LATE: Wednesday: Self Care
So I’ve been dealing with a depressive episode. . . blahblahblah fishcakes. Depression, as I’ve said before, is so boring. I hate talking about.
But I make myself talk about it, especially when I need help, and along with speaking with my doctor, the self-care practices I now follow make a big difference in recovering from breakthrough depression and anxiety episodes.
One of the small things that helps is to know which kinds of entertainment I can zone out to when the going gets tough. My dear spouse, known to many as Mr. Bethanne (which has a funny story behind it and is in no way an attempt to diminish him), can tell when I need a break like this. He’ll say “Why don’t you go watch a few episodes of 30 Rock?”
This morning, a dear friend who is also open about her struggles with depression mentioned on Twitter that she has a list of the TV shows and movies that she can rely on when she’s way down. She wrote that she believes knowing the story already is comforting to people who have mental challenges, and she’s right.
I thought I’d share a few of my own choices here — and if you want to share yours, contact me here and I’ll make a list for us all.
The aforementioned 30 Rock — Liz Lemon and company got me through a month of agonizing oral-surgery pain. I think they could make anyone laugh. The more I watch (re-watch) this sitcom, the more I’m convinced that Tina Fey is a contender for Lucille Ball’s successor.
Moonstruck — Don’t @ me, as they say on the socials. I wish I knew all of its dialogue by heart, as one of my friends does (down to the smallest “Eh! Bobo!”); still working on it. But Norman Jewison’s play, a combo platter of La Bohème, Cinderella, and, weirdly, Cyrano, never fails.
P. G. Wodehouse — When I have depression-induced insomnia, I head downstairs with my copy of Wodehouse’s short stories. In a matter of minutes the great English humorist will either have me laughing (quietly), or sound asleep, happily knowing Bertie Wooster has accidentally saved the day.
The NYT Spelling Bee — Yes, I work on this daily, along with the Wordle and Letter Boxed, but only the Bee puts me to sleep when I really need to shut out the entire world for a while. Perhaps it’s something about the eye movements you have to make to keep solving it?
Agatha Christie — I’ve been reading the grande Dame’s books since I was 11 and I doubt I’ll ever stop. Christie imbued her well-structured mysteries with a far-seeing perspective on human nature, and when I can’t concentrate on anything else, I can somehow cope with good and evil on the page.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High — It’s not necessarily a feel-good movie, at least not in parts, but it is the film of my people, those of us who graduated from high school in the late 70s and early 80s, too young to be Boomers, too old to be Gen X-ers, lost somewhere in the nearest mall.
What We Do in the Shadows — Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement took the vampire craze and did something completely new with it in the movie version (which I love: “We’re werewolves, not swearwolves!), but c’mon, the TV show cast has wrung genius out of brilliance. Laughter medicine.