I am definitely enjoying the lower overall anxiety. But you know the saying... those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it

I forget if it was you or my therapist (possibly both of you) who talked about observing anxious thoughts like clouds passing by rather than latching onto them, and I'm starting to see the wisdom in that. I've been finding myself waking up in the middle of the night with anxious thoughts, but because I find it extremely difficult to hold on to any one thought when I'm lying in bed they've been tending to pass without much incident. I have that initial panic and the urge to go do something to distract myself, but... who wants to get out of bed? I think this is probably the biggest reason I associate being tired with being calm.

Those feedback loops can be really hard to deal with and were one of the primary reasons I had myself pegged as obsessive compulsive when I was younger. And you're right, the only way to deal with it sometimes is to get off completely. Most recently, I said "the hell with it" and bought myself a Switch - something I thought I'd never do. Before Breath of the Wild, the most recent Zelda game I'd played was Ocarina of Time, and I have a reputation as somebody who's very stuck in the retro era of games.
Just jump into the deep end of something completely new.

I do have several friends that are close enough that I could go see more, indeed. We're just caught in that loop of saying we need to get together more often and then suddenly it's next year >.<

And yep, Grandpa is a good man and would probably be the first one to downplay being called a hero. He's just somebody who set a good example for me that I try my best to follow. My biggest takeaway from how he handles things in life is that he is perpetually calm; never raises his voice, never gets rattled, never lets petty things bother him. In a house full of screaming, bickering adults who acted like children, he was the one who was always above it all. I've applied that approach to dealing with other people and it has served me well... you make a good point about framing it to approach my mental health struggles, as well.

It's funny you bring up borderline personality disorder, as it's one of the several issues that my girlfriend struggles with. It's certainly not easy... for her OR me. I've gotten used to a lot of things over the last few years that I'm not happy to say I've grown accustomed to. Since my issues with anxiety pre-date my relationships, I'd written off my interactions with her as having anything to do with my current condition, but talking to you has made me realize that was probably a mistake. I need those boundaries in place if I'm going to be able to take care of myself.

I did just pick up Mario Kart and Mario Party for my Switch, though, so hopefully that will give us something we can do together. We really struggle to find things we can do together due to an overall lack of shared interests, so hoping this will help

(Your daughter sounds adorable, btw - I can just imagine her conked out in front of the TV)

All in all, it's been a decent week. Been keeping myself busy so much that I didn't even notice it shooting by! Hope all is well with you and the family. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, thank you so much for sharing your experiences with me, as they have really been helping me with my own struggles.