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07 August 2011
Loose ends→[More:] What do you do when you can't figure out what you should or want to do? Everything is just so blah, and I'm crawling in my own skin.
Any suggestions on how to get out of this funk? It's one I find myself in a lot.
My go to is reading material because I'm kind of overload with it right now, but I suggest walks. It's healthy and you might run into something interesting. I live in a very unwalkable place so I could be hyping it up in my head, but walking would be an active way to work through the weird feelings. Also, you could try 20 minutes of meditation.
Exercise is the only thing that works on the "crawling in my own skin" feeling for me. Preferably followed by some time in the jacuzzi.
Being outdoors in nature, either hiking or just sitting and reading, is also good for slowing me down a bit. What you're describing sounds like the way I am when I'm so anxious that I'm paralyzed, which is when my anxiety-brain is saying "OMG DO SOMETHING! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" but what actually is most helpful is slowing down and doing nothing for a while but processing the feelings behind the anxiety. But if the processing isn't happening, then sometimes just sitting and waiting it out for a bit can help.
Also, fairly large quantities of fish oil tablets seem to help me a bit, as well as B vitamins.
when my anxiety-brain is saying "OMG DO SOMETHING! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"
YES that's what it is. And yeah, exercise and/or the outdoors would be awesome, but I messed up yesterday and overheated myself, and now I've been told to stay out of the sun and not get sweaty for a few days.
I ended up taking a shower and going out to the store and buying myself a pair of shoes. Retail therapy! I'm a bit better now, but not awesome.
Oh, I get ya: I often get that fizzy-buzzy MUST DO SOMETHING feeling when I've tweaked my back and can't MOVE MOVE MOVE. In those circumstances, I sometimes do intensive grooming: spa-like stuff that I don't often, like a sugar body scrub or foot pumicing or something.
It hits that weird sweet spot: it's productive but frivolous, it keeps you busy but doesn't strain or stress you, and --- I think this is pretty important --- it reminds you that you love yourself enough to treat yourself well.
I use naps to get a "reset" for a day that isn't going well. To get ideas, I go to a bookstore, drink a strong coffee, look at some art/science/computer books, and then I write down whatever comes to mind. However, I don't necessarily recommend this method for others...
Impose upon a friend IRL, if possible. Other people's problems are always easier, and you'll later return the favor. Drag yourself outside, but to their place.
JanetLand that rocks. Am watching it right now. So far the hobbies they suggest are:
Birdwatching (CHECK)
Part time work (CHECK)
Sewing (CHECK)
Swimming
Playing the piano
Male physical group activity (looked kind of like gymnastics gone rogue)
Reading (CHECK)
Making things that fly (I think?)
Ken, the protagonist, chose photography.
A good use of leisure time should
• Give you a change
• Help you learn things
• Have a long range goal
Elsa is giving in to the mammal response of grooming.
That's exactly right. Heck, I should get The Fella to do it for me sometime; it would probably be twice as soothing to whatever part of the monkeybrain craves grooming. Social monkeygrooming FTW!
Oftentimes when I'm already half-crabby, I just tackle some crabby-making chore I've been putting off. I figure if I'm already ending into annoyance, cleaning the bathroom or organizing the closet won't make it worse and just miiiiiight make it better. But if my physical state just won't allow that, grooming is a pretty good plan.
For me reading or preparing the basics for a complex meal. Often there are a lot of intermediate steps that you can do and then store in the fridge that makes the final prep take very little time.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
