What do you do for ants in your pants?

[phuckbunny]

Guys and gals. I've been having major anxiety attacks the past two days b/c I haven't been going to the office so all I've been doing is porn blogging, researching, trying to figure out/set up some mainstream blogs, etc etc, point is, I've been GLUED to the computer and when that happens I start getting a little crazy. So what do you all do to break up the routine?

I know Bill and Hammer are in sunny Florida so they can probably do stuff like go outside for a dip anytime of year either in the ocean or the pool. No dice here in sunny smoggy SoCal. The ocean is freezing cold and dirty, plus we're not even close to it and we live in a declasse apt bldg with no gym or pool. I'm not really into sport, but I like golf, tennis, and swimming, all of those apart from the latter take a commitment... You can't bike in LA either unless you're asking for certain death...

What do you guys who work on the PC for most of the day do to let off some steam and what not? I guess I could just stop and go for a walk but I feel drawn back to the computer almost instantenously. When I have the day to work on my sites, I find myself eating my breakfast and lunch in front of the screen. It doesn't help that I have an addictive personality, type 1 diabetes (the one where you have to stick needles in yourself several times a day), a fondness for merlot and wild turkey and probably some form of ADHD!

And what happens is, I feel like there is so much more I can do to succeed but I end up being a bundle of nerves and a scatterbrained fool!!!

Aaargh! Should I just put on some running shoes right now and sprint around the ghetto?

[mynameisjim]

You definitely have to take breaks. As for me, there's an indoor skate park and an indoor BMX track all within an hour of me so I can almost always blow off some steam a few times during the week even in the winter. If it wasn't for that I'd go nuts.

As for how to calm down when your mind starts to race I usually turn everything off and sit in a comfortable chair and use some relaxation techniques. All you do is focus on your breathing, don't change it or slow it down, just focus on each breath as you inhale and exhale. You'd be surprised but after a few minutes you feel all the random thoughts in her head quite down and you can really start to concentrate. The breathing thing is actually a meditation but I don't get all new age crazy, just 5 or 10 minutes and I'm relaxed and recharged. It's a great cure for that "scatterbrain" feeling you get when you have a million ideas but can't seem to get anything started.

[theviking]

Drink whisky.

[porn punk]

Oh, come on, phuckbunny! We're in LA. This is the last place you have to find things to do. It finds you. The biggest problem here is what you alluded to, "getting back to your computer to get something done" and being in any type of condition to do that

[balls_deep]

Guitar Hero III

you will be glued to the tube for hours.

[porn punk]

Originally posted by balls_deep
Guitar Hero III

you will be glued to the tube for hours.

OH, FUCK! Then you'll never get anything done! I was a GTA junky all the way through to San Andreas!

Video games are bad news. They should have some AA type groups for that stuff

[Hammer]

Get a couple kids. Believe me, they'll give you plenty of reasons to get away from the computer.

P.S. I'm typing this on my laptop sitting outside by the pool and enjoying the sun and watching the girls swim. Even in sunny Florida the pool water is a bit cool this time of year but that's what pool heaters are for.

Sorry, did that last part seem like I was rubbing it in?

[mynameisjim]

Hammer, so you want everybody to hate you?

As for Guitar Hero an video games, they are so good these days you can lose hours with those things. Anybody play COD 4...it's awesome!

[odysseus]

I like to work out to get myself on track. Getting the blood flowing to my head is important. Keeps me focused for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I've been cycling through all the various colds the kids have been bringing home from school for the past 2 weeks, and have aggravated old injuries in my shoulder and wrist (my arm is currently in a sling and it's making work a bitch too), so I'll probably just play video games and eat mass quantities of ramen noodles today.

[sunfunbill]

Sorry to hear your laid up buddy. I have a shoulder strain I got back when I was a courier, still not right. To clear my head I go out jogging, or maybe drive out to get a coffee.

[odysseus]

Originally posted by sunfunbill
Sorry to hear your laid up buddy. I have a shoulder strain I got back when I was a courier, still not right. To clear my head I go out jogging, or maybe drive out to get a coffee.

Yeah, any problem with a major joint in the body sucks. I tore my coracoclavicular ligament in each shoulder a few years ago. About 2 or 3 times a year it will spontaneously flare up on me and render my arm immobile for a couple days. The weight training I've been doing lately seems to have served to decrease the duration and intensity of it though, so that's cool. It feels like I'll only be in the sling for a day or 2 this time instead of half a week or so.

Phuckbunny, have you ever tried a cardio kickboxing class or anything like that? I do martial arts and nothing makes me settle down like really going off pounding the crap out of something. It's very good for the brain, IMO.

[anotherF]

I play rugby, nothing like getting the shit kicked out of you then having a bath with 14 team mates to brake up the week

[phuckbunny]

Wow. Thanks for all the advice everyone. (Sorry, Hammer, you weren't rubbing it in. I was swimming in a heated pool Thanksgiving weekend. )
I guess the major point is to take breaks, let off some steam... Maybe yoga... Kickboxing sounds good actually!

Video games are a big no-no. I'd be glued to that all day and never get anything done.

Cabin fever is a big problem. Gotta get out of the house more and that's just what I'm doing today and tomorrow!

[sbdallas]

Ask your doctor to give you Zyprexa. It'll make you gain weight, but you won't have anxiety problems anymore. I don't.

[phuckbunny]

Thx but I'm not really into prescriptions or chemicals. One Xanax once in a couple of months when I'm REALLY stressing but usually bourbon, melatonin, and insulin are my regular meds (not at the same time and not at the same time of day, of course).

[Teebs]

Drink beer, smoke a joint and make plans to move to Costa Rica

[Hammer]

Zyprexa is for schizophrenics and people with bipolar disorder not for anxiety.

Of course this thread wasn't about anxiety anyway, she was simply asking what we do to relax.

[RachiRach]

Heh, sometimes I get to the point where I think my head is about to explode.

I have a Yoga DVD by a guy called Keisen. It has saved me a few times. Excellent for people like us who are hunched over a computer for long hours at a time, you also focus on your breathing and this is good too, for a break from techie stuff.

I have started swimming and running when it is not so cold.

Kids, yep, they help too.

[odysseus]

Yoga is good for you. After my first yoga class, when I couldn't get into any of the positions and was sweating harder than the karate class I just finished, I had a whole new respect for it. Can't call yoga guys sissies anymore, lol.

[RachiRach]

and you keep floating for a few hours after too....