Poll of the Day > What's something small that brings you a bit of joy?

(+) Yeah! (+)

On my drive to work I pass by a small forest preserve and it's just nice looking at trees and sky as I drive.

---

My dog when she rolls over on her back for belly rubs.

---

Yogurt

---

Walking around the neighborhood on a cool evening

---

my dick

---

The suffering of others.
---

Coming here sometimes
Seeing a chick with a nice
Having young kids telling me 'thank you' for any act of kindness on my part

DirtBasedSoap posted...

my dick

Damn, beat me to it.

Speaking of beating my dick...

This is one of my problems - I don't have one. Basically loads of people in my life have told me I need some kind of hobby and that will cure how miserable I am all of the time, but I've got nothing. Can't get really anything outside of the small bursts of weak happiness I get from consuming media.

---

Taking my shoes off after work

---

Jnr Bacon Cheeseburger and fries from Jack in the Box once a week after work

---

Clean counter and sink.

---

Shot glasses full of vodka.

DirtBasedSoap posted...

my dick

---

Judgmenl posted...

This is one of my problems - I don't have one. Basically loads of people in my life have told me I need some kind of hobby and that will cure how miserable I am all of the time, but I've got nothing. Can't get really anything outside of the small bursts of weak happiness I get from consuming media.

Have you tried breaking your routine or trying new things?

---

Mead posted...

Have you tried breaking your routine or trying new things?

Problem is that my life is so utterly boring/pointless that there isn't much beyond sitting here that I can do.

---

snails and frogs and stuff

---

Lego

---

Judgmenl posted...

This is one of my problems - I don't have one. Basically loads of people in my life have told me I need some kind of hobby and that will cure how miserable I am all of the time, but I've got nothing. Can't get really anything outside of the small bursts of weak happiness I get from consuming media.

Arv thinks your cool

---

Judgmenl posted...

Problem is that my life is so utterly boring/pointless that there isn't much beyond sitting here that I can do.

what is preventing you from trying new activities or hobbies?

---

Mead posted...

what is preventing you from trying new activities or hobbies?

Myself

---

My cat. Whenever I come home from work she will run up to me and lick my face. It's nice to know that someone is looking forward to me coming home.


---

Judgmenl posted...

Problem is that my life is so utterly boring/pointless that there isn't much beyond sitting here that I can do.

You might want to consider seeing a psychiatrist. What you're describing (lack of energy, motivation, and disinterest in the world around you) sounds like textbook symptoms of depression.

If that is the case, simply trying to engage in hobbies won't stop you from being miserable all the time, because you'll still have the depression. But treating the depression may help you to start becoming interested in things again.
---

The depression comes from problems I can't solve, so no amount of counseling can solve it. I've explained this to the aether many, many times. Something like that simply doesn't work for me.

I am very much capable of figuring out what I need, however there is nothing capable of filling this hole in my life that I actually want, and the last thing I want is someone else to tell me what I want.

---

Judgmenl posted...

The depression comes from problems I can't solve, so no amount of counseling can solve it.

My point was more that you might be assuming it's based on your life situation, when it's actually biochemical depression caused by factors that have literally nothing to do with the circumstances of your life experience.

It's why I suggested a psychiatrist rather than a therapist. They're the ones who can prescribe drugs.

If nothing else, a psychiatrist can potentially rule out biological factors definitively. Without that you're basically just self-diagnosing and might be wrong. And you might even be in a scenario where you're blaming your life issues for your depression, when it's actually your depression that's contributing to those situations in the first place.

It's also worth noting that some other biological issues can simulate depression symptoms as well (like diabetes, which can lead to general fatigue and apathy).

And even beyond that, even if non-psychopharmacological therapy/counseling can't solve every problem, it can help you develop better coping strategies to deal with the stress from those problems, giving you a healthier mental state. So it's not necessarily a good idea to completely dismiss basic counseling regardless.
---

ParanoidObsessive posted...

My point was more that you might be assuming it's based on your life situation, when it's actually biochemical depression caused by factors that have literally nothing to do with the circumstances of your life experience.

It is 100% based on life situation. I am unhappy with my life situation, have been unhappy with my life situation for the past decade, and will continue to be unhappy for at least the next 5 years. It might get better after then.

Here's a situation that happened less than 30 minutes after I woke up:
I was sitting at my desk (where I've spend like 16 hours of my day since March 2020) watching some video, when my mother wants to know if my window was open or not. My monitor is like 130 degrees from my door, so I have no way of seeing she's there or even awake (she has a ridiculously erratic sleep/wake cycle). Makes me jump a mile because I am not expecting anyone to be disturbing me at 7:30 in the morning. I tell her she scared me. She gives me the "I don't care about you" attitude she's so great at exuding. I say yes, I then carry on my day.

This shit gets at me so much. I am so fucking tired of my living conditions. I am tired of people controlling my life at 31. I did not ask for any of this and I can't really stop it, because 12 years ago I said I'd take care of her dogs to be allowed to go to college (Note: I don't even like dogs). I can't do what I want with my life because of some fucking dogs.

What makes matters worse is I normally can't leave my fucking room without the dogs barking. If my parents come anywhere near my room, the dogs get anxiety which give me anxiety. My entire life revolves around these dogs. This situation was much easier to manage before the pandemic because I had a reason to leave for 8 hours a day. I have zero reason to leave now.

tldr: I have a pretty good grasp of my situation, what the problem is, but no obvious way to solve it.

---

Judgmenl posted...

It is 100% based on life situation. I am unhappy with my life situation, have been unhappy with my life situation for the past decade, and will continue to be unhappy for at least the next 5 years. It might get better after then.

Here's a situation that happened less than 30 minutes after I woke up:
I was sitting at my desk (where I've spend like 16 hours of my day since March 2020) watching some video, when my mother wants to know if my window was open or not. My monitor is like 130 degrees from my door, so I have no way of seeing she's there or even awake (she has a ridiculously erratic sleep/wake cycle). Makes me jump a mile because I am not expecting anyone to be disturbing me at 7:30 in the morning. I tell her she scared me. She gives me the "I don't care about you" attitude she's so great at exuding. I say yes, I then carry on my day.

This shit gets at me so much. I am so fucking tired of my living conditions. I am tired of people controlling my life at 31. I did not ask for any of this and I can't really stop it, because 12 years ago I said I'd take care of her dogs to be allowed to go to college (Note: I don't even like dogs). I can't do what I want with my life because of some fucking dogs.

What makes matters worse is I normally can't leave my fucking room without the dogs barking. If my parents come anywhere near my room, the dogs get anxiety which give me anxiety. My entire life revolves around these dogs. This situation was much easier to manage before the pandemic because I had a reason to leave for 8 hours a day. I have zero reason to leave now.

tldr: I have a pretty good grasp of my situation, what the problem is, but no obvious way to solve it.

That's almost the opposite of my mom and youngest bro... he uses the dogs as a way to guilt mom into not kicking him out.

...

It doesn't seem like having to take care of a couple of bratty dogs and a mum would interfere with all hobby types... maybe we can start something together

---

Wiener

---

Feeding cookies to goats



---

Going a walk

---