When I was younger, it was reading books. I mainly love fantasy and science fiction. Hours and hours, and like every day.
When I got my first computer, I discovered chat rooms, and, craving positive human connection, launched into that heavily.
Then it was computer games, mostly MMORPGs, also hours on end.
Currently it's just reading stuff from the internet, anything, this forum, research papers on psychiatric meds, psychiatric treatment guidelines, articles about different mental illnesses, med leaflets, anything else I stumble upon and find interesting, crime cases, problem solving, philosophy, I don't even know anymore.
If I stop engaging my brain for too long, my feelings will seep in, and I will fall down into a very very dark hole and somewhere along the way will start crying and start to feel immense and overwhelming pain. I'm not even trying to see if it still happens that way now, like, today, if I stop(*), I just keep going until I'm so tired that I start having trouble to keep my eyes open and concentrate. Insomnia is so bad atm, I have been lying in bed for up to like 6 hours, arrived at the triple initial dose of sleep meds and not even that is working anymore and I'm fighting to keep a semblance of a circadian rhythm.
How curious, I just now, in this moment, realize just how intensely I've been using distraction all along since forever. Idk if that's so healthy ... I think not. I mean it works, but there's something serious that I can't sufficiently contain or process anymore. Also today I'm still agitated and a bit uncollected after waking up to the police at my door. My faut, but very unsettling and disturbing the remnants of illusions of safety. It's not. It's not safe. I'm not safe. Nowhere is truly safe. People still possess my keys. The lock can be lockpicked by a professional. The door can be torn down by the fire department. My home is not safe, my thoughts are not comforting, my feelings are not calming, and no treatment brought lasting relief, and human connections are downright destruction. I don't want to be here anymore and I'm sick and tired of the stream of struggle and loss.
(*) Definitely still happening.