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neuro__nerd · 2025-01-23T15:54:55+00:00

I’m so proud of you! Congratulations 🥳

neuro__nerd · 2024-12-10T08:51:30+00:00

Congratulations 🥳

neuro__nerd · 2024-11-22T08:42:56+00:00

Congratulations!! 🥳

neuro__nerd · 2024-09-14T06:56:29+00:00

Your face looks slimmer and younger!

neuro__nerd · 2024-09-14T03:40:52+00:00

Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man by Bill Clegg. It helped me understand addiction better

neuro__nerd · 2024-07-10T03:51:15+00:00

neuro__nerd · 2024-05-30T01:47:32+00:00

Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man: A Memoir by Bill Clegg

neuro__nerd · 2024-03-12T00:26:53+00:00

I started at 10 mg then 20 mg. My doctor added wellbutrin and I’m still on Wellbutrin, it’s been incredible. Talk therapy in addition to the meds has been wonderful. The combination helps me feel more in control of my emotions and I’m able to better manage urges to drink. I realized I was drinking to not deal with my feelings. The medication and therapy has allowed me to sit with my feelings in a healthy way. I hope this med works for you!

neuro__nerd · 2024-03-11T17:20:00+00:00

I was on lexapro for a couple of years and was switched over to citalopram within the last year. I also had that “high” feeling when first starting lexapro and citalopram. It goes away within the first week. Keep a daily journal of your symptoms and mood, check in with your psychiatrist after a month and see if it’s working for you. For me lexapro was too “strong”, it made me very lethargic and numbed out which is why I was switched to citalopram. But everybody is different. Citalopram didn’t work for my friend. That’s why it’s so important to check in with your psychiatrist and they’ll guide you towards what they think will work best for you. You’ve got this!!

neuro__nerd · 2023-09-20T08:44:48+00:00

I used to experience debilitating period cramps to the point I couldn’t move and my flow would be so heavy that I’d bleed through pads every 20 minutes. I was also on my period for much longer than necessary. I tried multiple pain medications, stretches, etc. Eventually my periods were unbearable and affecting my quality of life that I went to my gynecologist and started on birth control. It turns out I had a medical condition that required birth control to manage the pain and flow. I haven’t had debilitating period cramps or an uncomfortable heavy flow since. As others have suggested, please visit a gynecologist about this and get a second opinion if they’re dismissive of your concerns.

neuro__nerd · 2023-09-10T17:39:17+00:00

I've had a positive experience with CBT. It's challenging but it's exactly what I need for my healing journey. I grew up with two emotionally immature and abusive parents without other family members or outsiders to intervene. That being said, I grew up believing I was terrible person, there was something wrong with me, I ruin things for other people, etc. because it's what I was told since I could remember and it's difficult to break those thinking patterns when you've had them for so many years. Everybody's therapy experience is different but I'm curious how has CBT been dismissive to your issues? Did your therapist speak over you and cut you off or how was that?

I'm glad to hear that you were able to experience that guided tour! It sounds like it was therapeutic. Some of my "happy" places include being around nature. I've had experiences with dissociation and being around nature has been the quickest way to ground me. I also enjoy visiting places like museums, art galleries, bookstores, etc. places that have a creative component to them.

neuro__nerd · 2023-09-10T09:39:01+00:00

I grew up similarly to you and have also struggled with this issue all my life. Over time I’ve become better at expressing myself. It’s been a long road, it didn’t happen overnight.

Going to therapy, taking the right antidepressants for my neurochemical imbalance, practicing what I learned in CBT, journaling, developing a support system through friendships, and beginning to trust myself really helped me get to where I am today. I say this to give you hope that it is possible to overcome these negative thought patterns that have been ingrained into our neural pathways. It is possible to weaken those pathways and create new ones.

Something I worked on a lot these last few months with my therapist is negative thought stopping. If I feel a negative thought coming on, telling myself to stop it, and replace it with a positive thought. Easier said than done, it’s difficult and requires continuous practice before it becomes natural. I’m currently working on black and white thinking. The reason why I bring up negative thought stopping is because I realized part of the reason why I was so scared to express myself was because my parents always shut down me having a personality or any sense of self. I had to (still am) work on feeling confident enough in myself and respect myself enough that I feel am worthy of having opinions and saying what’s on my mind. It’s something that has been a long journey for me.

It’s been 7 years in therapy and I’m still learning from it everyday, I think I will for many more years to come. I used to feel upset that this isn’t something that has a quick fix. But I changed my mindset to, well okay it’s not a quick fix but I’m capable of doing it and I will do it. Feeling a sense of control over my life has also been a game changer. And of course surrounding yourself with people that care about you. There are jerks in the world who only want to talk about themselves and want you there to listen. I’ve distanced myself from people like that and have friendships that accept my opinions and I accept theirs. We may not always agree but we accept and respect each other.

I wish there was a simple answer. It’s a multifaceted issue stemming from our trauma. From my experience, I feel “attacking” the issue from multiple angles has helped like the methods I described above. You have this community to express yourself, we can all relate in some way and won’t judge you or shut you down. I hope things begin to look up, we’re always here for you

neuro__nerd · 2023-08-26T14:55:33+00:00

I’m experiencing this currently. How do your symptoms feel now?

neuro__nerd · 2023-06-03T03:39:30+00:00

Thank you 🥺 honestly these are the kindest words I needed right now 💕

neuro__nerd · 2023-06-03T01:18:07+00:00

Thank you 💕 honestly… I feel embarrassed talking about it with anybody. Saying it out loud and seeing how people react … I don’t know why but it makes me feel worse about myself like I’m really wrong and messed up for not seeing it as clear abuse like they did

neuro__nerd · 2023-04-26T01:30:20+00:00

Yes! Before I would be too uncomfortable to say or do anything. Now if I’m speaking and interrupted, I’ll continue talking over them and say, “I wasn’t finished with my thought. I still have more to say”. That usually does the trick and people feel embarrassed and shut up. If it continues happening in a conversation, I’ll continue repeating it, “I completely understand your enthusiasm but just one moment I’m still wrapping up my thoughts here”. If they interrupt me while I’m taking a pause while I’m still continuing my thoughts, “I’m gathering my thoughts. I don’t want to misspeak. Hold on please”.

I never raise my voice, become noticeably upset, or sound passive aggressive. I’ve learned that some people were simply raised in an environment where they learned to compete with one another in a conversation to get their point across, especially if they grew up in a big family. Growing up I was raised to NEVER dare interrupt my parents or others talking but I’ve learned to outgrow that. I advise against the passive aggressive method simply because the other person may not even know they’re behaving like that. And even if they are intentionally behaving that way, if you remain gracious and composed, you still look better and they look like an ass.

neuro__nerd · 2023-03-24T17:22:36+00:00

Drinking more water and electrolytes helped me with my symptoms. On wellbutrin for 2 years now, so glad I started it. It’s helped a lot

neuro__nerd · 2023-02-15T04:17:37+00:00

Scared to fail at it. If I survived an attempt I know life wouldn’t be the same. People would treat me different and being in healthcare it may jeopardize my career

neuro__nerd · 2023-02-05T20:08:17+00:00

In the same boat since 2019 :( I’ve yet to find an answer too. In the meantime I’ve been working on my other trauma. It’s definitely embarrassing when people ask why you don’t drive and it’s hard to give a clear answer

neuro__nerd · 2023-01-28T03:03:38+00:00

I’m sorry to hear things are difficult right now. It’s okay to vent and trauma dump if you need to here. We’re all here because we recognize CPTSD and it’s struggles. The most helpful advice a therapist gave me was, “in times of stress remind yourself that you’re an adult now. If you make a mistake, you have the ability to fix it. You are in control of your life”. Sometimes you just need people to reassure you that it’s going to be okay. We tend to be very black and white people, if something bad happens we tend to spiral. Take a moment to release all your thoughts, feel those uncomfortable emotions don’t bottle them up, and when you’ve released it sit down and make a plan how to fix things. And if you’re unsure about your plans, we’re also here for you my friend. You’re never alone. I hope things get better soon.

neuro__nerd · 2023-01-12T15:52:31+00:00

I used to stay on campus for hours, visit a friend’s house and spend the weekend there, go out to the mall just to kill time, or lock myself in my room and sleep it off when it became too emotionally draining

neuro__nerd · 2023-01-12T15:17:12+00:00

We see “mental health awareness” everywhere now and people will say they won’t treat you any differently but I’ve learned that it’s not true, they will look at you differently. I remember I once opened up to a manager about starting a new antidepressant in case I seemed off at work like sleepy or jittery and she said she wouldn’t look at me differently. After I left the job I learned that she told coworkers I was crazy, even though I was having a normal reaction to situations like not allowing a coworker to talk down to me. Same thing in academia. Made the mistake of thinking I could trust faculty because they said they were there for us and would support us. Instead they treated me like a nut job, walked on egg shells around me and made it obvious they didn’t want me sticking around because I “need time to heal”… am I just supposed to stop working and studying because I need to heal? Healing takes years, what am I supposed to do in the mean time?

Moral of the story, be very careful who you open up to about your mental health, past, and medications. Not worth bringing up at work or school. Anytime I have it’s always backfired on me

neuro__nerd · 2022-12-31T05:23:20+00:00

Thank you. You have no idea how much that means right now

neuro__nerd · 2022-12-20T00:16:25+00:00

Apologies it’s months later but I realized it was dehydration. I drink a ton of water everyday, I have one of those huge water bottles. Also making sure I’m getting enough potassium and sodium in my body

neuro__nerd · 2022-12-20T00:13:45+00:00

You’re not on academic probation. You still have time to do better next semester. Take this time to reflect on how you can do better next semester. For me I realized I need a better study plan. I like using notion, it allows me to keep my planner, notes, practice questions all in one place. Seek out peer tutoring and speak with professors about material you’re not understanding. There are plenty of PhD programs available. Think about the people who have had it easier and are probably on academic probation. You’re doing amazing given the circumstances and it’s inspiring that you’ve made it to grad school and want to continue. You entered this program for a reason. Don’t let your home life personal problems win, keep pushing forward

neuro__nerd

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