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Eat lots of wings. Wings fix all your problems.

What sevag said. For a guy who hates me, we sure have the same thought process!
 
what happened to your Klonopin pills??

They dumb me down and make me feel depressed. It's like using chemotherapy to kill a cancer, only the cancer is anxiety, apparently.

Are you presenting at SUNY Buffalo?

Yes. October 19th-20th.

I think you guys are still seeing this whole issue as emotional and something I can just man up and deal with. Trust me I do that every day. I want to travel and do so much. The problem is my brain is not functioning the way it used to, and that's existentially terrifying every day I'm sitting in class or in front of computer trying to do the things that used to be so enjoyable, but are now frustrating.

Going through this gauntlet of different drug regimens has made me unstable and paranoid, but now I'm off everything but the ADHD meds, though I'm not sure how much they're helping or hurting. I haven't been sleeping well because anxiety has been fucking up my brain that much.

Sorry I come across as whiny but I post here to get lay opinions for things I tend not to think critically about, since I've never been through shit like this before.
 
They dumb me down and make me feel depressed. It's like using chemotherapy to kill a cancer, only the cancer is anxiety, apparently.

You don't have anything close to / comparable to / IN ANY WAY reminiscent of cancer tbh. Your "pills" and "illness" is nothing like chems and real diseases. You're just a sad homo. I think the first step to retrieve your mental health is to realize that.
 
I think you guys are still seeing this whole issue as emotional and something I can just man up and deal with. Trust me I do that every day. I want to travel and do so much. The problem is my brain is not functioning the way it used to, and that's existentially terrifying every day I'm sitting in class or in front of computer trying to do the things that used to be so enjoyable, but are now frustrating.

Not at all. Backing up, I'll explain a little. I take a very holistic view of mental and physical health. I also eschew the contemporary "instafix" mentality. Whatever is causing this decline and subsequent frustration (or maybe vice versa) did not happen over night, and it most likely cannot be resolved overnight.

I've had days where I was mildly depressed or frustrated, and upon realizing it, I recognized it, labeled it, and tried to set the feeling apart from myself and immediately fight against it. Self awareness is extremely important for problems like this. This does not mean I immediately began to receive enjoyment for whatever I chose to do to fight the boredom. Sometimes I simply took a nap. The point is to recognize that the problem is temporary, something apart from you, and fixable (but not necessarily immediately).

Obviously you are still performing on a level many would be happy with or you wouldn't have had some recent success. Take a level of solace in that.

Going through this gauntlet of different drug regimens has made me unstable and paranoid, but now I'm off everything but the ADHD meds, though I'm not sure how much they're helping or hurting. I haven't been sleeping well because anxiety has been fucking up my brain that much.

Sorry I come across as whiny but I post here to get lay opinions for things I tend not to think critically about, since I've never been through shit like this before.

I know this approach receives ridicule, but it has great truth: You didn't start having problems due to a deficiency in x_drug. I think you know that, but sometimes things need to just be laid out clearly. Our mental health is more dependent on our physical health than we often like to acknowledge, as well as dependent on a number of more abstract factors like relationships and perceived "achievement", life direction, etc.
 
You have a big presentation. Are you sure you're not just experiencing SITUATIONAL, temporary anxiety? What if you just had to go to work, push some paper, and then go home and chill with zero deadlines?
 
It would normally be situational if it didn't occur within the context of the past month or so of me overreacting to some temporary maladjustment by trying to throw chemicals at my romantically high expectations of myself, failing to attain which has triggered a mental crisis of sorts. I don't give myself enough credit for what I achieve, and being thrown into a new program in which I am now lowest on the totem pole has been a major blow to an ego delusively nurtured by three years of being the flower of the Maine's public education system.

But I'm just babbling now. Back to work I go.
 
being thrown into a new program in which I am now lowest on the totem pole has been a major blow to an ego delusively nurtured by three years of being the flower of the Maine's public education system.

I don't believe you are suffering from anything other than "culture shock."
 
They dumb me down and make me feel depressed. It's like using chemotherapy to kill a cancer, only the cancer is anxiety, apparently.

for almost eveyone with anxiety/panic attacks benzos work
but only if used at the right dosage
if you take a pill that's too small, it won't do anything
if you take a pill that's too large, it puts you to sleep
if you take it every day you build up a tolerance to it's effect
and you'll need to start taking the larger doses to get the same effect

if they make you "dumb down and feel depressed" you might just simply be taking a dosage that's too large, you might need to see if you can get it in a smaller pill
the "dumbing down and feeling depressed" might also be an accululative effect of taking it every day, instead of only just when you feel a panic attack coming

also
if the Klonopin is flat-out not helping, you might want to try a different pill
but you might want to try to adjust the dosage and try to get the Klonopin to work first
 
It would normally be situational if it didn't occur within the context of the past month or so of me overreacting to some temporary maladjustment by trying to throw chemicals at my romantically high expectations of myself, failing to attain which has triggered a mental crisis of sorts. I don't give myself enough credit for what I achieve, and being thrown into a new program in which I am now lowest on the totem pole has been a major blow to an ego delusively nurtured by three years of being the flower of the Maine's public education system.
Yeah, it may just be a matter of getting over the initial shock and making some friends/contacts at Iowa that give you a sense of belonging there.

When i first started my programming job, i had major fucking anxiety and thought that everyone could see my incompetence as if it were stamped on my forehead. Fortunately my managers were lenient about my various noob fuckups, and over time i learned to fit into the culture and develop the kind of communication and problem solving skills they needed from me.
 
I sincerely hope that's the case. I'm signing up for a group therapy program nonetheless (can't hurt), which involves meditation and provides a structure for cultivating healthier habits toward better psychological and thus, one would think, cognitive well-being.

Been interested in meditation for a while anyway. Cody I'm sure could attest to its benefits.
 
I sincerely hope that's the case. I'm signing up for a group therapy program nonetheless (can't hurt), which involves meditation and provides a structure for cultivating healthier habits toward better psychological and thus, one would think, cognitive well-being.

Been interested in meditation for a while anyway. Cody I'm sure could attest to its benefits.

group therapy works a hell of a lot better than one-on-one therapy

when i was in group therapy we had moments where the group was able to interact with each other without the therapist there
for me, those moments were a hell of a lot more cathartic and helpful than anything the therapist said
 
Actually, I haven't gone to work high for a very long time, and haven't been high for a long time, either.

The real reason I quit was because the place was incredibly understaffed, and there was poor managing and planning. Not enough dough would be prepped, so we'd run out roughly an hour into the dinner rush (which lasts about three hours), and I was never on the clock with another cook that was experienced, so I'd get overwhelmed by the orders right away. Even with a manager helping, we were still backed up. Last night, I was slammed with orders until about thirty minutes before closing, which means the only sidework I could get done was cleaning up the table where all of the toppings are stored and cleaning the floors, and that was after the place closed.

Tonight was like last night, but worse, so I decided to quit and, luckily, I got called in for an interview at a place that put up a craigslist ad a couple days ago that I responded to. I did the interview, and I'm hired on a probationary basis. Got the synthetic urine just in case, and since this place is fancy, I'm not even going in looking like I'm high.

I was really lucky to get another job within an hour of quitting another. I'm not taking this kind of chance again, especially when I'm financially independent.
 
You kinda gave me that impression from the times i've met you, but for all i know i've never actually seen you sober.