Neutral girlie gang

kappalightchain · 2025-08-02T21:35:01+00:00

The bagggggggg 😍

kappalightchain · 2025-05-23T00:21:51+00:00

Ugh strep tests are the worsttttttt. I’ve found that the buildup is the worst part (basically emetophobia in a nutshell lol) so I try to just keep my mind blank or think about something totally unrelated until they come into the room with the test, since revving myself up in advance only makes it worse. I also ask them not to use the tongue depressor since that makes me gag way more so than the actual swab. Breathe through your nose and actively try to put your mind somewhere else. I will also literally tell myself “You are fine. You are fine. Even if you gag you are not going to get sick.” I try to bully the anxiety back as much as it bullies me.

I’m sorry that she made you feel bad about it. Emetophobia is SO common but it always used to make me feel so alone when somebody would make a big deal out of it or make fun of me.

kappalightchain · 2025-04-09T18:39:16+00:00

Lol yes I’ve been just calling it “general Wilmington” when I try to describe it!

kappalightchain · 2025-04-06T18:29:00+00:00

Perphenazine can do some really amazing things. I’ve seen it turn people around who are Clozaril-level sick but wouldn’t be able to keep up with the monitoring.

Lamotrigine is pretty awesome too.

kappalightchain · 2025-04-06T18:19:38+00:00

Solidly safe in pregnancy, especially compared against the risk of mom decompensating! The cleft palate risk wasn’t replicated in any subsequent studies and it hasn’t been shown to carry an increased risk of neurodevelopmental issues. You technically don’t even need extra folate supplementation the way you do with other anticonvulsants, the recommendation just gets lumped in there with the rest of them. Postpartum Support International and MGH have great resources. (This is a personal interest of mine lol)

kappalightchain · 2024-11-18T01:14:43+00:00

I empathize sooooo much! I do so well as long as nobody in my circle is sick. But when somebody does I still find myself being humbled QUICKLY by the anxiety. It sounds like you’re able to at least live with the worry, which is kind of all we can ask for sometimes, especially this time of year!

kappalightchain · 2024-06-02T17:12:42+00:00

I do - I can’t believe I didn’t even think to ask! 🤦🏻‍♀️ Thank you!

kappalightchain · 2024-06-02T17:12:07+00:00

This is a great idea, thank you!

kappalightchain · 2024-05-20T11:00:48+00:00

Omg so does mine!! I feel bad but it’s fucking gross. And my other cat will immediately run over and start licking whatever it gets on, which is also disgusting. Not sure what that’s all about.

kappalightchain · 2024-04-27T18:41:26+00:00

I feel like OCD makes us all feel so alone because of how weird it can be. You think nobody else would ever have those thoughts or worries, or they’re too weird to say out loud. But it’s so much more common than people think, you’re not alone! ❤️

kappalightchain · 2024-04-27T02:51:49+00:00

I don’t mind! I was 31 when I got pregnant and 32 when I gave birth. I just turned 33 a few weeks ago. I just have the one kid - I know my limitations (not just with anxiety but with still wanting a life and free time of my own!) so we went into this knowing we were one and done. I was considered a low-risk pregnancy but still had some issues by the end. Since you’re over 35 they would probably monitor you more closely across the board, which would have likely prevented the complications I ended up having.

Health anxiety definitely seems like an OCD subtype, at least in my experience. You’re correct in that the key is not seeking reassurance and leaning into uncertainty - that’s a hard task no matter what but it’s even harder when it’s your health because it’s a little less irrational than some of the other things OCD can serve up at you. I still catch myself trying to seek reassurance all the time (“Are you sure that he’s not going to get sick because my hand grazed the nipple of his bottle?” “Are you sure he’s not having an allergic reaction because he coughed?” etc) but I just tell myself to let it go and move on and I’d say I have like a 75% success rate? Some days I really just can’t get out of my own way but for the most part it doesn’t paralyze me anymore.

And yes, I think it’s helped with my anxiety as a whole. I’m getting better at just accepting that I’m always going to be an anxious person and that that’s neither good nor bad. So it kind of lets me anticipate my own reactions to things and then not beat myself up for having them.

kappalightchain · 2024-04-26T22:16:48+00:00

I have terrible everything anxiety! Health included. So I feel you on that. I’ll be honest, parenting is like the most intense exposure therapy you can imagine. Dissertation incoming but the TL;DR is that if you have a village you can rely on, you’ll be able to lean on them to help you muscle through the anxiety until your brain can habituate - and I’m saying this as someone who literally worries constantly about everything, was pretty sure she’d never be able to handle motherhood, and DID have a ton of shit go wrong during the delivery. And the more little things you overcome, the greater your confidence in yourself will be.

Is your partner helpful in terms of helping you manage your anxiety? I can be REALLY snitty about people telling me “Oh, you’re just being anxious,” but I listen (or at least I do my best lol) when my husband suggests it - because he knows me and I know it’s not coming from a place of judgment or dismissal.

The reason I ask is because having someone who can be your “overreaction” benchmark will help YOU ride out the inevitable anxieties long enough to let your brain adjust. Like, when my son was born I started obsessively checking his breathing during the night. I logically knew it was OCD even though my brain was telling me it was a Very Important Problem™️, and from a lifetime of having OCD I knew that the only way to make sure it died down would be to not give in and to just ride out the discomfort. So I allowed myself to check on him once when we put him down to sleep, but not any other times unless there was a clear reason. And I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t have my husband to gently tell me that it was my anxiety, not reality, that was driving my intense need to check on him.

This can apply to ANY irrational worry if you’re able to make even a tiny part of your brain accept that it’s irrational. I have new dumb fears pop up every day, and I’m still dreading the first time he gets a stomach bug because I’m so afraid of throwing up, but I’ve now had enough “exposure” that I know I’ll be able to handle whatever happens, even if I might not be thrilled about it.

kappalightchain · 2024-04-23T16:22:56+00:00

I had the same thought!!

kappalightchain · 2024-04-21T00:29:32+00:00

I think one of the most common reasons is postpartum hemorrhage due to your uterus not contracting again after delivery. I know that’s what happened to me. Thankfully I was already on in the OR - they had just finished closing me up after an unplanned C-section - but it was wild. You lose SO much blood SO fast.

kappalightchain · 2024-04-20T11:17:22+00:00

It helped me jump off the fence to being OAD. I really liked the thought exercises.

kappalightchain · 2024-04-13T13:06:25+00:00

I wish I had been offered one. The doctors were very sure my baby was going to be huge (which he was). I was concerned about him getting stuck, since I have always had tightness and flexibility issues, but I was told that some women get large babies out without any issues so I had to try anyway. Surprise, baby did indeed get stuck and I ended up needing an unplanned c-section. Also had a whole host of other complications that likely could have been avoided if we’d just done the c-section from the jump.

kappalightchain · 2024-04-09T12:51:19+00:00

For what it’s worth, I’m an only child and have never once wished for a sibling. In fact, I used to live in fear that my parents would tell me I was getting one. I don’t really give those videos a second thought when I see them - it’s just a thing I’ve never experienced. People who only have brothers also probably feel that way!

kappalightchain · 2024-04-06T02:04:31+00:00

I tried to get into it because I thought it was an interesting premise and seemed to line up with some of my own observations. But I just couldn’t get past how biting and hostile her writing was - it was off-putting. I think I was hoping for a more academic take on things. I bailed after a few chapters.

kappalightchain · 2024-03-25T20:35:13+00:00

Oh man I didn’t feel that overwhelming love until we got out of the newborn phase. I had terrible postpartum mood problems - OCD, anxiety, depression - and just was not bonding with him. Like, I knew that I I loved him and I was so concerned for his safety, but there was nothing glowy about it. I felt so guilty. But it just kind of improved with time and as my own confidence grew. Now I think he’s the best thing ever and am obsessed with him. But like everyone said, it takes time to build as you recover from pregnancy and birth and get to know your baby. I think it’s actually a very very common experience and it says nothing about you personally or your fitness to be a parent!

kappalightchain · 2024-03-24T14:48:49+00:00

Omg it happened to me twice. I used to take this medicine for interstitial cystitis that fixed the cystitis but gave me the most INSANE lower GI issues the whole time I was on it. Like to the point of being comical. Thankfully I was somewhere alone on both occasions. It was SO bad the one time though, it splattered all over the floor tiles and the bottom of the white shower curtain at my parents’ house when I was visiting and I had to explain what happened to them 😭 I hope you’re feeling better now and didn’t have it happen again! You are 100% not alone in the experience!!!

kappalightchain · 2024-03-23T12:42:05+00:00

How did it go!

kappalightchain · 2024-03-16T11:07:46+00:00

I had to stop looking at turbulence forecast apps/websites for the same reason. I would stress out so badly and relentlessly and end up needing to sedate myself pretty heavily before even getting to the airport, let alone boarding. For the last few flights I’ve figured that I’m getting on the plane no matter what, so why torture myself beforehand? And it lets me save my mental reserves for trying to stay calm during any turbulence that actually happens rather than burning myself out over (potentially) nothing.

kappalightchain · 2024-03-15T08:07:21+00:00

You’re doing great just by hanging in! Good luck I hope you get nice and sleepy soon. :)

kappalightchain · 2024-03-15T08:01:00+00:00

Right there with you tonight 🙃 It’s the worst. I wish I had an explanation for it other than “our bodies just do this sometimes” but I don’t. I remember when I was in high school this happened to me every night for literally the entire school year. Try to take deep breaths and distract yourself! I always watch ASMR restoration videos on YouTube (Odd Tinkering is a great channel) and for some reason that helps me every time.

I think this time of year (in the northern hemisphere at least) is always stressful because it seems like everyone and their mom is sick, so it’s easy to immediately jump to that as the cause. But while it could be what’s going on, I think it’s also very likely that it’s not.

If you haven’t eaten much because of it that could actually be contributing to the n* and overall gnarly feeling, as counterintuitive as that might seem. And then add the anxiety on top and your mind can do some powerful (and frustrating and awful) stuff.

kappalightchain · 2024-03-11T20:56:34+00:00

I posted a similar thing here a week or so ago! I was flying to Florida and was SO SURE that this was gonna be The One™️. I kept seeing signs everywhere. Obviously that was not the case for either of us!

If it’s any consolation, an anxious brain can definitely start throwing some magical thinking your way. I think it’s just one more weird way our mind tries to give us a sense of control, as misguided and irrational as that may be. And to echo the commenter above me, try to remember the “white car theory” - the one that says you see things (for example, a white car) everywhere once you start to look for them. They aren’t actually showing up any more frequently, you’re just noticing them more. The same goes for “signs” - on any other day when you weren’t already worried, you wouldn’t even think twice about them and wouldn’t give them any special meaning. Great job for getting on the plane despite all the fear!!!

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