Silly question

Hi, I'm Zara, and this is not a silly question at all! Thank you for making the choice to step away from AI, first off. But, there's plenty of ways to aid in the environment. When it comes to food, source locally (which has the added benefit of stimulating the local economy) and from trusted brands. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to change your diet - if your dependent on meat for nutrients, look into what businesses value lower transmissions and water usage in their production. You can also recycle and compost, and limit overall water consumption by taking shorter showers and correcting any leaky faucets, which can attribute exponentially. Finally, if you menstruate, switching from sanitary pads and tampons to cups or period underwear can do a lot, since a lot of disposable products end up in landfills. There's always going to be more that you can do, so I'd encourage you do additional research, but I hope this helps in the meantime! :)

Some approachable things I like to do are ride the bus, pick up litter I see, and turn off lights and faucets (like when brushing teeth) when I'm not using them. Recently, my partner and I have started saving water from the shower while it warms up and using that to water plants. I also find it helps to do things with others, so joining a community cleanup day (maybe theres a nearby beach, park, or river), attending talks about local flora and fauna or conservation (my public library and local natural area program offers these, so maybe they could be for you too!) I think it's great to learn about the world around you, too, even if it's "smaller" things like what plants and animals you see. That's my favorite way to get myself (and my loved ones) hyped about the things outside. It's fun to learn the names of our neighbors, what they do and how. It's like making a friend, and that sense of relatedness helps me stay invested :) I can pick up plastic to keep waterways clearer for my fish friends and such. Also, it's a little past the spring bird migration in most places rn (at least in the US, where I am), but looking up when migrations are for your area and turning off unnecessary lights at night (during spring and fall migrations) is so helpful for birds! I think it's great to look for ways to show the environment some love. I hope it can be a fulfilling and meaningful thing for you! Sometimes, I find it easy to get overwhelmed. Try to give yourself grace and see what feels right for you. I know I can freeze up when I try to do Everything At Once.

Hey simpson578, be careful with the neutralizing actions. You'll want to sit with the discomfort that maybe using AI was bad, maybe it wasn't. You ultimately can't know. I've used AI a lot when I was spiraling, too. It's tempting to try to neutralize it through action, but remember that that's another trick OCD plays on you and won't help in the long run. Moral OCD is tricky.