Wanting to dig up ancient drama.

[Metalhead]

Life is going very well for me these days. Too well. This lack of drama is unusual for me. My brain is going back into ancient history in my life and mulling over it now. It is like it wants to throw a wrench in my good life now.

So, I have to let all of this go for my own sake.

Easier said than done.

 

[Slime_Punk]

That's pretty normal. I know it sucks, but it seems like when the mind doesn't have enough problems / stress, it will create its own. At least you can recognize it for what it is, but I don't believe there's a such thing as a stress-free life or a life without anxieties due to whatever mechanism it is. Having a brain is, technically, stressful.

Some might recommend therapy, and that's never a bad idea. But keep in mind that it can't get rid of 100% of it. It's mostly just a tool to help with the management and acceptance of it.

 

[Aspychata]

One thing l learned about Narcissists/gaslight techniques is constant chaos is ongoing to keep the victim feeling helpless- that term is learned helplessness.

Not sure to what extent of Alice in Wonderland World you lived in, but l received the full treatment plan. Actually l think you experienced way worse in some respects then l did.

So you are shedding a complete lifetime of brainwashing. But you also have a more secure supportive life now. I remember some of the stories you told before. Now your life is stable. I think this is way better life you have now. What do you think?

 

[BrokenBoy]

Focus on other's drama.

Go watch a Youtube documentary about a controversial subject that tells a story. This will fix your problem. Looking up Wikipedia articles about serial killers and tortured creative people who have lived rough lifes can also help. Buy and read their (auto)biography too if that's not enough.

Alternatively you could do drugs in bed and watch movies and tv.

 

[Knower of nothing]

Perhaps these were things you put on the back burner for so long and now that you have a moments rest they're finally being addressed. You can try to acknowledge everything once, and then if you notice cyclical or repetitive thoughts tell yourself you went over that already. A lot of scars will remain unresolved forever, so there's a lasting temptation for the brain to dig in them for anything new, like repeatedly checking an empty fridge as if food will magically be there one of these days.

 

[Rodafina]

Easier said than done.

So true, so true.

I absolutely have this problem everyone is talking about - when life is calm and most things are pretty good, the really maddening anxiety can come out.

So it gets me wondering, for people like us who will create the anxiety if it is not there – would it be a good strategy to introduce a new “anxiety” into your life? Something that demands focus and attention, but obviously nothing that is actually putting you in physical or emotional danger. Maybe these are what people just call passions and hobbies, I don’t know.

What artificial stress can we create in our lives that can engage our survival brain but remain in our control. Maybe these are new goals? New aspirations? Things where failure is a possibility? Again, I don’t know but you really got me thinking this morning.

My life feels chaotic and out of control, so I am not currently having this exact problem, but I understand it very well and I always come back to that place.

 

[Metalhead]

One thing l learned about Narcissists/gaslight techniques is constant chaos is ongoing to keep the victim feeling helpless- that term is learned helplessness.

Not sure to what extent of Alice in Wonderland World you lived in, but l received the full treatment plan. Actually l think you experienced way worse in some respects then l did.

So you are shedding a complete lifetime of brainwashing. But you also have a more secure supportive life now. I remember some of the stories you told before. Now your life is stable. I think this is way better life you have now. What do you think?

Life is a lot better for me now. I am experiencing an emotional divorce from my family, which is a great thing.

 

[BrokenBoy]

Life is a lot better for me now. I am experiencing an emotional divorce from my family, which is a great thing.

Right on! Savor your success and milk that happiness for as long as you can! At least something's good happening in this god-forsaken hell-dimension.

 

[Misery]

Ya know, if you really need a major distraction at some point, when your mind is just wandering too much and there's not much to do, go to TVTropes and click on pretty much anything.

Just be warned: It's TVTropes. It'll eat your whole day if you let it.

If you've been there before, you know what I mean. If you havent been there before, well... yeah, keep that warning in mind.

One way or another though, keeping mentally engaged is the trick here.

 

[Metalhead]

So, I am currently listening to Dr Dre very loudly with the deep bass coming from the subwoofer. This is one of the perks of living in a soundproofed house.

I guess I am a bit resentful that my local RL friends have been too busy to hang with me the last couple of weeks. Time for me to make more RL local friends in that case.

 

[Slime_Punk]

So it gets me wondering, for people like us who will create the anxiety if it is not there – would it be a good strategy to introduce a new “anxiety” into your life? Something that demands focus and attention, but obviously nothing that is actually putting you in physical or emotional danger. Maybe these are what people just call passions and hobbies, I don’t know.

I might've said this in other threads, but things like vigorous exercise and doing really difficult mental tasks pretty much eliminate that idle sense of anxiety for me, so YMMV. Obviously it won't stamp out real threats, emergencies and things going wrong, but I think there are ways to mute out the unnecessary ones for sure.

I think this is the gist of the serenity prayer but I'm in my rebellious phase right now. lol

Also, there's this sweet spot between difficulty and zen, probably the 'flow-state', in which I can literally forget that I'm even a human being at all, and it's a really great place to spend spare time (for me) rather than focusing on the news, or some other type of artificial negativity that is all-too-abundant these days.

It's not sticking your head in the sand if you're avoiding manufactured worries and tending to the real ones as they arise!