Mental Health thread

wedge2

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for better or for worse (mostly better) there are a bunch of non drinkers here, and more every day. Sorry about those losses, I can't imagine. I lost all of those too, some pretty young (my uncle drank himself to death at 43), but at least they were spread out by years and decades. 3 months? nope nope nope. sorry brother but congratulations- getting (and staying) clean is the best and hardest thing you can do. Keep it up. pays major dividends
I appreciate that a lot and am starting to see the benefits you hear of (but never fully believe in the first part)... and yeah it was pretty gnarly, dad was an aneurism so that was here today gone tomorrow...never processed any of it with drinking and playing doctor on myself - that is not the answer.
 
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Subway

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I drank bc I didn't like the way I felt. But we're wired for feeling, so not feeling made the feelings even more unbearable, so I drank. Repeat. Repeat. I think Freud said buried feelings never die, they just come back in some altered state. Like zombies.

I find like five things to be grateful for before my feet hit the floor in the morning (ceiling fan, roof over my head, coffee, etc). Sometimes it helps.
YES THE 5 SECOND 5 ITEM GRATITUDE LIST FTW

Of all of the slogans and clichés and advice (the good and the bad) you hear and read about keeping clean and keeping your head "healthy", the 5 item instant gratitude list is truly one of the best devices for literally reversing your mood in a few seconds.
 
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Ranga

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It really is. I mean, think of how crazy it is, that a substance that is so fun and so therapeutic and has such an important role in nearly every culture that ever crushed a grape or fermented a grain…a literal elixir of joy, comfort, and well being, can simultaneously be a force of destruction in a scale more vast than any war, genocide, or natural disaster, could ever be.

If you run some big raw numbers over the centuries, I would bet real money that booze has caused more devastation and death and shortened/worsened life spans, year in and year out, than any other source. World war 2 and the various holocausts and purges in that same decade- sure, those few years were far more deadly than booze. But booze is doing it’s damage every, single,day, and has been for thousands of years without pause
Like they say: its cunning, baffling, and powerful. Insidious AF
 

Autoprax

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If I was an addict, I'd replace the addictive substance with ice baths and deadlifting.

Both trigger a killer opiate like response.

I like to drink, moderately, while I ice bath and dead lift. :dancing:
 

Random Guy

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If I was an addict, I'd replace the addictive substance with ice baths and deadlifting.

Both trigger a killer opiate like response.

I like to drink, moderately, while I ice bath and dead lift. :dancing:
For someone who seems to know a lot about a lot, you don’t seem to know a lot about addiction
l
 

Autoprax

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For someone who seems to know a lot about a lot, you don’t seem to know a lot about addiction
l
So you don't agree that it's good to replace the negative addictive behaviors with positive behaviors (ice baths and deadlifts)?

I think the most important variable to managing it is social support.

I know a lot of treatments have a high failure rate.

A lot of addiction issues could stem from some trauma.

Some people just have addictive temperaments.
PS, I believe the term you are looking for to describe me is "fvcking know-it-all." :dancing:
 
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Random Guy

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So you don't agree that it's good to replace the negative addictive behaviors with positive behaviors (ice baths and deadlifts)?

PS, I believe the term you are looking for is "fvcking know-it-all." :dancing:
I think you seem to think it’s easy to substitute and fill that gap with something else
I don’t think it’s easy
That’s all
 
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grapedrink

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It usually takes tectonic shifts in thinking and acting for there to be a chance. Also required are huge emotional upheavals, spiritual cleansing, surrender, complete ego abatement etc.
IMO therapist guided psychedelic treatment holds the most potential for this.
 

enframed

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IMO therapist guided psychedelic treatment holds the most potential for this.
I agree. And recovery from trauma.

Most people here probably know this but the dude who started AA credits psychedelics (and LSD later) with helping him quit drinking.

Interesting corollary.

I took about a hit of LSD and a little MDMA (simultaneously) a couple weekends ago. I think this was called a "Candy Flip." The next day I was feeling kinda down, and tired in the afternoon, as happens after a "trip." But, I got on my bike and dragged myself to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook anyway and starting my near daily routine. On my second ascent I suddenly got a warm feeling rushing through my head, neck, and shoulders. A moment later I had the thought "I'm not gonna drink tonight." I didn't, or the next night. I drank the following night out at a restaurant, and did not again for the next two nights, then did again the next night, having met some friends. I hadn't not had a drink at night in 10 years. I never thought I had a problem, was just interesting that something happened and suddenly it didn't sound as appealing. Weird.
 

Subway

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I have a good buddy who is doing psilocybin treatment, with a doctor and all. Sounds very promising

he’s several years sober, so I think it’s more for his overall mental health rather than “just” staying sober, but, all that stuff is intertwined in ways we haven’t even begun to understand
 

Autoprax

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I agree. And recovery from trauma.

Most people here probably know this but the dude who started AA credits psychedelics (and LSD later) with helping him quit drinking.

Interesting corollary.

I took about a hit of LSD and a little MDMA (simultaneously) a couple weekends ago. I think this was called a "Candy Flip." The next day I was feeling kinda down, and tired in the afternoon, as happens after a "trip." But, I got on my bike and dragged myself to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook anyway and starting my near daily routine. On my second ascent I suddenly got a warm feeling rushing through my head, neck, and shoulders. A moment later I had the thought "I'm not gonna drink tonight." I didn't, or the next night. I drank the following night out at a restaurant, and did not again for the next two nights, then did again the next night, having met some friends. I hadn't not had a drink at night in 10 years. I never thought I had a problem, was just interesting that something happened and suddenly it didn't sound as appealing. Weird.
Niacin too.
 

Autoprax

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I have a good buddy who is doing psilocybin treatment, with a doctor and all. Sounds very promising

he’s several years sober, so I think it’s more for his overall mental health rather than “just” staying sober, but, all that stuff is intertwined in ways we haven’t even begun to understand
Does doing weed count as sober?
 

Ranga

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I agree. And recovery from trauma.

Most people here probably know this but the dude who started AA credits psychedelics (and LSD later) with helping him quit drinking.

Interesting corollary.

That's not exactly true -- he took LSD as an experimental antidepressant several decades after he sobered up. Turns out he suffered from clinical depression as well as situational