Help Running out of copes, what else is there?

[KillingPain267]

I did drugs, alcohol, video games, movies, delicious foods and learning philosophies. It's getting boring, so what else is there? No sports please, it gives me physical pain.

 

[Redacted24]

How about art or learning an instrument?
I personally like sitting looking at nature, even if it's just squirrels.

Others?

 

[supremelimbo]

I've started drawing everyday for several hours. I'm also learning a language. It gives a tiny bit of motivation and eats up a lot of my time.

 

[BeansOfRequirement]

I can't recommend meditation strongly enough. There are many kinds and you can try different things and see what works for you. For me when I started doing it daily it took about one-two months of just a fairly poorly executed basic breath focus thing 30 min per day to start seeing powerful results. Another person also started doing it and noticed very similar results also after around 1-2 months of daily half an hour sitting meditation (but we used different techniques). If 30 is too much or too little you can of course select the time you wish and/or do informal practice like maybe meditating to music or whatever else you can come up with to start, or meditating whilst walking.

I had a debt/score system where if I missed a day I'd then have to do two (miss another, two "in debt", etc) another day. Worked to stay consistent with it for me. Shinzen Young has laid out options and explanations in Youtube videos and free texts available online about various kinds of mediation and a lot more. Guided meditations feel like a natural place to start and get inspiration, too. Also apps and whatnot exist for mediation.

 

[timf]

As has been mentioned there are a variety of activities that can be pursued to help cope. When these begin to approach boredom, they can be switched out. There s another category of activity that adds an dimension that is volunteer work. In the Army if you are facing something difficult, you can shout out encouragement to someone else and get a boost yourself. In a way getting a chance to take yourself out of yourself can be a respite