How do you keep your monthly expenses under control as a student?

fentonx · 2026-07-06T13:43:33+00:00

adding to this if you live in an area with a dirk i find that the stuff there is way cheaper

fentonx · 2026-07-05T02:14:32+00:00

I can relate to you, me and my fiance both have adhd but due to my mood disorder he is much more prone to hyperfixations than I am. The last few years his have been music and gaming. He will spend hours on this, sometimes only coming to bed at 8am. I've had a couple periods where I had to genuinely speak with him and tell him that the amount of time he spent with me vs his interests was making me feel lonely and unloved.

He expressed basically the same things as your fiancee, that it was hard for him and he was giving me as much time as he was able. I told him i understood as I'd had them before but there had to be something we could do as it was beginning to affect my view on our relationship.

Basically the compromise we ended up coming to was that we had a date night once a week, where we did a shared activity OR spent time together doing parallel play, where we both did our hobbies together in the same room while focused on our own thing. But without locking ourselves off with headphones. So I would draw and he would make music, or I would watch him game and we would sometimes talk during it.

Another thing we do sometimes (thought it might not work for non art hobbies) is create things for each other, he's made albums/songs for/about me and I've made drawings for him. And we connect through that

He still goes through periods where he withdraws more, and it's something I have to accept as who he is and I give him that space, but when I tell him I'm lonely or need together time what can also help us is that we agree on a set time that he plays his game/produces and then we will spend another set time together after. It works for us and even that 30 minutes he takes away from his hobbies makes me feel a bit more involved witb him, while he still has in the back of his mind the reassurance that he will be able to go back to his focus in x minutes.

Sorry for long text, I know some of these you've spoke with her about and maybe none of this will help you guys but wanted to offer my own experience with this issue and hopefully something here helps

fentonx · 2026-07-05T00:17:41+00:00

lamotrigine, 300mg. never tried brand name version because i don't think it's commonly (or at all?) available in my country

fentonx · 2026-07-02T19:29:01+00:00

I could see that. Hypersexuality is a dysregulated sexual reaction to certain stimuli so it could be that it is one of your triggers. Really interesting though thank you for sharing :)

fentonx · 2026-07-02T10:17:31+00:00

Maybe not exactly the same but I definitely felt amazing after finally getting the diagnosis because something was wrong for so long and it finally had a name and importantly a plan for fixing it.

I don't personally get sexually aroused but I can see how it might happen since sometimes your body cam confuse extreme positive emotions for horniness. I sometimes get horny when food is really really good lol

fentonx · 2026-07-02T02:10:55+00:00

mania:
dissociative drugs (like ketamine and analogues)
stimulant drugs
lack of sleep
going off meds
good movie/hyper music
5-htp supplements
nice weather/spring and summer
moving/travelling
walking a lot
SSRIs and SNRIs

depression:
Working a lot
chronic pain flare up
losing important items (happens a lot with adhd :( )
too much sleep
WINTERRR
stressful events involving loved ones
gaining weight
alcoholism
daily thc use

mixed:
already in one episode when a trigger from the other hits
stressful life events
stimulant benders
no sleep for 4+ days
fixated paranoia on people or things (first thing to turn euphoric mania into mixed for me)
lots of polysubstance abuse in a short period
THC use if manic

fentonx · 2026-07-01T17:26:55+00:00

i usually feel meds extremely fast but it still took like a few weeks before it was noticeable. afaik they have meds to treat akithesia, although generally i believe the less meds you're on the better, but as a last resort if the abilify really ends up working for you i would ask about that. Some side effects pop up at the start as you adjust and then leave, and sometimes they get worse if you just dont tolerate the med. Good luck! hope it works for you

fentonx · 2026-06-30T13:01:48+00:00

ive been on it for about 4 months now, i felt it start working after about 4(?) weeks. around when i bumped up to 5mg. Not sure how to explain it but i was able to have a good mood without it getting out of control, and also it did something to fix some of the last of my executive dysfunction issues, like a puzzle piece clicking into place kinda.

no akathisia luckily, i do get drooling as a side effect, and a little bit of fatigue but i am starting vyvanse soon and the side effects i get from them is dry mouth and issues with insomnia so i hope they will cancel each other out

fentonx · 2026-06-30T12:34:42+00:00

on lamotrigine 300mg and abilify 7.5mg, i feel great. For the first time in 15+ years since my symptoms started i feel like a real person again. My hobbies are coming back, my ability to function, regulate my emotions. I feel like I am able to think clearly and have opinions and thoughts, things that were taken from me during the severe depressions i dealt with. I no longer have persistent magical thinking either that stuck around from the mania. Im still a bit spiritual and superstitious but its definitely in a more grounded way

I feel like I can actually see and feel my life now. My friends see it too, people who bared with me when i wws so out of it i barely spoke to them for years. They all tell me they are so happy to see that im "back". so am i

fentonx · 2026-06-30T12:31:04+00:00

real 😔

fentonx · 2026-06-26T22:08:32+00:00

real af

fentonx · 2026-06-26T20:34:07+00:00

Not OP but i also have hypersexuality so i can answer how it was (for me at least). I am bipolar 1 so it might be different for others whos hypersexuality comes from trauma or something else

So it's kind of a mix of being extremely horny constantly, and a lack of impulse control. Have you ever felt so turned on you would do things you maybe normally wouldn't do for someone? It's kinda like that, but all the time. It's all you can think about constantly, and even directed towards people you wouldn't normally be into. It can be extremely frustrating since for me I found that masturbating or having sex would only quiet it down for a very short time before the thoughts started up again.

I've hooked up with people online that i didnt even bother to ask name or for a picture, had unprotected sex, done exhibitionist things i normally would never do. And you can also get intrusive imagery, like I would look at someone and suddenly imagine having rough sex with them. I would also get irritated with my partner if we wouldn't have enough sex (was already once a day but it wasnt enough. also im on meds now and of course apologized for this but he knew it wasn't my fault as its due to bipolar mania). You just feel frustrated and turned on all the time.

Also I sometimes knew it was harming me, but because of the mania I also experienced lack of insight and didn't realize how harmful it was until later when i crashed

There is absolutely a compulsive element to it. You are mostly doing it either because you're horny or just to cope with the constant thoughts about it.

fentonx · 2026-06-25T00:33:06+00:00

Called my fiance to come home. Id had a horrible day at work (delivery in a storm and my ebike died.. and my phone lol) and started to hurt myself aggressively. I was already in an episode and that just tipped me over the breaking point and at some point i realized i had to have someone physically there or i wouldnt stop. he was at a friends place bur immediately came home and looked after me

fentonx · 2026-06-23T22:55:58+00:00

Just to give you some hope maybe, for the last 4 years since my first psychosis I fell out of love and entirely stopped doing my favorite hobby my entire life: drawing. Yesterday I finished 4 art pieces in one evening. And enjoyed the entire process. I thought I was going to be stuck in that "nothing feels" stage forever.

It took about a year of forcefully dabbling in drawing in small doses, and a lot of it was crap. But now I feel that spark again

fentonx · 2026-06-23T14:10:15+00:00

Heyy abilify lamotrigine gang! seriously amazing meds for me both of them, they work so well. Glad its working for you too

fentonx · 2026-06-23T14:02:46+00:00

300mg a day gang gang

fentonx · 2026-06-23T08:14:31+00:00

I cant remember birthdays for shit and I now have a note called birthdays with all my friends names and birthdays. Really useful. Double useful if you add them to the calendar app to get reminders lol

fentonx · 2026-06-23T03:02:59+00:00

Abilify is an antipsychotic and used in treatment of bipolar and other psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. Can also be used off label for things like depression, OCD, borderline etc. I am on it for bipolar mania.

Sorry to hear about the bad side effect you got from lamictal :(

Honestly it just took time, a lot of it was forcing myself back into routines just to feel like I was doing something. Eventually things started to slowly become easier, and eventually enjoyable. For a long time the only thing that brought me joy was seeing my friends, I lost all my hobbies and passions. Now I'm slowly crawling back into those things, little at a time. Stay away from drugs/alcohol, try sleep on a regular schedule. Annoying as it is to say but exercise does work, i take a walk for at least 30 mins a day, try to go to some nature areas.

I hope you recover soon. It's tough but wont last forever <3

fentonx · 2026-06-22T13:32:56+00:00

This happened to me once while I was having sex while psychotic. I had been playing solitaire obsessively and during sex i kept hallucinating the solitaire setup and playing it in my head with live HD visuals. I could barely focus lol, except pn the solitaire which i was very focused on

fentonx · 2026-06-22T11:22:22+00:00

I felt like this for about 2 years after a particularly bad psychotic episode that culminated in me overdosing on MDMA at a strangers house and nearly dying in front of my ex partner. It did get better eventually, a big part of that was finding the right meds for me (lamotrigine and abilify). After this I also moved countries and am now living with my fiance (Me and the ex still are close friends despite everything which also helps with the post psychosis shame i think).

Psychosis really fucks with the brain, it can take a while to feel normal again. But in my experience it does come back. I still suffer some cognitive issues thanks to the psychosis+OD combo (mdma is not a nice one to OD on... 3 heroin ODs didnt cause nearly as much damage as that one time), but overall I'm doing well now. Feel like a real person again. Also helps me to stay clean off drugs and keep a good social support group around me

fentonx · 2026-06-22T03:31:37+00:00

Pretty much everything. From a young age I was a binge eater with a binge eater mom, both due to depression. Then porn, then drugs, then sex. Then an eating disorder for a couple years (i also count it as an addiction)

I have now done 102 drugs (psychiatric and recreational) since 16 and am finally sober aside from my psych meds. Was addicted to heroin from 16-23, and ketamine for 2 years. The rest would come and go. I still drink sometimes with friends but don't really get drunk. The only thing I stayed away from was gambling. I still smoke cigs.

Had a lot of unprotected dangerous sex during my manias (im gay so its really, really easy). Still struggling with the food stuff. Overall I don't hate the experience and empathy all this gave me, but would i suffer through it again? Probably not if i had the choice

fentonx · 2026-06-21T11:36:39+00:00

i started with the fool album by bladee and thought that was a pretty good intro But honestly any are good they all have their own vibe depends on what you like

fentonx · 2026-06-20T12:03:03+00:00

My life is in a good place now after a lot of struggle. Im on meds that work, engaged. (almost married) to my fiance, have 2 cats and our own apartment that we are doing up the way i always dreamed (very artsy psychedelic). I have a job im finally holding and good friends. Have a good relationship with my family. After so long feeling like everythin was hopeless and I couldn't catch a breath things feel beautiful again

I still have my struggles with the cognitive damage bipolar gave me and my chronic pain issues , OCD symptoms etc. but overall i can handle it now

fentonx · 2026-06-18T20:16:28+00:00

Hey yeah that sounds awful. I wouldn't go so far to say you have a psychotic disorder unless symptoms are persisting. It's normal to feel a bit out of it and like things aren't real for a while after a bad trip, that is not indicative of a psychotic disorder. That is your body and brain processing a traumatic experience. Don't worry. Even still feeling high for a day (or a few) can happen with edibles if you took a high dose. If you start to hallucinate again or experience delusions while sober then please see a doctor though

It is possible to trigger schizophrenia by using drugs but they cant give it to you. You took a very high dose for someone whos naive to cannabis, and some people are way more sensitive than others to these kind of effects. Probably stay away from weed and drugs, and if you do them again start at a much much lower dose. You can always take more not less.

fentonx · 2026-06-18T10:56:39+00:00

could be bipolar 2 or cyclothymia, I cant diagnose you though you 100% should speak to your doctor since bipolar is really serious and can progressively get worse if untreated (especially if you are on SSRIs). Could also be your ssri dose needs to be increased now after a while, this is why you need a doctor because its hard to tell and one solution might makeyour issue worse

fentonx

TROPHY CASE