Ask HN: What do you do to 'relax' after an intense day of firefighting? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What do you do to 'relax' after an intense day of firefighting?

7 pointsbutterNaN6 comments

I spent my Saturday on some intense software firefighting that started at 6AM in the morning, till about 5 in the evening. This obviously left me utterly exhausted at the end of the day. It's next day, I have had sleep, yet I still feel somewhat mentally spent.

I normally start my day with a book. But today I find myself not engaging with it at all. This usually happens after intense days.

Human brain is going to think, whether intentionally or not. At this point, I don't want my brain to work whatsoever. I want it to relax.

What do you do in these situations?

How do you 'wind-down', so to speak?

What are some things I can do to make my brain not work too much for some hours?

I have tried meditation, but I feel it only works for me when things are relatively quiet. Today I might end up racing my mind through thoughts. I cannot just go back to sleep either, due to similar reasons.

I know those days very well from my job. I recently picked up playing Ukulele and found that the combination of focus and learning something completely new (mentally and motorically) in a calming setting (in a hammock in the garden) occupied my brain in just the right way to soothe the perceived need for mental activity while being relaxing at the same time. Binging series and/or social media faded the mind race into the background but was not helping me in regaining stamina. Reading books usually just changes the content of my racing thoughts when I am 'in the mode'.

I'm fortunate enough to be in an organization where I could easy call out and regain some balance.

I get a lot of closure from expressing "I had to overshoot, give me time to address"

For an encounter as heavy as this one, I'd probably take Monday and maybe even Tuesday off.

Mind you, I end up doing a lot of the same things... My work is also a hobby. I'll keep a much slower pace, probably watch a lot of TV, or anything else I'd normally do in my time off

Thankfully this pattern ended for me before it got too bad. I'd consider shopping around if this is a regular occurrence

> What do you do in these situations?

Leave that job and go find a different position, with a competent manager.

What you are describing is not a sustainable way to live.

Go get a medical cannabis card. If available in your state, telling a doctor your symptoms after a stressful day will probably qualify you.

Don't smoke it, use eddibles.

I have been using cannabis and it helps a lot on reducing stress for me. I smoke it (hybrid) even during work when I get tired. I felt it help me become more focus on my task. Curious why you think we shouldn’t smoke it and use edibles instead.

Edibles don't have smoke residue which can cause respiratory problems especially with long term use. The only caveat with edibles however is that many get the dose wrong. So ask an experienced psychonaut how much you should eat. Tell them your BMI and then do a little math to calculate the correct dose.

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