Perhaps relatedly or perhaps as a non-sequitur, I’m also curious about what changed since your post a year ago talking about how EA doesn’t bring out the best in you.
This seems related to me, and I don’t have a full answer here, but some things that come to mind:
For me personally, I feel a lot happier engaging with EA than I did previously. I don’t quite know why this is, I think some combination of: being more selective in terms of what I engage with and how, having a more realistic view of what EA is and what to expect from it, being part of other social environments which I get value from and make me feel less ‘attached to EA’ and my mental health improving. And also perhaps having a stronger view of what I want to be different with EA, and feeling more willing to stand behind that.
I still feel pretty wary of things which I feel that EA ‘brings out of me’ (envy, dismissiveness, self-centredness etc.) which I don’t like, and it still can feel like a struggle to avoid the pull of those things.
This seems related to me, and I don’t have a full answer here, but some things that come to mind:
For me personally, I feel a lot happier engaging with EA than I did previously. I don’t quite know why this is, I think some combination of: being more selective in terms of what I engage with and how, having a more realistic view of what EA is and what to expect from it, being part of other social environments which I get value from and make me feel less ‘attached to EA’ and my mental health improving. And also perhaps having a stronger view of what I want to be different with EA, and feeling more willing to stand behind that.
I still feel pretty wary of things which I feel that EA ‘brings out of me’ (envy, dismissiveness, self-centredness etc.) which I don’t like, and it still can feel like a struggle to avoid the pull of those things.