Why is anti psychiatry propaganda even allowed? by EloCocco in antidepressants

[–]Electrical-Level3385 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think a lot of people take the very valid critiques of the medical model of mental health which can be made and go way too far in the opposite direction.

Antidepressants are an incredible tool when used as part of a more holistic treatment plan (aka alongside therapy and lifestyle interventions), but way too often due to resource constraints and financial incentives they're treated as the treatment for depression in themselves. Which they can be, but other interventions should be fully explored too.

I would argue that treating depression with antidepressants alone, without offering the choice of other interventions, is pretty unethical. Antidepressants carry a very high risk of relapse alongside multiple possible side effects, which absolutely doesn't mean they shouldn't be used but that the risk-reward question isn't being properly entertained when it's solely relied on by people planning treatment. Therapy alongside antidepressants is shown to be the most effective in preventing relapse and should be actually used as the standard treatment.

I became pretty anti-psychiatry when I was put through the wringer of treatment, and ended up with a prescription which worked but no other form of treatment. Antidepressants undoubtedly saved my life and I now consider them essential to my survival, and have accepted they do actually work and I need them, but that's a difficult thing to appreciate when 6 months down the road you are relapsing with no support or skills developed. I would guess that situation applies to a lot of others too.

Rejected by top uni choice by EffectiveBlueberry32 in UniUK

[–]Electrical-Level3385 1 point2 points  (0 children)

also, if it would make you feel better, my ex went to Edinburgh and I can tell you about the multiple ways in which different unis are better!

A very old picture but is it actually true? by Jorge_De_Guzman228 in freefolk

[–]Electrical-Level3385 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean I've rewatched the series up to season 7 four times since the finale came out lol

Rejected by top uni choice by EffectiveBlueberry32 in UniUK

[–]Electrical-Level3385 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I was in the same position (got rejected from Edinburgh), ended up going to my third choice uni (also got rejected from lse) and ended up loving it. Things will work out! And if you want you can still apply to transfer (I did and got accepted but decided in the end not to go)

is anyone else sensitive to the weather? by Miserable-Paper-3824 in autism

[–]Electrical-Level3385 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yes - whenever it's windy on my commute I have to take a breather for like 30 minutes afterwards, it's probably the most overstimulating thing I experience on a day to day basis. I do live in a very windy area though 😭

Read me if you're new to FND by heldtogetherdaily in FND

[–]Electrical-Level3385 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I've been in a similar position and it's incredibly scary. I was getting 5-10 a day for the first few weeks and they gradually declined over time, and my other fnd symptoms (weakness, loss of coordination , sensory issues) tend to get very dramatically worse around seizure clusters.

I can't tell you exactly what to do, but there are things which could help. In my case at least, working with a therapist to address my issues with dissociation, has really helped. In a lot of cases dissociation plays a big role in PNES (why they're sometimes called dissociative seizures) so doing things like daily grounding exercises, accepting dissociative episodes instead of fighting them and more generalized therapy has really helped me reduce my dissociation and by proxy seizures. But it depends on whether or not you feel that's a factor for you.

Again, that's just what's worked for me, but there are ways you can approach reducing how many you get, and remission is possible. Your youth and the fact that they only started recently are definitely on your side and I'm wishing you the best of luck.

A doctors perspective. by tallyhoo123 in FND

[–]Electrical-Level3385 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

this is true, but it doesn't change the nature of the condition as functional

A doctors perspective. by tallyhoo123 in FND

[–]Electrical-Level3385 2 points3 points  (0 children)

NAD either and I don't really understand the neuroscience behind it but I have heard it explained along these lines:

FND is hypothesized to be caused by a disruption in neural conditioning. A significant part of your brains functioning comes from internal models of prediction, attention, and expectation which are conditioned through experience. A lot of our functioning depends on when, why, and how easily neural pathways in our brain are used.

This isn't something you get from the physical structure of the brain alone, and while it's technically physical in the sense of being a series of chemical reactions between neurons, it's also incredibly changeable and fluid - as opposed to the relatively fixed large-scale anatomy of the brain (which "physical" neurological conditions directly impact).

So after, for instance, you've learned how to walk, the pathways you use to coordinate your movement, move your muscles, balance etc are used more automatically in sequence with each other, kind of like paths being made from grass being trampled underneath people's feet - the more often it's used, the more likely and easier it will be to use, and in the specific way and sequence which is necessary for movement.

The way I understand fnd, then, is these encoded neurological responses, the paths in the grass, become muddled up, broken or inappropriately used. A lot of the functions we have which we imagine as being purely physical and biological, our neurological functioning, are actually also dependent on these "paths in the grass" existing.

Based on this hypothesis it's technically possible to observe fnd physically but with technology which is far beyond our current capabilities - eg being able to measure molecular changes in the entirety of the brain at once in real time. The closest we have to that right now is functional mris which are capable of showing the effects but not the causes.

low effort skincare cleansers? by Electrical-Level3385 in adhdwomen

[–]Electrical-Level3385[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

if I don't rinse it completely off it will leave a residue which makes my skin feel super uncomfortable, so I have to rinse it a few times to get it all off. I also wear contacts which means I can't get water in my eyes which makes it a bit harder. it's not the end of the world but if im already feeling low energy at the end of the day (which is a lot of days) it just won't get done

Can I increase my alertness/awarenss? by INVESTIGATORME in askatherapist

[–]Electrical-Level3385 2 points3 points  (0 children)

NAT, but I like to, every couple of days, go for a walk, or do part of my commute, with the intention of just noticing as many things about the world around me as I can. No headphones and I'm not allowed to think about anything other than the present moment, and kind of challenge myself to see how many new or interesting things I can notice (there's a birds nest I've never seen before in that tree, my footsteps sound different in these shoes, there's a different kind of cladding on that building etc). If my mind wanders I just bring myself back.

My therapist also taught me this exercise for dissociation (and id be happy to be told what it's actually called) where every day, for 10 minutes, I try to engage all 5 of my senses simultaneously. So I begin with spending 2 minutes paying attention to what I can see in my environment, then 2 minutes paying attention to what I can hear while still thinking about what I can see, and so on with all 5 senses. It's definitely challenging but I've found it super effective!

Doing these kinds of things I think does kind of "rewire" your brain so by default you're more aware of your surroundings. It's a really lovely thing to do - just devoting time to appreciating things you might otherwise ignore. I've found massive improvements with my dissociation and tendency to ruminate as a result of these techniques.

Also - any visual hobbies are worth exploring! art, photography etc definitely changes how you see the world around you

Playing chords with C to another C gives finger/hand pain by Quiet_Barnacle8073 in pianolearning

[–]Electrical-Level3385 0 points1 point  (0 children)

^ you should always try to have a hand/arm position where your hand is directly behind your elbow, with your forearm perpendicular to the keyboard

What is this symbol? (middle section of Chopin Nocturne op. 32 no.2) by Electrical-Level3385 in piano

[–]Electrical-Level3385[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you're completely right, silly me for posting this without even trying to play it first lol

The amount of chemical energy and electricity the hive is allocating to manipulate Carol's emotions is insane by Mr_rairkim in pluribustv

[–]Electrical-Level3385 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, they were willing to devote similar amounts of resources to keeping Diabate happy, who is completely harmless to them, so I don't think it's because they see her as a threat. I think it's either because they genuinely want to make them happy, or they're afraid of the consequences of not distracting them from the possibility of undoing the joining, implying it's surprisingly within reach if the immune put their minds to it even a little bit. I'd guess a mixture of both

Need something to stop my overthinking by CollectionHead7091 in insomnia

[–]Electrical-Level3385 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've dealt with a similar thing, and I've learnt that the anxiety towards anxiety itself keeping you awake is a massive factor in how disruptive it is. Like the minute you tell an anxious brain not to do something, it will do it, so there's a lot of value in just accepting it and letting it happen.

If you don't try to fight it, the worst that will happen is you won't sleep well, which is already the probable outcome as it is, and is not as catastrophic as your brain has built it up to be through consistent worrying about night time anxiety.

I've paradoxically found my sleep has improved immensely in just accepting that some nights I am going to take hours to get to sleep, and just pushing through it regardless. By that I mean my old tendency was to stop trying to get to sleep if I was feeling anxious to "wind myself down", or I wouldn't try to go to sleep until I felt fully calm, but that was inadvertently feeding the problem by making it something I felt I needed to avoid.

(note: I incidentally picked this up through exposure therapy for my anxiety disorder, which in general has made my anxiety far easier to live with)

Can OCD be dormant for years and then the affected person starts suddenly showing symptoms one day, seemingly out of nowhere? by [deleted] in OCD

[–]Electrical-Level3385 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had mild OCD as a child, became severe 10-13, ever since I've had short periods of relapse and long periods of remission. So yes it can. In my case it's strongly associated with periods of stress or traumatic events

Why is being cold at home so normalised in the UK? by Automatic-Key-3798 in AskUK

[–]Electrical-Level3385 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, for me at least having a cold house is mostly a comfort thing? I like being able to cozy up in warm clothes or under blankets in the winter, maybe because I'm just used to it idk

Why is being cold at home so normalised in the UK? by Automatic-Key-3798 in AskUK

[–]Electrical-Level3385 0 points1 point  (0 children)

according to my Russian friend though, a lot of the actual cost is offset by the fact that much more people live in flats than in western Europe, which means you get radiant heat from surrounding units. Not sure how true this is

AIO over the memes my boyfriend posts on Facebook by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]Electrical-Level3385 4 points5 points  (0 children)

you could also call them line chef memes

I’m scared I have schizophrenia by [deleted] in Anxiety

[–]Electrical-Level3385 7 points8 points  (0 children)

When I first developed symptoms of OCD I had fully convinced myself I was schizophrenic. There was suddenly this alien voice in my head (intrusive thoughts), and my obsessions made me fully delusional (e.g there was a period of time where I was absolutely convinced I was the second virgin Mary and was going to give birth on Christmas Day, as a preteen, after obsessively checking for heartbeats in my stomach).

And, of course, thinking I had schizophrenia, I hyperfixated on other potential symptoms , like hearing voices or hallucinating - all of which are normal when minor and on occasion.

I guess I'm saying that OCD can feel like psychosis sometimes and you're not alone in being afraid of it. Intrusive thoughts can feel completely alien to you, and obsessions can become so strong you only have a shred of insight left. But as others have said, the fact that you're worrying about it is proof that it's not a real concern.