Homegrown cannabis.

I feel better after swimming, I think any cardio or exercise that gets me tired out helps.

Hang in there, comrade. You will get through this.

I think it’s good to have a mix of things to do when you’re stressed that dont all fall within the same kind of mental and/or physical strain.

For me, I like to take walks, or I like to lift some weights at home while putting on something thats roughly an hour to watch, thats of course if I am not physically tired or sore, and if the weather permits.

I like to listen to music, just sit down and put on my favorite songs and albums and just listen to them on a loud volume and relax, or get some catharsis out of it. Movies help too, wether its rewatching a favorite or finding new stuff.

I also love to cook when I have the energy for it, find some new recipe or something slightly above my usual level of effort and ingredients and just spend some extra time on that getting a new technique right.

Stuff like that.

I only really have boring answers, but for me, nature does do it. And the data back it up. I try (and do not always succeed) at getting a stroll out in the nearest patch of green for at least 30 minutes in a day, and find that helps enormously. I do go with a local walking group about once a month, who I absolutely adore going with, because the pressure to actually be social and actively converse is approximately zero, so every little conversation and chuckle is a voluntary, fun win.

Books I find to sometimes be very relaxing escapism, Portrait of Dorian Grey especially completely removed me from reality for an hour a day.

Some days, I absolutely love having half a day to dedicate to baking - I often just love the process of feeling free and wholesomely productive more than the actual end results, so I either make weird breads or try to do something time-consuming and complex so I don’t have tons of sugar to consume afterwards. Bonus points for hummus making, putting together a stew of as many vegetables and beans as I can imagine tasting good together, and letting it simmer all day, or other fun cooking.

I find a little benefit in meditation, some days. I only tend to manage ~10-15 minutes, but I’ve never regretted it, so I’d recommend giving it a try.

Yeah I dunno, mostly boring answers, but these are the truth. For me, the big things are changing your scenery, getting mentally involved in something complex but low-pressure, and (very low-pressure) socialising.

Exercise does wonders for mental health like the others pointed out, art is also a great release of stress.

No matter how shit I feel, if I can get myself in the zone playing music for example, it’s like I’m transferred to a magical place away from reality for a bit, and when I come back I feel much better and refreshed.

recently I started writing poems about the things that upset me. They don’t have to be good as the point is to express myself. It really helps order my thoughts and after I’ve done it it feels like the bad thoughts and feelings are out of my head and on paper

Couldn’t really help ya since my way of handling stressful emotions is to fully embrace, bathe in them, then measuredly channel them into my actions. I guess it’s my way of accepting and validizing my feelings then slowly letting go of them.

A more understandable answer I’d give is to listen to mood music and simply letting yourself and your feelings go for a brief moment and merge yourself with the music. Like right now I’m listening to this. For now while I’m typing this comment I’m lucid and concious of my actions but after I tap “post” and put away my phone to resume listening, I will for a brief moment simply cease to exist and simply be a part of the world watching the sun rise.

I don’t know if this will help. I analyze my situation, determine what I can actually affect, create and execute a plan, evaluate effectiveness and modify my plan as needed, and I sleep like a baby. Basically control what you can control and accept what you can’t control. You are but a single person, pull the levers you can reach to get the best outcome you can.

Good enough is good enough. It’s better to start with an imperfect plan than to do nothing.

Lately I’ve spent almost all of my free time writing. Most of it isn’t very good, but that isn’t the point - the point is that even if I only get a couple paragraphs down before I have to move on, I’ve got hours and hours of thoughts about the story and characters that can keep me from being anxious about stuff until the next time I get a chance to add more.

I think about these semi-throwaway characters when I’m trying to sleep and it knocks me out, I think about them when I’m doing something repetitive and it helps the time go. I’ve had conversations with relatives where I’ve said something like “I’m writing a story where _____” as a conversation topic, and it’s a pretty good one to get people talking about stuff they like or things they’re doing and not politics or family drama.

With these “strictly recreational” stories, I’ve also got absolutely zero need to worry about finishing them - I’ve written the first few pages of a dozen different stories, and just switch when I lose interest. No pressure about deleting the files or reusing ideas that I liked from before but in a different context. No pressure about it being good or the content being cringy since nobody else will see them. Just let the thoughts flow.

I also have a story I’m writing which is in a separate category of “I want to publish this someday”, which I work on when my free time intersects with me feeling productive and I take a lot more seriously. It’s fulfilling in a different way, and I think both the quality of the work I’m putting into it and the amount of time I’m spending on it has increased since writing became my go-to activity. Even though 95% of the writing I’m doing is silly and unrelated, I’m in a headspace where I’m more likely to work on it and less likely to mindlessly fire up Factorio or something.