Current Events > Name something that greatly improved your mental health

(+) Yeah! (+)

Looking for any ideas.

Also, please don't say clinical therapy. :P

Exercise and getting enough sleep massively help for me.

Reading fiction helps.

Psychedelics

_____Cait posted...

Reading fiction helps.

Like space fiction and stuff?

Isn't that a bit like disassociating?

Just asking.

mine is bad rn but i was happiest when i had a few irl friends groups . i had this till around 2019. moved to a diff state and become pretty unsociable

Steffenfield posted...

Like space fiction and stuff?

Isn't that a bit like disassociating?

Just asking.

Any fiction?

Of course it isnt disassociating, there is a reason why teachers told you to read a lot as a kid. It is relaxing, helps you gain empathy for others, and helps you learn how to think without being instantly rewarded.

Counseling (therapy) has been pretty helpful to me.

BUT, nothing comes anywhere close to the impact nature has had on me.

I shifted with my wife to a coastal town three years ago. Before that, we used to live in a highly congested metro city earlier. It wasn't fulfilling. But now, we regularly go out to the beaches, the rainforests, waterfalls, rivers, nature treks, etc. My heart has been overwhelmed with strong emotions every time we explore the nature, and every time it still feels like new. Being surrounded by nature has become the most vital part of my life now, and we have consciously chosen to prioritise it over our pursuit of money (or building a corpus).

For instance, if I feel insecure, it might be because, deep down, I don't feel at home in a world surrrounded by concrete. An iPhone won't make me secure.

If I find myself greedy despite wealth, perhaps it's because I'm still chasing the vision of a serene, green farm in the countryside. More money was not needed to be surrounded by greenery in an unaltered world.

If I'm overly competitive, it could be due to being raised in a system that ties my sense of security to my economic contribution. In an unaltered system, my ability to earn money won't have triggered my fight or flight senses.

So yeah.... nature has taught me invaluable lessons. It's unhurried. The animals within it aren't rushing. Nature isn't obsessed with innovation or proving anything. And I've learned that I don't need to either. By aligning with the inherent slowness of my being, I've found great amount of mental peace.

Travelling and hiking

Leaving the country. I'm a lot calmer now.

You don't realize just how tightly wound people are in the US, until you've decompressed and then see a US tourist. They are like an unexploded munition, live and ready to explode at the slightest event.

Tom_Joad posted...

Leaving the country. I'm a lot calmer now.

You don't realize just how tightly wound people are in the US, until you've decompressed and then see a US tourist. They are like an unexploded munition, live and ready to explode at the slightest event.

Theres a reason people dont like US tourists, and despite what some US citizens would say, its not jealousy.

Dont get me wrong, my nationality isnt popular round the world either, and understandably so.

But yeah, travelling is great for getting some perspective.

Vidya.

Being married.

Mind you for friends who married the wrong person it was greatly deleterious to their mental health, so your mileage may vary.

Achieving a goal, any goal really. Hard to feel bad when your life is on the forward path. Stagnation brings misery and sliding backwards is one way ticket to depression.

Psychedelics for sure. Life-changing.

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