Walking. Getting outside and feeling a breeze, listening to birds and bugs, and being on uneven terrain. Having breakfast food at dinner or vice versa. Painting one wall of a room a wild color. Spending some time with a dog. Volunteering for something.

Think about a topic you've always been interested in, but have never had time to read about. Research some good books about it on Amazon. Go to the library and check them out.

Spending time outdoors. Helping someone worse off than me if I can. Exercise is good, even just a brisk walk.

yeah.. force yourself to go outside and walk walk walk.

If you can't sleep, get up and go for a walk.

i'm more of a "beat something to death with a stick" kind of gal
i don't recommend it

I recently realized that I've lost heart a few times in my life, and that getting back on track was partly a matter of finding it again. Giving up and starting over isn't always bad. I don't know if this helps much, but sometimes taking an aphorism and deconstructing it or embracing it helps me. Also reminding myself that sadness and depression aren't the same thing, and that if you medicate sadness to avoid it, you may be sweeping your own legs and tumbling to the mat, top-heavy with artificial smiles and an inflated sense of worth.

Sometimes we are worthless, and sometimes we lose heart, and sometimes being your own worst enemy and your own best friend are the same thing. Sometimes none of this is true, and I imagine that thinking this way might be really dangerous for some people. Please don't take anything I say as advice.

It's a tough one. I find that exercise helps, but masturbation really doesn't. In the long run, I think sometimes when I'm down, fixing the problem isn't about cheering up at all.

And yeah, taking a walk opens your windows and airs out the linens.

Definitely volunteering for something. Get yourself involved in something that forces you to get out of bed and in the world. And yup, walking is a wonderful thing.

I think the big key is to re-engage in the things that usually make you want to get up. Eating creates the appetite, and all that.

I also really like Hugh's comment.

Volunteer as a dog walker at the animal shelter. Those dogs'll really help you get your head on straight.

I'm kind of slumpy right now too, Sasshat, and have been for too damn long. I don't have any advice for how to get out of it, obviously. I have advice for how to cope with it while you're in the midst, though.

I always think of "It Could Always Be Worse" scenarios. It could be worse -- someone in my family could go crazy and kill us all with a hatchet. It could be worse -- someone in my family could be painfully wasting away from a chronic illness. It could be worse -- I could be jailed in a bizarre case of mistaken identity. And my benchmark: It could be worse -- right this very minute I could be driving that 26' Uhaul with a car trailer towed behind, upward over the mountains and through San Fernando Valley in rush hour traffic.

Yeah, things might be bad temporarily, but they could always be worse.

this is the best answer and it works:

figure out what would be the hardest thing in the world for you to possibly do. then do it spectacularly. if you're a heavy person, run a marathon in less than three hours. if you are an old and frail and weak person, take up boxing. if you are a stupid person (yrs. truly), study a rigorous science (still working on spectacularly). if you do this right, you can make your entire life be a way to beat anything that had brought or could bring you down. how can any finite, human sadness possibly persist through that kind of dedication? if you're bashful, become an m.c. and perform and sell records. if you're short, become a great basketball player. if you're a homebody, walk around the world. don't do things by half measures: i mean find the thing you're worst at, or would be the worst at, and then do it spectacularly.