Yes, books help me too. Also, remembering that I've "out waited" bad times before. I still remember my T's "final" words/advice to me the last day I saw her, "just keep putting one foot in front of the other".

When I'm really confused and miserable, I do something like Alexandra's mindfulness, I "stop" and ask myself what I "want"; what little thing would make me feel a bit better. Once, alone at the zoo in an unfriendly downtown and very lonely and miserable I asked myself that and the answer was "an ice cream cone". There was none nearby so I ended up having to go to the grocery store and buy cones and ice cream, a scoop, etc. and creating my own. The whole experience, which took a goodly bit of time, ended up being very good because I had done something 100% just for me, just because it was what "I" wanted, etc. In addition, I had "distracted" myself from my misery for that bit of time so the self-esteem improvement and the distraction/interest in working on getting something I wanted/being in "flow" was very helpful and now I trot it out to "remember" whenever I'm low and that helps in the present/future circumstances.

Use your will and think of a "want" and follow it.