What brings you comfort.... What's your solace?

Hey

As the title suggests, what brings you comfort or gives you solace?

I'm a BIG comfort eater. ANY food will do, but high sugar or high fat will do. Biscuits, chocolate or take away food. Sadly I'm overweight now and can't shed it!

Or coming home and putting on my PJs even of its 2pm! (I only do this if I know that I'm not going out of the house for the rest of the day .... And I never go out of the house in them).

Or sometimes having a good cry. I can get quiet nostalgic at times.... Isn't hindsight funny how it changes your opinion of events.

Curling up cuddling my cats is a sure fire way to feel solace too.

I love books and I think that getting stuck into a good novel is maybe the best way to take you out of yourself for a bit and your mind off your problems. I've got favorite books and authors and have been reading quite a lot of fiction again recently. Harry Potter was something that I read because I wanted something comforting at the time but anything that gets you involved with the characters is good if you need imaginary friends. I tried to explain to my mother that Trainspotting is about friendship rather than being about heroin but she thinks that it just depresses me.

A hot shower, then cartoons.

I have a few things, thankfully. I read, I'm a photographer (though I haven't shot anything in a little while) and I ride motorcycle. So I can hide away with a book, put a camera in between myself and the world, or put on my colours and my leathers, which really does feel like armour - not from the road, but from the world, and (in the warmer weather, anyway) go riding.

snookiebookie wrote:I'm a BIG comfort eater. ANY food will do, but high sugar or high fat will do. Biscuits, chocolate or take away food.

Despite my complicated OCD relationship with food, there are certain foods which comfort me tremendously. Like a grilled cheese on white bread with about 40 pounds of butter. Or a chocolate milkshake. That's the best. I love them so much I nearly get emotional over them. I've been known to cry over a really good chocolate shake.

snookiebookie wrote:Or coming home and putting on my PJs even of its 2pm! (I only do this if I know that I'm not going out of the house for the rest of the day .... And I never go out of the house in them).

The best feeling. Knowing I'm in my apartment, door locked, phone turned down, safe from the world for the rest of the day.

snookiebookie wrote:Curling up cuddling my cats is a sure fire way to feel solace too.

Don't get me started!

________________________________


One of my biggest comforts is TV. Just lying on the couch, lost in a good TV show or movie. I'm pretty selective about what I watch; I don't channel surf because, conversely, I find it very depressing to just sit like a lump and watch 'whatever's on'. It's the escapism I like. If I don't have a stack of unwatched movies on my coffee table, I get to feeling insecure. Currently I have about six films on the pile, but, even better, I won't be watching them for a while because there's a whole bunch of TV shows I'm following right now (The X Files re-boot, Baskets, and starting soon, The People vs. OJ Simpson and season 2 of Better Call Saul) Freaking awesome! Broadcast TV comforts me because in a strange way it connects me with the outside world without having to answer to it. Even the banter of commercials can be comforting. I think some of this comes from my childhood. I can remember, as a little kid, lying in bed, hearing the TV on downstairs, knowing my parents were sitting there calmly watching it meant they weren't fighting, throwing things around, or worse, about to burst into my room to use me as a pawn in one of their ridiculous drunken arguments.

We had a big blizzard here last week, which is always comforting to me. It was so bad all the roads were closed, even the busses and trains stopped running. Everybody had to hole up in their homes like an avoidant! For two days, I didn't have to worry about having that "what are you doing holed up in your apartment AGAIN? You should get out and have a life!" feeling because, I had no choice! No greater solace than that.

Hi all. I love this topic. My refuge is very much like the others.
I particularly relate to the blizzards which Marcus mentioned or bad weather when you are cosy at home. Unfortunately this rarely happens where I live. Haha I'm sure most people would be grateful to have generally good weather conditions,

I love reading ,watching TV surfing the net and listening to music.
Also I love eating and cooking. My poor waistline and I use to be so slim
Escaping reality and being absorbed in a good book or movie is great
I also love gardening in my small garden weather permitting.
The most wonderful time is Friday evening and the end of the working week. Especially when you can stay at home with no particular plans

occasional trips out to places of interest
I also love home styling. Sorry this is so long but I realise there are many things that make me happy

The worst thing is when depression sets in and even your solace may not work. Luckily I know in my case this is usually fairly shortlived

Marcus555 wrote:

snookiebookie wrote:Curling up cuddling my cats is a sure fire way to feel solace too.

Don't get me started!

More like, don't get my cat started! I don't know about you two, but if my cat doesn't get her daily doses of snuggling (especially first thing in the morning - nothing's more fun than having a cat wake you up at 3 AM because she wants to snuggle), she gets very vocal in her dissatisfaction with the situation. My cat's like Donkey from Shrek; getting her to talk isn't a trick, getting her to shut up is.

Yeah, I have one that I bottle fed so he gets a little crazy if he doesn't get attention. My girl just gives me "the look" until I can't stand it anymore.

I have three cats, and they are a huge comfort for me. Serena is the youngest (4), then Daniel (8), and Solomon (12). The boys love to take turns sleeping with me. Daniel is a very independent, opinionated and strong cat. If he's laying on the bed and I come near his tail, he gets vocal. He's VERY defensive about touching or being near that tail. LOL
OTOH, Solomon is quite laid back, choosing to either sleep next to my pillow, or sprawled on my chest. He purrs a lot.
Serena will cautiously walk on the bed, but if I move or try to pull her close, she takes off.
And of course, they all love to play with the laser toy.

My other comfort is working on anything to do with my doll collection....sewing, painting, repairing, etc. Dolls have been a big part of my life ever since I was 4 years old.

snookiebookie wrote:Or sometimes having a good cry.

I think i need that.
Crying can give me comfort, provided it's full.
It happens sometimes that it's sort of endless crying, which doesn't bring me comfort.