How to make yourself happy when you're sad?

sing and dance like there’s no tomorrow!!!! Just put on your iPod

Oh maybe I shouldn’t have said alone… My mom and brother are here a lot. (I don’t know them so don’t say hang out with them or anything like that.

Say thanks for all the good things in your life. When you are done listing them all, you will feel better.

Do something for someone else. Write a letter or card to a friend or older relative who would love to hear from you.

I think this is a great question and begs the larger question of how much control we really have over our feelings. Can you make yourself happy when you’re sad? Maybe you just have to be sad for a while. I think all of us having shitty days should put on crappy music and sulk.

Yes but I’ve been having a pretty crappy half a year. and it’s not for no reason there are a ton of reasons I refuse to be medicated for situational depression. I just need a little help pulling myself out of this

nighttripper, sweetheart, one thing you will find about “situational depression” is that if you really do have depression, every situation makes you depressed. And you will think it’s your parents or your boyfriend or your classes or your job or your husband or your kids or your dog—it’s not. It’s in your brain. And it’s braver and better to get help than to wait for things to get better.

I don’t know your situation. I’m not a doctor. But I know an awful lot about depression and I hope you will listen to me on this one if nothing else.

I’m a really happy person when I’m not forced to be around someone I hate and that hates me all the time. And when my friends arent asshole traitors. and when my boyfriend doesnt stand me up 6 times in one month. It is just the situation I’m sure

@nighttripper I call 2005 my lost year. A bunch of things including the death of my sister really hit me hard. I stayed in dead-end temp jobs (I couldn’t concentrate enough to think of doing anything else.). I physically hurt myself (tore a hamstring). I don’t normally have a problem with depression, and I was too sunk down in grief to see this, but I might have lost less than a year if I had thought to get some help.

I hope your situation improves. I care what happens.

From where I’m standing, that sounds a lot more like a bad mood and a not-so-great attitude than depression.

exercise

should I have a good attitude toward my friends gaining up on me and basically throwing me out of the group because “I don’t tell them when I have a problem with them” (even I don’t know what problem they’re talking about). It is pretty depressing when all your “friends” just toss you aside and no one gives a shit about you.

If what you are describing is what happened, that is not fun! Luckily, there are a whole world of possible friends out there. Reach out and make new ones. Success is the best revenge.

Don’t go back to your friends, ever. Find new people to hang out around

Do your best to work on removing yourself from the person you say you hate (i assume your mother or brother or someone since you said you’re always around this person and also that those two are home a lot and you have no relationship with them)

Dump the boyfriend

Oh and another thing about friends, you’re going to be betrayed by people for the rest of your life, we all will be. You have to do your best to sever your ties, walk away and know you’ll be better off for it.

I know that I’m trying to find some good friends but high school is probably the WORST place to look for good friends. I am in the process of dumping mt boyfriend but he wont come over so I can do it I really dont what to sink so low as to do it on the phone. And my whole life is devoted to and planned around avoiding my mom. I dont know what else to do for now though while im in the process to doing all these things

What year of hs are you? and even just finding one person can be good enough. You don’t always need a group. Give him another chance to come see you if not then explain to him on the phone that you didn’t want to do it this way but he gave you no choice. It happens. Also try doing more things outside of school so a) you meet people and b) youre away from home more often

I’m at the end of junior year. I’m kind of wondering if it’s even worth it to make friends at this point. And I want to do things outside of school but I’m lost as to what. I hate sports I don’t really know what else there is. All the clubs at my school only go like for an hour after school and I’m not really interested in any of them except SADD which I’m in. What else is there? My town is so tiny. let me give you an idea of how tiny. our high school is combined with the next town over and we still only have about 500 students in all 4 grades. Limiting the choice of friends and things around town to do.

What do you like to do nighttripper? Are you an artist? musician? into nature? Look for some groups that do that.

Think about volunteering. You can meet nice people that way.

Also, hang in there. This too shall pass. A year seems forever in high school, but you can do it. Make your plans for after. Are you going to go to college? If you are, spend time thinking about that. Look on the school’s web site for clubs and organizations.

If not, think about moving to a bigger town to look for work.

Later in life, most people only have kept a few friends from high school if any. They won’t matter soon.

I wish I could move right now but thats not my choice at this point. I’ve been looking for a job too. not much of a selection. I want to volunteer but I’m not really sure how. I dont really know how to find out about all of the goings ons in my town and area. I dont have a car yet so it’d hhave to be close but I’m not sure how to find out. we dont get a paper at my house

Hm well at the risk of sounding mean I really don’t see the reason to try and offer advice to you now. I was reading other questions you’ve posted and although you say you want advice and or help you really just use every excuse there is not to achieve what you want and or to get help. May people do this, it’s not just you however it is possible to obtain the things you want, you just have to make the choice to so. It may be hard but people do this all the time. And until you honestly choose to better yourself and your life you will continue to ask these questions and go no where. And being in HS doesn’t make you worse off to accomplish these things more than being an adult does either.

Good luck.

when high school ends im not going to be seeing them ever again. I just want to know what to do when I’m sitting alone bored and sad. most of these answers are for things i can go out of the house and do but i asked about what I can do when I’m sitting here at home

Bacardi and chocolate covered strawberries always make me happy; enjoyed together.

I’ll have to skip the bacardi I’m only 17

hey nighttripper, how are the seizures? Have they gone away? (yes, I do remember your thread about that) just concerned. Anyways, when I’m sad and alone and have nobody to talk too I write, lock myself up in my room and listen to Music & dance. Junior year sucked for me too (well, sophmore was worse)... But it has gotten better since. Trust me, it always will.

smoking a doobie always makes me feel better.

They still haven’t stopped :(

but yeah everyone I’ve asked say highschool was the worst time of their life not the best.

Well.. It was the worst and the best for me. I can’t complain- I had some good times. But I also had a lot of times when I felt alone. I really got into instruments- have you ever played guitar, or piano? That helped me too. But yeah, it always gets better night. And if the seizures still havent stopped I’m very worried for you and wish you’d get help (unless you have already).

Take a Bubble Bath!

I ditto the Bubble Bath!

Find a hobby you can do by yourself. Drawing, painting, photography (yes, I’m very visual) or something else.
But don’t ignore the sadness. The best way to get rid of it is to let it run its course. Be sad, be miserable, cry your eyes out. When you’re done, do something for yourself and be happy about it.

you could probobly teach yourself an instrument. idk, just throwin out ideas

Instruments dont work for me. I’ve tried that a million times I dont have that kind of patience and committment. I do love photography I do that a lot. I left my camera in my bf car this week he better give it back soon

take a spin in my car, hit one of my playlist on the iPod, turn the music up, Hit some canyons, twisty roads, its my stress reliever.

I share with a friend about how I’m feeling. I find if I keep it all to myself I feel worse. I also know for me if I try and ignore how I’m feeling it doesn’t work. I think the most helpful thing is connecting with someone that cares about me and tell them what’s going on so I can get another perspective. It doesn’t make the feelings go away immediately but getting other views can help. If I can I also like to step out of the feeling and reflect on what I have in my life that is worth appreciating. There’s always someone who has it worse—this helps me not get too focused on just me. Lastly, I hug my cat. She makes my heart feel better too.

go geocaching with a team in your area. It’s social exercise.
http://www.geocaching.com or
http://www.earthcaching.com

i get a nice shower and blast the music, it makes me feel refreshed and energized

i sleep, take a nap and it makes me feel alot better in the long run

i talk to my boyfriend, even though he is the bud of most of my saddness, he makes me happy everytime i talk to him =]

i eat some food, they give you antioxidants, like chocolate does and it releases endorfins to make you happy