Danger.

A lot of this is just depression. A lot of this might be waiting for something to happen but it never does. I've been through this before.

Decades ago, when I was in radio and TV broadcasting as an engineer, I was eased out of the union cause I complained too much about not getting paid. (Long story. Lawsuits involved.) I sat at home waiting to get reinstated but it never came. Wishful thinking. Didn't know what I was going to do cause the job is what I always dreamed about.

When one is alone and depressed, it's hard to think about starting a project or reading a book or wanting to go anywhere. You almost fear leaving the house cause you think people look at you funny. So you surf the web and watch TV and don't get anything done even though you think you did and now it's 2am with nothing accomplished.

The best thing you can do is get a job so you are around other people. Those other people will treat you nice. It will lift your spirits and might get you into a social group.
 
drhowarddrfine said:
When one is alone and depressed, it's hard to think about starting a project or reading a book or wanting to go anywhere. You almost fear leaving the house cause you think people look at you funny. So you surf the web and watch TV and don't get anything done even though you think you did and now it's 2am with nothing accomplished.

The best thing you can do is get a job
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It always comes down to money. If you have it, you can go places. If not, then yeah, people will look at you funny because yeah, you don't exactly bring a lot to the table. Uncomfortable realization, I know.
 
I keep writings from Italian director Tonino Guerra:

"There comes a time when you start looking for a partner to listen to the rain with.
Tenderness. It's like a butterfly caressing you or landing on your shoulder.
Loneliness is also company.
When you love, you stop being just a person and become a fragrance. You don't walk on the earth, but float above it. This state of love is the main thing in life. And it doesn't matter what you are in love with - a woman, a job, the world or life itself.I consider it divine when snow falls... And when it rains, and when leaves rustle on the trees - all these are divine miracles, magnificent moments in a person's life. Divine moments. And if you have to die, then let it be because of these divine manifestations. It is the spectacle of life, life itself is divine providence."
 
astyle said:
It always comes down to money. If you have it, you can go places. If not, then yeah, people will look at you funny because yeah, you don't exactly bring a lot to the table. Uncomfortable realization, I know.
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Not always. You can be the richest guy in the world and still end up a junkie. In fact sometimes I think extreme wealth is a curse rather than a blessing. Bill Gates famously said he didn't want to burden his kids with most of his wealth, I think he's very sensible. Read below what happened to this billionaire and his wife, both hopelessly addicted to heroin. Or maybe don't read it, it's pretty depressing!

www.standard.co.uk

Eva Rausing death: Billionaire Tetra Pak heir 'lived for a week in

www.standard.co.uk www.standard.co.uk

If you can get out of bed in the morning, make breakfast, go to work or go and do something else you enjoy... you're doing good. If you have people you like and love around you, all the better. Those poor guys in that hospital ward I was in that time would have given their right arms to have been able to get up off the bed and just be able to walk down to the corner shop. None of them ever could, of course. I soon stopped feeling sorry for myself for being stuck in hospital for a few days. You have to count your blessings. :)
 
blackbird9 said:
Not always. You can be the richest guy in the world and still end up a junkie. In fact sometimes I think extreme wealth is a curse rather than a blessing. Bill Gates famously said he didn't want to burden his kids with most of his wealth, I think he's very sensible.
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Positive correlation between wealth and happiness is quite strong, but it would behoove to be reminded that correlation is NOT the same thing as causation. You can live in a barrel and not give a hoot about the rat's race outside that barrel... in a town square teeming with vices like scams, murder, prostitution, outright robbery, pests, disease, you name it.

Besides, what do you think BIll Gates even meant? Rich people worry about whether the mountain contains the gold mine, and lose sleep over that. People who do the actual mining, they don't care which mountain contains the gold mine. But miners still wanna get paid for their efforts.
 
Interesting video. This is Robert Fosbury, an astrophysicist in England, I think he is at UCL, and previously at european space agency, he worked on the Hubble and JWST.

His research is into the biophysical mechanisms underlying the health benefits of walking in the woods. His basic thesis is that mitochondria (the cell's energy factory) are able to use near infra-red wavelengths of sunlight in the same way that plant chloroplasts use visible light wavelengths; but instead of the production of sugars as occurs in plants, animal cell mitrochondria use the NIR light to increase the efficiency of celluar energy production as ATP and also to reduce the levels of reactive oxygen species which are by-products that can damage the cell. All of which means you get healthier, and have more energy.

He shows that NIR light can penetrate up to 8 cm into the human body, it's like shining a torch into a plastic diffuser due to internal scattering, so all the cells of the body can benefit; remarkably even including the brain, NIR penetrates living bone tissue. Fosbury demonstrates that plants are super-efficient reflectors of NIR and that when walking in the woods you are effectively constantly being bathed in NIR light that can therefore have benefits to your mitochondrial processes and overall health. The NIR light penetrates through clothes too. Maybe Yoda was onto something! :-)

Since we were discussing walking in the woods I thought this might be of interest. It's quite a long talk but he is a good speaker. Interesting stuff. Maybe this is why I always feel so good when I get back from a walk!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AST9s42LBg8
 
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Meh, I'm living in a storage unit without a job currently. Money could be useful, but employment is more exciting.

I'm sure an opportunity will come eventually, but in the meantime I look at this as an experience like a video game; make the best out of the scenario and learn some new things that could be useful later, move onto something else, and look back on this as an interesting period of time :p It's in a nice forested area and getting some walking in when I get some downtime sounds fun!

If anyone happens to be hiring a sysadmin, I'm pretty good and like learning!
 
Crivens said:
My girl gifted me a shirt saying "I know a short cut", after a trip through woods, mud, swamp, streams. You know the kind where you drag fallen trees around to build a bridge?
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That, my friend, is called an adventure. It has other fun names too, like bushwhacking, orienteering, and route finding.

Regarding boots: I've had a couple dozen pair over the years: hiking boots, climbing boots, plastic climbing boots (multi-day snow & glacier travel), backpacking boots (hiking boots with better support), 3 disciplines of ski boots (downhill, nordic/XC, touring). Leather, synthetic, combos, lined, etc. I've worn the treads off most pairs, had one pair resoled, and I definitely have some favorites. But my goto "boot" these days is a pair of Hoka Speedgoat 5s. I have low tops for warmer weather and high tops with the goretex liners for cooler & wetter weather. Most of my adventures are in the Cascades or Olympics. Based on anecdotal surveys of the thru hikers and weekend warriors we pass on the Pacific Crest Trail (including 50 miles of Section I over the July 4th weekend), Hoka are the preferred "boot" of most backpackers nowadays.

Also, most other hikers we chat with commiserate over the shorter life of them vs heavier boots. Most of us get about 300 miles out of a pair. That's 9 pairs needed to hike the entire PCT. But they're SO much nicer and lighter. I also trail run in them, up and down mountains and they're fantastic.

There's three keys to enjoying backpacking: happy feet, a light pack (< 10kg), and a non-empty stomach. Many of the best moments of the past few years involved Hoka Speedgoats on my feet, a cosmic crisp apple in my hand, and a 4 kg pack for the days adventure.

Hit me up if you're wanting an adventure in the Cascades. It's my back yard, it's world class, and we frequently encounter hikers out on the trails from everywhere else in the world that also has world class mountains. Funny that people who live near mountains seem to have an appreciation for them.
 
Espionage724 said:
Meh, I'm living in a storage unit without a job currently. Money could be useful, but employment is more exciting.
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That's another type of adventure :). I wish you good luck, I hope something turns up. Keep trying! I knew a fella who lost his big successful garage business for financial reasons, all his money, the house, wife left him, etc, and he was living in a van with his dog. He said it was tough getting by financially but he loved the freedom of not having to worry about his business. Enjoy your forest walks! 😁 Another useful tip when you don't have much cash is to get a pushbike, very cheap way to get mobile.
 
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tnpimatt said:
That, my friend, is called an adventure. It has other fun names too, like bushwhacking, orienteering, and route finding.

But my goto "boot" these days is a pair of Hoka Speedgoat 5s....
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Interesting, I've never tried those. Lightweight is good of course, and vibram soles are good. In my neck of the woods I'd be principally worried about water coming in, it's pretty wet and muddy most of the year here in England (our rain is world-famous! 😁 ). And also the risk of them coming off your foot in the mud. We have a big problem with ticks, there are deer everywhere that carry the ticks. The problem with the ticks is they transmit lyme disease and some other nasty bugs, it can get pretty bad if you don't treat it early on. If you get bitten by a tick and develop a rash you need a course of doxycycline from the doc within a week, it's happened to me a couple of times. So I tend to prefer higher boots that stop the ticks getting onto my ankles and feet. Interesting though, maybe next time I'm in decathlon I'll try a pair on.

I'm wondering how stiff those soles are on rocky trails? Traditional vibram used to be super-stiff but I'm wondering if those trainer-style soles are similar. They certianly look pretty thick and spongey!

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astyle,

it's not wrong what you say. It's just you seem to see it from a common point of view, only:
Life is always an act of keeping balances. Albert Einstein said: "Life is like riding a bicycle. You need to stay in motion to keep the balance."
Life also could be seen as a tightrope walk. Some are born to dance on it with ease. While others need all their effort just to stay on the rope.
What in my eyes you (and a few others) seem not to see, maybe because they thankfully never experienced it, is, somebodys' lifes - for whatever reasons; self-inflicted, or without own fault, doesn't matter - can get out of balance that much - suddenly by a blow of fate, or creepy, subtle, unrecognized over many years - they are not within 'normal fluctuations' anymore. They cannot correct the imbalance by their own anymore. Sometimes they even already dropped from 'the rope', being in free fall.
When this is the case you're dealing with situations outside 'normal imbalance correction.' Then you are (way) beyond the limits of what 'good advices', 'good will', 'common sense', or 'normal self control' can achieve.
What such people don't need then is:"Dude, just pull yourself together, dammit! Do a walk in nature and everything is fine again! Simply stop whining, and keep on!" Contra indicated! Because those are 'advices' from dealing inside 'normal, common imbalance correction.'
If you're dealing with somebody already outside of this, somebody who needs to admit she or he needs to seek professional help, like a therapist - nobody is about to admit that freely. everybody wants to avoid this step, solve own problems with own power. but there are situations when this is the only way to avoid the catastrophy. So, such talk can make things even worse:
She or he believes she or he just overrates her or his problems, feels like a wimp, a burden to society. So, plays down its own problems, and avoids sufficient measures to not become an even greater burden. So, not solving anything, but keep on running even deeper into the shit, multiply their problems instead of solve them in time.
Until really bad things happen.
And then it's also not a good style saying: "Oops, I didn't thought it was that bad, sorry!"
If in an internet forum this is even recognized, anyway, if somebody simply does not login anymore.

This is a technical forum. Not the perfect place to discuss psychological topics. Especially not in the absence of any one with a real psychological education.
At least I am aware of we are dealing with real human beings at the other terminals. And at least my psychological knowledge is enough to understand there are not just "small problems", only, but there are also real issues, serious problems, better not dealt with here, at all. Especially not if I see a person opened the fourth thread with similar content in the last three years, already told us about a failed marriage, opened a thread at 4 am on a working day, name it 'Danger', admits he's an addict, and already was in a psychiatry hospital.
Then to me it's clear: I want to support, but I cannot.
 
Alain De Vos Ok, we should have made it abundantly clear that going to nature is good for you, can be fun and brings people together. You might look for a hicking group to start a small stroll. It will help, but at worst it won't hurt - other than muscle burns from legs. If belgium wasn't that far away I might pick you up myself. Go for it.
 
Well of course, if you're stuck in a lousy situation with a physical addiction like being an alcoholic then being told to "pull yourself together" isn't the answer, that's bloody obvious. I don't think it was was ever any of our intentions to say that, certainly not mine. The walks in the woods are just a gentle suggestion, that's all. Sometimes it's good just to suspend your brain and 'do' rather than 'think', to take you out of yourself, change your situation. Of course going for a walk in the woods isn't going to magically make all your problems disappear. At least it won't do you any harm. Remember, "time is the great healer"; you have to give it time.

Yes its a technical forum, I certainly don't have any great knowledge of addiction or psychological issues, I'm probably not a very good person to listen to on this subject! 😂

Wishing you all the best, Alain; I hope it works out :)
 
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One more photo, from my walk yesterday, for inspiration and encouragement. Like Crivens said, "go for it"; every day, if you can. Reconnect with the mothership! It's lovely out there. Those woods are full of butterflies right now too :)

IMG-20250714-WA0000.jpg
 
I'm going to get a pair of these to try, if I can find them in the uk. "A workhorse for sloppy, wet conditions" - sounds perfect for round here. Half-price sale.


Oh... they're for girls! Back to the drawing board.

Looks like it's these. They're not in the sale though, the price for my size is $180 (!!!). That's 40% more than both my two pairs of Haix boots cost, combined.
Think I'll hang fire for now, I'm not that rich. Foiled again! 😂

 
blackbird9 said:
One more photo, from my walk yesterday, for inspiration and encouragement. Like Crivens (how do you do that thing where you turn the user name into a link?) said, "go for it"; every day, if you can. It's lovely out there:cool:
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blackbird9 said:
I'm going to get a pair of these to try, if I can find them in the uk. "A workhorse for sloppy, wet conditions" - sounds perfect for round here. Half-price sale.


Oh... they're for girls! Back to the drawing board.

Looks like it's these. They're not in the sale though, my size is $180. That's 40% more than both my two pairs of Haix boots cost, combined.
Think I'll hang fire for now, I'm not that rich. Foiled again! 😂

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You are not so far...did you try to hiking here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triglav_Lakes_Valley
I am kidding but for few days you can enjoy:)
 
I'll pass this along. My GF wants to take me hiking in Narnia, where the movie was shot. And on the Camino. So this seems to be a valuable addition to the destinations. And if you are adventures, there is a special hiking trail in the Harz mountains. Backpacks and boots(+socks) only. But that one may stay on my bucket list for a bit.
 
Never heard of Triglav Lakes before, it looks like a beautiful area! Wow, you learn something new every day. :)
I guess my local woods can't compete with that! 😂

Many years ago I went to the Lugano area of northern italy, another really beautiful place. I'd love to go back there some day. If you're looking for somewhere nice to go for a few day's vacation with some good walks it's well worth a shot. You can take boat trips round the lakes too.

en.wikipedia.org

Lake Lugano - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

The Harz mountains sounds pretty good too!

I have some Chinese friends from work, they have some real mountains. One girl showed me her photos of hiking in Tibet and Sichuan. If I can find them I'll post one.

Oh man... I want to visit Triglav now!
 
Maturin :

You do make good points. And in all honesty, I sometimes do need the "Dude, pull yourself together!", and sometimes, I do need to be able to own up to something and say, "Yeah, I had it coming".
 
IMG-20250714-WA0008.jpg


This is mount Gongga in Sichuan province, China. It's 7509 m above sea-level; that's 24 thousand feet. She sent me a whole series of photos but I'd better not start posting more of them. China has some serious mountains. If you look just above the top edge of the sign in the photo you can see the mountain beyond. Crivens you can add that to your hiking destination list too! I'd love to go out there some time.
 
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