It’s going to be a cracker of a weekend, try getting out and being part of it.

TBH I distance myself from pretty much everything. Good or bad, if I didn’t cause it then it is just scenery.

It’s not all bad on here. There’s a thread about someone finding a pump at Cannock.

Some good advice on here but…
I’m not entirely sure completely avoiding all negativity in your life is such a productive move. If you remove all negativity from your everyday life, how are you likely to react if something more severe happens to you? If something as trivial as a news story or some rubbish on social media makes your head spin, anything more troubling is going to push you over the edge.
Without wanting to get to deeply into psycho-babble, it’s easy to choose what to care or not care about based on your life values and act accordingly.
I’d certainly recommend ‘The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A ****’ by Mark Manson. It’s a refreshingly different take on the problems faced by modern society and how to deal with them.

The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A ****’

Agreed at work two of us just refer to “Apply the book” no one has a clue what we mean, but we do and apply it…..

Second staying off Mail Online, that site needs to be regulated.
Today they have a photo of a lady moments before she plunged to her death – complete clickbait sensationalism.

….and if by accident you should stray into the mail online – NEVER EVER read the comments section.

I felt a bike like you recently. All sorts of reasons but the one thing that has made a big difference to me is getting more early nights than late ones. Tiredness ruins me for everyone – and too much to drink, even when I sleep quite a lot, still leaves me tired in the morning. Find a good excuse to get to bed much, much earlier than usual even just for a couple of days and it’s been a positive feedback loop.

The other thing is I’ve stopped commenting on anything on facebook that is not a photo of family. It’s not worth it. You’ll never win, you’ll never change anyone’s mind so just take a step back and every time you want to read something spend the time sending an SMS/WhatsApp to someone you love, care about or miss. Sounds trite, sorry for that, but it’s better (and it feels better) than trying to convince randoms on the internet that they’re wrong and you’re right, no matter what the subject it.

Good luck.

I sometimes like to find a “project” to occupy my mind for a good while if I’m feeling under pressure – this could be anything from building or fixing a bike to watching a box set or reading a book. It never involves the internet…

Feel similar some times, packed the news in a few years ago…I realised I was taking in all this horrible info at key parts of my day. It ultimately made me angry. Got the audiable app and share it with some colleagues. We all add personal development books, spiritual, classics, business. I can listen to 1 hour of great stuff each day. People say why do you keep listening to the same stuff over again…but for me, if I don’t I forget and slip into negative ways. Love stuff like…power of now, jorden Peterson’s 12 rules, books about the law of attraction, I hear new stuff in all the books each time i listen. Also started to dabble with a program called cold turkey that can limit and manage internet usage. Also dabbled with the headspace app last year which is a brilliant meditation app. I made a vision board, I pull the particular quotes from all these books that resonate with me and put them on the board. This is a great tool to help me remember the kind of things I would like to improve or be. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel fu#ked most the time..but occasionally I remember something I have read which helps me deal or understand something (as opposed to slipping into some shittty default mode). I actually realised something huge (for me) all these books I love seem to either come from Christianity or eastern spirituality…Which is ironic because I was a self acclaimed angry atheist.

Forgot to say, I listen to audiable on my drive to work.

Our news culture is based on the concepts of demoralisation and morbid curiosity. It is all about the ratings, not providing a truthful view of the world.
Things which I prefer to do are:
– volunteering – this literally gives you a high which lasts with no hangover
– cycling – anything with natural flow
– talking with like-minded people (I emphasise like-minded)
– taking heart from the wisdom of the ancients (this too shall pass, etc) and religions at their most spiritual and mystical
– and if all else fails, listen to van morrison

I think age has something to do with it a bit, i find as I get older I’m less tolerant of things but get frustrated that I don’t think I’m able to change anything or have the energy to do anything about it.

Nearly 20 years ago I used to run a coffee newspaper shop on a train station, inbetween the mad rushes of commuters I used to read the papers and found myself getting depressed and wound up by them, I vowed never to buy a paper again. But as mentioned now we get all the stuff on the internet and news channels, best avoided!

I also find that when I’m feeling down, like now due to work problems, I tend to seek or find out more nihilistic things which just seems to help the downward spiral. I think recognising that and making an effort to reverse it is key.

Ride a bike, sunshine, walk dog, talk about positive things to loved ones, get stuff off your chest if possible, drop the alcohol (unless it’s a nice pint with some mates that make you laugh), watch comedy, listen to music that makes you feel good – when I listen to old U2, War, Under a Blood Red Sky I feel like I’m 20 again, see the good in your life.

I find myself avoiding negativity a lot these days. It’s one of the reasons I avoid a lot of contentious threads here – certainly more than I used to.

I don’t have the energy or will to deal with it and it gets me down.

to distance myself from negativity, i really need to leave home. Wife a pain, children are a nightmare currently, house is still a long way from sorting, driveway needs replacing, hate our stairwell, garden needs major works im starting to enjoy working away from home and hate returning.

Go out into the countryside, away from people, enjoy nature and marvel at its beauty. Sit outside and admire a really good night sky once in a while. Cook and eat some healthy home made food and stay away from all that processed fast food shit.

That, and all the other great advice above.

Potter about your garden – spent most of the last two days doing bits and bobs outside, despite rushing one of the cats to ‘hospital’ (she’s back home after a night).

sold a bike yesterday, trying to unclutter my life.
went out with life long friends, had a good time
walked the dog with my wife today, something we rarely do together, i am usually on the bike, or too knackered from riding every day.
not seen any news since i started my thread.

Can sympathise..
Was getting all wound up at work for a few months, lots of change, most imo not for the best (40yrs experience etc)
So jacked it in!!!!!
At an age an with a pension I can do so…
MrsT has done the same, civil service waste, ineptitude and mismanagement was getting to her. The general public has no idea how much money government/civil service (any persuasion)wastes.
Today I rode my bike for 3hrs or so, had lunch with Mrs and 2 grandkids before taking them for a walk in the forest for 2hrs, then dinner before taking them back to mum….
Awesome day to end the first week of retirement

You win Trekster! Congrats on the retirement.

You can’t realistically avoid everything negative in your life / the world. That’s not how life is. What you can do is look at the way you deal with stuff and make efforts to focus elsewhere.

I’d argue that as a sentient member of a democratic society, you can’t live in a bubble. You actually owe a duty of care the people around you to engage positively with what’s happening around you and, in some small way, do something about it.

That might mean, say, volunteering for your local foodbank rather than just being appalled that it’s needed. Or making a small political gesture, donation, time contribution to something you believe in. Or look at something like mindfulness as a way of being more accepting of the world. Just trying to avoid bad things, beyond a certain point, doesn’t seem like a realistic strategy even though it’s understandable in a ‘fingers in the ears, la, la ,la, just stop it and go away’ sort of style.

I’m not saying you should wallow in the negative and seek out bad news, but maybe there are ways of dealing the frustrating things in the world that you do inevitably encounter in a more positive way?

Well anyone else feel a whole better for a bit of sunshine…?

Two good four hour rides over the weekend in the sun and i feel a whole lot better. I wonder if there is anything in this SAD thing?

Went surfing so yeah, feel good man.

The general public has no idea how much money government/civil service (any persuasion)wastes

Last week our local council spent £6k on motivational sweets and keyrings

Turn down the volume on all adverts if you have to sit through any,, made me feel loads better.
Never argue with people on the internet. No one listens and the regular arguers are just daft.
Sit outdoors whenever possible in day if your based indoors all day.

Turn down the volume on all adverts if you have to sit through any

we have the radio on all day at work. radio 2 is the choice, but the news on bbc is just so depressing.
so last week, we swithched to Gold. because all the old songs are the best. and the news is unnoticeable.
and it is a Jeremy Vine free zone…………… ;o)

another ‘news-ditcher’ here, mainly due to new job not giving me the time to watch it, but only contact with the news these days is the odd minute or two on 6 music. it feels good not really knowing whats going on ‘out there’ and not really giving a toss when mates get wound up about current affairs such as that recent ‘isis lass’. also havent seen any interviews or arguing about brexit for months now. lovely.

another thing i did a few years ago, was ditch football. its always been my thing since being a nipper, but the days of tommy smith, chopper harris and norman ‘bite yer legs’ hunter are sadly a thing of the past. it was winding me up watching them rolling around on the floor like babbies, the fans screaming and kicking sh1te out of each other just cos they were born in a different town, the cowardly gang mentality, so i made the decision to ditch it completely. no supporting a team, getting wound up if they lost, getting wound up with the cheating and screaming at the ref, no watching match of the day or having my £5 a week accy……my heads a lot clearer without it.

Yesterday my wife took the 5 year old to the shops for an hour, instead of picking up my phone and raging at the world, I made a coffee, put an album on and read some of my motorbike magazine I’d gotten 3 days prior. Best hour of the weekend and none of it involved the internet.

Today, I deleted the social media apps that annoy the crap out of me (all of them bar Reddit) and have firmly refused to go anywhere near the Daily Mail website (god knows why but I’d got into the habit of going there,……..I know, rookie mistake)

I feel better. Still a tightly coiled ball of pure rage with Ed Kemper levels of violence inside masquerading as a human being who has it all worked out, but i’m getting there.

Social media may never have been designed to make us stupid and pliable in the first place, but it certainly got that way. I genuinely can’t remember what we did before it was all invented, and i’m sure it’s how people felt when the television came along, but it really is a brain rotter in every way that probably caused more problems than it solves.