How to distract yourself from the pain?

[shengmei]

I am looking for a distraction, a time-waster, that costs less than $5 and would occupy my thoughts for weeks.

All my life I had tried to get out of poverty. I had failed. I got the right education, learned the right languages, stayed away from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and gambling, married the right man.

But it doesn't matter what I do, it was all in vain.

The pain is too much. I need something to take the edge off. I need something cheap to distract me. It is soo hot outside. I am trapped where I am.

[Stump1000]

There's always a way out. Don't give up!

If you are stuck where you are then I don't know what to tell you. But, when there was a time when I wanted to get my mind off other stuff that was going on and I basically hung out with my friends or family all the time. It helped a lot.

[disneysteve]

I'm sorry if you are going through a rough time. Since you really didn't give any info about what the problem is, it is kind of difficult to offer any good advice. It sounds like you have a good education and a good marriage but we don't know what type of trouble you are having.

As for cheap time wasters, nothing beats the internet, the all time champion of time wasters. At the moment, my addiction is the Caesars casino app on facebook. I've spent hours playing that since it launched a few weeks ago.

[maat55]

I bought cheap books at Goodwill. You can also check them out for free at the library.

I bought and read around 50 books on personal finance. I then switched to politics. I even suffered through "Atlas Shrugged".

[seen]

The stock market. It's literally eating up all of my free time at the moment. It may take a bit longer than a few weeks to really get into it though

[snafu]

I've found when life's challenges made me miserable, it helps to increase endorphins with a simple, basic exercise routine. Go for a walk early AM or just before dusk while it's relatively cool. A skipping rope is cheap at the Dollar Store and good for several targets. Rent yoga or preferred exercise type DVD from your library, it can be renewed with a click from your computer.

I turned to volunteering for something I could do in my community. There is nothing like meeting someone with worse problems than yours to get your mind off the issues and doing your best to help someone else. You meet more people, they may be able to recommend you and it looks good on your resume. With elections in November every politician is looking for volunteers.

Spending an hour each day de-cluttering your home can be very satisfying. Review every shelf, drawer, cupboard, to assess what you need, use and love. If you have items you don't use and don't love, perhaps you would be willing to sell via a photo and free ad on CraigsList. Challenge yourself to make meals in July based on items already at hand limiting buying to fresh produce and dairy.

Learning a new skill can fill time and be very satisfying. If you have hobbies, look at how you can make it into producing income. While you may not have funds to create a business at present, writing a business plan costs nothing, absorbs incredible time, can be useful in the future and you will learn a lot about yourself and your value system.

[bjl584]

I am looking for a distraction, a time-waster, that costs less than $5 and would occupy my thoughts for weeks.

All my life I had tried to get out of poverty. I had failed. I got the right education, learned the right languages, stayed away from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and gambling, married the right man.

But it doesn't matter what I do, it was all in vain.

The pain is too much. I need something to take the edge off. I need something cheap to distract me. It is soo hot outside. I am trapped where I am.

Go outside. Take a walk. Go to the park. Nothing like some nature to take your mind off things.

[cypher1]

First thing I'd say is workout more. Movies or reading is next. Videogames if you got them. Youtube, Fmylife.com, damnyouautocorrect.com never get old. De-clutter, clean, home projects also come to mind.

[YLTL_Dan]

I turned to volunteering for something I could do in my community. There is nothing like meeting someone with worse problems than yours to get your mind off the issues and doing your best to help someone else.

I love this advice, very true. It seems you have access to the internet, so you can spend hours reading articles of your interest online. Some of my favorite ways to spend internet time:

Listen to the Dave Ramsey radio show (live streaming) from 1-4pm CST
Read Pam Slim's blog "Escape Cubicle Nation"
Read Steve Kamb's blog "Nerd Fitness"

[audible]

Start exercising like crazy, takes away your anxiety for the moment, and you might start feeling better after a couple of days/weeks..

[Banimal]

Exercise or get a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Those are pretty cheap at walmart.

[cptacek]

Can you start to garden? Even at this late date, you can plant squashes/cucumbers, etc, and then check things out for a fall garden, like lettuce, radishes, peas, etc. Make it your mission to not spend anything...use recycled items to make the pots to start the plants in, compost, check out if your city gives away compost or mulch (Mesquite, TX used to give away 1 pickup load of compost and 2 pickup loads of mulch ...might have been the other way around...to residents every month), keep the seeds from vegetables from the store and plant those. See if any of your friends have any leftover seeds.

If you are in the city, you might have to do vertical gardening on your patio. Doable, and fun, and can be as cheap or as expensive as you want. If you have a yard, you can start sheet mulching right now with cardboard boxes, newspapers, etc, for next year's garden.

[muexm]

I am looking for a distraction, a time-waster, that costs less than $5 and would occupy my thoughts for weeks.

All my life I had tried to get out of poverty. I had failed. I got the right education, learned the right languages, stayed away from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and gambling, married the right man.

But it doesn't matter what I do, it was all in vain.

The pain is too much. I need something to take the edge off. I need something cheap to distract me. It is soo hot outside. I am trapped where I am.

You sound extremely depressed. I highly suggest that you talk to a pastorial counselor or a good mental health professional. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

[georgemccarthy]

Since you are married, I don't know what will keep you distracted from your pain. But when I want to get away from the depression, I play games (Mostly Role Playing Games) and feel like I was in the game. Watch Movies and feel like I was in the movie.
Don't give up. People get lonely even if they have lots of family members, friends and community. There is always a way out. Think about the stuff you like. Avoiding the things which keep you in depression isn't the cure, but it helps a lot.

[JoeP]

Read books

Walk or ride your bike

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