how to get out of a funk

i, for one, am NOT good at dealing with bouts of moodiness/grumpiness. just ask my sister or any other member of my family. if i'm in a bad mood, i tend to get snappy. Snappy leads to anger. anger leads to hate. hate leads to SUFFERING....(i'm saying this in yoda-like mode). i'd like to imagine i've matured a little into someone who can take reign of my emotions(i'm 18, i can watch movies 17-year-olds and below aren't supposed to watch, for goodness sake, takkan tak boleh kawal emosi kot?) , but i think so far i'm nowhere near that yet.

however, i've managed to construct for myself a particular series of steps to help cope with a bad mood. depending on the cause of the bad mood, the steps may vary, but the basic core is the same.

• STEP 1: Listen to music. i find music a tremendous source of comfort, so kalau i'm feeling particularly depressed over something, i'd start off with very depressing music (e.g: '3 libras' by a perfect circle or sheila on 7's 'berhenti berharap'). kalau boleh, find a nice, calm, spot to listen to this music(i spent half and hour sitting out on the back lawn with gloomy about-to-rain clouds in the sky n pushing-rain-clouds-in-your-direction wind with my earphones stuffed in my ears and 'when you were young' by the killers on repeat, whilst everyone else was inside taking a nap. perfect). then, when your mood starts to shift towards higher ground, do the same with your music selection (e.g: 'bittersweet symphony' by the verve, 'i've got a dark alley....' by fall out boy', 'the sun' by maroon 5'). as your mood gets even better, switch to suitable music that complements your mood until at last when you've managed to achieve a cheerful disposition, play stuff such as james morrison's 'wonderful world', jamiroquai's 'love foolsophy', or 'amame' by juanes.

• STEP 2: eat. i'm not encouraging anyone to gorge or stuff their faces with the entire packet of oreos, or the whole pint of ice cream. that,(in my experience) will just make you feel bloated/fat and you'd end up being in a worse psychological mess than before. but if you're in a bad mood, some comfort food would be just that--> comforting. currently, i fancy a bowl of coco crunch with slices of bannana in it when i'm feeling down. eating such foods while watching tv is bloody therapeutic, for me at least.

• STEP 3: excercise. ahaha, i'm really NOT the sort of person who exercises on a regular basis(kakak, stop snorting). However, i've found that doing some sort of activity that makes you sweat/burn calories makes you feel much better afterwards. i'm pretty sure most of u must know this. it has to do with endorphins, i guess. how did elle woods from legally blonde put it? 'excercise releases endorphines, endorphines make people happy. happy people just don't kill other people'.it was something along the lines of that,kan? heh. so what i'd do is, i'd usually dance. ok! please don't start picturing me dancing, you'll just have nightmares when you tido malam nanti, but really,it's a great stress-reliever! of course, i don't REALLY dance, i just jiggy-along with the music. recommended songs include 'son's gonna rise' by citizen cope, 'she wants to move' by n.e.r.d, 'give it to you' by jordan knight, and of course, 'no tomorrow' by orson.

• STEP 4: pray. have a good cry, if you must.

• STEP 5: ooh yes, blogging may help.

Of course, there are other methods too. you can go for a drive, or you can opt for retail therapy, or you can go on a spring-cleaning frenzy. however, these methods, for me, are usually a waste of gas, money or energy. i usually just stick to the aforementioned steps.

and if all else fails, just plug in your ipod/mp3 player/radio and try to get some sleep.