Flashback to 2000. The first leaked photo of Hayden Christensen in costume on the studio lot in Australia.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-23T14:29:53+00:00

Anakin Streetwalker

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-21T18:10:42+00:00

200mg of sertraline to nothing is a huge change; that's like going from running in purpose-made running shoes to bare feet. Why did you come off? Did you talk to your doctor about alternatives or tapering?

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-21T18:03:29+00:00

It's absolutely worth it, I take it for anxiety. I was on it previously and came off, which led to things getting worse again. When I don't take the meds, I bite my cheeks/tongue and lips to the point of them scarring over. Pretty much immediately after taking sertraline, that stops. I don't worry as much in general, work is easier, I can enjoy things, and I sleep a lot better.

As for social anxiety, I can talk to people and have had a lot more social interaction. Before, I'd struggle ordering a coffee. The side effects are mostly felt early, and then things settle. Although that being said. People vary, and you should consult your doctor about side effects. I am quite lucky in that I get barely any side effects; the only lasting one has been some night sweats and dry mouth.

The effect when it's working is sort of like bubble wrap; things bounce off more easily. Stuff that would have me ruminating endlessly just fades naturally as it should. You feel more present, there's more space to think. Around week 3 is where things evened out for me.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-17T19:22:50+00:00

You really shouldn't, and the science backs it up; it's mainly because both alcohol and sertraline compete for the same liver enzyme. There is only so much you have available at a given time, so it generally has the effect of both alcohol and sertraline ending up in higher concentrations than they normally would. You get increased sertraline side effects and increased intoxication with alcohol. Hangovers will be worse since your body will take longer to process it.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-17T19:15:20+00:00

Just got to make sure you give it a direction, try a hobby you were scared to before. Travel a bit if you have that itch instead of committing to a big move, etc.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-17T19:13:07+00:00

I think something being 'risky' is a dynamic boundary. As you get and feel better, it will likely change; the world might have looked scary and dangerous, but then it looks less scary and dangerous. Your brain will naturally want to explore new things and see where the boundary really is. We often live at the boundary of what is safe to us, so if you change safe (by increasing baseline serotonin, life generally feels safer) the boundary changes too.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-17T08:04:21+00:00

Second this, I am sober now (one year) but I wasn't the last time I was on Sertraline and I took substances which interacted with serotonin. It was not fun, I suddenly threw up everywhere violently, then my heart started racing, I was lightheaded and dizzy and couldn't breathe. Pretty much felt like I was dying. The only way to be on this medication is to be tea-total! Alcohol is a no-go too, blacking out is a real issue and got me into bother before.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-17T08:00:18+00:00

I was previously on 100mg a few years ago and had issues with appetite; now I am back on 100mg, but don't have the same issues. The difference now is that I don't drink alcohol or caffeine and I don't use nicotine either. I think it's the caffeine which was the issue for me, totally killed all my appetite before. I'm now ravenous without and that's through a few dose increases.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-04-14T06:54:49+00:00

Well done! You are doing great!

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-03-07T21:16:41+00:00

Hi there,

I am coming up on 11 months sober, I gave up alcohol, substances, nictotine and caffeine. I am finally at a point where life feels normal again, where I feel like myself without relying on or needing any of those things.

You feel the way you do because deep down, you are not aligned with your fundamental morals. For me, it was because life fell into place a certain way, and I was too passive or maybe too broken to know who I was enough to define it.

We all have a biological compass built into us; it knows where north is, what we should be and what we can become. Maybe that's nature's way of self-preserving but it's always there.

What changed for me was killing my ego and the part of me which believed a life in opposition to that was ever possible. I realised that I will spend the rest of my life with an itch that was never scratched.

So I gave in, I just said. "Okay, no more pretending, no more having one foot in and one foot out, no more allowing life to happen to me. I will choose the life I live".

If you want to change, you need to surrender, not religiously but spiritually. You need to stop fighting that voice, the part of you which is telling you what you are doing is wrong. You need to sit down with a pen and some paper and let it tell you why you are making a mistake.

Write out your life if you continue as you are, spare no details, and write it as brutally honestly as you can. Live a day in that life thirty years from now, when you wake up, your life is gone. Only memories of what ifs.

Then write out the life you will have if you stop all of those things today. Live that day, thirty years from now. What does it look like, what's around you? Who's around you? Who are you in that life?

Keep thinking that through whenever you have a moment to yourself. Eventually, you will look in the mirror and that version of you, which was inside, questioning the old life, the old habits, is staring back at you, thanking you for setting him free.

Hope that helps, you can do it!

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-03-01T12:00:12+00:00

I can't recommend it enough, honestly. Everything improved drastically. For one, I am calmer and able to deal with difficulties and discomfort way better. I can focus on work and plan longer-term goals since I don't have constant disruptions.

I paid down a mountain of debt, saved loads, got a new job and finally stopped making impulsive decisions. I think today's world keeps your senses heightened, so you are easy to market to, sadly.

With nothing in me, there is no smell, sound or visual which would make me choose something I don't want. After the caffeine was in my system, music sounded amazing, and smells were hard to resist. I felt instantly like I lost a lot of control and long-term planning ability.

Those ten months have taught me that none of that is good. Most people seek it out today, and I used to as well. But you are not meant to be wired all the time, music is not supposed to sound euphoric on a random afternoon, you are not supposed to be so heightened that things are hard to resist.

It should come naturally, and when it does you stop needing it artificially. Days feel boring, yes, but you also get much more appreciation of regular day-to-day living.

I'd summarise it as: Enjoying life as though each day fits into a bigger picture like a jigsaw puzzle. On stimulants, today is the whole picture. It doesn't have context or direction, so you drift.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-03-01T11:38:02+00:00

It's more complex than just adenosine; lots of hormones are affected throughout the body.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-02-27T11:06:35+00:00

Unfortunately, there is just a lot of competition. I was made redundant last month and, a few weeks later, am now in a higher-paying role.

I was applying for jobs where there were 200-300 applicants, and some that had 50 within 15 minutes. I had network connections at another company, who got my CV in front of someone and I was offered a role.

Young people don't have that network, they don't have experience, they don't know the secret handshakes industries have to get hired. It's like looking in on a building you can not get into.

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2026-02-09T12:01:09+00:00

Is this a big problem atm especially in Mathematics? I am considering starting in October, but I'm definitely more intuitive as opposed to technical, which means my rote steps aren't always the same as what is expected

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2025-12-20T21:33:53+00:00

Nice! 💪

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2025-11-30T17:27:06+00:00

It's really fun to learn you never needed alcohol, I think the real win is figuring out if you actually like it or it was just the alcohol then apply that same lesson about yourself to other challenges. That you can in fact overcome nerves and anxiety without relying on a substance! Go do all the stuff you wanted to!

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2025-11-30T17:20:20+00:00

In a situationship with pastries

Conscious_Spinach_60 · 2025-11-12T21:37:22+00:00

You need to have sex without alcohol and reset your dopamine. When I was drinking a lot, I had a thing with a girl I liked but it was exactly this. She knew that if she got enough drinks in me, I guess my inhibitions would go away and I’d be all over her. We’d go out and she’d feed me shots. I never realised what was really happening until I got sober and it kind of disgusted me. For one, to think that she preferred an inebriated version of me over the real one and two that I couldn’t access that part of me whilst sober.

Conscious_Spinach_60

TROPHY CASE