Out of a Pickle and into a Pastiche : BouncebackCafe.com

Out of a Pickle and into a Pastiche

September 29, 2009 - Posted by Ellie

photo credit: Coolm36

Join My Pastiche – add some fun stuff to my Out-of-the-Dumpity-Dumps List…

Today I invite you to turn on your sound, click play on the following YouTube video and hum along, let the video play in the background while you read on…

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters…

This post is about me being my own “bridge over troubled waters” because I’m always there in the moment when, as Simon & Garfunkel’s lyrics recite, “…you’re weary, feelin’ small… when tears are in your eyes, …like a bridge over troubled waters, I will dry them all… I will comfort you… ease your mind…”

And it is also Part 2 of “In a Pickle and Ready to Topple” in which I focused on using Seligman’s ABC’s in order to self-talk myself off the ledge when I’m feeling blue.

Let me assure you, here and now, just in case you were worried: my friends (and family) are, and continue to be, found, comforting and supportive!

A Playful Pastiche…

Hey, pastiche is my new word for the day, I liked the alliteration – it means a work of art formed from disparate sources, a collage if you will. OK, you knew that, but until today, I didn’t. So anyway, this playful pastiche of positive, state-shifting ideas was something I whipped up before I wrote “In a Pickle”.

Huh, “state-shifting”???

Sorry about that – “state” is shorthand for emotional state – how we’re feeling at the moment. I was feeling “about to topple into the dumper” when I wrote “In a Pickle”. And, when you’re feeling low, shifting that state and substituting another, more positive state can be a good thing. Hence my search for alternatives to feeling blue.

Up Out of the Dumpity-Dumps

What are the alternatives to toppling into the dumper? Well, “Eat” comes to mind but while it might be fun, it’s probably NOT a good long term strategy.

OK, so what else could I do to shift states? Well, let’s see, I could:

…dance to my favorite upbeat CDs
…go for a walk
…finger paint
…clean the kitchen floor
…go swimming (yeah right, when was the last time I was in a bathing suit?)
…go for a long drive with the radio on LOUD
…write a post
…go on a chocolate binge (oops, there’s that eating thing again)

Or, my current choice, I am watching a silly movie that makes me laugh and cry at the same time while I write this post. How many times have I watched “Fifty First Dates” and/or “Sleepless in Seattle”? Quite a few. And even the tear-jerker, “Two Weeks” has its LOL, funny moments. My film of choice right now though, silly me, is “The First Wives Club”… good for a laugh or two.

And This Has to Do with Bounce Back, How?

Well, I figure anything that saves me from taking Humpty Dumpty’s great fall and leaves me cracking up instead of cracked up is, more than likely, a good resilience tool. Makes sense to me but I’m being silly right now – my current method for overcoming both the blues and writers block.

In the post Why Resilience we explained our view that resilience (also known as bounce back) is “the strength, the optimism and the skills to endure, adapt and flourish in the face of adversity”. And I see my “Out of the Dumpity-Dumps List” as my effort to Energize! as in Seligman’s A-B-C-D-E formula. Why do I say that?

Because having “The List” offers a plethora of quick fixes that energize me to dance around the edges instead of slipping over the edge.
Because taking a break is a healthy balanced strategy for being and staying productive.
Because I prefer to wallow in my Dumpity-Dumps moments when I CHOOSE to proclaim a pity-party!
And, because, if you ask me, toppling down into the Dumpity-Dumps looks a lot like I’d be accepting the negative Consequences of my negative Beliefs about my Adversity-of-the-moment.