What do you do to help you relax?

[Kolby Jack]

I dunno. I just... relax? I mean, I'm not saying I don't get stressed, but I don't get stressed by anonymous words on an internet page, that's for sure.

Basically, I live in a society where I can afford to be a slacker and still succeed as much as I care to. Some folks may take issue with that, but I'm happy and harmless, so I don't see a problem with it.

I do have bad days every now and then, but that's usually all they are: days. I just get them over with and move on.

I really hate explaining this to people, honestly, because I feel like they think I'm lying to myself. I'd ask what I could do to prove it, but then proving it isn't worth the effort, so I just let it slide.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

The GamersGate controversy stressed someone out? I mean, come on...it's beyond trivial.

In regards to the question, I just ignore stupid "controversies" like those threads. I don't even bother replying, let alone read more than I need to know what is going on. With that said, I then go play games that aren't stressful, like Banished, Team Fortress 2 or Beat Hazard. Either that, or start researching parts and tutorials for my Honda modification project.

My car is my child (since I don't want kids) so nothing makes me happier than making her prettier with new, clean parts and upgrades. :3

 

[Something Amyss]

I play video games (because, you know, it's possible to enjoy them and be critical of them). I listen to music. Depending on my mood it may be loud and violent, quiet and introspective or anything in between. Of late I've been listening to Aimee Mann's Christmas record, despite it being out of season, because it's got a common influence on me. I write. Sometimes I write blogs, sometimes I write fiction, sometimes I write angry venty crap. I play guitar or piano (Well, keyboard) poorly. I read.

And since I mentioned Aimee Mann, why not?

Spoiler: what's one more drifter in the snow?

You may as well be saying that you're losing sleep over the fact that some people eat cereal with water instead of milk.

Has anyone been threatened or mailed a syringe or doxed over their choice of cereal fluid?

Masturbate like it's no one's business... Oh wait, that's if I can't sleep and probably have insomnia...

I would think it was usually nobody else's business. Is it...Is it normally someone else's business?

 

[Dair1]

As a gamer through and through, my way of relaxing is either to play some of the games that I don't play as much as I should or play more of dota 2 and/or minecraft (depending on what mood hits me)

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Bit of phys. A cup of tea. And a book or some music.

That is normally what I do. If I am too angry/stressed to concentrate on a book or music then I will get the TV on and watch something light hearted. Some sitcom or another, or a sketch show. Some Black Books, Green Wing, Mitchell and Webb or Fry and Laurie. I am loving Jeeves and Wooster at the moment, so that would almost certainly go on!

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

This site (excepting GG threads, which make me more frustrated than relaxed so I avoid them these days), Pokemon and World of Tanks are my go to options these days. I should really start up another game but there's so much school to do right now. :/

 

[1Life0Continues]

My wife.

That woman has the ability to quell nearly any rage I find myself in.
She has a fantastic sense of humour, she's intelligent, tolerant and she plays games (sometimes).
I feel like I've stumbled into Nirvana.

But if you haven't got one of those, you could always try going outside.

I live in a rural town, so your mileage may vary, but I like to find a very quiet spot in the bushland and make a space where I can lay down and simply experience nature. It takes some getting used to, but after a while, you start to notice the things you miss every day. Like the sound of birds as they move through the trees; the susurration of the wind through the grass and trees. That kind of thing.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

I play some guitar. Works like a dream, because you get absorbed into playing and forget everything else.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Mount & Bland: Warband, with the Floris mod of course.

Whatever troubles you had to begin with, after cutting a bloody swathe through a force three times the size of your own, they will fade in the sweet glory of hard-won victory.

I really like M&B, you guys.

 

[FPLOON]

Masturbate like it's no one's business... Oh wait, that's if I can't sleep and probably have insomnia...

I would think it was usually nobody else's business. Is it...Is it normally someone else's business?

Only if they ask how long it lasted and/or how many times a day... Then again, I take those question really seriously...

 

[WhiteNachos]

Hit myself in the face.

No I'm not kidding, it makes me less stressful and has a nice "snap out of it" quality, like the bit in Airplane that they're mocking. I don't hit myself very hard though.

 

[A_Parked_Car]

I play games, read about military history, watch movies, listen to music. Really all typical forms of escapism that many people use to calm down (other than reading military history I guess).

 

[Kyrian007]

I find it hard to relax sometimes too. I work overnights (as a journalist so I'm apparently not an unbiased participant in the whole GG kerfuffle I'm told) but even though I've been 12a-8a for over a decade I'm not one of those people who can adjust well to daysleeping. Plus my last 3 (the hardest) hours are the rapid fire whole hour live news show. Even though I gave up caffeine... I still get all cranked up by the pace of those hours and having to be "on" and energetic for those hours.

So I get home and sleep is... difficult. I've tried:

1. Teas (orange/passion fruit green works the best but go slow or you will wake up having to whiz)
2. White Noise (honestly a fan is all you need)
3. Meditation (doesn't work for me... "clear your mind" I don't even understand how someone is supposed to shut off their mind, I can't)
4. Music (doesn't work, I wind up focusing on it)
5. Warm Milk (no kidding, I actually tried warm milk. Don't remember if I slept any better or longer, but the dutch-ovened gas lurking under my covers when I woke up could have killed a rhino)
6. (You?ll appreciate this one) Ponies (yes, on the recommendation of a fellow Escapist I actually tried pre-bedtime MLP. Surprisingly its oddly soothing and works fairly well. Although I'm not quite sure if its a compliment to a TV show that it "helps me go to sleep." Quantum Leap has a similar soporific effect on me as well)

But the best and most recent thing I've found (now that I'm a paragraph and a list in) and can recommend is ASMR. Just look it up on youtube. It's similar to trying different kinds of white noise, so if one "kind" doesn't help relax you there are several more to try. There's "role-plays" (my favorites are nerve exams,) tapping, whispers, chants, unintelligible sounds, nonsense (actual gibberish) whispers, and many more. The trick to it seems to be the use of a stereo mike (or as they put it a binaural microphone) to record the audio and wearing headphones (earbuds work better for me, I can still hear the ambient white noise of my fan) to listen to it. The actual "asmr effect" that they are trying to evoke is something that you kind of get de-sensitized to. But it?s still working well as a sleep-aid for me.

 

[Jazoni89]

Honestly...

Smoking weed, drinking tea (preferably earl grey), and listening to trippy 70's Progressive Rock albums on vinyl record, mostly at the same time.

Yeah, I relax in style.

 

[KenAri]

I played around with ASMR videos on Youtube for a while some months back. Those can be incredibly relaxing once you get over the slight strangeness of them. Worth a try if you have head/earphones.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I play video games to relax.

I enjoy turning up some zombie "Spookshow Baby" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWnv7QYDLoo and logggin into one of many pvp games I enjoy and killing every player I see for relaxation. Get in your zone, kick back and slaughter them. After a short while all the tension just fades away and you forgot what you were stressed about.

 

[Aesir23]

Like others have mentioned, I avoid anything GG related. Heck, I didn't even know it was happening until a couple of weeks ago.

For actual relaxation I generally play games, have a nice hot cup of coffee or tea, and wrap myself up in the fluffiest blanket I can find.

In terms of actually getting to sleep, that one's more difficult since I'm a bit of an insomniac. Generally I use one of those ambient noise machines, specifically the setting with the cricket sounds. I doubt it would work nearly as well if I hadn't stayed the long weekends at my grandparents' farm when I was younger.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

Wanking furiously whilst reading GamerGate Threads and stroking every time I see the letters; S, J and W[footnote] Secret Jello Wanking[/footnote] in that order, or the words for which they're referring... it hurts soooo much.

In all seriousness watching a comedy or something funny is always relaxing, or drawing... boobs. In regards to sleep, keep in mind drinking caffeine will keep you up, I'm always jonzing for my Coke Zero fix that sit up wondering why I can't sleep, milk I've heard helps you sleep easier... wanking as well.[footnote]inappropriate post is very inappropriate.[/footnote]

 

[Barbas]

I like to listen to classical music, particularly the vocal pieces. Some of those singers have incredible range and I'd pay good money just to sit in a room and listen to them fill the air with their sweet, ethereal voices.