#Anti-Burnout

[2old4fun]

So, yesterday was the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere. First day of the astrological new year. Fresh energy moving in a newly-awakening earth mixed with a nice, vigorous stir of universal energies with the eclipses.

As a kick-off to the new season, I drew some oracle cards, and one important message stood out.

Playfulness, embracing your inner child, letting go of the daily grind of hard work and real life to be silly and goofy and madcap and creative is what makes life worth living.

In that vein, after another round of spring cleaning, we sat down to do some crafts. Some was just for fun, some was for witchy/manifestation purposes, but damn! It felt good to just sink into imagination and make stuff.

(The letters on the bracelet are WWNKD - what would Nanami Kento do?)

So, if you're feeling down or burned out, maybe get out the glitter [craft herpes] and beads and whatever, and just play. And enjoy an éclair or or treat in the process.

[calltoamentor]

Taking Up Space is Not Optional

What do you do when you are a creative who was conditioned never to take up space? How do you stop making yourself as small as possible? How do you learn to have needs? One small. Painful. Step at a time.

I grew up in an environment that required me to be small. To have few wants and fewer needs. To not grow beyond the comfort of those around me. To be unnoticed and useful. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down; and as a middle child, and the eldest daughter, in an extremely toxic family system, those were really my only options. Demand attention, the cost to me and my youngest sibling be…

[prestonshamblen]

What if the best way to learn something… was to learn 10 things at once? This is Cross-Iterative Learning — a mindset that mirrors how real life works. I built the framework. And I live it.

[animentality]

[bioethicists]

it's actually terrifying how quickly the concept of self care (originally a radical concept rooted in the black panther party's efforts to support other black ppl living through racism) became another tool of self-management which is viewed as both a moral obligation + an individual responsibility. businesses + employers + other institutions now easily wield it as a progressive way to say "if you're upset about xyz, make yourself get over it". "we are going to treat you like shit + you need to learn how to cope with that or else you're doing something wrong"

i have seen job listings where "ability to practice self care" was listed as a requirement for employment. as a case worker, we were repeatedly drilled on "self-care" as a response to unconscionably high case loads, traumatizing experiences, dead end job obligations, + poor living conditions due to subpar pay/high stress. my clients would go to appointments regarding their evictions, food insecurity, active domestic violence situations, etc + receive tips on "self care" without any tangible community, legal, or structural support to follow.

everyone absolutely deserves to care for themselves + it is useful to circulate affirmations + advice on how to do this. this should happen within communities, through a sincere concern/love for one another, as a way of helping everyone live the best life possible while we work towards total liberation. it should not be a replacement for caring for one another!!! it should be one of many ways of caring for one another!!!

[atomicrebelfire]

🐅 The Tiger’s Out: Thoughts on 9-1-1, Press Cycles, and Fandom Entitlement

Watching the fandom ( ahem-Buddies-ahem) spiral over Bobby’s death this week—on Twitter, in tags, in comments—got me thinking. Not just about the storyline itself, but about how 9-1-1 has shaped its relationship with us as an audience over time.

And I say us because I’m not above it—I’m here too: spiraling, speculating, commenting, hoping, wishing, refreshing AO3. I mean, how else are we supposed to survive being canon ship fans? But it’s hard not to notice how this show, more than most, has encouraged a kind of fandom culture (ahem—Buddies—ahem) that feels increasingly intense, reactive, and exhausting.

🔹 9-1-1 is one of the only network procedurals I’ve seen that does press and postmortems for nearly every episode. (Or maybe I just didn’t follow the press this closely for other shows.) Not just premieres or finales. But like… every time someone breathes too loudly, there’s an interview explaining why.

We’ve all been conditioned to expect that—like the story isn’t done until it’s been followed by cast interviews, Instagram teases, writer commentary, and four different articles saying “here’s what really happened.”

🔹 For a while, it was fun. It felt like being invited into the process. But over time, that constant feedback loop has turned every moment into a test. Every twist feels like a betrayal. Every silence feels like a message. Every character decision becomes something fans feel owed an explanation for.

And yeah—some of the behavior has gotten out of hand (ahem—Buddies—ahem). But if we’re being honest? The show and its promo machine spent years telling us this story was a conversation, that fan feelings would be heard and reflected, that ships were part of the game. And now that the show is pivoting into heavier, messier, less “pleasing” territory?

The fallout is intense. Because people were set up to believe this was their show, too and the story is a customer service product.

But here’s the thing: You can’t spend six+ seasons feeding the tiger and then act shocked when it bites.

Yes, harassment is never okay. And I support the cast and writers drawing boundaries when things get toxic.

But this climate didn’t come out of nowhere. It was built—one postmortem, one vague ship tease, one “we hear you” at a time. And now that they’re trying to pull back, it’s clear just how hard it is to put that energy back in the bottle.

Sometimes the hardest truth is this: You can’t always untrain what you’ve taught.

And now, suddenly, we’re supposed to act like the fandom’s behavior came out of nowhere? Nah. You raised a tiger on steak and serotonin—and now it’s chewing through the walls. And the fans who are normal? Who are fine with stories evolving or ending? They’re drowned out or driven off.

[shamebats]

[ripleylarue]

My last job took so much out of me

[cloudycatcalamity]

@ overwork apologists:

If you need drugs or dissociation to be able to maintain your regular work schedule then stop considering the amount of work you do to be “reasonable” for everyone. If you personally can’t do your regular hours without caffeine, then how do you expect someone who can’t take caffeine or refuses to rely on it (caffeine shouldn’t be an expected part of any job) to do the same work?

Sleep deprivation, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, ketamine, weed, etc. shouldn’t be mandatory for any job. If you can’t maintain your job stone cold sober and aware, then you have no right to judge people for how much they can’t work.

This post was inspired by musk, a known drug addict, saying that the 60 hour work week is ideal. Like bro I’m not taking fucking ketamine to generate more shareholder value.

But honestly, I know many “highly productive” people who rely on caffeine to get through their day who then turn around and judge other’s productivity. We have a long way to go to undo overwork propaganda, but at the minimum it should be clear to individuals that they can’t expect others to hit expectations that they themselves can’t even reach.

The human brain isn’t meant to be 100% alert 8 hours in a row every day.

[thesunfyre4446]

for the first time ever since i joined the fandom, i genuinely feel like dropping the show.

i mean not really i'm still invested. but that reunion scene... holy fucking shit

and no, it's not about "TG\TB", the show has been really obvious that rhaenyra is the hero and the greens are the villains. i didn't expect this season to be different. i still love the greens' characters lol

but that scene might be the worst thing i've ever seen in got. season 8 included. complete character assassination for both alicent and rhaenyra.

rhaenyra wants to go to alicent to 1. prevent war 2. reassure herself that her father really never changed his mind. luke and jaehaerys's brutal murders are being swept under the rug in favor of the "men bad girls good" narrative. and i'm sorry, as much as i am TG, even if viserys changed his mind, rhaenyra would still be right to claim that she's her father's heir. it doesn't matter if he told alicent something before he died, she's his declared heir. he named her in front of the entire kingdom. like i get that this might bother her that her dad might've changed his mind, but risk her life and go to KL? are you fr? and what if viserys changed his mind? would rhaenyra have just given up her claim and bend the knee to aegon?

it. doesn't. matter. rhaenyra trying to convince alicent that "there's been a mistake" makes her look so fucking stupid. like girl are you fr?? alicent and otto have both made it very clear that they want aegon to be king for years. what did she expect? for alicent and the greens to be like "oh, my bad girlie! here's the throne! fuck luke and jaehaerys let's just move on"

and alicent.... omg... instead of her taking the throne for her own ambition & to protect her sons (like s1 ep6 established) apparently her only motivation is to do what her shit husband wanted. she was only trying to follow viserys's last wish but oopsie the bad men want war now so there's nothing she can do about it. who cares if daemon sent assassins to murder her grandchild and traumatize her daughter?

[existennialmemes]

Save yourself the embarrassment of being late to work tomorrow morning, by absconding into the forest tonight and never showing up again!

[darcyfoot]

Day 1 of Learning to Draw

Inspired by those ' "I use AI art because I can't draw." "Learn." ' videos on YouTube Shorts, I've tried to learn to draw. I am officially burnt out. My dream is to someday make an animatic pilot or at least a webcomic.

[creaturethatmightexist]

i cant do this neurotypical society shit anymore i cant do this capitalism shit anymore i cant do this shit anymore holy fuck

im just so tired and lost and i have no energy for anything

yet the machine demands i keep going

[lostcore-polyplex]

CW NSFW

Okay so uhh, im art blocked to the core and because of that idk if i wanna draw digitally anymore BUT! I have to take a break from drawing for a bit and see whats up. So this is my friendly reminder of how to deal with artblock- lostcore style

Take a break. Take a chill pill. Relax. Stop drawing, pick your console, sleep, cook, read, maybe even pull a vib and go downtown to NYC.

Point is to chill out and take a break from drawing. Not everything in life is drawing and farming content. Sometimes it's about the small thing in life :) Rest! Drink water and chill. You're too sexy to get burnout

Yours truly, Aaron

[witchyboba]

Hi!!! I know I haven't posted in a while, but if you feel like indulging my little vent:

I've been spending less time online lately. AI conversations are so pervasive they permeate every part of my life, from my work as a designer, to conversations with friends, family, even my hairdresser. My go-to place for inspiration used to be Pinterest, but almost every Pinterest post has a debate in the comments about whether or not it’s AI art. It just sucks to have a skill that I (and many others) have spent decades honing become the subject of every day conversations about "being replaced." Or being expected to be comfortable talking about it at length in any setting. I don't know all the extensive moral implications of AI art, I don't know what the future holds, and it's not a fun casual topic for me. I've asked those close to me to stop talking to me about it because I think it's worsening my burnout.

This isn't meant to be whiny because I know it's not the end of the world, and I will continue making art. I just wanted to say that if you're an artist and you're feeling burnt out and getting less joy from art than you used to, just know that you're not alone and that your art and skills have just as much value as they did before. I for one am just trying to get back in touch with things that inspire me, especially other artists 🙂

[robotmechagirl]

Gah… ->~<-

Car wouldn’t start before work this morning. That’s a headache waiting for me to resolve after I leave work today.

Had like… 3 other things I needed to do during my lunch that were stressing me out. Finished those surprisingly quickly and not as stressed out. Shocking.

I’m starting to feel like I don’t function very well under capitalism. The overstimulation and distress from work, the need to pay for basic necessities, credit checks for a place to live, car maintenance and insurance, having to pay for medical care, etc… It’s like swimming in the ocean and my head starts going underwater as I struggle to breathe.

I kinda want someone to hold me and tell me it’s all gonna be okay. I feel stress from having to manage so much and would like to shut down for a while without causing ruin to myself and others.