Doom scrolling for better mental health

In this short blog we explore what I do outside work to get through the day.

I like to know what's going on and as an over-thinker am attracted to information. Books, interesting conversations, Internet sites. Only later did I learn the hard way that my brain has other ideas and prefers the cool rush of dopamine.?

So when I found myself browsing the Interweb, I was frequently captured by my grey matter as it pushed me to scroll through endless posts on LinkedIn or Twitter or the comments sections of newspapers.??Another of my hobbies was practicing eco anxiety. It was complementary to doom scrolling, as golf is to cricket, since each fitted well with the other. It also allowed me to diversify because now I could doom scroll climate alarmist sites then jump to climate denialist sites and back again - "It will be 50 centigrade in flooded London by 2050, frogs will be extinct AND this is all part of a natural sunspot cycle because the world is controlled by the Illuminati." What fun!?

I even tried the Daily Mail website . I look back on this with shame as my "Jimmy Page on heroin" period.

Eventually fate intervened and caused me to reflect on my behaviour -- I mean, whose hobby was it really, mine or my brain's? I had been captured in an infinite monkey cage by Silicon Valley social media execs hungry for advertising revenue.

Jaron Lanier explores this trope in his book "You are not a gadget" and indeed you aren't.?And neither am I, though my base instincts may act otherwise:

So now I practice acceptance and the 12-string guitar.

Acceptance?

The phrase "Man proposes, but God disposes," from?The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis sums this up well (and please substitute a secular alternative if you prefer).?Once I was able to shed this weight from my shoulders, the world became a brighter place - perhaps we ARE doomed, perhaps the world IS controlled by the Illuminati. Perhaps--but I am not going to let that ruin my day. I will do my bit and hope that it helps while also looking after myself and my mental wellbeing.

12-String

Learning the 12-string is a joy. If you like tuning. Because, dear reader, after owning one for a year I can tell you with authority that tuning a 12-string is definitely controlled by a higher power--or indeed the Illuminati. One thing is for sure: I don't do it. Instead I twiddle and suggest and let fate have its way.?

Fortunately my "axe" is rather tactile and glamorous I hope you agree, shown here with other characters from my collection:

It was a lockdown project, starting life as an eBay "lemon" that fell short of its potential before being self-actualised thanks to the care and attention of a local luthier . My journey was as follows:

• Lust (this looks great I must have it) ->
• Denial (surely it should sound/play better than that, perhaps it needs to "settle") ->
• Bargaining (perhaps if I complain about the loose brace I get to return it) ->
• Anger (that seller took me for a mug- GRR!!) ->
• Acceptance (it is what it is, so let me use the opportunity to find out about guitar setup and repair) ->
• Rebirth into a great instrument (after shelling-out some cash and three luthiers later - two bad one great).

So now I while away the hours tuning the 12-string, retuning it, tweaking the B that has gone flat, retuning it after opening a window or having a shower, fretting over string?gauges and standing back in shock as it shreds my fingernails like I put them in the mouth of a cornered marmoset.?And very occasionally I get to play it and very nice it sounds too.?

The world will never be the way I want it and my 12-string will never be in tune, but hey--it sure beats?doom scrolling.

??