Christmas Editionprevious: >>41869583Goal of the thread: Talk to a friend or loved one, or in a pinch, feel free to socialize with us. Talking to people is a human need, even to those of us who exhaust quickly from communication.Daily goals can be repeated. Remember to keep score, it can only go up!>What is this thread for?Getting better is hard, and sucks. A lot. It does not get easier doing it alone.Share resources and experiences with combating depression, anxiety, personal issues, achieving or maintaining a healthy weight, etc.>Why is this thread /lgbt/?Struggles with mental and physical health are an indisputable part of /lgbt/ life, be it from dysphoria, social pressure, heartbreak, or just unfortunate lifestyle choices.>Notes to consider:Please be civil. Shame is your greatest enemy in fighting urges of self abuse (be it sh, drugs, or just self deprecation). Relapsing into bad and unhealthy habits is to be expected, the goal is to increase the average amount of time it takes between relapses. Any improvement is a victory no matter how small. Your worth and right to get better are non-negotiable. And most importantly:WE ARE NOT THERAPISTS, WE DON'T REPLACE MEDICATION>Note on adviceGeneric advice won't necessarily help you in particular, but for those it does it is an essential foundation to build future progress on, not a miracle cure. Do not underestimate the effects subtle changes to your lifestyle can have. Try first, keep us posted on your progress, build from there.We are *always* short on self help resources, so if anything was useful to you, let us know!Since the OP is getting too long I moved all resources into their own post, see below!## RESOURCE LINKS:Resource link paste: https://rentry.co/sig-resources-2025-07General advice from Anons: https://rentry.co/sig-tips-2024-04Posts from other sites (markdown format): https://rentry.co/sig-posts-2024-04
>>42044782>WE ARE NOT THERAPISTS, WE DON'T REPLACE MEDICATION Damn this thread cringe as hell
Apart from the GOTT, here are a few things you can do _today_ to make your life a little better. Keep a diary and write down every success. Some you may do as often as you please, but write down each one individually! You deserve it! Do not feel pressured to do all, but feel free to select one or two!- prepare 1 load of laundry- do 1 load of laundry- read one page of a book or manga you have been putting off- cook yourself a meal, or try learn to make a simple dish- eat a meal- pick up items on the floor for 5 minutes- make your bed- if you have a bad habit, try making it more inconvenient (putting things in hard to reach places for example)- do the dishes for 3 minutes- write down one thing you are grateful for (from abstract things to something like a cute image you saw)- Clean up 1m^2 of your floor (~40x40 in)- Open your window for 10-20 minutes- try to exercise for 5 min (walk outdoors, walking stairs, whatever you wish)- take out the trash- drink a glass of water- put one item of trash in the bin- reach out to an online contact (perhaps even try arrange spontaneously meeting up with an IRL contact near you!)- BONUS: Repeat a goal to hit a milestone (1 book chapter rather than a page, the laundry pile, the floor of one room, etc)Unofficial group chats maintained by kind anons of /sig/:IRC: presently defunct afaik.Discord: https://discord.gg/pUuXdBjKX2
Please check last thread for responses, since the last thread died pretty quickly after my last few replies.Still, some posts from last thread remain unreplied to, I'm working on that right now.Thanks everyone for your patience. Also, Dec 16 marked the 3 year /sig/ anniversary! >>28777091 was the first, for those curious.
>>42044832Panty here. Thanks for the suggestion on the Linux emulator, siganon! I’m going to look into that. Yesterday I managed to do some cooking. This is pearl couscous, sliced zucchini, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, chickpeas, onion and garlic cooked in vegetable broth. It was good, and I will definitely make it again, but I think I’ll add corn and white beans as well. Maybe a potato sliced like the zucchini.
>>42039720Unfortunately my spouse took the post seizure state I get into as me being in a bad mood/ignoring them on purpose. I genuinely think I'm too retarded to be helped, but I still function to well to be put in a shit hole facility or get MAiD. So i guess I am on my own I found an old notebook and I'm going to keep a journal again though. I used to keep one because people taking advantage of my memory issues but my therapist at the time made me stop because he thought it was making me focus on how bad things are too much
>>42045494So, since you mentioned MAiD, Medical Assistance in Death, I assume you’re Canadian? And there’s more than one way to journal. You can write things down you want to remember, and that doesn’t have to mean you’re only writing down negative things or dwelling on negatives. And it’s possible to live through things that are going to upset you either way, and whether or not it’s better to journal about them can be subjective. But I think if you focus on just writing down things you want to remember, that could keep you focused on a goal beyond just dwelling on negative emotions. It could be a way to protect and advocate for yourself also.
>>42031393>I just want her to know she has my support and that I'm still the same friend I've always been.I think you already nailed it right there. Just say you're happy for her and that you got her back. Hell you can even say you worry about coming off weird if that eases your mind, but your intent is clear and you being there is all that matters. I doubt she will remember the specifics either way years from now.>>42035212Sounds like things are going well overall, yes! And the new captcha sure is an experience.Thank you so much for the update, Anon. It's always nice to read them.>>42036522Welcome back, Tanjinon!>felt ungrateful for not wanting to go with themTrust me, it's 100% human. Admitting it's burdensome is not a weakness of character.>internet censorshipI will be frank with you, the vast majority of these half measures are going to be not only extremely difficult to implement and enforce but also, realistically speaking, simple to circumvent. For now, the best cope I can give you is that you can rest assured I'd help you find a way to circumvent all this shit, if pressed.>I feel like such a greedy piece of shit for being upset by itNobody would have liked to hear that, all you want is financial security (for yourself and your loved ones), it's human, sensible even. And I will gladly reassure you as often as it takes.>I also feel like an asshole for coming here when my life feels like its melting and not sticking around too long when things are goodTanji, this is a place of support. We help each other, if I discouraged people from leaning on us more than they let themselves be leaned on this would be /therapistgen/ not /sig/. Your behavior is natural and no less vital than my own.Also, The new captcha feels like an elaborate troll. Making a new thread was hell.
>>42035835>-1 month before midterms at rhe uni and i hadn't studied ANYTHING AT ALLYou're stuck in a spiral like that, right? Alright, could you make a list to try and get a feeling for what needs doing? Like a coarse checklist of subjects.>>42037221>>42037646Oh that fucking sucks.. I don't know if the /fa/ general has stuff you might not be aware of (>>>/fa/18613072) but that aside I think a great deal of the other things could be addressed, and it would make life more tolerable I believe, even if being bald really hurts you.>>42038732That's actually quite extraordinary a degree, do you think it could be an actual OCD type of thing? I mostly ask because if it is there might be resources tied to that label that can help you cope.
>>42044789>>42044782I am your prescribing therapist, your personal lawyer, your doctor, and your CPA. This is financial advice. This is legal advice. This is medical advice.
>>42046419I’m not diagnosed with anything, but I’ve had friends and acquaintances bring up OCD to me often enough that it’s probably that just by wisdom of crowds. Thankfully the router block fixed it, so now the energy is at least going towards cleaning and decluttering.
>>42046419>>42046580https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoarding_disorderHoarding disorder has become its own separate diagnosis in the last few years, although it can overlap with other diagnoses. You could just as easily be ADHD or OCD, or both. From what I’ve learned about hoarding, the urge to get and keep things can also make you freak out about getting rid of them. But I’ve also heard it helps to think about what you’re afraid will happen if you get rid of an item. There are a few different common motivations to hoard. I’ll use the ocarina as an example. Maybe you’re afraid of forgetting about having an ocarina as a teenager, or having played Ocarina of Time. Maybe you wanted to learn how to play the ocarina, and you’re afraid if you give up on that dream, you’ll never follow through on anything. Hoarding can also be triggered by fear of scarcity, and memory/organization problems where you need something in sight to be sure you have it, but if you keep everything in sight it all becomes clutter. Correct me if I’m wrong, I realize this is kind of basic, but I hope it helps.
>>42044832HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIG
>>42044789Pointing out what is seemingly obvious sometimes helps to set a tone, I believe. If your brain screams at you 24/7 or causes you to have visions/seizures/whatever without meds, then meds are just unavoidable. And some problems aren't solved through talking but through vitamin D or estrogen or a changed diet or exercise because human brains are fucked up like that.>>42039581Hm, I don't wanna diagnose you but all these are hallmarks of depression, ESPECIALLY your inhibitions keeping you from others and causing you to self isolate, cause it always seems to have some comorbidity with anxiety of that kind in my experience.Let me start with something important about therapists. A therapist worth the air they breathe has had enough experience to consider all those experiences you deem embarrassing ... mundane. You must recall they are essentially a "gynecologist of the mind": what is intimate to you is their bread and butter, and you gotta go in with the expectation they've seen enough to have some professional detachment.>anons how do i even go about addressing any of this>>42045160You're most welcome!One suggestion I have for the pearl couscous, maybe try playing with consistencies a bit, adding something crunchy like nuts or maybe even croutons? I think the beans you are considering already go in the right direction.>>42046516You're a stronger Anon than I, kek.
>>42047305Awh.. I am genuinely happy about this, you know? I'm proud of myself, this community, all of it! It's just.. such a lovely thing. To think we managed to put this on the map here. Some kind Anon once called /sig/ a garden among the flames. Honestly.. I still sometimes think of that turn of phrase. I wouldn't want it to be anywhere else. And I am happy I could give something back to a website where I found so, so much happiness, in spite (and because) of itself.>>42045494The journaling thing sounds like a plan, but if you don't mind me chiming in regarding your spouse: I am of a very "everything can be mended" sort of mindset when it's about relationships, at least in a case like you describe where I have reason to believe both sides ultimately do want things to mend. I understand it must feel like a defeat, seeing a partner hurt over something you have no power to change. At the same time, because your condition is something your partner has no power over either, it is also natural for them to sometimes assume it was actually something that is in their power (aka that your state is somehow about them), and their knee-jerk reaction just happened to pan out poorly. None of that exchange is either of your fault. If you approach them with words of reassurance, at least I as a partner would have a much easier time "getting it" after a bit of a meta conversation. Maybe you even already talked it all out and you just wanted to vent your momentary frustration, but I hope it helps to hear that I 100% believe that misunderstandings like that will never bar you from being worthy of support or love. It's just difficult, and so, annoyingly, sometimes it takes a lot of back and forth for things that feel like they should never have happened in the first place, but simply couldn't be avoided.>>42047206Holy shit, good to know it's its own recognized thing! Thank you so much for the insight, Panty!
Two job interviews tomorrow so I am gonna have to see how true manmoding goes for me (since I was a repper last time I interviewed for a job) and hope my brief studying of PLCs, SCADA etc lets me sound at least somewhat competent.I got a hairline-lowering / hair-transplant booked in for late January at least, I just really don't wanna be working shit jobs forever with no progression ^_^Next thing is getting an FFS consult and uhh, fucking trying with the NHS maybe (not sure I can be bothered tbqh).>>42044832Happy sigday.>>42037221Not sure how non-responsiveness would work. You could (if you're really desperate) try low-dose T blockers (like idk maybe like 6.25mg Cypro every 5-7 days I guess), but that'd be pretty experimental (and you'd need to do bloodwork, etc., etc.).May be a case of having to just work on the other points.If your baseline T level is over like 1000ng/dl you'll have a shitload of T you can always block.
pg7
>>42046177No, I live in a liberal US state that allows it. I used to journal just as a log of my days because I was suspicious of my ex's way of treating me (he volunteered to help me with my disabilities but in the end I was hospitalized for starvation/injuries and he fled the state.) Maybe now that I'm safe from that situation it won't just be a list of shitty things, or you may be right, I just don't have to write them down. >>42047619It took a few hours but yeah it was just a bad moment for both of us. They had stepped out to go to the corner store and came back to me very confused/scared and freaking out and took a walk to collect themselves and I couldn't understand why they were leaving me when I was so confused and felt so icky. We're not getting my medical financial aid stuff done today after all, we're going to cuddle in bed with low lights and I'm going to work on my journal
>>42049240Right, I know a few US states legalized voluntary euthanasia (it’s something I researched online a couple of years ago when I was in a dark place) but I didn’t know they started calling it MAiD here in Burgerland, too. It was also really disappointing to find out that some disabled people in Canada have been steered toward MAiD because it’s cheaper and easier for the state to euthanize them than keeping them alive. Anyway, I’m glad I could offer some advice you found helpful. I really hope you can find something more enjoyable to do with your life than end it. And I hope you can show yourself that you’re not as helpless as you feel at your lowest.
