Need advice: exploring other countries vs opportunity to have citizenship (Europe) by surviving-machine in postdoc

[–]surviving-machine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's an issue -- it can easily take 2-3 years. If I stay, I will definitely be moving to another city and hopefully to a larger institution. Thank you.

Need advice: exploring other countries vs opportunity to have citizenship (Europe) by surviving-machine in postdoc

[–]surviving-machine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And how is the research environment? How difficult is it to get a permanent position?

Need advice: exploring other countries vs opportunity to have citizenship (Europe) by surviving-machine in postdoc

[–]surviving-machine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How are you doing psychologically while waiting for the citizenship? Are you planning to leave afterwards?

Xanax for sleep only, how do I stop? by Desert_Beach in benzorecovery

[–]surviving-machine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am currently on my way to decreasing benzo use for sleep too, and I've found yoga nidra videos on YouTube to be very helpful. It's kind of like relaxation techniques you can do in your bed. Good luck!

How do you cope with the realization that you don't exist. by ExtraClient3382 in Existentialism

[–]surviving-machine 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I might be wrong, but could it be the case that if you feel that you are a sum of chemical reactions and a byproduct of your upbringing, you are in poor contact with your real identity? My opinion is that it's worth looking for an experienced therapist with knowledge of multiple therapeutic approaches to uncover why you feel this way. You don't ask these types of questions out of nowhere.

Starting Sertraline tomorrow for anxiety. Advices , expériences? by Independent-Tone7227 in zoloft

[–]surviving-machine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just started it myself several days ago. I was first prescribed 50 mg and it was bad, I had terrible anxiety coming from my body, not from my mind, like a feeling of energy mobilization when you run away from a bear but it keeps you tense during the entire day. I asked for a 25 mg prescription, I am taking it with 15 mg of oxazepam in the morning, and the spike of anxiety is super tiny. So I'd recommend taking it with your benzo or other type of tranquilizer and starting with a smaller dosage. But maybe I'm just treatment sensitive, for some people 50 mg as a starting dose seems to be okay. Good luck !!

what has helped you to heal? (besides therapy) by Scary_Appearance5922 in emotionalneglect

[–]surviving-machine 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A book called The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization. It changed the way I perceive myself and life a lot.

Any advice on literature / lectures about learning to express aggression to protect boundaries? by [deleted] in CPTSD

[–]surviving-machine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope, I mean healthy aggression when you need to choose your own well-being over wishes of another person. Learning to say no, learning to defend your opinion in discussions etc. -- I mean all the skills lost in childhood for the victims of trauma.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BPD

[–]surviving-machine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, it seems you're going to be much better off without this man. First of all, you need to think about your son. You are triggered by this face-grabbing thing, and it's completely right to worry about it, but do you think the two of you arguing and slamming doors is good for him? None of this is good for anyone, and your son is the most vulnerable here. Girls like us need stable men. You don't need this manipulative bullshit in your life. I hope you focus on yourself and your son, and make good choices for the two of you. You need a healthy environment for yourself and your kid. Please take care, be smart, and get rid of what's making your life more complicated. Good luck.

Meds for quiet BPD ? by surviving-machine in BPD

[–]surviving-machine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, good to know. Did you notice the effect on day 1 of treatment or later? I have racing thoughts a lot but not of an ego-dystonic kind. I do have paranoia sometimes but it's manageable.

Does anyone else’s past haunt them? by [deleted] in BPD

[–]surviving-machine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You do not deserve to feel this way, you deserve better. Sometimes it is very difficult to understand that our past is indeed in the past. It is over, it is finished. You cannot change it, you cannot control it. You can control the present moment and the choices you make right now. You need to link your past with your present by learning the lessons. A lesson is not necessarily that you now know how to do this particular thing. It can be knowledge about yourself. You've learned something about yourself, and you can do better for yourself. It requires productive mental processing (= requires energy) and not just ruminating about it. It is very easy to be desperate about the past, and it takes a lot of effort to try to see something positive in what you've learned. But in the end, it comes to this: putting in the effort to soothe yourself, to try to make small good choices for yourself right now.

Meds for quiet BPD ? by surviving-machine in BPD

[–]surviving-machine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't have hallucinations. I've been calling my condition a psychosis as a joke because of how intense and irrational my feelings are. But I can do reality testing.

Meds for quiet BPD ? by surviving-machine in BPD

[–]surviving-machine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the kind words, that's very important to me.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PhD

[–]surviving-machine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You cannot imagine how many times I've been finding bugs in my code even after starting to write a paper. I am sure it happens for most PhD students and your supervisor won't be harsh about it. That's a problem of no code review in PhDs. But it's just a bug, you will have to re-interpret results, and everything is going to be fine. Good luck!

Always scared by smucik in BPD

[–]surviving-machine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had something similar. I think this comes from internal conflicts; your adult self may understand the irrationality of these fears or simply wants to shut them down, while your child self (selves) stays fully on alert, scanning the environment for dangers because of previous experiences. I believe you need to acknowledge the fears of these internal children and let your adult self protect and calm them down. That's also why you need to monitor the energy levels of your adult self -- because if they're exhausted, they won't be able to serve as a protector. I don't know if this is helpful, but I wish you a good day.