JAWM Any way to make threads disappear?

[TexasProud]

Not ones that you wrote.  But others like so they don't even show up in the thread anymore?  (So you can't see them, not to make them disappear off the board.)

Edited January 18 by TexasProud

[Scarlett]

18 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

Not ones that you wrote.  But others like so they don't even show up in the thread anymore?  (So you can't see them, not to make them disappear off the board.)

No but you can block me. 

[Pawz4me]

I think what you're asking is if there's a way to hide a thread so that you no longer see it? I'm on another board where that is an option, but I don't think it is here.

[Heartstrings]

I just scroll past them until they disappear off of the first page.  It seems like the easiest way to do that would be to start a few silly threads to help push the one you don't want to see down.  

[regentrude]

12 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

I just scroll past them until they disappear off of the first page.  It seems like the easiest way to do that would be to start a few silly threads to help push the one you don't want to see down.  

works only if nobody replies to the other thread, because then it gets moved to the top again.

But why not simply scroll past and be done? Why bother hiding a thread at all?

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

But why not simply scroll past and be done? Why bother hiding a thread at all?

The forum that I belong to that has the option of hiding threads is one devoted to serious medical conditions. Death is frequently discussed, and some people find that upsetting and don’t want to see those threads, even the thread titles. Plus it’s a very busy forum where many people are in need of complicated and sometimes very time critical advice. So it allows members to hide threads they don’t want to read or can’t offer advice for, which enables them to easier hone in on ones where they can be helpful. That obviously doesn’t really apply here, but for that forum it is a very useful feature. 

[Ginevra]

No. I do remember asking that before once because there was a popular thread about a horrible news story and I couldn’t stand even seeing that name over and over. 
 

You can ignore people who bug you, but the only way I know to stop seeing a thread title is to stop coming here until it dies down. 

[Heartstrings]

Now I’m curious.  If you have someone blocked and they start a thread do you see it?   I have no one blocked, I’m just curious about the inner workings of the forum now.  

Edited January 15 by Heartstrings

[Arctic Bunny]

4 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

Now I’m curious.  If you have someone blocked and they start a thread do you see it?   I have no one blocked, I’m just curious about the inner workings of the forum now.  

You see that they started one, and the title,  but you still have to click to see the content.

[TexasProud]

9 hours ago, Scarlett said:

No but you can block me. 

LOL, this has absolutely nothing to do with you.  Not sure why I would want to block you. If it is because of the insurance discussion, that is no big deal at all and nothing to get upset about. 

4 hours ago, Ginevra said:

No. I do remember asking that before once because there was a popular thread about a horrible news story and I couldn’t stand even seeing that name over and over. 
 

Yes, this. 

Like so many things I didn't even know it happened until I saw the thread.  It just makes me so upset and I can do absolutely nothing about it.  I stay off the news or any discussion of politics because I have no power.

I do have the power to give the young doctor the 100 water filters for him to take to his mostly Muslim community living in the slums in Africa.

I do have the power to help 2 Honduran young people get an education, clean water, etc. We see them twice a year. I am on a board run by a Honduran to help others get the same opportunity so that maybe they won't need to leave their country. Regardless, they have a better life.

I have the power to just sit and give encouragement to the sick and the dying and offer prayers on their behalf.  Though I feel a bit like that episode of Star Trek. You remember where there was a woman who could take the wounds of Kirk away, but then she carried them?  That is how the prayer team often feels for me. But I feel called to do it. It helps them for someone to actually SEE them.

It isn't good for me to see threads or news stories or whatever about elections that I have no power to change (yes, of course I vote), environmental stuff, plastics, etc.  The amount of caring it would take to care about even a little bit of what people on this board do would put me in a mental hospital. 

I know I should probably just not come here, but I cannot help myself.  But I do enjoy the lighter threads.  And many times I don't know what the thread is about until I read it or I get sucked into it and then cannot leave it alone.  One thread ( and no, not the insurance one LOL) kept me up for over an hour and a half last night ruminating and discussing it in my head when I went to bed, though I am sure the 9 hour time difference didn't help.  ( And it is a thread I have made no comments on at all.  LOL, I have so many conversations with y'all that you don't even know I have.)

 

[Bambam]

Maybe you could only scan the board on some sort of periodic but infrequent basis (say weekly) and "follow" the threads you wish to watch/participate in, and then just go to "Manage Followed Content" (found under your user name on the top right of the desktop WTM) and then you would just see the threads you have followed?  Not perfect, but it would cut down on seeing threads that you do not want to see.  

[thatfirstsip]

If you really can't resist coming here, and you know that on the whole it causes you harm, you need either therapy or a better system of blocking sites in the internet.

If you're interested in clean water charities, you might look up Effective Altruism - it's a system of deciding where to focus your charitable giving by evaluating which charities are most efficient (that is, making the most difference for the amount of money you donate). Clean water charities are one of the ones they have good data on, I think. It's pretty eye-opening to see how many more lives you can save or improve by spending your charity money with organizations that are more effective.

[TexasProud]

28 minutes ago, thatfirstsip said:

 

If you're interested in clean water charities, you might look up Effective Altruism - it's a system of deciding where to focus your charitable giving by evaluating which charities are most efficient (that is, making the most difference for the amount of money you donate). Clean water charities are one of the ones they have good data on, I think. It's pretty eye-opening to see how many more lives you can save or improve by spending your charity money with organizations that are more effective.

We help run two charities that do this with the Sawyer water filters. For Honduras, we follow up every 6 months with the families that received one, checking to make sure that they are using them correctly, taking water samples, and such.  It has made a HUGE difference. In Honduras, we have been doing it for several years. I will have to look us up on the website, but we are so small, I doubt they have heard of us.  We have no salaries and just eat the overhead expenses. For Africa, hubby and I just bought the 100 water filters ourselves.

Edited January 16 by TexasProud

[TexasProud]

39 minutes ago, Bambam said:

Maybe you could only scan the board on some sort of periodic but infrequent basis (say weekly) and "follow" the threads you wish to watch/participate in, and then just go to "Manage Followed Content" (found under your user name on the top right of the desktop WTM) and then you would just see the threads you have followed?  Not perfect, but it would cut down on seeing threads that you do not want to see.  

Good idea. I didn't know about this feature. 

[Ginevra]

8 hours ago, TexasProud said:

I know I should probably just not come here, but I cannot help myself.  But I do enjoy the lighter threads.  And many times I don't know what the thread is about until I read it or I get sucked into it and then cannot leave it alone.  One thread ( and no, not the insurance one LOL) kept me up for over an hour and a half last night ruminating and discussing it in my head when I went to bed, though I am sure the 9 hour time difference didn't help.  ( And it is a thread I have made no comments on at all.  LOL, I have so many conversations with y'all that you don't even know I have.)

I’m saying this with the kindest intentions, so know that. 
 

You could benefit from learning to discipline yourself more than you seem to. I have had to “ban myself” from these boards a couple of times because I was expending an absurd amount of emotional energy worked up and agitated about posts here. In one infamous post I made about fifteen enemies with one crappy spouting-off post. It took a long time for some people here to forgive my stupid moment, and probably some never did. 
 

What I did a few different times was sign out (so, no auto login). I also only allowed myself to access from my desktop computer, so it was inconvenient and would be really hard to spend much time here (because I had actual work to do). One time I had my daughter hide my iPad for a week so it would be really inconvenient to come on here. And finally, I put (at the time) several posters on Ignore as a way of training myself to stop caring what they say. 
 

These days I do not have time to spend hours and hours here (I’m only on here at this time of day because we just got snow and I’m on a delay). I love it here but it’s better for me to have limited time here. I think when I wasn’t working outside home, I craved the mental activity afforded by thinking about these problems in the world. Or even trying to puzzle through what a cyber-friend should do about XYZ situation.
 

I could be wrong, but I think this is true for you too. I think you need the mental stimulation and it’s taking a somewhat dysfunctional manifestation. Peace. ✌🏻

[Hyacinth]

9 hours ago, TexasProud said:

 

Same! 😁😁😁

ETA: it didn’t quote properly (?) but I was trying to say I, too, have many conversations in my head about threads here. 

Edited January 16 by Hyacinth
User error

[marbel]

Similar to Ginevra's experiences... A few years ago I was feeling rather addicted to this board, and found myself getting really worked up over some threads/topics. Then I'd find myself sucked into a back-and-forth with someone, arguing my point, which may or may not have been well-developed. Or I'd just waste time scrolling, reading threads in which I had nothing to say, and no actual interest. 

So I took a Lenten "fast" from this board. I removed it from my bookmarks and just resisted the urge to come here at all for those 6 weeks. It was hard at first - I missed the conversation - but it was also good because there were conversations I didn't miss. 

When I came back, it was much easier to ignore threads altogether based on the subject, or walk away from threads that weren't useful to me. Or - and I think this is the key for me - threads in which I could not be useful to someone else. Which, honestly, most threads are. I'd find if I was agreeing with several people as I read the thread, I didn't need to post at all, because my opinion had basically been expressed by someone else. I don't always follow that, but most of the time I do. I also stopped posting in threads on controversial topics, even if I am well-informed on it, because it just becomes a quagmire so easily. I may continue to read, but I no longer care about having my voice heard. 

In other words, I guess, I still like it here a lot, enjoy conversing with people, and find it useful in many ways (food! books!) but I also lost a lot of my apparent need for it. 

I hope you find what works for you.

[TexasProud]

I guess I do not understand how you guys managed to fast from the board.  I mean if you block it, you just override it.  No problem.  I have no self-discipline unlike my husband. I SHOULD do a lot of things, but I have no self-discipline.  It is why I never started drinking or doing drugs.  I know I would never stop.  @Ginevra @marbel  I admire your self-discipline.  I have tried.  If I am busy, then it is easy.  When I have so much downtime, I cannot help myself. 

[marbel]

9 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

I guess I do not understand how you guys managed to fast from the board.  I mean if you block it, you just override it.  No problem.  I have no self-discipline unlike my husband. I SHOULD do a lot of things, but I have no self-discipline.  It is why I never started drinking or doing drugs.  I know I would never stop.  @Ginevra @marbel  I admire your self-discipline.  I have tried.  If I am busy, then it is easy.  When I have so much downtime, I cannot help myself. 

I don't think it's a matter of self-discipline for me. It's the realization that, as much as I appreciate this board, the mods, the other posters, etc., I haven't always utilized it in the best way for me/my life. I've used it as an escape from boredom, from responsibilities, from feeling like no one is listening to me. Those 40 days away reminded me that I have other ways to keep boredom at bay, I need to fulfill my responsibilities, and the people in my actual life are more apt to listen to me than people online. 

I do agree that, based on posts here over the years, @Ginevrais probably one of the most self-disciplined people I "know."  

 

[Ginevra]

2 minutes ago, marbel said:

do agree that, based on posts here over the years, @Ginevrais probably one of the most self-disciplined people I "know."

Aww, what a nice thing to say! Thank you. 

[Ginevra]

18 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

I guess I do not understand how you guys managed to fast from the board.  I mean if you block it, you just override it.  No problem.  I have no self-discipline unlike my husband. I SHOULD do a lot of things, but I have no self-discipline.  It is why I never started drinking or doing drugs.  I know I would never stop.  @Ginevra @marbel  I admire your self-discipline.  I have tried.  If I am busy, then it is easy.  When I have so much downtime, I cannot help myself. 

I don’t override it. If I block someone, I keep them blocked. If I ban myself from accessing it easily, that is half the battle. 
 

I love the guidelines James Clear outlines in the book Atomic Habits and I use those outlines to establish or curb habits all the time. One big thing about breaking a bad habit is that you have to make it inconvenient/unrewarding/unpleasant to do the thing. So, to use a silly example, if you want to eat less ice cream but dh insists on always having a tub of it, have him keep it in his garage fridge or put the ice cream scooper in his shop or - whatever. Make it harder. Or set up a new thing you’re going to be busy with when ice cream time rolls around. Bonus points if it’s exercise. 

[KungFuPanda]

They make apps that allow you to set time limits on certain websites. Would timing out be enough to redirect you or would you go to the trouble of reprogramming your preset limits? Could you make a ‘rule’ that you’ll only log in on the treadmill or at a standing desk? “No Seated Hive Browsing” would definitely make it not worth a ton of effort. 

[TexasProud]

43 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

They make apps that allow you to set time limits on certain websites. Would timing out be enough to redirect you or would you go to the trouble of reprogramming your preset limits? Could you make a ‘rule’ that you’ll only log in on the treadmill or at a standing desk? “No Seated Hive Browsing” would definitely make it not worth a ton of effort. 

Yeah, I put a 15 minute limit on the website and I ignore it all the time. 

[TexasProud]

2 hours ago, Ginevra said:

I don’t override it. If I block someone, I keep them blocked. If I ban myself from accessing it easily, that is half the battle. 
 

I love the guidelines James Clear outlines in the book Atomic Habits and I use those outlines to establish or curb habits all the time. One big thing about breaking a bad habit is that you have to make it inconvenient/unrewarding/unpleasant to do the thing. So, to use a silly example, if you want to eat less ice cream but dh insists on always having a tub of it, have him keep it in his garage fridge or put the ice cream scooper in his shop or - whatever. Make it harder. Or set up a new thing you’re going to be busy with when ice cream time rolls around. Bonus points if it’s exercise. 

See I will put myself in front of a bus not to let someone else down, But if it is just for me. Forget it.  The only reason I am walking is because my husband wants to and I do enjoy it when I do it.  But if he is out of the country, I never walk. 

I love the book Atomic Habits, but it doesn't work for me because my life changes constantly.  For example, right now in Africa there is not tv.  I do have books on my ipad and read them some.  But work here starts later and ends earlier.  We did go for a walk.  But I am through so much earlier than my husband and now he is doing an email to our lawyer. I am too emotionally exhausted from today and haven't adjusted to the time change to really write in the evening, though that is true at home as well.  By 5 or 6, I am just done.

Or do I build a habit when we are in the RV, though honestly, I don't have any issues because I have no time and he is always with me pretty much. 

Or do I build a habit when I get home for the 3 weeks and I am in the house alone?  That is when I will put the tv on 24/7. (It is NEVER on when hubby is home.) 

Or do I build the habit when we are in Indiana in an airbnb to see our daughter.

And the other big issue is that how do I make it harder.  I have a podcast, a newsletter and a blog.  All of that is done on my computer and well trained mind is on the computer.  

[Rosie_0801]

Lose your need for perfection, Sister. 

The rest is just shovels full of red herrings.

[Ginevra]

Texas, you give yourself instructions all the time, but some of the instructions you give yourself don’t seem (from my viewpoint) to serve you very well. (Now, anyway; maybe they did at one time.) 

What if you asked your dh or a good friend to keep you accountable on some metric, which would activate that part of you that doesn’t want to let others down? (This is essentially what I was doing when I asked my dd to hide my iPad; it would have been embarrassing to go back to her and ask for the iPad back early.) What if you set up time-keeper programs on your computer to literally disallow you? I don’t know a lot about these but I know they exist because people put them on so they won’t spend twenty hours on Twitter or whatever their particular intense habit is. 
 

Can you notice or even make a list of all the things you *DO* do without anyone having to stand over you and make you? I mean, does someone have to tell you to brush your teeth and take a shower? To wash your underwear and clip your toenails? To get more milk and bread before this one runs out? To get your driver’s license renewed? See, you already follow through on many things with little or no thought. You *are able* to make yourself do the things/not do the things according to your life goals. 

[KungFuPanda]

Concerning the time limit apps . . . I get that it’s easy to ignore a self-imposed 15 minute limit, or even a timer, but will you really go through the trouble of logging into another website and changing the parameters to override that limit? 
 

I think you can have different habits and goals for different places. People have different routines for work, home, school, hobbies, excursions. It’s ok to have some consistent stuff and some compartmentalized stuff. I also think working on a whole other continent IS its own routine and is going to take up more mental and emotional space. I wouldn’t try to add to those core hours immediately. It could be that in all the changing scenery, this board gives you some comfort and consistency; like a daily cup of tea. Why can’t you just have that? It’s okay to be a person who needs and wants more downtime. If you’re swapping one hobby for the next does it really matter? You need to enjoy the process, not just the product. As we inch towards retirement age I think it’s normal to hustle less. 

[marbel]

18 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I think you can have different habits and goals for different places. People have different routines for work, home, school, hobbies, excursions

Yeah, people do this all the time. My husband works from home 3 days a week, goes into the office 2. He has different morning routines for those days, and then of course for weekends. When I was working 4x/week, from 3-midnight, I had certain routines, which were different from the days I did not work. This is not unusual or remarkable, millions of people do a version of this. 

Your situation is a bit different in that you have big chunks of times that are different from others, not just days of the week. Still, the principle applies.  "When I am in Kenya, I'll try to structure my days like this... when in the RV, like this... when home alone..."

Sometimes I wonder if you actually enjoy the feeling that you are weak in this way. I have thought the same thing about myself at times in my life so I understand it. I think for me it was a way to excuse my failures. "Oh well, I can't help it because...." 

Note I am not saying you are a failure. Just riffing off what you have been saying (here and in other past threads).

Also, listen to @Rosie_0801

Edited January 16 by marbel

[TexasProud]

14 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Concerning the time limit apps . . . I get that it’s easy to ignore a self-imposed 15 minute limit, or even a timer, but will you really go through the trouble of logging into another website and changing the parameters to override that limit? 
 

I think you can have different habits and goals for different places. People have different routines for work, home, school, hobbies, excursions. It’s ok to have some consistent stuff and some compartmentalized stuff. I also think working on a whole other continent IS its own routine and is going to take up more mental and emotional space. I wouldn’t try to add to those core hours immediately. It could be that in all the changing scenery, this board gives you some comfort and consistency; like a daily cup of tea. Why can’t you just have that? It’s okay to be a person who needs and wants more downtime. If you’re swapping one hobby for the next does it really matter? You need to enjoy the process, not just the product. As we inch towards retirement age I think it’s normal to hustle less. 

Yes, i would.  Heck in the old days I created multiple accounts with multiple names so I couldn't get locked out of it.

I think the issue is that I am already tired and stressed when I come on here ( I haven't slept much at all in the last week...maybe 3 hours a day if that..couldn't sleep on the airplanes. Got in at 2am, had stuff when we got here immediately....) Reading about drowning migrant children doesn't help.

3 hours ago, marbel said:

. I've used it as an escape from boredom, from responsibilities, from feeling like no one is listening to me. "  

 

Sort of.  But rather I get to talk.  I am sure you guys think I am some kind of person who only talks about herself, but I don't do it anywhere else and I seem to be the person that people talk to.  When I got my flu shot, the woman told me about how she had lost her husband a month before. I just sat and listened to her talk. We cried together and I prayed for her. People open up like that to me ALL THE TIME.  But I really don't have anywhere to express myself...  Well, not exactly true.  I do in my writing, but you have to be SO SO SO carefule and say only safe stuff so you don't get canceled, only be positive, etc.  

[TexasProud]

1 minute ago, marbel said:

 

Your situation is a bit different in that you have big chunks of times that are different from others, not just days of the week. Still, the principle applies.  "When I am in Kenya, I'll try to structure my days like this... when in the RV, like this... when home alone..."

 

But other than when I am at home alone, I cannot structure my days. They are structured for me.In Kenya:  One day I could be tutoring children or teaching a class.  Another day I am visiting people in the hospital.  Another day I am in the car all day making hospice visits. Another evening I could have a dinner at a permanent missionaries house.  And my husband's schedule just depends on what comes in. I could see him I could not. 

For Honduras, I don't choose exactly.  I do what is prescribed.   RV is the same.  It depends on what is in the area and what my husband wants to do. 

[marbel]

11 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

But other than when I am at home alone, I cannot structure my days. They are structured for me.In Kenya:  One day I could be tutoring children or teaching a class.  Another day I am visiting people in the hospital.  Another day I am in the car all day making hospice visits. Another evening I could have a dinner at a permanent missionaries house.  And my husband's schedule just depends on what comes in. I could see him I could not. 

For Honduras, I don't choose exactly.  I do what is prescribed.   RV is the same.  It depends on what is in the area and what my husband wants to do. 

Then I guess you don't need to build habits when you are in those areas?  Sorry, I am losing the plot here. I thought you were saying you can't build habits because of your various changes in environments. But if you have no control over your time/schedule in many of those environments, then I am not sure what the problem is anymore.  

If the real problem is the habit of coming here, you have been given some ideas on how to break that, all of which you have refuted as impossible for you to do. 

Edited January 16 by marbel

[TexasProud]

9 minutes ago, marbel said:

Then I guess you don't need to build habits when you are in those areas?  Sorry, I am losing the plot here. 

I am so sleep deprived I don't know what the plot is.  The issue is that I need to build habits particularly when I am home.  But unlike Atomic habits I cannot make them automatic because I am not home more than 2 or 3 weeks at a time, so I have to change it.  Does that make sense?  But she was saying I should build habits for Kenya so I am not on here. I don't know what that habit would be or how I would establish it. 

[marbel]

2 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

I am so sleep deprived I don't know what the plot is.  The issue is that I need to build habits particularly when I am home.  But unlike Atomic habits I cannot make them automatic because I am not home more than 2 or 3 weeks at a time, so I have to change it.  Does that make sense?  But she was saying I should build habits for Kenya so I am not on here. I don't know what that habit would be or how I would establish it. 

I had actually edited my post but you got to it too quickly. Here is what I added:  

I thought you were saying you can't build habits because of your various changes in environments. But if you have no control over your time/schedule in many of those environments, then I am not sure what the problem is anymore.  

If the real problem is the habit of coming here, you have been given some ideas on how to break that, all of which you have refuted as impossible for you to do. 

[TexasProud]

And I keep coming back here right now because I am desperately trying to stay awake..  I need to stay awake for another 45 minutes or so.  But even if I stay awake until 9pm, I will probably still wake up at midnight and be up for the rest of the night.   

But I don't know what else I could do but be here.

Just now, marbel said:

I had actually edited my post but you got to it too quickly. Here is what I added:  

I thought you were saying you can't build habits because of your various changes in environments. But if you have no control over your time/schedule in many of those environments, then I am not sure what the problem is anymore.  

If the real problem is the habit of coming here, you have been given some ideas on how to break that, all of which you have refuted as impossible for you to do. 

Actually it is impossible. 

[Bambam]

Um, I have some things on my schedule that are there regardless of where I am/what I am doing. 
Shower first thing. I absolutely have to do this or I feel awful. Take my meds right after that. Eat breakfast right after that (blood sugar issues means I'd better be doing this or things will go downhill quickly).  My DH knows this and works around it.  When we travel, he lets me take a shower first or asks me if he can go first. 
I read my Bible at night before bed (but I'm re-thinking that time frame, because although it is very convenient and easy to tuck in the schedule, I'm not always 100% mentally alert/functional at bedtime). 

But when we travel, we agree on the schedule/things to do. I usually make a list of things I think we both would like - some are things he would definitely like/enjoy but I'm iffy on, and some are things I definitely want to do but things he really isn't interested in, and some things are things we are both interested in/enjoy doing. We sorta make a plan every day what we will be doing. Sometimes he does my things, sometimes I do his things. That is a partnership. 

Now, when he was working and I traveled to visit him, he went off (back when you had to go to work!), and I decided what I wanted to do that day, having made plans/arrangements for the evening when he thought he would be back. 

But my point is, there are some things you can schedule and not shift or ignore in other places. Not everything, no, but the basics (whatever those basics fundamental things are to you!) can be set up and just let everyone know they are non-negotiable. I have a friend who lays down to have a quiet time/rest every day from 3:30-4:30. Now in a medical emergency she would give that up, but otherwise, guests or no, she has her quiet time. (I don't actually know what she does then, but she goes into her room and closes the door and no one interrupts her - call her on the landline and her husband will tell you that she can get back to you after 4:30. She doesn't answer her cell then either.) So figure out what habits are the basic-foundational-need-to-have-to-nurture-you, and determine where to stick them I find that right when I wake up - or right before bed is the easiest time for me to put those so they always get done. Not always, but I did struggle on the morning I had to take a relative in super early for surgery, but most all of the time, I can find a way to do them - get  up a little early, go to bed a little early/whatever. 

I think it is fine to ask a spouse for help - if that spouse is the habit kind of person too. My DH is not a habit person, more random than that, so it just doesn't work for him. 

[Rosie_0801]

4 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

And I keep coming back here right now because I am desperately trying to stay awake..  I need to stay awake for another 45 minutes or so.  But even if I stay awake until 9pm, I will probably still wake up at midnight and be up for the rest of the night.   

As someone who is sitting on this forum at 4:30am, having been up since 1, I say go to bed and sleep while your body is willing.

[Heartstrings]

I’m sorry you’re in this headspace again.  

[TexasProud]

1 minute ago, Rosie_0801 said:

As someone who is sitting on this forum at 4:30am, having been up since 1, I say go to bed and sleep while your body is willing.

My husband is awake and chatting on the phone.  We have a one room apartment here. 

[Rosie_0801]

1 minute ago, TexasProud said:

My husband is awake and chatting on the phone.  We have a one room apartment here. 

That's good. 

[TexasProud]

Just now, Rosie_0801 said:

That's good. 

???  I don't know how I go ahead and go to sleep.  That said, I think I am too riled up to go to sleep.  Will probably be talking to all of you all night in my head.

[Rosie_0801]

2 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

???  I don't know how I go ahead and go to sleep.  That said, I think I am too riled up to go to sleep.  Will probably be talking to all of you all night in my head.

I assume that's good too, since you said you don't want to go to sleep.

 

I think I'm going to put on a Dickens audiobook and try to bore myself to sleep. 

[Bambam]

13 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I think I'm going to put on a Dickens audiobook and try to bore myself to sleep. 

Yep, that should do it! 

[TexasProud]

La la la

[TexasProud]

I am sleepy, but not sleepy. 

[regentrude]

43 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

And I keep coming back here right now because I am desperately trying to stay awake..  I need to stay awake for another 45 minutes or so.  But even if I stay awake until 9pm, I will probably still wake up at midnight and be up for the rest of the night.   

But I don't know what else I could do but be here.

Watch a movie. Do yoga. Take a shower. Write an angry rant at the earth rotation that causes your jetlag.

Or just give in and sleep.

I just went through a 12 hour jetlag. Sometimes giving in and just sleeping is the best. Instead of imposing "shoulds" and "musts".

Edited January 16 by regentrude

[KungFuPanda]

It sounds like your days have enough structure and obligation. I say do what you want on your down time even if it’s scrolling TWTM forums. You could go worse. We’re smart ladies! 
 

I bought sleep headphones so I could listen to books at bedtime. I set the sleep timer, but more often than not I fall asleep and miss part of the chapter. Maybe if you try listening to some virtuous and worthwhile book you’ll drift right off. The bonus still drown out your husband talking or snoring. 😬

[TexasProud]

No tv for movies and streaming services wont work here.  Never done yoga.

 

And to my husband : You think I dont know my brownies tasted like cake.  I already know I should cook them less.  He can cook tomorrow but it will taste perfect because he does everything really well, especially cooking. He did say thank you. But I liked the cake.

[TexasProud]

15 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Watch a movie. Do yoga. Take a shower. Write an angry rant at the earth rotation that causes your jetlag.

Or just give in and sleep.

I just went through a 12 hour jetlag. Sometimes giving in and just sleeping is the best. Instead of imposing "shoulds" and "musts".

I would love to sleep, but I can’t

[regentrude]

1 minute ago, TexasProud said:

I would love to sleep, but I can’t

You know that screens interfere with that, right?

The yoga and movie was just an example for the many things you could do.

Edited January 16 by regentrude

[KungFuPanda]

4 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

No tv for movies and streaming services wont work here.  Never done yoga.

 

And to my husband : You think I dont know my brownies tasted like cake.  I already know I should cook them less.  He can cook tomorrow but it will taste perfect because he does everything really well, especially cooking. He did say thank you. But I liked the cake.

Lean IN to the perceived incompetence. Let Mr. Fussy make ALL the brownies while you relax. Listening to complaints is a whole chore in itself, so you’ve earned a break.  Never let anyone splatter their Type A on you. It’s a manifestation of anxiety and you don’t wanna catch those cooties.