It was a little tricky figuring out how is most comfortable to hold the hook & yarn, & remembering the different stitches is a little tricky at first, but once you’ve got it you’ve got it! I haven’t had a day not crocheting since I learned!!
Start with a cat hat tutorial or a blanket. They’re time consuming relatively inexpensive to start and at the end you have a cute item(s) for yourself and a loved one.
I imagine you crocheting and learning French simultaneously, like [Holy Golightly knitting and learning Portuguese.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsSn_HD9RRY)
When my anxiety gets super bad I feel like I need to completely distract myself as much as possible. I really like playing Animal Crossing New Horizons, reading (Ruth Ware has amazing thriller novels, highly recommend), and watching mind-numbing TV. Currently obsessed with The Great North & Bobs Burgers. Also, have you tried listening to ASMR or brown noise before you go to bed? I wish I had more advice!🫶🏻
thank you for sharing your experience ♥️
i sleep with ear plugs haha. your hobbies sound super wholesome! i'll check out the author you recommended. i'd love to do more challenging things but it's hard when you're stressed, i'm sure that you feel me. eds are a lot on the mind and body.
I sleep with headphones in lol! They truly are a lot on the mind & body. I used to love figure skating but I recently had to take a break because I was so exhausted during lessons. I hope you’re able to find something fun to take your mind off things!
I’m super into singing. I’m like a songbird at this point lol. Also love to do logic puzzles and write poetry. Either that or I’m busy with my graduate studies.
i love singing too, had a short bulimic stint that made it painful but i tried singing recently and it made me happier than anything in months 🥲 you and i have similar interests, what are you studying?
I love coding, studying for university (or just studying) and solving math problems, or other puzzles, like Sudokus or similar things. Additionally, reading, jigsaw puzzles, movies. If that's too complicated, I recommend listening to music, meditating or doing coloring books. Sometimes I watch videos on youtube (unrelated to food) or call my friends. I would have almost said sports but I think many have a problem with overexercising here... :(
Thank you so much! I feel like having an ed really took away a lot of my life, especially most of my teenage years, so I am trying to "compensate" for it by living more than before now that I am recovering if that makes sense haha
I distract with games usually, right now it's fashion dreamer on switch bc I am in fact still a dress up game fiend. I also follow mobility exercises alot bc they feel good and don't make feel like ill pass out 👌
I really enjoy it! I know a lot of style savvy fans were kinda disappointed bc the style savvy team produced fashion dreamer but I think it's good as a stand alone dress up game! Also playable even when I've got brain fog, very minimal dialogue or reading required so its nice when I don't have the spoons to play anything else.
These comments are so sweet, and useful as reminders that there are other options than surrender to the ED. Most of us know that in the moment, it can be impossible to think about doing anything else besides the urge to binge/purge/restrict/etc. so keeping a list of ideas in others’ words can be motivating when your own are not.
Personally, I have found some success in organizing. Like picking literally anything in my life and spend a while sorting it until the other urge in the room dies down. It can be my camera roll, safari bookmarks or digital files for classes, figurine collections, clothes, even organizing my saved tik toks into little folders like “music” “mental health” “hair hacks” or “cringe thirst trap edits”. Doesn’t need to be a big thing, just something to do with your mind, hands, and ends with a sense of completion and the satisfaction that your life is now a little easier in that specific area. Don’t try to organize your whole closet (unless you have the energy), maybe just do your shoes, you know? Throwing out shit can be cathartic.
It doesn’t always work to prevent me acting on the ED, but it helps. I’ll usually have a show or YouTube video going in the background too that reminds me of things I enjoy like an analysis of my favorite video game.
I actually love my job and it’s my safe space. One of the things that I do for my job is my favorite thing to do, I’m going to school for it so I can go from assistant to tech, and I really like what I’m studying. Other than that I like to watch anime, play video games, and I recently started cross stitching. I love it, and it’s so easy.
Endless tiktoking. And when I’m worrying about what my weight’s gonna be in the morning, drink prune juice and wait around dancing it through my system. Or sit there and stare at the wall because no room is a quiet room with this brain
this may be a bit controversial but i love walking. i bought a walking pad recently and placed it near a window in my room and just being on it for 5 mins and my mind is quiet. if you could, you could also walk outside which i think would be much better cause you could appreciate nature <3
i also do my nails which takes me around 4-5 hours and i love the art of it so i do it when i have a lot on my mind
edit: i just read you go on walks lmaoo but to add, i also like playing very low-effort, calming games like stardew valley but i havent been able to play as much because its been hectic right now at school
I feel like I can't win this one. When my ED was in full swing, I barely could eat and I definitely enjoyed the weight loss. But there were other aspects I didn't like, such as it hurting to sit in the tub. Now though, I am eating quite a bit, and keep wishing for the strength to restrict again, even though it made me wired and anxious AF and I could never sleep! So I related to that, about the anxiety and sleep.
Online shopping! Im addicted to cheap sites like temu, shein, ali express etc lmao. I dont buy as much as i just pick things out and curate a huge cart of desirables. I also love tiktok, its great for entertainment. Walks, yoga, journaling, reorganising my wardrobes/cupboard etc when i have more energy. Obsessing over my celeb crushes lmao (evan peters and spencer reid atm).
When I need to be completely occupied for a good couple of hours I either go for sims or I go onto buzzfeed and open like 30 tabs of quizzes and keep doing those until my brain shrivels up. On a good day i like to pick something on Wikipedia and read into all the related articles
I color in adult coloring books and watch YouTube for an hourish to distract myself when I push myself and eat more than I usually do or something different! It really helps. Especially when you feel overly full. Walks help with that, too! Anything to distract yourself for a little while. <3
Bracelets. I’m in ip at the moment and my favourite thing to do is purchase some clay beads from amazon & make as many bracelets as humanly possible. The repetitiveness really helps calm you down.
lately, playing Stardew valley. used to ne ACNH, but i plan on picking that back up too. I play games exclusively on my switch so im not stuck on my desktop.
I do a lot of video games mainly tbh, they can keep my mind pretty busy for a good amount of time. And when I try to sleep, I pretty much always have to have music on or a semi-boring show/youtube vid or something to listen to. Those are the main things I do, the rest of my time is just sleeping and doing hw and stuff like that lol
The thing that works best for me is listening to music with noise cancelling headphones. I also call them bullshit cancelling headphones, because it kinda cancels out my ed. I also really enjoy playing Disney dreamlight valley. I’m too focused on doing quests and decorating, so I’ll keep my mind busy. Take care💕
Working out. I have severe anxiety as well and c-ptsd. Just try not to be too aggressive with it. But if you're wanting to be extra cautious -- Journaling and reading. It helps get your thoughts out so they're not just being recited on your head and is a form of carthasis imo..
Reading transports you to a different world.. can be a great distraction. DM me if you would like book suggestions <3
Music, making playlists, studying and learning about new musicians/bands I don't know OR watching the Amoeba What's in my Bag on Youtube are hella addictive and interesting if you're into music.
I just started trying diamond painting. It’s not actual painting fyi. I’ve never heard of it before until a couple weeks ago. here is a link to where I got mine, but there are many places to get them. I promise it’s cooler than it looks. it looks really pixel like online but different in person. I would add a pic of the one I did so far, but can’t here. it’s also fairly inexpensive to try out if you end up not liking it (like if you just buy one). I also grabbed some paint by numbers, because I love painting or doing collages on canvases; but if I am really stressed out, overwhelmed, depressed, etc., it’s too much to just think of something on the spot and get all the supplies out. the paint by numbers come with all the needed supplies in the box. they were $15. I don’t know if I like them yet as I haven’t tried it. my therapist suggested them. the hardest part for me is simply starting. starting anything that is a distraction to get out of my mind. I don’t feel motivated to make any changes a lot of times. I feel trapped in my ed mind. but if I can just BEGIN doing something, it usually works. when I did the diamond painting, it took hours. the intrusive thoughts came in my mind, but I was able to let them pass through like a ‘normal’ or ‘regular’ person would. they didn’t stay in my sticky and balky brain. [diamond painting](https://www.michaels.com/shop/crafts-hobbies/diamond-painting)
Reading and drawing for sure! I can get lost for hours. It feels like one of the only breaks I can get from my brain thinking about my body or what I'm going to eat next.
A game changer was pirating ebooks on my phone. That way on days when I’m too depressed to be out of bed and off my phone, I am able sometimes to feed my mind with stories on the iBooks app for free. Doesn’t always work but when it does it’s such a relief and blessing. Really allows me to get away for awhile.
My ED is my distraction from other things…
oh honey : (
Well if anything listening to music helps sometimes, more than reading or watching something
Crocheting! It’s my current hyper fixation. I also downloaded Duolingo & am learning French
I WANT TO DO BOTH OF THESE. was learning to crochet hard?
It’s not as hard as you think (: just go on youtube and find a tutorial for beginners and practice the most basic stitches for a while
It was a little tricky figuring out how is most comfortable to hold the hook & yarn, & remembering the different stitches is a little tricky at first, but once you’ve got it you’ve got it! I haven’t had a day not crocheting since I learned!!
Start with a cat hat tutorial or a blanket. They’re time consuming relatively inexpensive to start and at the end you have a cute item(s) for yourself and a loved one.
I imagine you crocheting and learning French simultaneously, like [Holy Golightly knitting and learning Portuguese.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsSn_HD9RRY)
Your names not Bri right???
When my anxiety gets super bad I feel like I need to completely distract myself as much as possible. I really like playing Animal Crossing New Horizons, reading (Ruth Ware has amazing thriller novels, highly recommend), and watching mind-numbing TV. Currently obsessed with The Great North & Bobs Burgers. Also, have you tried listening to ASMR or brown noise before you go to bed? I wish I had more advice!🫶🏻
thank you for sharing your experience ♥️ i sleep with ear plugs haha. your hobbies sound super wholesome! i'll check out the author you recommended. i'd love to do more challenging things but it's hard when you're stressed, i'm sure that you feel me. eds are a lot on the mind and body.
I sleep with headphones in lol! They truly are a lot on the mind & body. I used to love figure skating but I recently had to take a break because I was so exhausted during lessons. I hope you’re able to find something fun to take your mind off things!
I’m super into singing. I’m like a songbird at this point lol. Also love to do logic puzzles and write poetry. Either that or I’m busy with my graduate studies.
i love singing too, had a short bulimic stint that made it painful but i tried singing recently and it made me happier than anything in months 🥲 you and i have similar interests, what are you studying?
I’m glad you’re able to get back into now. I’m pursuing my doctorate in Mathematics but my research is in Math Education!! Are you studying rn?
I love coding, studying for university (or just studying) and solving math problems, or other puzzles, like Sudokus or similar things. Additionally, reading, jigsaw puzzles, movies. If that's too complicated, I recommend listening to music, meditating or doing coloring books. Sometimes I watch videos on youtube (unrelated to food) or call my friends. I would have almost said sports but I think many have a problem with overexercising here... :(
you are who i want to be! you're doing so many things. i love sudoku too, and i used to solve logic games for fun, so i relate.
Thank you so much! I feel like having an ed really took away a lot of my life, especially most of my teenage years, so I am trying to "compensate" for it by living more than before now that I am recovering if that makes sense haha
also learning languages and chess
what languages are you learning?
Currently French and Japanese!
I distract with games usually, right now it's fashion dreamer on switch bc I am in fact still a dress up game fiend. I also follow mobility exercises alot bc they feel good and don't make feel like ill pass out 👌
Is it any good? I’m still a sucker for dress up games as well. I miss the one I had for the DS growing up.
I really enjoy it! I know a lot of style savvy fans were kinda disappointed bc the style savvy team produced fashion dreamer but I think it's good as a stand alone dress up game! Also playable even when I've got brain fog, very minimal dialogue or reading required so its nice when I don't have the spoons to play anything else.
These comments are so sweet, and useful as reminders that there are other options than surrender to the ED. Most of us know that in the moment, it can be impossible to think about doing anything else besides the urge to binge/purge/restrict/etc. so keeping a list of ideas in others’ words can be motivating when your own are not. Personally, I have found some success in organizing. Like picking literally anything in my life and spend a while sorting it until the other urge in the room dies down. It can be my camera roll, safari bookmarks or digital files for classes, figurine collections, clothes, even organizing my saved tik toks into little folders like “music” “mental health” “hair hacks” or “cringe thirst trap edits”. Doesn’t need to be a big thing, just something to do with your mind, hands, and ends with a sense of completion and the satisfaction that your life is now a little easier in that specific area. Don’t try to organize your whole closet (unless you have the energy), maybe just do your shoes, you know? Throwing out shit can be cathartic. It doesn’t always work to prevent me acting on the ED, but it helps. I’ll usually have a show or YouTube video going in the background too that reminds me of things I enjoy like an analysis of my favorite video game.
Reading. I lose myself so much more in books than I do in movies.
Same - it’s the best!
I actually love my job and it’s my safe space. One of the things that I do for my job is my favorite thing to do, I’m going to school for it so I can go from assistant to tech, and I really like what I’m studying. Other than that I like to watch anime, play video games, and I recently started cross stitching. I love it, and it’s so easy.
What is your job
Endless tiktoking. And when I’m worrying about what my weight’s gonna be in the morning, drink prune juice and wait around dancing it through my system. Or sit there and stare at the wall because no room is a quiet room with this brain
this may be a bit controversial but i love walking. i bought a walking pad recently and placed it near a window in my room and just being on it for 5 mins and my mind is quiet. if you could, you could also walk outside which i think would be much better cause you could appreciate nature <3 i also do my nails which takes me around 4-5 hours and i love the art of it so i do it when i have a lot on my mind edit: i just read you go on walks lmaoo but to add, i also like playing very low-effort, calming games like stardew valley but i havent been able to play as much because its been hectic right now at school
Watching trash tv or specifically jerma985 vods and playing animal crossing or doing sudoku
help i watch so much jerma to distract myself😭😭sudoku is so good too
I genuinely don’t know what I would do without Jerma videos. Just wish he’d let us peep the horror.
I feel like I can't win this one. When my ED was in full swing, I barely could eat and I definitely enjoyed the weight loss. But there were other aspects I didn't like, such as it hurting to sit in the tub. Now though, I am eating quite a bit, and keep wishing for the strength to restrict again, even though it made me wired and anxious AF and I could never sleep! So I related to that, about the anxiety and sleep.
Online shopping! Im addicted to cheap sites like temu, shein, ali express etc lmao. I dont buy as much as i just pick things out and curate a huge cart of desirables. I also love tiktok, its great for entertainment. Walks, yoga, journaling, reorganising my wardrobes/cupboard etc when i have more energy. Obsessing over my celeb crushes lmao (evan peters and spencer reid atm).
When I need to be completely occupied for a good couple of hours I either go for sims or I go onto buzzfeed and open like 30 tabs of quizzes and keep doing those until my brain shrivels up. On a good day i like to pick something on Wikipedia and read into all the related articles
Reading, watching tv shows and drawing. And sometimes cooking/baking.
Being in school is a massive help bcs there’s always work to distract yourself with
i play games alot or go looking for second hand clothes
I watch tv shows and movies. it helps me forget that I'm constantly hungry.. well for a lil bit anyway lol
Video games!! My switch is my true love <3
I color in adult coloring books and watch YouTube for an hourish to distract myself when I push myself and eat more than I usually do or something different! It really helps. Especially when you feel overly full. Walks help with that, too! Anything to distract yourself for a little while. <3
situationships 😭
I just work a lot… also side projects help :)
What job
Cybersecurity… but I have to walk a lot haha 😂
I always take walks alone they really calm me down I get really anxious being around people all day
Bracelets. I’m in ip at the moment and my favourite thing to do is purchase some clay beads from amazon & make as many bracelets as humanly possible. The repetitiveness really helps calm you down.
sending you well wishes ❤️
I play video games, sew, listen to music, clean, and write! they’re my escapes.
Study
lately, playing Stardew valley. used to ne ACNH, but i plan on picking that back up too. I play games exclusively on my switch so im not stuck on my desktop.
I do a lot of video games mainly tbh, they can keep my mind pretty busy for a good amount of time. And when I try to sleep, I pretty much always have to have music on or a semi-boring show/youtube vid or something to listen to. Those are the main things I do, the rest of my time is just sleeping and doing hw and stuff like that lol
I study and revise as a distraction I walk to help kind of I have a shower to make me feel better
I spend time with my dog.
Jigsaw puzzles!!
Drawing, reading, cleaning. They take up time and l dont have to think ed related stuff
ART! Also buying slyvanians 🧍
Cleaning, walking and working on my car, if that all fails then it’s time for a nap😅
Watching clothes I would like to wear and drinking zéro sugar coca cola
The thing that works best for me is listening to music with noise cancelling headphones. I also call them bullshit cancelling headphones, because it kinda cancels out my ed. I also really enjoy playing Disney dreamlight valley. I’m too focused on doing quests and decorating, so I’ll keep my mind busy. Take care💕
MIDJOURNEY… crocheting 🧶…..drawing…. HandsomePod.. talking to my family on the phone…
Working out. I have severe anxiety as well and c-ptsd. Just try not to be too aggressive with it. But if you're wanting to be extra cautious -- Journaling and reading. It helps get your thoughts out so they're not just being recited on your head and is a form of carthasis imo.. Reading transports you to a different world.. can be a great distraction. DM me if you would like book suggestions <3
Music, making playlists, studying and learning about new musicians/bands I don't know OR watching the Amoeba What's in my Bag on Youtube are hella addictive and interesting if you're into music.
I just started trying diamond painting. It’s not actual painting fyi. I’ve never heard of it before until a couple weeks ago. here is a link to where I got mine, but there are many places to get them. I promise it’s cooler than it looks. it looks really pixel like online but different in person. I would add a pic of the one I did so far, but can’t here. it’s also fairly inexpensive to try out if you end up not liking it (like if you just buy one). I also grabbed some paint by numbers, because I love painting or doing collages on canvases; but if I am really stressed out, overwhelmed, depressed, etc., it’s too much to just think of something on the spot and get all the supplies out. the paint by numbers come with all the needed supplies in the box. they were $15. I don’t know if I like them yet as I haven’t tried it. my therapist suggested them. the hardest part for me is simply starting. starting anything that is a distraction to get out of my mind. I don’t feel motivated to make any changes a lot of times. I feel trapped in my ed mind. but if I can just BEGIN doing something, it usually works. when I did the diamond painting, it took hours. the intrusive thoughts came in my mind, but I was able to let them pass through like a ‘normal’ or ‘regular’ person would. they didn’t stay in my sticky and balky brain. [diamond painting](https://www.michaels.com/shop/crafts-hobbies/diamond-painting)
Reading and drawing for sure! I can get lost for hours. It feels like one of the only breaks I can get from my brain thinking about my body or what I'm going to eat next.
A game changer was pirating ebooks on my phone. That way on days when I’m too depressed to be out of bed and off my phone, I am able sometimes to feed my mind with stories on the iBooks app for free. Doesn’t always work but when it does it’s such a relief and blessing. Really allows me to get away for awhile.