Eat This Glob posted:

without insurance my daily meds (buprenorphine and escitalopram) would cost me more than that. With insurance I pay around $40.

juche avocado posted:

hell yeah idk what a tim tam slam is but it rhymes so it must be good

meanwhile i'm trying to business-professionally write a letter to a hospital alleging emotional and economic distress that they exacted on me unjustly and wrongly,

which itself is causing me emotional and economic distress,

which is making it harder to do the thing

that i don't know how to do

juche avocado posted:

my parents failed me lmao

solidarity friend

SpiderHyphenMan posted:

I guess, really, that makes me just as toxic and awful as anyone else in the TRUNP thread, and I only cling to things like "facts" and "nuance" and "hope" because it's how I justify to myself how thoroughly poisoned I truly am.

Lastgirl posted:

I stopped going online for a while, I turned off the news and it really helped my perspective tremendously.

When you're constantly seeing the worst of humanity piped into your eyeballs from a bright white screen, it can be really detrimental because you start to think that everyone is a massive piece of poo poo playing a zero sum game.

While there are literal sociopaths in the highest seats of power around the globe, it feels like an abstraction when you dealing with the daily minutiae of your lives, especially with school, work and other obligations.

Of course it doesn't mean you should ignore the system, and in fact being active about the news is important to make informed decisions. It's key to go outside because you can engage with communities and make an impact where you can, when you can. Doing so will absolutely improve your state of mind. It's about striking a balance, and if you truly feel passionate about an issue, you should act on it in some way or manner, even down to the smallest tiniest contribution, because it absolutely matters. You don't have to lead the charge on everything.

There will be times where it is tough and it can feel hopeless, that's just the nature of our emotions. It ebbs and flows, as long as you remember that it is temporary and you can focus on the things that truly matter to you and are important to your values, as long as you remain honest to yourself. Be sure to always ask "Why am I being affected by this?" and open a more objective dialogue mentally rather than being critical of yourself. It takes practice do to this but it helps in the long run. If that doesn't work, talk to someone.

Processes like these take time.

Lastly, I'd like to say that it is important to carve out a little time for yourself, only just for yourself. Away from the internet, away from everything else. Just you and yourself alone. For example, I decided to do something new lately and that was to learn how to dance salsa and bachata. It keeps me sane, for real.

It's really the small things that make the biggest difference, and that should not be underestimated because it compounds. So if you are struggling, try to do something small. I wish you well in your endeavors.

Condiv posted:

so this isn't related to politics or me really but I need help with a friend who i'm p sure has depression

she was let go at the job i'm at about 6 months ago and has been on unemployment since. her monetary situation is not great, and she's stressed about that among other things

she's working on submitting a patent, and her native tongue is chinese so I've been helping her proofread her english before she submits it to her lawyer

thing is though, she's becoming more and more distraught. she has to have the patent done now she says. people are waiting on it. we're nearly done with it, and i'm p sure we could finish the proofreading tonight if we really work hard on it. the problem is, she's not sleeping well and is constantly thinking about this patent. last night she stayed up and checked the chinese vs the english instead of sleeping. she's constantly telling me how guilty she feels that she's taken so long on this patent, etc. etc.

i'm p certain she's entering a depressive state and this obsession with this patent is just a symptom. a couple of weeks ago i helped her proofread a conference presentation, and like with this she was becoming anxious and distraught (though that had a defined date it needed to be done by). last night she texted me cause she couldn't sleep cause she had a vague feeling of stress.

any suggestions for how I can help her? i'm trying to get her to calm down, and I'm worried that by helping her with this patent again today I'm just feeding a negative obsession for her (since, the more she works on it the more she worries and is anxious about it). worse, I do not know if actually finishing the patent will lift her out of this anxiety. also, me helping her more than she helps me makes her feel guilty and I think that's making things harder on her.

I could really use some help with this if anyone has some suggestions

RandomPauI posted:

I sort of wonder what else is going on in her life. I assume you've been reassuring her, what sorts of things have you tried?

Condiv posted:

so right now she's feeling useless and worthless since I'm doing all the proofreading on my own (i check with her to make sure I have the right meaning of things, etc). I've tried reminding her that she wrote all of this stuff and even if her english isn't perfect it's a ton of good work and i'm just polishing it a bit. last night I tried walking her through our day today to try to get her to realize that things aren't so dire. i tried talking about us doing things after (she won't do anything not patent-related till it's done) to get her mind off it a bit, etc. this downturn is a bit new. i said before she was showing a lot of anxiety with the presentation i helped her with, but nothing as bad as this

Chokes McGee posted:

two things here

one while it won’t address the underlying anxiety disorder finishing the patent will take some mental pressure off. I’m wondering what her background and relationship with her parents are bc Asian culture often has a lot of BOOTSTRAPS involved when it comes to mental health. I’m not sure whether or not it’s gotten better and I’m working off outdated stereotypes but I have some Vietnamese friends where it’s still very much a problem

two, and this is the really difficult part, you can’t fix your friend’s problems singlehandedly. you can and should provide support, lend a sympathetic ear, and encourage her to get help—repeatedly, so long as it’s not going to piss her off and have the opposite effect. even helping her on her patent is great. but, and this is absolute murder, she has to confront her issues herself. you can’t fix or take the burden from her. if you try you will ruin yourself.

it’s not selfish to reserve some time and breathing room for yourself. no one gets helped if you try to shoulder two peoples burdens and implode

got any sevens posted:

that 30 thing is bs, tell her to stay here where we're not as jerky about that
also go for a jog outside, get that runner high to feel better

Condiv posted:

she already exercises 2-3 times a week with a physical trainer and hates life each time

got any sevens posted:

this patent sounds fishy too.

Mill Village posted:

I’m taking some time off work to participate in an anxiety treatment program next week. I’m hoping it helps since it’s not a general wellness program like the one I went to last year.

juche avocado posted:

my parents failed me lmao

SHVPS4DETH posted:

never be afraid of failure. failure isn't an option; it's a prerequisite. whether it's you or someone in yr life, failure will happen.

sincerely, a failure

got any sevens posted:

this patent sounds fishy too. did her parents convince her it would make her a millionaire and solve her problems? she might be pinning too many hopes on it

SHVPS4DETH posted:

never be afraid of failure. failure isn't an option; it's a prerequisite. whether it's you or someone in yr life, failure will happen.

sincerely, a failure

Chokes McGee posted:

everyone remembers their successes but nobody remembers how much they learned when they hosed up

Dave Grool posted:

I ruminate on my failures constantly, tyvm

Condiv posted:

Chokes McGee posted:

go see Shazam


it will cheer you up








seriously he’s literally a goon superhero, if one of us got superpowers we’d be him