What is "relaxing"?
 

What exactly do people mean when they say "relax tonight" or "do something relaxing"? I get bored at home when I'm not reading textbooks or computer programming.

Doing something less strenuous physically and mentally, taking a break.
Activities that have no real aim except to chill out whilst doing.

Reading a book. watching a movie. surfing the net. playing a game, like world of warcraft.
Sometimes even doing a little writing is how I relax.

Thanks, that's helpful.

I suppose I'm in the minority though - I read medical/pharmacology textbooks to relax and I watch maximum 1 hour TV a week and that's a documentary.

But I do like running.

I read about psychology / sociology / philosophy to relax and watch about the same amount of TV too, but I agree it's probably unusual.

Whatever takes your mind off the stressful side of life.

Being in the bath for 5 hours with a good book and a pot noodle is good for me!

I wondeer this too... in fact i have a thread up at the moment asking how people relax as im rubbish at it but also accoring to my doctor "overly stressed"

If i'm not doing work, reading a text book, or writing an esay I just get bored... Or I start thinking about stuff too much and basically frustrate, annoy or upset myself

I play The Sims with some tv on in the background, or I sit and read a book and drink some wine. I love it. That is my ultimate relaxation.

I've also started standing on the right of the tube instead of walking on the left if I'm not in a rush, which is bloody brilliant.

And when I'm over-stressed at work I sit and spend half an hour with a cup of redbush tea and do the Guardian crossword.

Very small things like that make such a difference to my sanity, it's incredible.

This is something I massively struggle with. I seem not to be able to switch off but I am working at it.

I find that watching a movie such as Disney or one that requires little thinking can be helpful.
Also, reading a book, drinking a cup of tea, colouring in, writing, sudokus, organising stuff, mindless television...
I have to go for a run a few times a week or my mood massively suffers.

Spamming F&D can be good too...

Fr me it's reading while listening to music or watching some reality tv that you don't need to think about.

I find I need to do something at least a little mentally engaging otherwise I'll still be over-thinking about stuff. Watching TV isn't enough to take my mind off things.

I find that TV isn't good enough either...I have to read or do something on my laptop that takes mental effort to do (hence computer programming).

Well I dont know about stuff to do at home. But I go to the stables to relax. Groom a horse. Nothing more relaxing for me.

Yeah, relaxing is just taking some time to do something that you enjoy that makes you feel good.

Like for me its being in bed with a book and hot chocolate (or wine!)
or taking half an hour to go for a walk along the canal, or sit and watch the ducks. Not really going anywhere, just walking.

Relaxing is just when you don't have to think about stressful things like life and work and families and stuff and can just not think about anything really.

Thank you all - the posts have been helpful. I'm glad you have your ways of relaxing. I actually do find something non-academic relaxing, I like playing Solitaire or Mahjong Titans on my laptop while listening to music.

This lol.

For me reading, watching comedy/Disney, having a few drinks, smoking.

for me the only way I can "relax" is if I am physically and mentally exhausted. I play scrabble ( literati on yahoo) and go on my exercise bike, then lay in bed with the tv turned down or put a familiar dvd on in the background, and just let my mind wonder without trying to control my thoughts. failing that, a nice massage always helps me feel physically relaxed.

I like to troll the interwebz.

Go to a spa and sit in a jacuzzi with your favourite drink or book :)

Watch a film, play games, chill out at a pub or just lying down and watching TV
I do have a poor attention span however, so I quickly get bored of most things

I think this to myself too. I guess for me watching TV is relaxing, as is laying in the sun and crisping up. :D

I think it's just doing whatever you enjoy doing and helps you feel more positive/refreshed, and that you do because you want to, not cause you have to. For me, that includes things like what you said, including reading science books, even doing homework, watching documentaries, trying to understand relativity, etc. I honestly feel worse if I watch pointless TV, because just that, I feel it's pointless and only dulls me, and I feel happier if I am doing something I feel has a point and will further me. I like movies, but only if they are the kind that bring up ideas of some sort that stimulate me. I can't stand the type of stuff (like reality shows or crime dramas) that seems like it's there just to fill my valuable time and be marketed to me as if I'm stupid like it's actually real.

So for me, relaxing IS reading textbooks or discussing philosophy or doing physiology homework (so yeah I actually have a problem where I neglect other things because I want to do my physiology homework lol) or other things most consider "work" and "stress". But I do relax with things like music, exercise, and going into nature (even if it means a strenuous hike) or do something creative (writing/art). Those still stimulate my brain & have what I consider a purpose, are very relaxing/enjoyable, and refresh me. And music is so essential because it helps me connect with myself yet distance myself from the craziness of my surroundings.

And I think if that's what keeps me going, then that's relaxing for me, even if it's not what most people consider relaxing. Social interactions are often much more stressful for me, especially if there's negative social interactions involved. I sometimes like to hang out with people, but it takes much more work and drains me more than the other things I mentioned. I work in a microbiology lab and I go into work tired in the morning and actually get refreshed by working (assuming its not a stressful day for whatever reason) because I enjoy it so much. "Normal" relaxing things just feel like such a waste of time in my mind, and so they really are more stressing than relaxing. And I don't think that's a bad thing, it's just different than most.

^ this. I cannot take part in pointless activities like watching rubbish TV. I very rarely watch TV at all as I have a laptop (which I recently replaced its 3Gb RAM with 8Gb RAM!) which I watch documentaries on iPlayer Desktop. I only really watch things on my laptop when I have done so much reading (and by that I mean 3-4 hours almost continuously) that I need to "reset" myself so I don't get overtired.

I don't have any fiction books in my room; I have 81 textbooks which give me so much choice to read and learn about any subject that takes my fancy.

I haven't done programming for a while though as textbooks have kept me so involved.

I love running too. It gives me a sense of freedom.

I know what you mean. I like to read some fiction books, but they are almost always science fiction. If it's gonna be fabricated, it needs to have ideas that have complicated meaning, symbolism, etc. in them. Other people think that I'm ridiculous for caring, but I think if it's how I see and enjoy things, there's no need to change.

The best relaxation for me is sitting in a bath that's full of bubbles and reading with some music on as well. I would say gaming but I just end up shouting at the game about half an hour in.

Beautiful Seclusion, I don't think you're ridiculous for caring.

Today I am spending the whole day relaxing - I am reading as many chapters of as many textbooks as possible!

What sort of subjects do you read about?

Medical textbooks, pharmacology (of course), toxicology, forensic science, forensic pathology, neuroscience/neuroanatomy, general anatomy and sometimes a bit of physics.

I also indulge in solving maths problems too.

What got you interested in those subjects?
I read a bit about emotional quantum physics once to try and understand the ins and outs of bipolar a bit better.

Wish I could say maths problems were an indulgence, am studying maths heh. It's probably the least indulgent activity I engage in. Lol.

I was always interested in the sciences, all my life. I never took an interest in history (in fact I messed up my exams on purpose for a laugh because I knew I couldn't do any good anyway - and I quit history before GCSE thankfully) and I read more non-fiction than fiction for most of my life (I learned how to read when I was three years old).

I guess what draws me to the sciences is the logic behind them. I sometimes work out the rules of mathematics from first principles and then check if my calculations are right.

I used to be more into physics at school though, but then I made a fairly rapid transition to the biochemical/medical sciences.

Also, due to my Asperger's, I get obsessions about topics and have this very strong need to learn as much as I can about them. My main obsession is psychopharmacology, but I have had "mini-obsessions" on the side ranging from americium-241 to endocrinological diseases.

Lol. Maths seems to be a bit black and white these days; people either love it or they don't. I was brought up with maths; my mum's got a degree in economics and accounting, and my dad's got a PhD in civil engineering.

I find physics so interesting. I'm taking a basic physics class right now and it's helped me in the class that I've already read a lot on theoretical physics. How light works is so crazy and cool. My main interest is neuroscience though. I want to be a researcher in that. It's just so amazing how complicated yet logical the brain is. And how much could be changed if we just understood it better. We're studying that in my physiology class right now and I find it so fascinating. I'm also learning how interesting and connected to neuroscience endocrinology is. Pretty much anything at the cellular/molecular level, especially relating to medicine is so incredible to me.

I like math, but my problem is that I really want to understand all the theory and proofs behind it, so actual math classes are difficult because they usually just assume you only want to memorize it, so it takes me longer to learn it than other people cause I do better if I understand it. But if I have the time to put into it, I enjoy math too. Never really got into forensic science. Does that deal with how science solves criminal cases?

I'm kind of jumping in here... but it's kind of nice to know that I am not the only "freak" who uses their free time to obsessicely learn lol



I love physics. People find it odd but I read physics textbooks and do calculations and things for fun

neuroscience is facinating too. My degree was meant to be in that before a failed a module and got forced to change to physiology :ermm:




Most people think that I am a total freak as when I have free time what I do is read textbook, make notes and set myself essays... but those are the things that I enjoy doing... I honestly cannot even imagine no longer leanring, I think that the day I stop leanring will be the day that I die... In a few weeks I am starting another degree (via distance learning for financial reasons) aswell as doing 4 night classes, and if I had the money I would be doing even more...



I can watch rubbish TV, however, only as backgroubd noice while I read or write something... I couldn't just sit and watch it, I just can't stand silence and a TV is a convenient source of noise.

Physics and neuroscience are amazing indeed. I sometimes read up on string theory, time dilation, the Universe etc.... I'm glad that we share interests. I usually work things out in mathematics myself so I guess that's why I learn it. When I learn maths, I just scan the pages, taking in the formulae quickly and just getting the point of it, then I rush to the problems and sometimes make up my own problems. I think you should try doing some maths in your own time, it's much more enjoyable that way. Forensic science is to do with solving criminal cases. I bought (well, my dad paid for it) a textbook on "Clinical Forensic Medicine" yesterday, and I ended up reading it for 3 hours.

You're not a freak. I learn stuff in my spare time to excess. I love teaching myself things and setting myself maths problems. I don't understand how people can sit and watch rubbish TV for hours every day. I never watch TV; but I do watch documentaries on iPlayer on my laptop.

"I think that the day I stop leanring will be the day that I die" I completely agree - me too.

I don't have any fiction books in my room, because reading fiction seems like a waste of my time and a boring task (I can't read beyond p19 in most fiction books); I want all my spare time (except for going to the gym) reading textbooks!

I sometimes read fiction, but usually only when someone I know is reading the same book so I can discuss it with them. If I don’t have that option for discussion then I got bored of fiction pretty quickly... I can also read it if there is a lot to anaylise within it, a lot of symbolism, extended metaphors, etc. being dyslexic i am not meant to like that stuff but I sort of do... in fact I think I like it because I find it hard (if that makes sense)


freak may not have been the right word lol. On Friday night there was a party here when one of my housemates told everyone about my reading textbook and setting myself essays (and even sometimes marking said essays) and I spent the rest of the night being teased by a load of 20 year old students :( so feeling particularly freak-like right now lol.



At school I used to get into trouble in maths for creating my own equations and formulae lol. Then again I used to cheat in things like chemistry when we did titrations as I could mathematically work out what the answer should be and not do the boring experiment :P (I generally like lab work but titrations are sooooo boring)




Forensic science is interesting too. But any and all books about it are studidly expensive... however, as 90% of it is the application of other areas of science I find that you can find chapters about it in multiple books and build up a fairly good picture of it thart way.

We are actually quite similar in terms of reading textbooks and writing essays. Once I wrote an essay about the pharmacology of olanzapine. My friend said I should email to my psychiatrist lol. Unfortunately I am not "brave" enough to email it to her, but she is used to me emailing her with copious amounts of technical language (and we chat about the pharmacology of my meds in our appointments too which I really like) - I do this because I really enjoy talking technical with someone who can understand it.

The students that teased you are stupid. You will succeed more than then tbh. I am not top of my class in uni or anything similar (I am comfortably in the top half), but my friend said that I am more likely to get a first in the future than a lot of the other students because I am obsessed about pharmacology and medical-related topics, and will spend my spare time reading it as much as possible, whereas the other students do only what they have to do and then go and party all night and crap like that.

Lol, I did the same thing in a uni lab session on titrations, it makes it so much easier and the data "support the theory" lol. I made my own formulae for mental arithmetic so I can calculate things fast. And I like doing things in my head like calculating densities and my walking speed.

That's true, some of the books on forensic science are very expensive (my dad had to buy my recent textbook "Clinical Forensic Medicine" for me....) but I have two books on forensic science itself which weren't that expensive on Amazon.co.uk .

I have now got 83 textbooks in my room lol. My goal is to get through the whole of my favourite textbooks, at least twice.