Yes, I’m talking about you.
We all had a sad day today. At least the few people I talked to. And since four people is a relational sample to the rest of the earth’s population, this is apt. We were sad.
Let us collectively stick out our lower lip and make a solid frowny-face. That is actually fun so don’t do it too much as it takes the darkness out of depression. Stay in the shadows for a little big longer, please. I need you at your worst so I don’t feel alone.
Waking up today I saw that it was raining. While I normally ride my bike to work and burn a few hundred calories, it just wasn’t possible today. The dog and I loaded up and took to the subway. I think throwing off any of my normal routine is upsetting to my system. Also, hard exercise on the way to work and getting all sweaty is a nice release of stress and tension. It’s just plain exhausting and some of the awesome neurotransmitters start firing out pleasure. Great way to feel good without two fingers of Scotch, although that works great, too.
The sun not being around does something funky. I know tons of people suffer from S.A.D. but I wouldn’t be surprised if it affected all of us a little in a depressive way.
So, no exercise, no sun. Oh, and I didn’t bring an umbrella, because umbrellas take all the fun out of the rain. I wear a suit and everything, but I’m not willing to give up getting wet. So even though the rain was nice, the humidity just made everything heavy, hot, and dark.
The day itself was fine, but when I got home I just fell headfirst into sadness and fear. For years I studied self-improvement that taught you how to quickly climb out of these spaces. But for me, I never allowed myself to climb in. Sadness, depression, fear, anger, shame – all natural and normal human experiences. In fact, my inability to sit in these dark places without running away caused most of my issues today.
It’s weird for me to write a post without humor, but that’s where I’m at right now. It will be gone by tomorrow I’m sure.
What I’ve learned about sadness is that I need to courageously push into it to come out the other side. My inclination is to distract pain with television, food, or online activity. I’m afraid to go in to the pain because it might just be too awful in there. That’s where it helps to have friends who can pull you out if you get lost. But I’ve found that by going in I usually come out of it very quickly and the pain subsides.
It’s weird to have sadness when you have a pretty good life. Nothing tragic happened today, and I am grateful for a lot of reasons. But I feel sad. And scared. I can own it.
Tomorrow – seventeen new dick jokes! (I’ve written fourteen so far.)
Stephanie Force says:
It’s no fun to feel like that all of the time… ): but dick jokes always lift me up! *ba da dump*
arsh78787 says:
@pooja_y_jain @tfphumorblog
Katjaneway says:
I live in a state that rains a lot of the year, but I usually don’t get S.AD. (actually, too much sun bugs the heck out of me) except for once a couple years back, it rained every day for 30 days in January. I started feeling the effects. It was weird. Disturbing. I just wanted one little day of sun, hiss at it, run back into my hidey-hole because it was too bright, and then be okay. lol
Arianne says:
Is it weird that I get S.A.D on sunny days instead of rainy ones? I’m told by most people it is.Great post by the way. It was still funny I Have to say.
Deb Z says:
Totally get it. Great post. Deb, http://www.onmyownnerves.com
Irene Barnett says:
There was something in the ether yesterday….several people died (local celebs and national) and everyone’s “chi” seemed off. Oddly glad to hear it wasn’t just me or my circle. Ah, but it’s another day and the opportunity to turn it around with a bunch of dick jokes awaits!!!
Heather Stewart says:
You have to get sad before you tell awesome dick jokes. How else would you fully appreciate them?
TRfromRL says:
The dick jokes will come when the time is right ;D
Juststuff3 says:
wow! great post…thank you…you have just helped me realize what i must do to break the “funk” i been in for a month now…I need to come up with some vagina jokes…no seriously…you are right… i have been afraid” to go into the darkness…in case i don’t come out the other side…will you pull me out if i get stuck?
Faiqa says:
It’s hard to try and sit in that space of sadness. There’s a risk of getting stuck — I think that’s why most of us don’t stop to acknowledge it. I do it by watching crime drama… a marathon. By the end of the day, I’ve solved about 90% of the cases before the end. With a success rate like that, it’s hard to stay sad.I hope you feel better. Not that I’m looking forward to the dick jokes or anything.
Meredith L says:
I had a crappy day yesterday, too. Literally. My older kid still refuses to use the potty at camp, and my baby got diarrhea all over me. And we were out of booze and junk food.
ViolaFury says:
Maybe it was just a sad type thing. I’ve learned to embrace sad like you. It’s good to do that and it is scary in there. But you’re right about something else. When you go into it, you come out the other side more quickly than if you fight it. Kind of like a big, old roller coaster ride. Whee! Wasn’t that fun? It’ll be okay.
Kelly Fox says:
WTF? I felt sad this morning, too. It’s finally lifting off a bit. I blamed it on the cat. Damned thing is just sitting there waiting for things to be blamed on it anyway. I have a dick joke…ahem.. How did the man break his nose? He had a hard on and ran into a wall……. …… …… …. I know, it takes a minute… … …. …OH!!!! BURN!!! He has a tiny penis!! That’s just mean!! Who writes these things?!!