What do you do about depressing thoughts?

[Bob]

The kind of stuff you can't unthink.  Realizations of getting older I suppose.

Wrong place to ask I guess if this site is full of teenagers.  Ignorance is bliss.


My brain just presented a couple ideas today... If you're in situation-x in the future (which I'm on track for), what will happen in this scenario?  Not something I that had ever crossed my mind, but it's a bit depressing.  But realistic too.  No avoiding it.  

In which case...   Who cares?  If I can't avoid it and it's a decision out of my hands, it probably doesn't quite matter so much I guess.  

Still... Dang brain... Thanks for bringing that event to the forefront.    Details of the inevitable.  And ones outside my control.

[hardy_practice]

It's all sensual to me.  I'm late 50's.  Is that OK for everything to be sensual?

[ted]

It very much depends on the exact nature of the thought. If it is just projected doom and gloom about events which might not occur, then I just look them boldly in the face and pass on, allowing them to float out of my brain. If it concerns a negative outcome which requires my attention to avoid or mitigate, then I attend to it at once. There is a big difference between healthy concern and neurotic anxiety. Modern media, in particular, seem to try their utmost to encourage the latter at the expense of the former.

Sensuality ? Enjoyable, but unlike most people I know, I have never found it essential to happiness, or even reliably conducive to it.

[indianajo]

A Dave Barry novel is quite the antidote for depressing thoughts.
I just found Big Trouble at Goodwill.  My life is so much better than Puggy's, or any of those people, really. The maid, the rich guy, the arms dealer, all had their troubles.  Maybe the female policeman had a decent life.
A nap is good.  My brain is pretty good at giving me what I want:  although last night I was back in the Army again.  I'm so glad that is over, I was happy to wake up.  They liked me there, but it was too much work.
As far as the diseases of age, I'm fortunate to have a lot of long lived people for ancestors. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and ugliness run in the family, but not cancer or heart disease.   I ride a bike a lot, I sort of imagine the end as SPLAT!!!!.  Which would be unfortunate, but less stressful than laying around a nursing home listening to the woman in the next bed complain for every second (which happened to my Grandmother that broke her hip).  I've got the flu today, something that happens to me more often than most people: every muscle and joint hurts, I'm shivering or alternately sweating, coughing my lungs out.  It is so cool now they have a cough medicine that actually works - life does get better sometimes.  Two hours out of four I don't cough, what a blessing.
The Carter family wrote a song "Keep on the Sunny side, always on the sunny side, keep on the sunny side of life".  Good advice.  Maybe a bad cold will do me in finally, as one did my grandfather age 38.  Oh well, nothing to worry about, it is just the flu. 
 

[hardy_practice]

  It is so cool now they have a cough medicine that actually works - life does get better sometimes.  Two hours out of four I don't cough, what a blessing.

Too late for Chopin. 

[outin]

What do I do? Mostly I just depress them.

[Bob]

And guess acknowledge it and move on.

[diomedes]

Everybody has challenges and things they want. I believe some people are more easily satisfied than others.

Depressing thoughts? My dreams that i never dared dream happened but have also passed away. I'm unsure what to do now and am troubled by that all day every day.

The vicissitudes of fortune, I believe. Sometimes getting what you want is the worst thing there is, you'll likely lose it one day.

So i put away those thoughts and find dragons to slay instead. So far i can't think of anything better.

[ahinton]

The Carter family wrote a song "Keep on the Sunny side, always on the sunny side, keep on the sunny side of life".

I realise that keeping up with the bewildering rapidity at whih Elliott continue to compose until shortly before his death aged almost 104 in 2012 is far from easy, but that's a new one on me, I must admit...

Best,

Alistair

[Bob]

Depressing as in dark or morbid thoughts.

[perprocrastinate]

Nothing. I'm just happy to be alive. I think the coping mechanism that goes on in my mind is that I consider all the positive aspects of my life, and weigh them against the negative aspects, or potential negative aspects, and usually it turns out to be alright.

[nj61]

depends on type of depressing thought.

mildly depressing - revel in it for a brief period until I realise it is unhealthy.  Then remind myself this is not good, and think about my little mantra 'I have all that I need'

proper depressing - moon about being miserable til I get sick of it, have a bath, take it easy, be kind to myself, mantra as above

angry/depressed - badly played Beethoven

seriously depressed (rare) - therapy, followed by the above three in reverse order

[cwjalex]

learn from them and then forget about them

[Bob]

These I would call morbid, but realistic. 

I guess it's just acknowledge and then wait.  It seems to clear up after a day or so.  Which could actually be scarier since the ideas aren't unrealistic.  They are events or concerns that will come up in the future.

[nj61]

That sounds more like anxiety, than depression.  Though I don't think the distinction is as clear as they like to make out, it might help you think about how to address it. I hope it eases for you soon.

[Bob]

Interesting thought...

I wonder if it's like the emotion just gets "pressed" onto the mind. 

I had something disappointing happen this evening.  Then I realized it hadn't.  But I still feel disappointed.  The realization/relief doesn't match the disappointed feeling.

[slane]

Well ... being diagnosed with cancer (I'm all better now, thanks for asking ) makes you face your own mortality and I came to realise that most of the time we walk around with an implicit belief that we will live for ever and if you don't believe that, life becomes very very hard. What would be the point of learning the piano at 50 if you're not going to live to 100??

Almost everyday I have an "oh no what's that pain in my rib? Is it a recurrence? Am I dying?" moment, but I just push them out of my head.

If you can't push unwelcome thoughts out of your head, you should consider giving up all caffeine, that includes coffee, tea, decaf coffee and tea andddd... I'm serious! Chocolate! OMG! I missss chocolate .. but thank goodness I gave up my daily 1oz of 70% before I was diagnosed or I don't know what might have happened?

I don't usually talk about this stuff ... I wouldn't want to be one of those women for whom cancer is the most exciting thing that ever happened to them ... but you asked.

[Bob]

Well I'm surprised.















*Bob thought slane was a guy.*

[slane]

Oh Roberta! You funny thing you!

[Bob]

I actually know a slane in real life.  Haha.  Pretty he's a dude...


(I told you not to call me that out in public.)