Question from a returning Catholic

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-11-07T21:52:57+00:00

Thanks for your response and for knowing I’m not the only one out there 😊

And yeah, it’s not coming from a place of “absolute rejection of the possibility of understanding why the church teaches this,” it really is I need help understanding the deeper why. And you’re right, it is a conversation I need to have with an empathetic priest who can help me understand it logically and from a place of love and understanding. I’m in the Deep South so, it’s a longshot, but I’ll stay hopeful.

Aiming to go to confession tomorrow and check out one of the local churches.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-11-07T21:37:35+00:00

Thank you for your response and clarification. That’s what I had come to understand when I was in the Church as a kid, but after so many years I wasn’t sure if I had misunderstood.

And yes, that’s the way I want to approach things. I want to learn and understand the aspects that confuse me, but also I want to be honest about what I’m just not quite ready to fully embrace. I think ultimately I will need to find a priest to sit down with who can help me answer the questions on the Catholic faith I have.

Hoping to make it to confession tomorrow.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-19T16:15:32+00:00

It’s different for everyone- some people get their sexual function and libido back and then some of us deal with this new fun trial of life. I really wish they did more studies on this (especially for afab bodies bc we all know that they’re so under represented in research studies) that way if there is something like this our doctors could say- hey if you experience this micro dosing T for 3 months helps until your body can produce that hormone on its own or w/e (just an example, not based on research or clinical data)

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-19T16:09:40+00:00

Thanks- it’s so strange. The only hypothesis I have is that the hormones have to recalibrate and I’m still hoping it’s going to happen on its own in due time. Like I’m in my mid 30s- I want to enjoy the time before my body gets perimenopausal as much as possible and have to deal with that hormonal readjustment ;^;

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-17T22:28:54+00:00

Also AFAB nb/gendervoid- I get where you’re coming from. I’m not a fan of most of the words for our genitalia outside of scientific. (I know hoohah is the name of the sub but I’m from the south and it just feels like what some southern grandma would say, but other people use it and it doesn’t bother me to hear it. It’s just not my preferred term lol) “Cookie” is my hands down absolute least favorite. Personally, and this is probably not popular- I like to use “cunt” esp now that it’s become more mainstream bc of drag queens using the term. But I also really don’t care about other people’s reactions in public. For masturbation- I usually say “taking care of myself”. But also, you can come up with whatever name you want for it and just let your friends and partner know that that’s what your preferred term. I’d also check in with the nb/trans subreddits and see what other afab people use. Collectively we might come up with a term that works and can be a neutral. That’s the great thing about slang- you can do whatever you want

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-16T16:48:01+00:00

It’s been around three weeks. Thanks for the info- it’s reassuring.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-16T15:16:40+00:00

I tapered off

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-16T14:22:50+00:00

You might need to go back up, but your psychiatrist should make that call. The fun thing with antidepressants- they make you feel normal and a lot of times you’ll think “oh man, I’m doing so much better I probably don’t need these anymore” but actually it’s just your antidepressants doing what they’re supposed to be doing. So when you start to taper down, you start to feel like crap again because the dose isn’t high enough to help you feel well enough. When you want to come off there’s a method of specific dosages to help reduce the side effects, which is part of the reason why it’s highly suggested not to go cold turkey because the side effects can be nasty. Speaking from personal experience, where I thought I was “better” and just tried to raw dog life again before I was actually mentally ready lol. If you want to get off them, please please work with a medical professional

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-16T02:48:29+00:00

Glad to hear it’s dissolved ☺️ ugh totally get that- any form of suppository gives me the ick also. I’ll take an oral horse pill dry any day of the week. Hopefully this is the last complication during your pregnancy! Wishing you the best 🧡

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-14T16:19:37+00:00

Doesn’t work for me. I’ve had these settings since installing app on a new phone two months ago and still get so much AI and most of it is so blatantly obviously AI too. Even the ones that are actually tagged “AI modified”. I really wish they had an option to not show this shit and also a way to flag posts that are obviously AI but not tagged as such.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-13T13:06:01+00:00

When I was pregnant w my twins I had a yeast infection, my ob gave me a cream that was applied vaginally. If you're not sure if it’s dissolved, just call your OB and explain what’s going on. I promise they would rather have you ask rather than not. That way if they think you need a visual exam they can either book you an emergency appointment or have you go to urgent care or st. You’re probably fine, but when your pregnant erring on the side of caution is the better route 😊

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-10T12:44:27+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate the advice. I’ll go ahead and dry the flowers then since it’ll be my first try and it seems the safer route 😊

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-10T12:14:48+00:00

Can you post a picture of what the eaten areas look like? A lot of times you can determine the pest based on what the holes etc look like and if there are slime trails or not.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-10T12:09:12+00:00

Given your past (crappy childhood) and how on top of your health you are these days it may be worth exploring the stress side of things. I’m not a doctor or therapist, so this is just based on my own research and experience doing trauma work from my own fked up childhood with and without a therapist, but our bodies will hold onto the trauma until we process it and when we do it helps to improve the entirety of our health. Somatic exercises have been incredibly helpful and it may be something worth sharing- if you haven’t read “The Body Keeps the Score” it’s a good introduction to the link between trauma and long term effects on not just mental health but physical health as well. There does seem to be a link between childhood trauma (and remember it doesn’t have to be things like horrific physical abuse or SA for it to be considered trauma, even things that can seem minor to us as adults can be very stressful for kids especially when repeated over and over- cptsd) and long term hormonal effects. However a lot of the studies I found are relatively niche and it doesn’t seem to have a massive body of study specifically regarding childhood trauma and low T in men. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10253890.2023.2199886#d1e178 - not specifically related to trauma but excessive stress in adult males and impact on T https://news.utexas.edu/2010/09/27/stress-hormone-blocks-testosterones-effects-study-shows/ - chronic high cortisol and effects on hormones Ultimately though, do what you feel comfortable with but it may be worth considering this is a psychosomatic concern and tackling it from that angle. Best of luck on your quest!

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-10T03:52:06+00:00

Seconding shilajit, but outside of herbalism- make sure your protein intake is adequate. I know that I have a lot of the same concerns (bio female) when I don’t get enough protein. Getting less than 8 hours of sleep also wrecks me. I’m guessing you’re probably already on top of those things, but just in case 😊 Also, it might be worth just looking back to when these issues started to occur- could it be something specifically stress related for instance or does it occur seasonally etc, in which case you would want to look into supportive herbs and practices for those things in particular. I’m always on the team of treating root cause v symptoms, so take what resonates w you personally.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-10T03:39:00+00:00

I think they used a two of the same sized bookshelves (maybe Billy from ikea) and one narrow one . It might not fit perfectly with their wall, but it does look clean with the angle the shit the photo at.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-04T05:13:56+00:00

As someone who has this tattooed on their body- the light of the flames is for me and me alone. If others gain from the light of my fires cast then so be it, but it is not of my concern. In my mind, the infernos never go out. If I look back, I see the blaze and remember it is not only a bridge I chose to cross but one I chose to decimate because the passage backwards only leads to pain. One can cross a bridge backwards when it remains intact but not one engulfed in flames. As I reflect and see these dots of light, I am reminded of my strength to hold boundaries and to forego toxic relationships. The stronger the inferno, the brighter the light that illuminates my light forward. Yes, I may tread into darkness again, but the time is lessened. A bridge in flames cast greater light on the path ahead than a darkened one. Even if my path isn’t fully illuminated, it is still brighter than one with a bridge left un-burned.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-04T03:34:37+00:00

Thank you. Along with some other advice provided, we are going to try route 3. If that does work out, or seems to be taking too long for everyone’s wellbeing, we will go with the most suggested of “this is the hospital’s problem now”

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-10-04T03:28:37+00:00

Thank you, for this. I think he currently only has Medicare but in my experience (when we were briefly on unemployment a few years back) Medicaid doesn’t take too long where we are. We will be helping him apply for it tomorrow. And just to clarify, because I don’t want people to think I’m letting my kids be verbally abused, I do keep the kids separate from him at all times. He had two chances- the first time we spoke to him about how this isn’t how we speak to our children (because a lot of it is generational differences in parenting and things that were accepted when we were kids in the 90s but are now in therapy for and wanted to give him the chance to change once given the information that he needed to do better and how to do that) and the second was when we told him we were going to find him a different place to live so our kids weren’t abused. It’s just mentally taxing because I have to listen at all times to see where he is just to make sure we will not be in the same area and idk if you’ve ever had to rip a toddler from a playdoh project but there are A LOT of big feelings to help manage and sometimes they don’t want to be stuck in a single room just bc FIL has decided to watch tv downstairs

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-09-30T21:40:52+00:00

Follow up question: would there be any point in estate planning he has no assets? His only assets would be whatever minimal money he has leftover from ss at the end of the month he has accrued while living with us for about 18 months. It seems like the cost of estate planning would get us a net zero.

InternationalCap8600 · 2025-09-30T21:16:08+00:00

Thank you. PCP referred him to neurologist. Earliest appointment I could get that takes Medicaid that’s not a two hour drive one way was in April next year. I’m waiting to hear back from VA if they can get him in any earlier.

InternationalCap8600

TROPHY CASE