I stumbled across a pretty odd tool to deal with social anxiety related to alcohol or depression that gives you a micro or mini amount of feel good hormones in the midst of toxic comments that may make you want to avoid social situations.

We all know these statements like: “Cheer up, you always seem so down”, “Don’t fuss about being ‘depressed’, you only want recognition”, or “You? Depressed? There are so many people who have it worse compared to you”… The list is unending and the topic is interchangeable.

A psycho therapist in a TED talk recently gave the following advice: Take a piece of paper or a little piece of cardboard and write all the statements you expect to hear in a social situation about your depression/anxiety/alcohol problem/… down in a bingo field. Take it and a pen with you to the social gathering (if you feel like going) and always mark off one statement when it is literally (or nearly literally) mentioned. Then, if you have your row or column or diagonal from one end to the other, loudly exclaim “bullshit!” and enjoy the stupid faces around you.

I know, it may not work for everyone. I haven’t tried it myself, but next time I go out and I expect to be confronted about quitting and being in recovery, I will try it out. I think it will be a comic relief and you can certainly tell if people stand truly by you or not.

Until next time: Keep up the faith in yourself and take one step at a time.