The mental health thread

[Zeus69]

my biggest mental hurdle is conflict. I’m a big guy, know how to fight, and won’t get pushed, but it’s the before fighting that cooks my brain. I’m horrible at conflict. I avoid it every time. Have my boundaries stepped on and just say to myself, it wasn’t worth it. Been reading Abe watching videos to stop letting people walk all over me. Yes I should’ve done this as a teen, but 40 is better than never

@Sebastian gently asked this above, and you don't need to answer. But if you haven't taken medication for anxiety/depression, I urge you to consider it. SSRIs (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are a miracle for many (despite what Tom Cruise and his Scientology friends say). Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and my fave, Lexapro, can pull back that veil and make you feel calmer and content daily.

All other interventions (exercise, meditation, diet etc.) are essential, but the neurotransmitter concentration in our brains needs right-sizing when all else fails. And importantly, these medications take time. I can't tell you how many people I've spoken to who gave up after a couple of weeks without improvement or due to side effects. Altering brain chemistry doesn't happen overnight. It will require at least 6-8 weeks of persistence. But the results could be SO worth it. Hang in there, and good luck.

 

[Thelastcavsfan]

I’ve taken medications through out my life. My mind is too strong for them. I have to learn to battle my mind without it. I’m stressed 100 percent of the day. Is why i drank so much thru my youth. Was the only time I got peace.

 

[Sebastian]

@Sebastian gently asked this above, and you don't need to answer. But if you haven't taken medication for anxiety/depression, I urge you to consider it. SSRIs (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are a miracle for many (despite what Tom Cruise and his Scientology friends say). Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and my fave, Lexapro, can pull back that veil and make you feel calmer and content daily.

All other interventions (exercise, meditation, diet etc.) are essential, but the neurotransmitter concentration in our brains needs right-sizing when all else fails. And importantly, these medications take time. I can't tell you how many people I've spoken to who gave up after a couple of weeks without improvement or due to side effects. Altering brain chemistry doesn't happen overnight. It will require at least 6-8 weeks of persistence. But the results could be SO worth it. Hang in there, and good luck.

And I can also help him move off the grid.

I know all the great places in Alaska where you can live off the fat of the land.

One learns perspective on modern society when one reverts back to a subsistence lifestyle where one's only concern is putting food in your belly and a nice warm stove.

And if it means anything, @Thelastcavsfan, alienation with material society is not new. A real concern for colony leaders in MA and VA during the 17th Century was people running off and joining Native tribes.

They were tired of the tediousness of European society, with its rules, and mores, and especially its stratified class system, and flourished with the Natives whose primary concern was eating, and in turn the equality that stems from the need for the whole tribe to provide for one another.

Barring going off the grid, and I don't mean this peckishly, but have you considered emigrating to a Nordic country? They have a much more balanced work-life system. They are much happier than us and I don't mean that facetiously. There is something to knowing your basic needs, and even more advanced needs like healthcare and education, will be met even if you don't have money.