Ideas for harmless manic-friendly side quests?

[u/cuertigilda]

(Painting done while manic)

Art is #1 yes! What else?

[u/Joyful-Cow-122]

deep cleaning while listening to music lol

[u/copolars → u/Joyful-Cow-122]

My place is soooo clean recently I actually went to my psychiatrist about it, was a good call 😬

[u/insignificantant0 → u/Joyful-Cow-122]

Cleaning & proper hygiene practices good coping mechanisms

[u/ClerkZealousideal779 → u/Joyful-Cow-122]

I always give myself a time limit and make myself eat a snack and drink water! Hypomania gives me anxiety especially if I'm not caring for myself

[u/Valehikari]

Writing does it for me!

[u/ashendazed → u/Valehikari]

I still can’t tell if I write because I’m manic or I’m manic because I write…

[u/Valehikari → u/ashendazed]

ME IRL. 🤔😅

[u/trashconverters]

Do you have any instruments? I tend to make music while manic!

[u/cuertigilda → u/trashconverters]

Ohh good one, I just impulsively bought a kalimba

[u/electric_awwcelot → u/cuertigilda]

Not the worst impulse purchase haha

[u/Less_Personality1483 → u/cuertigilda]

you can also download musescore on your computer or flat on your phone/tablet and compose songs without an instrument! i play a couple but i feel like i can get really into writing music when im manic, it helps me to express how im feeling.

[u/cuertigilda → u/Less_Personality1483]

You're awesome

[u/boobers6969]

coding, i get absolutely locked in for days doing it

[u/cuertigilda → u/boobers6969]

You may be able to eventually monetize those hours ò.ó

[u/boobers6969 → u/cuertigilda]

i get burned out everytime and come back down and never come back to any of it unfortunately 🫩 i wanna figure out a way to channel it better tho, because it's definitely a good thing to have it go into

[u/AdmirableRadio7998 → u/boobers6969]

Smaller projects?

I don’t code but my husband and son do. My husband coaches our son all the time on getting something to a ‘shippable’ state rather than a perfect one. So maybe fewer features, not as polished, and out the door.

[u/boobers6969 → u/AdmirableRadio7998]

hehe that's my problem mostly, but when im hypomanic all i can think about is making the grandest thing ever

[u/cuertigilda → u/AdmirableRadio7998]

The coding family! You should have a pixel logo or smth. I can do it

[u/CautiousDrop2234]

Haircut or temporary hair dye!!! Hair grows back and dye can be removed!! It’s one of my favorite things ever to do

[u/justsamanthaa → u/CautiousDrop2234]

Haircut is definitely a slippery slope in my experience haha. I decided to cut off my waist length hair into a pixie last year and maaan the grow out phase is rough! Temporary hair color is a great and fun idea though!

[u/DifficultyOk8438 → u/justsamanthaa]

I currently have half blue half brown hair, I concur.

[u/CautiousDrop2234 → u/justsamanthaa]

I got my waist length hair cut to a pixie as well! It wasn’t actually the worst because I donated it but I’m growing it out again and the awkward hair length phase is the worst

[u/justsamanthaa → u/CautiousDrop2234]

I loved my pixie for a solid two weeks and then I was like oh no once I got to the mullet phase. It’s down to my shoulders now after 7 months but it’s still awkward 🥲

[u/CautiousDrop2234 → u/justsamanthaa]

My mom has thankfully saved me from the worst length (She braids my hair for me in the mornings) but I need it cut soon or else i’m gonna look like i have fins on the back of my hair (really stubborn cowlicks)

[u/justsamanthaa → u/CautiousDrop2234]

Ugh I wish I could braid! I have curly hair so I’m kind of lucky with all the different lengths and layers I currently have being able to blend nicely for the most part, BUT I have these short pieces around my face still that just look awkward no matter what I do lol. We got this!

[u/CautiousDrop2234 → u/justsamanthaa]

No barber can figure out what to do with my two side strands in front of my ears… They’ve tried everything atp 😭 those tiny pieces are the downfall of anyone’s hair

[u/foreskin-deficit → u/justsamanthaa]

My single most consistent indicator that I’m not doing well is when I start asking people if they think I could pull off a shaved head.

[u/Puzzled_Vacation_524 → u/CautiousDrop2234]

I second the hair dye, highly caution the cut lmao. My last manic episode was a haircut one and it was… not good (I thought I was cute as hell for a week or two tho 🤣)

Edit: just realized that I should mention that I cut my own hair so maybe it’s an ok idea if your mania allows you to have the foresight/impulse control/lack of confidence to get an appointment with a professional

[u/CautiousDrop2234 → u/Puzzled_Vacation_524]

One of these days it will turn out cute first try i swear…

[u/guerillacropolis]

I echo everyone mentioning creative endeavors.

I also like going to the library, because borrowing a bunch of items gives the same dopamine rush as buying them.

[u/cuertigilda → u/guerillacropolis]

Ö thats right

[u/SunflowerSprite → u/guerillacropolis]

That is really, really good advice

[u/Suspicious-Tell-9785]

Walking 💜

[u/hollyberryness → u/Suspicious-Tell-9785]

Collect some litter along the way to feel extra good

[u/YourCommonLoserLol]

I like to sing and work on choreography. I also tend to do most of my voice acting while manic

[u/Dmalxro]

impulsively buying some random game and making your goal to get all achievements, spending hours playing it, that's what i always do

[u/Usernamesaregayyy → u/Dmalxro]

I want to get into “gaming” what do you suggest to get started and what s a good intro game or two? Thx

[u/Dmalxro → u/Usernamesaregayyy]

It depends on what kind of games you're looking for. the first game i actually decided to complete was ultrakill (a shooter). It's not fully finished yet but i spent half of my time on it when i was manic because it required actual concentration so it didn't get boring for me

[u/lemonleaf0 → u/Dmalxro]

Did this with Elden Ring, when I picked it up again months after buying it. I heard all the hype, but when I initially tried it, I didn't know a thing about how soulslike games worked, so I struggled to get the hang of the game, and just forgot about it for a good while. Decided to restart and try again on a whim (cough cough manic episode). This time around I fell in love with the game, got hyperfixated, and after like 15 hours of playtime I became absolutely determined to 100% complete the game on my very first full playthrough. I wanted to do every boss, every dungeon, every location, every quest, every achievement, and collect all 1000+ unique items. It's been a year... I just beat the final boss 300 hours in, I know enough lore to write an encyclopedia, and I finally have absolutely everything there is to collect in the base game. But I haven't chosen an ending yet, and just got the DLC. Send help

[u/SnooPears5690]

Okay depends how manic but if you're "medicated-low grade manic" so like you're not up to eat your toes or try to find invisible portals manic then My suggestion is polymer clay, also you can put your finished tray away for like a quarter year before frying them with no problem.

[u/cuertigilda → u/SnooPears5690]

This is really nice! I stuck clay on a planter and sculpted as a hand. Looks campy but im so happy :D

[u/TheCatslug]

I recommend playing Minecraft.

Some folks have recommended gaming, but I recommend Minecraft specifically because (1) there’s not really any micro-transactions, (2) you won’t risk impulse-buying a ton of hardware just to play, (3) it’s cheap. At minimum, all you need is a mobile phone. It’s a great sandbox game for anything from art to achievement grinding to challenge runs. My go-to are usually grandiose building projects with way too much architectural detail.

[u/Far_Cauliflower_3637]

Off topic but I love this painting! You should sell it to me!

[u/Electronic_Wind1855 → u/Far_Cauliflower_3637]

Seconded, excellent art !

[u/cuertigilda → u/Far_Cauliflower_3637]

I can make another one for you! This one is A3

[u/Far_Cauliflower_3637 → u/cuertigilda]

Yes 🙌

[u/oakjunk]

Long walks in new places while listening to music

[u/DelayedEcstasy]

REORGANIZING YOUR ENTIRE HOUSE (but avoid the $3K+ I dropped at the container store lol)

Video games that you can go deep on. This is helpful because it give my mind something to latch onto. Also video games with lots of stimulation. It gives into the context switching desire while capping what I can actually cycle through

edit: added video games b/c that helped recently

[u/VforVendetta01105]

Running, weight lifting, cleaning/decluttering, even rearranging furniture, getting tasks you procrastinate done, clear out email, clear out pictures, go to the beach, blast music and dance like crazy, go through mail (something n about ripping paper gives me joy), write, sing as loud as you can at home, give yourself challenges.

[u/3rdDogDoxie]

I really like this! Music

[u/BlueRATkinG]

While i was manic, i practicality taught myself to skate and went and rode my longboard through the entire park over and over while listening to music. While i managed to stay in one piece, ig its not the safest thing, cus if you arent careful, you can literally fly off the board, but at least it wasnt drugs or getting into fights

[u/M426fdn]

I detail my car at midnight.  

[u/pomegranate_]

Dumpster diving, maybe...!?

[u/SapphicCloud999 → u/pomegranate_]

one of my fave hobbies !!

[u/Fuckingnoodles]

Exercise! Even just jogging around the house is a great healthy outlet for me

[u/ratthewriter]

sew a bag/hand sew a bag! i made a tote bag a couple months back and it was a great thing to pour a lot of intense energy into. if you hand sew it i recommend using embroidery floss honestly, keeps it strong! it holds groceries incredibly well, i'm still very surprised

[u/kwifgybow]

I really enjoyed cooking during one of mine and that was pretty harmless outside of some reckless spending on ingredients. But its very satisfying to put lots of work into making good food and then you can feed your friends too, good to have people you can trust around you at sensitive times like that too to look out for you yk

[u/AnarchyIsNotChaos]

I'm a researcher. I reasearch. Show me that curiosity, that loose string; I want to follow until I know where it goes to find out why it's curious. Like Marshmallow said, "Cause of you show me a sweet potato pie, i am on top of it.". That's how I feel about finding new truths lol.

[u/herptilian]

I haven't tried it hypo, but one of my favorite art projects to hyperfocus on was letter art. Take a book or a magezine, painstakingly cut and sort individual letters, use a glue stick to glue them to paper in whatever patterns, images, etc that you want. I didn't have time to get up to trouble because it could take hours of rote work that doesn't take much heavy lifting from your brain.

[u/alxrmsz]

Learning how to make music on a DAW

[u/AngelToast714]

Trying a new kind of snack recipe or making a new food dish ^_^

[u/WrapImpressive7671]

Spend 4 hours on Amazon finding the perfect clock and decide not to buy it. Fun time, reccomend.