The U.S. presidential election may be over, but its fallout continues. Meanwhile, even as the traditional reprieve of the holidays approaches, the pandemic marches on. For many of us, there’s never been a more urgent need to carve out moments of calm, distraction, and creativity.

We asked members of The Fervent Few to take a minute away from doomscrolling and talk about what brings them joy during a recent Instagram Live session hosted in collaboration with California’s East Brother Beer Co. The virtual get-together gave members a moment to dive into the hobbies and activities that enrich their lives—and keep them afloat during this incredibly weird year.

The conversation spilled into The Fervent Few Slack channel, a members-only space to share ideas and connect with beer lovers. If you missed out, we collected some of our favorite remedies—hopefully they’ll help keep you from refreshing your Twitter account every four seconds.

Our IG Live featured Fervent Few members like Daniel Castro Chin, who hits the trails to keep centered. “I love sweating it out. I started running a year ago, and I've grown to love really long trail runs—just going out in nature and running for eight hours in the middle of the forest. I don't know how much longer I'll keep running, but my current plan is to complete at least one marathon a month for 12 months. I want to work more ultramarathons into the mix, and hopefully do one super-long race. Since none of my runs have been organized, I have yet to try anything over 10 hours—it’s just me going wherever my feet can take me.”

Nick Yoder has also been running to clear his head. “When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I run. I usually run four to five days a week regardless, but I definitely make sure I go for a run on days I feel stressed out.”

Getting outdoors is a popular way to wind down, and Alex Marsh shared that he gets out to explore his own community. “I'm walking and hiking more, and recently added rucking [walking with some sort of weight] to the mix. I'm able to listen to more podcasts and audiobooks, which helps me unwind. I'm exploring more of Raleigh's greenway trails and parks.”

Some members find comfort in music. Samer Khudairi, who organized the IG Live event, looks forward to finding new songs and artists through playlists on Spotify. “I like small rituals. Every Monday, for example, I get excited to see what Spotify has curated on my Discover Weekly playlist. It's a nice personal gift to begin each week.”

Others, like Ian Davis, find comfort in creating music. “I’ve been working from home now since March with no end in sight. That’s afforded me time to dive deeper into music and study music theory. I’m an overly anxious person with mild depression, and I’m also a news junkie, which doesn’t play well with my mental health sometimes. To counter that, I’ve begun occupying my mind with music theory and attempting to force my attention to wander in other directions. This is my balance—forcing myself to not spend all my time dwelling on stuff that tears down my mental health. Instead, I’m trying to better myself and learn something that distracts me from the hate in the world.”

Food and cooking projects have also been a welcome escape for many. It seems most of us tried our hands at sourdough earlier this year, but what about foraging? Graham O’Halloran recommends it. “Maybe it’s not balance I seek as much as respite—an hour away from work, the bills on the table, the daily assaults on our democracy. In the New England fall, I make time to forage. Our favorite fall mushroom is Grifola frondosa (also known as maitake, or hen-of-the-woods). After a prolonged drought, this season looked bleak. Then the rains came, and during a long walk in the woods, we found some. A brief respite.”

Mathias Möller uses cooking to break free from the workday. “Cooking has always been a big part of my life. It’s one of the few valuable things I learned from my dad growing up. Besides a short frozen pizza phase in college, I’ve been cooking ever since. Over the past few years, I’ve been thinking a lot about how cooking and feeding others can be grounding in strange times. So this year, I upped my bread-baking skills and took a deep dive into sourdough pizza and ramen. Cooking calms me after a day of work. It’s a welcome change of scenery, and after working from home all day, a few hours dedicated to making a dish helps me disconnect in ways I never thought I would need.”

Stephanie Grant joined the virtual get-together to talk about how she balances her new job during a pandemic. She recently started as the social media manager for Atlanta’s Monday Night Brewing. When she’s not working, cooking keeps her busy, and memories of making food with family occupy her mind. (She recently made a giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, which is pretty awesome.)

Some folks are keeping themselves occupied with exciting additions to their family. Jaron Wright is a new dad who has been working from home since the pandemic started. His transition to being a stay-at-home father hasn’t been too much of a strain, and thanks to the time difference, he can balance his responsibilities while enjoying European football, one of his favorite pastimes. When he’s not watching football, he’s something of a long-distance runner himself—if he’s lucky, maybe he’ll catch up to Daniel.

Running a brewery has allowed Rob Lightner, co-owner of East Brother Beer, to keep busy. Rob joined the IG Live and talked about how he uses work as a way to compartmentalize parts of his life. “You don’t have to think about the outside world when there’s a business to run.” To keep his life in balance, Rob also shuts work off on Sundays, and says that taking that time out allows him to focus on himself.

Although the year is winding down, we aren’t out of the woods yet. It’s important to find activities that keep us balanced and help clear our minds. What are you doing to soothe your weary brain? Let us know! Join The Fervent Few and our global beer community will be here to help keep your mind off these tough times.