What To Do When You Are Sad

Write 

I may not be sharing my feelings with all-day tears, but I am expressing them with ink on paper. I won’t share or keep everything I write about, but it helps to get it out. If you write or enjoy another creative process, use it to help you relax and process.

Help

I’ve been running errands and helping my daughter pack and prepare for her trip. She is starting a blog to share her adventures, so I love helping her with that too. Think about others when you are feeling down. Lifting others will lift your spirits too.

Clean

Get lost in sweeping or washing dishes. Even laundry can be soothing with the right attitude. I have a feeling that my home will be really clean by the end of the week.

Get the hell outside.

OK, this is another Maya tip. "Get outside," she said during our chat. "I don't care where you go, what you do. Get. Outside."

She was right. Something about moving around, even if you're in a bit of a haze, can be really helpful. I literally wandered up to Whole Foods and was looking at their different lotions and soaps and scents, and it was kind of dumb and silly, but I felt a little bit more alive. I felt less trapped inside my to-do list, like I had some agency. I bought a little $4 bottle of Bio-K, and I drank it. Look at me, I'm doing one thing. Next I will do another.

Have friends who check in on you.

Maya is one of those friends. She won't give up, the best kind of people. If I'm writing her some crap musings about my existence, you can bet your life she is checking in on me the next day. I have so many transactional relationshipsjust by nature of working in the media (a quid for a pro quo), and it's so important to have people whose primary interest in your life is actually simply in your friendship and well-being. You can always tell the difference. Their advice is real, good, strong and never sycophantic. They love you, but they call you on your b.s. They are your friends.

Take care

It’s natural to want to pour all your time and energy into trying to fix everything, even if that means sacrificing self-care. I almost went in this direction until I remembered that in order to give my best, I have to be my best. Eat well and get plenty of sleep.