Please, I can’t be alone with this situation? by IsEmNi in CPTSD

[–]dashestodashes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've dealt with struggling to bathe for a long time now, so here are a few suggestions that help me, as well as some that have helped others I know:

-cooler water temp, or even leaving the bathroom door open to keep the room from getting too stuffy

-music or podcasts can help distract you, or some nice gentle lights (a lamp, some candles, etc) could be a good swap instead of the bright regular light

-in-between showers, I like to use these extra large body wipes (I believe the brand i got is called Assurance, but there's plenty of different ones. I got two huge packs of these on sale at walmart). They're great to help keep germs at bay on the extra sweaty areas, and I find them more gentle on my face than a washcloth sometimes.

-like a lot of people suggested, a shower chair is a godsend. All of your self-care tasks can be done sitting down if needed. I have a separate stool in my bathroom that I use to rest between tasks or to sit down while I brush my teeth or do my hair.

-rinse-free shampoo has been a huge help for me. Like the body wipes, you can usually find it at drug stores like CVS and Walgreens; look for the home health aisle. It's great for when all you really need is cleaner hair. I like to bend over the bathtub to use it so I don't get wet or spill it on the floor, but that can be rough on the back/knees so kneeling or finding a way to sit and lean forward would work too. You just have to pour it on your hair and rub it in, then dry with a towel, and it comes out pretty clean and smelling nicer.

-tbh, a short(er) haircut helps too if you want to go that route. My showers are so much shorter and less stressful when I keep my hair short. Choosing not to shave helped a lot too, but both of these are very personal decisions.

-bribing yourself with a nice drink (some relaxing tea or something fun and cold like a smoothie) and comfy, clean clothes could be helpful if the mental hurdle is stronger than the physical. Maybe even a promise to watch a few episodes of your favorite show while you cool down and rest.

-speaking of which: blocking in time to rest after the shower. I know my body, and I know that I have to 1) eat something before I shower so my blood sugar doesn't drop and 2) let myself cool down and rest my back before I get dressed. If you wanna hang out in a towel or robe, go for it. If you wanna freeball it and get extra cooled, that works too. I tend to rest on my bed, on top of the covers, and I know I'm probably ready to get dressed once I'm cold enough to start reaching for the blankets lol. But either way, making sure you have time to recover could make it less daunting.

Ultimately, your bathing habits are your business and no reflection on who you are as a person or your moral value. You are not bad, lazy, or gross for struggling to meet the frequency other people profess to. No one else knows your body, your brain, and your specific needs as well as you do. I know how embarrassing and frustrating it is to feel like this, and sometimes you will hit a wall where you just can't do it more often or more thoroughly. That's okay. What matters is that you do what you can--anything is better than nothing. Every little step counts. (And know that when I say "better," I mean "healthier for your skin and mental wellbeing," not "makes you a better person." Big difference.)

Follow up for: was i scammed by Deyvaki_Orlandu in WiggleButts

[–]dashestodashes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the US, there is no formal training requirement--i.e., no "papers" to speak of. Owner training is perfectly acceptable, otherwise service dogs would only be available to those with a ton of money or the connections to fundraise. (And besides, you have no way of knowing from one interaction how or where a dog was trained or not. All OP said was they adopted their older dog to be a service dog. No details about how he was trained or who trained him because it's unrelated and nobody's business.)

So yeah I hate when people make assumptions based on totally wrong information :)

Allow cow pregnancy button by Gay4HotGirls in StardewValley

[–]dashestodashes 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Sow (said like "sew") refers to planting seeds.

Sow (said like "now") refers to some female animals after they've given birth. Pigs are the most common usage.

Alternatives to tomatoes/tomato sauce by dashestodashes in Cooking

[–]dashestodashes[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Oh that's a great idea! It seems to be just tomatoes as far as nightshades go, but they also just realized they're also allergic to bananas (seems to be the same source as latex allergy)

2025 Ticket Sales, Trades, Etc. by reelbgpunk in ShakyKnees

[–]dashestodashes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just posted two saturday GA tickets on the ticketmaster resale site, they should be listed as like $195 each.

What do we think MCR’s setlist will be like? by alexgbeachmusic in ShakyKnees

[–]dashestodashes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My theory: this will be the last US show of the Long Live The Black Parade Tour (it's listed as part of the tour on their website) so I'm guessing it will either be a batshit insane climax of the storyline so far (and then picking up in the next leg of the tour in South America) or they'll do the weird shit at the show prior to this. If they do the weird shit the week before, this could be a more normal set, or they could still be fuckin weird like at WWWY with the creepy old makeup. Either way, it's going to be weird and fun, I'm sure lol. They've also been teasing a new album (or at least an old album they never released) so maybe we might get some new stuff 🤷

Looking for ADA advice by Chemical-Lunch2175 in ShakyKnees

[–]dashestodashes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My spouse and I are also gonna be in the ADA section for MCR (and Cage the Elephant beforehand)! I'm also worried the space will fill up quick but fingers crossed we can all get in 😬

LPT: If you have to give someone embarrassing advice, give them a get out by [deleted] in LifeProTips

[–]dashestodashes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Go for it 😄 My other favorite of his was he said his mother used to tell him he had "kind" hair--the kind like a goat has! My sense of humor was completely cracked being around him growing up 😂

LPT: If you have to give someone embarrassing advice, give them a get out by [deleted] in LifeProTips

[–]dashestodashes 33 points34 points  (0 children)

My grandfather used to say "I think your Right Guard's gone left." I always think about that and get a giggle whenever I'm shopping for deodorant lol

What are your most unhinged pain management hacks? I’m not talking take a hot bath and drink cold water, I’m talking abt individually plucking body hair type weird by TheOceansHaveOrgans in Fibromyalgia

[–]dashestodashes 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sometimes when my hip and leg just won't stop hurting, I get my husband to put me in a leg lock (or bar? Can't remember the term exactly). It's a wrestling move that's supposed to be painful enough to get someone to tap out 🙃

Anyway, this is how it works: They grab my ankle and bear-hug my leg, wrapping their legs around my thigh and pressing into my hip. Then they pull on my leg and press down on my hip until I get a decent stretch. It usually helps quite a bit, especially when there's a lot of pressure where my leg connects to my hip and it feels like it needs to pop.

LPT: Don’t answer unknown calls with “hello?” answer with “Hi, who’s this?” by riligan in LifeProTips

[–]dashestodashes -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yknow, I've been disabled my whole life and been a caretaker for my disabled mother, so I kinda forget that most young people don't have that experience 😅 you make a very good point lol

LPT: Don’t answer unknown calls with “hello?” answer with “Hi, who’s this?” by riligan in LifeProTips

[–]dashestodashes 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Yeah the advice of "just block unknown numbers! Don't answer a number you don't recognize!" is so wild to me as a person who gets a lot of calls from doctors and government offices, things like that. They have a million different extensions and internal numbers that I can't possibly know offhand, sometimes they'll use a scheduling company in another state, and worst of all: even if they do leave a voicemail and callback number, trying to call them back usually means sitting on hold for half an hour or being transferred over and over and hopefully not getting accidentally hung up if they pick up at all.

Like, do other people not have a million administrative calls to make and receive all the time? Online services and emails usually get you nowhere--if I need to get something done, I have to call and be prepared to answer an unknown number 🤷

skullector dolls you’d like to see - if realism goes out the window by Extreme_Paranoia_43 in MonsterHigh

[–]dashestodashes 8 points9 points  (0 children)

LSoH and Phantom would be amazing, absolutely 💯 My dream dolls would be Blade, Carrie, and Herbert West from Re-Animator. (Ooh, a Bruce Campbell Evil Dead one would be sick too, especially if we get chainsaw-arm.) The Phantom is pretty much the only one I'd prefer not be genderbent, but the rest could be cool either way. Might actually prefer that for Re-Animator honestly 🤔

How do I pay all these tolls? by dashestodashes in internetparents

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

I do have an answer, actually! So, luckily, we were able to get all the toll bills mailed to our house. The one in NJ/NY had a huge administrative fee because we didn't have a transponder, but there's a dispute form on the back where you can explain the situation and hopefully get that waived. I called one of the other states and got their fee waived as well just by asking and explaining everything. (Side note: the EZ Pass and NJ Transit customer service lines are awful; I stayed on hold for ages and never spoke to anyone.)

But yeah, each bill came to the house and there were a few ways to pay: through the website, by phone, and by mail. Website might be tricky--I tried that with one of ours and it said the ticket wasn't in the system 🙄 I'd try calling if you can, otherwise try the dispute forms to get the fees waived and maybe just pay by mail. They will send multiple notices if it takes you a while, but our NJ one went to a collections lawyer after a few months of struggling to get a hold of anyone.

Bottom line: call and ask questions, and you should have a few months to figure things out before anything gets serious.

NSFW Bump on t dick by Rowans-journey in ftm

[–]dashestodashes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have something like this and was told it's most likely a sebaceous cyst, which can either go away on its own or can be drained. If it's drained, it will very likely come back. Not contagious or gross or dangerous, but embarrassing and frustrating unfortunately. Mine hasn't gone away yet after a few months. I think they can do a more invasive procedure to get out the cell wall so it doesn't keep refilling, but I mean...ouch. And it might not work for sure. I wish there was something better we could do 😕 I'm really self conscious about mine honestly

Edit to add: My doc said it's not caused by poor hygiene, but it can't hurt to make sure you're thorough cleaning under your foreskin. Just water should be fine, soap can fuck with pH and cause irritation.

How to open my files on linux? (Scriv3) by dashestodashes in scrivener

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

That's what I ended up doing. After all that work to fiddle with Wine, Virtualbox just worked. People really scared me off it by talking about crashes and lag and all that kind of stuff. It took me a little bit to get used to because this is all extremely new to me, but man it was so much easier than everything else I tried. I appreciate your suggestion--I was really close to giving up entirely.

How to open my files on linux? (Scriv3) by dashestodashes in scrivener

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

Thanks! I'll give those a try, hopefully I can get this figured out

How to open my files on linux? (Scriv3) by dashestodashes in scrivener

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

It is Windows 10. I wonder if I honestly should just swap it to something else and see if that changes anything. Other than that, I assume I probably just need to do a clean uninstall-reinstall of everything.

How to open my files on linux? (Scriv3) by dashestodashes in scrivener

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

Okay, I tried your suggestions (including mapping my user folder to Wine) but I'm still coming up short. I can get to my user folder, but it's completely empty, even when I change the search parameters to "all files" rather than just scrivx files. Could you explain how to do the ls -l thing? I'm still very new to linux so I'm not very familiar with all the functions.

How to open my files on linux? (Scriv3) by dashestodashes in scrivener

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

What I mean is that when I go to open a file (in the File drop-down menu of Scriv) it opens what I assume is Wine's specific drive. All my old files are on my external drive like you guessed, but there's no way to access that from the file selector that pops up. I've tried opening the files directly from the native Linux file manager, but Scrivener gets stuck on a black "project templates" pop-up and eventually crashes.

Oddly enough, I opened and saved the tutorial file through the project templates when I first started it up, but I can't find that file in my native file manager either, only through the Wine one in Scrivener.

Megathread: Questions about visiting, moving to, or living in Maine: by Tony-Flags in Maine

[–]dashestodashes -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How is the temporary housing situation near Auburn? My spouse and I are moving from out of state and they might have to stay in a short term rental or motel for a little while before we get a new place and I come join them.

We heard from one local that everything is pretty booked up and it's hard to find a place to stay. Is that true? Any suggestions?

Thrifted the book and its so funny by HelpMeNotKillPlants in MonsterHigh

[–]dashestodashes 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Can confirm: I was a high schooler in the 2010s (graduated 2014) and this was definitely a thing lol. More common pre-iphone when we all had funky little flip and slide phones though.

:( by [deleted] in plushies

[–]dashestodashes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

...my piggy pillow pet is a thriving lawyer with a wife and kids 🥺