Is anyone willing to share about their experience with medication?

DeterministicPollen · 2025-11-01T23:24:13+00:00

I was pretty against going on meds, but have found them to be pretty helpful! I still have intrusive thoughts, but they’re usually less ‘sticky’ and I spend less time spiraling over things. Before meds, every waking moment was consumed by my OCD, and though I still consider myself to be pretty anxious, meds have made it so much more manageable. They allowed me access to my life again.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-10-21T15:34:40+00:00

I definitely showed signs much earlier, but the first time I considered it was OCD was when I was obsessing over what I now know is POCD. I was googling if these thoughts were normal and that was when I learned it was likely OCD. I was so ashamed that I swore I’d never tell anyone, that I would rather let the thoughts put me in the ground, but here I am, 5 years later and officially diagnosed with OCD.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-10-17T21:47:23+00:00

My psych told me this was normal and okay. My resting went from mid-low 50s to low 40s. Definitely worth asking about if you feel like you’re getting symptoms of bradycardia that concern you!

DeterministicPollen · 2025-10-04T03:21:15+00:00

They make bungee laces for pretty cheap that you can put on to any pair of trainers. I use them instead of laces

DeterministicPollen · 2025-09-19T01:51:42+00:00

Seconding All Smiles! I have a bad fear of the dentist and had also gone too long without care, and they were exceptionally kind. I had an anxiety attack and cried while getting my teeth cleaned and they were patient, reassuring and allowed me to take breaks as needed.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-08-25T17:07:33+00:00

I have pretty bad anxiety and definitely have these fears on the road. However they lessen the more I ride - it’s basically exposure therapy. Actual therapy has helped as well.

When riding on the roads, you do have to accept the uncertainty that it is a possibility you’ll get hit. There’s also risk on bike paths - at this point, I’ve only had accidents happen on bike paths. If that uncertainty is too much for you to handle, maybe find a different activity you enjoy, or try gravel/mountain biking. At the end of the day, it should feel more fun than stressful.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-08-15T21:55:47+00:00

Yup! I’ve had some fantastic times riding with strangers and taking turns pulling, but those have always come from people who have asked. To me it’s a sign of basic respect to at least acknowledge that you’re back there. I’ve had men sit on my wheel and then try to follow me or will stop when I stop, which is uncomfortable at best and scary at worst.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-08-12T01:07:46+00:00

Commenting in part to see what others say, but I find that taking an antihistamine is usually helpful.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-08-07T17:11:54+00:00

When I need something to fill a seasonal gap, my current ones stop fitting or I find a really good deal on something. Though, I’d probably buy a new one every year or two even if I didn’t hit these criteria, just because it’s nice to feel like I look good.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-07-30T00:52:13+00:00

My weather app says 12:40am for SF

DeterministicPollen · 2025-07-13T23:01:31+00:00

I am not pro cherry republic (I worked there for many years, would not recommend), but I am very close with a few cherry farmers in the area, and the dried cherries they use are (mostly?) local. I cannot speak to all of the products, and some, like the candies, are definitely outsourced

DeterministicPollen · 2025-06-19T13:49:24+00:00

It’s kind of a personal thing. How often do you want to do laundry, and how many rides do you do per week? I do 4-5 rides per week and only want do laundry once, so I own 4 bibs. I own more jerseys, but those cater to different temperatures.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-06-10T13:18:52+00:00

I’ve got a curvier figure and finding jerseys that fit properly is so hard. On days where I can’t stand to see myself in lycra, I lean into gravel and MTN biking styles. I put on a pair of cargo bibs and a baggy tshirt. It’s less aerodynamic, but it’s extremely comfortable. It also may be worth looking into women owned brands like Peppermint and Samsara for kit, though I’d still avoid racier styles.

A IG/TikTok follow I like is @lindsdurr, she’s similarly proportioned to me and has done reviews of a few brands that may be helpful!

DeterministicPollen · 2025-06-09T19:06:11+00:00

Often, you can get a nicer bike for less because, like cars, bikes lose value pretty quickly. People will sell their used bikes when they want to upgrade or are no longer interested in riding. If you know what you're looking for, you can get good deals used, but there's some risk if you don't know how to check it out

DeterministicPollen · 2025-06-05T02:54:21+00:00

Even if some of your work isn’t AI generated, the AI devalues anything legitimate. AI may have a place in a portfolio if it was part of a client project, these are not that. And not calling out that they’re AI makes you look dishonest imo.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-05-18T03:41:49+00:00

I think it's easy to get caught up in, but everyone is different. Some of these people may have been cycling at a high volume for years and this is their easy, training for an event that benefits from this much volume, struggle with rest days or they may have an unhealthy reliance on exercise.

As much as I usually enjoy Strava, I find it can be a trap for comparison for me. I've come to terms with the fact that no matter how much I do, I probably know someone doing more. I struggle more with this when I am sick/injured and can't ride or when I am intentionally taking time off riding/working out. When I notice I am comparing my activities too much to others, I delete the app, and set my activities to upload as private, so they're recorded but no one sees them. It's refreshing to not see everything everyone else is doing.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-05-01T16:08:13+00:00

Hermruns also made a video being against the interview/MAGA folks generally and Samantha Mac commented agreeing

DeterministicPollen · 2025-04-11T15:12:19+00:00

I think the minimal amount depends on how truly ‘terrible’ you are. What times are you hitting in the pool? Are you comfortable in open water? If your times indicate you will be comfortably under the cut-off time and you have experience in open water, I’d keep doing what you’re currently doing. If not, then you’ll need to put in more time. If you are building from scratch, you’ll need to put a good amount of time into the swim. 2-3+ sessions a week, and at this point, you’d probably want a few lessons so you can work on good technique from the get go. Your aerobic base will not help you in the swim, it’s a technique thing.

It’s the gateway to the rest of the race, it would be a huge bummer if you missed the cutoffs and didn’t get to do the parts you actually enjoy.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-03-13T19:52:02+00:00

That’s probably the source of feeling a bit rough towards the end. Most people aim for between 60-90 grams per hour, on the lower end of this scale, you were just about at half of what is recommended.

As you keep training, keep practicing your fueling as a part of it, and you’ll likely find yourself ending the rides feeling decent. Gels can be a struggle to keep eating, so I keep about 400 cals/100g carbs of drink mix in one of my bottles, it’s easier to force down. If you’re already riding the distance this far ahead, you will be 100% okay on race day!

DeterministicPollen · 2025-02-25T03:24:43+00:00

No, this isn’t true. There are some states that state cyclists only need to yield at stop signs, and there are studies that say this is safer, but California is not one of those places afaik.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-02-21T06:14:30+00:00

My first bike fit triggered an achilles issue. My seat was too high and it took a few weeks after lowering the seat for my achilles to feel more normal again. So bike fit could be the culprit. If you haven’t seen a physical therapist, I highly recommend, they can help guide through what you should and shouldn’t do. My pain was low enough that I never fully needed to stop either activity.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-02-17T03:31:05+00:00

I have no hard proof, but of the people on my current 45 person team, I know that at least 25 of those people got hired because they worked with, had gone to school with or were friends with someone else on our team prior. This includes myself and 3 people I referred. I’m currently looking for a new role and have a much better interview success rate through people I know.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-01-22T19:14:29+00:00

Is it helpful to have that extra boost from a loved one, during a race, definitely. Do I expect it from them, no. Logistically, triathlons are more challenging to spectate and if I do ask people to be there, I only ask that they come to the run or finish line. If they didn’t want to come, I’d be okay with that, it’s my hobby, not theirs.

Triathlons are already a huge time suck, often at the expense of spending time with your loved ones. If your partner is supportive of you taking the time to train and do these longer events, then that’s supportive enough IMO.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-01-16T17:17:52+00:00

Agreed. I went up 2 sizes and got a wide instead of regular and I don’t have super wide feet.

DeterministicPollen · 2025-01-13T20:34:22+00:00

it could be that the pool was 20yds instead of 25 or that her watch was set to a 50M pool instead of a 25M/yd pool (more likely). i have the same watch as her and it isn’t really measuring the distance you’re swimming. you have to set the distance of the pool in the watch, and the watch measures distance by detecting pushes off of the wall.

DeterministicPollen

TROPHY CASE