Start off your day by making funny faces in the mirror

Most people tend to take themselves too seriously. Especially those of us that are suicidal and/or depressed. I used to just sit or lay around all day trying to figure out what was wrong with me and how I could fix myself. I would look at everyone else and especially my peers and wonder how I could ever catch up. Doing these things in and of themselves can make us sad and more depressed.

It all started in the morning though. It all started right after I would wake up. I would lay in bed and the thoughts, worry, anxiety and stress would start immediately and using gradually get worse. Two or three hours later I’d crawl out of bed. I used to wonder (and still do sometimes) how people could just wake up and hop right out of bed and be ready to move on with their day. My wife does this, she’ll just get up and go out and make coffee and read a magazine or get ready for work or work out or whatever. Most people I know are like this! How?

First and foremost, I think they just are biochemically balanced different.

Second, they probably got a good nights sleep where they fell asleep right away and maybe only woke up once to pee and then went right back to bed.

Third, they feel obligated or excited about doing something that is a daily task or ritual.

Fourth, they’re aliens and just don’t understand how comfy a bed really is to us humans.

So what can we do to be like that?

Make ourselves smile and laugh! Start off

Smiling has been shown to have numerous health and mood improving benefits. Just the physical act of smiling (forced or not) has been shown to activate the release a number of beneficial things like endorphins, dopamine and serotonin. All of which, in low levels, have been associated with depression.

So, if you are like me and don’t usually feel like smiling, you may need to force yourself. And to be honest, it can feel weird and stupid. So, if you’re going to feel weird and stupid, you might as well do something weird and stupid to make yourself smile!

What better way than to make funny faces at yourself in the mirror. Throw in the occasional weird voice or noise and you may find yourself rolling on the floor laughing at yourself. And then your roommate or partner or dog or cat will come in and question your sanity at which point you just point to yourself in the mirror and tell them it’s that persons fault!