I'm so tired.

[PlanetSmasher]

How do you all do it, Era? How do you manage to keep moving every day when everything we ever see is just infinite, unending bad news?

I'm so tired. I haven't seen my family in person in a year, I haven't dated anyone in even longer, and I haven't been on stage in even longer than that. I haven't had a video game truly excite me in ages, no movies are coming out, and TV is almost completely gone. I have to channel any positive energy I can even generate into my job, which leaves me with absolutely nothing left in the tank when I have any personal time. My roommates and I have virtually nothing in common, and we live such different lives I can't really talk to them about anything. I've essentially spent every single day of my life since this quarantine started stuck in the same room, all day, every day, and every night. The only time I leave my house is to go to the store to buy food or go to the doctor.

I don't want to do this anymore. I'm tired of feeling like a human rain cloud. I just want to go to sleep and not wake up for six months, nine months, a year, I don't know how long. I want to feel like anything can make me happy again.

How do you do it? What keeps you all going? I feel like my soul has stopped breathing.

 

[Ferrio]

Weed and my dog help a lot.

God, so glad we got her before this shit started. Has certainly helped keep my insanity in check. Still quite a bit of anxiety, haven't felt this anxious since high school.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

PlanetSmasher do you have access to a therapist? Not only because of your general depression/malaise but also because of the lack of human contact during quarantine. Not sure about your insurance/financial situation but if you can afford it then it is definitely worth it, even just to have someone to talk to. A lot are doing sessions through video conferencing right now.

Other thing I'd recommend is setting up a discord server with some friends, great way to stay in touch across long distances and set up gaming sessions or pretty much anything else.

 

[julia crawford]

I mean... having completely different lives sounds like the best plate to be in a conversation 🤔

 

[-Tetsuo-]

I shall teach you how to play board games, something to keep the mind busy

 

[super-famicom]

Have you tried doing some exercise or even going out for walks? I find that helps me, but yeah, this year has been very tough. I'm also thinking to look into meditation and focus on my breathing, as I hear that can help out too.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Weed and my dog help a lot.

God, so glad we got her before this shit started.

Click to shrink...

I miss my dogs so much. My big boy Maxie died a few years back, and our family's other Golden just passed last June while I was home for a visit. She died the morning after I got there. She was so happy to see me when I got in from the airport and the next morning she was gone.

 

[Garp TXB]

Just keep going, and imagine a tiny, dim light burning in the back of your mind. Take care of that light. Protect it. One day it will grow brighter, and it will become much more prominent in your life.

 

[Mekanos]

There's a good chance I would have thrown myself off a bridge by now if it wasn't for my commitment to socialism giving me hope.

 

[super-famicom]

I miss my dogs so much. My big boy Maxie died a few years back, and our family's other Golden just passed last June while I was home for a visit. She died the morning after I got there. She was so happy to see me when I got in from the airport and the next morning she was gone.

Click to shrink...

I'm sorry to hear that, OP. At least she got to see you one last time.

 

[Ahti]

I`m going out for a jog regulary. Mostly in the morning after waking up. Clears the mind. I started after feeling depressed and now I´m more positive.

 

[Deleted member 41178]

I shall teach you how to play board games, something to keep the mind busy

Click to shrink...

I'd be up for this, get a few players together for a Table Top Simulator session.

 

[Slappy White]

I've been popping an edible every afternoon at around 4:00pm. That's helping me quite a bit.

 

[TaterTots]

Personally, I don't obsess over news. I don't sit around reading or watching it all the time. Also, my hobbies push me through. Video games and guitar tend to shut my mind off everything else except them. If I didn't have those hobbies, I'd probably be batshit crazy right now.

 

[Ferrio]

I miss my dogs so much. My big boy Maxie died a few years back, and our family's other Golden just passed last June while I was home for a visit. She died the morning after I got there. She was so happy to see me when I got in from the airport and the next morning she was gone.

Click to shrink...

Sorry to hear that :(.

 

[IDontBeatGames]

I was like that for awhile and then I finally realized I needed to do something. It didn't matter what it is what, I just needed to be creative and get some sort of energy / excitement and then I started a Youtube channel. I started finding a bunch of entertainment in making scripts, coming up with ideas and just putting video togethers. After awhile, then continuous creativity removed a lot of the negative energy for the past 1-2 months. It also helps that I have friends I talk to on Discord every other day or have other games like SMITE or Dead By Daylight to get me be.

Also, another huge positive was that Trump getting COVID thread. The thread ended up giving a lot of positive energy with everyone enjoying my fun recaps and threadmarks when so much news was happening in a short period of time. Plus, now I have the PS5 as something to look forward to in November. It's the small things, you know?

 

[III-V]

You gotta get out and make some time for yourself. Take some time out, take a camping road trip or something. There is so much beautiful world out there and we have been cooped up for so long.

 

[TaySan]

I just keep what i keep doing and stop caring what anyone else thinks about me.

 

[rashbeep]

Perspective

Because no matter how bad your life may be there's going to be someone somewhere who's got it worse

 

[SoH]

I'm so tired
sheep are counting me

 

[iori9999]

My dog and oil pen :)

Weed and my dog help a lot.

God, so glad we got her before this shit started. Has certainly helped keep my insanity in check. Still quite a bit of anxiety, haven't felt this anxious since high school.

Click to shrink...

Same here. My guy was thankfully saved from bloat in January. I praise the gods that I paid all that money for him and have since got him insured.

 

[Wrapped in Black]

I recommend you get off the internet for a good while. Getting banned for 2 weeks a while back was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

 

[Tryptobphan]

What changed me a bit was going out and exploring places I've never been to before. I always just drove to work and drove back home. Only going out to do necessary errands. However, one day, it just clicked and I decided to drive to places around my home that I've never been to before. Eventually that little escapade turned into mini trips to the countryside, mountain drives, backroads, cities or towns nearby and other places I would have never gone to.

Now, it sucks that the pandemic essentially restricts what you can do, but it is also a great time to just drive around with reduced traffic. I think if you don't go out often, this is the perfect time to do so and explore. I found some great places to potentially take my family, friends, or date for nice occasions by exploring different places. Some places just relax me when I see nice scenery.

Maybe one or more of your roommates would like to go on little trips like these to explore surrounding areas. Give it a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Eeyore]

Hey OP, I'm in the same boat. You ever want to vent and or some commiseration I'd be down. It feels pathetic sometimes to beg friends to even respond to a simple text but it is what it is at this point.

It's shit but for me I keep going because of the possibilities.

 

[wenis]

I can do this all day.

 

[Fat4all]

im a functioning alcoholic

 

[TheXbox]

I can only commiserate, no advice. Shit sucks and I know winter is going to be brutal.

 

[Rag]

I feel you. I can go from coping pretty well to being an absolute mess just based on boredom alone. I know there's larger issues at hand, but do you have any favorite shows that are about due for a re-watch? It's not quite the same as having something to look forward to, but I find a lot of comfort in re-watching an old favorite. Additionally, one of my main coping methods when I feel lonely or depressed, or I can't spend time with friends*, is to listen to podcasts. All of my favorite shows are still coming out every week, and it helps to give me something to look forward to. It sounds bleak, but it helps me feel like I've got some friends. My week is pretty consistently brightened up by Stop Podcasting Yourself and Judge John Hodgman. I can't promise it will work for everyone, but podcasts have really helped me get through a lot of bad and lonely times.

*-All my friends moved away or died except for one! Yaaay!

 

[Garlador]

Adulting is tiring. My kid wears me down and I haven't had a sleepful night in over a month.

But she's got such a cute smile and learned how to say "cat" the other day.

One day, I shall make her my player 2 in a Mario game and we'll save the Mushroom Kingdom.

 

[Ogodei]

Life is worth the little moments. When the enormity of everything threatens, go for a walk or watch a dumb video. Or eat Salvadorean cheese like I'm doing tonight.

 

[Pyccko]

sorta stopped caring about anything important at some point honestly

just kinda going through the motions

 

[Pulp]

Drinking helps. Not that I recommend anyone to follow this tip lol

 

[QisTopTier]

Someone asked how the fuck can I be happy bedridden from muscular dystrophy and broke as fuck. I responded to them with this.

The short version of it is, change up what you do, and challenge yourself in different things take time to learn about shit you normally have no interest in. Go out for a walk, pick up a new hobby.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I feel you. I can go from coping pretty well to being an absolute mess just based on boredom alone. I know there's larger issues at hand, but do you have any favorite shows that are about due for a re-watch? It's not quite the same as having something to look forward to, but I find a lot of comfort in re-watching an old favorite. Additionally, one of my main coping methods when I feel lonely or depressed, or I can't spend time with friends*, is to listen to podcasts. All of my favorite shows are still coming out every week, and it helps to give me something to look forward to. It sounds bleak, but it helps me feel like I've got some friends. My week is pretty consistently brightened up by Stop Podcasting Yourself and Judge John Hodgman. I can't promise it will work for everyone, but podcasts have really helped me get through a lot of bad and lonely times.

*-All my friends moved away or died except for one! Yaaay!

Click to shrink...

I've been rewatching all of Scrubs but I've lost the taste for it near the end of the show. It's really hard to motivate myself to try and watch anything else.

 

[Temascos]

Sorry to hear you're feeling this way PlanetSmasher.

For me personally, I do feel lonely sometimes but what I like to do is feel that at the end of a day I've accomplished something for myself. Keeping fit and healthy in some way is one way to try and do that, I've been extending my running sessions from 20 minutes a day to 45 minutes at the moment, and hopefully by the end of November I will get close to if not running a full hour. Learning stuff will also help me as the job hunt has been tricky but I will have to move out of my brother's place at some point to give him some space (And also gain some personal space for myself).

Hopefully you find something that brings a bit of spark back into your life :)

 

[Ether_Snake]

In my case, I've stacked up hobbies.
-I read books.
-I practice playing the piano (lol, awful at it, utterly awful)
-I do some CG architecture
-In the near future hopefully can start cooking again once I renovate the kitchen as currently I don't even have a pantry
-Once in a long while I might play a game for a bit, or watch some TV show, and went through almost every 70s movies I wanted to see already.
I am going to start writing, but that's further off.

I hop from one to the other constantly otherwise I get depressed. So I suggest stacking hobbies and enjoying one or the other according to your mood.

I'm an introvert so the pandemic hasn't been too awful for me, but it can feel depressing sometimes, I would love to live elsewhere, but for now this is it, have to keep myself busy with hobbies and hopefully make the most of it.

 

[catboy]

taking a break from social media / forums because endlessly scrolling is deeply unfulfilling

 

[Pein]

The thought that it will get better one day, if I've felt the worst i wanna experience the opposite that I can chase hope, that I will have a good life.

I want a good life, I wanna be rich, I wanna be loved, I want a good, I wanna travel. I can't let it end now, even if I've thought about that before.

 

[Deleted member 16657]

Disconnect from shit that doesn't make you happy and put effort into things that you think will make you happy.

Motivation and drive to do stuff doesn't come suddenly. You have to try things and that gives you motivation to do them.

Sure there's bad news, but it goes away when I get home and work on my garden, exercise or write. I think a generative hobby is really important and underrated. Watching TV and playing video games too much makes me feel like shit because I often feel like I wasted my time running on a wheel like a hamster. It's much different when you're done working on something and actually have something to show for it. Its pleasurable in a different but immensely satisfying way.

 

[Manu]

My mental health was already at a low point before the quarantine started. Now I'm barely functioning.

I haven't seen my family since February, one of our cats died, my TV and PS4 broke during an economic crisis so big in my country my salary is worth half of what it did six months ago, meanwhile I still work 9 hours a day on weekdays, and I'm stuck with two school aged kids who haven't gone to school in half a year and are even bored of all the games and devices in the house and won't go to sleep before 2AM.

Shit's tiring, man.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Stay off the Internet and news TV. Don't hang around news sites or Era OT all the time. You are only going to get the worst of the worst news that way. It makes things seem worse than they are.

Personally, I don't obsess over news. I don't sit around reading or watching it all the time.

Click to shrink...

This guy gets it.

 

[Melkezadek]

Between all the stress from two young children and election anxiety, I feel like I want to throw myself out of a window. About to crack.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Disconnect from shit that doesn't make you happy and put effort into things that you think will make you happy.

Motivation and drive to do stuff doesn't come suddenly. You have to try things and that gives you motivation to do them.

Sure there's bad news, but it goes away when I get home and work on my garden, exercise or write. I think a generative hobby is really important and underrated. Watching TV and playing video games too much makes me feel like shit because I often feel like I wasted my time running on a wheel like a hamster. It's much different when you're done working on something and actually have something to show for it. Its pleasurable in a different but immensely satisfying way.

Click to shrink...

I kind of agree with you. The older I get the less energy I have for wasting my own time. It makes me so angry to chip away at something for 30 minutes and then die and then have to start over.

I used to be having fun DMing D&D since that used the writer/actor part of my brain, but the longer it's gone on the more strain it's put on me to keep everything going. I've been running the same campaign for a full year.

 

[TheMilkman]

If you feel this way now, you're definitely fucked going forward OP. I pity you

 

[Tagyhag]

I don't follow the news or social media.

I even come to Etc. maybe once or twice every 2-3 weeks now just because of how overly depressive it has gotten + more fearmongering than ever.

Play Hades, you'll feel better. :P

But really, maybe think about another dog? Or meditation? Exercise?

My main thing would be, whatever you use to follow the news, cut it out of your life.

 

[Shy]

I don't. I'm going to be calling it a day soon.

I know this is going to sound hypocritical after my statement. But as others have said, a net detox might help a bit.

Also, i'm very sorry you're going through this right now. I wouldn't wish those feelings on my worse enemy.

 

[NewErakid]

In general I feel folks like you need to disconnect from the internet, or at least boards like era. I've really been thinking about how damaging this board seems to be for some people's mental health with the nonstop political news and outrage and just general panicking it induces. I know the issues are important but I just feel like it might be overwhelming for some.
Aside from that I suggest trying to take up a new hobby perhaps? Learning something new is how I generally distract myself.

 

[-Tetsuo-]

I'd be up for this, get a few players together for a Table Top Simulator session.

Click to shrink...

I would be happy to gift PlanetSmasher a copy of TTS if he has Steam. Almost any computer can run it. If anyone else wants to play I can host as well. It might help in this month or so downtime between generations, and board games are a good way to be a little social. In these modern times, we have gone beyond Monopoly. Now there are all kinds, competetive, cooperative, story driven campaign games and more. Board game crowd has an era discord and everything.

 

[nightstalker962]

How's Nioh 2, weren't you into that?

 

[KDC720]

You're not the only one OP. This month especially has me feeling very trapped and anxious. The election next week is only adding to that more.

Videogames and movies haven't been holding my attention either, Ring Fit Adventure and the occasional walk around the neighborhood helps though. I really gotta cut back on scrolling through social media too.