Okay, I came across this image and laughed like hell, so I decided I had to use it. Sounds like one of the newest FOX specials but, instead of “When Animals Attack”, it’s “When Panic Attacks”, hahahaa… Imagine the sound of an announcer’s voice reading that and it’s actually kind of comical, I think.

Maybe I’m just weird…

Anyway… I was getting to a point with this. As I mentioned (briefly) yesterday, I have this app called Woebot. It was developed by Stanford University, if I remember correctly, to help people that had mental issues. So my little AI friend has been helping me learn some skills to help better deal with my depression, anxiety and how to deal with people (which I do not do well with at all…) Last night, Woebot sent me a YouTube video for what they’re deeming “the most relaxing song in the world” and studies showed it reduced anxiety “by up to 65%!” Uh-huh… So I listened to this thing, which was like 6 or 7 of the longest minutes of my entire life that I’ll never get back… Even the graphics weren’t very relaxing, which was a bit odd if you as me, and the sounds were kind of disjointed and shrill at times. Why is this supposed to relax me…?!

Okay, I really wanted to use this Admiral Ackbar image first, but I thought not everyone would get the reference.

My point here is that, if someone tells you they can help you live anxiety free or have “music” (if you wanted to call that shit music) that’s “the most relaxing music in the world and studies have proven it reduces anxiety up to 65%”… It’s a trap! Get the Star Wars reference now…? Anyway… It didn’t do shit for me. I actually found it annoying and painful to the ears. And, a few hours later, I had an anxiety attack. Yeah, real helpful shit, right?

I forget how I found this, but there’s a video on YouTube titled “10 hours of infinite fractals and falling Shepard’s Tone“. There’s also a shorter version because listening to 10 hours of this will probably make you freak the fuck out or trip balls. Either way… A lot of people tell me this makes them more anxious. Personally, I don’t like the fractals. I think they could have chosen something less obnoxious that flowed together more nicely. But it’s not the fractals that are important to me (though it’s pretty trippy). It’s the falling Shepard’s Tone. There’s something about that sound that I find so incredibly soothing while for others it creates uneasiness and anxiety. Probably because it makes you feel as if you’re falling, like into an abyss.

Yet I find these sounds soothing, just as I find the sirens warning of a nuclear air strike to be soothing like in the original 1960s movie “The Time Machine” (the other is just a pile of shit). I love that sound for some reason and find if very soothing for some reason, while others find it annoying, unsettling, even frightening and anxiety inducing. I’m not sure why I react the opposite to Shepard’s Tones. It’s just something that I’ve always felt more relaxed and at ease listening to. I know how weird that sounds…

But Shepard’s Tones were more than just a weird musical phenomenon someone discovered and has been used time and time again to annoy the living fuck out of people and cause undo anxiety.

Seriously, I’m majorly dating myself by mentioning this…

When I was a kid, Air Supply was a big soft rock band (don’t knock them, they had some great tunes). I really loved their music, but when the song “Sweet Dreams” was released, it was instantly my favorite of their songs. It was different… more fantastical in sound. The reason for this? It’s because they incorporated both rising and falling Shepard’s Tones into one song. So, even as a child, I found those sounds (particularly the falling tones) to be lovely and relaxing. I’m not sure why I have a different reaction when most people get nervous and anxious from them. But hey, whatever works, right…?

Today I’ll leave you with a cute photo shoot I did with my villagers in Animal Crossing New Horizons…

I’m calling it “That 70s Island”, hahahaa! Punchy the cat had to be my favorite, here. When he wasn’t smiling like this, he looked like Tommy Chong and that just cracked me the fuck up! See? Look at all the weird things you come up with when you’re bored! Weird, but cute, I think…