I understand that I have to relax every now and then, however I am really struggling with it, being constantly in an endless loop of:

  1. Having a lot of energy and doing a bunch of stuff for a couple of weeks.
  2. Getting exhausted to the point I cannot control my impulsions and wreck my daily routine
  3. Try to rest only to fall in a depressive state for a couple of weeks.
  4. Collect myself up and repeat from step 1.

Trying to do low effort activities like watching a series or playing video games, is addictive, I stay up late without being able to stop, and end up more tired.

The hobbies I like require focus, and that’s what I am trying to avoid. Examples include programming and chess.

Going out with friends is nice but drains my social energy, after a couple of weekends out I need to stay in.

Chores sometimes work, but other times I feel guilty about the state of cleanliness of my home.

So, how do you relax/rest? Got a magic recipe? Are you struggling like me?

Edit: I just want to say this community is awesome, thanks for the support.

  • Jo MiranEnglish
    33•1 year ago
    • Digital hoarding - I just like to collect stuff I’ll never consume, including books, games, music, TV shows, movies, audiobooks, etc. I find it soothing to compile collections and a thrill to find rare and/or previously thought lost stuff.
    • Filling in the lines with color - Coloring books, paint by numbers, Lake app. I get to turn off my brain and focus on the lines. I don’t care about the colors that much, which leads to some pretty funky results.
    • Power Wash Simulator - same as above but in reverse. I just turn off my brain and clean.
    • Practicing guitar scales - Again; brain off, muscle memory on. The pain helps too. My mind wanders less when my fingers hurt. Plus it feels good when I check out and somehow still hit every note. It’s like my brain and I are just passengers looking out the window of the car while muscle memory takes us on a road trip on a sunny fall afternoon.

    EDIT: I should note that I suffer from chronic, severe insomnia. I’ll go to sleep and two hours later be awake again. My solutions are for relaxation, not sleep.

    • @[email protected]English
      7•1 year ago

      Hardspace Shipbreaker is GREAT as a chillout game, especially if you play in easy/non-time-limited mode. I’ve spent HOURS slicing and dicing starships into their constituent components :D

      • 22hp4maaEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        That is a fucking great game. I should fire it up again.

        • @[email protected]English
          2•1 year ago

          The only thing you get for reaching 100% salvaged is a steam badge… but it’s one that I’m actually kind of proud of, because it’s REALLY hard to do on the larger ships. One slightly misaligned cut and you’ve tossed a couple of work :P

          • 22hp4maaEnglish
            2•1 year ago

            Not that I tend to go for stream badges generally, but does it have to be done on a certain class or size of ship? Can you 100% a tiny ship?

            • @[email protected]English
              1•1 year ago

              Yep. It’s still pretty hard, even on the smallest ship classes. You will absolutely not get it on your first try.

              I first got 100% on a small cargo-type ship first, and then one of the medium-sized science ship classes, but there are a lot of bigger ones that I haven’t done. Also there’s a medium-sized patrol/tug class that I’m not sure is actually possible to 100%, because the only way to get the engine cores out is to slice active fuel lines, RCS/tether-pull at high speed through a huge engine nacelle while the fuel lines are flaming around you, and pull a switch all the way at the front of the damn thing within 15 or so seconds, otherwise the fucker blows itself apart and kills you lol

      • Jo MiranEnglish
        7•1 year ago

        My favorite is an HD scan of the original 35mm theatre print of Disney’s Song of the South. Disney can try, as hard as they want, to pretend that there movie never happened, but thanks to digital hoarding, the proof will never go away.

      • @[email protected]English
        3•1 year ago

        someone asked me a few months ago about my audible collection. i currently have 361 titles that i have collected since 2016. which isnt to alarming. then they asked how many are unread. i counted at least 72 titles that i have started and never finished.

        then there is the physical book collection with, i dont know how many i have started and not finished

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      4•1 year ago

      Insomnia sucks, I think I have a longer circadian rhythm (many people with ADHD do) which sucks when you try to maintain a routine. But, having severe insomnia, I cannot imagine what you are going through…

      I liked the colour book idea, I will give it a try, I always thought these are for children but fuck standards, maybe it works for me too. 🙏

      • Jo MiranEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        The Lake app is marketed towards adults and there are a lot of coloring books for adults.