I need suggestions for a silly routine to break a dark mood

I have an old Readers Digest article about ways to bring more humor into one's life. One of the things it suggests is: "Develop a silly routine to break a dark mood." I can't think of ANYTHING. So, dear people, can any of you come up with silly routines??????

This sounded pretty weird at first but I've been thinking, and it's probably worth a shot. Are you relatively stable? If you're unfocused or a bit topsy turvy maybe randomness isn't your best bet - but if it's constant enough, the feeling you've described, then there's an idea called "bubble hopping" you might be interested in, that fits well with the Reader's Digest article this topic refers to: in a nutshell, everybody lives inside their own unique reality bubble, and bubble hopping is the process of jumping into unique realities - hopping from one bubble to another - that are removed from your own, at each and every opportunity; a bit like Jim Carrey's Yes Man, only you're more proactive in seeking unique gatherings to go to. So on Monday you might find yourself in a political forum for a party you'd never consider voting for, Tuesday playing Bingo, Wednesday at a gathering of vintage wine enthusiasts; so on and so forth.

We're only really products of the things we meaningfully experience, so when you think about it, a lot of the depressive 'hardening' people seem to go through as they get older, is probably less to do with their neurology hardening, and more to do with their being in a constant close-knit feedback loop of their own making, that works to reinforce their identity according to their chosen surroundings, over and over and over again - and I think the mind at a metacognative level becomes gradually compounded by this, leading some to mid-life crisis, or depression, or even a quiet inward desperation.

By shaking things up and forgetting about comfort zones and putting yourself in unique and exotic social environments, that all flips. You will not only be flooded with a wealth of new concepts and connections to contemplate - and dream about - you will be satisfying the deep urge to learn that exists inside all of us. Not to mention, how much more confident and socially able you're likely to become by challenging yourself in such a regular and achievable way. Makes sense, don't you think?

Dear VCRPamphlet. Thanks for the suggestion and for the nice thoughtfulness you've put into your post and ideas. But I don't think this would work for me. I guess maybe I'm too closed minded. I would get very upset, going to a political meeting of people who are against my principles, and Bingo would bore me and put me off, etc etc. For a random silly routine, I need something I can do immediately, usually at home because that's where I mostly get into dark moods, at home.

I guess I'm more interested in objective improvement and having an urgency suitable to the life-crippling challenge being faced. If you're just after a distraction with the help of a stranger, I'm not the best person to ask. Have a strong compulsion right now to pick you up and shake some reason into your self-fulfilling prophecy of a problem, lol, but just as it's better that you come up with your own routine to experiment with, it's probably best to find these things out on one's own.

To put it bluntly: it sounds like you prefer this way of living, and only want to get better if it's easy to do so, meaning that, unless you're able to enhance your thought process, you may be as well resign things to that which you've created for yourself.

At any rate, issues of discomfort and anxiety in these type of measures can be managed better with therapeutic support - like I said, it depends on your urgency.

Have been in a discussion the past few days about projection, and I've wondered since posting that whether that (a projection of mine) is why it was written so entitled and abrasively. But then, well, no, that isn't where it was meant from - it's random as buggery, but said because I relate to your detachment from past experience (which relatability seems to make me a bit tone-deaf) and even though certain words always suck, even poorly delivered truths can have their place. This probably wasn't it.

Sorry about the out of the blue sermon. It's poor form. Best of luck with the routine - maybe start out with lighthearted fun stuff - like making elaborate dominos routes or walking down a new street every morning listening to music from a different global culture each time - stuff like that where the stakes are low and the reward is breezy; but I still recommend coming up with it on your own if you can. That way it's yours - you achieved it - and you'll feel more confident moving into the next behaviour change. All the same, maybe some answers here or from a google search will give some inspiration. Good luck with it all

I think I'm hung up on the word silly but I LOVE having a routine to break me out of a dark place. My favorite thing to do lately, when the weather is nice, is go for a walk around in the sun, or bike to a local nature preserve. Or visit the water. You can see I love nature. I sketch a lot, I journal all the time. Sometimes I beat up my pillow to release energy, or do push ups. I think the thing they all have in common is action... doing something. Getting myself off the sofa or out of bed or out of my dark little room or off social media. I def agree it should be low stakes at first.

Hello, Son, thank you for your suggestions. I would have to take a long bus ride to get to Nature. And I don't much like going outdoors because of the traffic noise. Noise really bothers me esp. when I'm in a down mood. There is no park near where I live. I love Nature, too. I have a pedal machine. I could try that. Put some nice music on and pedal for a while. I'll try that. But I really think silly is important to me. I'm trying to get my sense of humor back, and if I can think of something to make me laugh I think that would help a lot.