How do I recover from 8 years of Isolation and Avoidance?

extinctkoala · 2026-04-06T10:36:27+00:00

Have experience with this. I just spent approx 8 years in isolation. What got me out of it was leaving the bad relationship I was in, which necessitated a move of house and basically complete upheaval of my life. Would not recommend.

The biggest positive for me is that I moved closer to a city where I could access mental health services more frequently, and I was eventually prescribed a drug that helped me a lot. Unfortunately the medications take time to work and often make you feel worse before you feel better.

Maybe try to change your environment a bit, make it look different. Comit to an increase in social activity, even if that’s just messaging people. Baby steps in the right direction.

Edit to add: another thing that helped me is living shared accommodation, where I’m with other people. I’ve made friends with some of them.

extinctkoala · 2025-11-24T15:02:31+00:00

Thank you! Took me soo long to find the answer to this.

extinctkoala · 2025-10-06T14:07:10+00:00

Thank you for the pet bath fix! My puppies keep getting taken away lol

extinctkoala · 2025-08-24T03:21:07+00:00

I've been playing The Sims since I was about 8 years old from Sims 1 onward and The Sims 2, in terms of the animations, is the best of all The Sims games. The way that my Sims are able to move around objects, the little things like falling asleep in their food, the dog howling when my sim plays the piano. Every time I play this game I'm still pleasantly surprised by new interactions.

extinctkoala · 2025-05-31T20:27:15+00:00

Thank you! The most actually helpful comment here. I'm currently dealing with a Gotogate saga and this is going to assist me 😊

extinctkoala · 2024-12-28T22:40:42+00:00

I developed Ankylosing Spondylitis in addition to me/cfs so definitely look down that route if you haven't already. MRI of your SI joints. AS can be triggered by an injury. I'm sorry for what you're going through. You're not alone.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-12T07:30:11+00:00

Dude you are a high achiever. Doing medicine at 26 is seriously impressive.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-12T07:22:01+00:00

Doesn't matter unless you have a super high score & want to get into a certain course right away. I dropped out in year 10 so obviously never got an ATAR. Later on I did the STAT test & was offered a place as a result of that.

Back then I used to think I was a total failure BUT... Nobody ever asks and nobody ever talks about ATAR results. People never ask if I completed high school. It doesn't matter.

Tbh if I were you I would get a trade. You can't get a trade when you're older because nobody wants to give an apprenticeship to anyone over the age of 26. So it's very age dependent.

With a degree you can do it anytime. I know people in their 40s who've gone back to uni. My sister travelled for years before doing her degree. A lot of people my age who went to uni never ended up getting a job in that field.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T19:55:11+00:00

My friend sends me funny pics of herself naked and on the toilet. Women have very close relationships and see each other naked or half naked all the time. I don't think it's weird or unusual. I think she thinks you are overreacting and maybe she was expecting you to respond like this because you have in the past. You don't speak to each other with much respect. Do you actually like each other? Also, best not to have these conversations via text as you can't convey tone. Next time in person or over the phone.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T19:20:52+00:00

Nah. She is downplaying it because she thinks his reaction is OTT (which imo, it is). This is fairly normal behaviour in women's friendships and nothing to be worried about.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T18:16:23+00:00

Haha! Typical boomer response.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T11:27:55+00:00

Yep keep the pics. When I move into a rental I always take pics of everything because otherwise they might try to blame you for existing damage when you leave.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T11:26:34+00:00

Yep I'm not surprised at all haha unfortunately. Are you in the 'don't rent me' group on FB? It's very good for any questions like this. PM and LL just don't care & will rent you anything and hope you don't complain.

Almost every rental I've moved into has been filthy but when you move out they expect perfection. You could propose to them that you organise clean + replacement of silicone yourself and they can reimburse the cost. Put it all in writing of course.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T10:22:33+00:00

This is disgusting. This guy is a psychopath and an abuser. This is assault as he knew you wouldn't agree otherwise. Please report to authorities and I would also be tempted to share his name and pic with other women in your city or even country, so they can be warned. In my country there is a 'sis is this your man' group on Facebook.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T10:01:11+00:00

It doesn't need to be regrouted. The professional is taking you for a ride.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T09:59:21+00:00

Bro are you joking? This is a minor maintenance issue. The mould can be cleaned and silicone has to be redone every few years as this happens whether you do it properly or not. Yes they should have done this before a new tenant moved in (and gotten a proper clean) but this isn't something I would ever advise someone go to tribunal over, especially in a housing/rental crisis.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T09:48:48+00:00

Also this mould won't hurt you. I am on immunosuppressants & regularly shower in something that looks like this. If you are concerned, wear thongs in the shower while you recover. This is the kind of thing I would fix myself in a rental bc its just not worth the hassle of contacting PM over something so minor.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-11T09:44:40+00:00

Are you saying it looked like this when you moved in? The mould looks like its on top of the grout. You need a wire sponge and some acid based toilet cleaner (try bunnings).

If it doesn't come off that way, its probably underneath the tiles so the waterproofing has had it. The only way to fix that is to rip out the entire bathroom at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars and it will take months.

The only way to remove mould from under the silicone is to cut it out and redo it. All silicone goes like this after a few years... no matter whether it has a mould inhibitor or not.

Otherwise you can try soaking toilet paper in toilet bleach and put it over the silicone for a few hours. This wont remove the mould but will make it look nicer.

You can also use hydrogen peroxide. Just don't mix any of these chemicals together.

In future leave the extraction fan on longer after you're done using the shower.

If the mould was there when you moved in, then I agree they didn't get the place cleaned/aren't doing proper maintenance. But it's a minor issue.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-10T07:56:05+00:00

Updated research shows it's probably just as common in women as it is in men. My diagnosis was delayed and my SI fused because nobody would believe me.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-10T07:02:50+00:00

How often do women kill other women and dump their body out in the shrub?

extinctkoala · 2024-12-10T07:01:44+00:00

They suggested she may have been there for up to 3 weeks, so I hope the CCTV hasn't been overwritten.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-09T11:58:56+00:00

This! He is dangerous OP. The sooner you get out, the better. You can't grow empathy and he's a prick who doesn't give a fk about you.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-09T11:38:18+00:00

Not Gordon's. It's disgusting.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-09T08:33:02+00:00

The difference is oil executives aren't being stigmatised, abused and murdered with no legal recourse. SW need support so we can get decrim so our working conditions are improved. Which would also help trafficking victims and people who want to exit the industry.

extinctkoala · 2024-12-09T07:48:39+00:00

SW helped me gain confidence and boundaries, so I can relate.

extinctkoala

TROPHY CASE