You’ve waited, and it’s here! Noragami chapter 75, for real, in English!
This chapter was light on action and super talky so it took me all day but I managed to get it done in one day. Next chapter is out in a month on the 6th of July, which is conveniently a holiday weekend for me.
Since it’s been a year, as usual this translation is free to redistribute and use as a base for other translations for those who are better with English than Japanese, but please refer to the translation notes below the cut as sometimes I take liberties with the literal dialogue if it would be too awkwardly worded or difficult to fit in the bubble otherwise.
Natsume: Ever since I was young, I was able to see strange beings. These beings, which others can’t see, are probably the ones known as youkai.
Nyanko: The price for my body-guarding will be high this time! I’ll let you off with taking just one fried shrimp for where we are going today.
Text: A lovely yet fleeting story about humans and ayakashi.
Natsume: Excuse me, perhaps you know of a person called “Natsume Reiko”?
Text: The series’ first long original episode presented on screen.
Nyanko: You met a human who knew Reiko? Geez! I already told you not to stick your head in unnecessary things!
Text: Gently, painfully, a lie was spoken.
Natsume: O the one that protects me, show me your name. I return your name…
Natsume’s Book of Friends, The Movie: Bound by Utsusemi*
Nyanko: I can never understand the way you humans do things…
*Utsusemi is written in Hiragana, and it honestly can mean so many things. Sometimes it is (literally) translated as an empty cicada shell, other times it is used to refer to more spiritual and cultural things: it could mean reality (“utsutsu”), or a living being, or the world itself; it could even simply mean emptiness, or how temporal things can be. Without more information about the film’s details, it’s hard for me to give an adequate translation.
Today I’ve got a list of words I’ve learnt from Natsume Yuujinchou, because I’ve only read five volumes but the list of words I’ve had to save in my dictionary is way longer than a lot of others. It also required some basic research (… Wikipedia).
祠－ほこら－hokora, a small shrine found on the side of a road. Quite often there to protect travellers.
依り代－よりしろ－yorishiro, an item capable of attracting and housing a kami. A common example is the maneki neko.
遺品－いひん－article left by the deceased
子分－こぶん－henchman, follower
唾液－だえき－saliva
儚い－はかない－fleeting, transient, short-lived
妖力－ようりょく－spirit power, magical power
放免－ほうめん－release, liberate, set free
咥える－くわえる－to hold in one’s mouth
遠縁－とおえん－distant relative
家来－けらい－retainer, servant
招福－しょうふく－good luck charm
悪しき－あしき－badness, evil
他界－たかい－death, the next world
怪談－かいだん－ghost story
邪鬼－じゃか－devil, imp
邪気－じゃき－malicousness
伝聞－でんぶん－hearsay, rumour
祓う－はらう－exorcise, cleanse
変わる－かわる－to be different, unusual. People who read this list and know some Japanese already will recognise this as the verb for change and the kanji, 変, is quite often used to refer to something as strange. In Natsume Yuujinchou though, I quite often read it in contexts where it’s used to mean different. Mostly when talking about Takashi or Reiko but there’s other characters who this is used about.
Initially I was going to make today’s list about words with multiple meanings/different meanings but the same reading etc. but I had an idea this morning that I’m going to run with instead today.
Waseigo I’ve found while reading manga. Why? Seems like it might be interesting.
Chihayafuru
ダブ－a double fault. A player touches the wrong card on the opponent’s side while the opponent touches the correct card on faulting player’s side. Also when a player touches the wrong card when the one being read isn’t in play.
クラウチングスタート－crouching start.
ベクトル－vector. Nothing to do with karuta, I think this is from one of the times they’re talking about exams. Comes from the German “Vektor”.
スムーズ－smooth.
ショベルカー－digger. From the English “shovel car”.
Erased
ノウハウ－know-how.
ドクロマーク－skull and crossbones.
ライフワーク－life’s work.
Parasyte
オナニ－masturbation. From the German word “Onanie”.
ダッサン－rough sketch. From the French word “dessin”.
Because this was written a while ago, I feel like it has fewer Waseigo in it than some other things that I’m reading at the moment.
Persona 5
モルモット－guinea pig. From the Dutch word “marmot”.
アンチテーゼ－antithesis. From the German word “Antithese”.
アウフヘーベン－lift, pick up. From the German word “aufheben”.
レッテル－label, sticker. From the Dutch word “Letter”. This one definitely confused me at first, since it looks like the English “letter” but the context wasn’t right.
ピカレスク－picaresque (novel).
シリンダー－cylinder.
エキサイト－excite.
ハイエナ－hyena.
パワハラ－harassment (in the workplace) from a position of power. An abbreviation of パワーハラスメント.
セクハラ－sexual harassment. Abbreviation of セクシャルハラスメント.
ゲリラ－guerrilla.
ノイローゼ－neurosis, nervous breakdown, mental problem. From the German word “Neurose”.
ラブホ－love hotel. Abbreviation of ラブホテル.
バカップル－love birds, sickeningly sweet and soppy couple. An abbreviation of バカなカップル.
That seems like enough for one day. Where it’s not listed, my dictionary didn’t provide a source for the word. There’s probably a load of Waseigo in each series that I’ve not saved to my lists because I already know them. Persona 5 certainly has more than I’ve listed here, given the sheer size of the game.
Here’s some words I picked up from an article about heavy snowfalls.
Well, the snow is nearly all gone, so this is the last time I can really make a list with them this year. Not necessarily all snow, but probably all things that you’d see in an article about snow.
なだれ－avalanche
大雪－heavy snow
着雪－snow sticking to surfaces
風雪－snowstorm, blizzard
高波－high waves
凍結－freezing (water)
品薄－shortage of stock
通行止め－suspension of traffic
記録的－record-setting
After this, I’ll probably have some lists that aren’t about the weather.
Seriously, my pronunciation for French and Danish improved so much just by listening to their versions of Disney songs. Singing is an invaluable language resource!
Advice for people in their 20s from someone who’s just entered their 30s....
1. Don’t waste time being fearful: go for that job that you’re certain you’re not gonna get. What’s the worse that can happen? You are rejected, but you gain interview experience. Self-doubt is really a waste of time.
2. Live in the present. Yes, it is important to plan for the future, but it is easy to put off living until it is too late. Make sure that you have no regrets about what you should have done. Do one exciting thing per year.
3. Know your worth. This applies to both work and relationships; never sell yourself short. No job or romance is more important than your self respect. Also, charge for any unique skills/services that you can offer.
4. Don’t be afraid to leave bad situations. I left a stable but draining teaching job in order to protect my mental health. Even though this was a big risk, it was the best decision I ever made. NOTHING is more important than your mental health.
5. Most 20 somethings feel that they are underachieving. This is normal - especially in today’s financial climate. Don’t feel bad if you are still living at home and cannot afford to rent/buy. I’m 30 and still living at home, saving to buy.
6. People will disappoint you, but most of the time, it’s not about you. Everybody has their own demons and traumas that make them behave in certain ways. If somebody disrespects you, assert your boundaries and keep it moving. Also, examine if there was anything you could have done to avoid the situation. But DO NOT let it eat away at you.
7. In love, nobody owes you anything. Even if they made a promise, they are their own person…Everybody has the right to change their mind and to leave a situation which is not beneficial for them. This is hurtful and hard to accept, but it is the truth.
8. Learn to enjoy your own company. Your 20s can be a lonely time as your social sphere narrows, due to employment, finances and exhaustion. Use this time to find out more about yourself and do the things that you enjoy. There is something liberating about eating at a restaurant alone.
9. Be kind, don’t gossip or overshare. I am still working on this one. It is really difficult to be kind and positive in a world full of annoying people. However, your attitude will influence how you are being perceived. If you are unkind, people will laugh at your jokes but they will never trust you. They will never trust you not to treat them as you treat other people. Remove yourself from toxic people, and only share negativity (sadness/anger/depression) with a therapist and one other person that you trust. If you overshare negative feelings, you may be stereotyped as being full of drama. Furthermore, people will want you to stay in a negative place because it’s entertaining and makes them feel better about their own lives. Just don’t do it.
10. You cannot win every battle. Within conflict, it is tempting to try to force others to agree with your perspective. However, most people are set in their ways, and find it difficult to change their views and behaviours. This is especially important when dealing with toxic family members. You may never get the apology and empathy that you seek, so it is important to accept that every battle cannot be won, and gain validation internally, rather than externally.
This is probably one of my favourite manga/anime. In terms of manga, I’ve read up to volume 13 but I’ve watched the anime through a couple of times now. Season3when
For those who are here and don’t know about Chihayafuru, it’s basically a sport anime played with poetry… it’s very hard to explain but it’s a lot of fun.
予選－preliminary contest, qualifier
素早い－fast, quick, agile
連覇－successive championships
階級－class, rank
不戦勝－win without playing
戦意喪失－lose one’s fighting spirit
決勝戦－finals game of a tournament
準優勝－being the runner-up
候補－candidate, contender
反射的－reflexive, reflecting
難波潟－Naniwa Bay
終盤－endgame, final stage
挑戦者－challenger
胼胝－callus
圧勝－complete victory
詠む－to recite a poem
敗退－being defeated
準決勝－semifinal
These aren’t in any particular order, other than the order that they’re saved in my dictionary list. A lot of these words come up pretty regularly though.
A quick little thing to keep in mind, as a large part of the fandom seems to fear Rin travelling to the past will cause him to mess up the present:
Aside from all the timeline multiverse theories and general logic that deny the linear passage of time that would cause the butterfly effect (you know, like how the current present must have happened in some way or another or you wouldn’t have to go back, meaning that no matter what you do the outcome will always be one that will cause you to want to go back in time)…
We aren’t sure if this past is even still attached to the current world.
Mephisto has split off whole damn dimensions before and given them a different time flow (Asylum). It could be a different universe, some kind of time loop, or even a memory (transporting people’s minds across dimensions is another speciality of his Extraness).
Most of all, Meph seems pretty displeased with the current events- No matter how much he likes chaos, I doubt he’d give Rin that key if he could interfere with the past a way that could make things worse (invisibility coat is nice and dandy but we all know Rin won’t be able to shut up or sit still if he sees something happening he doesn’t agree with).
I have a feeling it’s either some sort of immutable past that Rin can interact with but not change (he could still die, himself, though, hence the need for camouflage) or it’s a separate dimension in an alternate timeline where, well, who cares what happens?
As you and many have stated, there’s zero chance a hothead like Rin will be given carte blanche, that would be utter insanity and undo ANYTHING Mephisto has done to tailor the current present of things, regardless of how unhappy he is with it. We’ve seen the King of Time can predict actions, but not with 100% accuracy. And Rin being allowed to alter things is 100% a disaster. No question.
I think Mephisto is giving him the key because it saves him from being laughed at with his drawings and he can go back to playing his DS. Talking and exposition are for chumps. Let him see for himself.
Well, that’s not completely true.
The real reason to use the key, I believe, is because Mephisto has a lot more to deal with than just chatting with Rin, when seeing it for himself would save Mephisto time. Literally. He’s giving Rin the answers [he doesn’t want] the easiest possible way. I truly don’t believe this is a test (see what Rin would do if he was given the chance to change things) or Rin being able to actually alter past events.
That, and using the ‘see for yourself” method via the key is just to rub it in that Samael’s a dick and Rin’s had the ability to do this the whole time, as he so kindly pointed out at the end of their talk.
I’m sorry it took time!! Please correct me if you find any mistakes! I wasn’t sure about some parts so I left them out for now, if you know the correct translation please let me know! I’m very sorry, I’ll keep updating!!
8
Since from that day, what has occurred in this world..!?
Days following the encroachment of the artificial Gehhena gate: 1 day
?: Isn’t it kinda noisy today?
Woman:
Woman: My shoulders feel kinda heavy, you know
Woman: Maybe I was cursed by a demon…
Man: What, a demon?
9
Man: You really believe this, are you stupid or what?
Man: Usually, those demons and stuff are no big deal
Man: Like seriously, I really laughed at that movie
Man: Uwahh!!
Old man: What’s that, insects?
Kid: Look, mama!
Woman: You seem to be having fun, what are you doing?
Kid: A swing in the air!
Old woman: Francois chan, dinner!
Demon cat: That’s late!
Demon cat: Tch, I guess I have no other choice today, do I
Woman: F-Francois chan?!
10
Pilot: Gear up, gear up
Other pilot: I have dinner with my daughter and her fiancé tonight, you know
Pilot: That’s so nice, isn’t it?
Other pilot: To be honest, I’m nervous
Pilot: Wh-what’s this?! A rat?
?: Uwahh
?: Ahh!!
TV reporter: We’re in the middle of a program but we’ll be reporting the news, this is urgent!
Other TV reporter:
11
(In the video) No way, no way, no way, no way
Kill it! Kill it!
(On the twitter-like post) Miku: No way, my boyfriend was eaten
Karasu: Miku san, are you alright? Please be safe…
Momomomo: No way she’s safe hahahaha
(On the screen) Recommended trends
1. Demons
Are the demons and antisocial organisms the same?
Creatures witnessed everywhere
2. Antisocial organisms
(On the screen) Misokatsu: What’s with that tag #way to defeat demons
juddy: Holy water, isn’t it right? #way to defeat demons
Yasai mashimashi: It’s in the Bible #way to defeat demons
The Light Association, Hashimoto Kyouko: Cleanse your bodies thoroughly. And then, pray from your hearts. Only then can you keep the emissaries of darkness away. #way to defeat demons
Kawata: None of these seem too credible damnit #way to defeat demons
12
Journalist: In the capital city San Diego, after having witnessed the demons, people are pushing to the churches, seeking help
Journalist: This is panic!
Journalist:
US President: We will not give in to the demons!
US President: We will not lose the human race and we shall oppose the difficulties!
Minister: The existence of the demons has been exposed to broad daylight
Minister: It is now that we may see what strength has our faith
TV: Please do not ever despair before the blessing of our god
TV: What kind of…
Light: Both America and the pope made their statements, huh
Man: What’s that, so close
13
Light: “At last, everything will become one being”
Light: “So that people will open their eyes”, huh
Osceola: We’re staying in the rear guard
Osceola: The park has been returned to safety
Osceola: How’s your side?
14
Osceola: Are you agitated by the eyes of the people…You didn’t need to go frenzy like that up until now, that’s quite troublesome
Osceola: Should I come in aid?
Angel: There’s no need!
Osceola: Understood. Watch out
Angel: Damnit..! Someone take care of those onlookers!
Angel: I won’t allow for such a reality to exist! Entrust it to the name of the Paladin!
A quick announcement
15
TV reporter: People are witnessing the antisocial organisms one after another all around the world
TV reporter: Japanese government has officially announced it an emergency situation
?:
Prime minister: Because it is expected that from now on the society will be in disorder caused by the antisocial organisms, we declare an emergency situation
Prime minister: All of our citizens, please refrain from going out unless you absolutely have to, and please act calmly
16
Prime minister: Any contact with antisocial organism is very dangerous
Prime minister: If you do come in contact, do not get close and report to the nearest police-
Paku’s sister: Is that for real?
Prime mister: -or the Knights of the True Cross.
Prime minister: Going out at night is especially dangerous.
Prime minister: Please do not go out if you don’t have to and stay on alert in your houses
Tsukumo: Mom, I’m scared
Mrs Takara: Don’t worry, it’s safe here in our house
Mr Takara: Takara group has connections to the Knights, I’m sure we can rely on them if something were to happen
Prime minister: Starting with the suspension of the underground, all the traffic facilities are expected to be in disorder
(Exorcists) It’s good that the declaration of an emergency situation came out, but it’s not just to be careful, they must know the concrete ways to protect themselves!
Bureau director!
The request for the supply of weapons against the demons from the police and the self –defense force…
There are reinforcement requests from the branch offices of Aichi and Ishikawa!
Exorcist: Captain Kirigakure!!
17
Exorcist: The upper-class exorcist Lewin Light is being kept in Vatican under the suspicion of the assault
Shura: What?! What did that man do in a time like this?!
Other exorcist: Captain Kirigakure!
Shura: Wat?!
Other exorcist: I do not know the details, but
Other exorcist: I received a report that the underground confinement tower has been attacked and Okumura Yukio is not in the confinement room..!!
Shura: Aghh I can’t do all this office job!!
Shura: Mephisto, come back quickly!!
2nd day
(People) Hurry!
How long will they keep us waiting?!
Help us!
18
Kinzou: Wha? What you’re talking about? I don’t get a thing! Talk one at a time!
Exorcist: Kinzou san keep a little quiet!
Other exorcist: Please form a line and calm down!
Juuzou: Branch office is in panic, I’ll go and help them
Mamushi: It’s an emergency situation, so me too…
Juuzou:
Torako: Mamushi chan
Juuzou: Please take care of Mamushi, Okami san
Torako: Ah, Tatsuma san
Tatsuma: I’m going to the branch office, too
Tatsuma: Contact me if Konekomaru comes
Torako: Huh?!
19
Suguro: I should be the one to go, sorry, Konekomaru
Konekomaru: Not at all! With the key it’ll be a blink!
Konekomaru: I’m going, then! I’ll definitely deliver the Koumaken to Ossama!
Suguro: Then…
Suguro: Me too, I’ll go and finish the stuff master tasked me with
Suguro: I’ll come back once I finish! Kamiki, take care of Moriyama san!
20
Belial: Well then, if you need something, please do contact me
Izumo: Ah…Thank you
Izumo: …Moriyama Shiemi
Shiemi: Yes…
Izumo: What, you’re awaken?!
21
Shiemi: I woke up a while ago… Everyone is safe, right
Izumo: Thanks to you…!
Izumo: Sleep some more- or maybe, do you want to eat something?
Shiemi: Thank you, Kamiki san
Shiemi: You’re so nice
Izumo: That’s not… Not really
Shiemi: Hehe
Shiemi: What happened? Yuki chan is already… gone, isn’t he
Izumo: Yeah
Shiemi: And Rin?
Izumo: I’m sure Sir Pheles is keeping him confined
I’m sorry it’s only 7 pages for now, but I’m really tired and I don’t think I’ll be able to translate the rest too quickly. As always, there might be mistakes, so please don’t take this too seriously and let me know if you find any mistranslations! Also please forgive me if some sentences may sound unnatural, English is not my first language! Thank you!!
1
In the world where the demons can be seen…?!
Mephisto: Look
Mephisto: The artificial Gehenna gate has opened and the world is in chaos
Mephisto: Because my tactics have failed
Mephisto: Please ignore that
Rin: Tactics…?!
Mephisto: Anyway, I must take care of this situation
2
Mephisto: You’ll go by yourself
Rin: …Go? Where?
Mephisto: To the past
Rin: P-past? What?!
3
Mephisto: You must already have it
Rin: ???
Mephisto: The key to the door that leads to the past
Rin: No way… The old man’s key?!
Mephisto: This is the Kamikakushi Key (“the key of mysterious disappearance”)
Mephisto: Essentially, this is a key that can lead its owner into any dimension they wish – one and only, omnipotent Master Key
Rin: THIS?! I’ve had it with me all this time….! Say such things sooner!!
Mephisto: Until know, there was not the right time
Mephisto: Eins, zwei, drei
4
Mephisto: A farewell gift
Mephisto: A special scouting unit* uniform, for you. This is my special method; in most places, when you wear a hood, just like the camouflage poncho, it can conceal your body
Mephisto: Looks like you can’t hide your heart yet, so there’s no other way
Mephisto: I will conceal it
Mephisto: It doesn’t matter which door you’ll use. The huge window on this balcony has an internal lock
Mephisto: Lock it once, and when you raise the key and open it again
5
Mephisto: You’ll be lead to the place (past) of your wish
Mephisto: Oh? Hehehe
Mephisto: What’s that? Haha, are you scared?
Rin: I am scared
Rin: I didn’t really want to know
Rin: To be honest, if you’re so willing to tell everything so easily, I’d rather you told Yukio, not me
Rin: …He wanted to know
Mephisto: He already tried, many times, you know
Rin: Wha-?
Mephisto: Ignore this!
6
Mephisto: …Humans, they have a nature (habit) to avert their eyes from the truth, to deceive
Mephisto: Even though they have eyes, they wander about in a loss, this truly is laughable
Mephisto: If one wants to move forward, they must acknowledge reality as it is
Mephisto: Unfortunately, for Okumura-sensei, the reality he should acknowledge is not the past
Mephisto: But, you should notice the past
7
Mephisto: I won’t give to the one who wants no matter what, I want to give to the one who doesn’t
Rin: You bastard… You’re the worst
Mephisto: It’s a matter of course, isn’t it
Mephisto: Because I’m a demon, right
Mephisto: It would be better for you not to grumble much and just go, quick
Mephisto: Go!
*I don’t really know, is there a name for such a group already? I’m sorry, I don’t remember. Please correct me if you know it!
This is really a personal list of various habits I have picked up over a lifetime of periodic depressions and general anxiety, but I thought I might as well share it. They help me, maybe they will help someone else too.
Note that these are things you can do to get through the day and keep from dragging yourself down, they aren’t a cure. Also note that everyone is different and what works for one person might be useless for another.
If you’re feeling so bad that you’re seriously contemplating self-harm or suicide, please don’t try to handle it on your own and ask for help.
Mental health
Seperate your mental illness from who you are as a person. Remind yourself of how you think and act when you aren’t ill and remember that it’s possible to return to that. Write it down if you have to, hang it on the wall if you have to. Treat your mental illness like the unwelcome intruder it is.
Counter your negative and intrusive thoughts. When you’re dealing with depression or anxiety your perception of yourself and your situation will be skewed and often unrealistic, but you have to be critical and fight back. Whenever thoughts of self-hatred and self-blame come up, take note of them and ask yourself if they’re really true. Your immediate answer might be yes, but ask again if you would think the same of another person in your situation. If the answer is still yes, think about what you can do to prove yourself wrong and work towards doing it. Keep your actions as evidence and counter intrusive thoughts with them in the future.
Never make your mental illness an excuse. If you give up on things because you’re depressed and it’s too difficult and you can’t help it, you’re setting yourself up for getting even more depressed. Sometimes you will act in unfortunate ways because you’re depressed, but that doesn’t mean you should accept it. Instead, take note of the ways your mental illness can make you act out and stop it or call yourself out on it when it happens. You can ask other people to call you out on it too, but in the end it isn’t their responsibility to fix your behaviour.
Anxiety shouldn’t be made an excuse either. You have to challenge the anxiety, not avoid everything that makes you uncomfortable. Avoidant behaviour can quickly turn into bad habits that make the anxiety even harder to deal with.
When you’re feeling particularly bad, get it out of your head and into reality. Talk to someone about it, talk to yourself about it, write it down, draw a picture of how you feel, just put it into tangible words or pictures one way or another. If you write or draw, look at it later when you’re feeling better and remember how you felt at the time. Hold on to the knowledge that it was only temporary.
Ask for help. Tell the people you trust how you feel and let them know what they can do to help you, as well as what they shouldn’t do, because often they genuinely won’t know. Maybe you just need someone to listen, maybe you need someone to cheer you up and go on as normal, maybe you need help with practical tasks.
If you think your workplace or school is accomodating when it comes to things like mental illness, it can be a good idea to tell your boss/colleagues/teachers/classmates that you’re having a hard time and let them know if there’s anything they can do. Everything is a little easier when you don’t have to pretend you’re fine all the time.
Allow yourself to give up sometimes. This might sound contradictory to other parts of this post, but if it’s killing you to go to work or school or go about your daily tasks, maybe you need a break from them. As a psychiatrist once said to me, if you feel so bad that you want to die, maybe you should focus on not wanting to die. Severe mental illness takes an enormous amount of energy to struggle through and you have to respect that.
If you’re not sure whether you should give yourself a break, try to look at your situation objectively as if you were another person. Would you recommend another person to go about their normal daily life feeling the way you do?
One thing you can not give up on though - No matter how bad you feel, make sure to get out of your home every day. I don’t care if it’s just to stand outside for 5 minutes, you still need to do it. If you have spent an hour trying to get yourself out the door crying and kicking and screaming multiple times you can be excused, but you need to try every day.
List 3-5 things that are important for you to get done every day or week. Depending on how poorly you are doing, this can be anything from putting on clothes to working on a project of yours. Only pick things that are a little challenging but that you are realistically able to do every day/week - the goal here is to succeed.
Congratulate yourself when you complete your goals and consider if you need to lower your expectations when you don’t, or if you just need to try again. This is a good way to figure out what you’re actually capable of so you can avoid putting yourself in a situation where you’ll constantly disappoint yourself.
Make sure you always have at least one thing to look forward to. It can be going to some event, hanging out with a friend, watching a new movie you’re excited about - it doesn’t matter if it’s big or small as long as you look forward to it. If there is nothing at all, do your best to make plans for something.
Every day before you go to sleep, think of some things you’re grateful for. It doesn’t have to be about you, maybe you’re just happy for something that happened to a friend or thought it was nice that the sun was shining today. It’s fine if you can only think of very small things, the goal is to end the day on a positive note.
Physical health
Basic stuff:
Try to avoid sugar, it will make you tired and can worsen depression.
Especially relevant in the winter, make sure that you are awake while it’s light outside and go out during the daylight hours if possible.
Go outside every day and walk or run or ride a bike, it’s good for clearing your head and calming yourself down.
Anxiety and panic attacks:
If you’re having a panic attack or feeling very anxious, try to lie down on the floor. Seriously, it’s very grounding.
Remind yourself that panic attacks aren’t dangerous. They are an extremely horrible experience, but they can’t actually hurt you and will usually last half an hour at most. You need to develop a bit of a nonchalant attitude to them so you don’t end up fueling your anxiety because you’re now also afraid you’ll have panic attacks.
If you’re feeling very anxious, take a nap. If you’re lucky it’ll restart your brain and you’ll feel better when you wake up.
Medication:
I will not say a lot about medication here, but if you are struggling to keep up your daily life and have felt miserable all or most of the time for two months or more, it might be a good idea to talk to a doctor about getting some antidepressant- or anti-anxiety medicine.
Be critical about it if you start medical treatment - different medicines work for different people and you might experience side effects. If you feel that the side effects have a real negative impact on you, that is not acceptable and you should talk to your doctor about trying out different kinds of drugs until you find something that works well for you. You might not be lucky on the first try.
Sleep:
If you can’t sleep because you can’t stop worrying/thinking about things, teach yourself to meditate to clear your mind. Two simple techniques I use sometimes:
Close your eyes and imagine a river or road, it can be one you know from the real world or one that you make up. Imagine that you’re floating or walking along the river/road and describe to yourself what you see along the way. It works best if it’s always the same place so it comes to feel familiar and calming.
Lie down and close your eyes, then go through every part of your body, focusing on each one and letting go of any tension along the way. Start with your toes and work your way up to the top of your head.
If you’re feeling anxious and jittery, meditation can be a very unpleasant experience. If you can’t sleep it’s probably better to get up and distract yourself with something until you calm down.
Sometimes deliberate sleep deprivation can be very effective in kick-starting your brain out of bad depression. Get up when you usually would, skip a night’s sleep, go to bed when you usually would the next day, then sleep until you wake naturally. Don’t give up halfway through so you end up going to bed at a weird hour.
For me, lighter but consistent sleep deprevation helps and I keep myself from sleeping more than 5-6 hours. If you are very tired and can’t stay awake it’s better to sleep some more sometime during the day than to sleep for many hours in one go.
Disclaimer: Depression doesn’t make lack of sleep healthier for you than anyone else, so use this in moderation. Also, in case of anxiety this might make matters worse.
干支 「えと」Chinese Zodiac
12支 「じゅうにし」The 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac
*These are not the kanji that would refer to the actual animals
The Rat 🐀 子 「ねずみ」or「ね」
The Cow* 🐄 丑 「うし」
The Tiger 🐅 寅 「とら」
The Rabbit 🐇 卯 「うさぎ」or「う」
The Dragon 🐉 辰 「たつ」
The Serpent 🐍 巳 「へび」or「み」
The Horse 🏇 午 「うま」
The Sheep* 🐏 未 「ひつじ」
The Monkey 🐒 申 「さる」
The Rooster 🐓 酉 「とり」
The Dog 🐕 戌 「いぬ」
The Boar* 🐗 亥 「いのしし」or「い」
*These are a local variation in the place of the ox, the goat and the pig
Reblogging for Chinese New Year！～
Also since people keep sending it: No, the kanji for horse is not an error, as stated the kanji for the years do not match the normal animal names. This is intentional.
