Are you addicted to any medication?

[Faklon]

I had a chuckle because when I studied psychology our professor would joke and say “if you have an interest in becoming a psychologist, you probably needed one when you were younger” and there’s a lot of truth in that lol.

I think that’s why I’m hesitant to see a therapist. We all have our issues, they’re just trained on what they *think* is the appropriate way to respond. It isn’t genuine compassion for the most part. I would rather seek guidance from someone who went through a similar situation.

This is also my view, maybe it is distorted but I'm not totally convinced. I'm more convinced by ascetic monks (at least when they weren't just public servants) because they at least have managed to overcome their own temptations. Otherwise, I love psychoanalysis and even play the Apricity psychologist sometimes, sometimes trolling.

It’s not supposed to be taken that literally though. When I was going through grief and depression, I was secluded, quiet and interacted less with those around me. Being the best version for those around me just means being present and a happy person. You are looking too deep into it.
Lots of children suffer because their parents had unresolved issues, those children would have benefited if their parents got help immediately - that’s what I mean by best version. One that is thriving and able to enjoy her life and children again.
Anyway I am not an psychologist, you’re bringing your own issues into this conversation.

Mate, you are putting a couple of words together that for me will always sound subjective/multidimensional. What is happiness, how can I act like a happy person, the notion of acting happy annoys me and makes me unhappy, I will put a smile up when I'm present during a sales deal but I don't want to act in front of my "own" people"
I respect that you have to be present and fair to your kids and good that you managed to achieve it. This is something objective.

I'm bringing my own issues which happen to be my own experiences. Maybe it is indeed my "issues", maybe I'm not impressed by my mother, maybe I'm jealous of my friend, maybe I'm okay with my issues and regard them as normal when they may not be, maybe I'm a bastard, maybe "maybe" is an abstract chaotic notion that I can configure to make my customer happy when I'm thinking about brand new iPhones.

Maybe I'm a bastard, idk.

[Hulu]

Having somebody else pointing out your flaws and showing a way how to deal with them can be helpful. Sometimes people can get too much in their head and need an outsider's perspective. It's up to them how much they can benefit from it. I can give the best advice with a calm mind. Somebody else has done it for me as well. Sometime you know what's best for you but you're not there yet. But it's good to have that knowledge for when you're ready.

[Tongio]

I am a BLUE pill adict.

[Ylla]

This is also my view, maybe it is distorted but I'm not totally convinced. I'm more convinced by ascetic monks (at least when they weren't just public servants) because they at least have managed to overcome their own temptations. Otherwise, I love psychoanalysis and even play the Apricity psychologist sometimes, sometimes trolling.



Mate, you are putting a couple of words together that for me will always sound subjective/multidimensional. What is happiness, how can I act like a happy person, the notion of acting happy annoys me and makes me unhappy, I will put a smile up when I'm present during a sales deal but I don't want to act in front of my "own" people"
I respect that you have to be present and fair to your kids and good that you managed to achieve it. This is something objective.

I'm bringing my own issues which happen to be my own experiences. Maybe it is indeed my "issues", maybe I'm not impressed by my mother, maybe I'm jealous of my friend, maybe I'm okay with my issues and regard them as normal when they may not be, maybe I'm a bastard, maybe "maybe" is an abstract chaotic notion that I can configure to make my customer happy when I'm thinking about brand new iPhones.

Maybe I'm a bastard, idk.

Maybe it’s easier to define as something that’s not your usual personality. I definitely don’t define behaviours as good or bad, but if you’ve previously been full of life and then experience a change in mood that deteriorates your physical health, that’s worrying.
The DSM5 requires your symptoms to last for 2 weeks for a diagnosis. Mine were happening for several months after my miscarriage. I was diagnosed with Postnatal depression
What your mum says doesn’t sound right to me. It seems like she has a problem with your actual personality, rather than concern for a mental health issue.
I was able to recognise a difference in my mood because I wasn’t someone who was prone to depression. it will be different if you’ve had chronic depression for as long as you remember though. I guess it’s easier to seek help when there’s a stark difference and you able to recognise that change.

[catgeorge]

Yes - addicted to 2-3 glasses of red wine a night.

[Victor]

Yes - addicted to 2-3 glasses of red wine a night.

Does not sound like an addiction, more like a blessing

[Victor]

Never been addicted to any medication. I use pain killers very rare in a case of some severe pain and that's all. In 2011 I had some motivational problems, I was damn stressed, no will and power, so I went to the doctor, he prescribed me few types of pills. I even bought them for some 100 euros. I've postponed the day to start drinking them for 1-2 weeks, then I read the description and just threw all of them to the trashcan. I coped with that shit myself after all

[Faklon]

Maybe it’s easier to define as something that’s not your usual personality. I definitely don’t define behaviours as good or bad, but if you’ve previously been full of life and then experience a change in mood that deteriorates your physical health, that’s worrying.
The DSM5 requires your symptoms to last for 2 weeks for a diagnosis. Mine were happening for several months after my miscarriage. I was diagnosed with Postnatal depression
What your mum says doesn’t sound right to me. It seems like she has a problem with your actual personality, rather than concern for a mental health issue.
I was able to recognise a difference in my mood because I wasn’t someone who was prone to depression. it will be different if you’ve had chronic depression for as long as you remember though. I guess it’s easier to seek help when there’s a stark difference and you able to recognise that change.

I'm glad you were able to get help.
My mother used to say these things when I was like 10yo, nowadays we will speak once every 6 months and she will mostly tell me about her retirement plans and the new internet app she found.
I like how you wanna also play my psychologist , you are welcome to do it, shows empathy. I'm just expressing my skepticism when it comes to psychologists in the role of paid single-serving friends, displaying some real-life examples. Maybe I'm wrong or my examples are not the best.

If you ask me, I have certainly received advice from people that helped me define my life. The most relevant example is probably "one step at a time" by a 70yo electronics professor.

We were trying to build some electronics and I was trying hard to complete a project fast, go from zero to hero, but I was failing miserably. He told me that when I do something, I should take a breath, realize the level that I have reached, and steadily keep moving forward, go one step at a time and the project will be completed in no time. It worked and I'm doing this with everything in my life, even here in Apruz I may take 5-10 seconds to review my posts after posting them.

Another piece of advice, maybe not as fundamental but it can relate to Apruz and it is also quite funny. I was in a pub as an exchange student in the UK during the economic crisis, being depressed by both Greek politics and the way Greeks were portrayed in the West (the whole PIIGS, lazy Greeks situation). Some boomer-tier drunk guy comes and asks me what is wrong, I explained to him my situation and a discussion similar to this followed:
-I see, are you hungry?
-No
-Are you handicapped?
-No
-So you are just a celebrity correct?
-It's not like this...
-How it is not? The media used to trash celebrity "A" last week, now they honor her. Don't be butthurt, if you put some good work together you have a greater chance to get recognized.
-Eh
-The way I see it you are a young man with nothing to lose, no real constraints, who can do anything he wants.

I trashed this guy and I deeply regret it. Over the next days, I stopped caring about the media and even used some of this fame to my benefit (started configuring jokes around it, and people believed me when I debunked some stereotypes).

Now, if I were to compare this advice with what I and only I believe I would get from low-tier psychologists:

Instead of "one step at a time", I believe that I would get something like that I should find a stable and organized version of myself. I'm not stable and no person in the world is, we are constantly moving and changing, it is only tools that remain stable until they get rusty. "One step at a time" is the tool, not myself.

Instead of a boomer offending me, I believe that I would get someone telling me to find a safe space and start sweeping things under the carpet, if he offended he would risk losing a customer. Ultimately, he would show me the way I can feel more comfortable but not the way I can actually become stronger. Stereotypes will always exist and a lot of the time there is a fair reason for them to exist, if you cancel them you also cancel critical thinking (like it happens nowadays). The problem lies with the media abusing them for sales and the idiots falling for them.

Anyways, this is my impression.
Maybe I'm wrong and there are actually some good psychologists who can help people. A relevant question may be the percentage they make out of the total.

[Ylla]

I'm glad you were able to get help.
My mother used to say these things when I was like 10yo, nowadays we will speak once every 6 months and she will mostly tell me about her retirement plans and the new internet app she found.
I like how you wanna also play my psychologist , you are welcome to do it, shows empathy. I'm just expressing my skepticism when it comes to psychologists in the role of paid single-serving friends, displaying some real-life examples. Maybe I'm wrong or my examples are not the best.

If you ask me, I have certainly received advice from people that helped me define my life. The most relevant example is probably "one step at a time" by a 70yo electronics professor.

We were trying to build some electronics and I was trying hard to complete a project fast, go from zero to hero, but I was failing miserably. He told me that when I do something, I should take a breath, realize the level that I have reached, and steadily keep moving forward, go one step at a time and the project will be completed in no time. It worked and I'm doing this with everything in my life, even here in Apruz I may take 5-10 seconds to review my posts after posting them.

Another piece of advice, maybe not as fundamental but it can relate to Apruz and it is also quite funny. I was in a pub as an exchange student in the UK during the economic crisis, being depressed by both Greek politics and the way Greeks were portrayed in the West (the whole PIIGS, lazy Greeks situation). Some boomer-tier drunk guy comes and asks me what is wrong, I explained to him my situation and a discussion similar to this followed:
-I see, are you hungry?
-No
-Are you handicapped?
-No
-So you are just a celebrity correct?
-It's not like this...
-How it is not? The media used to trash celebrity "A" last week, now they honor her. Don't be butthurt, if you put some good work together you have a greater chance to get recognized.
-Eh
-The way I see it you are a young man with nothing to lose, no real constraints, who can do anything he wants.

I trashed this guy and I deeply regret it. Over the next days, I stopped caring about the media and even used some of this fame to my benefit (started configuring jokes around it, and people believed me when I debunked some stereotypes).

Now, if I were to compare this advice with what I and only I believe I would get from low-tier psychologists:

Instead of "one step at a time", I believe that I would get something like that I should find a stable and organized version of myself. I'm not stable and no person in the world is, we are constantly moving and changing, it is only tools that remain stable until they get rusty. "One step at a time" is the tool, not myself.

Instead of a boomer offending me, I believe that I would get someone telling me to find a safe space and start sweeping things under the carpet, if he offended he would risk losing a customer. Ultimately, he would show me the way I can feel more comfortable but not the way I can actually become stronger. Stereotypes will always exist and a lot of the time there is a fair reason for them to exist, if you cancel them you also cancel critical thinking (like it happens nowadays). The problem lies with the media abusing them for sales and the idiots falling for them.

Anyways, this is my impression.
Maybe I'm wrong and there are actually some good psychologists who can help people. A relevant question may be the percentage they make out of the total.

No I completely understand your concern, you are revealing yourself at your most vulnerable when you are can be easily manipulated. you want to make sure the therapist has your well-being as priority and offers good advice rather than exploiting you to make money. The advice I’d give is to access a database of local counsellors that have experience in dealing with patients who have gone through the same thing as you. Statistically, they know what works and what doesn’t. They will have different approaches that you can try based on your personality type. Think of it this way, talking with someone who has gone through the same thing is just one person, one perspective, a therapist has spoken to thousands in your situation, they are more aware of what approaches achieve success.
And yes I agree, nobody is stable and organised all the time for example, and we all relapse down the road, I know I do some days, but the goal is to be functional in ways that are not affecting your well-being and those around you.
Many counsellors have also been through it themselves, not all are in it for money, for example many who work with those addicted to alcohol were ex alcoholics themselves who wanted to change their life around and help people.
Imo there’s nothing to lose with giving it a go (except money lol), the more expensive the session, the better advice and you may have to try several.

[oszkar07]

Not to any medications.
I tend to avoid medication,even will avoid using pain killers unless I really need to.

I often drink a red wine with dinner but Im trying not to do this every night.