Comforting yourself without food

[Jamiegwhole30]

HELLO everyone. Today is Day 13 for me. My mom went into the hospital last week and is not due to leave until next week. This means that for the first time in 26 years she will miss my birthday. My younger sister has just started rehab and since she can't reach mom she is calling me almost everyday having some sort of panic attack about a variety of things. I'm also in the middle of trying to sell my house. With all of this going on, plus a laundry list of every day stresses I won't even get into, I am really sad. Like I don't want to get out of bed, sad. I used to comfort myself with desserts or some form of carbs but I've stayed strong. Can anyone give some advice on comforting yourself? Being at work is the hardest right now, so any uplifting music recommendations or something I can do in my office would be helpful. Thanks.

[ultrarunnergirl]

Talk to someone, whether a friend or a professional. Any one of those stressors would be a lot for any person to be dealing with and you have them all happening at once. Having a hard time getting out of bed points to depression and you need to take that seriously. I would seek out a doctor.

 

Gentle yoga is good. Deep, mindful breathing whenever you can. Meditate (which is basically just deep breathing, sitting still, emptying your mind in a quiet place). I also recommend reading The Power of Now. It's incredibly calming and helpful.

 

Hang in there and be nothing but kind to yourself no matter what.

[SugarcubeOD]

Oh dear, I’m so sorry to hear that you’re going through such a rough time.  First, stay strong and know that eating junky food is NOT going to make you feel any better. It might give you a momentary high (as sugar is wont to do) but in the long run, it’s not going to be helpful.

 

My own non-food comfort things are as follows:  Snuggly blankets and comfy jammies, a bubble bath, cuddling the cat, putting a warm hat on, reading a good book, listening to country music REALLY loud, doodling… things you can do at work... hmm… music on your headphones, make a cup of Earl Grey Tea with coconut milk, take your shoes off, doodle, take ten min and watch these guys rescue kitties from trees (OMG, so cute!), close your office door and have a little cry (that’s comforting and totally okay!), go to Future Me and write yourself a love letter to read on a future date…

As far as music recommendations, I’m not sure what you’re into, but Brothers Osbourne is my current fave!  If you want their best song, it’s Stay a Little Longer.  Put it on your headphones and crank it UP!

[Guest]

following as I struggle with this too :'(

[GFChris]

In addition to the above wonderful suggestions, I'll suggest the following:
- Lately I'm loving Rachel Patten's "This Is My Fight Song" for inspiring music. 
- do a word search, suduko, or puzzle

- work on a craft (in work, you could knit or crochet on a break)
- garden
- listen to inspiring TED talks.  My latest favorite is this one by Louie Schwartzberg. 
- get out in nature: walk through a park or tree-lined street, go to a lake, pond, beach, hiking trail, mountains. 
- visit a fun/funky gift store and browse-
-  get some colored pencils and an adult coloring book like this one and color away.

- do the Three Good Things exercise. At the end of each day, write down three things that went well.  For each item you write, ask yourself what you did or what it is about you that made this item possible.  If you do this every night for 30-60 days, it’s been shown to positively impact your energy and outlook.