Recs?

[BecomingTired]

I deleted all my socials/doomscroll appa from a recent crashout, seeing them just sitting there with all the loneliness building up inside kind of made me do a lot of stuff impulsively but now I just feel utterly empty, not even sad/depressed just sort of like a switch in my mind turned off. any tips to meaninglessly pass time? I was gonna try out outer wilds but not rn.

If there was lectures this week I could've atleast focused on that but there aren't any. And I probably would've skipped anyways if there was.

I really don't feel like downloading any of those apps back either.

 

[longtheriverrun]

Whenever I feel like that I just lie down until I fall asleep. Though, since I have a job now, I can only afford to stare blankly at a wall while I'm half-focused on my work. It's awful how much you need to force yourself to do even the tiniest things when you're alone and / or feel completely burnt out. Other than reading, playing some kind of easy RPG or a gacha game, that has some form of auto play mechanics, are probably among the most common things you can do to just turn off your brain and have 'something' to do. It really depends how empty you feel. Laying in bed all day was always my go-to for passing the time. If you're up for reading, I'd recommend Thomas Bernhard's 'The Loser'

 

[GlassMoon]

I would like to cordially invite you to the counting game, which I believe some of the participants play for similar reasons. Even without talking, it provides the nice feeling that someone is answering my posts and that I'm not alone, even when everything else feels too much. And oftentimes a little chat emerges between the players, continued alongside those numbers. I actually got to know some people here in this way.

 

[Saturn_]

Try downloading a mobile game, maybe? Not talking some shitty gacha game, but something with very simple, white noise gameplay for when you are exhausted and just want to lay down and kill time. Preferably something with no daily rewards, microtransactions or addictive incentive -- you're most likely best off paying like a buck or two for a good time waster without these pitfalls. I have a very simple free game on my phone called The Higher Lower Game, where you're given two search queries and try to guess which one gets more Google searches. No real strings attached, no "dark pattern." This site is very useful IME. https://www.darkpattern.games/

 

[BecomingTired]

Try downloading a mobile game, maybe? Not talking some shitty gacha game, but something with very simple, white noise gameplay for when you are exhausted and just want to lay down and kill time. Preferably something with no daily rewards, microtransactions or addictive incentive -- you're most likely best off paying like a buck or two for a good time waster without these pitfalls. I have a very simple free game on my phone called The Higher Lower Game, where you're given two search queries and try to guess which one gets more Google searches. No real strings attached, no "dark pattern." This site is very useful IME. https://www.darkpattern.games/

Hmm i will try this, most mobile games drain me too much to play with how dull and corporate they seem; thanks for the reply

 

[Saturn_]

Hmm i will try this, most mobile games drain me too much to play with how dull and corporate they seem; thanks for the reply

I understand that completely. I just kinda thought that's what you meant in your original post, just a nothing activity that requires no energy or mental fortitude like a book, or like you mentioned, a fully fledged game like Outer Wilds -- I suggested a mobile game because something simple and inane like that could replace the motion of picking up your phone and doomscrolling. Instead of your muscle memory causing you to pick up your phone and fill your head with negativity, you'd replace the subconscious motion by playing a game. I'm reminded of how smokers trying to quit often end up eating more, because they substitute using their hands to smoke with using their hands to pick up food. The goal isn't really to find an incredible game, but moreso just substitution. You could also try setting your phone's color scheme to grayscale to make it less visually interesting if you want to stay off social media, or something like this. I hope anything helps. I know how much it hurts to be glued to a feed of endless anxiety and hatred.

 

[BecomingTired]

I understand that completely. I just kinda thought that's what you meant in your original post, just a nothing activity that requires no energy or mental fortitude like a book, or like you mentioned, a fully fledged game like Outer Wilds -- I suggested a mobile game because something simple and inane like that could replace the motion of picking up your phone and doomscrolling. Instead of your muscle memory causing you to pick up your phone and fill your head with negativity, you'd replace the subconscious motion by playing a game. I'm reminded of how smokers trying to quit often end up eating more, because they substitute using their hands to smoke with using their hands to pick up food. The goal isn't really to find an incredible game, but moreso just substitution. You could also try setting your phone's color scheme to grayscale to make it less visually interesting if you want to stay off social media, or something like this. I hope anything helps. I know how much it hurts to be glued to a feed of endless anxiety and hatred.

This could genuinely work, genuinely thank you I'm not sure how much emotion I can convey over text but I really mean it when I say thank you; I'll try this right now.