What purchases have been the best for your mental health?

My car has been amazing, I got my license about 2 years ago, and after relying on busses and trains to get around for eight years and living alone, having a car is just fantastic.

Thinking smaller, my cameras, I got properly into photography back in 2017 when I bought a Lumix GX80, and got a 14-140mm lens for it, it taught me soooooo much about taking nice photos. Then last year I upgraded to a Lumix S5, and damn, it is a really nice camera! The only thing that annoys me with it is the slow AF, so I am already planning on getting two other cameras to complete my setup.... But anyway, my cameras has helped me a lot when it comes to go out and do stuff, simply because I want to get the photos!

Thinking smaller yet, my Hue system is amazing.

Being able to open the door to my apartment and being greeted by a nicely lit apartment rather than a black void when comming home from work is just fantastic.

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A 3D Printer. It replaced a lot of bad habits and it stuck for me. Plus I'm creative and I love to tinker, so it was perfect.

Right now I'm trying to use my filament printer to create quality D&D miniatures with mixed results. Fine tuning is getting closer and closer to resin print quality.

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Comfy bed.

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Therapy appointments

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Yawn

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- It may not work for you and it doesn’t work for me but don’t poo poo it for the people who experience relief.
  
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Not to diss the question, but I've seen a bunch of these 'best purchase' questions here recently and I wonder if someone is trying to subtly promote a consumerist culture.

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Be on the lookout for a articles "Top 10 things you can buy to improve your mental health".

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They are great questions to train the AI on. That's why were are all here right?

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...we already are in one?

Yes, the "best purchase" questions are a bit frequent. However, where else can you go these days? Facebook? Amazon Reviews? AI article #28462? Paid YT influencers?

Forms like Lemmy are one the last places you can ask and get reasonable honest human answers for purchase advice. Reviews and troubleshooting are last 2 reasons I go to reddit, and even then reviews over there can be iffy on mainstream stuff.

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We're also in the lead up to christmas.

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Advertisers on ~~Reddit~~ Lemmy, what purchase fits generic criteria?

Edit: I’m not saying OP is doing that but I tend to believe advertisers were doing this on the old site

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Had exactly the same thought. Although I doubt anyone's trying to promote anything. Consumer culture has just colonized many of our minds, even here.

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I have an electric heating pad that I use a lot. If I have a migraine, it's nice to know it's there. Sometimes I turn it on before bed to heat up my bed. Sometimes I turn it on in the middle of the night and wrap it around my feet/ankles. It's definitely a comfort item that I miss when I don't have access to it.

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Smart light which can dim in the evening.

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Adoption fee for my shelter pup, Ripley.

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A new fridge where the freezer is on the bottom. I'm quite tall so my natural eyeline is pretty close to the top of our fridge - when I'd have to bend over to see what was in the fridge I tended to turn to the freezer first when hungry... since switching up our appliance I cook a lot more fresh food (and, for bonus points, I enjoy cooking).

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Had one of those when i was a little kid. Ice cream was within reach! Dunno why they stopped making those in thr 1970s

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My 29' sailboat. I've lived aboard off grid for over 5 years now. I'll never willingly move back to land, I'll die out here. Under $20k btw.

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Slip fees?

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- None, I live on the hook. No rent, no slip fees.
  
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This was my plan before I got married. Cool to hear someone living the dream.

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- aaah man that makes me sad. Are you sure you can't still do it?
  
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How do things like mail work? And what if you need to put in an address into a form?

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- I use a private PO box from a company that specializes in Dockside Services in Seattle / Ballard Wa. address, mail, ID, etc etc services for roamers. I have them forward to a temp address or General Delivery wherever I'm at. I also can use the Amazon lockers / Wholefoods, but I try to as little as possible. Outside of the US it gets a little trickier.
  
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' == foot, right?

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- Yep. ' is common for feet and " for inches so 6'3" would be 6 foot, 3 inches.
  
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- Don't want to end up with an 18 inch stonehenge.
  
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- Yes. It's a Bayfield 29 to be exact
  
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Do you have an income? I'm just curious how this works. Do you catch most of your food?

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- I do freelance / contract work in IT and marine/boat stuff. I live on anchor for about $2000 / yr, that's the cost of replacing ground tackle (anchor chain lines parts plus some extra$). No rent.
  
  I fish/crab/lobster, but it's not enough for full-time subsistence.
  
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Sounds super nice.

Personally, I'll have to do with watching Acorn To Arabella to second-hand enjoy that life

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I started smoking pot.

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Explain. I am on medication for mental health reasons and have stopped drinking.

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- I tend to hyperfixate. Every mistake I make or goal I don't immediately achieve can become a weapon I use against myself. I have spent hundreds of hours in therapy. Meditation can help but it is really hard for me to get started.
  
  I injured my knee a few years ago and after trying arnica and a bunch of other drugs to manage the inflammation the PA told me to try smoking weed. Within a week the inflammation was under control and I discovered meditation was MUCH easier for me after smoking.
  
  Now I know when I start to beat myself up I use my vape pen. Two puffs and 25 minutes later I will be able to slow down and mindfully check in with myself.
  
  I start with some breathing. First slow breathes, then even breaths, then box breaths. After breathing I do a body scan, I start at my toes and work my way to my face. Then I feed my thought to a candle for a bit and imagine watching them turn into smoke.
  
  Within half an hour the vape pen will be wearing off and I won't be able to stay in that state but I will be a lot nicer to my self and my family. Over the last 6 months I have lost 25 lbs and put together a new plan to find a new career, I am a few weeks away from my first certification since 2008 and have set up a new resume. I am making plans for the future and genuinely optimistic about my own life.
  
  Pot and meditation have done what endless therapy and fists full of medications could not. I am in control of my own thoughts and feelings. I am able to make plans and follow through with plans that spawn months. I am in control of what and when I eat and sleep. I am a normal ass adult with responsibilities I actually attended to.
  
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I went from a six year old phone to an iPhone 16 pro max recently, mainly for better low-light pictures of my cats.

I had to bury my oldest last week.

I got a good couple weeks of fantastic pictures of him cuddling us before he really went downhill.

I am so appreciative.

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Fuck man, I was looking to feel better not more feelings.

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Man, is truly sucks to lose a buddy, but I’m glad you got some high quality media of him.

Hugs Rai.

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- Thank you so much <3
  
  He was perfect. My partner had him since he was a baby, and I’ve been with my partner for about 13 years. He was an icon of our house. It’s weird not having him, but so comforting that most of his life was cuddling, purring like a mad man, and eating like fancy food.
  
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Membership in the local art museum.

Can go any time and just sit, absorb, and clear the head.

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Camping equipment.

Cleaning service.

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Gym membership & personal training. Expensive but completely worth it!

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Base building sandbox games. I don't know why but this genre of games can suck away my stress unlike anything else (since I quit smoking). Oxygen Not Included is the one I keep coming back to.

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Funny that you mentioned ONI, played and enjoyed it for > 50 hrs but I always got to the point where the base was falling apart b/c of one of the many missing ressources for my dupes :o So actually quite stressful at times, at least for me :D

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- That early-to-mid-game hump takes out a lot of players. Every resource takes Dup time and every Dup needs more resources - the balance takes practice and some math. Then the Spaced Out DLC came out so we could have that same hump several times in the same game... and I love it.
  
  Most of my colonies end between 2000 and 5000 in game days (I don't bother to "finish" the game anymore) when I've got so much tech-debt the colony has become a chore instead of a game. Or one time when I tried to run all my Spaced Out bases on nuclear, only to discover there's not enough asteroid generation to support that many reactors long term.
  
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I really like the Archviz Minecraft pack for zen, aimless, creative building. I've made an entire little neighborhood/village that looks quite realistic and it just perfectly scratches an itch for me.

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- That is very cool. I haven't paid much attention to Minecraft (or its mods) in the several last years, but I may have just gotten the itch to play again.
  
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So lucky. Games like that cause me anxiety and stress.

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I've always been a sucker for Terraria and Starbound when I want to build, factorio for automation, dwarf fortress for planning/management, and cataclysm dark days ahead for survival (not sure if it counts since it's free and open source - do NOT buy it on steam).

I greatly prefer games with a lot of mechanics that I can get lost in over ones that look really good with minimal functionality which is too common nowadays imo... I also like art styles of these games a lot

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Still in Early Access, but wishlist/try Mind Over Magic. Same devs and it's awesome. They plan on the 1.0 release in January I think?

It has the same feel for scheduling/prioritization, though toned down from Oxygen Not Included IMHO.

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- I'll check that out. Thanks for the tip! Klei is awesome. I have many many hours into the Don't Starve games too.
  
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A house.

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2016 Toyota Camry.

Paid off and still kicking. Spent more on it than any vehicle I owned before, but it's made up for it in the long run by not needing any major repairs.

Taking my car in for inspection used to be scary. Now, it's just whether or not its time for brakes or tires yet.

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super soft fuzzy home slippers.

they're just cozy and very comfy.

also wool socks or any thick socks -- really comfy.

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I recently got some online, and they actually fit my duck feet! So nice and warm and not pinchy.

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- glad you found a good fit! i could see how wide feet can be a tough pick for getting the comfiest socks.
  
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US Treasury Bills

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Treasury Direct, baby!

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- deny the money changers and rent seekers profits ;)
  
  deal direct with your daddy!
  
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Motion activated lights. I can probably count on one hand every time they've annoyed me. Otherwise having a light be on all day in a room I barely use would be 10x more frustrating.

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We got some rechargeable motion activated lights. I love-love them. They last a long time. Less tripping over sleeping pets trying to go to the bathroom. Yes, I could turn a light on, but I don't want to be blinded, half asleep, and used to just shuffle in the dark. Plus when the power goes out, these still work, which is a bonus.

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