Caffeine-nation
Sep. 18th, 2010 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
I get upset, or at least mopey, quite easily, so over the years I've developed a good set of coping mechanisms, out of necessity.
My first trick is to go for a walk or a run. It is absolutely incredible how often simply being outside and exercising can transform me from apathy and sulking to cheerfulness and productivity. I've just got back from a run now, in fact, and it feels as if all my body has been washed clean, under the skin.
If that doesn't work, sometimes I'll be able to make myself feel better just with some form of human contact. I can usually achieve this by walking downstairs to the kitchen and chatting to my housemates for a bit, but if I'm alone in the house I'll resort to #btts. The problem with IRC is that although I dearly love all my sraffies, sometimes it's the lack of face-to-face human contact that's causing me to feel low, so #btts can sometimes exacerbate the problem rather than make it better.
My final, and most effective, method, and one that works every time, is to go to a cafe, order a cup of coffee, read a newspaper and hang around for a few hours doing that. It has to be a decent cafe, the sort of place with character, where the waitstaff and baristas know your name, the coffee looks like this, and where there are free newspapers. I've lived in a lot of places now, and I can safely recommend Silo and Cafe Essen in Canberra, Campos, Allpress, and basically any cafe in Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Newtown or Glebe if you're in Sydney. I'm not quite as familiar with Melbourne, but, seriously, go down any lane in the CBD and you'll find a proper cafe. Babka on Brunswick St is amazing too. I'm keeping quiet about my favourite Cambridge cafes, but there are three that are pretty good, although none of them make coffee particularly well, and when I come back from Australia I have to retrain myself to find their coffee drinkable. In London, I live for Soho, where you can find Flat White and Sacred Cafe. (These are both run by New Zealanders, but shhh...)
I feel kind of worried now that I've given away the names of all my favourite cafes. If they suddenly become massively crowded, I'll only have myself to blame!
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – Your sleeping habits
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favorite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your favorite foods/drinks
Day 30 – Your aspirations
I get upset, or at least mopey, quite easily, so over the years I've developed a good set of coping mechanisms, out of necessity.
My first trick is to go for a walk or a run. It is absolutely incredible how often simply being outside and exercising can transform me from apathy and sulking to cheerfulness and productivity. I've just got back from a run now, in fact, and it feels as if all my body has been washed clean, under the skin.
If that doesn't work, sometimes I'll be able to make myself feel better just with some form of human contact. I can usually achieve this by walking downstairs to the kitchen and chatting to my housemates for a bit, but if I'm alone in the house I'll resort to #btts. The problem with IRC is that although I dearly love all my sraffies, sometimes it's the lack of face-to-face human contact that's causing me to feel low, so #btts can sometimes exacerbate the problem rather than make it better.
My final, and most effective, method, and one that works every time, is to go to a cafe, order a cup of coffee, read a newspaper and hang around for a few hours doing that. It has to be a decent cafe, the sort of place with character, where the waitstaff and baristas know your name, the coffee looks like this, and where there are free newspapers. I've lived in a lot of places now, and I can safely recommend Silo and Cafe Essen in Canberra, Campos, Allpress, and basically any cafe in Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Newtown or Glebe if you're in Sydney. I'm not quite as familiar with Melbourne, but, seriously, go down any lane in the CBD and you'll find a proper cafe. Babka on Brunswick St is amazing too. I'm keeping quiet about my favourite Cambridge cafes, but there are three that are pretty good, although none of them make coffee particularly well, and when I come back from Australia I have to retrain myself to find their coffee drinkable. In London, I live for Soho, where you can find Flat White and Sacred Cafe. (These are both run by New Zealanders, but shhh...)
I feel kind of worried now that I've given away the names of all my favourite cafes. If they suddenly become massively crowded, I'll only have myself to blame!
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – Your sleeping habits
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favorite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your favorite foods/drinks
Day 30 – Your aspirations
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no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 03:44 pm (UTC)Not sure what makes me feel better. Watching favourite episodes and browsing my flist, which consists mostly of communities related to my fandoms. Social interaction doesn't make me feel better if it's everyday but it's something I enjoy looking forward to when it's special (for example on Monday I'm meeting with a girl I really like and who's moving out far away & I can't wait to see her and have lunch with her because it's a bit like an event, if you see what I mean).
no subject
Date: 2010-09-19 10:16 am (UTC)I hope you have a great time with your friend on Monday.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 10:37 pm (UTC)I really get what you're saying about simply needing another friendly face. Even without talking about what you're thinking/going through, it feels like a relief just be welcome by someone else.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-27 12:13 am (UTC)Simply having people around, even to talk to about innocuous things, is really helpful in stopping you from feeling sad, I've found.