The 12 Basics We Need for Happiness, Joy, Contentment

Super Basics

1. Water. Weird news here, maybe for some of you. Water, is boring. At best it doesn’t taste like anything, and at worst it tastes like mouth. Mouth flavored! I’m cracking up over here. But we’re mostly water. So here’s a trick–make herbal tea. Mint, Jamaica (hibiscus flowers), whatevs. Or you can squeeze a citrus in, BUT DON’T DROP IN THE CITRUS, because then your water will taste like pith! Like pith, I tell you! That is not a myth! And if super cold is your thing, go for it. Water is one of the biggest enemies of depression. Because dehydration tells our bodies that we are dying in the desert, which makes our bodies very sad.
2. Good Food. I know peeps, I know. It sucks. Hot fudge brownie sundaes rule. All I want is a giant steak, mashed potatoes, broiled asparagus and about half of a key lime pie. So, we’ve gotta balance it out. We also HAVE TO EAT. Unfortunately I am not super skilled with eating disorders, but I know good a great therapist who is: Jen Yoder at Imagine Recovery Counseling.
3. Sleep. Also sucks bc we are all little screenie-weenie caffeinies at this point. We’ll work on it. Lower the lights. Candles. Melatonin. Warm showers and baths. My girl Pema Chodron on audio. But no screenie weenies!
4. Shelter. I mean duh, you’re like, thanks for the news flash, Sister NoJoke. But listen y’all, we’ve gotta make our little tiger dens lovely. Having crap piled up in boxes all over the place does not instill joy. And I know, it’s hard. Laundry, dishes, trash, catbox. Sweeping, straightening, deep clean. Repeat. Maybe it’s a cupboard a day, a drawer a day. Bc old energy gets all piled up and tries to kill us. Again–a clean house is a big fight against depression.

Other Peeps

5. Honesty. This is with ourselves, too, and it’s complicated I know, but we are only as good as our words. Our word is our bond. Lying just makes disaster, over and over, inside and out, we get away with it but then it comes back and bites us in the ass–we can talk out the deets. But man o man. Lying is for shitty politicians, and may they do it all the way to hell. We are better than that.

6. Which leads to connection. Connection is the opposite of addiction. A lot of us PTSD folk can’t trust other people, can’t ask for help, can’t open our hearts. It is one of our biggest challenges. Here is something beautiful on vulnerability (you may already know and love her well).

So the other 6, I’ll write soon! They are:

7. Movement

8. Meditation

9. Spirit

10. Art

11. Functionality

12. Nature