Method act your way to happiness – or self-medicating out of the winter blues

I was just reflecting on the fact that winter is really lingering and starting to get the dreggy end, where the novelty has worn off and people start to get glum. I was also reflecting that a few people I know have been having a rough trot of it lately. Little Mr and Mermaidgrrl grappling with fertility drugs and cycles of insemination with no luck yet (not to mention awful mum visit scenario slap bang in the middle of it), Aunty B finding herself living solo again as significant other has departed O/S for work for the next few months, Betty Sue losing someone dear, Merri Risa grappling with all sorts of physical and emotional challenges associated with her first baby, etc. And me getting to critical commute point last week with a big cry on the way to work (thank you strategically placed park and park bench) but not being able to choose between the two worlds of city-work, mountains-creative space that I go between yet not loving the no-sleep, no-groceries, no clean clothes, late for work, late home, limited catching up with friends, no time to do anything, always on the train life that trying to have both of these things simultaneously results in. (Oh and waking up to cat vomit, having my phone cut off due to burying the bills on my dining table pile and forgetting to pay them, having dating angst, getting nervous as I wait to hear back from writing thing, and breaking the zip on my winter boots.) Anyway.

So, was reflecting on cheer up remedies, and have in fact trialed a few winners. Here then is my DIY medicine chest of winter cheer up remedies. A kind of community service announcement (posted very charitably in non-prime time between the telebonking ads and danos direct ads). You can also think of it as method acting your way to happiness – get your body doing it and the rest of you might catch up.*

- Pop on that oil burner you got for Christmas and get some happy smells going. Rose geranium is a winner, and I especially like lemongrass, tangerine or orange as cheery daytime mood lifters. If there’s an essential oil you especially love, try putting a drop or two in a very small pool of almond or jojoba oil in the palm of your hand and then rub your palms together and rub hands through hair (I did say very small pool..), or just the ends of your hair, if it is long. Et voila! You smell cheery and your hair gets intensive conditioning at the same time.
- Oh while you’re there, feel free to light candles, maybe tea lights in a cheery little row. Don’t have any funky candle holders? Get all DIY and wrap some clear drinking glasses in a sheet of tracing paper (at worst try baking paper) and sticky tape. Ha ha, tres glamorous candle holders which will glow and cast nice shadows.
- Crank up some cheery sounds for putting the washing away or cooking dinner. I find Billy Holiday has such warmth she can even warm up a dreary Sunday afternoon. Also anything upbeat and sexy that you can sing along to. For example I find it very hard to feel glum when pretending to be Jarvis Cocker and singing sleazy sneery lyrics in a poorly approximated accent. Tricky is good. Anything Latin. Maybe the kind of cheesy pop you pretend you bought as a joke if anyone serious scrutinizes your cd collection. Ah yes, Duran Duran, Ricky Martin – ironic, yes ironic.
- Bake something. I know this is verging on 1950’s housewifery dross here, but truly, a warm oven and bakey smells are good. If the thought of baking sets your teeth on edge, get someone else over to bake, while you watch and say encouraging things over a glass of gutsy red. If said someone is spunky, suggest they remove their outer layers of clothes to protect them from flour messiness. Scones. Ridiculous cupcakes. Polenta cake to have with syrup. Any kind of baked pudding. Vegetarian moussaka. All good.
- Cook things with fresh ginger, lemongrass and garlic in them (if you like them). All Asian noodle soups are cheery. Curry is cheery. Anything Moroccan. Anything zingy. Anything with lemon rind and raisins.
- Knit something with irregular, bold, rainbow stripes. I am still plugging away at my training jumper (ie the first jumper project I have ever embarked on) and it is in greens, oranges and purples and possibly the cutest dam thing I’ve ever knitted. Make something weeny for a child in silly colours. I am doing some canvases for a little lad in my life and they are making me smile.
- Indoor plants are good for cheering up dead corners. Possibly also good for extra oxygen if you happen to be using a gas heater. Get an exciting houseplant and a spunky coloured pot. Boy at work has just about fallen in love with his new ‘indoor tree’ which by all accounts is about 6 foot. Not that it’s size that counts. Neccessarily.
- And finally, cheer up your nether regions. The benefits of silly knickers can really not be over stated. In this category I put all underpants with words on them, ruffles, animal print, lace, giant white y fronts, red ones that go faster – whatever makes you feel like you are superman/ wonderwoman/ a sexy firefighter/ betty page/ a rockstar / a cheeky sex god/des. Anything that makes you smile when you remember you’re wearing them is good (or even those that make you laugh when you realise that the ruffles are visible through your tailored work pants and making you look a little chicken-bottomed (Aunty B with new burlesque knix recently); or smile and shake your head when you remember that you couldn’t contain your excitement and told everyone at work about them (yours truly with pirate pants)).

So there you go. I expect to see candlelit, aromatic, lounge room dancing, stripe knitting, scone eating, cheeky cheeked cheery sea green visitors peeking around their indoor forests sometime soon.

*Which is not to say that feeling happy is necessarily an appropriate response to a crap situation, but a burst of cheer can at least be a decent counterweight to a period of sad non?