underreacting

joined 9 months ago
[–] underreacting@literature.cafe 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Do you have coworkers you can try small talking with?

People generally like talking about themselves so if you practice asking good follow-up questions you will be able to have long conversations without having to say much yourself. The questions you ask need to be paired with your own enthusiasm though, to make people feel comfortable and confident to keep talking so they don't feel like they're boring you. And eventually to form real connections you need to open up as well and share to make the relationship more equal and let them know you. Hopefully you feel more comfortable talking by then.

Movies, novels, manga, going to the city, walking, people-watching, pets and family are easy topics to connect to others in conversation. Asking someone what they did this weekend or what they do for fun you can probably relate back to some of your own interests, you can mention something about your own preference and then ask follow-up. (-"What did you do this weekend?" -"Laundry, went shopping for presents, bowling, then just relaxed with a movie" -"was it a good movie? What kind of movies do you like?" Or "presents? What are you celebrating?" Or "bowling seems fun, but difficult! Do you go a lot?"). I try to keep small talk to 5-15 min depending on how engaged the other person seems to be, and end it with something positive like "I'd better get back to [work/person/activity], but it was nice talking to you".

Perhaps there is a cat shelter in the area that needs volunteers? Even if you can't bring a cat home you can clean out their habitat, drive them to their homes, wash towels, send out mail, and socialise the cats in the shelter... There's usually a need for any skill. And you can either do your tasks in silence or try to small talk with other people there.

[–] underreacting@literature.cafe 11 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Crying is okay. Being emotional is okay. Feeling lonely can be really hard.

I wonder if you feel it extra hard due to putting a lot of negative value into being lonely or emotional. Like, do you equate being alone with being a bad person or having failed in some way? A lot of us do. Try to untangle this and not consider loneliness a flaw. It's just a condition, like being cold or warm. It can be uncomfortable, that's it.

I feel lonely sometimes. When I do I read books, particularly fiction. In doing so I get to experience the characters lives and feelings and struggles, and I feel less alone. Riding my bike to the library and perusing my favourite sections or even staying for a read feels like I've done something worthwhile that day.

I have joined book clubs to discuss certain books, and come to appreciate literature where most of it went over my head before. There are clubs online and in person. I prefer in-person because I find it difficult to speak up on mic. Libraries are awesome. As are book/game/culture shops that may arrange themed clubs or events.

Some people with ADHD have trouble reading, audio books are a perfectly valid option. Or any other hobby or activity.

Being in nature is always good for mental health, as is animals. When I had time I volunteered at pet shelters. It feels good to do good. If you have an acquaintance with dogs you can ask if you may join them for a walk or hike next time/next weekend. It will give you a chance to go out and be in nature and spend time with another human. Even if you have nothing to talk about just walking and focusing on a dog and pointing out a strange flower or cool colour is enough. Being in silence in nature is healing. Wear good clothes.

I don't really notice a difference during the day, but I have noticed I have a harder time going to bed if I drink even soda with caffeine in it too late. Not that I don't feel tired but I don't get sleepy enough to realise it's time for bed. So I avoid caffeine after 15. Never noticed this before meds.

Second local low-level sport live events. Probably less ad-infested, and more in need of support. You can be the one die-hard fan of the Queensville Badgers, or Southdale Football Club, or whatever you find locally.

You can set it to update location every minute, hour, ten seconds etc. Then just check the app for last known location. I have excellent telecom coverage where I live, and it can ping for wifi networks as well as gps, so I have personally never lost signal as long as it's charged.

The frequent charging might be the biggest downside for tracking a bike, for my pet I can just do it every night when they stay indoors and don't need it.

[–] underreacting@literature.cafe 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

My pet tracker can be set up to only send location when asked for it. It uses a SIM card (pre paid), plus you can call it to listen to the surroundings or have it blink or make noise through the app.

The app requires the phone numbers of the people who are allowed to query the tracker.

I don't know what trackers are available in your country. I found several who had subscription-type deals to have the tracking actually work. I hate subscriptions, so will always choose to pay more upfront to control my usage and cost. It's a lot more expensive than any sort of air tag.

With the one I have I can delete the app after setup and only text the number to get gps-coordinates when I wish, but the app works great for my needs.

It also triangulates with WiFi etc to give a more accurate reading. All such settings can be changed in the app.

Can't speak for privacy aside from it can be set up to only send info when queried and only to preselected numbers. Kinda depends what you mean by privacy respecting.

It does need to charge (varies greatly depending on weather, queries, settings etc) often.

If you want a variety of fruits included fridge unfriendly ones:

Could you keep a bunch of fruit at work instead of bringing one each day?

Or keep a picture of fruit in the fridge with your lunch and trade it for the fruit when you pack your bag so you don't forget it?

I put it in the fridge to keep from overripening. Rarely buy underripe bananas.

[–] underreacting@literature.cafe 1 points 2 months ago

Exactly! Lol.

Maybe more like "be of an appropriate age". I don't mind a fling or two with people on the extreme ends of appropriate age-range, but recently everyone I connect with seem to be at least ten years younger than me. It's like my city had a purge of people of my age and I just slept through it.

[–] underreacting@literature.cafe 10 points 2 months ago (2 children)

An immune system capable of dealing with my pets.

Living nearby.

A positive attitude or at least a attempting to improve on things that bother them in their life.

Age.

[–] underreacting@literature.cafe 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

What do you do if you realise you're just arguing in circles and nothing will be solved by continuing discussing that topic?

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