and the occasional unexpected brisk wave catching my ankles, gulls’ crying, the crisp air on my face as I hug my sweater closer… all of it has a cumulative effect that dissolves my funk into a bad memory.
Better yet, employ a combination of ideas, something like: pack a snack and invite a friend and dogs on a hike. Or take yourself on a field trip, find a quiet outdoor spot, and spend a few minutes writing in a journal. I’d love to hear your de-funk-ing ideas!
