Granted, often the non-generic name is just way easier to remember and say. Take acetylsalicylic acid vs aspirin lol.
Hey, man, you're trying and giving yourself grace. I think accepting yourself really goes a long way, whether you think so or not. Think about how much worse off you'd be if you didn't.
I haven't worked my way "out" yet either, but I do try to do some nice things for myself when I get that way, like you do. They haven't solved things, but they add little niceties to my day. Honestly it's almost as if we should treat ourselves like having recurring illnesses. What do you do if you have the flu? Do you try to do a zillion errands and run a marathon? No. You relax and let household chores slip a bit and get yourself some comfort items.
Unfortunately, calling out of work that often isn't really feasible, so maintaining the ability to work is one thing that's really unavoidable though.
If only I knew. I notice and catch myself heading towards a decline when it happens nowadays. I try to throw the therapy techniques at it that I've been taught, but I still can't manage to lessen the spiral once I've started to enter it. It's frustrating that I see it early too and my efforts feel for naught.
Where are you at in terms of therapy techniques you've learned?
I've honestly thought the same thing for a number of years. If you look into the research, antidepressants are consistently only marginally better than placebo. Moods change over time in general and with different environmental factors. So obviously at some point your mood improves, aided by placebo.
Despite me not really believing in them, psych meds are have been part of my journey. I hate that people think that I am not trying things and giving them a fair shot. I desperately am and continue to do so. It's just that my life hasn't really changed in a positive way. I really, sincerely try. Like with my therapy, I take extensive notes and do my best to utilize the techniques they give me. I even had the opportunity to use some successfully this past Friday! But it only seems to help sometimes despite me trying so hard.
I will say that I don't think psych meds are totally bunk in certain specific scenarios. People with severe biological/organic derangements like schizophrenia and bipolar 1 disorder do massively benefit from psychiatric medications.
But the difference is that with these conditions, we are giving very high dosages of very powerful antipsychotic medications. Outside of that, the human mind doesn't seem to operate that way. The previous thought about depression caused by chemical deficiency in serotonin has been disproven.
My issues are episodic and intermittent, making a lot of this stuff harder to tackle and "treat".
Thanks for ignoring what I have to say and invalidating me, friend. I hope others treat you with the same kindness you have shown to me.
I spoke at length about how I tried very hard for a very long time at the "well known cure". You ignored me and continued to say that that was the cure all when I literally said that it did not work for me.
I am offended because you completely dismissed this and just re-stated your original post. I am offended because it looks like you didn't even read my response.
Here is a reduced format of what this sounds like.
You: X is the cure all
Me: I tried X and did not see a benefit. Here is my experience with it.
You: Cool story, bro but X is the cure all
If you can't see how this is unhelpful and offensive, I don't know what to do tell you.
Thanks for ignoring and dismissing my lived experience and inensive, sustained, consistent efforts. Not sure why age matters. I'm in my 30s.
No professional has diagnosed me, but from looking at things online, I seem to have traits of BPD and CPTSD.
While I appreciate the time you took to sit here and think of a response to things, I just want to say that I honestly find this sort of "exercise cures you" stuff offensive. Again, I understand you are well meaning and not intending to hurt me. I understand that it worked for you. That's great!
I listened to the people that said exercise improves your mental health. I gave it a shot. I didn't just give it a shot. I fully committed.
Several years back I started running. I was surprised at how consistent I managed to be for so long. I ran every other day or every third day. I was consistent for 1.5 years somehow. I never managed to commit to something that long.
But I never saw the benefit of "improved mood". People on the internet would say "you're just not running fast enough" or "you're just not running hard enough". So I did. I ran faster and faster and farther and farther. Before I ended up dropping the whole thing, I was consistently running 8 miles every other day. The longest I ran was 10 miles a few times.
I kept going further and further and harder and harder hoping I would find the magic distance or speed that would improve my life. It never did.
Running actually did impact my emotions, but in an unhelpful way. What running actually did was magnify my current emotions. You can see how this is a problem for someone who's issue is suffering from extreme emotions. I didn't want them to be more extreme. The happy parts were fun, but the lows would get so much worse.
I tried so hard for so long consistently and it never helped me.
Again, I appreciate your time to read and post here. But I really don't like when people tout it as something that helps everyone when it doesn't. Does it help some and is worth trying? Sure! But it's not the cure all you think it is.
Thank you, friend. All the back and forth, med changing, etc. has been pretty exhausting this past year. I get frustrated for a bit and then I try again. Hoping they get the GeneSight test to me soon so I can take it, even though it is of dubious utility.
Antidepressants are one that I've tried, but I've been in different classes now.
I don't need something to "make me happy". I'm pretty good at that when I'm not having a rough go!
When I'm having a rough go, it feels so incredibly intense and painful, like someone is boring a hole through my body with a hot iron. I want it to help with these lows because it feels so incredibly intense and painful. When I am having a hard time, I'll either physically have a hard time walking or I'll do the opposite where I'm amped and trying not to jump into traffic.
I just want the intensity to be lowered a bit. It hasn't been.
Where my mind has been at in all of this is that most psych meds seem to be little more than placebo. That is...UNLESS you have a severe "derangement" in brain function as with something like schizophrenia or bipolar 1, where very high doses of psychiatric medication are needed to have a strong effect.
But for the population outside of these said conditions, I just am not "getting it".
My providers know all of this stuff about me. This is what I tell them. I am not hiding anything or not communicating.
One was honest with me straight up said "I'm sorry but I and your therapist seem to be unable to give you sufficient care".
I have tried different providers. It has the same result. I explain the nature of my "symptoms" to them and keep logs.
Occasionally a friend will remark that I am "doing better", but then I go right back to where I was before. Other times when people remark that I am "doing better", it's simply that I am better at hiding it from others for a period of time.
My issues are very episodic in nature which my providers are very aware of.
Cat
Tap for spoiler
I got a really close shot of him and just wanted to post lol.
Obviously not a color tattoo so it can't convey it super well, but it means it to me and that's what matters.
I know my last one I posted had a decent amount of downvotes lol. From a technical and longevity standpoint, this seems like it is executed a lot better, but I still love both.
Edit: Oh I guess that one is a bit blurry. This one should be more clear. Not sure if this crowd will like this either haha.
Was going to cancel the visit because he improved a lot but I took him in anyway because it was scheduled. Felt a little silly, but I'm new to FIV! They did some baseline blood work instead because he had never had any before.
I have been giving him lysine powder every day for the past week. Maybe that has an effect idk. The vet said I can just give that to him forever if I want and it shouldn't hurt anything.
Verdict is that he will likely always have one watery eye, possibly due to a mild anatomic abnormal. And he might have very mild allergies or very mild asthma which does not really affect his life too much.
But I guess he needs to lose 1-2 pounds so we'll work on that next! He also has some tartar buildup so I'll have to see if I can get him to use dental chews.
Hi! I adopted an FIV+ cat this past August. From reading online, I didn't think they would get sick too much more often than FIV- cats. I decided to adopt knowing that some might be turned off by his FIV status and knowing that I am lucky to be able to afford vet bills.
BUT this is the third upper respiratory tract infection he has had in 5 months. Each time, it doesn't seem to clear it on his own without antibiotics. I'm concerned he'll end up with antibiotic resistance over time if I keep doing this.
The first illness, he was given both oral antibiotics and eye drops for 2 weeks. The second time (several months later) his eyes weren't as bad and they gave me a supply of oral antibiotics only for 1 week (wish it could have been 2...didn't realize they only gave me enough for one). It's been a couple of months and he's sick again. I'm gonna take him in a few days if this doesn't start to clear again.
Some notes:
-He is an indoor only cat. I do not have other pets.
-He was swabbed for herpes one of the times and it was negative. One of the times he had a mycoplasma infection and the other time he was not swabbed.
-He was tested as FeLV- at the shelter. But I suppose if he had a very early infection, it might not have shown up.
-He mostly acts pretty normal during his infections thankfully (eating, using the bathroom, etc)...just maybe sometimes a tad less active.
-I'm going to start giving him lysine powder daily in his food (twice a day). The vet had me give it to him for the duration of the first infection, but I may as well just continue it forever since it seems fairly benign.
Thanks, guys!
Usually I keep this band flipped the other way so it's a private message for just me.
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How does that work with time spent with one another and housing? I feel like I'd be tired trying to prioritize spending time with so many different individuals if that makes sense. I barely have the energy to hang out with one friend lmao