What to do when facing the doldrums of life

Exercise- Those “feel good” endorphins can help to calm and relax you.

Sleep- Sometimes issues can seem too overwhelming and exhausting. You’re not helping matters by fretting, so sometimes the best plan is to just sleep. Even if it’s the middle of the day, take a short nap.  It will give your emotions time to recharge since sleeping forces you to take a break from being all worked up.

Pray- The song “What a friend we have in Jesus” talks about “oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer”
So often we are quick to share with anyone who will listen about the trials and struggles we are facing, while we forget to cry out to the One who cares most. The One who can actually affect the situation, in His timing, with His wisdom and power.

Cry- Sometimes it just takes a good cry to clear out all the pent up emotion and tension. It’s actually healthy and therapeutic to occasionally have a good nose blowing, tissue session.

Clean or work on something else –  You may not be able to control the situation at hand, but there are things still within your control. Pick something to do that helps you feel accomplished and put together, whether it’s vacuuming, scrubbing, doing some gardening, writing a letter.

Buy a gift- Buy a gift for a random friend and write her a nice card. You’ll get excited about this act of love and focusing on someone else.  This can create a little fun for you and become a highlight for someone else.

Work- Working with your hands, somehow alleviates the mind. I’m not sure why, but it helps, so you’ll just have to trust me on that one.

Distract- Watch a movie or read a book. Do it and don’t feel guilty about it.  Sometimes distractions can help to put things in perspective when your mind returns to the problem.