Dang, I’ve been bad at updating this. Sorry about that.

I should mention that I am one of those lucky people with depression. It’s not always rough, but when it is, it is ROUGH. On top of having it, I’ve been going through the process of changing medications, and that means that every day is a new challenge. Who am I, how am I feeling, and how am I going to tackle the next 12 hours. Woof! It’s a lot.

Is it weird that I’m talking about experiencing a mood disorder? Trick question! It shouldn’t be weird. That being said, there’s so much stigma that surrounds mood disorders and mental illness, and I try to take that stigma down. A lot of people are suffering in silence, or suffering publicly from it, and I think it’s time that it becomes more normalized. It should be okay to talk about anxiety, depression, BPD, and all the rest. People of the world who are experiencing too many feelings, unite!

Anyway, since Ive been in a sad girl phase, I figured I could share my favorite sad girl things to watch. When you just can’t that day, or week, or month, you get it. I’m not going to burst into the FRIENDS intro song. That would be tacky. There’s a few staples that I enjoy watching when I need something on to make me feel better. You may have different choices to be sure, and I would love to hear about them! But you’re on my blog so now you’re gonna hear about my favorites.

The Harry Potter Series — Largely by virtue of growing up with Harry Potter, this is a mainstay of feel good TV for me. It’s fun watching the kids grow up and face some ridiculous challenges. SIDE NOTE: How in tarnation does a school that hosts regular student deaths stay open that long? Is a dead kid just not as big of a deal in wizard culture? Anyway. It reminds me about the power of friendship and integrity and brings me to a world that I wish I lived in. If I had a dime for every time I wished to have a Time Turner like Hermione, I’d be able to afford to science up a device that actually does manipulate time. Chamber of Secrets is probably the silliest of the movies, and we owe that to the dramatic prowess of Kenneth Branagh. Highly recommend if you’re having a hard time.

Downton Abbey — This may not be everyone’s feel good show but I enjoy it for the slow pace and the easily digestible issues that this aristocratic family of the 1920s faces. Boo hoo Edith wants to drive and Mary can’t figure out who to marry. I eat that for sad girl breakfast. Something about the anachronism of the show makes it feel so distant, and that detachment is exactly what I need to stay out of my own head.

Glow Up — I haven’t worn makeup regularly since the pandemic but this show is just fun to watch. I have no idea what advanced makeup looks like and these people often make it look effortless. Also a lot of the time they make it look really, really challenging. It’s fun to see pretty and original full faces of makeup, and it’s fun to watch people make mistakes and learn how to be better at their passions. It’s a British reality show so there’s an elimination an episode, but since it’s British reality, it’s not nearly as dramatic and ridiculous as some of the stuff that America produces. A feel good hit also because I can just zone out on some pretty colors.

Jane the Virgin — This is also a good background show, but a double threat in that it can double for sad girl background shows. It’s a telenovela to be sure, but one that’s also wholesome and light hearted. You fall in love with the characters quickly and cannot stop watching by episode 5. Seriously, I watched it in a week after I got started. You’re not going to want to stop watching this show.

New Girl — Usually with ensemble casts there’s always one person that I can’t stand, but not with New Girl. Each principal character has a solid personal arc and fantastic relationships with each other cast member. I’d argue that there’s a buddy episode between each permutation of characters. Winston/Schmidt, Nick/Cece, Jess/Coach, it’s all there. You can tell watching New Girl that the cast is having a genuinely good time making the show. I really hope they’re friends in real life, or at least still have a group chat going. This show always makes me feel good, it’s got rewatchability and always has a heartwarming message about friendship and happiness.

If you’re having a tough time, I hope this list helps; if not, I hope you take a look at these shows anyway. And feel better! I know writing this helped me feel better.