[HN Gopher] Get the Funk Out
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       Get the Funk Out
        
       Author : bgoldste
       Score  : 35 points
       Date   : 2025-01-05 18:07 UTC (4 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (lessheavy.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (lessheavy.substack.com)
        
       | n4r9 wrote:
       | This feels similar to the idea behind cognitive behavioural
       | therapy. Some psychological conditions can be greatly improved by
       | a deliberate and gradual process of re-training how one thinks
       | about things.
        
       | meonkeys wrote:
       | Clever trick!
       | 
       | Pair that with talking with someone to reflect on if/how it
       | worked to make it an even stronger funk-escape method.
        
       | jkolio wrote:
       | What if you want the funk? Need the funk? Gotta have that funk?
       | 
       | On a more serious note: "wash your bowl, but upside down (because
       | you'll notice the creator's stamp on the bottom, who'll you'll
       | look up, meet, and make a friend or something)," seems to be the
       | gist. He says to change your thinking, but it's notable that
       | these kinds of interventions put you _back_ into the world, with
       | it 's myriad opportunities, rather than inside your head and
       | zombie routine, where everything is set. It's mindfulness.
        
       | leptons wrote:
       | > my workdays began by looking in my closet for my cleanest dirty
       | shirt.
       | 
       | When I catch my wife doing this (it's rare), I call it "fashion
       | raccooning".
        
       | alexjplant wrote:
       | ...and nary a mention of Extreme [1] or The Brothers Johnson [2].
       | 
       | [1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=IqP76XWHQI0 [2]
       | https://youtube.com/watch?v=huzYji2OAD4
        
         | cloud8421 wrote:
         | What an album Pornograffitti!
        
       | kaycebasques wrote:
       | Came to the comments ready to mention that laundromat in SF. Very
       | happy to see an image of it in the post!
        
       | frausto wrote:
       | As someone who struggles with cycles of depression, but let's
       | call it funk, I relate to the downward behavioral and thought
       | spiral it can put you inside. Yet, inevitably, I DO get out of
       | it. For me, it's been a combination of things, largely changes in
       | the external environment that force internal action. I tried
       | medication and eventually (after a painfully long time trying to
       | find the right "fit") found some combination that got me through.
       | But I didn't like what it did to my thoughts and, more
       | importantly, to my perception of the world. Not to mention the
       | physical side effects (including headaches, fogginess, and
       | nausea), depression medication, as prescribed by psychiatrists,
       | made me feel inevitably less ME. I did not like that. I do not
       | like that.
       | 
       | So what did work?
       | 
       | When I was younger, I "solved" the issue by moving. I would move
       | cities, move apartments, move jobs, and so on and so forth. And
       | that worked! Such significant external changes forced a coming
       | out of sorts, forced me into action that kicked me out of my
       | spiral. It also lead to new experiences and a lot of learning!
       | Great for young me. But as I get older and have more
       | responsibility and weight outside of myself in my life (now
       | including wife, children, dog, and house), I cannot in good
       | conscience keep doing the same.
       | 
       | I know how this may come off, but I did try micro-dosing more
       | recently and found it supremely helpful, not as a long-term
       | solution, certainly not as a means to enhance my ability to
       | achieve more in any particular task, but supremely helpful in
       | terms of kicking me out of a vicious and unrelenting downward
       | spiral. Enough to find my footing and make my way out, replacing
       | it for a more upward trajectory. Once footing is found, I can
       | stop and, on my own, work my way up. The last time I did this was
       | several years back, and we'll see how the cycles go from here.
       | 
       | All that to say I have found no perfect solution. I still search,
       | though not as desperately as before. And time, more than
       | anything, has its sway.
       | 
       | Why write this? Perhaps I'm just feeling introspective in the new
       | year.
        
         | soulofmischief wrote:
         | Thoroughly relatable.
         | 
         | It's hard to explain to people who only get sad what real
         | depression can do. In my case exacerbated by childhood/early
         | adulthood trauma and homelessness, as well as ADHD, bipolar
         | type II, and tourettic OCD. Some insensitive people who think
         | they are smarter than health researchers think that's just a
         | string of labels, but anyone actually suffering from those
         | afflictions understands that they are typically comorbid and
         | can have aassive effect on the range of highs and lows
         | experienced in just five minutes, much less a day or week.
         | 
         | My sister tried killing herself twice in the last two years.
         | That situation financially drained me during a time when I'd
         | just been forced out of a CTO position during a hostile
         | takeover, and, among other circumstances, caused me to
         | completely crash out. I stopped talking to everyone, dropped a
         | lot of responsibilities and hobbies, and just retreated to my
         | comforts for a year. Hardest wave of depression I've had since
         | I was a child getting beaten regularly, or a young adult having
         | immense existential crises around my future prospects.
         | 
         | I can already tell that it will take a dew years to become
         | normal again. Just hoping this was my early midlife crisis and
         | that things will cruise from here for a while.
         | 
         | I wish you the best, and my email inbox is always open if you
         | want to chat.
        
       | joshdavham wrote:
       | This sort of technique worked really well for me in my first
       | semester of uni. I was stuck in a funk and tried many things
       | (even including stuff like cold showers). What really worked was
       | just changing my thinking. I consciously decided that I'd stop
       | feeling sorry for myself and that I wouldn't blame my
       | surroundings or others for bad things. It worked wonders at the
       | time.
        
       | keybored wrote:
       | My apartment is a no-guest-zone.
        
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