Not Always Pollyanna!

So by nature I'm typically a happy go lucky sort of person. Does that mean I am always happy?  Nope.  In fact I have had periods of my life where I have suffered some pretty extreme bouts of depression.

And then sometimes I literally feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.  In fact, just last week I struggled to stay positive as I took in all the devastation of the recent tornadoes and flooding here in the U.S.  Add to this the recent troubles Japan has been facing after the earthquake and tsunami and I was really struggling.  My heart hurts for all the people affected by all these natural disasters! 

For some of us {aka me!}, watching the news is really not a good thing for my mental health.  I like to stay informed sure, but so much of the news is just depressing and my soul really needs light and hope as much as my body needs food and air!

The video I linked to yesterday of Carol discussing my type spoke a little about what my type of nature needs in order to stay light, happy, and hopeful.  These are some of the things I have learned over the years to help me cope when I'm feeling down or beginning to feel depressed ~ so here are some of the things I have been doing over the last few weeks to feed my soul and keep my spirits up.

1.  Some serious prayer and mediation.  I am a religious person.  This centers me.  I needed to spend time with my Creator to recenter myself and to remember the grand Plan of Salvation!  And I needed to send prayers and good energy to those who were suffering.

2.  But I also needed some fun and lightness.   Here are two things that made me laugh soo hard!

First, this college skit for all the
Jane Austen lovers out there {swoon!}:

{My husband and I laughed so hard at this one!
We even tried to talk like that for a few minutes!

Favorite part? The chest bump!}

And this one on ~ Zumba for men:

{Favorite part? Watch the two guys in purple shirts!

Hey, funny thing!  They are the same two 

from the James Austen clip!}

And 3.  I have to take action.  In the past, my daughter and niece have made sanitation kits for our favorite humanitarian organization to distribute.   This time my daughter and I are working on coordinating a quilting project for those in need who are affected by natural disasters.  A blanket or quilt can be a real comfort for children and those in these types of situations as well as something handy to help keep warm.  We are still working on all the details, but it feels good to do something!

I am a person who must dwell in happiness.  I just have to.  And I have to see the bright side.  And sometimes it is hard.   So for me, it's a mental health thing!

But do you want to know what put me almost over the edge in bliss yesterday?

Stay tuned, because I'm going to show you tomorrow!

~ ~ ~

What do you do to keep your spirits up?