Depressed? Here's Some Stuff To Cheer You Up.

So, life can be a lot of work, with jobs, and school, and families, and all of the other people and things we occupy our time with.  Some of us can juggle all of it better than others--some of us can't juggle it at all.  And the rest of us, well, we do what we can and get bogged down from time to time.  We all have different ways of coping--one of mine is to keep a folder of web pages, images, and other bookmarks of things that make me smile or bring me comfort no matter what.  In an effort to help out other folks who might be feeling down, I thought I might share that list, along with some honorable mentions.  Please note that these are in no particular order.  So, without further ado....

Miss Linda's Happy Stuff Linkfest!

 Yes, Buzzfeed has gotten really annoying of late.  But their image lists used to be quite good.  This one is among my favorites--no sponsor, and the pictures of Kim Kardashian crying are far more effective than they have any right to be. 

 Cornify is a fun and bizarre site that lets you add rainbows and unicorns to all your photos.  Who doesn't need more rainbows and unicorns?


So, there's this letter on the internet that's been attributed to Stephen Fry.  Not sure if he actually wrote it, but it is one of the most wonderful responses to depression I have ever seen.  Whenever I'm down, this never fails to put things back into perspective.  I might still be down, but, well, it will be sunny one day.

 

Sorry, another Buzzfeed list.  But don't we all need something to restore our faith in humanity?

 Animals sleeping with stuffed versions of themselves. 'Nuff said.

 Calming manatee randomly generates an image of a manatee with a friendly caption.


There are no words to describe the joy that is Cat Bounce!  No, really.  And don't worry, no cats are harmed.  They actually seem to enjoy it.


Here is a random tumblr post reminding you that being depressed is really hard.  You should stop being so down on yourself for not being superhuman.


Another random blog post I happened upon.  A good read if you're on the bathroom floor with a kitchen knife--more people care about you than you think.

 Bunny Island.  The best collection of Bunny Island pictures I've ever seen.  I want to go to Bunny Island soooooooo much.


All right, I saved my current favorite for last.  Seriously, I cannot sit through this video without smiling.  You probably can't either.  While theoretically safe for work, you probably don't want to explain this to your boss.

Thank you, Japan, for all of the bizarre things you give the world.

Honorable mentions:

The Blogess is an amazing woman.  She treads a fine line between funny and serious, and often has resources for those who battle depression and anxiety.  Her obsession with taxidermy is both funny and creepy, and she has one of the most useful phrases for dealing with depression, "Depression Lies."  The only reason she's in this section is because she's also a big Amanda Palmer fan.  While I won't deny that Palmer is talented, her music brings me down.  Admittedly, I find techno and metal calming, so that might just be me. 

 Hyperbole and a Half is hilarious. It would be in the list if it were updated more often (the writer is working on her book and has had some personal trouble, so we'll let it slide).  It's just in a different bookmarks folder.  It's hard to pick a favorite post, so you should read them all.  I keep meaning to print out a copy of the better pain scale for the next time I have to rate my pain for the doctor.

I Can Has Cheezburger? is one of the oldest places to get your lolcat fix.  Originally, they were just cats, but they have a massive network of meme related sites, some of which are healthier than others.

So, there we are.  I'm sure I missed a few.  What are your favorite corners of the internet to cheer yourself up at?  Share in the comments!