hacker ways of fighting anxiety?
GrandMasterBirt: There are a couple of things I do to get away from stress. Remember you need to get away from stress, not problems. You need to solve problems, but get them out of your mind until they are needed.1) Pick up a fun sport. Sport gets the endorphins going, gets your body working, makes you think better, feel more self-confident, etc. I take Karate for fun (hell I've been white belt for 6mo since I didnt take test) but it made me so much happier that I can't even compare myself now and 6 mo ago (don't go to the stuff like Tiger Sholmans, they are all crap, go to the cheap dojos, try a few out. Ask friends if they go.) Or play some soccer, football, basketball, just make sure to push your body just hard enough to get a good workout, definately past the "oh I'm out of breath I'm sitting this one out" play till you can't move the feet. :) Just know your limits.2) Go out with friends, even if you are married, go do something completely useless with a friend.3) Just sit down and clear your mind. Know that all the problems are always there until you solve them (or until you get help) but treat yourself to 5-10 minutes of complete ignorance and tranquility. Do this as often as you need it. If you need to do 30 min of work and 10 min of R&R do it! If your boss complains then tell him calmly that if he has a better way to get some stress relief you are all for it. As a human being he will understand anxiety.4) Don't bottle it in. Talk to a spouse, a family member, a friend, a co-worker, anyone. Sometimes just letting it out can make you feel so much better. (had this happen recently, been dwelling on something for many many hrs, could not sleep, a 2 minute conversation with a co-worker just letting my feelings be known made me feel better, and in the end I just stressed over nothing. But it helped. Was not directed at the co-worker.)5) I noticed crap food also adds to stress. Eat better. I drink water and juice (rarely), eat fruits vs candy, no fast-food like mcdonalds, burger king, subeway, anything like that, eat some cooked vegetables (for flavor). I noticed diet definitely helps. And it improves your health as a bonus.6) STOP WORKING. You can't have your brain on full power 24/7. At some point it just crashes and if you keep pushing you will get bad results. Its why I can't drive for extended periods of time without rests, too much attention, too much brain power used, eventually I just start shutting down. Same with programming. I take breaks, read news, talk to co workers, get lots of work done, go home, see family. Do anything to shut your brain down for a small time. If you are working till 5am and you can quit (if you are good this economy means you have a chance to find a job) then quit. No crap job is worth your life.