Making a list.

Supportive practices you’ll like (and may need).

Drawing a silly self-portrait can gently nudge me out of a funk.

The other day, we celebrated the power of the pause—how taking even 30 seconds to stop, breathe, and get off the mental hamster wheel can reset a stressful day. People talked about how this simple tool is calming and helps us deal with whatever is going on, even when we can’t change the situation. We also discussed how quickly we forget to use this power tool and others that can help.

The amazingly wonderful Wendy MacNaughton, artist, social worker, and founder of the

DrawTogether

art program for children¹ and the Grown-Ups’ Table for adults, recently had a post that included a book of lists by authors and artists from a Smithsonian exhibit. This made me think about lists—specifically, making a list of those power tools we forget we can use in times when we need them the most.

Every now and then, I’ve made lists of supportive practices—the things that make me feel better when I’m stressed or depressed, because when I’m in those states, I can’t remember them. Creative thinking is not my strong point when I’m in the low country.

We’re living in a time of greater awareness of mental health issues. I think/hope/pray that those who live with anxiety and depression are hearing the loving message to seek out professional help from therapists. I have the kind of blues that are manageable with some accessible tools—if I just remember to use them, or what they are in the first place. That’s where lists of these tools, these supportive practices, come in very handy.

The trick with a supportive practices list is to make one before you need it. Cartographers don’t make maps when they can’t see where they are. Make a list of things that help you deal with the blues before you’re singing them.

Making art is one of my supportive practices, so I made my latest list into a little comic. It’s in a PDF below. You can download it for amusement, or for actual use. Of course, these are the things that work for me, and they may not work for you. (Not everyone is a fan of knitting, or of Mötley Crüe².)

This week, I invite you to make your own list of supportive practices. (You can call it something catchier if you want.) Write down everything that has helped you deal with the blues before, and anything you think could help going forward. Think expansively, be creative, doodle, be wild (remember: knitting. Mötley Crüe. Knitting and Mötley Crüe!). Sometimes just reading your list can lift your spirits.

As a little incentive, one of the people to post their list in the comments will win³ the book I mentioned, Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists’ Enumerations, from The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art. It’s a joy and a hoot to look through, and you’ll feel better just having such a tome in your home.

1. Are you an educator, or know one? The Draw Together art program is now free for school kids! See this post for details. Also, WendyMac’s Grown-Ups’ Table is a great way to start drawing, or feed your creative practice. Your subscription helps make the Draw Together program free for school kids!

2. No judgments, please. The Crüe’s music is very high-energy and steers me away from more somber tunes that go too well with a blue mood.

3. You can submit a list until next Friday, March 31, by 11:59 EDT. I will then assign everyone who submitted a list a number and put those numbers into a randomizing tool, which will then choose one number; the person with that corresponding number will be the winner.

Here’s the PDF for you to download! Enjoy.

Things To Do When You're Feeling Blue

1.14MB ∙ PDF file

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