small tips for Enjoying Being Alive from someone who went from wanting to die to genuinely loving life. these won't fix your life but they'll make it a lot easier to want to live day by day. I promise.
tell yourself things you do not believe. it feels stupid at first but I've done this for years and now I believe it when I say "I'm good at this" or "I love myself" or "I deserve good shit!"
make a note of every mundane good thing that happens to you. mental or literal notes! could be as little as "the sky is a nice shade of grey, it's calming" or "I ate a piece of fruit today, I'm looking after myself" or "I talked to a friend". again, feels stupid at first, but I genuinely believe this is part of why I have so many "good days". trick your brain into storing things in your long-term memory that you wouldn't otherwise remember.
diet deficiencies can make you properly miserable. your physical health impacts your mental health more than you'd think. get some vitamins, some omega-3s and so on. whether from food or supplements. they can make quite a difference! your brain is responsible for a LOT of the way you feel, and giving it the fatty acids it needs to function at its best can go a long way.
As someone who used to want to die but loves life I have more to add
critters! Go to a reputable zoo/rescue. Go on a hike with birdseed and feed chickadees from your hand. Befriend your local crowd. Grow plants to attract butterflies and moths and beetles. Go on walks just to find dogs to pet (always ask first) go to a pond to watch fish and frogs and ducks. Nothing makes me happier to be here than the animals I get to share this life with.
make art. Make good art or shitty art. Use oil paints or finger paint or crayons or chalk or watercolour or any other medium. When you’re in kindergarten and you make art you don’t know if it’s good or bad. You just know that you made something yourself. And sometimes the art is the process. The fact that we live in a world where we have the joy of creativity is amazing. You made something. Be proud of that. Have fun with it.
do fun things! Do kid things! Go sledding in the winter. Play mermaids at the beach. Make camp bracelets. Buy a dollhouse and decorate it. Roast marshmallows. Go to a playground and slide again. Use a swing set. Swinging + music is where it’s at.
Make an imaginary friend or bring back your old one. You don’t have to talk out loud or act crazy. Just pretend you have a dragon that nobody else can see. Imagine there’s a floating dolphin beside you. You have an imagination somewhere, I promise. It’s not dead, just dusty.
I promise. Life can be amazing. Sometimes you just have to stick around a little longer to see it.
Remember to eat! Fuel all your days!
