Working alone when emotinally distressed.

[Dabidoe]

I have been having a fucking hard time focusing on work (video editing, building my video production business) working alone in my studio. I keep wasting time on reddit and twitter because I am so emotionally triggered by what's going on in the world. 

I know that it's my fault, that I have agency, that I can just log out... but my emotions are fucking with me. I have friends in Israel (I'm jewish went there on birthright) and I am sickened by the amount of hatred I'm seeing for my people (the punch a nazi crowd is stunningly silent - people are literally saying "hitlers bad but... had some points.")  
I respect anyone's right to criticize the actions of the Israeli government, violence against civilians and genuinely feel horrible for the Palestinians. Does that mean my friends lives are meaningless, that we jews are beyond redemption?

Anyway back to the point. Does anyone have any suggestions for powering through negative emotions working alone? 

[Hugo Oliveira]

Message me about your video projects. I'm a motion designer working alone and having lots of distractions too. Let me know if you need a partner.

[MarkKol]

There is something out there in the wild, modern folks call it a girlfriend. Shutting off the news helps. You don’t need to listen to the news to be successful in business.

History has chosen jews to suffer more than average Americans/Europeans, it is what it is. It will get better one day, to the point where no jew will suffer as terribly as they have, all of society is built on a mountain of bodies so that you can live normally and more peacefully. Through individual transformation, peace agreements and Intermingling with Europeans/Americans and maybe some asians, the world will stop hating jews. However slow, it will happen. Once the most conservative people are like today’s liberals.

On a personal, more theoretical note, I can’t help but think middle eastern religions  and culture make people more prone to aggressive behavior. It’s like there’s a side effect to each religion, islam and judaism with war and terrorism, and christianity with stupidity. Middle easterners will have to (again) mix with the rest of the world, especially with the west, but they will have to bend to western values which includes dropping the whole women are less thing, that has to go first. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by MarkKol

[DianaFr]

18 hours ago, Dabidoe said:

I have been having a fucking hard time focusing on work (video editing, building my video production business) working alone in my studio. I keep wasting time on reddit and twitter because I am so emotionally triggered by what's going on in the world. 

I know that it's my fault, that I have agency, that I can just log out... but my emotions are fucking with me. I have friends in Israel (I'm jewish went there on birthright) and I am sickened by the amount of hatred I'm seeing for my people (the punch a nazi crowd is stunningly silent - people are literally saying "hitlers bad but... had some points.")  
I respect anyone's right to criticize the actions of the Israeli government, violence against civilians and genuinely feel horrible for the Palestinians. Does that mean my friends lives are meaningless, that we jews are beyond redemption?

Anyway back to the point. Does anyone have any suggestions for powering through negative emotions working alone? 

I can give you some suggestions as a very sensitive and anxious person who are used to working by herself, currently has many committments and just can't afford to blow any of them because of emotions getting the best of her. 

1) Use your negative emotions to your advantage. Don't just passively read the news worrying. Do something about it, anything. Find movements, organizations, platforms that deel with helping victims of military conflict and get involved! Even posting about it and getting your word out may be very helpful. Your friends are in danger, people are dying, the war is spreading to more places - of course you can't take it and just live as nothing happened! What is one realistic thing you can do to help this situation? 

2) Working alone - no better suggestion that the good old discipline. Give yourself deadlines, have a non-negotiable work schedule, plan your work for the day, week and month, create KPIs and measure them, incorporate rewards etc. 

3) Your work must be meaningful to you. You can't expect the circumstances and your mood to always be perfect, but things must be done regardless. For example, I must take care of my child and meet his needs every single day no matter how tired I am or how bad the global situation is. If your work has an impact that's bigger than you, you will keep at it no matter what. 

4) Optimize your work conditions and look for support. Find other creators who work by themselves - you can keep each other stay motivated (you even had an offer in this very thread!) If you're sitting all day in your room by yourself, go work at the coffee shop or library occasionally - this will make you more productive. 

5) Create space for your feelings. What must you do to vent, make sense of your emotions and clear your mind? Do it regularly as part of your mental/emotional hygene, so it doesn't mess with your responsibilities. 

6) Work very hard but rest even harder. Just try to make sure one doesn't interfere with the other. 

Edited October 28, 2023 by DianaFr

[Dabidoe]

@Hugo Oliveira Sent! 

@DianaFr Thank you for your great advice... I recently stopped smoking pot (was doing at work ) which has helped but I can see there's a lot of room for improvement in terms of both self discipline and self care.

On 10/27/2023 at 6:46 PM, MarkKol said:

There is something out there in the wild, modern folks call it a girlfriend. Shutting off the news helps. You don’t need to listen to the news to be successful in business.

@MarkKol? I have a girlfriend, she has a job I have a job... Also man no offense but I wasn't making this post to argue about religion.
Jewish culture is thousands of years old and by definition has some backwards elements. While I think the subject is very nuanced you do have a point about the Middle East being a far more "Spiral Dynamics Red" type mentality. It is what it is... 
That said Tel Aviv is a very culturally advanced metropolitan place and everyone I met there was amazing. Jewish people might be kinda dickish and rude (some guy bumped into me and said "EXCUSE YOU!" lol) but they were far less spiritually dead and far more inclusive and communal as a culture than America. When I came back I was in Penn Station room full of nearly a hundred people all silently looking at their phone, a stark contrast to bright loud social Israel.

Edited November 2, 2023 by Dabidoe