Its good when its bad

Sometimes life simply backs you into a corner. It doesn't matter how resilient or optimistic you are, life still kicks you in the gut for a nice satisfying laugh. Now I don't know about you, but mostly, times like these just make me want to curl up and sleep and never wake up. And just sometimes, I find myself wanting to cope, and perhaps, get the better of life screaming 'Ha! You can’t get me down'.
So here's my pseudo version of the stages of grief - only they're not classified as the 5 discrete emotions; they're things that i do when in the absolute pits. Read on, maybe some of this is familiar to you.

1. Over indulge. Be it food, exercise or in my case, shopping. It's time to make the self feel better. Retail therapy rocks.
2. Talk. Ring up your best friend. It doesn't matter if they listen more than advice; scold more than pacify. It’s great when you hang up knowing someone cares enough.
3. Self pity. It’s an excellent outlet for emotions even if pretty loser-like for petty daily misfortunes; you can allow yourself this when you're at your absolute worst.
4. Go wild. Do something crazy, something new. No, I don't mean elope or hitchhike across the country or blow up a ton of money. Just do something that’s new for you, not those around you. It works.
5. Socialize. Party. Music, the anonymity that crowds provide, is sometimes wonderful. Meet up with that old school friend you haven't in a while. Ring up all those whose calls you've ignored. Catch up. It’s actually pretty nice to look beyond your own misery at someone else's life.
6. Spend time with the family. Blood really is thicker than life's troubled waters
7. Block the world out. No calls, no TV, no internet. Be by yourself, even if you're lounging around in the room. After a few hours of self pity, you'll find yourself reflecting and then slowly see a glimmer of hope.
8. Appreciate the big picture. Go to the sea side, lake side, park anything. The beauty and vastness of nature can soothe the self like no other. Notice the details. Take note of the small things people do for you - friends, office boy, rickshaw walla, the dog that jumps to lick your face. The loveliness of an act of kindness can touch the heart like none other.
9. Make someone else happy. Pay a compliment or buy the old beggar at the signal some food. Put a smile on someone else's face, and you'll automatically see one on your own.
10. Accept the situation and smile. The best part when things 'can't get worse', is that they can only get better :)