I watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Laughing at the moronic double talking self serving politiicans we have in the USA makes me feel better about myself. At least i aint them.

One thing I do is start seeds for my garden and friends, in the winter, and by spring I have baby plants all over the place!

I just received my Park Seed catalog, and I've been going thru that each night. I picture in my mind where I could put what, and maybe try some novel new varieties of flowers. This year I'll be doing more ornamental grasses!

I've already bought some nice seeds at Ebay. In January I will start the earliest ones, and by April the annuals. Many perennials can go outside early, since they tolerate cool conditions. I have 2 cold frames for them also out there. I have to shuffle them because I have limited grow-light set ups. Last year I did a tray of Cosmos pretty late in spring, and gave them to my son, and they did really well where he put them. So, I'll be doing more for him this season.

I recycle some carry out plastic containers for this, and also plastic yogurt cups!

Doing all the mental planning seems to take me out of myself and my pain issues very well.

I did alot of Gazania daisies this spring and they came up very well.
I have a picture of one of them with water droplets in my photo album here. I put them in containers and take upNorth. They seem to do well with the stressful weather and wind up there. I collected seeds from them this fall, so I don't have to buy those seeds this year. I also collected some seeds from a hybrid black eyed susan that was just fantastic in my containers!

Pardon my long post, but I am getting antsy to start already, because of our terrible cold icy weather.

Here is a picture of some seedlings from this past Feb.
Some ornamental grasses, and some catmint. The plastic containers are from scones at the grocery store, and they were deep and handy for starting the seeds. I move them up to cells when they are large enough. Some varieties don't like this and it is trial and error when they die on you! The plastic mini greenhouses are handy for perennials which may take 20 or 30 days to germinate. They are small and fit under the lights well that way

I'd like to elucidate on this a bit. Some distractions are what I'd call "passive" - watching movies, listening to music... While these are good for some things, I've found that more "active/interactive" distractions - those requiring significant mental concentration - are better for taking my mind off of pain. I couldn't tell you if it's the degree of concentration itself, the parts of the brain being utilized, the brain chemicals at work, or what the specific mechanism(s) are - only that if I'm concentrating very hard on creating/designing something, time passes quickly (like being busy at work rather than waiting for quitting time on a slow day) and I either don't notice (as much) pain/discomfort, or I forget about it.

There have been times I've been working on writing an article, creating a presentation, designing a quilt, etc. that I suddenly come to a stopping/break point, look up, and realize it's 2+ hours later than I thought it was and I haven't noticed the time, the pain, the starving dog expiring at my feet...

A secondary(?) benefit is that I've accomplished something and the gratification that comes along with that.

Doc

[QUOTE=Dr. Smith;726569]I'd like to elucidate on this a bit. Some distractions are what I'd call "passive" - watching movies, listening to music... While these are good for some things, I've found that more "active/interactive" distractions - those requiring significant mental concentration - are better for taking my mind off of pain. I couldn't tell you if it's the degree of concentration itself, the parts of the brain being utilized, the brain chemicals at work, or what the specific mechanism(s) are - only that if I'm concentrating very hard on creating/designing something, time passes quickly (like being busy at work rather than waiting for quitting time on a slow day) and I either don't notice (as much) pain/discomfort, or I forget about it.

There have been times I've been working on writing an article, creating a presentation, designing a quilt, etc. that I suddenly come to a stopping/break point, look up, and realize it's 2+ hours later than I thought it was and I haven't noticed the time, the pain, the starving dog expiring at my feet...

A secondary(?) benefit is that I've accomplished something and the gratification that comes along with that.



Not the starving dog!! Have to draw the line there!

I am an extreme animal lover and that hit a nerve (no pun intended!)

Investigate as many things you can that help .. so you never have to rely on one thing to help you.

Save the mot effective thing if you can till last

Try to remain detached / objective as you can

Find someone else who can relate to your pain you share interests with.

Avoid self pity at alll costs.

Find something that captures you imagination , beyond getting well that motivates you .

m