My mental health is taking a real hit lately due to shitty politics bullshit like the thing with my kids’ school district and that cocksucker in Washington who prayed on the field with hundreds of students and calling it a fucking personal prayer session and winning in the supreme court being granted almost 2 million fucking dollars and my fucking blood pressure is spiking just fucking THINKING about it.
I need a way to get away from this shit before my head explodes but I cant stop myself from clicking and reading. Do you have a personal detox routine?
Less time here, don’t watch/consume any news, go outside, go somewhere without phone service (like a camping/hiking trip), get into a video game, reconnect with old friends. Those have helped me enormously over the last year or so.
Those are the healthy ones for me. The unhealthy one I wouldn’t suggest is alcohol.
More time outside, my dog is my mental health program, lol.
More time with people in person, go out for coffee or beers with some friends and just hang out.
Read physical books instead of the internet.
More exercise.
These things are all very good for one’s physical and mental health generally, but especially important if the toxicity of the internet is pushing you over the edge.
No news, no social media unless it’s like a message board that completely segregates anything news or politics related into its own subforum. Not this software that pushes you so hard to see the newest posts regardless of subforum
Disc golf provides an outlet for me. Focus on the target, there is no target etc. Virtually zero prep/friction to get from house to course or field. And try tournaments! I enjoy getting beaten by 60 year olds and 9 year olds at the same time!
Definitely try to indulge in non political subjects. I tend to focus on football and basketball to get away. Obvious politics absolutely do leak in there but it’s easier to separate from.
But really any interests or hobbies you have, search out specific resources and take a deep dive. This works for me as I can be obsessive, but ymmv.
Forcing yourself to do whatever level of repetitive exercise is at the level of being vigorous but not hurtful to your body, preferably outside, is a huge thing
Doing it before you’ve engaged with any news/politics that day is even better
Like even if it’s just a long vigorous walk if you’re not yet at jogging or running level
People talk about boycotting various companies. Someone brought up that either Ben or Jerry, from the ice cream, wants the countries to negotiate peace, and called either Ben or Jerry a tankie
I was never really heavy into social media and so forth but I’ve certainly had battles with things that weren’t good. For me, talking a brisk walk or staring at the trees didn’t really do shit for me, at least for anything beyond the immediate short term. I was able to kind of divert my energy/passion/obession w/e you want to call it into something else that kind of naturally eliminated my previous desires and shifted them into something else that wasn’t as destructive. Just biting your lip listening to the bird chirp wasn’t the answer.
I guess maybe in a nutshell, the goal is to take your passion that is being used on politics and shift it to something else that you haven’t tapped into. Obviously easier said then done.
I like reading various non-political subforums on Reddit. Helping people on subforums regarding topics that you’re knowledgeable about is a nice, somewhat rewarding way to pass time. Posting snarky comments to get upvotes can also be entertaining as well.
Also consider a mini-vacation or full day trip to somewhere closeby that you’ve never been before. New places and experiences are always good. Every big city should have nooks and crannies that you’ve never thought to visit before.
Plus the obvious stuff, get outside, exercise, eat better, meditate, tan your butthole, etc
Just wanted to say thanks for all this (except for the butthole tanning, im a 90s kid, bleaching is still way in.) Im staying off Twitter and away from anything that is primarily built for rage scrolling.
Have a week off work next week without vacation plans so may take a small solo trip nearby just to get out into nature. Also going to get a poker training sub for the week and put time into it. Something I enjoy and am good at needs more time and attention in my life to remove slumpiness.
Non political reddit posting is a good idea and I appreciate it. Will start looking into subs that I might be able to extend help with or find things I want to get better at.
Starting a weight training regimine next week. My wife started bootcamp this week so im finding myself with and extra 2 hours every night. Using some of it to improve my body should help improve my mind, especially after my heart scare last week.
I feel bad separating myself from posting about trans issues. Im an ally with a trans child, but the sheer venom that is occuring from the other side right now has been fucking my brain completely. The school district thing here was the last straw. I would love to be active in the community here and fighting, but I gotta get myself right first otherwise im a useless shell who is going to die early and be no help to anyone.
Also have my first psych appointment tomorrow. Probably something I should have done a decade ago, but now is the time. It became very clear to me last week that I will die of stress sooner rather than later if I dont get things fixed.
not to pour this on, because i totally sympathize with you. my undersstanding that covered the legal fees of bringing the case to scotus, rather than restitution for the firing. otoh, the coach already made somewhere around 6-7 figures doing appearances on the white male christian privilege tour.
anyway, i find that website/app blockers are essential. keeping them to down to 15-30 mins a day if possible.
love going swimming or biking for exercise, precisely because i have to put away the phone.
being in a music workshop also helps. forces me to do some active music listening during the week.
