When you are down do you just wait for it to pass or do you try to change how you feel and put the smile back on your face?

I don’t sit on my ass whining and moping.
I get up and do something about it.;)
It helps to get some exercise,see friends,volunteer for something.
Get outside yourself

If I just let it pass it takes a long time, but sometimes I’m not in a place I can do anything else. If I can get outside it’s better. Or if I can find a puppy or a baby, it goes in a hurry. Those always make me smile. That’s not intended to be creepy, I just like them.

Both. I just let it pass, and/or I try to cheer up by watching funny stuff, but sometimes it doesn’t work, and neither does drinking lol.

It depends on the reason I am down. If I am down because of grief or another emotional reason, I expect it to take time to work through my feelings.

If I am just down for no reason, usually I will try exercise (which raises endorphin levels) or reaching out to a friend to cheer me up.

Persevere

Both, yes.
It all depends on what, if anything, can be done.

If there is an action I can take to change things I do.
If there is nothing I can do, I let it pass.

August/September are funky months for me, as well as Feb./March.

Right now I am sick of the heat, the dust, the dryness, my watering chores. I want rain!
At the end of winter I am ready for the sun again.

Nothing to be done about the weather, so, just waiting it out and planning a little get away in the next 2 weeks.

Yes, both. Wait it out and work it out. Waiting it out means being on my job trying to ignore it. Working it out means going to see a movie, reading a book, self-reflection. Finding inspiration so the next time I opened my mouth, rational, wise, compromising and forgiving words would come out.

It depends really,
Sometime I’ll wallow in self pity, though fully aware that its obnoxious,
and other times I’ll brush it off, go for a run- or the boxing club and let it go.
Self talk does wonders if you’re in the right mind to do so.

I accept the blues as they are. My therapist refers to this as my adaptive strategy. I note that I am depressed, but as a blade of grass or tree accepts wind by accepting and bending with it, I let depression flow over and through me and let it go. By realizing and accepting that (at least in my case) I can’t do anything about my depression I have embraced it and don’t allow it to affect who I am or what I do. Plus, I have a truly warped sense of humor so I cope through humor while I wait out the phase. I suppose a small amount of detachment is required to make this strategy work, but I have made it work for over 12 years now.

I’m never down, not worth the shit. When i’m frustrated however I like to run outside & do a massive Tarzan yell. I’m getting pretty bloody good at it as well, birds & cats & dogs come running up to me like I was their father…...no really!

When I am down, I try my best to get some alone time out in nature. For me that can be easier said then done at times.

Things that make me feel more like me pronto:
-Planting in my garden
-Mowing my lawn no kidding…I get at least an hour alone with my thoughts
-Walk or jog
-Funny favorite movie
-Reading a magazine alone in the bathroom sometimes it’s the only way to get a few mins alone
-Playing an online game I’ll just let my mind go for a bit

I think for me its let it pass when putting a smile on your face is not working or not possible.

When I’m starting to go down, I recognize it and then try to implement a coping technique. I have found that I am unable fake myself into feeling good, but I can change the way I react to my feelings. I don’t have to take them seriously. I don’t have to focus on them. I can direct my attention elsewhere. I can remind myself there is nothing I can do about it but feel it, but I don’t have to attach any significance to the feelings.

Also, if it’s situational, I try to understand that and that allows me to tell myself it’ll go away when the situation goes away. If it’s related to nothing, then I can change my meds or apply coping techniques. All in all, I feel like I can cope. I’m not in control, but I don’t need to be. I only need to be able to cope.

Most of the time I wait for it to pass. I do something in the meanwhile but nothing to improve the situation… I rather wait for it to pass then to forget for a couple of hours then to be reminded again at a point.

Eh I just go with it. Gotta ride it out. I try to do what I usually do. Sometimes it wins, sometimes I do. But I don’t wait for it to go away, I got shit to do man. XD
I might do something that I believe can help lift a downtime, like sink into a zombie movie, or get lost in a book. But if I’m at work or school, the show must go on. Also, beer. But that’s a default for whatever I feel lol.

If there’s no apparent legitimate cause, I usually wallow for a little while, until I get sick of it.

But I am not trying to “bring the happy back” or put a smile on my face. I’m just trying to feel less lousy. And that usually happens best when I stop thinking about it.

Sometimes doing something constructive is the answer. Sometimes escapism is the right potion: music, a movie, a book, some web surfing. Sometimes the best thing is just to do something that takes me out of myself, like fulfilling a commitment to help someone else. Sometimes we just wants a nap.

Sometimes making my husband listen to me complain and getting sympathy (which he’s been coached over 30+ years to give and now does fairly decently; men are trainable after all) does the trick, and I feel fine after that.

It usually doesn’t last too long, in any case. I’ve learned that even the worst day isn’t terrible every minute, and I’ve been working on putting my attention where it’s most beneficial.