When times are tough, there's nothing better than a trusty pick-me-up. No, I'm not talking about partaking in vino or vodka — though a glass of Chardonnay is always nice — but using the power of film to empower you.

I'm serious. By flicking on my DVD in my comfy PJs, I have been transported to exotic lands, met hunky men who made me forget the jerk du jour, solved mysteries, and laughed so hard that my tears dried up and poof, my problems were put on pause.

Instead of a shrink, my therapy has always been movies. Not only is it cheaper, but hey, laughter really is the best medicine.

Let's face it. Late night S.O.S. calls to friends can't be too frequent. But feel-good movies are reliable pals any time of day or night.

Putting on — ok, I admit it — Rush Hour and watching the madcap adventures of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker just cracks me up. My mood immediately improves.

Sometimes my movie cocktail is a doubleheader of any Harry Potter film — what can I say, I'm a kid at heart and believe in magic. On dateless Saturday nights when I felt sorry for myself, You've Got Mail sent the message that love was a click away. And it was. Soon after that film, I met my true love and married him.

Other friends have different films they rely on as their trusty pick-me-ups. I just love hearing which ones because my mind has so much piled into it that I forget some of the good ones — like Notting Hill. Loved that one.

With that in mind, FWW has devised a contest for you to share the movie that most helped you through the rocky days of your divorce before you found your happily ever after again. We want your list.

As you may know, my pals at FWW and I are engaged. Yes, we've made a commitment to changing the face of divorce and creating new terms to define this life event.

Divorce is a change that whether you wanted it or not, transitions you to something else. Often that transition becomes a springboard to a new career, a new love, a new way of looking at life and yourself.

It no longer is the end but a beginning.

When I split from my first husband, I never thought of myself as a divorced woman. I just thought of myself as a free woman. Free to do anything I wanted. Free to have a life full of possibility instead of predictability. Free of someone who criticized what I did to keep me connected to him even though his opinion hadn't mattered for a long time. Free to reinvent myself and find someone who was truly compatible with me instead of someone who fit a resume I was programmed from childhood to care about. The liberation was intoxicating.

Oh yes. I was one of those people you rarely hear about. I was someone who settled. Okay, I admit it. I was 30. All my friends were getting married and suddenly it hit me that along with finishing college, finding a paying job, and being single in the city for a few years, it was now time to find a husband as part of a life trajectory that resembled synchronized swimming. But early on in the marriage I knew I was drowning.

So I got out. Despite my friends telling me that I should stick it out because a) I may not meet someone else or b) he wasn't that bad. But something deep inside knew that we weren't in sync as though a VCR tape was shoved into a DVD player. Nor did I want to live my life knowing that I had settled. It felt like cheating.

Is the term "cougar" really that bad? As my FWW colleague Debbie Nigro points out, the term is used to “describe a woman who chooses to play/date/carouse/befriend a younger man.”

Debbie thinks the term is demeaning to women because it “makes it sound like older women are pouncing on innocent young men, when truthfully we are treating them” to our wisdom, experience, and an occasional expensive dinner.

“Neither side in this romantic pairing initially embarks innocently and without agenda,” Debbie wrote. “Both find it curious.”

Debbie, however, thinks there should be a new word and is offering radio stations, newspapers, and TV shows the opportunity to run a contest to find a better term. We’ll use their results and then take a national poll.

But here’s the thing: I like the term “cougar.”

First of all, at least men aren’t invoking another animal analogy, like “hog” or “rhinoceros.” A cougar is thin, feline, beautiful, and strong.

It’s also sleek, smart and pursues a wide variety of prey. Variety is always good especially when you’ve lived a life being loyal to one person who then either dumps you or disappoints you.

In fact, this cat has the greatest range of any wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere.

Note: Wider than the wolf.

It’s solitary and doesn’t need to stick around, like those herding animals. Nor does a cougar want to stick around, which, natch, makes them more appealing.