I need some beautiful, life-affirming poems/books/films/music to lift me out of an anxiety pit

[ReceiveIt]

I feel crap 😔 Went to the GP for what I thought was perimenopause symptoms but ended up leading to the 2 week cancer pathway. Thankfully its not cancer, and its not perimenopause either according to blood tests, so I'm left with the crippling anxiety, brain fog, overwhelm, and irritability for now.

I need to read some comforting, joyous words that will take my mind off of all the petty crap that seems so big right now.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things

Mary Oliver

Like @BlueEyedBogWitch I would recommend Soul Music on BBC Sounds

Also if laughing helps you, I find “I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue” on BBC Sounds (and regularly on at 6.30pm on a Monday on Radio 4) very comforting. It is silly, stupid humour but not “topical” or political - just funny plays on words, puns etc.

Peri can't be diagnosed by blood tests as hormone levels fluctuate.

To answer your question - I've just finished reading Leonard and Hungry Paul and it was so lovely. And now for unasked for advice: perimenopause is diagnosed on symptoms, not bloods. Bloods are useful to rule out other causes, but your doctor has let you down here. It could well be perimenopause, I had very strong mood and irritability (aka rage) issues and HRT helped enormously. Find a specialist or go back with the NICE guidelines and ask for a prescription to start a trial of HRT.

Eat love pray is v cheering when I feel like this

Matt Haig's something library as above

Paris in Love - Eloisa James - an author recovering from illness who moved to Paris with her family, it's just v gentle and charming

Marian Keyes is funny and true - maybe start with Rachel's holiday, but they are all pretty good

Mary Oliver's poems

I also find the Jilly Cooper bonkbusters enormously diverting in their sheer silliness - Rivals, Riders, Pandora etc (the last couple are bad)

@Milbie

That's just cheered me up!

Just an aside, there's no such thing as a reliable blood test for perimenoupause if you're 45 or over, it's diagnosed by symptoms. Look up the NICE guidelines.

Agree that peri diagnosis should be based on age and symptoms, not bloods.

Georgette Heyer’s books are my go to comfort reads, light and funny and always a happy ending. James Herriot as a pp said as well.

Fans of Leonard and Hungry Paul should watch the TV series.

I was nervous, as I loved the book so much, but it’s wonderful.

Blood tests can’t ‘diagnose’ perimenopause.. it’s just a collection of symptoms. I’ve been really struggling with it really. Horrible anxiety, and other very physical symptoms. I had blood tests to rule out a thyroid problem but otherwise you can’t confirm with with bloods…. What did you doctor say on this?

I enjoy Donna Ashworths poems, she’s also on instagram. Derry Girls is my favorite go to program to cheer me up. Also enjoy Motherland and Two Doors Down.