Seasonal Depression Repression
Our remedies for the season that keeps on giving.
Livia
This year, my seasonal depression is sponsored by being laid off by GoDaddy. I won’t get into this much further than saying: I’m off to bigger and better things. Even though I am truly better off now that I was laid off, I can’t lie – that shit hurted. To cope with this loss, I want you to join me on a journey through every step of mourning by using the only references I have – movies:
DENIAL - Avengers: Endgame
Every year I have this need to watch every Avengers movie, which is fun but I try to avoid because it really takes over my Letterboxd end-of-year stats. Regardless, I included this movie because of one thing only: the blip. As many of you probably know, this movie starts with a very dramatic five-year-jump after half of the world vanishes into ashes. I didn’t even see the irony of how much it relates to my situation until writing this newsletter. I was so deep in denial about my situation that I didn't see how a 5-year career seemingly vanishing into ashes after the single snap decision of one random person I never met could relate.
ANGER - Ready or Not
It will be surprising to nobody that knows me, that I moved on to anger very quickly. The best way for me to deal with this anger is by watching somebody go through an extreme version of my own feelings. It felt very good to see a woman act on justified anger and make it out alive.
BARGAINING - Talk to Me
There’s so much danger in “what if” and “if only” thoughts. The downfall of Mia in Talk to Me is that she can’t let go of the unknowns surrounding her mother. Obviously my version of this dilemma is not as high-stakes or dramatic as what this movie portrays, but it serves as a nice reminder to move on and not let the “what if”s take over your life.
DEPRESSION - Steel Magnolias
Historically, I’m not a crier. But, I’ve recently unlocked this part of myself and I’m very grateful. One movie that will always give me a cry when I need it, is Steel Magnolias. The cemetery scene gets me every single time.
ACCEPTANCE - Everything Everywhere All At Once
When I get stressed out in my life, I always come back to this movie. It’s easy to get wrapped up in my own shit, but there are so many important things in life. Saying “nothing matters” can feel very depressing, but it can also be empowering. It can be depressing to think that 5 years of hard work can just disappear in an instant, but I’m choosing to believe that it’s all for a reason. I’m choosing to believe that in the book of my life, it’s just the cliffhanger to a very entertaining, fulfilling chapter.
Anthony
In our Going to the movies issue in October, I wrote about how Seattle’s fall foliage has been a nice welcome to the fall season. I’m sad to report that the end of daylight savings completely fucked the season’s greetings. My work week has become one big blur now that my routine consists of working in a windowless office for 8 or 9 hours, followed by a short commute home it’s pitch black outside. By the time I get home I waste away because there is is barely time or energy to do anything with my life.
I hate complaining, especially because I’m fortunate to have a boring life, so instead, I’d rather share the different movies and music that have gotten me through these past few weeks.
Movies
Sadly, I haven’t been watching a ton of movies lately so I don’t have anything new to recommend. However, these are some of movies I use to keep that funny feeling at bay:
School of Rock:
A childhood classic. The end credit scene by itself is all I need to make my day a little bit better.
Tron: Legacy
Daft Punk composed the score for this, that’s really all you need to know for this one.
Zombieland:
Life is a little bit less stressful when you consider that there could be a zombie apocalypse going on. It’s also has a quick runtime of 88 minutes!
The Rocker:
The soul sister to School of Rock. The music has no right being this good either.
Music
Since it’s objectively easier to consume music, it has become my first line of defense against seasonal depression–especially because I can use it to distract me from my insanely boring job. I’ve been forcing myself to listen to as much new music as possible and have found or been recommended some absolute bops that I’m happy to share. I curated a playlist of songs that have been on repeat constantly, especially during my walk home.
I’ve never publicly shared a playlist before so I’m eager to know what you think and do(n’t) like.