10 Tips To Improve Your Mood During An Economic Crisis

Dear Citizen,

I don't know about you but I'm having a tough time keeping my chin up in these trying times. Of course, I don't have much of a chin, but you get my drift. Despite a few highlights, the ever-present news is mostly depressing - clueless and faithless congressmen, crooks and liars, tax dodgers, jobless claims, foreclosures, struggling stocks, disappearing 401Ks, Australian wildfires, contaminated peanut butter, irresponsible multiple embryo transplants, pot-smoking and steroid-using athletes/"role models", the horrors of celebrity weight gain, and too much analysis of fake Reality TV. No matter how optimistic you are (and should be for the greater good), for many of us, it's hard to feel "the love" right now.

10 tips to improve your mood:

1. Enjoy a piece of toast (whole grain with Brummel & Brown natural yogurt/butter spread, of course.) You'll be surprised how a simple piece of toast (no, it doesn't have to be a bagel) will magically lift your spirits.

2. Take stock in what you have. Revisit your book, music, DVD or other collection. This will make you happy - or make you pause - in the event you realize you had (have?) terrible taste in music (especially during the 80's) and own too many movie soundtracks that don't include that one song you were looking for. (I actually own the soundtracks from "Last of The Mohicans" and "Dawson's Creek - Season 3"). This will allow you to make fun of yourself and decide which items to select for next Christmas's inevitable re-gifting. Hmmm, I wonder if my nephew Ryan is a Joey & Pacey fan?

3. Smile. Do it by force or even if it feels creepy. After a few moments, it will occur naturally and be less painful. Your mood will improve over time and/or if the smile becomes stuck for more than 4 hours, someone will suggest psychiatric help.

4. Talk. To a friend, stranger, yourself, an object, plant (preferably an ivy) or pet. If necessary, join a support group of any kind. Recently, I read about a group of women - wives and girlfriends of investment bankers - meeting (in a bar) to bemoan topics like "This is not what I signed on for!", "I'm not sure I love him if he's not rich.", "But I deserve a McMansion and luxury SUV!" etc. Okay, in that case, just get over it.

5. Value experiences, not possessions. What really makes you happy? Okay, I admit I hugged a new magazine rack once and also kissed a new pair of shoes. Minor detail.

6. Get excited about the little things; i.e., fake-buttered toast.

7. Tell your significant other that you love, love, love him/her at least 3 times per day - even if you are mad at him/her for:
a) turning off the electricity without warning causing you to lose valuable, unsaved diary entries,
b) buying the world's cheapest detergent that inflames your sensitive skin when you specifically requested "Cheer - Free & Gentle" with a coupon no less, and
c) calling your cell phone repeatedly from the bedroom so that you can drop what you're doing in the kitchen and locate the remote sitting on the bedside table.

8. Play outside with your niece's adorable 2 1/2 year old (as long as he's had his nap and has dry pants). Observe the joy on his face as he smears mud on his clean shirt, crashes his matchbox cars into the curb, insists on pushing you on the porch swing, points out airplanes, birds and stars, and sneaks forbidden drinks of your diet coke when his mother isn't watching. This will please you.

9. Find a cheap hobby. I read that yarn is flying off the shelf and knitting while eating spam and saltines by candle light has replaced dining out at Chili's (same sodium content). If you're my mom, borrow our staple gun and fire away at fabric on those hand-crafted cornice boards. It's good physical therapy and will help you regain your strength. You also may sew. There's enough fabric in Mom's house to clothe the octuplets for life.

10. Clean your bathroom. It will remind you of how nice it is to have running water and to be thankful you don't have to use a latrine in the woods where there are raccoons.

It's all relative.

CitizenB