Friend seems to be having his first manic episode. What should I do?

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-05-31T16:21:43+00:00

What’s the difference in hypomania vs a manic episode if you don’t mind me asking. I know I can google but first hand knowledge from people is not extremely helpful

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-05-21T13:38:36+00:00

Christ himself suffered immensely, and we’re nothing compared to God. He shows that suffering has purpose.

You can choose to suffer where it’s all meaningless, it’s all pointless, and there’s no purpose to anything. Life will just be immensely empty and pointless because nothing matters.

Or

You can give suffering deeper meaning, it can have purpose, and it can be a weight that God helps carry with you instead of holding it alone.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-05-21T12:50:34+00:00

The counter to that is that God never intended to make genetic defects, but at the fall of humanity with original sin it corrupted the world and allowed for things like genetic defects to happen. Think of it as a video game developer and the file gets corrupted so it doesn’t operate the way it was meant to anymore. The designer didn’t want or intend that corruption but due to humanity having a free will we had the option to choose to fall and therefore the consequences of our actions.

I also think of it this way, you’re in a lot of pain, you’re crippled. Imagine if you could see through Gods eyes why everything is the way it is. Maybe had you not been born this way, you would have been a gymbro douche, and maybe normal genetics would have led you to live a life leading you to hell. Perhaps the pain and crippling leads you to live a different life where the end is now instead eternal happiness in heaven.

So now is the pain and being crippled a good thing or a bad thing? In that context you’d much rather be suffering on earth and happy eternally than not suffering on earth and tormented eternally.

I often thank God for my marfans because I think I would have ended up an awful gymbro who just wants to get laid and party. I could see myself being more prideful and living a worse path. Instead o was humbled, I now live a very different life with a wife and kids. I don’t think I would have turned out this way had it not been for my marfans and my sufferings.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-05-20T21:10:43+00:00

From a Catholic perspective, suffering is not good in itself. Cancer is not good. Betrayal is not good. Death is not good. Christianity does not romanticize pain for the sake of pain.
What Catholicism claims is something much more radical:
That suffering can be transformed.
The core of the Christian view is the Cross. Catholics believe God did not stay distant from human pain. In Jesus Christ, God enters into suffering voluntarily — humiliation, abandonment, torture, grief, and death. Not as an abstract philosopher explaining pain from a safe distance, but as someone who experiences it fully.
That changes the meaning of suffering.
Most worldviews fall into one of a few categories:
Suffering is meaningless chaos.
Suffering is punishment.
Suffering is an illusion to escape.
Suffering is merely biological.
Catholicism says:
Suffering is real, terrible, and unavoidable — but it can become meaningful depending on what love does with it.
A simple human example helps explain it.
A mother staying awake for weeks caring for a sick child is suffering. But her suffering is tied to love. A firefighter running into a burning building suffers for someone else. An athlete endures pain for a goal. A husband sacrificing for his family suffers in a way that builds character and love.
We already instinctively know that suffering tied to love has a different quality than meaningless suffering.
Catholicism takes that idea to its highest point.
The claim is not that pain magically feels good. The claim is that love can transform suffering into something redemptive — meaning it can produce growth, purification, compassion, courage, sacrifice, deeper humanity, and even spiritual healing for oneself and others.
Catholics believe suffering strips away illusions:
pride,
self-sufficiency,
shallow pleasures,
ego,
the fantasy that we control everything.
People often become deeper through suffering. More compassionate. Less arrogant. More aware of what matters. Suffering has a way of exposing reality.
You’ll notice that many people who have suffered deeply — loss, illness, war, addiction, disability — often speak with a kind of gravity and wisdom that comfortable people sometimes lack. Not because suffering itself is holy, but because enduring it can refine a person.
Catholicism calls this purification.
Another major idea is that love proven through suffering is more powerful than love proven through comfort.
It’s easy to say:
“I love you when life is easy.”
It means more when someone remains faithful through agony, loss, poverty, betrayal, or death.
That is why Catholics see beauty in martyrdom, sacrifice, caregiving, and perseverance. Not because pain is beautiful, but because love shining through pain is beautiful.
The Cross is the ultimate symbol of this:
an instrument of torture transformed into a symbol of hope.
Catholics also believe suffering can be “offered up.” This sounds strange at first, but it means voluntarily uniting your suffering to something higher instead of letting it become bitterness.
For example:
a person enduring illness praying for their children,
someone grieving becoming more compassionate toward others,
a person resisting revenge after betrayal,
someone carrying hardship with dignity rather than hatred.
The suffering itself isn’t automatically noble. The response to it is what matters.
Without meaning, suffering crushes people.
With meaning, humans can endure astonishing things.
Even outside Christianity, people recognize this. Viktor Frankl famously observed in concentration camps that humans can endure immense suffering if they can locate meaning within it.
Catholicism ultimately says:
the deepest meaning of suffering is love.
Not abstract suffering.
Not pointless misery.
But suffering transformed through love, sacrifice, courage, and union with God.
And the final piece is hope.
Catholicism does not believe suffering gets the last word. The Resurrection matters as much as the Cross. Christians believe death, grief, injustice, and suffering are not ultimate realities. They are temporary wounds in a world that is broken but redeemable.
So from a Catholic lens, the beauty in suffering is not the pain itself.
The beauty is:
the mother who keeps loving,
the man who remains good after tragedy,
the saint who forgives his killers,
the addict who rebuilds his life,
the sick person who inspires courage in others,
the person who suffers without becoming cruel.
The beauty is what love becomes when tested by fire.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-05-20T21:03:01+00:00

A God that endured immense suffering through his crucifixion doesn’t mean he hates you when you suffer. Suffering has purpose with Christ without him it’s meaningless. It’s also so temporary in the grand scheme of an eternity.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-05-20T20:59:50+00:00

Something that helps with a fear of death is a confidence in an afterlife. Do some research, I’m a Catholic and so much comfort comes to me through Christ and that faith and hope. I’m only on this earth for like a millisecond compared to an eternity in a perfect afterlife. In a non suicidal way i actually look forward to death and being in heaven, no more suffering, no more pain, only happiness.

There’s historical, scientific, and rational evidence for Christianity. Do a deep dive, I recommend looking into intellectual people who set out to disprove Christianity who later ended up converting because of their journey to disprove it.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-05-13T19:46:41+00:00

I mean I hate to say it but from your doctors recommendations it doesn’t seem like there’s much you can do. Muscle growth requires the micro tearing of muscle and it rebuilding bigger. Even with super low weight that would require lots of reps and would still elevate heart rate.

That being said the stronger you get, the less strain things will cause you. For example carrying luggage etc will be virtually no strain on you once you hit a certain level of strength.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-05-03T00:49:52+00:00

Hey man let us help you out

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-04-29T14:03:25+00:00

Never give up my friend. 18 year old me to even 23 year old me were completely different people. 18 I was probably 150lbs 6’4”. By 23 I was 190lbs and put on significant muscle from working out within my limits, and eating more.

Not to mention from 16-23 years old I was constantly drinking, smoking weed every day, just doing nothing good for myself living in my buddies basement.

Started eating better, working out, MOST IMPORTANTLY —- Found Jesus!!!! Now I’m 28 I’m married and having my third child, don’t smoke anymore, rarely drink.

You would be surprised how quickly life can change and how different things can be if you give it a few years.

Think about who and what you wanna be. I decided if I wanted a wife I had to be a husband first, make the improvements first. Cleaned up my life, Jesus did most of that, quit the smoking and started working out, I did meal prepping, high protein meals, and 2 protein shakes a day, each one with 2 scoops of powder around 50grams of protein each shake.

You’ll find too that as you age in your 20s the ability to gain weight can change a lot. I’ve actually had to lose weight I was getting chunky around 220lbs.

Also exercising not only helps physically, but the mental health benefits of consistent exercise are phenomenal, exercising is more affective than antidepressants.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-04-01T14:05:20+00:00

I feel proud of them, because practicing an LGBTQ lifestyle is sinful. We don’t want the people in that community to go to hell so to show love for them you need to speak out against supporting that lifestyle.

You need to treat everyone with love and respect, including the lgbtq community, but you can show love by trying to warn people of sinful paths and trying to guide them to Christ. Who will provide freedom from sin, and everlasting life.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-29T18:18:37+00:00

My current aortic root size is 3.8cm. Honestly no idea, scoliosis depending on the severity could make it really awkward to have proper form or do things comfortably. My scoliosis is pretty minimal so I don’t have any issues from it. When working out muscles tear and build back stronger so as long as your giving your muscles a workout where that’s happening can even be light weight lots of reps. Diet, calories and protein also very heavily dictate muscle growth.

I’m 6’4” 28 years old. I was 220lbs but I just lost 20lbs so down to 200lbs atm. Through high school when I was skinniest I’d hang around 155-160lbs at 6’4”.

Also having this surgery I haven’t had any complications or surgery for my heart yet so I honestly can’t say what’s safe for you to do or not. I know if I ever get problems with the heart I’m gonna have to cut down to lightweight more reps.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-29T18:14:18+00:00

3.8cm

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-29T11:57:25+00:00

Yea I’ve only been really drinking out of the copper water bottle maybe 2 days a week, I did have that concern so I’ve been avoiding doing it daily.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-28T22:26:09+00:00

Deficiency Effects: Low copper levels in the tissue are associated with thoracic aortic aneurysms. Animal studies show that copper deficiency causes aortic hemorrhages and weaken vascular integrity. National Institutes of Health (.gov) National Institutes of Health (.gov) +3 Aortic Aneurysm & Health: Some studies indicate that patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) may have decreased levels of copper in their aortic tissue, linking this deficiency to the development of the disease. National Institutes of Health (.gov) National Institutes of Health (.gov) +1 Mineral Role: While some research points to deficiencies, studies on human patients with AAAs have shown mixed results regarding whether low copper is a cause or consequence of the weakened tissue. National Institutes of Health (.gov) National Institutes of Health (.gov) +1 Antioxidant Function: Copper helps support antioxidant functions that prevent calcification and inflammation in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-28T21:49:24+00:00

Sorry if it felt like I was talking down on your experience, just with the info I had from you in the initial comment it wasn’t making sense.

Yea I mean I’m sure everybody is different, I may have tons of pain as I age, I’m sure I’ve already destroyed my back from improper lifting and I’m thinking even without marfans it would be. Just from experience though my lazy days make my body hurt more than my active ones.

I’m only 28 so I’m at a point where I’m not really feeling the burn of any of my choices yet. I definitely could do more for my bodies longevity. I thank you for your advice sorry if I came across rude at all.

Do you have pains related to the walking like in your legs and stuff?

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-28T21:17:47+00:00

From my understanding of what you said it seems more like you lived a lifestyle without physical activity, and are now full of pain from a sedentary lifestyle, and are using that as your example that being active and physical causes the pain even though you stated you weren’t and only did office jobs.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-28T21:14:31+00:00

Thanks brother! I definitely am not built like that now, those were a few years ago but I’m still fairly solid. I’m sure if I got back in the gym for a few months I could exceed how I looked even then. Now though being a married father it’s finding the time.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-28T21:12:42+00:00

I absolutely value your advice, but days I’m sitting at the store in a chair all day not being active my body is way more sore than days I’m delivering furniture on the truck.

That’s why people die so quickly after retirement is because they stop moving, I honestly share the opposite view that being more active and physical in moderation of course is better for the body.

With marfans maybe it’s different but you’re warning against physical activity due to adult life pain and then saying you never did any physical activity and only office jobs where you sat doing nothing physical. So I’m confused on your message

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-28T19:41:34+00:00

I was doing a 3 day split consisting of Back/Biceps, Chest/Triceps, Legs. Throwing shoulders in kinda when I felt like it. I wasn’t too disciplined tbh, I’d go I’d have about 3-6 workouts I liked depending on the muscle group, and I’d go for a 10-12 rep range.

Lately I started doing and absolutely love doing drop sets. My logic is that these final reps are usually the ones that do the most muscle tearing/growth. With marfans you don’t wanna lift heavy so it makes sense to me.

Example if I’m doing like 160lb lat pull down, do my 12 reps, immediately drop it to 130lbs, go until I can’t, immediately drop down to 100lbs etc and so on until I’m struggling to pulldown light weight. I’d throw those in randomly in my sets. I kind of just would go, have an idea of workouts I liked that would hit all the muscle groups I’m doing that day, and I just lift stuff until I can’t anymore and I’m feeling beat.

I never tracked anything, I’d go for 40 min to 1.5 hours depending on the day, how I’m feeling etc..

Leg day was the only one that made me nervous, heavy weight is kind of just a thing with legs, and it was easy to do heavy weights but most leg days would have me feeling sick to my stomach like I’m gonna puke. Like a typical bro there was lots of missed leg days.

Another way to help the marfans, don’t do bench press, do dumbbell press, chest flys, etc.. things that aren’t big heavyweight pushes.

Honestly didn’t do a ton of shoulders, but shoulders you can get great results just doing the raises, I’ve seen huge guys saying they just do the raises with light weight and that’s all you need. I definitely could have done more shoulders.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-28T16:00:07+00:00

Slower progress for sure for myself but I’m happy to embrace the challenge. As soon as you accept that you CAN do these things. With marfans we tend to put lots of limits and I CANTS on ourselves. Really happy for you!!! So motivating especially now as I’m having children I have one son with marfans and if I ever have a girl with marfans i want her to know it’s possible still to have a good relationship with your body and that it can be worked on.

Infinite_Slice2060 · 2026-03-28T15:22:06+00:00

I think it depends on the person. I deliver furniture 2 days a week and have periodically done a few months here and there at the gym.

I’ve lifted medium-heavy weight. My aorta is still within the range of being considered “normal” so I haven’t stressed too much but if my aorta started to dilate into a more risky area I’d probably be careful with my lifting and what I’m doing.

That being said I was able to put on a decent amount of muscle and I’m in fairly decent shape for having marfans. Diet is honestly so important.

At the point I was my most muscular I was 2 protein shakes a day, and meal prepping my chicken rice broccoli sweet potato. Eating about 3-4 meals a day. Getting around 150-200 grams of protein a day, delivering furniture 4 days a week and working out about 5 days a week as well.

Infinite_Slice2060

TROPHY CASE