11 Things You Can Do to Recover From Post-Stranger Things Blues
Stranger Things wrapped up weeks ago, closing a decade-long chapter for many of us who grew up with the show. If you’re feeling a little lost now, here are 11 (wink) gentle ways to cope, and carry the magic with you.
Stranger Things is officially done. And no, there is no season 5 episode 9, no matter how many of us joked about it just to soften the blow. (Honestly, denial is a valid first stage.)
And if you’re feeling the blues, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many of us are, and it’s understandable. For ten years, this show grew up alongside us. We watched it during different seasons of our lives: after school, during heartbreaks, in dorm rooms, through lockdowns, and late nights when the world felt a bit upside down too.
It gave space to the outcasts, the nerds, the soft-hearted, the kids who felt like they didn’t quite belong. And somehow, it made all of that feel powerful.
So if you’re feeling empty, nostalgic, or oddly emotional a week after the finale, that doesn’t mean you’re dramatic. It just means you cared. Here are 11 gentle, grounding, and very human ways to recover.
1. Give yourself permission to feel it.
Before doing anything else, allow the sadness to exist. Missing a show that shaped a decade of your life doesn’t need to be rushed away. Sitting with the feeling is part of the process.
As licensed psychologist Eiza Fusingan-Lapay, RPsy, chief well-being officer of mental health organization MindNation, previously told Allure Philippines: “It’s crucial that you sit with your thoughts. It allows you to feel,” she says. “But make sure your thoughts don’t control this special time. It’s just about making space for self-reflection.”
She recommends setting the stage for this such as putting on music, switching off gadgets, and letting yourself reflect without pressure.
2. Journal it out (yes, even the unhinged thoughts).
Write about everything: your favorite arcs, the scenes that wrecked you, what you loved, what you wish had happened. Don’t censor yourself. In a previous Allure Philippines interview, Darlyn Ty-Nilo, founder of the Belle de Jour Power Planner and certified in journaling therapy, described journaling as a form of “emotional decompression.” “Dreaming,” she explains, “is how our unconscious mind processes all the stimulus throughout the day. For the conscious mind, to process and decompress, the counterpart to dreaming would be talking to family and friends, releasing through art, and journaling, which is a really solid way to decompress the conscious mind, as long as you do it raw, unedited, and unfiltered,” she continues.
Which means: don’t write as if someone’s going to open your journal and read it. Don’t write as if you need to publish it on the internet. Write raw and honest, and yes, spelling mistakes are welcome.
3. Pick up a new creative hobby.
The day after watching the finale, I painted (despite being very new to the craft.) My painting was inspired by the famous Stranger Things poster, that was from that unforgettable Season 4 scene: Mike, Max, Dustin, and Lucas biking together with Running Up That Hill playing in the background, paralleled by Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie in the Upside Down. Arguably one of the best transitions in TV history (at least in my personal history).
Painting made me feel like I was reliving watching that scene for the first time, just through my own hands and creativity, and it definitely helped.
4. Rewatch the entire series.
This one needs no justification. Sometimes you just want to go back to Season 1 and see how far they came.
5. Watch cast interviews and explore their other work.
Missing the characters often means missing the people behind them. Watching interviews or checking out films and series featuring your favorite cast members can help ease the separation.
6. Start something new, but familiar.
Find a new series or book with similar themes: mystery, friendship, found family, sci-fi, or coming-of-age stories. It won’t replace Stranger Things, but it can remind you that there are a lot of good stories that still exist.
7. Try a cathartic workout class.
If you need something more structured, consider movement-based classes like indoor cycling, especially the ones powered by music. “It’s not just physical,” Raisa Ver-Bibal, indoor cycling instructor at Electric Studio, previously shared with Allure Philippines. “I would say [the workout is] also mental and emotional.” Sometimes healing looks like sweating it out and screaming to a beat drop.
8. Let TikTok edits emotionally ambush you.
Watch the edits. Save them. Repost them. Let the algorithm know you’re not okay, and that you don’t need to instantly be.
9. Listen to the soundtrack (even if it hurts a little).
Running Up That Hill. Purple Rain. Landslide. Yes, it stings, but sometimes music comforts us the way a hug does. It’s tight, familiar, and exactly what we need.
10. Move your feelings through your body.
Sometimes words aren’t enough. Movement can help release emotions you didn’t even realize you were holding. “Dancing is the more spontaneous way for self-expression. I really encourage everyone to do it—any kind of dance. It’s so good for your soul,” shared Christina Dy, pole dancer and founder of Polecats Manila, in a previous interview.
Similarly, Madge Reyes, principal dancer of Ballet Philippines, told Allure Philippines, “Self-expression goes beyond words. Through movement, I’m able to reveal parts of myself I never could have imagined otherwise.” No choreography required. Just move.
11. Talk about it with people who get it
Make up your own endings. Debate your favorite moments. Mourn together. “One of the most common ways Filipinos cope with problems is by talking to people they trust,” Fab Calipara, RPsy, licensed psychologist and founder of Fully Psych, previously told Allure Philippines. Sometimes recovery looks like a long voice note or a midnight group chat spiral.
We grew up, too.
Much like the kids we first met in Hawkins, we grew up, too. Maybe Stranger Things was really an ode to our childhoods: to chapters that felt endless then, but closed without us realizing it. To our last games of tagutaguan and tumbang preso, canteen lunches with high school friends we swore we’d see every day forever, and the familiar promise of “let’s stay in touch” that slowly turned into memory, or even a lie.
The show became a metaphor many of us carried into our own lives–about change, growing pains, and learning to let go. And perhaps that’s why saying goodbye feels heavier than expected. It’s not just the end of a series we loved. It’s also a reminder that we’re not who we were when it began.
