In order to cope with work, I've been trying various strategies. Recently, hanging out in VRChat appears to be the most effective. This prompted me to try to remember why I stopped playing VRChat in the first place. I believe I stopped shortly after spending my vacation on VRChat. Stopping was partly due to it not feeling satisfying to get on and partly because it contributed to my feeling dissatisfied with where I am in life. Searching for people to interact with was like sifting through YouTube videos without an algorithm, and most of the videos were shitposting that I don't even remotely like. This dissatisfaction led me to give up video games entirely for about four months.

So, the fact that playing VRChat is now a positive experience makes me wonder what's different. Why am I finding the interactions more engaging? Why am I more willing to interact with strangers? Before, VRChat made me feel more alone than when I was just by myself. Now, it does what social interactions are typically supposed to do: it alleviates feelings of loneliness. I'm not really sure of the answer, and perhaps I might add the answer at a later date, but I wanted to write this down. I think that posting my thoughts in a journal like this helps motivate me to do so.