aekis projects
thermonuclear small claimsHelpful advice.
LZonjee - Antifa 🍋🍉🦀🔻@fullfathomfive and furthermore, stop using rats etc for that but use people.
drmorr@fullfathomfive @Ch1po I don't think inducing learned helplessness in people by repeatedly giving them frustrating and impossible tasks all for the sake of a scientific experiment is ethically sound.
Naughtylus 
@drmorr @Ch1po I think there are ways to do this without designed experiments at all, e.g. through observation.
We know from later studies in humans that Seligman's theory of learned helplessness (which was developed through experimentation in dogs) is quite simplistic anyway. Learned helplessness is much more complex in humans. It's not always global. We can have learned helplessness in one area of our lives but be active in others.
Ugh (“ugh”)
Glitch@fullfathomfive in DBT this is referred to as Building Mastery. And it’s very helpful.
Autoerotic Defenestration@fullfathomfive I once read about a knitting soldier in Iraq / Afghanistan(?) who said that if you're getting drowned in the "same shit, same day" feeling, the visible progress on their knitting is a reminder that it is the same shit on a *different* day.
Ra@fullfathomfive And that, dear reader, is how so many stories are never truly written. ('86...)
The Animal and the Machine@fullfathomfive @aleen
Knitting, Zelda, D&D, and in fact any absorbing hobby can help with existential dread. Our brains don’t have unlimited bandwidth and using it up on fun is better than spending it on discomfort.
As multicellular organisms, cells learned to communicate with chemicals and the brain evolved on top of this, plugging into this. Dread leads less desirable things. Tea, with antioxidants adds some cleaning up chems and knitting 🧶, or a bit of D&D, turns off the negative tap and is genuinely restorative.
It’s good for you.
Stormy Dragon 
Okay, but I don't think you realize how many corporate trauma flashbacks "no one can move you to your cheese but you" is likely to cause in any gen-x followers you have...
@StormyDragon Oh wow, I'd never heard of this book before! I read the wikipedia summary and it sounds awful.
Strider Uwe 🇺🇦🇨🇦🇲🇽@fullfathomfive baking bread is good that way, too.
Aerliss@fullfathomfive one of the reasons I prefer making amigurumi to blankets and shawls is I can get that nice hormone boost from completion within a few sessions, a few weeks tops. Blankets and such take months and progress can be hard to see in granny square blankets. Sure, I've made a huge pile of squares but I've still got the daunting task of sewing them together. Eugh.
@Aerliss Amigurumi sounds so cool! What's a good place to learn how to do it?
@fullfathomfive @fullfathomfive if you can already crochet but aren't used to working "in the round" check out Club Crochet. Really well done tutorials and simple, quick things to make. This was the first proper thing I ever made; https://youtu.be/FghEYGlfe9c?si=hoyRbN-40ncepPu1
If you've never picked up a crochet hook in your life Club Crochet is probably also a good start. Iirc he has good beginner tutorials. Link to his site in the YT description.
How to Crochet a Triceratops Dinosaur || Amigurumi Pattern Tutorial
@fullfathomfive There are lots of good YTers with beginners tutorials. I started by doing lots of chains until I was happy. Then lots of squares with starting with the most basic stitch and moving up in complexity. For amigurumi though, you rarely need more than some basic stitches. Once you can comfortable crochet and understand what the shorthand terms mean just find a pattern for something you want to make and jump right in.
@fullfathomfive Ami Amor, Elise Rose Crochet, and Gratia Project have some good YT videos that are a step or two up from absolute beginner. Skein Spider is a fun one to follow. But there are So. Many.
Amigurumi are cute and fun, and can be very simple or really complex and stunning. When I'm feeling a bit meh & just want to MAKE something but don't know what, I crochet a little hedgehog or a chicken. Quick, little sewing, they look so cute & I can be creative with the colours with little effort
chuchudachuI’d like to add, it’s ok to rest, being lazy, doing nothing!
Actually I try hard being lazy without feeling guilt. I wonder how many share this same feeling!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_to_Be_Lazy?wprov=sfti1
Kevin RussellTop notch post. Top notch, top stitch.
Sax Brightwell 🇨🇦@fullfathomfive This is one of the big perks of working in healthcare.
new acct: @This is excellent advice.
20+ years ago I was spiraling down, depressed after the death of my father and overwhelmed with helping my mother adjust.
A therapist co-worker told me to set aside 20 minutes every day to grieve, however I wanted--crying/ writing/talking to my father, whatever. But when the 20 minute timer went off, I had to get up and do an activity that accomplished something--fold clothes, sweep the kitchen, paint a watercolor, pull weeds--anything that made an actual difference in my surroundings. That was the best suggestion for me, within a few days, I was more able to regulate my grief and begin to move forward.
@FiddleSix That's such great advice from your co-worker. Making space to grieve while also moving through the feeling of helplessness.
Rage Rumbles 🏴☠️🫂 🔞@fullfathomfive What use is a warm foot in a meaningless existence?
José CastroThis is an awesome illustration of the principles behind behavioral therapy.