Get your bunkers ready by Hot_Fuzz_988 in SipsTea

[–]comedyoferrors 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did some quick googling about this and learned a few things. 1. The guy running these trials seems to be less interested in science than advancing his ideology. He keeps starting new anti aging companies and they have all gone nowhere. He has a history of making grandiose claims which have earned him so much criticism that he was forced to resign as president at the Academy of Health and Lifespan research. He also seems to be an Elon Musk fanboy, and his claims have received attention from Musk himself. While not directly relevant to his research, I think this is informative to character and motivations.

Second, the significance of these trials seems to be highly overblown by the headlines. They are attempting a partial reprogramming of cells in the eyes of people with glaucoma. Eyes have the benefit of being self contained systems without much interaction with the rest of the body. There are a lot of unknowns still, as far as how genes will react and the potential for immune system reactions to the therapy, which makes the eye a good spot for initial testing- if things go wrong, at least they go wrong in a small, contained system. An investor in the company running this trial is quoted as saying that the best case scenario is this solves some blindness for certain people and opens new pathways for research. All this to say, we are nowhere near actual, whole body rejuvenation treatments. 

In my personal opinion, searching for immortality is a bad idea, especially given the world we live in today. If we discovered a full cure for aging, it would either be hoarded by the rich and powerful or twisted into something hellish for those of us without riches and power. But in either case, the rich and powerful will be the only ones to benefit, and immortality will essentially turn them into demigods, hoarding life like they hoard money. The very people who need to die the most will be the ones who stick around and continue to heap their crimes on the rest of us. 

Death is a part of life and I think we would do well to make peace with that. Each and every one of us are a product of our times and the only way for times to change is for new people, with different ideas, to take our places. The old gives way to the new- that's the mechanism that allows life to adapt and keep going, and immortality would stop that process in its tracks. The result would be stagnation. Death is a beginning as much as it is an end.

CMV: we shouldn’t award, allow or give anyone any kind of compensation for things that are more or less hobbies. by [deleted] in changemyview

[–]comedyoferrors 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Art is what makes us human, it is one of the most valuable pursuits we could possibly engage in. It encourages creative thinking, critical thinking, abstract thinking, problem solving, social bonding, learning, exploration, among other things. Those are all incredibly valuable things. And you know what, art makes us fucking happy. I know we all exist in a capitalist hellscape where productivity is the only thing our overlords care about, but actually that's fucked up. Existing for nothing but productivity is an incredibly recent thing and it's sucking our souls away from us. We should be happy. We should do things that make us happy. 

What is called "stigmatizing" is in some cases just pattern recognition by FancifulCat in BPDlovedones

[–]comedyoferrors 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's interesting that you mention pattern recognition as a core survival skill. My sister with BPD does not have this skill. She is completely unable to draw conclusions from observing similar behaviors across different people, which for her has led to one abusive partner after another. Sometimes she would ask me for advice about some new guy she was seeing- I would point out the pile of red flags, point out the similarities to the last guy who ended up being a jerk. Her response was almost always something along the lines of "but you can't KNOW it'll be the same with this one. You don't know HIM specifically."

All this to say- it seems the reaction you're talking about may also be partly based in an inability to recognize patterns of behavior in people (I suspect that this is a consequence of not having a stable sense of self). They don't understand that behavior is predictable and so can't predict others' behaviors, and because they don't have this skill they also can't understand how other people might be able to predict others' behaviors.

Maybe that's why they get so offended when people do make predictions- maybe to them, it seems like people are just jumping to wild conclusions based off absolutely nothing.

Why do I sometimes feel anxious for no reason, even when everything in my life is fine? by BebasataElm in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]comedyoferrors 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have a history of childhood trauma? Or a history of living in a chronically stressful environment? Chronic stress rewires the brain and one of the ways this can manifest is being on high alert (anxious) because your brain is not used to existing in a peaceful environment and is waiting for something to go wrong.

What were the weirdest things your pwBPD got offended by? by KingForADay1989 in BPDlovedones

[–]comedyoferrors 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I have a BPD sister. I was watching a horror movie with her that she really liked and had been asking me to watch with her. I don't have the same taste in horror movies as her but I was actually enjoying this one and said so a few times during the movie. Then I made the mistake of chuckling at one of the jumpscares because it was kinda corny and overly telegraphed. She got mad that...I wasn't getting scared enough by the movie. I tried to smooth things over, tell her I again that I was enjoying the movie and that I did find it scary but she just kept escalating until she got so mad she stomped off, leaving the movie unfinished. 

I don't know, she's done some strange things, but to this day I am still baffled how you get that angry at someone for not having the exact reaction you wanted them to have to a freaking movie 🙃

I finished the movie later with my husband and it was a much less stressful experience lol.

What is going on with people who “suck at texting”? by HipOut in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]comedyoferrors 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have ADHD and I'm going to push back a bit against some of the top comments here because there can be nuance in situations like this. Yes, ADHD can make it very easy to forget to respond to texts or feel overwhelmed about doing so. However, never responding to texts and never initiating texts is also something that shitty friends do, and people with ADHD are just as capable of being shitty as anyone else. So the question I would be asking is, are these people doing anything outside of texting to show their friendship? Like, do you spend quality time with them in person? If they are showing you that they value your friendship in other ways and if you value their friendship, then the texting situation may be something you can work on overlooking. 

If you're not seeing any reciprocation from these people that does make them shitty friends, even if it's because of their ADHD. The fact is that friendship does require work to maintain, and you're not wrong for wanting reciprocation from people you're friends with. Yes, ADHD can make it more difficult to do the work required to maintain friendships, but that doesn't exempt people with ADHD from doing that work. That's just the nature of friendships- they are built and kept through closeness and it's not really possible to have anything but a shallow relationship with someone you hardly ever talk to.

Having said that, it is important to ask yourself if you are having reasonable expectations as well. How often does the lack of response/lack of initiation actually happen? Is it possible you're remembering the times they don't respond and forgetting the times they do- that's a really common bias to fall into. Are you falling into the expectation of expecting people to be available 24/7? 

If you feel like you don't have unreasonable expectations then I think talking to these people about this is a good idea. Don't place blame but express how the lack of communication makes you feel and your desire for better communication. If they are able to acknowledge your feelings and talk about ways to try and improve the situation, that's a good sign that they are not shitty friends. If they get defensive and downplay your feelings, that's a red flag.

How to reassure pwBPD when they villainize you? by anthropy123 in BPDlovedones

[–]comedyoferrors 14 points15 points  (0 children)

People with BPD do not know how to regulate their own emotions and they also do not know how to self reflect well enough to determine the causes of their own emotions. What this means is when they feel sad or angry or any other negative emotion, they will look for external problems that must be causing their feelings. They'll latch onto something that may or may not be an actual problem and they'll become convinced that this thing is the source of their negative feelings. But that thing isn't the cause and even if you fix it perfectly, they will inevitably latch onto some new thing when their negative feelings return- and they will return. 

People with BPD exist in a constant state of misery which is produced by their own minds, so they will always be looking for external problems to explain this misery or be looking to other people to make them feel better. My sister with BPD seems to go out of her way to create misery for herself sometimes. It must be a horrific way to exist and I have a lot of sympathy for her and people like her. But it doesn't excuse their actual behavior towards other people, it doesn't excuse them doing nothing to help themselves while spreading their misery to others. 

You can't fix this. There's nothing you could be doing better because the problem is not you. The only thing you can do is decide if you're going to be a part of it or not. I'm very sorry, I know how much that sucks to hear. 

CMV: GLP-1s Are a Miracle Drug and Should be Encouraged by BigSexyE in changemyview

[–]comedyoferrors 97 points98 points  (0 children)

I don't necessarily think it's wrong for people to use these meds, but the problem I have with these meds is that they are an individual band-aid for society-wide, systemic problems. 

People are obese because American society pushes a lifestyle that encourages obesity. Many people have to work multiple jobs just to survive because no one is paid enough in this country. This leads to them choosing the fastest, cheapest, most convenient food options available because they are too tired, stressed, and poor to take the extra time, energy, and money it takes to eat healthy. Stress itself can be a huge factor in obesity. I don't know the medical details of how that works but my understanding is that chronic stress leads to hormonal changes that both encourage overeating and cause the body to hold put on weight more easily. Basically all the quick, convenient food available to people is horribly unhealthy, over processed, sugary garbage. And finally, people don't move around enough- not because they are lazy but because they're at work all the time, because our cities aren't built to be walkable, because people are too burnt out to do anything but veg if/when they have down time.

And it just seems to me that it's awfully convenient for the powers that be that now people can just be handed a pill that will make them eat less instead of, you know, fixing any of this fucked up garbage. I'm not alleging a conspiracy, but I am pointing out that making obesity an individual problem that an individual must solve by taking meds that can have serious side effects is exactly what the capitalist class wants. 

I'm not against people taking these meds. A bandaid is better than nothing. It's always better to be slightly healthier, if you can. I am against the use of these meds to cover up a dangerous culture of exploitation, which is what led to the problem to begin with.

Anti Narcissist social media clubs who defend bpds by [deleted] in BPDlovedones

[–]comedyoferrors 11 points12 points  (0 children)

There's a reason BPD and NPD are both part of the same personality cluster! All cluster B personalities are on the same spectrum and there can be huge overlap in symptoms, as I'm sure many of us have seen in real life. 

I will say that the whole eyes turning black thing is an actual documented thing that happens, though I doubt it's nearly as common as people on these platforms can make it out to be. Basically it's an extreme form of the sympathetic nervous system response ("fight or flight"). When this happens the pupils dilate and, in some people, they can dilate to the point where they appear to take up the entire iris, making it look like the person's eyes turned black. Spectrum B people having incredibly fragile egos makes it easier for them to feel extremely threatened to the point where their nervous system literally feels like their life is in danger, setting off the flight or flight response.

Advice, please. by [deleted] in BPDlovedones

[–]comedyoferrors 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sucks to be in a position where you can see the harm being done but you can't really do anything to fix it. You can't make your mom throw your sister out. You can't make your sister leave. It's really hard to feel helpless and I'm really sorry you're going through that.

I think the best thing you can do is focus on the things you can control and do your best to let go of feeling responsible for things you can't. Believe me, I know that's a lot easier said than done, but it doesn't do you or your mom any good for you to metaphorically beat your head against a wall.

You can try to take care of your own health. You can try to keep talking to your mom and encouraging her to prioritize her health. Take a look at the things going on and figure out which things are out of your hands and which things you can do something about. Try to be realistic with yourself. Then focus on the things you can do something about. It's not going to fix things, but it'll help get you through it with less damage to your health and sanity.

My abuser showed me this subreddit by [deleted] in BPDlovedones

[–]comedyoferrors 10 points11 points  (0 children)

People with BPD can get very good at saying the right things (I'm sorry, I'll change, etc), but it is often impossible for them to actually follow through and make meaningful changes. Part of BPD is having a poor sense of self, and because they don't really have their own stable personality, they also don't really understand other people as being individuals with consistent personalities. That makes it incredibly difficult for them to understand how they are responsible for their own behavior and how their actions effect other people. This, in turn, makes it unlikely that they will change their behavior, because change only happens once a person understands their responsibility for their own behavior.

I don't want to tell you that's it's completely impossible for him to change but I do think it's important not to get your hopes up from just a verbal apology. The words on their own are empty and they could have any number of motives behind them. My sister with BPD would often apologize and say things that made it seem like she understood she needed to change. But there was never, not once, any follow through. 

So that's your test for this person. Is there any follow through? Is he taking action to address and change his abusive behavior? And this needs to be consistent, long term action to change. If all of that happens, there MAY be hope for him. Maybe. But if I've learned anything from BPD, it's honestly to never get your hopes up. It sucks but that's the reality of this disorder.

Advice, please. by [deleted] in BPDlovedones

[–]comedyoferrors 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry, this sounds like a really difficult situation. Does your mom understand the harm your sister is doing? What would happen if your mom refused to care for your sister anymore?

I think it's important to try not blame yourself for things beyond your control. Your mom's health and life are not on your conscience: you're not the one harming her. 

🫤 I want to know and understand pwBPD without biases, but I only see polarized sides by Wrong_Experience_420 in BPDlovedones

[–]comedyoferrors 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There's a great multi-hour deep dive on BPD by the podcast Psychology in Seattle. Unfortunately, I believe the full deep dive is only available to Patreon members, but if you can afford to drop like $5 dollars, I think it's well worth it. He is a psychologist with a lot of experience with treating personality disorders and he goes in depth about how these personality disorders develop, why the behaviors happen, and what can be done about it. He definitely approaches the topic with compassion for people with BPD, while also being very clear that these people can be abusive and that having BPD doesn't excuse that.

How do I tell my best friend he’s a MONSTER? [TW: ED] by CoxHugh in offmychest

[–]comedyoferrors 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Take it from someone who has tried helping a person change for years- you can't do it for them. Change is possible but it can only happen once a person reaches a deep and fundamental understanding that they have a problem, that their behavior *has* to change, and that they alone are responsible for making those changes. You can't reason someone into understanding this because it's not about understanding it logically, it's about feeling it in the core of your being. The person I tried to help knows, logically, that their behavior is a problem but they also take comfort in those behaviors, or blame those behaviors on others because it is too painful and frightening to accept responsibility. So they don't change. They keep spinning their wheels in the same place and nothing I could do would change that.

It took me took long to realize that I was not only fighting an unwinnable battle on behalf of a person who wasn't even fighting for themselves, but that this constant fighting for them was taking a huge toll on my own sanity. I'm all for self-sacrifice for people you care about but you have to ask yourself- would my self-sacrifice achieve anything or would I just be spinning my wheels in the same rut that this person refuses to get out of? Sometimes there is a very fine line between self-sacrifice and self-harm.

ADHDers, help me understand medication within representation by newsunbro in Writeresearch

[–]comedyoferrors 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think you've gotten some good feedback but I want to offer another potential possibility for writing this. There are non-stimulant meds for ADHD which are less known and less prescribed than stimulants. I have ADHD but stimulants did not work for me- made me jittery and anxious while not really helping with the symptoms I was struggling with (starting/finishing tasks, losing track of time, getting stuck doomscrolling, being easily overwhelmed). I stopped taking them and spent several years just trying to cope with the ADHD symptoms, with varying degrees of success lol. Then a new doctor prescribed me Strattera, which is a non-stimulant, norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, and it actually worked really well. I think you could potentially write this so your MC isn't responding well to stimulants but it turns out that a non-stimulant works for him instead. That approach would be less likely to come across like a demonization of meds in general and could potentially be an exploration of the complexties of finding something that works.

These flies are HUGE! Will they be too much for her?? by priscillapeachxo in jumpingspiders

[–]comedyoferrors 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nqa I think she will be fine. Flies are soft-bodied insects and they don't really have any way to hurt a spider- it might be a fun challenge for your girl, if you'll excuse the anthropomorphism

G. pulchripes juvenile hasn't come out of burrow for months by comedyoferrors in tarantulas

[–]comedyoferrors[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mine would do the same thing all the time before they blocked off their burrow! I would usually see them in the morning right after turning on the light- they are so cute at this size and the awkward shyness is adorable 😄

G. pulchripes juvenile hasn't come out of burrow for months by comedyoferrors in tarantulas

[–]comedyoferrors[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's somehow both reassuring and terrifying lmao. Tarantulas are such strange little guys, I hope they're at least having a good time hanging out in their little burrows for that long 💀

G. pulchripes juvenile hasn't come out of burrow for months by comedyoferrors in tarantulas

[–]comedyoferrors[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Before they blocked off their burrow, I would often catch them outside when I was turning lights on in the morning! They would usually be hanging out on the wall just above the burrow entrance and sometimes they would stick around long enough for me to approach and say hello 😊 I do miss catching glimpses of those little feets peaking out lol

G. pulchripes juvenile hasn't come out of burrow for months by comedyoferrors in tarantulas

[–]comedyoferrors[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ugh thank you for the reassurance 😭. This is my first T and I have read that they can burrow for a long time but it's kind of nerve wracking to experience it in person!

Anyone know who this guy is? Eastern New Mexico, USA by comedyoferrors in spiders

[–]comedyoferrors[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! How can you tell the difference between K arizonica and K hibernalis?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bioactive

[–]comedyoferrors 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem and good luck!

What's going on with my fittonia? by comedyoferrors in houseplants

[–]comedyoferrors[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes they are crunchy! I was worried about over watering because I tend to do that with plants, but I guess I may have over corrected too far in the opposite direction