TV Shows that Will Make You Feel Better About Your Life

If you find yourself depressed after sitting at home watching television, perhaps you need to watch some shows that will make you feel better about your own life. When I was in ninth grade, my algebra teacher was out of school often battling leukemia. One day someone asked him if he got tired of being in hospitals all the time. He replied, "Sure... but then I just turn on Jerry Springer, and I feel a hundred times better about my own life." Running with that concept, here are some more shows that will make you feel better about your own life.

Court Shows

These shows are so unbelievably entertaining. They can teach you important life lessons like... never buy your boyfriend a cell phone, car, etc. and expect to get paid back. If you are smarter than this, which I would like to think most are, then you can smile and be happy that you are.

Some of the best court shows include People's Court, Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, and Texas Justice. My personal favorite is People's Court. She let's them talk just enough to make complete fools of themselves, but not enough to let the audience get bored.

COPS

Years before reality tv took control of the networks, Cops entertained us with some of the most interesting criminals around. It seems that every episode has at least one person who denies they are drunk or high, and at least one person who resists arrest. You know how you always want to slow down and look when you see some cops on the side of the road? I think that concept is the reason we love watching Cops so much.

Fox still shows new episodes of Cops on Saturday nights, but Court TV now shows re-runs on a fairly regular basis.

Maury

Along the lines of Jerry Springer, this show always makes me feel better about myself. Pretty much 4 out of 5 shows feature a mom who is paternity testing the 8^th man who could be her baby's daddy, or someone who wants to polygraph their partner because they are sure they are cheating (and most of the time they are). I just have to smile at the fact that I know who my baby's daddy is, and I have a spouse I can trust.

Untold Stories of the ER and other TLC medical specials

If you hate blood, guts, and gore, then this show is not for you. If you can handle it, however, then you will probably really enjoy this show. One of my favorite parts about this show is that they very rarely show someone who dies. It is almost always about these amazing survivor stories. Personally, I love these survivor stories because they give me a feeling of reassurance that modern medicine really does make our lives better. I must admit I also like knowing that no matter how bad my cold is, it could be much worse. It's a nice way to remind me to always look at the bright side.

There are lots of other medical specials that TLC occasionally shows, such as 101 Things Removed From the Body. These can also be very interesting.

MTV shows

There are so many great MTV reality shows. (How "real" they are can definitely be debatable, but that is beside the point). Recently, they have launched a new one called "Juvies" about teens who find themselves incarcerated. I like this show a lot. I would never want to relive my teen years, but this show reminds me how much worse they could have been.

Many of the "True Life" shows are very amusing as well. Sometimes they highlight people living with a certain disorder, or people with a specifically interesting lifestyle, but they are almost always entertaining in a strange way. True Life: "I'm Addicted to Crystal Meth" made me glad I have never done drugs. True Life: "I'm a Civilian Again" made me grateful for the men and women who give years of their life to defend our freedom. True Life: "I'm Living a Double Life" made me grateful that I only live one life... and honestly, it made me laugh too.