I found out last doctor’s appointment my vitamin d is insanely low so I started taking a supplement this week and it’s made a world of difference already! Highly recommend trying it out if you feel burnt out and low energy all the time especially if you spend a lot of time inside. Its also relatively pretty cheap all things considered which is nice.
This happened to me in Hollow Knight. I was pretty deep into it and IDK why but I dropped it for a bit. After like 6 months I went back and I could not remember where the hell I was going, any of the mechanics, and every generic enemy was murdering me bad. I really should give that game another try lol I was going to just wait for silksong and play that but… Yeah :'(
When I was around 8 years old I was lucky enough to get a PS2 for Christmas. Because I was young, my dad and I usually played games together so he could help me out if things got tough. One of the first games we played on the PS2 was ICO. My dad picked it up in the whim because he thought the box art was interesting knowing basically nothing. I still remember when the first cutscenes booted up and our jaws dropped to the floor. It was so much more beautiful and cinematic than any we had played. It was one of the first time I truly felt transported another world and I grew so attached to the horned boy and glowing girl. We played it every day and, talked about all the mysteries and theories we about it when we weren’t. When we finally defeated the epic last boss fight against the dark queen and the Castle start collapsing I got scared for the horned boy and glowing girl. I couldn’t tell you how long it actually took for the final scene to appear but it felt like forever. When I saw my lil horned friend finally escaped the castle and was on a beautiful beach with a boat he could be able anywhere, I couldn’t help but to start crying it was just such a great ending and was so cathartic after going through a dark and mysterious castle for so long.
I think it really changed the way I thought about the medium. That a game where I couldn’t really tell you what exactly what was happening and had no understandable dialogue could move me so much changed the way I thought about the medium and media in general. Nobody can ever convince me games are not art because I know I connected to ICO in a way in a way beyond just having fun. The fact it’s been over 20 years and I still recall my emotions so vividly I think is a testament to the power of video games as an artistic medium.
This has generally been my experience as well. I used to work as a retail manager at a cellphone store before moving to social services after the pandemic made me reevaluate my career. I had a more chaotic schedule due to the needs of the store, but having some flexibility was nice if I had a doctor’s appointment or something similar.Working 8-5, Monday through Friday, with an hour lunch is awesome in terms of consistency and work-life balance, but it sucks having to use sick hours to do anything essential on a weekday. Additionally, as someone with depression and anxiety, if I’m having a bad week, 40 hours in 5 days can weigh heavily on me at times.Luckily, I was able to get a job where I can work from home full-time, which has made things much easier compared to a formal office. I think a 4/10 (4 days working 10 hours) or 9/80 (9 hours with every other week being a 4-day work week) schedule with an employer that allows some flexibility is the ideal arrangement if that option is available to you. Good luck at your future job!