Things to get interested in

Paull said:

I'm on spider solitaire with 4 suits, my aim is 5 in a row, I have got to 4 once ! It just sucks up time and makes me forget all the bad.

I only play with 2 suits, I got to 25 in a row but its quite a tough game,

Now I really cant understand how I did 25 in a row, must have been very lucky.

some deals you just cant move anything and if you get a bad last deal theres not much you can do, so I think the game is flawed.

Easy said:

I disagree thet obsessions help with anxiety,

I know that when I am playing I go into a kind of trance and nothing worries me but when it stops I feel guilty and stupid about wasting time and lack of self control.

I think you would be much better off trying to sort your life out, learning a useful skill or earning money that you can use to improve your life.

Advice I have been giving myself for years but ....

Thats a bit of a contradiction..... If an interest/obsession blocks out everything for the duration of the engagement then thats a pretty good tool. It would be nice to eradicate bad anxiety full stop but to reduce it when focused on something is great. having the interest can increase self confidence and give a sense of achievement. Playing games may or may not be worthwhile, its how YOU see it. I understand that earning money and aquiring useful skills would be great but this can often be at odds with your situation. So whilst these things may be appealing they are not always easily achieved.

I spend hours making electronic music. I sometimes don't want to do it and don't see the point and that makes me feel real bad. When I get into it though I am lost in it. Bieng a creative pursuit seems to add a degree of validity and when it goes well I don't see that I have wasted time doing it.

Some peoples interests can lead to job oportunities (if you are lucky), relationships with like minded people and respect from your fellow humans.

Easy said:

The main way I waste time is games, I used to be a pro chess player years ago, then I switched to backgammon and poker and did well at both.

I gave up being a poker pro about 4 years ago as I just didnt trust it anymore, I thought there was just too much risk and I didnt trust online poker, and the rake in live games is just too big for anyone to expect to make a profit.

But I cant stop playing games, I set myself ridiculous targets for winning a lot of games in a row, eg 100 games of freecell and just waste hours. I keep telling myself that If I had used all the time I wasted to write a book or something I would be much better off but I just cant do it.

I disagree thet obsessions help with anxiety,

I know that when I am playing I go into a kind of trance and nothing worries me but when it stops I feel guilty and stupid about wasting time and lack of self control.

I think you would be much better off trying to sort your life out, learning a useful skill or earning money that you can use to improve your life.

Advice I have been giving myself for years but ....

winning 100 games on freecell - wow, how many is your record.

I'm on spider solitaire with 4 suits, my aim is 5 in a row, I have got to 4 once ! It just sucks up time and makes me forget all the bad.

The other think I find absorbing is hillwalking, I can just walk for hours on my own.

Have stopped it now because of the cold weather.

The main way I waste time is games, I used to be a pro chess player years ago, then I switched to backgammon and poker and did well at both.

I gave up being a poker pro about 4 years ago as I just didnt trust it anymore, I thought there was just too much risk and I didnt trust online poker, and the rake in live games is just too big for anyone to expect to make a profit.

But I cant stop playing games, I set myself ridiculous targets for winning a lot of games in a row, eg 100 games of freecell and just waste hours. I keep telling myself that If I had used all the time I wasted to write a book or something I would be much better off but I just cant do it.

I disagree thet obsessions help with anxiety,

I know that when I am playing I go into a kind of trance and nothing worries me but when it stops I feel guilty and stupid about wasting time and lack of self control.

I think you would be much better off trying to sort your life out, learning a useful skill or earning money that you can use to improve your life.

Advice I have been giving myself for years but ....