What do you do to relax?
I recently found myself on an unexpected vacation and since it’s Summer, maybe it’s the same for some of you. I asked my supervisor what I should be doing and she said nothing. Go relax. That would probably be welcome news to many people, but I’m the sort of person that has to work at relaxing. Some of the things I’ve been working on include secular and Western Buddhist meditation, yoga, building plant terrariums, and getting myself inspired to write fiction again by scouring the internet for lgbtq+ fantasy. Building plant terrariums has become my interesting new hobby. I initially expected they’d just look pretty, but I’m learning a lot about tapping into my artistic side again, playing, and accepting that things may not turn out how I want them to (and that’s okay). Scouring greenhouses for plants that go together and designing miniature landscaping (with miniature tables and miniature dishes!) is surprisingly engaging and relaxing.
The Asexual Agenda 
I like to cook when I’m trying to relax. Using new recipes and having people enjoy what I eat is really cathartic for me 🙂
I usually read (fiction) to relax. Sometimes going for a leisurely walk is also good. The other thing I’ve found relaxing recently is taking ballet classes!
Reading, writing, listening to music, randomly surfing the internet. I also like to go for walks outside.
I usually end up going on several semi-spontaneous camping & hiking trips during the summer (since my partner loves doing that a lot), which is pretty relaxing… when I’m not dying of heat stroke, that is. Holy noodles, it is HOT. I had to take to just sitting in the shade under a wet towel and not moving for several hours in the afternoon.
Other than that, I find Pokemon (the DS games) very relaxing, enough to actually put me to sleep sometimes. The strategy aspect keeps my mind focused on not-anxiety things, but since turn-based battles are so slow it also lets my mind slow down.