To ask for 'Cheer up' recommendations?

[ChequeredPasta]

Shameless misuse of AIBU

So I'm feeling a bit down, (stupid seasonal affective disorder), and on the hunt for things that will cheer me up.
So far:
I've downloaded some audiobooks- Bridget Jones 1&2, Pride and Prejudice
Ordered some naice candles
Bought some chocolate (Dairy Milk Tiffin anyone?)
Watched some Gilmore Girls
Had a nice long bath.

Anyone else got any suggestions? A nice wank is on the cards when I get some time to myself

A SAD light!! Mine changed my life! I now even prefer autumn to summer...

Definitely yes to the wank.

I also find cheese works well.

Oooooh a SAD light, that's a good idea!
I'll have a look at those now, instead of looking up up warm cookie dough recipes on pinterest😂

My therapist said that different people have different comfort objects and after some thinking I realised that when I'm feeling really down, or something bad has happened, I just want to curl up in my pyjamas under a blanket.

So we agreed that when I'm feeling that bad I buy myself a new pair of pyjamas. It sounds silly but it's a bit of a self soothing thing. I buy a pair of really soft, snuggly pyjamas and that's my treat (usually along with a good book or comforting film!).

Scummy Mummies or My Dad Wrote A Porno podcasts are both crying with laughter funny.

Theyve kept me sane just recently.

Don your best knitwear and boots, and go for a nice bracing walk in the woods.

You need to wait for the leaves to drop to really see the beauty of autumn tho.

Sounds like you've got a great list there!

I think just being kind to yourself for a little while, don't beat yourself up for not doing x y or z yet - don't feel guilty if you get a takeaway rather than cook something fancy from scratch etc. Cut yourself some slack and allow yourself some treats - sounds like you're well on your way!

I also love trashy tv, curling up with a glossy mag and a nice glass of wine/mug of tea, watching dog videos on YouTube, filling a fantasy shopping basket online of stuff you'd never actually buy...always perks me up

Have you watched RuPaul's Drag Race?
I find this wonderful and very, very feel good stuff.
It's on Netflix, and I highly recommend it.

Cups of tea, chocolate, a bit of yoga (Yoga with Adriene on youtube is great), perhaps some herb tea, and how about any crafting activities? I used to knit and crochet a lot, and that always helped.

Audiobooks really help me, I find physically reading too much if I am feeling awful. But listening to something long and escapist, that's great. I've recently been very taken with David Copperfield and other Dicken's stuff- I'd never have read it in paper form, but to listen to it's amazing.

Most of all, give yourself time and permission to feel what you feel, and try not to let feelings of guilt or negativity overtake these. Be kind to yourself.

Something I learned on MN: cheer yourself on like a sports commentator.

"There goes ChequeredPasta after such a hard day, but she is soldiering on. Will she manage to stay up to watch the end of her movie, it is a close one, but yess, she did it. Here she comes racing up the stairs, will she find her bedsocks, oh no, there is a minor upset, her DH is wearing them, bravely, she wrestles them off his feet, and she has them, only the pyjamas to go now before brushing her teeth... and yes, she has smashed it and finished it all before 1am. An amazing performance, never write off ChequeredPasta is all I can say"