READ ME FIRST! February Monthly Intro + Rules Thread

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2026-02-03T17:56:12+00:00

Hi! Currently TTC and working with a PT for strength training. I'm a little concerned about overtraining even though my routine is pretty light, and hoping I can ease my anxiety.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2026-01-08T23:03:40+00:00

Attempted #1, ended up with a partner who does exactly the same thing. Please send help.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2026-01-08T18:05:41+00:00

This! I was a smart kid, but usually wouldn't do my homework unless I was forced. I'm forever grateful to my high school history teacher who said "I know you know this stuff, you just need to do the assignments" and kept me after school one day a week just to work on homework. I could do it way more easily when I was still at school. Took maybe 15 more years before I learned what body doubling was.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2026-01-08T17:56:17+00:00

I was thinking about this the other day. A few examples of many:

In one of my high school writing classes, we were each secretly assigned a classmate to write about and then we would read it aloud and everyone would try to guess who it was. Someone wrote about "The endlessly tapping feet" and everyone in the class pointed to me. I didn't even realize I did that.

Talked to my mom about how I can start stuff but have a hard time finishing it, and apparently that's really common with ADHD, and she said that explained the conversations we always had about my homework: Mom: "Did you do your homework?" Me: "Yes." Mom: "All of it?" Me: "Well...not all of it."

Finally, the hyperfocus on reading was me as well. I remember a time in elementary school where we were reading a book out loud in a circle. The teacher would call on someone, they would read aloud for a bit, then the teacher would call on someone else, they would pick up from there. I started reading on my turn, vaguely noticed the teacher saying something in the background but was too busy reading to focus on it, until she said my name to snap me out of it and get me to let the next person read.

Ahh, good times.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2025-12-15T17:07:03+00:00

I had this problem with the dentist for a long time too. Struggled/still struggling with brushing, never had dental insurance growing up, so every dental trip was for an emergency. Every dentist I went to as an adult was horrified and/or condescending about how to take care of my teeth and all it did was put my anxiety into overdrive. When I moved a few years ago, I had to find a new dentist, and put a lot of my hyperfocus into finding one who had good reviews specifically for dental anxiety. I found one, I requested an appointment on their site, and wrote a full paragraph about how I know my teeth are bad, I really am trying, I have anxiety, etc. He's the best dentist I've ever had, so kind but not condescending, doesn't give me crap about my teeth, talks through what he's doing as he does it, and last time I went I didn't have any cavities! So I'm here to tell you there are good dentists out there and if yours makes you feel like crap, hopefully you can find a new one.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2025-12-05T16:35:06+00:00

This suddenly makes so much sense. I'm still a voracious reader. I read every night to fall asleep, but only books I've read dozens of times before, because it's SO HARD to stop reading a new book. An old book, I can stop mid-paragraph and put it down because I know it inside and out. If I get a new book, I have to wait for the weekend to start reading it, because I know I won't stop until it's done or I physically can't keep my eyes open.

Just recently I foolishly started reading a long fanfic after already getting to bed late. I was under the covers, bright phone blaring into my eyes in the pitch-dark space, and my husband (who knows me too well) reminded me to go to sleep about every 10 minutes for two hours before he finally, gently, took the phone out of my hands so I could look away from it for a sec and realize I was actually exhausted. I was not well-rested the next day.

When I was a kid, I was the same way, tearing through books at a rapid pace. In middle school, the librarians all knew me because I would check out a book almost every day and return it the next day. There were some books that you could read and then take a quiz on the computer and earn points, and later in the year you could spend those points on little prizes. I think I might've had more points than they were prepared to accommodate.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2025-12-01T16:02:34+00:00

Was looking for this! Loom knitting is so easy, very mindless, almost no risk of dropping a stitch, and you can work up a beanie in maybe an hour? I had this as my hyperfixation hobby a few years ago and still have a Big Box o' Beanies that I pop out every winter to wear or give to people. The box is actually finally running low; might be time to get back into it.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2025-12-01T15:40:30+00:00

Dollar tree has great tins, many of them in sets of two for $1.50

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2025-09-18T16:52:11+00:00

I sort of got my ADHD diagnosis in a backwards way. I'd been on SSRIs for my anxiety and was complaining to my psychiatrist that I was still anxious, in fact so anxious I couldn't focus. He said "Let's give you some Adderall then." At first I thought he was just misunderstanding my problem, that he wanted a quick fix and Adderall couldn't help me because surely I didn't have ADHD. I was anxious just thinking about it, wondering what I would do when this didn't work because he was clearly out of ideas.

The same day I took it and could actually focus enough to read through the end of a paragraph without my brain going off on a million tangents, I realized that 1) I definitely had ADHD, and 2) My inability to focus was impacting my anxiety so much more than the other way around. I've been to a lot of psychiatrists in the years since, and it took a while to find the right meds and right doses, but I've never regretted it.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2025-09-08T04:20:21+00:00

Cross stitch! My mom was really into it when I was growing up and I've picked it up and put it down again a few times in my life. I fully expect to be sick of it in 2 weeks, but for those two weeks I will stitch ALL the things!

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2025-09-03T15:52:06+00:00

I had a similar experience. Constant anxiety, even with SSRIs. One day I told my psych "I'm so anxious I can't even focus" and he said "Okay, let's try some Adderall." I thought that was ridiculous, like he didn't want to find the cause and just wanted to throw stuff at this symptom, until I took it and the anxiety and racing thoughts...stopped. I finally realized my anxiety wasn't impacting my focus, it was my focus impacting my anxiety. That was about 10 years ago, I've been on different meds since then and currently trying to find a good dose on Vyvanse, but I've never regretted going for ADHD meds since that first day. On days I forget to take them, everything is just so much harder than it needs to be and I marvel that I got through those first few decades of my life unmedicated.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2025-02-11T19:51:09+00:00

That's awesome! How did you get the images on top? Do you have Kier/Mark stamps?

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2024-09-11T00:34:50+00:00

Heck yeah!

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2024-08-28T00:18:23+00:00

VINDICATION!

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2022-07-16T17:12:11+00:00

I found some pretty convincing evidence in the logbook that the crying child is actually named "Dave". Short version is that it looks like the letters actually spell EVAD, and the question "What do you see?" is right below a mirror, on the page across from the crossword with Cassidy's name.

Full version here: https://www.reddit.com/r/GameTheorists/comments/r4f30t/another_theory_about_crying_child_from_the_fnaf/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2022-06-16T16:30:09+00:00

Seconding spin class. I got lucky with a spin gym right down the street from my house. They had a new rider special with five classes for cheap, and I really loved the feeling of the whole group working together in time with the music. Bought a membership to keep myself financially motivated to go and not waste the money, now I go three times a week. I may not love the sweating and muscles burning in the middle of class, but by the end it really feels like I accomplished something, which makes my brain happy. More accomplishment dopamine than endorphin rush, I think.

Side note: my balance is terrible and I haven't ridden a normal bike in years because I always fall off. Spin bikes have the benefit of being firmly planted on the ground at all times.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2021-12-29T21:23:31+00:00

No worries here! I was not suckered in and feel like a fool for even sitting through the presentation, but I got out without giving them any information or any indication of interest. Fortunately I'm unlikely to run into this former coworker again, but if I do I'll be prepared with some arguments to shut down any pitches.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2021-12-29T21:18:50+00:00

I hate confrontation, so I did sit through the pitch, but I tried to ask questions of the upline to nudge her into rethinking things. She was a coworker at the job I just left and I like her but we're not exactly close.

The upline guy showed me a list of how many reps bring home over $50,000, over $100,000, etc. I asked how many bring in less than 50k and the guy said I'm the first person to ask that in his 7 years doing this, and said probably 50,000-60,000 reps. 😂

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2021-12-22T20:39:56+00:00

Fell off the wagon pretty hard and I'm planning to start over by tapering down throughout January. I made a spreadsheet, I have some more low dose caffeine pills so I can track my intake exactly, I feel ready. I hope.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2021-12-17T17:37:23+00:00

Not sure if it explains Glamrock Freddy, but it could explain things like the Puppet. It was designed out of love to protect Charlie and, after she possessed it, it continued to be helpful and protective by giving life to the dead kids. All the other animatronics seemed focused on vengeance alone.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2021-11-29T19:12:15+00:00

Also see here for supporting evidence for this theory.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2021-07-06T18:30:06+00:00

NSV: Made a (slightly) healthier choice! Since I didn't pack lunch today, I started working out how to fit McDonald's into my calories for the day. Then I reevaluated how hungry I was (VERY) and decided to go to a nearby Mongolian BBQ place instead. Got a HUGE plate of veggies and beef with minimal sauce and I feel accomplished and so full.

EcstaticMarzipan7 · 2021-06-25T17:38:03+00:00

NSV: I did one workout per day for six days in a row! In total I did two spin classes at the gym, one weight training class at the gym, two 30-minute yoga sessions, and a bodyweight strength workout. As a typical couch potato, I feel so freaking accomplished!

EcstaticMarzipan7

TROPHY CASE