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I’m doing alright despite the boss at work being a dick, and being tired all the time
Thanks for asking
Honestly, pretty shitty. Given the political climate of my home (US) is exacerbating the problems I already face between untreated ADHD, depression, and who knows what else, I’ve just been dissociating the days away.
Better than usual. Which is not saying much, since I’ve had suicidal thoughts almost every day despite all the therapy and meds. But I did an hour of work today on a project that was due May 2024 (now trying for the 2025 deadline), which is more than most weeks of the past 9 months. I’ve been keeping myself from new Linux installs and other major time sinks for all that time, hoping I’d find a miracle cure. But nope, looks like I’ll have to fight my inattentiveness and depression the hard way. At least I’m motivated to finish the project so I can get my laptop running the way I want.
What’s the project?
Bachelor’s thesis
Ooh fun. I did mine while I was still in the figuring shit out part of my depression. Managed a C but looking back in it, god damn it was not good, bit embarrassing really.
If it’s of any help, I just recently completed my degree that I started 10 years ago. Clinical depression just ruined my education, and it took a lot of time to get over the anxiety of going back to finish it. But, eventually I did get there. If I can do it, you can too.
Not great. Addictions are running at full speed now. The political climate here in the US is so fucking depressing.
Can’t really do much other than smoke weed to calm down myself now. I feel you compadre
Am adhd and autistic, so i never had a lot of friends, but i kind of learned to keep going with it.
Right now, i am very tired, but also hopeful because all my essay writing training is starting to show up.
My dreams, such as writing novels and creating an entire video game about my personal universe, seem to be more and more feasible on reality.
Also, my social training allowed me to meet some very nice persons, not in social standarts, but genuinely for me.
So I am as always lonely, tired and silent, but the world seem always to show more and more colours to me, which is nice.
(also maybe just because i stopped drinking the social media crap and the worldnews junk food, but hey, it’s what gives us the most anxiety for no reason, so why bother)
I am confused.
Not well.
Constantly anxious.
Depressed.
Autistic.
Have gender dysphoria at a time of increased hatred. I don’t consider myself trans because I’m not transitioning. I couldn’t bear that attention.
I’m a broke single parent whose only regular human interaction is a 3 year old. I have no friends. I drove 4 hours across the state for a family function where I felt like an outsider because my family are rural maga people. I just feel I don’t belong anywhere
My job and position in life are nothing like I thought they would be at 37.
I’m increasingly dependent on thc vape and alcohol.
During Covid, I picked up the guitar again, having given it up decades ago. I didnt expect to play gigs or anything, I just wanted to use the quarantine opportunity to do something positive, and I chose music, over writing a book, learning a language, etc.
Almost five years later, my guitar playing has gotten pretty good, upper intermediate level, and I am good enough to entertain myself, which is all I ever wanted.
What I hadn’t expected was how much of an improvement it would make on my mental health. After being energized by my improving skills, I realized that my mood and self-esteem and confidence were significantly elevated. I am proud of my progress, even if nobody else hears it.
I also realized that I think I’ve been operating under a low-grade depression for a long time, perhaps my entire life. I’ve never addressed it because I thought that was just what life felt like. Once I had a closer look at how much better I could feel, i realized that I haven’t felt “right” for a long time, maybe never. I’m still not sure I know what “right” really feels like.
Now that America has officially gone to Hell, I’m extremely worried about the future (I have a history degree, and am very knowledgeable about politics and history, and know where all of this is leading), but daily, sometimes hourly, doses of music are helping me cope.
Yeah I relate a lot with you on that. But I never managed to actually keep at it. I’ve tried 5 times to pick up the guitar again after giving it up, and always failed.
That didn’t really improve my mental health and self-esteem, ngl. So yeah, all props to you!
Yeah, I get it, guitar is a really hard instrument. I wasn’t starting from scratch during Covid. I was a professional musician as a teen, playing other instruments, and picked up the basics of guitar. I put it aside when I went to college for music history, and then spent many years in the classical music biz.
So I have a very strong music background to draw from. When I picked it up again, it felt like Id never held a guitar before, but I still rembered the chord shapes, and I still had a good grip of music theory. I also have enough musical experience coaching professional musicians that I didn’t need a teacher, I knew what I needed to do to learn this.
On top of all that, the best teachers in the world are on YouTube, so anything I couldn’t figure out on my own, I had plenty of resources to consult.
Despite all of that, the real key was establishing a solid daily practice routine, something I couldn’t do when I was young, in school, working in a record store, partying with friends, and chasing girls. Here’s what I tell new players about practice:
Put your guitar on a stand next to your bed, so it’s the first and last thing you see every day. Play it for about 20 minutes when you first get up, and 20 minutes before going to bed. Then find another 20 minutes sometime during the day.
That will give you 60 minutes per day of sharply focused practice. If you were to practice once a day for an hour, you’d be focused for the first 20 minutes, then your mind starts to wander for the additional 40 minutes. By breaking it up, every minute is focused practice, and you’ll progress much faster. It also gives your fingertips a chance to rest after 20 minutes.
Also, if you miss a session, you only miss one, and you’ll still get 2 others that day. If you only do one long session per day, and you miss it, you miss an entire day of practice, not just 1/3.
If all you do is practice once a day, then you really only get one serious 20 minute practice block each day. So if you do three twenty minute sessions a day, its like jamming 3 days of practice in a single day. At the end of a week, you’ve had 21 days of practice instead of 7. Obviously, your progress will be much, much faster.
So give it a sixth try, but use my practice regimen, and hopefully it will stick this time. Good luck!
I did the same with guitar. Stopped playing nearly 20 years ago and picked up again during Covid. Probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It gives me an outlet I didn’t have before, and I’ve put so much into it with practice and lessons that I’m better than I’d ever have thought I’d be.
Like you, I know enough to entertain myself and that’s perfect. Sometimes I’ll just pick it up and play along with new songs I hear and it still surprises me when I can do that well.
I’ve heard that there was a big guitar boom during Covid, but I’ll bet at least 75% moved on. We’re the survivors, and all the better for it. In a couple years, there will probably be a big used market of barely used Covid guitars.
I just wish Lemmy had one single decent guitar forum. Reddit had a bunch, and I was really active in them, but alas, now that they’ve gone MAGA and purged any dissenters, all I can do is lurk, which is frustrating.
We need to revive the sleepy guitar forums on Lemmy.
I’m going great outside of one thing. I miss my soulmate. It’s been over 2 years. My heart is still empty. I’m dating again but I feel hollow.
Best wishes. You are still grieving. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t date at all, it just means you need to allow yourself to continue grieving even while you move forward with your life. You deserve happiness.
It’s unduly long and complex but made worse that we are still friends and were it not for a specific situation we may still be together. Took me 40 years to find my soulmate only to have them taken away because life told us it was not time and here I am now stuck with not being able to move forward because why would I be able to love another when the one of my dreams is still there within arm’s reach.
It sucks. I’m at least blessed with 3 kids from a previous marriage which give me joy and I have a career I love. I also have many around me who I love and I feel they love me back. It’s just that final puzzle piece. I know where it is. I want to complete my puzzle but I can’t because it’s not possible right now.
Sigh.
I’m gonna be honest and say I’m doing great man. For some weird reason, I always am.
I see from the rest here that I should probably not take that for granted.Wish everone an epic Sunday!
I’ve been working in my mental for a while and i can fele the improvements.
Isn’t it wonderful when you start go get those first glimmers that things are getting better?
I just heard people applaud a fucking sunset. I’m circling the drain.
In the dumpster, six days ago i was involved in a pretty severe work related accident which landed me in the hospital. Crushed right leg plus three broken ribs and a collapsed lung. So my mental health is rough right now.
Take that company for everything you can dude. If they are like 99% of companies they will try to limit things you are entitled to. Might even want to talk to a lawyer.
My union (Dansk Metal) is taking the case and theyll drag everyone through hell and back, so no worry. Dansk Metal is one of the most powerful unions in Denmark and will stop at nothing.
Shit, that sucks. What’s the outlook for the leg?
The leg is pretty good, but it will take a long fucking time for the ribs to cure.
Really? They usually heal pretty fast, you must have injured them badly.
I crack a rib or two about once a decade, just to remind myself I’m still alive. Had my break for the 2020s a few weeks ago, and I’m still feeling it with every deep breath or cough. It’ll go away soon, it always does.
Good luck, brother. Get the nastiest pitbull lawyer you can find, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to fuck over an evil insurance company, which is a very satisfying feeling, trust me.
Awesome, thanks. How are you?
Thanks for asking! I’m good today just got up and I’m gonna train in an hour. Exercise days are always good days!
They definitely are, I’m glad you got to get some workout done. Your reply also reminded me to get off my own ass and give some love to my core, so, thank you for that.
Haha you’re welcome 😊
A bit hopeless but trying to keep it together in spite of all the socio-political problems.
I just wrote about it in a lengthy post, but music has been helping me cope. Find a hobby that can occupy your mind when you start ruminating about concentration camps.
I think that’s all we can do right now
