Loads of weed and a Trance Party

Anything beyond that (like actual therapy to deal with the traumas of existing) is honestly too much for me to take on right now, so it’s little breaks of calm in the chaos that somehow keep me going. For now.

You know that meme with a guy celebrating what looks like a win but isn’t. That’s what I do. Because I must find myself awesome.

I ROCK!

I can relate! The best antidepressant for me is immersion in my hobby of open source software and computing. I also enjoy learning for its pure sake.

Bubblebath. Whatever the problem, bubblebath.

Although if you’re in the US I think a lot of you have weirdly small baths over there so might not be quite as great an option. ymmv.

Stereotypical answer but I like to lift weights. Really any outlet that requires 100% mental focus is what helps me most.When I lift weights there is just me and the weight.No bad thoughts. You can’t lift bad thoughts.

Take a walk in the forest and then go to a sauna.

Try to always have something coming up to look forward to. Whether it’s a hang out with friends, a concert, a trip to a park, whatever. Keep a calendar and stick with it even on the days when you’re not really feeling up to it. Bonus points if you’re trying something you’ve never done before. New experiences are really good at getting you out of your head and being more mindful.

“You don’t have to do today again.”

Tell myself to quit being such a piece of shit and to get it together.

The results are variable.

I go take a walk. Beach would be ideal, but nowadays even at the park or lastly at the mall. Anywhere relatively safe to just walk and listen to music. I find it improves my mood.

Eating good food and taking a shower after a rough day helps a lot too.

I walk. Short or long walks. Whatever I have time for. Even if I don’t really feel like walking. I find I almost never regret the decision to go. And I almost always return in a better mental state.

In hard times I usually retreat to some very technical meditation practice.

I go skateboarding. It clears my mind completely. It doesn’t matter that I can’t keep up with modern tricks or anything. It still puts me in a zen state of mind and being physically tiring it leaves me relaxed and not worried about anything.

Exercise is definitely part of it, but also the feeling of accomplishment and occupying the mind.

I’m sure other physical activities can do something similar, but it’s important to find something that fits you.

I listen to this masterpiece

Prior to my health and endurance being absolutely wrecked in the past year, I used to run. Ran as hard as I could through the fields near where I lived until my legs would die, all in the chase for that runner’s high; but when it did hit, it was good. Nowadays I can’t run as much, so I’m still trying to find new outlets, one of which has been messing with my selfhosted setup, another being writing paragraphs on lemmy lol.

Also, certain video game soundtracks evoke feelings of catharsis and calm for me, so there’s also that.