No routine neet life and the destruction of mental health

[MelaninWarlord]

The “no routine NEET life” is a perfect recipe for quietly wrecking your mind. NEET = Not in Employment, Education, or Training. No routine = no external scaffolding to hold the day together. The result is a slow-motion mental-health collapse that most people don’t notice until it’s deep.

Below is a plain-English breakdown of why it happens, what it does to the brain, and small, low-friction ways to claw your way back without needing heroic motivation.

1. Why “no routine” is poison

Missing piece

What it normally does

What happens when it’s gone

Time anchors (waking, meals, light exposure)

Syncs your body clock (circadian rhythm)

Sleep becomes chaotic → cortisol spikes at night, melatonin never arrives → chronic fatigue + anxiety

Social micro-doses (shop clerk, classmate, coworker)

Keeps the “social brain” exercised

Loneliness → lower oxytocin, higher inflammation, brain literally shrinks in social regions (long-term studies on isolated primates & humans)

Achievement tokens (finishing a shift, submitting homework)

Triggers tiny dopamine hits

Zero feedback loop → anhedonia (can’t feel pleasure)

Future script (tomorrow I have X)

Gives the prefrontal cortex a job

Rumination spiral; default-mode network overdrives → depression

2. The invisible damage timeline

| Week 1–2 | You feel “free”. Sleep until 2 pm, binge shows. | | Week 3–6 | Energy crashes mid-afternoon. Irritated by sunlight. | | Month 2–3 | Memory fog, can’t finish a 20-min video. Hygiene slips. | | Month 6+ | Full clinical depression + agoraphobia possible. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plummets → fewer new neurons in hippocampus. |

3. Minimum viable routine (start with one item)

Pick A or B track. Do only one for the first week.

A. “Clock reset” track

B. “Body first” track

1. Set a fixed wake-up alarm (same time ±30 min). 2. 10 minutes of light (open curtain or step outside).

1. One push-up (or stand-up/sit-down). 2. Drink a glass of water.

Why it works: Light is the strongest zeitgeber; resets serotonin → melatonin pipeline.

Why it works: Tiny win → dopamine micro-dose, breaks paralysis.

Rule: If you skip, just restart the next day. No guilt.

4. Layer 2 (week 2+): Add a 15-minute “keystone block”

Walk to the mailbox

Shower + one song

Cook one egg

Text one person “gm”

Do it at the same time every day. That’s the routine glue.

5. Free or cheap mental-health backstops (Australia)

Resource

How to access

Cost

Headspace (12–25 yo)

headspace.org.au → online chat or local centre

Free

Beyond Blue 24 h

1300 22 4636 or online forums

Free

MensLine (men)

1300 78 99 78

Free

eSafety (if doomscrolling is the trigger)

esafety.gov.au → take the break tools

Free

GP Mental Health Plan

Bulk-billed psychologist (10 sessions/year)

$0 with Medicare

6. Quick brain hacks that don’t feel like “productivity”

3-minute cold shower → norepinephrine spike → instant mood lift.

“Future me” note – write one sentence on your phone about tomorrow (e.g., “buy milk”). Creates a thread to the next day.

Sunset lamp (cheap LED strip) – mimics evening light cue if you’re nocturnal.

7. Red flags → see a doctor today

Suicidal thoughts (even passive)

Haven’t left the house in >2 weeks

Using substances daily to feel normal

Call Lifeline 13 11 14 (24 h) or 000 if immediate risk.

TL;DR Starter Pack

Pick one: same wake-up + light or one push-up + water.

Add one 15-min block next week.

Use Headspace / Beyond Blue chat if you stall.

You don’t need a grand life plan. You need one predictable thing your brain can lean on. The rest grows from there.

 

[Asgard]

Wageslaving is stupid if you do it for the rest of your miserable existence (even if you deny the pathetic pointlessness of your own existence). Working a little (one hour or two) for being able to retrieve the necessary amount of food to sustain your body, that wouldn't be so bad.

 

[MelaninWarlord]

Wageslaving is stupid if you do it for the rest of your miserable existence (even if you deny the pathetic pointlessness of your own existence). Working a little (one hour or two) for being able to retrieve the necessary amount of food to sustain your body, that wouldn't be so bad.

Yeah but is worth it if you have a wholesome wife

 

[Asgard]

Yeah but is worth it if you have a wholesome wife

"muh worth is sticking my dick into a muh wet hole" I don't mean to disrespect you Joe, but we clearly hold different views on this regard. Because on the bigger picture, there is obviously no worth and no "reward" (if you reduce everything into the "wants and needs" of a Homo Sapiens' central nervous system) besides keeping this purposeless machine (purposeless at least from our clearly limited understanding of this so-called 'reality'; think of a hierarchy, we could perfectly be at the bottom of that very same hierarchy in terms of correctly identifying certain patterns that shape the singular converging, ultimate truth of everything, of 'pas') running by spawning in more hamsters into the cog. Chad will be no different than you, and no pigeon will be different from your decaying matter, and this is a "hard pill to swallow" for most because you put too much importance into your default biological programming.

 

[MelaninWarlord]

"muh worth is sticking my dick into a muh wet hole" I don't mean to disrespect you Joe, but we clearly hold different views on this regard. Because on the bigger picture, there is obviously no worth and no "reward" (if you reduce everything into the "wants and needs" of a Homo Sapiens' central nervous system) besides keeping this purposeless machine (purposeless at least from our clearly limited understanding of this so-called 'reality'; think of a hierarchy, we could perfectly be at the bottom in terms of correctly identifying certain patterns, or should I say "truths") running by spawning in more hamsters into the cog. Chad will be no different than you, and no pigeon will be different from your decaying matter, and this is a "hard pill to swallow" for most.

If you only have the lizard brain yes that's all that matters

 

[Asgard]

If you only have the lizard brain yes that's all that matters

What's a lizard brain?

 

[MelaninWarlord]

What's a lizard brain?

The part of the brain that focuses on feeding fight and flight and reproduction.

Lower species only have it. While primates have the prefrontal cortex and other parts of the mammalian brain.

 

[Asgard]

While primates have the prefrontal cortex and other parts of the mammalian brain.

How are you so well articulated? Whenever I confront you in these matters, I often feel as a lesser being.

 

[MelaninWarlord]

How are you so well articulated? Whenever I confront you in these matters, I often feel as a lesser being.

I just did a lot of reading as a child. And I think aspergers people have higher than average vocabulary and cognitive skills.
But less social skills

 

[Asgard]

I just did a lot of reading as a child. And I think aspergers people have higher than average vocabulary and cognitive skills.
But less social skills

I see. Why I don't seem to fit amongst my fellow neurotypicals? Why are my genetics seemingly excluding me from everything?

 

[MelaninWarlord]

I see. Why I don't seem to fit amongst my fellow neurotypicals? Why are my genetics seemingly excluding me from everything?

If your Neurotypical you wouldn't be stuck in the same routine. Do you prefer similar repetitive interests and don't like change?

Autists tend to be like that.

 

[Asgard]

Do you prefer similar repetitive interests and don't like change?

I don't know.

 

[Asgard]

don't like change

I want a change, not here but rather above.

 

[Loner]

yuck

 

[Asgard]

yuck

"Peace and safety!" they exclaimed, and sudden destruction cometh upon them.

 

[pariah]

I generally agree with the title. You need structure in your life, and the stakes are so low when you're a NEET that it's very easy to lose it completely.
Just one thing: your post could use a little bit of formatting to make it easier to read. In fact, the whole thing looks like copy-pasted AI slop, no offense.