How do you truly relax and let go of stress?

That feeling of never actually relaxing is way too familiar. I tried all the usual stuff for a while — long walks, YouTube playlists, those little adult coloring books — and while they were nice distractions, they never really made a difference unless I was mentally ready to stop grinding.

I completely get what you mean. I used to feel that way constantly — like I was technically not working, but mentally still tangled up in everything I didn’t finish or hadn’t started yet. For me, what helped was redefining what “relaxing” actually meant. Instead of trying to distract myself, I started focusing on getting more aware of what my body and mind were doing. One thing that’s helped is using the liven app. It’s kind of like a space where I check in with myself rather than try to escape. There’s a journaling feature I use in the evenings — nothing complicated, just a few sentences about how I’m feeling or what triggered me that day. It’s weirdly calming because it puts things in perspective and slows down the mental loop. I also started doing something really simple after work — just sitting on the floor for 10 minutes without any devices. Sometimes I stare out the window, sometimes I close my eyes. No pressure to meditate or “be productive,” just space. It’s awkward at first, but now I miss it if I skip it.