An angst thread

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I have bouts of angst, which probably won't surprise anyone. I am interested in hearing how people deal with their own bouts, arising for whatever reasons (which need not be stated here).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 6 October 2003 23:52 (twenty-three years ago)

naps, reading, long walks and AC/DC '74-'79.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:15 (twenty-three years ago)

i try to contemplate the meaningless of my own life. put it in perspective. a healthy dose of nihilism is good for you!

this is admittedly an extreme reaction but i get extreme anxiety sometimes.

― ryan (ryan), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:16 (twenty-three years ago)

drink. smoke. act disgusted and anti-social. curse loudly. and finally maybe honk the horn or start punching the armrest.

― TOMBOT, Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:25 (twenty-three years ago)

move across the country.

― Nellie (nellskies), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:27 (twenty-three years ago)

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf500/f530/f53056ig9ta.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc300/c366/c36614xr32w.jpg

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Bad ways I deal with angst: drink, smoke, whine on LJ (and regret/delete it the next day)

Good ways: of all things, cooking. Theres something theraputic about thwapping a steak to tenderise it, or chopping shit up with knives. You get out all the cranky, and you feel good about the meal you made afterwards!

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Long walks only do me good in this situation if the angst is of my own device; otherwise it's just plain too much time to think and dwell and stew.

Speaking of stew ... what I do is cook, a lot of times, and watch movies I used to know by heart but haven't watched in a long time, and read books by favorite authors -- especially if they're books I haven't read before.

― Tep (ktepi), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Punching walls.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Traveling seems to help, whether on a train (if you're in a city) or by walking; other help includes music and coffee. Often I put them together - I go for a long walk down an uncrowded street with my walkman to a good coffee house. By the time I finish my cup and start to head back I'm usually feeling much better.

― calstars (calstars), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Cleaning.

― adaml (adaml), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 00:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Sleeping, especially on the couch, especially when I should be at work. Fuck-off therapy.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

bad ways: drinking, drugging, casual sex.

better ways: watching giant (or any other familiar movie like tep says), chatting, sewing.

― A Girl Named Sam (thatgirl), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I breathe deeply, try to figure out what's bugging me, and try to do something to take care of that. But that assumes that I can figure out what's eating me, or that I can can do something decisive to resolve it. If that's the case, I tend to start looking for something to eat or drink, which is not as healthy a coping mechanism.

― j.lu (j.lu), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 01:05 (twenty-three years ago)

I mostly don't.

― Nicolars (Nicole), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 01:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Long, aimless drives with the windows down. At night especially it helps to get into the open air, like parks or fields, where I can watch the sky and not be bothered. Sometimes if I'm lucky I can channel it all into a piece of writing, and even if it's shit I can breathe and feel better that it's outside of me. That's not always possible, though.

― abree b (abreebb), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 01:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Driving is wonderful. I drove about an hour and a half by myself to a wedding this weekend. Not too long but enough to make me yearn for the open road.

― A Girl Named Sam (thatgirl), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 01:32 (twenty-three years ago)

what's even better is doing this to Roy Orbison's "I Drove All Night"

and then to Cyndi Lauper's version of that song.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 02:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Piano Magic is proving surprisingly efficacious.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 02:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Banging 4-square techno, kick drum so heavy it becomes the bassline as well, all drums, no melody, no structural development, no feel, funk or emotion. Total headache music. Bye-bye angst.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 02:16 (twenty-three years ago)

TOMBOT OTM. Not pretending to be okay can work wonders.

― Aaron A., Tuesday, 7 October 2003 03:32 (twenty-three years ago)

cooking.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 03:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Banging 4-square techno, kick drum so heavy it becomes the bassline as well, all drums, no melody, no structural development, no feel, funk or emotion. Total headache music. Bye-bye angst.

I own some latter-day Tresor compilations myself. Now I have an excuse!

― TOMBOT, Tuesday, 7 October 2003 08:02 (twenty-three years ago)

I sit down and remember how much, much worse everything was 5 years ago - maybe read stuff I've written from those earlier times - and then feel better and happy that I'm still alive today

The I watch some skinemax porn

― Vic (Vic), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 08:55 (twenty-three years ago)

I really don't know. Just carry on until it goes away, and try not to let the episodes of hate, futility, fatigue and nausea get too long or too deep.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 10:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Being with real live people is often very good though.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 10:48 (twenty-three years ago)

If not for all the drums I bang on and all the very loud noise I make with my lungs and mouth and throat I would've killed someone by now.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 12:25 (twenty-three years ago)

whip it, whip it good

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 12:35 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm not usually an angsty person, so when I get angsty, it usually just means I need more sleep. The only problem is that I am virulently anti-nap, so this usually means I remain generally angtsy until the end of the day when I go to sleep.

― NA (Nick A.), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 13:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Sleep helps, but I don't deal with angst very well. My post upthread was not meant to be flip.

― Nicolars (Nicole), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 13:28 (twenty-three years ago)

I like to envision Ned going home after work immediately today, angsting out, then remembering this thread and going on a walk in the OC, taking a nap at the park, and masturbating himself into a whipped cream before coming back on here tommorrow and telling us how all our suggestions for de-angsting so totally DID NOT work!

― Vic (Vic), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 13:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Sleep helps, but I don't deal with angst very well. My post upthread was not meant to be flip.

Fret not, it wasn't taken as such (and I've enjoyed the range of responses -- sometimes it seems it's as simple as forcing yourself to walk around a bit). I was in a somewhat black mood last night and I did need to post something on the subject so as to help me put it in context.

Vic's vision is intriguing but not going to happen, unless you equate my going to vote in this election after work today with masturbating myself into a whipped cream.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:19 (twenty-three years ago)

being forced to vote in this election which shouldn't be happening in the first place = we're screwing ourselves!!! so yes!

― Vic (Vic), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, I would imagine that it's fun for awhile, but then leaves you feeling empty and kind of sad. And it involves grotesquely muscled, oiled-up men and black midgets.

― NA (Nick A.), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:25 (twenty-three years ago)

What about grotesquely muscled black midgets?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:29 (twenty-three years ago)

have a couple glasses of wine and dance to loud music in your living room! Gets the endorphins going and it's fun! Also I read, go for a walk in a crowded area (for some reason other people around is a pleasant distraction if I don't have to actually talk to them), knit, nap, cook.

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:38 (twenty-three years ago)

for some reason other people around is a pleasant distraction if I don't have to actually talk to them

Now this is something I can sympathize with. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Watch something fun on TV. Simpsons episodes are best, if you have any you haven't seen a dozen times already. Today I bought, in the HMV sale, a box set of Barton Fink, Hudsucker Proxy and The Big Lebowski for £3.99 the three, and they might help too.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 16:03 (twenty-three years ago)

note: do NOT do a google search for "dwarf body builders."

you probably will not like what you find.

or maybe you will, but i wouldn't recommend doing so at work.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 16:24 (twenty-three years ago)

I think hangovers cure angst.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 16:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Painting or going to the park or something like that.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 18:19 (twenty-three years ago)

I think hangovers cure angst.

They cause more than they cure.

Ways of curing my angst: grabbing mucho understanding mates and just talking/writing it out. Otherwise, turning on the music and trying to lose myself in a good book...or two...or three. Last resort: watching B&W movies

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 18:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Doing the bills was surprisingly effective today (and they weren't even overdue or anything! Just the act of getting stuff done)

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 18:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Wahey! Nothing like having financial control over the bills to cure bad feeling

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Constructive method: extremely vigorous exercise. Running fast for as long as possible. Lifting weights.

Not-so-constructive-method-actually: going somewhere, anywhere. Could be Paris, could be Home Depot. The problem is, movement does not necessarily equal progress.

Comparative method: Read CNN.com and see that other people have it much worse. cf:
Fake doctor charged in castration case
Tuesday, October 7, 2003 Posted: 10:17 AM EDT (1417 GMT)

Doug Lenhart

McKEESPORT, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A man who police say posed as a doctor and castrated a transgendered woman at her request was ordered Monday to stand trial for aggravated assault.

― Skottie, Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:19 (twenty-three years ago)

Constructive method: extremely vigorous exercise. Running fast for as long as possible. Lifting weights.

Now wait, the world already has one Henry Rollins. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Constructive method: extremely vigorous exercise. Running fast for as long as possible. Lifting weights. Getting another tattoo, this time on my eyelid. Organizing a poetry slam, then locking all the doors and beating people with folding metal chairs.

Got Angst?

― HankRollins, Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:30 (twenty-three years ago)

The news is full of angst-producing stories of angst-afflicted people today!

Angry Moroccan teacher throws pupils out of window
Monday, October 6, 2003 Posted: 7:33 PM EDT (2333 GMT)

RABAT, Morocco (Reuters) -- Two Moroccan schoolboys were injured Monday when their teacher threw them out of a first floor classroom window for being too noisy, an Education Ministry official said.

― Skottie, Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:33 (twenty-three years ago)

I think we've all felt that way.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:35 (twenty-three years ago)

Especially on the "I HATE THIS GENERATION" Thread/C/D Thread!!!!!!!!

― Skottie, Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:37 (twenty-three years ago)

I threw six kids out the window today. I'm on the second floor.

― A Girl Named Sam (thatgirl), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 20:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Ha, so no chance of litigation? Smart.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 20:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Stare at the ocean.
It reminds me how small and stupid my angst is, and that ultimately it doesn't matter.

― Orbit (Orbit), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 22:32 (twenty-three years ago)

I have a short attention span when it comes to angst. I'd rather think about things that make me happy. Which is not to say that the angst doesn't matter. Sometimes it does, sometimes it's just over something insignificant, but it's boring and annoying to keep angsting over one particular thing. A little goes a long way; you don't have to remind yourself you're angry every 20 minutes.

― Annouschka Magnatech (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 22:59 (twenty-three years ago)

I think hangovers cure angst.
They cause more than they cure.

well, I was thinking that I have angst, I get drunk, and then the next day the hangover makes reality really and specifically painful - as opposed to the decentered discomfort and general unease of angst.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 23:08 (twenty-three years ago)

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