I just played a session of Dungeons & Dragons in person with two of my best friends for the first time in nearly two years, and it’s as if all of my burdens have suddenly become a lot lighter.

This is not due to anything magical about D&D specifically, nor even about Erik and Zack, the two friends mentioned above, though I am a big fan of the former hobby and an even bigger fan of the latter couple of humans. It’s that D&D with these two is one of the places and activities where I can supercharge my internal batteries, where I feel most nearly able to connect with myself. Two and half hours of that is better for me than an entire weekend at a spa or managing eight clean hours of sleep every night for a week. Everyone has their own supercharging recovery activities, I imagine, and this happens to be one of mine. The difference with this sort of recharge from other kinds is that I don’t just feel better at the end of the session, but I feel better and can cope with stress significantly more easily for some time after.

I felt the same thing on my birthday last year, when I had four friends over for a night of gaming and socializing. (We played my friend Ben’s game Kim-Joy’s Magical Bakery, and when I say it’s his game I mean he designed it.) I had been so incredibly stressed all week leading up to that night, unable to cope well, the kind of stress and frustration where I’m literally just mad that gravity exists. But for days afterward, the sorts of things that would have me melting down and screaming internally instead just didn’t feel like that big of a deal. I’d still address things that needed addressing, but they wouldn’t affect me so much emotionally.

It’s early, and I only just wrapped up our session less than three hours ago, but I know this feeling when I have it, and it’s almost like I’m looking forward to challenges and stressors now. It’s almost too bad tomorrow is a holiday!

It’s been a rough couple of years for so many of us since the pandemic started. If you’re like me and you went through some big life changes as well, it can be even harder still to get time in for those times to connect back with yourself and supercharge. I hope that, whatever they are, you can get them for yourself too.