Decompress [NOT 13/11/23]

13/11/23 brightersideoflife 14

Hi, friends!

Tonight’s NOT is brought to you by 3 of my work projects going to shit in the space of 2 hours today. It’s going to be a delightful week, I can just tell!

So what’s your strategy for decompressing after a rough one? How much is it weather-conditional? Friend-conditional? Etc?

Like I love taking a walk outside to clear my head after a crummy day, but it was dark by 5pm so nope. Some people like to meet up with their friends for a friendly drink or dinner, but that’s contingent on them being free. Gardening – even a cursory checking my veggies to see what’s going on when stuff isn’t ripe yet – also is very relaxing, but again, not happening in the dark.

I need to make a batch of vegetarian chili tonight because I got more veggies to use up and it’s a great option for them. I find the repetitive actions of chopping veggies to be very soothing. Plus the instant gratification of *chop the things* *add the things to the pot in the right order* and *great success, you made delicious meals!* is very good at kicking some serotonin around in my brain.

Baking also has the same effect, plus yummy treats. However, I’m about a month from the annual check up with the bloodwork so I need to wait until after mid December to have all the sugar and butter LOL.

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14 Comments

  1. Model building. If I get the chance to sit down and start working on a model. I find it mentally soothing (my version of smooth Jazz) and get lost in the build. It was how I got over the stress of work and the uncertainty of employment during my Nortel years. That is I used to but I don’t have energy or enthusiasm right now.

    Instead I’ve had to use porn… er model making porn on Youtube as a substitute. Watching others do what I can do is pretty much it till I dig my psyche out of my parents dementia induced funk.

    • That makes sense! I used to love crocheting and cross stitching but it hurts my hands too much when taken in with all the mouse/keyboard work I do all day.

      I strongly suspect I could make it work fine if I just paid more attention to my posture, etc, instead of zoning out into whatever stitchery was happening!

  2. Yoga, it helps me get out of my own head.

  3. Running and walking. It’s always been a struggle, but I’ve learned to like tolerate it when I have to do it in the dark or rain/hail/snow.

  4. I think really the only thing that can get me out of my own head is finding ways to be of service to others.  I may, or may not, have mentioned this before, but years ago I was dealing with a brutal case of shingles.  I hadn’t slept in days and I just wanted someone to push a pillow over my face until I stopped moving.  But, I also had this volunteer commitment I had made a few months prior which I could have canceled, but decided to do anyway.

    At some point over the course of the two hours I was there, something strange happened.  The pain just…stopped.  It was so subtle that I didn’t even realize I didn’t hurt anymore until someone said they appreciated my coming out considering how I clearly didn’t feel well.  That was when I was like “holy shit, I feel perfectly fine!”

    By the time I got home, I was cooking again, but that experience really nailed it for me.  If I feel lousy (physical, mental, emotional), or if there’s just a bunch of bullshit I’m dealing with, then finding ways to be of service to people gets me right out of it every single time.

  5. My usual mix of TV while sitting on the exercise bike usually works well, although tonight I was treated to the disturbing sight of Anthony Bourdain in Finland getting blood drawn by cupping after a sauna. Yuck.

    • I have major side eye about cupping.

      Massage therapy? Hell yeah. Cupping? Ehh, I have doubts.

      • I think there is something to be said for the restorative value of stuff which puts you through a bit of a wringer like massage, exercise or saunas. Bloodletting, though, I’m not sure what the extra value of that is.

        • “You know, I enjoy a good blood letting now and then.”

    • I can’t describe how psyched I was to find my closest brewery now has a really good lager that’s only 4.5% ABV for a cheap price. The world needs a good light beer.

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