How do you keep away the brain bats?
Sometimes when my anxiety is flying high, it’s tough to distract myself. Even my favorite hobby, knitting, isn’t enough when it’s really persistent.
What’s your distraction of choice when your psyche is feeling uncooperative?
6 replies on “This Weekend Open Thread Needs Distractions”
Mostly I try to read. I tend to go for old favorites that can pull me out of the doldrums, but if the brain bats are too clingy, I have a tendency to throw myself into work, actual work-work or house work or any activity that can keep me too busy to notice. If they are the self-hate type of bat, I try to work out and then have a good cry cause usually that helps.
Audio books! I’ve found them to be an incredible resource, and especially great at those times when I’m feeling particularly worn down. The Devil Wears Prada and Revenge Wears Prada are great ones – lovely narrator and (I think!) awesome stories.
I clean. It drives any roommates I might have up a wall once they notice the pattern. I just have to do something with my hands and cleaning is at least productive. It does have to get done at some point.
I, too, love the term brain bats.
I think the cleaning is good. I should try that more when I’m brain batty-I know the visual clutter contributes to the mental clutter.
If I’m too stressed to read I’ll revert to busy games like SimCity or Sims 1. Sims 2,3,4 leave large gaps of thinking time which is bad for the brain bats. The other games keep my attention well.
Also, brain bats is an excellent term.
I love the term “brain bats”! I haven’t had any luck distracting myself…I find that I do best when I acknowledge the bats, determine their cause, determine their TRUE cause, and then make a plan to handle said cause (even if that plan is that there’s nothing I can do, so I have to suck it up).