Name one thing that helped get you through an extremely difficult time?

For me, hot baths. Lots and lots of them.

I enjoy motivational, ‘spiritual’ works on CD or in book form.
During a difficult personal time some years ago, divorce, family death, the usual flurries of life stuff and changes I listened to a lot of Eckhart Tolle’s works and found them very beneficial and enlightening.

A dear friend who worked their ass off for me these past 6 months and I owe BIG TIME!

Alcohol and meaningless sex.

My friend who saved my life the night I got closest to checking out.

The dark before the dawn.

Mountain Dew. I almost fell asleep at work, then I drank a Mountain Dew.

A sense of gratitude for still being alive…and oh yeah, a good movie.

Dalwhinnie!! What @Blackberry said! ;-/ a long time ago…...........

Serious replies. :)

My parents took in me and my son. They provided room and board and sympathy, never asked for anything in exchange, and simply allowed me the time necessary to recuperate.

My current girlfriend. A true life saver.
Not that my life was in real danger when I met her, that is a figure of speech.
But I was definitely lost, and she definitely found me and led me out of the proverbial deep dark woods.
If she took off tomorrow (she probably will not), I would still be grateful to her forever.

A good therapist and the love of my friends. (And many hot baths, too!)

Whenever I come upon a difficult time, I put myself to work and learn how to do something new. When I was 14 years old, I picked up a cello and learned how to play it on my own. It helped me get through the depression I had after I was adopted. Music is the only thing that can really help me through these times.

I was being serious…. Seriously :-/
When my marriage collapsed around me I fell into a bottle… It took me six months & some serious friendships to sober me up. That was just over ten years ago, almost eleven… the meaningless sex was just a pointless act of revenge, thank heavens I was drunk most of the time……. :-/
My friends pulled me through…. :-)

My husband and my dogs. Long walks in natural places.

Funny you ask this question I just pulled out on YouTube the Randy Pausch The Last Lecture and this is what I find very helpful in getting me through some tough times. No matter the issue this helps with all situations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

If you haven’t seen it yet, its worth watching at least once!

In the late 70s-early 80s, it was Monty Python on PBS, every Saturday evening at 6:30pm on Channel 10, Milwaukee. No one in the house understood it. It was mine. For a half-hour every week, I could forget what was happening to me and where I was.

As gorpy as this sounds, there were a few passages in Eat, Pray, Love that got me through some difficult confrontations with my mean sister.

During an impossibly stressful time, I was able to focus my mind on the JFK assassination, and off of the issues I was dealing with. The JFK assassination is so complexed, and has so many possiblities, it was the only thing to calm me down.

@filmfann Jeez sometimes you never cease to amaze me and also because everytime I read your posts I’m unable to not picture you as this South Park character, Butters if I’m not mistaken.

My Imagination.

Mentholatum ointment. The smell reminds me of being a kid and having my mom take care of me when I was sick.

God…
The support of people on this website…
Fellow classmates…
Good friends…

My wife’s parents both died of cancer over a weekend. They wanted to stay out of hospital as much as they could, so all their kids looked after them – our shift was the weekend. My wife was heavily pregnant with our 2nd child when they died. Watching them die was the hardest thing. We loved them so much!
It was a very difficult and traumatic birth, but my son was perfect. Just an angel. I don’t know how we would have coped if it weren’t for our boys – especially the little one.

My wife and daughter, music, and (believe it or not) Fluther.

Music is always a good one, @cprevite!

My best friends. They would come from out of town to visit me some weekends and I would go to stay with them. That and taking Zoloft for a few years so I could learn some better behaviors while not freaking out all the time, that was inportant.

My husband, my journal, my children (watching them be silly) and my dogs. Fluther, too.

My husband has gone through more rounds of drama, with me. He is my rock.

I’ll be honest, @cak, you helped me get through some. Your strength.

@Jude: Wow. That just caught me way off-guard. Thank you.

@erichw1504 Mountain Dew… Sighs dreamily

Fluther has, definitely.

A video game named Castlevania Symphony of the Night It took all my time away and absorbed all my attention, which was probbaly for the best at that time.

@Symbeline At one time, for me, it was Ocarina of Time.

horrifically depressing movies. it may sound bizarre, but there’s something oddly therapeutic about watching a sad movie with the mindset at-least-I’m-not-them!-ha!

My dogs and my inner strength.

Nothing’s working tonight for me…not Seinfeld quotes or anything…

@JilltheTooth When she said she took on a personality to match the man’s, a flip switched in my brain.
I have always been able to lose myself for awhile (hours) in a good book.

McDonald’s happy meal.

Love.
Therapy.
Anti-depressant, and probably most importantly in the short run: Xanax.

@faye : I don’t even remember that part. Some of the calming mechanisms in the ashram part are the ones I use.

Two very dear friends. I was close to the bottom and they spent hours driving around with me (all I wanted to do was drive/be driven in a car) and helping me get through the day.

Reminding myself that setbacks are only temporary.