Postby TackingIntoTheWind » Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:44 pm
Slow, deep, breathing helps me with the anxiety on a bad day.
Watching a favourite TV show or film, preferably something familiar, humourous, or offbeat. ( Eg: I'm a huge fan of the West Wing, Doctor Who, Sledge Hammer, The Shadow ( Alec Baldwin ), Touched By An Angel ( I have season 1 on DVD ) and Lost In Austen. I also love watching the original Star Trek episodes, that I've loved since I was a child, as well as rewatching all four later Star Trek shows.
Hanging out at my friend's comic book shop. ( He is not only nearly as much of a geek as I am, he also has depression, so we can talk geek stuff, and also support each other on our down days. )
Also, there's a BBC digital radio station called BBC 7, that repeats classic British radio comedy shows, which always cheers me up.
And, if I don't feel too tired, or " twitchy ", I love to read. I've fairly recently discoved the " Newford " novels of Charles De Lint, and I'm a huge fan of comic books, such as Kurt Busiek's " Astro City ", David Mack's " Kabuki ", Buffy The Vampire-Slayer Season Eight, etc....
And, two of my personal heroes that inspires me when it comes to fighting fears, holding on to hope, and keeping faith in the future, are
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and George Washington.
FDR got the US through the Great Depression, and I often reread his first inaugural address when I need an emotional rescue. ( And, he was a good friend to the UK, even before the US formally joined WW2. FDR: TOO COOL NOT TO BE WELSH! )
And, when I'm muddling through as best I can, I often think of George Washington. I feel sorry for the guy!
I imagine the conversation in a New York or Boston bar. Washington, ( Who was practically British anyway! ) has just come back from a visit to the Gents, ( Or, the john as our American cousins would have it. ) I imagine a conversation that goes roughly as follows:
Thomas Jefferson: " Good news, George! We've thought of someone to take command of the Colonial Army in the struggle against George III. "
George Washington: " You mean you've found someone dumb enough to take on the British Empire, one of the wealthiest powers in the world, with the world's greatest navy, and one of the most professional and experienced armies in the world. I can believe you've found someone that dumb! Who's the sucker? Anyone I know? "
TJ: " It's funny you should ask that George......"
George Washington started the war with very little military experience, very few experienced advisors and an army that ranged from pitifully inexperienced at best, to existing only on paper at worst.
However, unlike the British commanders, who never realized that their experience of European wars simply didn't apply in America, Washington knew how little he knew, and lwas willing to learn from his mistakes as he went along. ( Theres a very good two-volume biography of Washington by James Thomas Flexner, and I've reread volume two several times. ( I don't know if it's just a Welsh thing, but I always find myself rooting for Washington against the English! )
This is just a quick list of the top of my head.
And, of course, this site helps immensely!
& cornmint oil....
. So far, cleaning my apartment helped a lot when i need distraction
