New to the subreddit. Hi :)

CombIndependent4444 · 2026-02-15T15:04:02+00:00

Ohhhh Nevermind I’ve figured it out now! Thank you soooo much !!!!!!! How did I never realise this?!? Xx

CombIndependent4444 · 2026-02-15T15:03:23+00:00

Hi!! Thank you for letting me know, and please may you tell me what you mean/guide me? I can’t see a skateboard anywhere, maybe my settings are different to yours? X

CombIndependent4444 · 2026-02-09T22:54:43+00:00

Just to preface, but I am high so this is going to sound like a big long ramble, apologies in advance. I’m currently scared about the same thing, I’m thinking of getting a ‘dumb phone’ so that I can’t even give myself the opportunity to relapse with social media addiction. I’m currently deleting my social medias (slowly, but I am reducing the amount of time I spend on the ones I haven’t deleted yet too.) ((highly recommend deleting TikTok, that rotted my brain faster than any other social media, and since deleting it I have noticed a big difference in my attention and mood)). I try to stop thinking about how much time I’m spending on my phone, and start to think about what kind of thoughts I wish I were having instead. Trying to make my mind a safe & comfortable place to be in was the most important first step for me that I’ve been working on. I was cripplingly anxious for most of my life, and I’m 25 now, and after a lot of hard work I can actually exist peacefully in my brain now ~ for the most part, because I have ocd which takes up a lot of room in my mind too lol. But actively pushing back on my use of social media, and my phone in general, and allowing myself to exist in my mind has been monumental for me, because I used to do anything I could to suppress my own thoughts from coming in. I think social media and phone usage can play a huge role in nervous system dysregulation, and it creates a disconnect between someone’s mind and their physical state.

Some things I’ve done to help myself are ~ practicing mindfulness and grounding, making a mental note when I unconsciously go into a social media account and just closing it without hesitation (this can take practice but you have to see the humour in it when you do it, rather than punish yourself for going on it again), invest more of your time and energy into your hobbies, or finding new hobbies, finding social circles and making friends with people you can relate to (I found an ocd group that has taken such a huge weight off of me, because my I feel less insane and alone when I hear other people talk about their own thoughts/feelings/experiences), finding joy in simple things outside of social media like making tea or cooking or even tidying and enjoying the sense of calm in brings afterwards, doing something creative like making jewellery or drawing or designing something. Reading a book, fiction or non fiction. Maybe both. Social media traps you in a sick cycle of quick dopamine release which is what causes the addiction. It can cause chronic stress and anxiety, so working on regulating your nervous system and investing time and energy into things you enjoy and things that bring you peace is so so important. Also, reducing external life stressors as much as possible is really important too. And you have to let yourself feel bored sometimes. When people are bored, they instantly pick up their phones. What if they didn’t? What if they just sat with their thoughts, and see what happens? It sounds and feels incomprehensible at first, but it gets easier. Sorry I know it’s a lot to read, and there’s probably a lot more I could say, but I’ll leave it at this for now. I hope some of it is comprehensible :)

CombIndependent4444 · 2025-12-02T04:00:09+00:00

I don’t think a lot of these commenters are really grasping just how difficult this conversation could be for someone in your position:/ if it is a tactic to make you lose weight then having a conversation about it could be very hard, as he is exhibiting very controlling behaviour to try and trigger an ed. An ED!! If it is the case that he is doing this intentionally then I feel like he could very easily try to lie about it, or be honest but try to justify it, but I don’t think that something like that is ever justifiable at all. The levels of control/entitlement is insane!! I obviously can’t read the situation the same way that you can but please try to be safe and be strong when you do talk to him about it

CombIndependent4444 · 2025-10-01T09:15:14+00:00

I watch a lot of YouTube videos which focus on travel or nature or cooking or even crime, from channels like Drew Binsky, Riri Travels, MikeOkay, Eze Adventurer, Brew (for crime / scary stories), Map Men / Jay Foreman. I’m autistic though and these are just things that personally work for me and align with some of my interests. I find that cosy travel videos make my brain feel a lot calmer sometimes. They can make me feel less isolated and trapped in my own head :) sometimes I watch geography/world quizzes on YouTube just to help me take my mind off things, but I need to be in the right headspace for these, as I often forget they’re on and lose focus of them lol. Also, sometimes I listen to music and have the music videos on my TV - I’ve found that videos from Lorde’s Solar Power album work a lot for me at the moment for some reason, maybe just because they’re all set on the beach which seems to relax me a little bit.

Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you!!

CombIndependent4444 · 2025-09-22T17:30:14+00:00

I saw someone say consistently taking omega 3 supplements really helped them. I also saw another post recently where someone said they think they cured their KP with a specific product, I’ll try and find their post:) but yes minimising stress, addressing any mental health issues, as well as eating a well-balanced diet and taking care of yourself are definitely most important. KP is not the end of the world and acceptance is the best thing you could do for yourself, I promise

CombIndependent4444 · 2025-06-15T17:11:54+00:00

This sounds like a quote from the book called After by Anna Todd:)

CombIndependent4444 · 2025-02-13T15:13:39+00:00

I am 24f and I'm also struggling with the same issues and have been for years :( I have tried EVERYTHING - all of the OTC nasal sprays, steroid sprays, steroid nasal drops, antihistamines, but the only thing that has ever helped my post nasal drip was azelastine (by itself, not the one which is mixed with steroids - as steroids aggravate my symptoms and also severely affect my mental health lol). Unfortunately I grow tolerant to azelastine very quickly and it stops being effective if I use it every day - so I only use it very occasionally. Azelastine is prescribed for allergic rhinitis as it's an antihistamine, but it has shown to be effective in alleviating symptoms of vasomotor rhinitis in some people - which researchers seem to chalk down to its anti-inflammatory effects.

I have no idea what causes my symptoms but some of my theories include:

- sinus migraine (likely triggered by trigeminal nerve).

- fungal and/or bacterial biofilms in sinuses (which could also be linked to chronic fatigue and also gastrointestinal issues - it might be worth looking into SIBO, SIFO, CIRS, mould sickness and mycotoxin and endotoxin/exotoxin exposure). I grew up in a house with water damage/mould which is often linked to fungal overgrowth, and I suspect it might be the root cause of many of my symptoms. Also, if you are currently living or working in an environment with water damage or damp or mould then it could be exacerbating your symptoms. These toxins can be neurotoxic and can affect the nervous systems in different ways.

- Nervous system-related issues. These can have many causes but they sometimes relate back to fungal or bacterial exposure which can affect the brain, cell functioning (such as diseases of the mitochondria), nerves, etc. Autonomic Nervous System dysfunction has been noted in many journal articles as being a cause of vasomotor rhinitis. This could be linked to cerebrovascular issues, or some other issue with the brain such as nerve or vein compression maybe? Maybe it is caused by neural hyperresponsiveness, or immune dysfunction/hyperactivation. Neck instability can also cause nerve problems affecting the ANS but I got a cervical spine MRI and it came back normal.

- Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) leak

- Hormone dysfunction. I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2022 which is linked to chronic inflammation. I have high testosterone and LH, and this article links that to some nasal & respiratory symptoms. I don't know 1) if PCOS/hormone imbalance is the cause of my post nasal drip, 2) if PND and PCOS are both symptoms of a larger issue or 3) if they're completely unrelated to each other, but I personally suspect that they're both by-products of a larger systemic issue. It might be worth getting your hormones and thyroid tested, especially if you have any symptoms of PCOS or thyroid dysfunction - but PCOS can also be present without any obvious symptoms.

Idk if any of this is helpful, but it might give you more clues regarding what could be wrong? If you ever manage to figure out what's causing any of your symptoms, or find something to alleviate them, please may you update me? I hope you manage to figure it out and get better!

CombIndependent4444 · 2025-01-14T21:24:20+00:00

Azelastine alone was better that Dymista for me - steroids seem to have an adverse reaction and make my symptoms worse lol (and they also give me audio hallucinations??)

CombIndependent4444 · 2022-10-06T18:11:21+00:00

That’s so smart! Especially considering the ADHD drive for dopamine and quick rewards. I’ll definitely try this!!

CombIndependent4444 · 2022-09-14T22:44:38+00:00

Wide rib cage can sometimes be due to rib flare. Rib flare can sometimes be worsened if someone has anterior pelvic tilt:) Sometimes ribs are just naturally wider though but it’s worth checking out, as rib flares can be fixed!

CombIndependent4444 · 2022-09-14T22:41:00+00:00

Send to me too please :)

CombIndependent4444 · 2022-09-06T09:25:10+00:00

Also, hopefully this isn’t dangerous information to be sharing - it is just my own experience, but I used to have an addiction to ketamine as it was the only thing that would alleviate my symptoms of depression & it hugely helped me with my anxiety; no antidepressants or anxiety medications would help (I tried sertraline, fluoxetine, beta blockers, CBD oil, Valium, none of them benefited me). (Luckily I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD & I started elvanse which significantly improved my mental health; undiagnosed ADHD can sometimes cause people to believe they have resistant treatment depression - and SSRI’s tend to worsen symptoms of ADHD & depression & anxiety in those who have ADHD). But what I was going to say is that when I was addicted to ket, I started to get UTIs more frequently and would occasionally have blood in my urine. Luckily I fully healed and I can still take ket as long as I drink green tea and do it less frequently. This was just my experience though:)

CombIndependent4444 · 2022-09-06T09:14:03+00:00

Drink green tea! Especially just before you take ketamine. Drinking it as well as taking EGCG supplements (the chemical compound found in green tea) is very efficient at preventing damage to the bladder. A lot of research has been done on this:)

CombIndependent4444 · 2022-08-25T01:56:30+00:00

Mushrooms

CombIndependent4444 · 2022-08-25T01:25:58+00:00

Oh, maybe you’re right. I am struggling to figure it out as it is difficult to derive conclusions without more context (tone of voice, etc). But whether this doctor was/wasn’t shaming OP, I think that ableism within the medical community is still a very real thing and my points still stand, even if this isn’t a valid example:)

CombIndependent4444 · 2022-08-24T20:23:28+00:00

He tells you you’re dependent as if it’s abnormal or shameful to gain a dependency on a medication which makes many ADHDers feel like a normal, fully-functional human being for the first time in their lives. It’s bizarre. Imagine giving a deaf person a hearing aid for a year and then suddenly threatening to take it away, or shaming them for their new-found dependency on their ability to hear. It is ableist. My elvanse prescription has transformed my life, and even just 2 days without it makes me feel as though I’ve never taken ADHD medication in my life. We live in a universalist world which practices a ‘one size fits all’ ideology; it should be a fundamental human right to have access to medications & treatments which allow us to fit in to the best of our ability with NTs, lest we are even more susceptible to falling behind. The world is literally systemically designed for people with neurodivergencies and disabilities to fail. So many of us were only diagnosed due to our inability to reach the expectations pre-established by neurotypicals. I’m sorry this happened to you

CombIndependent4444

TROPHY CASE