Balance Your Moods With A Who Or Two

Few wives have the distinct privilege of being married to a writer, a guy who eagerly strikes up conversations with sentences like, "Did you know in the middle ages the church actually embraced prostitution as a rape deterrent?" A guy who comes home from work proclaiming, "I just thought of a great way to kill a guy: decapitation by piranha!"

My wife is one of those few. Yessir, she doesn't know how dull her life would be without me. I research a lot of bizarre things, ponder things that most people never consider, and mentally visit some dark places that most people would rather not go, all for the sake of my own entertainment.

It's not always a joy though. I find that my moods sometimes ebb and flow with the content I'm currently steeped in. I recently finished a weeks-long study on medieval torture. It's nothing I haven't researched before, but not to this extent. After a while the depictions of the various torture methods and the descriptions of those who endured them start to get to me. It's sad that human depravity once knew such lows.

I bring this up because it's become increasingly important for me to maintain a better mood. When I was single, letting the more depressing and the disgusting things of life get me down wasn't so much of a problem because there was no one around for me to influence. Now that I'm married I have to think about my wife and her emotional well-being.

As writers, I think it's important to make sure we balance our mood swings, especially if we have spouses and/or children. Your family doesn't deserve your sour disposition just because you spent too much time reading about animal abuse or death or child molestation or serial killers. Find something that brings a smile to your face and turn to it often.

My Prozac of choice? Animated movies. I don't have children yet, but I have a surprisingly large collection of animated movies ranging from Disney classics to modern favorites from Pixar and Blue Sky studios.

A personal favorite of mine? Horton Hears A Who. Dr. Seuss is awesome, and though the movie takes many liberties with his work—as movies often do—I find the energy of Jim Carrey as Horton and the stammering wackiness of Steve Carell as Mayor Who a fun, stress-relieving, bring-me-back-down-to-the-simple-things kind of experience. The music in that movie is a joy as well. The music seems too orchestral for such a simple story, but it's a companion to Horton's outrageous imagination that strikes a wonderfully playful chord. If you haven't indulged in this whacky animated adventure, put it on the list.