Does Being Busy Help or Just Stress You Out?

[meowth812]

Hey everyone,

I'm about to start my first "real" semester of graduate school since moving away from my SO. Last semester I was just kind of getting used to the place, but now I'll be taking a full class load and doing research. I am hoping that staying busy will keep my mind off of the LDR, but part of me thinks that I will just get super stressed and the LDR will just amplify the situation.

What do you think? What are your experiences? Does staying busy help, or does it sometimes make it worse because of the stress?

[kittyo9]

I'm not the kind of person who can throw herself into her work and feel like I'm sufficiently distracted. Often, I'll start working and then get sad and lose focus on my work. I actually find that I work better when my SO is on Skype or messenger with me-- I know he's there and I don't have to worry about missing him, so I can focus on my work and talk to him whenever I want.

Staying busy with some other things, maybe-- leisure things, though, which in the end are really not productive at all.

[MattDavies86]

For me, the busier I am the faster times goes, even though I'm always thinking of my SO, days go faster, so im happy

[Mellow]

mhnm, the time sure goes faster, but I dont think it will 100% prevent you from getting distracting and thinking about your SO.
When my SO is awake (we have a time difference of 6 hours) I usually study and talk with him at the same time through texts.
When he's asleep, I try to keep myself occupied with schoolwork, parttime job, friends and hobbies
Make sure you relax alot though, stress is no pleassure~

[D.4C]

for me..i guess keeping busy..keeps my mind off of the fact that i miss her terribly...and i can't be next to her..holding her hand...or rubbing her back and shoulders...or just snuggling...and it helps pass the time till she is here...23 more days...

[ThePiedPiper]

It always helped me. If I'm being honest, the busier I was, the happier I was. I was working 30 hours, going to school, and doing various exercise classes at one point and I don't think I've been happier.

[Sora1101]

It depends on what kind of day I'm having. Sometimes having a lot to do helped because I didn't notice the day passing so quickly, other times I had so much work to do I started getting really stressed every time I thought about it and ended up putting it off till the last minute.

[Belle]

Being busy definitely makes time go by a lot faster. When im busy though, I tend to miss my SO a lot more. IDK who mentioned it before but, having him on the line or on skype always makes me feel a lot better. I could do my work and have time pass quickly without having to miss him as much since I know I can talk to him whenever.

[loveknowsnodistance27]

I find keeping busy makes it go a lot quicker and makes it easier to handle.

[ams.201220]

I really need to keep busy! If I have spare time, I always think about my SO and then I begin to question ideas that shouldn't even occur. So when I'm busy, I'm ten times happier. It's always really great, because then when SO and I finally do talk, I feel like I deserve to talk to him, so I take time out from studying or sports.

[Yaaamiii]

Honestly, keeping busy kind of helps, but for me, not really...lol. It's part of the reason I'm getting so sick of being LD. Keeping "busy" doesn't really help me anymore. :/ But I know it helps most people and that's a great thing. I end up thinking of my SO anyway, despite being busy or not. And yea, it does end up stressing me out because then I'll have too many things to do and not enough time for my SO. D:

[MattDavies86]

I want to keep busy, but I can't, I get VERY bored doing anything other than think of her or talk to her or message her lol, before we met, I LOVED my xbox and games, i've bought 3 new games (traded-in old games for new, I'm saving every penny here lol) and they can't grip me like they used to!! I watch DVD's or movies, but can only find myself watching rom coms or action films with a "happy ending" etc lol.

The only place that keeps me busy and passes time fast is work, not because I enjoy it, but because I HAVE to do it, so working loads of overtime, between 60-80 hours a month in overtime alone, nice paycheque, but even then, every second I'm thinking of her, hell, I'm in work typing this now ! haha :P

[artgrl808]

For me, the busier I am the faster times goes, even though I'm always thinking of my SO, days go faster, so im happy

I agree with MattDavies86. For me, when I work and keep busy (with my regular routine w/my LDR) the time goes by faster and then before I know it another visit comes around!

[snow]

I have to disagree - for me being busy just stresses me out.
Knowing there's so many things I have to do AND trying to find time to spend with my boyfriend is a lot of stress.
Though after reading what kitty said, I will try to see if I can work with him being on teamspeak while I work, maybe it takes away the stress of keeping him happy while I have to focus on doing other stuff.

[efish1042]

I guess it depends on if you are trying to handle being alone or if it is interfering with communication opportunities with your SO. I always tried to stay very busy because it helped me feel less lonely. You don't have time or energy to focus on how alone you feel. To others, I know it stressful, but it saved me from going insane.