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Activities that require a lot of mental effort.


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Hello everyone :)! I've been doing things to refocus my mind and stay in the present. But I would like to do more activities that require mental effort (I do origami and personally I consider it to be one of them).

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51 minutes ago, anthu said:

Hello everyone :)! I've been doing things to refocus my mind and stay in the present. But I would like to do more activities that require mental effort (I do origami and personally I consider it to be one of them).

Hi :)

I find board games really mindful as you have to think about lots of different strategies and things at once. Not much time to ruminate when that’s happening. I play Catan online too which I really enjoy. There’s a timer so I have to concentrate and not overthink too much. 

I find running really good too as I’m focussing on trying to breathe and not collapse, more than anything else. Plus, I feel great afterwards. 

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56 minutes ago, anthu said:

do more activities that require mental effort

Yeah, I am all for it.  I have just bought a 1000 piece jigsaw.  It's called Cafe By The Canal.  It will look great when I have put it all together.  🫖

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8 minutes ago, northpaul said:

Yeah, I am all for it.  I have just bought a 1000 piece jigsaw.  It's called Cafe By The Canal.  It will look great when I have put it all together.  🫖

Yes, jigsaw puzzles too! I love a 1000 piece one. Waterstones have some beautiful ones in there at the moment!

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3 hours ago, anthu said:

I'm also thinking of learning how to make desserts. Is it considered an activity that requires a lot of mental effort?

Of course and then you can spend mental effort eating them after and thinking how delicious they are :)

Try not to think about the activity too much, anything that you enjoy will be good..

Have you looked into mindfulness to help you be more present in the moment? It works for some. For example when I find myself attending to the thoughts I often look for 5 things around me that I can/could smell / hear and taste. I find it works for me sometimes. 

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6 hours ago, anthu said:

I'm also thinking of learning how to make desserts. Is it considered an activity that requires a lot of mental effort?

That sounds a great idea.  Please could you make a sherry trifle for me?  That will certainly occupy my mind eating it!

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My son got me into gaming. It's a great form of distraction because it does require a lot of mental effort. You have to learn about a whole new virtual world and all the rules that apply to it. It's also great fun and caters to many of my obsessive/compulsive needs(collecting and organising artifacts, etc).

Great way to focus a mind that is usually overactive and can often stray into negative thoughts.

Even if I'm affected by physical pain, switching my mind into gaming mode even over rides that.

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2 hours ago, bendylouise said:

I would love to do jigsaw puzzles and can't have a go at online games because of my upper back pain. Also I can't sit  because of lower back pain so these are huge obsticles which dont help with trying to deal with OCD.

I'm not sure about jigsaws but gaming is taxing on the body. I have to do stretches to open up back, wrist strengthening exercises and sit on an ergonomic cushion. Plus if your character is threatened, heart rate goes up dramatically, body temp up. 

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Thanks everyone for the answers :] It really helps.

On 14/05/2022 at 07:51, howard said:

My son got me into gaming. It's a great form of distraction because it does require a lot of mental effort.

Yes! I love games. I play pvp games on my phone. There is also an app called Plato which has many board games in it.

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1 hour ago, anthu said:

Thanks everyone for the answers :] It really helps.

Yes! I love games. I play pvp games on my phone. There is also an app called Plato which has many board games in it.

Good to hear. They are a great form of escapism.

And there are some many ways to play them from phones to VR, plus such a wide variety.

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