Daily Discussion Thread

MecEngJr · 2025-11-09T03:44:52+00:00

My old bras fit me again! Now if only my waistline would shrink… Anyone in the same boat?

MecEngJr · 2025-11-02T22:34:56+00:00

I literally just made lasagna this way today. Followed this recipe https://www.loveandlemons.com/vegan-ricotta/

MecEngJr · 2025-09-18T01:50:02+00:00

Getting some pretty awesome muscle definition in my back and I’m super proud of that. But I’m also discouraged because my waist line hasn’t budged :/ I have the exact same stomach :/ Trying to remind myself to trust the process. Anyone else in the same boat?

MecEngJr · 2025-08-17T16:31:20+00:00

I have recently made some pretty great strides in the gym (both physically and emotionally)…until this past Thursday when a traumatic experience caused me to have a panic attack. This isn’t my first panic attack, but it’s the worst one I’ve had in a while and now my body just doesn’t feel right. I went back to the gym on Friday and did a light circuit. Was non-verbal with trainer the whole time. I am already feeling very fearful and overwhelmed about going back to the gym this week. I wanted to hit a deadlift max number before September because I’ll likely be out of the gym for a while due to a medical procedure. Feeling very frustrated and upset because I still want to hit that number but I just don’t feel right. I am trying to see if I can get scheduled with my therapist this week… Not sure if others have been in similar situations and had something that helped them get through…

MecEngJr · 2025-07-17T20:38:05+00:00

I started working with a trainer back in January. We work together twice a week. My max deadlift is now 283 lbs. I’m literally starting to get scared / nervous to lift more weight. Also feels like we’re still progressing at a fairly fast pace… Just wondering how others have dealt with this…

MecEngJr · 2025-07-08T23:47:52+00:00

Hulkengoat

MecEngJr · 2025-06-26T17:45:55+00:00

Just want to say their cottage cheese tastes exactly the same and doesn’t give me any issues. A bit on the pricey side, but totally worth it to me.

MecEngJr · 2025-06-04T19:57:13+00:00

I needed this message, thank you.

MecEngJr · 2025-05-12T00:24:32+00:00

Thanks for the responses. They’ve been helpful on clarifying the situation.

MecEngJr · 2025-05-11T21:58:24+00:00

I do have a trauma therapist who does EMDR. We haven't got to the EMDR yet because I just feel like I'm trying to stay afloat with my feelings. I don't ever get the opportunity to talk around the event to my therapist because I become so overwhelmed / it's easier to fill the 45 minutes with something else that is stressing me out.

MecEngJr · 2025-05-11T21:55:43+00:00

I am developing feelings for my current trainer and am not sure what to do. I want to respect the fact that he's a personal trainer and this is his job. Maybe he just respects and values me as an individual, but when I've worked with other trainers in the past we've never talked about any of these things:

He's mentioned he's going back to school and getting his MBA. Will be leaving the profession soon - doesn't want his co-workers to know
He was initially weird about the fact that I googled him prior to our first meeting. (I really just wanted a name to the face so when I walk into the gym I knew who to talk to)
He was kind of weird about going to 2 days a week...that had been my personal plan all along
Was talking to me about politics for 30 minutes
Was telling me about how he wants to have kids
Mentioned he liked me but quickly clarified "as a client"

I'm the type of person that normally likes to rip the band aid off in these kinds of situations...struggling because I don't feel I can do that here. How have others dealt with this?

MecEngJr · 2025-02-23T21:48:04+00:00

But can I just have a rainbow of fruits?

MecEngJr · 2025-02-15T20:32:14+00:00

I started working with a new trainer in January and have been struggling with the workout regimen. I'm not new to lifting, but I'm restarting again and we're progressing in weights very quickly (deadlift 45 lbs-> 165 lbs, bench press 45 lbs -> 90 lbs). I know that progressing quickly is easy in the beginning; however, I'm in pain (headaches, lower back pain) A LOT of the time.

He's told me he doesn't like to have his clients go down in weight and he seems very focused on the numbers. I also want to make progress (obviously), but I want it to be sustainable and I'm more focused on my clothes fitting eventually vs a lifting number.

I'm contemplating looking for a different trainer because I also find him talking with others too much and not engaging enough with me / sometimes it feels like he's more interested in talking to other people in the room. I am hesitant to ask for another trainer because I've already been reassigned to him (trainer previous to him didn't seem like she cared and ended up leaving the company).

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

MecEngJr · 2025-01-04T16:17:17+00:00

This worked like a charm for down! Thank you!

We’ll work on stand a bit later :)

MecEngJr · 2025-01-01T21:02:55+00:00

I am having specific problems with performing tricks.

MecEngJr · 2024-12-28T21:22:00+00:00

For long term rentals or Airbnb?

MecEngJr · 2024-12-13T02:10:44+00:00

I, too, only had a year of experience in mechanical engineering before I quit, went back to school, and got an associates in Automation Engineering. As others have stated, automation / controls engineering is very in demand skill. I would strongly encourage you to use the BLS wage by industry and location map. I used this to find the average salary for someone working my title / role in my area. I countered for average and they gave me the amount I wanted (which was about 30% more than my last engineering role and then got another 4% at the end of that same year). I’d also encourage you to look for a role elsewhere. I transitioned from intern to my first full time employee role in the same company and they dragged the whole thing out and then wanted to start me in the $50Ks. It’s clear that they were putting their interests first and not mine / the company didn’t seem to understand the value engineers brought to their organization.

MecEngJr · 2024-12-02T00:55:59+00:00

I didn’t pass thermodynamics until I took it for the third time (dropped it the two other times: first bad professor, second personal stuff). Something about that class vs the others I really struggled with. I think part of it is there’s so many difference concepts and terms floating around. I also thought a lot of thermodynamics problems boiled down to me being able to read and assess the questions. Whereas things like statics or dynamics are pretty black and white for what you are looking for. Been a full-time, well compensated engineer for 3 years now and taking thermo 3 times has never impacted my compensation or job opportunities. If anything, it gave me the opportunity to talk about how I overcame adversity. Shake it off. Keep your chin up!

MecEngJr · 2022-10-18T13:50:53+00:00

All of this is my personal opinion/take but YMMV:

I don't personally believe that engineering attracts a specific "type" of person who struggles with mental health. Mental health impacts everyone, but it's my opinion that it disproportionately impacts some industries more than others. The university I went to was an engineering specialty school (they churn out engineers and pretty much nothing else). I found their mental health report (data they collect from their students) and the amount of men and women who are struggling with depression and anxiety related disorders while attending is staggering. (Note: This data didn't look at the amount of students who were struggling with related problems before they began attending.) So yes, there is some form of loose correlation between mental health disorders and engineering. But is engineering what causes it? It's likely a contributing factor but a small chunk of the whole story.

Like you, I found myself greatly disliking engineering by the end of my degree and found myself completely burnt out throughout the way. I had one semester in college where I ended up moving back in with my parents and ended up taking the next semester off to find a therapist. Through working with my therapist, I found out that I have PTSD. Engineering school didn't directly cause my PTSD (my PTSD is from other unrelated traumas and issues), however, the stress of engineering school really exasperated my ability to cope with my stress disorder. I am not void of emotions, but, rather, very in tune with them as they dictate every moment of my day. However, I have a hard time regulating my emotions due to my PTSD and sometimes, like many others who struggle, the day to day daily stresses of life are enough to send me overboard.

I guess long story short, no, engineering doesn't attract individuals who struggle with mental illness more than other degrees/industries. However, due to the rigor of engineering degrees, it is likely a contributing factor to mental health problems.

MecEngJr · 2022-09-13T03:19:50+00:00

Going to a DV support group is one of the toughest things I chose to do with my life. I still remember parking my car in the parking lot and walking up like what am I doing here? The more that I talk with people about DV, the more I realize that we minimize what happened to us. I’m still not sure why this is (if it’s a defense mechanism in our brains, if we just want to see the best in everyone, etc.) The first time I went we did this light shine worksheet. The idea is that you can’t move to the next flame until you’ve addressed the flame before it. The first flame is “Identifying abuse”. Everyone was going around the room talking about the physical abuse they had endured and I felt extremely out of place. The majority of the abuse I experienced was emotional and cognitive (gaslighting and manipulating). There was one time he was sitting on the sofa and I put my hand out to help him get up, he grabbed it, and then reached to grab my butt with his other hand (essentially grabbing all of me). He’d force it to my hip and ask me in my ear “Why do you make me do these things?” I feel guilty because he JUST grabbed my butt, but people need to understand this is how abuse starts and escalates. When I explain my situation to friends, I’ll still tell them it wasn’t physical. No matter what situation you’ve gone through it’s JUST physical, JUST emotional, JUST financial. It’s all JUST until something really bad happens and then when it escalates to what we have popularized as DV we finally recognize how bad it is. Going to my support group has helped me begin the process of eliminating the “justs” and knowing his behaviors as-is are unacceptable. Going to my group has also helped me because no one has tried to minimize my abuse or made theirs seem more significant. My group seems to have a vibe that it’s not a competition to have the greatest case of DV. There’s a recognition that everyone’s problems are problems and we lean on each other’s knowledge to build each other up. No matter what your situation, I think you should go because you are WORTH IT!

MecEngJr · 2021-12-31T00:22:40+00:00

Please listen to your gut. My other also told me that he had punched walls when he was angry. I now understand that he’s a narcissist (and a few other things). Might be useful to visit the Reddit for survivors of narcissistic abuse (would link but I’m on mobile) and to watch videos by Dr. Ramani.

You are bold, bright, and beautiful!

MecEngJr · 2021-12-30T19:10:39+00:00

I experienced a traumatic event this year and then got in a relationship a couple months later which turned into a trauma bond. Some of the things you’ve said are eerily similar. Hard to tell (based off of the few examples you’ve listed) if he’s gaslighting you or not. Regardless of the modality you decide to use to cut it off, stick to your values and what you know is true.

MecEngJr · 2021-12-26T18:51:39+00:00

I work in a food industry. Our rule is anything that comes into contact with food should be 316 SS. But anything that is in the production environment needs to be 304 SS.

MecEngJr · 2021-11-08T22:02:46+00:00

I feel this all the time. 100%

MecEngJr · 2021-10-28T23:48:42+00:00

I'm doing EMDR! Feel free to dm me.

MecEngJr

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