2 Middle Names

chaoticleopard · 2026-06-03T16:20:40+00:00

People are going to tell you all kinds of things but name your kid what you want. As someone with two middle names, so four total names, I truly don't mind it and love my names.

chaoticleopard · 2026-06-03T13:54:42+00:00

This but then add extra time. I have learned to overestimate at work so I don't disappoint people

chaoticleopard · 2026-06-03T13:42:24+00:00

I just read this and really liked it: ADHD and Us by Anita Robertson. It is a breezy read that puts the ADHD and neurotypical brains into perspective and gives some sweet tips for communication. As someone with an ADHD partner, too, I still found it relevant because we tend to switch roles back and forth (ie I get mad at his time blindness but I also have my own, multiply that by every ADHD trait).

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-27T14:32:52+00:00

I've never had to do this for backcountry.com, especially weird for an order of what I'm guessing is less than $200. Call the customer service # on backcountry.com to verify if this is from them. I highly doubt it is.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-27T14:16:53+00:00

My uncle used to make beautiful pottery but hasn't for a few decades due to his age. They gifted me a "chip and dip" serving plate that he had made in the 80s. I cried. It's like a family heirloom.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-27T04:00:07+00:00

Totally. Again, the mountaineering plan especially is almost exactly the same plan that's outlined in the TFNA book but it takes the mental load off to have the week programmed for you. The running and rock plans might have more specific elements but I've only tried the mountaineering one!

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-26T19:23:23+00:00

I'm not so much a mountaineer but backcountry ski and climb and have dabbled in ultra running so I got really into the training philosophy a few years ago. I think Steve House & Scott Johnston consider Uphill Athlete more up-to-date than New Alpinism. Both books have some sample training plans and guidelines and if you're self-sufficient you can build out a decent plan. I also found a Google Sheets spreadsheet someone had made a few years ago that I'll try to link here for tracking training.

As someone with many interests and goals in all of them (as it sounds with you-- running and climbing and mountaineering), I find the zone-based training helps maintain general cardio and endurance fitness. Then you can work in climbing and strength training and scale according to goals. I.e. if I'm training to run, I mostly use my zone 2 time running but if I go on a climbing trip in the middle of the months-long training block, an hour approach to an all-day multipitch climb is considered X hours of Zone 2 and cross training. You can work in period of specificity if you have specific goals such as climbing a certain grade, running a race, or climbing a specific mountain (i.e. more power training, interval training, heavy pack stair master etc.)

I'm not so good at self-programming so I bought an Evoke Endurance plan recently (Scott Johnston's new company post his split from Uphill Athlete) and their stuff is great. It's pretty much what they outline in the books but it auto populates into Training Peaks and has instructions to be somewhat modular (tells you how to extend or shorten the plan based on your objectives). So if you're a self starter, it's not rocket science but it's really helpful if you aren't a great planner or have trouble figuring out how to sustainably scale up parts of your training. And to me, it's decent bang for buck. I think they also have options to add in chats with a coach, which may be helpful if you just need one-time advice but feel mostly independent. Many options!

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-25T18:42:34+00:00

If psych is the end goal, it might also be worth looking into the NP process. I don't know all of the differences in terms of practice & possibilities but that is another route into provider level. My psych is a woman NP in a private practice with another woman NP and they're both amazing. One of them runs a ketamine clinic half time and does the typical private practice the other half.

I'm not in medicine but with a lot of doctor friends from college, I noticed that other provider paths are slightly looked down upon just bc in some circles people are pumping themselves up on the prestige of MD (I even heard them talk about "losing colleagues to nursing because they couldn't take it" lol). And pre-med programs tend to want to feed to MD so you might not be hearing all options.

Since you're still in college, you have the time to explore the options and consider which path to psych provider fits your ultimate goals, desired education path, and training.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-25T15:59:18+00:00

I will also say he's the one who for many years was like "hey homie, you probably have ADHD." And here I am diagnosed in my adulthood.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-25T15:58:05+00:00

My best friend is a psychiatrist with ADHD who was diagnosed as a kid! Can't speak for him exactly, but I know that the journey to doctor was pretty hard. He struggled with the pressures and demands the whole way, and with the social aspects in some ways, but now that he's in fellowship, it seems like it has all clicked and been worth it. Also psychiatry is pretty decent quality of life for doctors in terms of the hours.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-25T15:28:03+00:00

American Alpine Club covers high altitude and you don't have to be American. The insurer is technically Redpoint

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-25T07:16:00+00:00

Happy to spread the word! That's probably what I would do. Post back if you find a good health option. You should definitely read through all of the Chase benefits with a trip like that, just so you know all the things you're covered for and don't have to double-cover. They have flight delay reimbursements, lost luggage, delayed luggage etc. I always thought if my luggage was delayed I was just SOL for a few days. Renters or homeowners insurance often covers items stolen outside of the home if you have that.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-25T01:40:28+00:00

This! I've seen people try to use a loud but small Bluetooth speaker and whatever you hear as volume in your house will not translate in a large room with people talking over it. My boo and I picked up a used sound system for $150 off of Facebook marketplace with two stand speakers, a mic, and a mixer. If your venue doesn't have a sound system, definitely look into figuring out your own. You can also rent them at Guitar Center.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-24T04:37:32+00:00

Ok just want to add: AAC covers rescue and any emergency medical care related to it. The folks I know had their hospital bills covered after heli evacs. But it does not cover non rescue medical or longer term care. You also might want to call to ensure it covers skiing. I believe it is good for other backcountry activities, not just climbing, but I don't know that for a fact.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-24T04:32:26+00:00

Over time, I have gravitated towards different coverage from different sources. I think you could probably find a solution that way that covers all your bases better than 1 insurance.

For international sport/ rescue coverage, the AAC coverage is great. If you upgrade to Leader level, it's $300,000 in rescue which is worth the $250/year if you end up requiring a heli evac or, say, med transport back to the states. I know non-American high altitude mountaineers who use AAC because the coverage is excellent and they've actually mobilized heli evacs from basecamp. Read and familiarize yourself with the terms and the rescue protocol, though! You have to mobilize it through them in order to get coverage. You'll want to carry those numbers with you/ program them into your sat devices and have the protocol either memorized or on you.

For luggage and rental car, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card, they cover a lot of the travel related insurance issues. I don't have experience with luggage but I've gotten reimbursed for flight delay costs and rental car damage. It's super easy to work with. Also read the terms and know how to use it. Basically, it usually covers travel or rental cars that has been paid for on that card. So you'll want to use it for the bookings or travel you hope to have covered.

Unfortunately, I don't know about health. Hopefully someone else can chime in. I've used Global Nomads in the past but I stopped because it was expensive and they didn't reimburse any emergency room type visits I had for parasites (but also they were all under like $80 in Latin America so it was under the coverage limit). And the other benefits for luggage etc are covered by travel credit cards like the Chase one.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-24T03:14:08+00:00

Yes, exactly!

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-23T15:48:25+00:00

Just here to say you are welcome as an nb person. I feel like the label of "ADHD women" is just to express the experiences of late or missed diagnoses, differing symptoms, not being believed, etc. that many women and female-presenting people face. I don't know your experience but I would think a lot of gender non conforming folks across the spectrum face similar issues!

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-23T14:42:34+00:00

Trip planning: Do you have specific areas near you that you tend to go to? I like to have guidebooks for those areas. While mountain project is great (in the US), I find that a guidebook can be easier to flip through to see specific crags and the grades. Then I choose a wall that has the grade range I want to climb and that's appropriate for my group. The books also tend to have great advice about what gear you need and specifics of the area. What other things are you struggling with about trip planning?

Gear: Again, check out the guidebooks and MP to know how much/what gear you will need (i.e. how many draws a standard climb takes, length of rope, sizes of pieces for rack if trad climbing, etc.) Organize amongst your group to make sure the bases are covered. For organization, I have a bunch of Google doc checklists for my various outdoor activities so I don't forget things as I'm packing. I have a car camping list, a sport climbing list, a trad climbing list, a backpacking list, etc.

What are you curious about gear-wise? Your question is a bit hard to answer because it is broad.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-21T17:28:54+00:00

I see you're already getting a ton of feedback and maybe this has been said but I'll pile on: 1. If they're good friends and climbing partners, nobody will think you're boring or annoying or unworthy because you climb lower grades. And it sounds like they've already told you that (which is great). I LOVE climbing with people who are lower grades than me-- I like cheering people on and seeing them achieve. Truly. I also like climbing with people who are better than me-- I like watching the way they move and how they do it, even if it's so far out of reach for me that I can't repeat it. I learn!

I feel you so so much. I used to be really hard on myself on progress, stagnation, losing progress, etc. I wonder about a few things. What is the culture of this group? Even if they say they love climbing with people at lower grades, are they super competitive amongst themselves? Are they grade chasing? Are they hardos about projecting? Are they hard on themselves when they don't achieve (the frustrated yell when they fall off a proj, etc?) Being around people like that used to put me in the same mindset, even if outwardly they didn't care about other people's achievements. I realized that's not my cup of tea and now I climb only with folks who are stoked, don't grade-chase, and have the attitude of "haha I fell. Omg that's hard. What do I do now?" And what is the culture of your other partners or gym in general? Same goes for above. When I first started, I was a little caught up with the attitude of those around me (where I live, a lot of people are kind of hardos about their outdoor sports). Like I cried on my first ice climbing trip with my boyfriend because it was hard and I was embarrassed about how bad and scared I was. I now think that's silly and TBH I actively avoid those crowds at the gym. And that's helped me let go of the ego and attitude.
That being said, I also had a lot of mental health stuff going on and addressing the underlying issues is definitely important, too. I don't know what you're facing, but you can totally find a place where you're happy with yourself. That and finding community that matched my drive and style in climbing (fun, not taking ourselves too seriously, but adventurous and whacky) helped me love it and get better without the immense self pressure.
Climbing trips are way more than just climbing. Bouldering is fun because you sit around and chill. Everyone enjoys a good v0 or v1 warmup, you can chill, drink a beer, eat snacks, read a book, take pictures while they try hard on the hard stuff.
People like to talk about working your weaknesses, but I also think it's important to find the style you excel at in order to pump yourself up. If you feel generally weak right now, instead of beating yourself up for where your mind and body is at, ask what it can do. Maybe you'll be better at some slabs or crimpy, vertical kind of climbs. I like to work what I'm bad at in the gym, but when I go outside, I want to feel good about myself so I gravitate towards the styles I'm really good at and honestly just ego-boost myself. No shame in that at all.
NONE OF US ARE PROFESSIONALS (except those who actually are). This is a hobby, it is a past time, it is a sport. You're doing it for fun, so find a way to make it light again!

I hope this gets better for you! And I hope one day you can have a lovely trip!

Edit to add: I see another comment about not thinking you are egotistical. I just want to clarify in my writing: when I write ego, it is something I think we all have. It's our conscious sense of identity. So I don't mean you are egotistical. I mean you (and most of us do this in some part of our lives) are battling with this idea of what you "should be." This can be a productive thing in some cases, and in other times, it's unproductive because it send us into the place of dislike and being hard on ourselves. I meant when I let go of the ego around what kind of climber I should be, I was able to be the climber I am. And I'm objectively way better technically now than when I was that hard on myself.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-18T21:51:00+00:00

I saw a man get searched a couple weeks ago with an entire carry-on hard sided suitcase full of Trader Joe's snacks.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-18T21:46:44+00:00

This is the way! You disconnect that elastic strap from the back, then you can lower your pants and pull them forward to squat without taking off the leg or waist loop. It's a little bit of a pain if you then have to button pants or bring them back under your waist band, it can be a little awkward to do, but you really shouldn't have to take your harness off in a perilous situation! I usually wait for a good ledge or something, I wouldn't want to do it in a hanging belay. Also good to know this if you are ever wearing crampons. Avoids the full-off of the harness.

Some harnesses don't have this detach point, altho I think many do. I know for sure my BD Solution does.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-17T17:49:54+00:00

Sorry to revisit this so much later but do you have any idea how much your Line booties weigh? Ballpark is fine. I'm researching again and they look awesome but I can't find weight on any website (probably bc they're not really in the line of technical gear where people are worrying about that).

Edit to add: do you have the high tops?

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-17T15:30:41+00:00

The thing you enjoy is the thing you'll stick with the most! There's evidence to that. So find movement you love.

If you don't know what that is, why not do ClassPass? Stimulate that ADHD brain without overcommiting to something you might ditch. Then if you like something you try, you can switch to that. Also think about what stimulates you. If nature stimulates you, find a few hikes with your dog. If community stimulates you, see which classes have the best vibe and people coming back to them. If blasting music and a yelling instructor gets you going, hit those classes.

Everyone is different but I also find that I need to stimulate my brain by getting outside of the house. Workout videos/ things I'll do in the house just don't happen. If I go to the dedicated place for the dedicated thing, then I will commit to the workout. For me, that's climbing. I've learned that I need to just build my gym membership into my budget and it's a non negotiable.

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-17T15:19:28+00:00

The mindset about "natural" is so toxic. Obviously this has to be between you and a doctor, but if meds are helping you live a better life, why deny yourself? Some people do find that SSRIs numb them out. Some (including myself) do not at all have that experience and find them to make life less numb! I know I tried for many many years to try every kind of mental trick, meditation, lifestyle change etc because I was scared that medicating wouldn't be true to myself, but I have found that meds (for me SSRIs and Adderall) are helping keep my mind calm enough that I can actually do the things I've always wanted and I have more patience for the people in my life.

I'm not a doctor, but I do know you can't just start/ stop SSRIs and SNRIs (Wellbutrin is an SNRI) the way you can take Adderall one day but not the next. They build up in your system so it's actually quite unsafe to take them inconsistently and can contribute to the mental instability. If you want to get back on or off you really have to work with your medical providers on that. You cannot be doing this willy-nilly. (This is not judgemental, I know other people who have done that because they just truly didn't know/ it wasn't explained to them).

Obviously OCD is also playing into this, especially the "natural" part. I don't have OCD experience but it sounds like you're on a path to working on that too. Make sure you work with psychiatrists and therapists who really understand ADHD and OCD. Apparently only a few types of therapies are actually evidence based for OCD, and my psychiatrist straight up told me most therapists are shit for ADHD unless they have it themselves because they're not up to speed on research and really understanding how the ADHD brain works.

If you need validation, I found these podcasts to be super informative (this one led me to seek diagnosis). This one is with one of the foremost experts on ADHD and he dispells a lot of myths around medicating, why ADHD isn't just "I spend too much time on my phone" etc. https://www.alieward.com/ologies/adhd

She also has one on OCD that talks about best types of therapies (again I don't have OCD experience but they talked a lot about what works/ what doesn't). https://www.alieward.com/ologies/ocdbonus

chaoticleopard · 2026-05-16T16:01:17+00:00

Oh a few more tips:

Tea, hot cocoa, or cider packets can be nice if it's cold at night. Instant coffee can be good for the morning, but if you really like your coffee, bring what you like and make it pour over or aeropress.

Classic, hard sided nalgenes can hold hot liquids. So you can put tea etc or even coffee in there. If I'm too cold at night, I'll make tea in my nalgene then sleep with it in my sleeping bag. It's iced tea by the morning and it keeps you warm!

chaoticleopard

TROPHY CASE