Things you do to move forward during tough times.

brianlux

Now that we are living in what Henry Rollins termed "an actual insane asylum", what things do you do to cope?  Naturally, we all want to DO something, but most of us haven't figured out exactly what that looks like yet, so in the meantime, most of us are more focused on coping.  So let's talk about the things you do to keep or get yourself centered.

Back in the early 1980's, I worked at a college bookstore with a young man named Scott  who had a very effective method for blowing off steam.  Just outside the store, there was a mailbox (remember mailboxes?).  When things really got to Scott, he would go out and open the mailbox shoot, stick his head inside, and holler at the top of his lungs.  It worked like a charm.  He came back to work with a smile on his face.  So as his empathetic boss (rush was a bitch!), I encouraged this behavior.  What Scott did looked something like this very crude drawing I included in one of my books (it was drawn spontaneously at that time, so I just kept it and never polished it up).

I highly recommend this therapy but I know it's no longer available to most of us (personally, I medicate with music).  So what things do you do to ease the tension of crazy tough times?

lastexitlondon

Aside from driving with loud music. Sometimes talking with a friend and maybe distraction but I've not mastered it yet.

brianlux

lastexitlondon said:

Aside from driving with loud music. Sometimes talking with a friend and maybe distraction but I've not mastered it yet.

All excellent choices, Rob. 

Distraction for me is usually music, playing Word Trip on my phone, or Hearts on my computer.  That's about it.  Oh, and doing jigsaw puzzles now and then.

lastexitlondon

I want to fish again and play golf, the body says no but it's a hope

Spunkie

.

Spunkie

We needed a break from the toxic school Nd guess what bullying occurs world fuckin wide now.

Spunkie

I have a new mantra It's called breathe - in through the nose.

brianlux

Sorry, just got the memo. 

brianlux

Thanks for these great posts already!  Very cool!  I'll look forward to reading more tomorrow, but right now I'm a week into big-time sleep deprivation and am about to keel over. 

Nighty night all!  xxoo

josevolution

for me step one is to totally drop watching any news outlet television or reading about current political developments on my phone! That has helped me this last two weeks if I watch television I watch nature documentaries or old fashioned entertainment shows I don’t watch any reality shows or any series on Netflix or what have you, and spend as much time outdoors with our new dog she’s lots of fun and takes me away from the ugliest period in this country of ours! And lastly keep my eye on our plans to make a move when the time comes! 

stuckinline

I also stopped watching the news, and I'm focusing my time and energy on the things I can control.
@josevolution congrats on your new dog!

HughFreakingDillon

focus on the micro. Like stuckinline said, the things you can control. 

Go for a walk in nature. 

Volunteer
garden
play an instrument 
go for breakfast at a local restaurant with a loved one
put on a pearl jam bootleg and listen start to finish. Immerse yourself like you were there. 

basically everything I could list here I’d consider “getting back to basics”. Do the things you did before life went global. 

It really is sad that we have to try so hard to be our natural selves now. Life wasn’t meant to be lived on a phone, or, as my parents do now, in front of a tv. But here I am, lying in bed, typing on my phone telling people to put down their phones. 

I’m gonna go now. 

Darwinspeed. 

benjs

I hate to say it, but my antidepressants are currently stripping the world of a lot of its joy, and the abundance of its ills aren’t helping. I try to do other things, but I’m just feeling numb these days. Even picking up my guitar feels like a chore, which it hasn’t in over a decade. Hoping for chemical stability soon so I can focus on recovery without the drawbacks of the things that are supposed to help. 

As for HFD’s comment about our natural selves… I swear can’t even remember who I am sometimes.

Lerxst1992

Spunkie said:

...

It’s cricket season in NZ. Maybe blow off some steam watching Finn Allen launch a couple of sixes?

lastexitlondon

benjs said:

I hate to say it, but my antidepressants are currently stripping the world of a lot of its joy, and the abundance of its ills aren’t helping. I try to do other things, but I’m just feeling numb these days. Even picking up my guitar feels like a chore, which it hasn’t in over a decade. Hoping for chemical stability soon so I can focus on recovery without the drawbacks of the things that are supposed to help. 

As for HFD’s comment about our natural selves… I swear can’t even remember who I am sometimes.

Man if you ever want to talk I'm here. I've been in those shoes (and others) pm me or I have an anxiety thread if you are ok sharing. But that antidepressants numbness kills joy big time .

tempo_n_groove

Read a book or rip bong hits.  I don't do the latter so reading it is.

The gym is good too.

soph189

During my very lowest times, I volunteered for a human trafficking non profit, as well as a local animal rescue. I found it helpful to take focus off myself and put it on others. Even just taking the dogs on walks was a good chance to make their day, move my body and get out in nature. 

Also helpful was doing things that have brought me joy and pleasure in the past, even the simplest things like a great cup of coffee and a stroll, chatting with a good friend, wearing cozy clothes, burning a great smelling candle..

mfc2006

Some things I do...

play with our daughter as much as possible
write songs by myself and with my wife
cook a new recipe
learn a new song on guitar
go for walks in nature
go to the beach
write
blast records on the turntable
talk to my siblings
talk to friends
watch a good movie
watch baseball
chores around the house
write letters to my parents that have passed
breathe

OnWis97

I will probably be out of work sometime in 2025. So I'm going to start looking for jobs now.

Other than that, I make sure to get 40+ mins of cardio 350 days a year (20-mile bikerides when the weather is good and there's enough daylight on weekdays so not many for a while)...it does me good in countless ways.

Get outside more when the Minnesota weather allows.

I'll be doing some cost-cutting but I'll keep my Apple Music subscription. Exploring new music is great.

brianlux

So many good ideas here folks.  It both encourages me to read these and use some of these idea to maintain my sanity in these crazy times.  At the same time, it saddens me that there is so much weighing on ours and so many lives.

Speaking of crazy, I woke up much too early yet again today thinking about all of the madness we suddenly find ourselves in the midst of.  I had this humorous (in a kind of sick way) notion that by electing the felon, American should be 5150'd.  5150 is a California state law that allows for an involuntary psychiatric hospitalization for an adult who is a danger to themselves or others, or who is gravely disabled. We truly are living in an insane asylum.  And I know not everyone being affected by this is American.  To our non-American friends, I can only offer my sincerest apology.  America is fucking up badly, and that will very potentially have far reaching consequences.  I am eternally sorry for that.  I hope we can somehow find our way back to being more level headed.  A hell of a lot of us would like that.

Bentleyspop

I try to stay off of social media and away from the news.
But most of all I spend as much as possible outdoors.
I get to see this on a daily basis. Makes everything else seem like nonsense.

josevolution

Bentleyspop said:

I try to stay off of social media and away from the news.
But most of all I spend as much as possible outdoors.
I get to see this on a daily basis. Makes everything else seem like nonsense.

That’s awesome! 

brianlux

lastexitlondon said:

benjs said:

I hate to say it, but my antidepressants are currently stripping the world of a lot of its joy, and the abundance of its ills aren’t helping. I try to do other things, but I’m just feeling numb these days. Even picking up my guitar feels like a chore, which it hasn’t in over a decade. Hoping for chemical stability soon so I can focus on recovery without the drawbacks of the things that are supposed to help. 

As for HFD’s comment about our natural selves… I swear can’t even remember who I am sometimes.

Man if you ever want to talk I'm here. I've been in those shoes (and others) pm me or I have an anxiety thread if you are ok sharing. But that antidepressants numbness kills joy big time .

Ben and Rob, I know that numbness as well.  Prozac eventually rendered me non-functioning and I ended up voluntarily being hospitalized.  I was lucky and had good docs who took me off the Prozac, got me detoxed from Xanax addiction, and got me on Serzone for long enough to get me level, but that drug was discontinued. 

Meds are a tricky business and my sense is that they work differently on different people. I think I was lucky to have lived through all that business back in that late 90's, but now I'm struggling to find something that helps.  I'm taking an herbal extract of mimosa pudica in the morning- it's said to relieve anxiety- but so far it isn't doing much.  I should probably use it three times a day instead on once, but it's not cheap. It looks like I just have to be strong willed.  I don't tolerate alcohol very well or I would probably be an alcoholic.  As it is, I drink more than I should lately.  About two glasses of wine or a couple of beers every day doesn't sound like much, but because of my autoimmune condition and my low tolerance, it's probably not good.

brianlux

Bentleyspop said:

I try to stay off of social media and away from the news.
But most of all I spend as much as possible outdoors.
I get to see this on a daily basis. Makes everything else seem like nonsense.

Excellent idea.  Spending time outdoors and as close to nature as one can is a good antidote to despair.  I've been getting out and walking more again and it helps.

mace1229

Think about the inspiration this will give to PJ on their next album.
Except that didn't work too well for Gigaton. 

nicknyr15

Surf. I don’t know what I’d do without it. Gym and drumming helps too. But nothing is better than the ocean for me both mentally and physically. 

lastexitlondon

I had to stop drinking 4 and a half months back

HughFreakingDillon

lastexitlondon said:

I had to stop drinking 4 and a half months back

I'm learning, albeit very slowly and much too late, that this is the path I need to be on. It's poison. taken in light doses, fine, but I don't have an off switch. I need to cut the breaker to the outlet. haha

Gern Blansten

HughFreakingDillon said:

lastexitlondon said:

I had to stop drinking 4 and a half months back

I'm learning, albeit very slowly and much too late, that this is the path I need to be on. It's poison. taken in light doses, fine, but I don't have an off switch. I need to cut the breaker to the outlet. haha

my downfall was hockey games...we are season ticket holders to our local ECHL team and damn they play a lot of games which led to a lot of fucking beers

lastexitlondon

I know we all know but it's everywhere and everything these days  and I think when it's enough you do know .

Gern Blansten

lastexitlondon said:

I know we all know but it's everywhere and everything these days  and I think when it's enough you do know .

it's like gambling...it's everywhere...I feel sorry for people with gambling issues because they are likely losing their asses on a greater scale.

my son's best friend has lost thousands on those stupid aps