The mental health thread

[The Oi]

Since you’re both in here…

Serious question because I’ve always been curious about this.

How does the literal thing work?

If somebody says, “I’m sweating my balls off,” or “I beat the shit out of him.”

What image comes up in your mind? Like what happens? Or are those bad examples?

Also, are there any comedians you do like or that are known to be popular with people on the spectrum? Apparently Dan Akroyd is on there.

 

[DJTJ]

Since you’re both in here…

Serious question because I’ve always been curious about this.

How does the literal thing work?

If somebody says, “I’m sweating my balls off,” or “I beat the shit out of him.”

What image comes up in your mind? Like what happens? Or are those bad examples?

Also, are there any comedians you do like or that are known to be popular with people on the spectrum? Apparently Dan Akroyd is on there.

Okay, so I am a bad example, because there are times Im hyper focused on a conversation and really know someone isn’t being literal, but when I miss it, I miss bad. For example, today my wife joked that she “puked” after Arbys. I wasn’t paying attention, and it was until she queued me in thst I realized it was a joke.

But the I guess stereotype of not being able to tell someone’s emotion? I have absolutely zero clue. I have to ask my wife what her current emotion/mood is like 10-20 times a day. I also work in a customer facing job, and I’m pretty good at it because it’s memorizing specific processes/rules- sometimes if a customer throws me off the rules, I just repeat the rules and processes and they get absolutely furious and call me derogatory terms. And those conversations can absolutely hijack my day, and just make me crash and burn.

The other big one is just sensory overload, specifically textures or sounds. I don’t like to eat things like rice or pasta because it’s multiple items all at once. Meanwhile, I will default to eating sandwiches every single day unless my wife takes me somewhere there isn’t a sandwich. And when I drive, if there’s more than one additional noise (talking and radio), I have to stop one otherwise it becomes very hard to drive. Being in public situations like at a crowded bar/restaurant is one of my absolute worst situations, and sometimes I have to just put my head down and try to tune everyone out.

KLove had mentioned about the pillow, I will get upset and actively punch my leg until I realize I’m doing it, and then stop, specifically in public. I’ve done that as long as I can remember. One of the things I’m currently hyper fixated on is bowling (another thing with processes), and if I miss specific marks I have on the lane, I will frequently do it.

In terms of comedians, I have no ability to tell unless they tell me. There’s a comedian I found on tik tok, Rian Reyes, who is autistic, and I found him talking about certain situations made me realize I had a lot of the same issues as a kid, and his description of being good at masking is a big reason why I actually got off a very high dose of anxiety meds and realized my tics were actually different. If you’ve ever seen Community, the character Abed is excellent in terms of being able to both mask, and show small things that are very obvious of being “off”.

I took a RAADS-R test (and had my wife assist in make sure answers were correct) and scored a 141. The threshold is 65. It’s another huge reason I want a clinical diagnosis.

 

[KevinLoveFan]

Since you’re both in here…

Serious question because I’ve always been curious about this.

How does the literal thing work?

If somebody says, “I’m sweating my balls off,” or “I beat the shit out of him.”

What image comes up in your mind? Like what happens? Or are those bad examples?

Also, are there any comedians you do like or that are known to be popular with people on the spectrum? Apparently Dan Akroyd is on there.

Those are bad examples. I can tell very obvious sarcasm if the vocal tone is exaggerated enough, or if it's so far beyond the realm of possibility that it can't be literally true, or if it's a frequent saying that I know isn't meant literally, like in your examples. It's also harder for me to detect sarcasm in real time than it is on the Internet. Like, I can tell here when dudes tease me about banging Kevin Love. I know they don't mean it literally, LOL. I'm a short 5'2" woman out in Missouri, happily married, and I'm not going to have access to banging Love (although if I were single, and he wasn't with Kate Bock, and I was a foot taller...heh heh)

Subtler sarcasm is much harder, and again, especially in real time. My husband jokes a lot, and is sarcastic a lot, and he has to frequently explain to me when he's not being literal. It's something he's taken a lot of time to help me with over the years.

As far as comedy, I don't watch much stand-up; my mom used to watch Kathy Griffin sometimes in the early 2000s, but I do like some older comedy-type shows. For example, I have several DVDs of In Living Color. I loved that show when I was a preteen and FX used to air its re-runs in the late 1990s when I was a preteen/teen (it was a few years before my time). My mom also shared some of the Silent Generation and Boomer comedy shows with me, like I Love Lucy and The Jeffersons. Also love the original Monty Python, like the lumberjack skit, and Mystery Science Theater 3000, which I used to share with my late older brother in the 1990s. I even like some of Beavis and Butt-head

 

[Hurl Bruce]

Follow-up. What a brave dude.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

This is as good a place as any to put this.

Got a call this morning from the husband of a co-worker that I manage. He was sobbing and told me that his wife died. I didn't know what to say to him. The fact he called me hours after his wife died, so I could speak with the family she works with to let them know she wouldn't be working blew my mind. I could just say, "Oh my god. I'm so sorry." I didn't want to bother the guy for details or anything. I was just in shock.

She was late 20s, and the couple just bought their first house in the past two weeks. She had a panic attack. She also had asthma, and that kicked in. The panic attack amplified the asthma, and she suffocated.

I didn't know know her, but I knew she was a really good person and there aren't a ton of those out there anymore. Pretty numb still from getting the news.

 

[cavman]

I have battled mentally. I was always open about it here. Post history is wild. I do have to say these past few years have been great. Covid really simplified life for me. I now see the important things in life. The noise is gone. My family and I are so much closer, not that we weren't before, but it is more special now. I don't even take meds anymore. People now call me for help because of my positivity and experience of being so lost to found.

You guys played a big part in all this. Thank you!

 

[Lee]

I have battled mentally. I was always open about it here. Post history is wild. I do have to say these past few years have been great. Covid really simplified life for me. I now see the important things in life. The noise is gone. My family and I are so much closer, not that we weren't before, but it is more special now. I don't even take meds anymore. People now call me for help because of my positivity and experience of being so lost to found.

You guys played a big part in all this. Thank you!

Every time i was fucking a random ho, I though, you know this is really going to help Cavman's mentals when I post it in the Tinder thread.

Glad you are doing so much better, this place is better when you are around.

 

[cavman]

Every time i was fucking a random ho, I though, you know this is really going to help Cavman's mentals when I post it in the Tinder thread.

Glad you are doing so much better, this place is better when you are around.

I miss those tit picks. That one man, I still can picture her. She was a ho.

 

[Lee]

I miss those tit picks. That one man, I still can picture her. She was a ho.

Yeah, i dont talk to her anymore, talked to her for years, Angel came back a couple of months ago right after JoAnn broke up with her bf for the 10th time so we fucked for a couple of weeks till she went back. Actually JoAnn called me today and i didnt answer the phone.

I dont have allot of new stories, just the old random every couple of months, lol

 

[cavman]

Yeah, i dont talk to her anymore, talked to her for years, Angel came back a couple of months ago right after JoAnn broke up with her bf for the 10th time so we fucked for a couple of weeks till she went back. Actually JoAnn called me today and i didnt answer the phone.

I dont have allot of new stories, just the old random every couple of months, lol

I stopped the tinder stuff. I've been with my girl for about 3 years now. She is OK. Nice person, big old hangers, but I think I'm fading here. Her sex drive is gone, and mine is crazy. We will always be cool though.

 

[DirtyDan]

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after three hospitalizations in May/June. My psychiatrist is tinkering with my medications and was weening me off a medication to see if it was necessary. It's necessary.

I experience mixed episodes of depression, anger/irritation, and hypomania. It is like living in my own special hell. I just need to spend the 4th of July feeling unstable and then I see my prescriber tomorrow.

Shit sucks

 

[CleveRocks]

I was bipolar through my junior year of college. A littered highway of broken relationships and shame. Self destructive behavior, and the dark dark thoughts.. I dropped out, took a year, and it passed. Took a minute to get it together and finish school..

I don't know your situation. Hopefully the doc gets the meds right..

You are valued here at RCF. While it's not a place that is going to give you a hug, it is a safe place for you. Everybody struggles.. You can always start again. Forgive yourself and do better. There is always someone else you can help..

Rocks

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

What do you do when you are attracted to girls with daddy issues with borderline personality and they are also always attracted to you?

 

[Muffinalt]

Never really posted here but I've gone through my own stuff for the last good few 6-7 years something like that.

I feel like Ive stumbled onto something super great the last few months. It's emotional work through somatic meditations with a friend of mine who's a mental coach.

I can visibly see my insecurities and blockages lessen as we go along. It's great honestly.

I'm happy to share more if someone is into this kind of things.

 

[bushwick_bill]

@DirtyDan I had a rough couple of years. I have shared this before and there are some great people on this site I communicate with daily. I had a major meltdown peak of COVID. I had a BAC of only .496, lucky to be alive. I laugh about it now but not too many people can walk away from that. For me it was stress from life, pressures from my old job that drove me over the edge during COVID and my life experiences just got too much for me during that time. I was diagnosed with PTSD, general anxiety disorder and severe depression. I was fortune enough to put my
life on pause for 6 months as I worked through my issues and still do everyday. I take mental health very seriously. Feel free to reach out man. I found EMDR treatment very helpful from my trauma during the start of reprogramming myself. I am a big advocate for it.