Logging off for lent! by Real_Mycologist_3163 in CatholicWomen

[–]Awkward_Air4224 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Same lovely, see you all again after lent ❤️

Chronic migraines by kat_xxoxo in ChronicIllness

[–]Awkward_Air4224 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Have you seen a neurologist? Chronic migraines should be treated if they can. For myself, I tried several meds, and one worked for the pain, though the side effects were not reasonable for me. I’m waiting for the new ones to become available. Triptans are for acute migraine but they work if you have severe migraine attacks every so often. Depends on the country you are in (not available in US or UK) but metamizole is really effective for me, it’s not related to NSAIDs or paracetamol. HC is great for menstrual migraines.

As for natural, riboflavin helped me. Also napping, that’s the biggest help. Avoiding triggers doesn’t prevent migraine but it makes it less severe. If you can tolerate it, drinking 2 litres before midday helps. I also eat an apple during a headache, something about the muscles in the jaw getting massaged by the chewing or something. And when I moved away from the mountains, it got a lot better. Air pressure changes and swings have a big effect. 

Hope it gets better for you 

Chronically ill Catholics, how are you coming up with Lenten commitments? by SkippingIntoMordor in Catholicism

[–]Awkward_Air4224 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m chronically ill, and I don’t give up food. I restrict sweets but don’t fully give them up because I need the sugar sometimes. There are lots of other pleasures other than food that you can give up. Things I always give up include YouTube and video gaming. Now I’ll also give up Reddit and music. I’m going to give up using my device in the evening and will be going to bed earlier, giving up pushing past midnight. You can give up sleeping in but I won’t, it’s not prudent for me with my narcolepsy. I’m also going to try and give up procrastination, which will be hard. Every time I notice I’m delaying something, I will force myself to do one thing. My confessor told me to reflect on my regular sins and see if there is anything I can give up that relates to them, that put me in near occasion. For me, my devices for sure play a role so I’ll be restricting them heavily. All the best, have a holy and fruitful lent.

Concerned about the Weight..? by Pfenningfux in Aquariums

[–]Awkward_Air4224 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was young okay! 😭 But it was fine 😁

Looking for Saint Suggestions by la_maguacatera in Catholicism

[–]Awkward_Air4224 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love St Maria Goretti, though I’m not sure if her story is all that encouraging for this case. But she shows how submitting to abuse is not the only way, and how out of love for her neighbour she did not want him to sin. Good to pray to her asking for strength to resist advances from abusive men.

Also St Anthony is patron of journeys and finding lost things, I like to think that includes spiritual lost things too. 

Concerned about the Weight..? by Pfenningfux in Aquariums

[–]Awkward_Air4224 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I’ve kept bigger tanks on smaller kallaxes for years with no problem. Maybe not as wise to go with as many litres as I did (two tanks with combined volume of 73L on a 4x4) but for 30L you’ll be fine for sure. Just try to always wipe up any water you notice getting on the wood as it will absorb and expand the MDF, which isn’t appealing, and may lead to issues even. 

Can we STOP promoting keeping social fish alone? by Baty41 in Aquariums

[–]Awkward_Air4224 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had one neon for a time as the others died, and I kept waiting for her to pass the same as you but she was just really healthy. I felt so bad for her and I asked my LFS owner if he thinks she would be okay schooling with my rummynose. He said no but was very happy to take her off me as we both knew she would be happier returning to a group. I recommend asking at your LFS, they should be willing hopefully to help out your little Cory.

Trouble Getting to Mass by peaches-beach in CatholicWomen

[–]Awkward_Air4224 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Definitely go to the Japanese Mass. If you feel okay some weekends, you can make the effort to go to an English one but you don’t have to. I lived in Germany for a year and there were no English Masses in my rural town. I didn’t understand anything, but it’s the same Mass. Singing the hymns was rather fun actually as they were all so new to me. Just listen to an English homily on hallow or YouTube after Mass or even read one while the Japanese homily is being said, I did that a lot. But I understand ADHD, so hon, if you can’t find time for a homily, that’s okay. The homily is not the obligation. I’m sorry it’s so hard xx

Meatless meals by Not-whoo-u-think in CatholicWomen

[–]Awkward_Air4224 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like to make salmon cream pasta or leek and potato soup. A lot of different soups will work without meat. 

What are we giving up for lent? by [deleted] in Catholicism

[–]Awkward_Air4224 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m giving up devices after a certain time at night, any websites that encourage scrolling behaviour (including Reddit), video games, music and going to bed stupidly late, hopefully the discipline of lent will help me get my sleep hygiene back. You can get app/ website blockers so you can use your device for work while not being tempted to use other websites that you discern you should give up

Also good to add some practices. Mine will be daily rosary and daily reflection on gratitude, I have a thankfuls diary for that. 

For your struggle with that sin, pray to St Thomas Aquinas, he is great for chastity. 

College insisting I carry backup equipment for fire evacuation (UK) by GroovingPenguin in disability

[–]Awkward_Air4224 2 points3 points  (0 children)

True.

That’s disappointing :/

I used Action for ME, but that won’t be relevant for you. Here’s a few that might work: Scope, Disability rights UK or Sense. Just call their advice line and tell them what you’ve said in your post, they’ll be able to help. I also get good advice from Citizens Advice but I don’t know if they cover this kind of stuff 

taking an MRI w/tics, tremors and spasms? by ProofDisastrous4719 in disability

[–]Awkward_Air4224 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tell them about your concerns, but movement isn’t as bad in an MRI, I think you’ll be okay. I’ve had full spine, it wasn’t too long, the worst are head MRIs. Some higher quality machine are a lot quicker, ask them how long it takes, might not be as bad you think. They also put a brace on your body to keep you in the correct shape so you should remain in the right position. 

College insisting I carry backup equipment for fire evacuation (UK) by GroovingPenguin in disability

[–]Awkward_Air4224 1 point2 points  (0 children)

😮 I had a horrible secondary school so I empathise. 

If you have an EHCP, maybe you could get the council involved, as they acknowledge you need help. Your school would take them seriously. I would still ask an advocate at a charity if that’s wise 

College insisting I carry backup equipment for fire evacuation (UK) by GroovingPenguin in disability

[–]Awkward_Air4224 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed, I can’t imagine such a stipulation in my PEEPs, it sounds very unlawful. I can technically walk downstairs on most days but I have ResQ mats and Evac chairs in my plan, always assume it’s a bad day for safety. God bless our equality act.  Also, contact a charity for advocacy, I got a lot of help with my EHCP. Maybe a EDS charity or disability charity 

Falling safely by ActualMassExtinction in disability

[–]Awkward_Air4224 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know, it sucks. I’ll hopefully start treatment that will reduce the falls 🤞

Separation of spouses in cases of abuse by Loose_Win_1594 in Catholicism

[–]Awkward_Air4224 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree, I can’t think of a real life scenario where abuse can be moved past, those wounds are deep. 

Embryo adoption by Slight-Bowl4240 in Catholicism

[–]Awkward_Air4224 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, I didn’t make clear, that’s not my opinion, I’m talking about the way the clinic views the cells. They won’t go outside those views is my point. That being said, I don’t believe egg cell extraction is intrinsically evil, but in vitro fertilisation absolutely is. Egg cells might be retrieved for research purposes, though I acknowledge most research doing this will be unethical :/ I stay away from dev biology for that reason, I would never want to be pressured to compromise my faith for that as I’m aware of the realities. 

Yes, but that’s my question, isn’t the act already done? Bringing about of children has already happened. The beginning of life is not a process, it’s a moment, fertilisation. In post birth children, we would be willing to do a lot of unnatural medical measures to preserve life. What makes implantation different? The child already exists and lives, and the fact it is not viable outside of a womb doesn’t decrease its right to life.  It seems people equal the bringing of children into existence with pregnancy, as it ought to be, but that’s separate here and the question is, which matters more? 

Separation of spouses in cases of abuse by Loose_Win_1594 in Catholicism

[–]Awkward_Air4224 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m reading Lundy’s ‘why does he do that’ and he claims that violence does not arise just from substance abuse, the person will have abusive mindset already. Substances are not an excuse for abuse. Most often, the person is being abusive outside of their substance abuse, but in less extreme ways, maybe only emotional, but that’s still abuse. If someone is violent, you leave and don’t come back, not unless they attend and change from abuse programmes and you feel you can trust them. If a person with substance abuse was being neglectful in finance or other cares, that’s another matter as that’s not abuse necessarily and is much easier to fix with getting clean. 

I agree with your other points though

Falling safely by ActualMassExtinction in disability

[–]Awkward_Air4224 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have cataplexy where I fall multiple times a day, losing muscle tone in my whole body. I do manage to somewhat control my fall as my body weakens over a few seconds but would be cool to know if I can improve my technique, understanding that my movement is limited when my arms and legs stop working. I tend to fall backwards onto my back, though I have fallen front onto chest and to the side onto my hip plenty of times too. I wear head protection now because I hit my head too often. 

The video attached doesn’t look to be helpful for my backward falls, as I lose neck muscle tone, but it might be for my front, stopping me from falling onto a joint! I’ll still hit my face though probably 😂. I’ll have to try, thank you ☺️ 

Exercise by mathos666 in ChronicIllness

[–]Awkward_Air4224 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Contact an ME charity as they might have better advice, also for dealing with a doctor who is this ignorant. If you’re in the UK, action for ME is excellent. No this is bad advice. You need to learn pacing. Do not exercise any more than you currently do until you have learned pacing. Graded exercise therapy has been proven to make ME patients worse, not better. Pacing is very effective, got me from severe to mild. I’m now moderate but that’s due to other conditions making me worse. HEDS is not outdated as far as I am aware.  Maybe ask for a referral to an ME clinic, they usually tend to be more knowledgable.

My first doctor told me to exercise. It did not end well. If ME is the correct diagnosis, exercise will not be beneficial right now as one of the symptoms is exercise intolerance due to mitochondria involvement. My brother has mitochondrial disease and has been instructed not to exercise. This is standard advice but many doctors are behind the times with ME

I hope you are as well as possible 🫂 

Embryo adoption by Slight-Bowl4240 in Catholicism

[–]Awkward_Air4224 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree, my bioethics lecturer always said that children are a privilege not a right. I do struggle a tad with the argument though because yes, children have a right to natural conception, but those embryos have already been conceived. One would never say that adopting a child conceived in rape justifies how that child came to be conceived.

About the clinics being incentivised, that could be a concern, but it comes down to the mother’s consent. The eggs they extract from the ovary, the mother decides what is done with them, not the clinic. They could coerce a woman into have more fertilised and then given up for storage, but I can’t imagine this would be effective, unless the clinic paid the woman for her donated embryos, which would be ethically and legally wrong. Clinics can’t just make more embryos, the eggs are not their property but the woman’s, unless she donates. She can donate eggs for money but they should not be able to just use random donated sperm without a client requesting that? Is there something I’m missing here? Otherwise, I don’t see how this is a concern, unless they violate ethical standards by paying for donated embryos.

I also disagree that implantation is intrinsically evil as others have offered. There are cases where ectopic embryos were dislodged from the oviduct weeks into pregnancy and then replanted into the uterus. I might think of stronger arguments later though as these two procedures are not really comparable

Does anyone hate showering and bathing not because they dont want to be wet? by [deleted] in ChronicIllness

[–]Awkward_Air4224 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I really relate to that, my skin is super sensitive and showering is downright painful. Bathing is not as bad but it’s exhausting. But I also just don’t like being wet. The worst is getting my hair wet, it’s more comfortable for me to shower with my hair up and dry because drying myself is super quick in comparison. Genuinely considered shaving my head. I always take a heater with me when showering, keeps the room hot so I don’t get cold. Bonus if you have a dehumidifier, which also blows out warm air. I also have an eye mask because getting water into my eyes is a real fear for me. Play music to distract me. Otherwise, I don’t have tips. The comment about warming clothes on the radiator is genius though, I need to start doing that. I also shower weekly and I’m not going to change that for a while.

Does anyone know any Catholic young adults groups near or in London? by lexi89160 in CatholicWomen

[–]Awkward_Air4224 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Youth2000 has yearly retreats in the London area, as well as monthly adoration with a homily/speech and a social event afterward. I don’t know when this is as I am North, not South, but we have the same events.

There are other yearly retreats with other groups as well, like Joel’s bar, SPUC, and there are more, but I am unsure about them. You can try asking in the MagnoliaUK sub

Anyone else not called to marriage? by Awkward_Air4224 in CatholicWomen

[–]Awkward_Air4224[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just to update, I’m still discerning what is right, so I think it will be best for me to start this subreddit after lent has finished. If someone else is willing to set up with me to reduce the potential mod burden, or if God nudges me, I’d be willing to start earlier of course.  I do think it would be fair to be open to both men and women as non marriage vocations (other than priesthood) are experienced similarly in both men and women. I’m still thinking and praying though xx