Inkswitch
[us politics] does anyone else find it really difficult to write after major upheavals?
Inkswitch
just reaching for creative energy that is not there
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
ain't just you
ɪ, ᴀ ᴡᴀᴍᴘɪʏᴇ,
i kind of have to choose between immersing myself in the news vs immersing myself in creative writing, during intense times
Inkswitch
yeah, there's definitely this feeling of scattered focus. I've had some good, involved discussions, and listened to some good podcasts, and engaged in demonstration
Inkswitch
and switching from that track back to involved recreation is difficult. Probably it just goes back to both taking a certain amount of mental energy and that gets tiring, same as anything else
Inkswitch
and there's an emotional exhaustion as well
𝖊𝖓𝖘𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖉𝖊𝖉.
yeah
milkycrown
yep
RANNI
It's hard to do anything
RANNI
But it's also addictive because it's such a train wreck and it's like, what if you look away and it gets worse?
𝒢𝐼𝐿𝐸𝒜𝑅.
yeah, and I think current events are especially emotionally draining as well? like it's... like we're sponges and there's only so much you can absorb at once
Inkswitch
haha god that's a telling and real statement
You HETEROLINIS
lmao this is why I couldn't stick with a game after december
You HETEROLINIS
it was just 
one or the other
one or the other
RANNI
I turned off cellular data on my phone for news and my browser, and I've started blocking news websites in my browser and locking my phone for long periods at a time
RANNI
It got to the point where I couldn't focus and just couldn't get started in the morning at lab because I had to catch up
RANNI
It was making me miserable
RANNI
I think you have to like. Set a time limit for dealing with it
RANNI
the creative energy is probably more important than looking at what Fanta Hitler barfed up on twitter now
Inkswitch
I've been pretty good about taking little breaks since January since I'm something of a political junkie and I generally follow this shit closely, but I've chosen not to take a break from this in particular right now. (in part recognizing the privilege that I even have taking a break as an option.)
Inkswitch
which i guess just means... trying to work through the scattered focus and slog it out, treat it like a writer's block where I bang on a piece of clay for an hour and then spend two trying to edit it into something recognizable
RANNI
I think that's fair
Inkswitch
so yeah tl;dr but goddamn why can't we as a nation catch a goddamn break.
RANNI
I've paid attention to Charlottesville, because that's...I don't really even have words for it
RANNI
but I had to just tune out North Korea
RANNI
there's too goddamn much going on
Inkswitch
haha, fuck, yeah, can't even make room for that, nope
Inkswitch
willful cognitive denial there
Inkswitch
it's just so much easier when that's something so far out of our control
Inkswitch
and August is supposed to be the slow news month
Inkswitch
ha
RANNI
we will never have a slow news month again
RANNI
not even when 2020 rolls around
milkycrown
in news to make you smile: "She lost her diamond ring in the garden. It turned up 13 years later. Mary Grams, 84, of Alberta, lost the ring while weeding her garden."
milkycrown
Inkswitch
that's the most fashionable vegetable I've ever seen
You HETEROLINIS
Omfg that carrot
suncult
Inkswitch
for real though