The photo thing is nice, I think, because it lets you connect to the world in a different way. I hear ya about the gas and whatnot. My car starts about half the time, so I try to use it as little as possible, which is really limiting. Even if I wasn't terrified of it, my town has no public transportation to take advantage of. I take a lot of pictures of my cats - sad, I know, but they put up with me. I'm picking up retouching other people's photos to get back into practice and give myself something vaguely creative to do - I do a lot better when we're in touch.
When I was little, I used to hyperventilate a lot. Like, A LOT. And my mother taught me pranayamas and told me that as long as I can do them, things will be okay. And I still believe it now. As long as I'm breathing, things are going to be okay.
