• 0 Posts
  • 50 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: July 3rd, 2023

help-circle




  • I thought the same thing at first lol. Like, woah woah woah.

    This is a more compassionate approach. The idea of all or nothing puts a lot of pressure on someone when they’re trying to change. The flip side is that many people can’t moderate and any amount of substance can make them spiral, but start with something that helps them feel the encouragement of others even if they falter from their goals.

    The path to sobriety isn’t cut and dry, and this approach will help reduce the shame that’s often felt along the way. Shame can lead people right back into the same patterns that got them where they are. The dehumanizing stigmas don’t go unseen by the people they’re applied to. Those stigmas become internalized and self deprecating in a very hurtful way. We’re our own worst enemies.


  • Hey, hey. This comes from a place of fear and that’s okay, but recognize it for what it is. Buying guns in fear is what gets people hurt. If you choose to buy a gun for the first time, take proficiency courses. Learn the legal responsibilities that come with it. If you’re genuinely concerned, protect yourself in a responsible way. That may or may not be with a firearm. There are many ways to protect yourself. Take martial arts classes for instance.

    This may seem like a wild suggestion, but try therapy. It did wonders for my anxiety. Seriously. I don’t worry as much. I don’t live in fear. I have friends ALL across the political spectrum. We get along fine. We treat each other with love and respect. The news and media drums up fear and excitement for attention. It’s what sells ads.






  • Some places are. I looked around until I found a community care clinic for people who don’t have insurance. It’s free. The university near me also offers free/low cost therapy. Years ago before we were married, my wife and I found couples counseling from an intern who was gaining experience at no cost to us.

    I know everyone doesn’t have the same resources, but just wanted to point out that if someone gives up because they assume it’s expensive, they may not find the affordable options available to them.


  • I haven’t read through comments yet so I may be redundant.

    Hey… So sorry. Pets are a personal relationship. That loss is a grief just like any other. It’s hard because others don’t have the relationship to that individual that you have.

    Grief is something you carry through life. It isn’t linear, but it does get easier. Grief will come in waves. You’ll be fine and then it hits you out of the blue.

    Do we just live and suffer and die? Well, yeah. But we also love, and get excited, and feel, learn new things, explore. We fall in love; we experienced heartbreak. We have moments when we notice the light coming through the leaves in the forest, or the sound of water on rocks in a creek, an interaction between a grandparent and young child, the smell of a newborn’s head, that first time a cat settles in your lap, coffee when no one else is awake, the first sign of success in a new hobby, I could go on and on. So many things. Observations that have a visceral yet intangible emotional reaction. So so many things.

    Let grief make you tender. Let grief remind you that everyone will deal with it in different ways. You can connect to others through vulnerability. Don’t let it make you hard or resentful; there’s so much beauty and love in the world. There’s so much love in the personal relationship with a pet. There is love you can’t describe.

    Engage with the grief. Don’t bottle or avoid it. Feel it. You’re grieving because of the depth and complexity of the relationship. That’s totally okay. That’s healthy. It’s gonna hurt. It hurts.

    I’m so sorry you’re feeling this right now. Take your time and feel it. Don’t feel like you ever have to let that go. That’s life.

    Live, suffer, and die? Yeah, you could say that, but it’s in the most beautiful way, and there’s so much in between.




  • There are things in those books that are demonstrably true, but that doesn’t necessarily prove everything in them just as those things that are demonstrably false don’t necessarily disprove everything in them.

    It’s just a matter of not being able to observe, measure, or physically test a god’s existence. From an objective standpoint, believing whether a god exists or not is still just a belief.

    I’m only trying to show how a scientific person could compartmentalize their beliefs from their studies and to that end, I think we agree that they aren’t incompatible. What someone chooses to believe after that is up to them, because as you point out, there’s no peer reviewed published evidence one way or another.




  • I asked my parents for wool socks for Christmas twenty years ago and they gave me a few pairs each of three or four different brands. The ones that have lasted the longest and include a lifetime warranty is Redhead from Bass Pro. I’ve only exchanged them once or twice. They’re tall and thick with high pile wool. I’ve worn a pair almost every day for probably nine months out of the year, sometimes year-round, ever since I got them.