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Hell Yeah posted:don't watch the news, don't follow politics. they're both designed (yes designed) to cause anxiety. it's the same thing as watching alex jones but for some reason it's viewed as acceptable. don't consume the white man's news it is meant to subjugate you and destroy your soul and make you into a little bitch. don't do it!!!
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Aug 3, 2023 01:09
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Jelly posted:I'm adding this to the OP because it's clearly one of my biggest problems as evidenced by my neurotic participation in the Trump thread. honestly, thank you.
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Aug 3, 2023 01:24
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Ignoring news/politics was a huge increase in my mental health. Also reading books before I go to sleep to take my mind off the day/tomorrow.
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Aug 3, 2023 01:35
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Yeah I like to be aware of current events and news, but it's definitely not mentally healthy nowadays with so much poo poo constantly going on. Unfortunately it's hard not to pay attention to worldly events when they can be so ever-present, and are like trainwrecks from which you don't want to avert your gaze.
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Aug 3, 2023 02:23
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Literally stop using socials medias as much as you can. I just stopped using Twitter, I don't touch Reddit really, Tumblr and Facebook are things that stopped existing for me a decade ago. It will really help. Keep contact with people you care about, don't invest in the online presentation of life. Twitter is a mind toxin for so many people. I see people who are depressed and anxious all the time and they keep telling me it's because they read something upsetting online. Just don't do it. Also a note on medications, don't take a specific medication of brand as a cure all. Take SSRIs. I was prescribed Cymbalta (Duloxetine) originally and it was *bad*. I reacted horribly with it, and I very quickly had to taper off it. I've tried other SSRIs with success tho, Zoloft and now Paroxetine. Why did I stop taking Zoloft? Essentially my body/brain got "used to it". I don't know if it's a thing with general anxiety but with OCD it seems typical that you need to have a few stand bys to "cycle through" when the effectiveness tapers off. I'm on a minimum dose so it takes years, but eventually I'll switch to a different one, new or old. Point is, if you have anxiety, OCD, depression, whatever don't just take one med, doesn't work, and assume nothing will work. There's a reason there's different formulations. You can actually find SSRIs that help anxiety etc while not affecting sexual function even, it's true! If a med isn't working there is no shame or problem trying a different formulation. Don't try and brute force and hope it will just start working. Also taper off under medical advice relative to your dose, don't cold turkey anything.
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Aug 3, 2023 02:45
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I avoid social media in general, and even though I have a Facebook account I have never let that live on my phone. What I've found helpful with the news is to be highly selective about how deep I will read into any subject. I have gotten in the habit of using Google News as an aggregator, and just skimming the headlines for National and World news is often enough for me to discern if there is something I need to pay attention to or if it is just more rehashing of the same ongoing things. I read the tech news because I am a huge dork, but also because it rarely has anything disturbing going on, and also more things I do want to be aware of (security breaches and such). Another thing to keep in mind about the news is that, a very long time ago, it went from informing the public about actually important things to an industry producing a product. As a simple analogy, if a town has a daily newspaper, and nothing much is happening on a given day, are they just not going to publish the paper? No, they are producing a product, and it's in their best interests to make it feel like it is important and that you need to keep checking to see if there is anything new. Recognizing that can help to winnow down the stories you actually pay attention to, and shift perspective on the ones you do read.
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Aug 3, 2023 08:05
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Woolwich Bagnet posted:Ignoring news/politics was a huge increase in my mental health. Also reading books before I go to sleep to take my mind off the day/tomorrow. this is a huge one for me, too. audiobooks do the trick for me as well.
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Aug 3, 2023 08:46
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i feel like facebook is ok, there's a lot of positive reasons to use facebook like craft groups, keeping in touch with old friends, the messenger, etc. but don't use it to argue with people about current events and political issues. and stay off the groups focusing on a particular city or geographical area because those tend to be the most hosed up klan energy. if you have a friend or family member you disagree with just unfriend them, block them if you have to.
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Aug 3, 2023 10:35
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Hell Yeah posted:i feel like facebook is ok, there's a lot of positive reasons to use facebook like craft groups, keeping in touch with old friends, the messenger, etc. but don't use it to argue with people about current events and political issues. and stay off the groups focusing on a particular city or geographical area because those tend to be the most hosed up klan energy. if you have a friend or family member you disagree with just unfriend them, block them if you have to. I used to get really worked up on social media - I realised Twitter was bad for me quite quickly. It's like that sci-fi cliche where someone can hear thoughts and it drives them insane. Also, with doom scrolling, it's probably the most rotten with sensationalism, disinformation, propaganda and just pure unhinged people. Facebook was better, because it was just friends, but it seemed to be increasingly conflict driven, so I quit that two or three years ago. Instantly felt happier. I had no problems unfriending people whose views I found odious, but I did end up with a lot of well-meaning liberal types who bought into the social media panopticon where one must display the right values and call out those who do not display them, and that stressed me out. I only use Instagram now, mainly because it's mostly my friends doing nice things or showing things they've created and a few comedy/music accounts I follow. I'm a elder-millenial cis white man though, I realise Insta can be toxic to others. But yeah, I know on an intellectual level that the news is manipulative, even "trusted" sources are driven by clicks and engagement, but I guess I'm not so smart that I can't be sucked in and have my spider-sense constantly ring. My partner suggested I buy a paper rather than refreshing the Ukraine thread or the The Guardian's live coverage and that might be a good, if expensive, policy to limit doomscrolling. Disco Pope fucked around with this message at 11:09 on Aug 3, 2023 |
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Aug 3, 2023 11:03
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it's the ukraine. there's nothing you can do to change it even a small amount, what's the point even reading about it? i agree with you instagram probably has the best vibes. facebook when used appropriately can be good, my point was you really need to control yourself if you're going to use it. twitter seems absolutely counterproductive though
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Aug 3, 2023 11:09
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I started vividly imagining Twitter as a predatory bird that evolved to break the brains of social primates, and after that I never went near it again
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Aug 3, 2023 13:36
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vegetables posted:I started vividly imagining Twitter as a predatory bird that evolved to break the brains of social primates, and after that I never went near it again
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Aug 3, 2023 14:09
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mystes posted:How were the ones where you had problems with weight distribution designed? Normally I feel like they're stitched with baffles so they have a lot of small compartments and the beads can't really shift too much It was larger squares with the beads, they'd just shift way too much. I will admit I may also just be wildly neurotic about small things, but every now and then it felt like the blanket was completely empty everywhere but the edges. I just sleep super hot and can't stand it, I have a terrible heat tolerance, even with my AC set low.
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Aug 3, 2023 14:24
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Hell Yeah posted:i feel like facebook is ok, there's a lot of positive reasons to use facebook like craft groups, keeping in touch with old friends, the messenger, etc. but don't use it to argue with people about current events and political issues. and stay off the groups focusing on a particular city or geographical area because those tend to be the most hosed up klan energy. if you have a friend or family member you disagree with just unfriend them, block them if you have to.
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Aug 4, 2023 16:37
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Jelly posted:As someone who hasn't deleted Facebook but barely uses it, a factor missing here is it often gives the illusion that all these people live these perfect lives and reinforces the concept that yours is missing something. Yeah, to a degree. I think it just depends who your friends are. Infact, I think that's the negative thing Instagram encourages. I think you also get a flavour for a certain kind of post - if that couple are constantly posting long screeds about how in love they are, I'd put money on them circling the drain.
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Aug 4, 2023 17:03
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I just wanted to note that my physical anxiety has been high lately and after reading Hell Yeah's post I've made a concerted effort not to check any politics/news/social media and I've seriously been feeling 100% the last couple of days. It's such a reflex action to doom-browse you have to constantly suppress it, but it's not particularly hard to do. Bought Baldur's Gate 3 to help distract me.
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Aug 4, 2023 19:21
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General anxiety tip: If you have a hard time getting away from news or social media doomscrolling on your phone, set your phone to grayscale. On iOS it's somewhere in the accessibility options and on Android it's under the Bedtime Mode settings (enable bedtime mode from 12am to 11:59 pm and turn on grayscale during bedtime). You'll notice an immediate feeling of revulsion when you start browsing the social internet in grayscale. It's a weird thing but it works and will keep you off your phone. At least on Android there's a quick way to temporarily disable it if you drag down the menu from the top of the screen (notifications, settings etc) if you're ever doing something color-sensitive. But ever since I did this I barely touch my phone except for phone communication which is insanely rare these days. deep dish peat moss fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Aug 4, 2023 |
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Aug 4, 2023 19:44
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