My Favourite Simple Things & Other Lists

Sometimes the simplest things in life are some of the best.  Here are a few of my favourite simple things:

• guinea pig kisses
• watching the guinea pigs sleeping
• the combination of chocolate and peanut butter
• cozy blankets
• soaps from Lush
• bedtime
• toasty slippers
• moisturizer
• the simple beauty of nature
• tea
• focaccia bread and balsamic vinegar
• baguette and brie
• the feeling of sun on my face
• birdsong at dawn
• the feeling of sand beneath my toes
• the sound of waves crashing against the beach
• the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze

What are some of your faves?

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The simplest things in life are free

And while we’re at it, let’s toss in another list, of simple things in life that are free.

• Reading (the local library is my go-to for books, and I love that my library has ebooks that can be checked out)
• Writing
• Watching nature
• Thinking about the mysteries of the universe
• Listening to things like raindrops falling, the wind blowing through the trees
• People-watching
• Walks in the sunshine
• Daydreaming
• Singing along to your favourite songs
• Love (cue J.Lo song My Love Don’t Cost a Thing, but don’t cue the video because I find it annoying)

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My own little piece of paradise

I have a page in my bullet journal devoted to what my own little piece of heaven would look like.  Here’s what it would include:

• sunny and warm with a gentle breeze
• an ocean beach with waves crashing against the shore
• a grassy meadow teeming with guinea pigs and other cute critters, as well as four-leaf clovers and wildflowers
• yummy food that was magically good for both body and soul (i.e. cheeseburger is the new salad)
• only kind people, and not a lot of them
• no pressure or obligations
• simplicity
• no trauma reminders
• people I love
• no future to worry about, only the present
• good mental health

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Thing I miss because of depression

There’s a lot that illness has taken away from me.  Here are a few things that I miss:

• Planning and getting excited about where my next travel destination might be
• Enjoying spending time with close friends
• Being interested in going to theatre performances
• Having fun getting ready to go out somewhere nice
• Wanting to do road trips with friends
• Feeling positive about my work
• Enjoy social time with coworkers
• Caring about how I look – not in a self-critical way, but having fun with clothes, accessories, and makeup
• Feeling hopeful about the future
• Feeling happy
• Enjoying local seasonal events
• Feeling like there were lots of options open to me and I was in control
• Being interested in book clubbing and writers festivals

I would be capable of doing the action-based items on this list, but it’s the capacity for interest/enjoyment that’s gone.  And I’ve found that trying to do things anyway but not enjoying them tends to just make me feel worse, as it emphasizes the contrast.

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Things I enjoyed (pre-anhedonia)

One of the depression symptoms that’s had a big impact on my life is anhedonia (the inability to experience pleasure).  I used to enjoy doing various things, but now they just don’t interest me and seem like just a vague memory.  Summer is a time of year that tends to be strongly associated with pleasure, but it also tends to remind me of what’s just not there in my head/heart right now.

Some of the things I used to enjoy:

• Going to the theatre, especially musical theatre and outdoor theatre like the local Shakespeare on the beach productions.
• The local Fringe Festival.
• Dance performances like ballet
• Going to the symphony
• Going out for food/drinks on sunny patios
• Eating out in general
• Wine festivals
• Writers festivals
• Weekend getaways
• Playing beer league softball
• Being part of a book club
• Wandering around shopping and eating at the funky public market

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Travel: places ticked off my bucket list

Travelling has always been a major passion of mine.  Unfortunately depression makes it rather hard to feel passionate about much of anything, but in an attempt to get myself a bit more excited about my upcoming trip to Italy I thought I’d do a post covering the places I’ve managed to tick off my travel bucket list thus far.

North America

• Mexico
• United States

Europe

• Austria – my friend and I wanted to visit Mozart’s grave, but after walking there in the pouring rain the cemetery gate was locked
• Czech Republic
• England – I didn’t get outside of London, and will definitely need to go back
• France – one of my all-time favourites
• Germany – only visited Munich, so this is another country to return to
• Greece
• Hungary
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Romania – Where else can you dance the night away at the Dracula Disco?
• Russia – I was depressed during this trip, so didn’t really get to enjoy it.  In selfies I took my face is gaunt because I had lost so much weight due to illness. (there are photos here)
• Slovakia
• Switzerland – the organization nut in me loved that all of the clocks were synchronized and trains arrived on time to the minute

Asia

• Cambodia
• India – I enjoyed it despite having raging diarrhea much of the time I was there
• Israel
• Japan – I visit here on a school exchange trip when I was 14.  The flight was hideous because back in the day people used to be able to smoke in planes.
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan – This is where I got to camp in a yurt (2 yurts, to be exact).
• Laos
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Uzbekistan (you can read about this trip in How Do You Say Antidepressant in Uzbek?)
• Vietnam – As a solo white female traveller, I really stood out and acted like a magnet for chatty locals.

South America and Caribbean

• Argentina – Alas I was too sick (thanks to Bolivia) to enjoy the famous steaks
• Bolivia
• Brazil – One hotel my mom and I stayed in had a porn channel on the tv and mirrors at various angles around the bed.  Classy all the way.
• Cuba
• Peru

Africa

• Egypt – There was so much sexual harassment from yucky Egyptian men
• Kenya (you can see photos here)
• Tanzania