For Whoever Needs Them
Things to do instead of hurting yourself:
Write limericks.
Write letters.
Find a beautiful sentence and look up the etymology of every word in it.
Look through seed catalogs.
Plant plants.
Look up seasonal vegetables in your area. Find one recipe you'd consider using for each.
Sing songs, but replace proper and common nouns with the word "cat" or the name of your pet.
Watch Dragonforce videos.
Paint a picture in nail polish on the flap of a cardboard box. Repeat as necessary.
Slowly and rhythmically, arrange small objects by color. Rearrange them by size, shape, and other characteristics.
Squinch up your face and open your mouth as wide as it will go. Make every sound you can with your face in this position. Repeat the ones that make you laugh.
Find a copy of _Finder_ by Carla Speed McNeil. If you don't have one, see if you can get it from the library. Fill out the paperwork for inter-library loan if necessary.
Make frivolous lists, i.e. four-letter words beginning with "c," insects that could double as board game pieces, and other things irrelevant to your life in general and mental health in particular.
Breathe slowly and rhythmically. Concentrate on relaxing your diaphragm.
Free write. Cover the paper as you go so that you can't read what you've written.
Print out coloring pages. Color them using glue and spices.
Take an eraser and rub it on a desk or other hard surface until the eraser is mostly gone. Pile the shavings up and squish them together between a thumb and finger.
Make lavender, lemon, or rosemary sugar.
Play cat's cradle.
Read _Scott Pilgrim_. Yes, again.
ETA: This isn't meant to indicate anything about *my* current state of mind; I'd planned to e-mail the list to a friend who needed one but figured it was worth posting somewhere more publicly accessible. So stop worrying, damnit.
Write limericks.
Write letters.
Find a beautiful sentence and look up the etymology of every word in it.
Look through seed catalogs.
Plant plants.
Look up seasonal vegetables in your area. Find one recipe you'd consider using for each.
Sing songs, but replace proper and common nouns with the word "cat" or the name of your pet.
Watch Dragonforce videos.
Paint a picture in nail polish on the flap of a cardboard box. Repeat as necessary.
Slowly and rhythmically, arrange small objects by color. Rearrange them by size, shape, and other characteristics.
Squinch up your face and open your mouth as wide as it will go. Make every sound you can with your face in this position. Repeat the ones that make you laugh.
Find a copy of _Finder_ by Carla Speed McNeil. If you don't have one, see if you can get it from the library. Fill out the paperwork for inter-library loan if necessary.
Make frivolous lists, i.e. four-letter words beginning with "c," insects that could double as board game pieces, and other things irrelevant to your life in general and mental health in particular.
Breathe slowly and rhythmically. Concentrate on relaxing your diaphragm.
Free write. Cover the paper as you go so that you can't read what you've written.
Print out coloring pages. Color them using glue and spices.
Take an eraser and rub it on a desk or other hard surface until the eraser is mostly gone. Pile the shavings up and squish them together between a thumb and finger.
Make lavender, lemon, or rosemary sugar.
Play cat's cradle.
Read _Scott Pilgrim_. Yes, again.
ETA: This isn't meant to indicate anything about *my* current state of mind; I'd planned to e-mail the list to a friend who needed one but figured it was worth posting somewhere more publicly accessible. So stop worrying, damnit.