Month: March 2021

Posted on

Great Places to Visit As a Woman While Traveling Alone

It’s a sad truth that there are many places that just aren’t safe for anyone to travel alone, whether you’re a woman or not. There are even more spots, though, where the culture or lifestyles make traversing the streets as a woman by herself a definite no go.

That’s not true of every place, though, and as a woman, I think traveling alone is not only relaxing and informative and fun, but also empowering.

If traveling alone is something you’re looking to tackle in the years to come, here are 7 places you should be able to enjoy by yourself without too many worries about your safety.

7. Switzerland

Image Credit: iStock

Switzerland is beautiful on matter where you land, and though it’s expensive (no way around it) host of Eat Travel Rock Kelly Rizzo says you’ll be plenty safe no matter where in the country you decide to visit.

The trains and other transportation are easy to use and will take you anywhere you want to go, and locals are friendly and eager to help.

“The trains effortlessly get you around the country, so you can visit the different German, Italian, and French-speaking parts of Switzerland in one trip if you wanted.”

As someone who has traveled alone in Switzerland, I can vouch for this take. It’s a beautiful, not unfriendly country where a woman can feel reasonably safe checking out the sights and the countryside without an escort.

6. Costa Rica

Image Credit: iStock

Stacy Schwartz, owner of Ketanga Fitness Retreats, says Costa Rica is a new hotspot destination for women traveling alone.

She says the people there are kind of welcoming, and the weather – which vacillates between sunshine and rain – has something for everyone.

The variety, she says, is what makes it such a great solo getaway.

“There are options to go highly-visible, touristy areas or explore less-traveled areas depending on your level of comfort.”

There are rainforest hikes, beaches, wildlife, and all the sunsets and rainbows you could want. Get packing!

5. Ireland and Northern Ireland

Image Credit: iStock

My own experience in Western Ireland was that the locals really, really enjoyed encountering – and helping – a tourist.

They might even pass you a pint, if they’re feeling generous!

If you’re worried about a language barrier (as an English speaker) you won’t have that trouble here, and whether you’re looking for a city experience or gorgeous, endless countryside, Ireland really does have something for everyone.

Schwartz says there’s no reason to worry about navigating a different culture, either – just be open to the possibilities around you.

“Driving on the left side of the road may be a bit intimidating, so I loved signing up for a day trip to see the places that stood out to me.

As a lifelong equestrian, I came across a stable in the Irish countryside where I was welcome to ride, eat, and stay.

I think Ireland is a great stepping stone for newbies to solo travel from the U.S. because of the lack of language barrier, the modern culture, and welcoming attitude.”

Have been, can confirm! Go go go!

4. Tuscany, Italy

Image Credit: iStock

Travel agent Kimberley Hart says that this part of the world offers not only beauty and excellent win, but the space to unwind and really let your mind roam free, too.

“I felt completely comfortable in these small towns walking around by myself as they were easy to navigate and people were welcoming, friendly, and helpful.

It was nice to return to a home base each day as well.

There was plenty of shopping, eating, and wine-tasting in the small towns, and it was a leisurely trip where I could really soak up the culture.”

Sounds like a whole vibe!

3. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Image Credit: iStock

It’s a long plane ride, but Kiersten Likkel from Cruise Specialists says Ho Chi Minh City is worth the trip.

This city, formerly known as Saigon, is rich with history and culture, the locals are friendly and welcoming to foreigners, and a trip there won’t break the bank.

“Wander the boulevards of this burgeoning city at your own pace, stop to eat just about anywhere your nose leads you, and treat yourself – over and over – to the wonderfully affordable and hospitable day spas throughout the city.

You’ll also find adventurous global travelers who are just as likely to strike up a conversation or invite you along to do something new.”

I have to say, I’m intrigued!

2. Mykonos, Greece

Image Credit: iStock

Likkel also recommends Mykonos, Greece, if you’re a woman searching for a good solo trip abroad.

Mykonos is known for its lively nightlife and Instagram-worthy beaches, and all of the delicious Greek food you could possibly want.

She says pick-pocketing is common, though, so you will want to keep a tight hold on your cash.

1. Porto, Portugal

Image Credit: iStock

The Iberian peninsula is rich in architecture and history, and Porto is no exception. You’ll be able to relax and immerse yourself in the local culture, all while conversing with friendly locals and taking in the sweeping views.

And of course, enjoying the food.

If you want to see the capitol, Lisbon, it’s a quick 3-our train ride away, which is perfect for a day trip, says Likkel.

“Explore this gorgeous city at your own pace, taking as much time as you want to wander the hilly streets admiring the architecture and colorful tiling.

Enjoy the bustling Douro waterfront atmosphere while sipping delicious port wine straight from the source.”

I don’t know about you, but this place sounds like it’s right up my alley.

Well, I’m definitely adding these to my (long and ever-growing list).

If you’re a woman, what’s your favorite trip to date? Tell us about it in the comments!

The post Great Places to Visit As a Woman While Traveling Alone appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Treasures and Horrors That Garbage Collectors Have Found

People throw away all kinds of stuff, for reasons that only they can possibly know. Some of them are treasures no matter who you are. Some things are treasures to certain people, trash to others. Some things are just plain trash, and a very few are horrors that literally no one wants to see.

These 15 people have found all manner of things in the trash, and lucky for all of us, they’re here to give us all the dirty details.

15. This is such a great story.

My father was a garbage man when I was born. I don’t remember because I was like 3 months old. But my first dog was in the trash. My dad stopped. Picked up a box and heard some shuffling on the inside and there were two puppies. My dad kept one and the driver kept the other. They were brother and sister (my dad assumed). He kept the male and named him Jasper.

He was literally my best friend growing up. I had him for 13 years and my dad tells me the job was worth it just for that dog. He called the police and animal control on the residence but doesn’t know what happened after that. All I know is I’m 37 and still love that dog so much. I’m so thankful my dad saved him and his sister.

14. Must have been a popular item.

I worked in the scrap metal business and have found not one, but two of three exact same bread statue, of two bears screwing each other

***BRASS statue, my bad

13. Just needs a little elbow grease.

Not a garbage person, but I live in a large apartment complex. I could have furnished multiple apartments with all the stuff that gets thrown out here (and partially furnished mine), but the best thing I’ve seen in the pile was one of those grandfather clocks you can make from a kit.

Still looked very nice, but it needed some fixing to get it to run again. I’m still waiting to find a piano (I would like a piano).

12. That’s quite a deal.

Found a 55 inch tv next to the dumpster 4 years ago. It was missing 1 hdmi port on the side. It looked like someone might have tripped and ripped it out.

Anyway, I opened it up googled the motherboard serial number and found a brand new replacement for like $60 less then 25min away….needless to say I called ahead on my day off picked it up and it works like a charm. Still use the tv to this day.

55in Sony 2012 lcd tv. I have chromecast with google tv hooked up to it now and it’s awesome.

11. Man that’s rough.

My uncle was (still is?) a garbage man and found a fully boxed Power Rangers Megazord toy. I don’t remember which season or what but it had been previously opened and all of the parts and such were still inside.

I don’t remember if they sold it off or what but it was super cool to see.

A part of me feels like maybe a collector tossed their boxes away and mistakenly threw the whole figure with it or some kid’s parents ditched it while cleaning up after a birthday or Christmas. I don’t know but feels bad.

10. I can’t honestly even imagine what this looks like?

I’m not a garbage man, but I once scored a whole custom built staircase from a dumpster. It was in perfect condition but apparently built to the wrong spec. It worked great for my barn.

9. There are some cool perks.

I worked as a showcleaner in Melbourne a few years ago and we would sometimes get leftovers from shows and fairs and other events. For example after a Coffee Fair we got hundreds of cases of all sorts of plant based milk. They were still on the pallets and the trader didn’t want to load them back up. At a beer and wine fair the same happened, but with wine and craft beer. We had quite a few parties “sponsored” from that one.

Then there was this one big concert where a huge storm hit and everyone left everything they had brought behind to hide in their cars and leave. We found camping furniture and lots of closed beverages and food. One coworker even found a bunch of bundled up cash, which amounted to a couple hundred bucks. And, since it was a concert of a band a lot of older people listened to, we found coke, handed it over to the authorities and later were told it was enough to buy a small car from the market value it represented.

But the coolest thing that happened at one of the shows was not something we found. There was a big classic car event at the show grounds and it had some of the finest and rarest cars you could imagine. At the end, we were cleaning as usual, and this guy comes up saying he saw us during the shows checking out some of the cars. At first I thought he’d berate us, because we were just the cleaners and should focus on the job. But then he invites us to ride along if we wanted to. So that was the time I got a childhood dream fulfilled and was allowed to drive in a ’69 Dodge Charger R/T.

This experience and the fact that we got to go backstage with some of the coolest bands was the big plus of an otherwise hard and dirty job.

8. A magical childhood.

My father was a garbage man who also did clean-outs for homes and businesses, where they’d rip apart the entire building and throw everything out in their dumpsters. He worked on a ton of really massive houses, some worth 10s of millions of dollars, one was worth 40 million and wasn’t even the permanent residence.

Best things I got as a kid: A pretty much unused trampoline with a net and everything.

A go-kart that my dads friend was able to fix up and we used all the time (I live on a dead end).

And once he cleaned out a deli that was closing down, and we no joke had unlimited Snapples and Sodas of every flavor for almost a year. I’d drink the Snapples while out on the trampoline. I used the hell out of all 3 of those things in my childhood

7. That’s quite a haul!

Finally something I can contribute too! I do trash at apartments. In the year I’ve worked the job, I’ve found and kept:

-a couch

-2 desk chairs

-a floor lamp

-deck furniture

-a TV stand

-my cat

-various decorations I’ve given to my mom

Some things I’ve sold

-a bike, $40

-some outdoor vases, $30

-a bed frame, $50

-an original xbox with at least 80 games all in a box, $20 (to my friend that collects old video games)

But yeah, it’s crazy what people throw away.

6. This is hilarious.

I was a garbage man for a few years, and on these trucks it had a grapple arm that come out off the side of the truck and grabs the bin, lifts and dumps it.

There are three cameras on the truck, two to see the bin and hep you line up and grab ahold of it and then switches to another camera view as you dump the bin out and you can see the trash fall out.

Well one day I’m doing my run, grab a trash bin, pick it up, dump it and out falls a bunch of mannequin parts! I nearly sh%t myself thinking a serial killer dismembered somebody and put them in the trash

5. The stories they have.

Oh man, my time to shine! I’ve been working at a waste transfer station (“garbage dump”) for many years.

The worst I’ve seen (just garbage, not counting stuff brought to the hazmat department):

A freezer stuffed with a skinned, rotting, headless deer carcass. We nearly called the cops before we realized it wasn’t human. Used needles. The worst being a tie between “porcupine couch” and the lady who literally handed me a paper bag full of syringes she found during a park cleanup. large container of old crystallized picric acid. Bomb squad had to deal with that one.

The best:

A high end laptop in perfect condition except for a tiny crack on the lcd panel. Easy DIY repair that took $40 and 5 minutes, thing would’ve cost $1.5K new
enough brand new furniture to literally furnish my whole apartment a high end military grade inflatable boat, brand new

The weirdest:

A 1st gen platelet counting machine, complete with weird tubes of bright green liquid and mercury. When I was prepping it for hazmat disposal I had to call the company that bought the company that made it for some info… they never digitized the records but the oldest repair tech still working was super excited because he remembered servicing them 50 years ago.
coffin. No body, just the coffin. Couldn’t see anything wrong with it either.

Buckets of testicles (from a ranch) that had been sitting out in the summer heat for a week. Smelled so bad my coworker hurled. That’s not the weird part… the weird part is the guys wanted their buckets back. Do you know how bad it has to smell to make a garbage collector puke? And they wanted them back?!

The $10k duffel bag. Lady came in super upset because earlier she threw out a duffel bag that she didn’t know her boyfriend kept cash in. Over $10,000 in cash. We never found the bag.
16 full size barrels of old vegetable grease some guy had saved up in his garage. He was planning to make a biodiesel car or something

4. Odds and ends, bits and bobs.

We sometimes have to do house clearances at work (dead people with no family and the house is to be sold).

Lot of the time stuff isn’t worth the time it takes to sell it so we get to keep stuff that’s gonna be thrown out, I’ve gotten so much fabric, embroidery thread, all sorts of sewing/dress making materials, I will never have to buy another buttons in my lifetime, I like to think the old ladies it used to belong to would be glad to know it was gonna be used.

3. Small town America.

Grew up a small town so everyone knew everyone. Our garbage man (Lee) would regularly cull out items for us because he knew my dad would tinker on them. Lee gave me my first bike, which only needed to be painted, and so so many books.

He passed a few years ago. When I saw the notice I called up my sister and we had a bit of a nostalgic cry about what a nice man he was to us kids.

2. That’s a nice payday.

Not me but my brother. Someone apparently threw out grandpas stuff from the attic after he passed away. This was the last scheduled pickup at the house and everything was already moved out, nobody living there.

Driving an automated (claw to grab and dump) truck, my brother was irritated there were these 2 bowling bags he had to get out to throw in the truck. He realized they seemed a bit heavy, so he opened them to see why.

Inside there was real silver silverware/flatware. He ended up selling it for scrap prices to a jeweler and got $3000.

1. “Rescued.” I like it.

Not a garbage man, but have rescued projectors, computers, furniture and even a very expensive Yahama keyboard (just needed a new plug) from skips / being thrown out. Loads of music scores. A dining room table with nothing wrong with it.

I may be just about to get a 65″ touchscreen TV that’s no longer touchscreen, too, depends on what happens to it over the next few days.

Large companies throw all sorts away and they’re far more focused on “I just need to get rid of this” than spending the time to find someone to take it.

By the same token, I’ve also binned about 20 fully working interactive whiteboards because I couldn’t get anyone interested in taking them.

P.S. Yes, I sought permission before taking any of the above. If I just took whatever I saw, I’d have even more stuff.

I will never understand some people, but maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

If you’ve found something weird or interesting or amazing in the garbage, tell us about it in the comments!

The post Treasures and Horrors That Garbage Collectors Have Found appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Did You Know There’s a Test to Find Out if You Might Be a “Super Recognizer” Of Faces?

Since people’s names and faces seem to flow right in one side of my brain and out the other, I don’t think I’m a “super-recognizer” of faces (or anything else), but according to scientists who study this phenomenon, around 1% of the population can honestly say that they never forget a face.

In 2009, a team of neuroscientists at Harvard did a study on super-recognizers, testing just four people who claimed they could always remember faces of the people they met – and even those of strangers on the street.

Image Credit: Pexels

The four people felt like their abilities were “creepy, and even that there was something wrong with them. One subject confessed that she hid her ability to “pretend that I don’t remember people, because it seems like I stalk them, or that they mean more to me than they do.”

All of the subsequent studies on the topic have included only small numbers of people – everyone they can find who might have this uncanny ability – and though researchers have found a few more, it seems to be extremely rare.

Image Credit: Pexels

This recent study that was published in PLOS ONE that looked at people with excellent memories in general showed that the two are not necessarily related. You don’t have to have a good memory to have faces burn into your brain, and vice versa.

“These findings lend support to the idea that face processing abilities are at least to a certain extent hard-wired.”

Since the 1990s, researchers have assigned the ability to identify a face to a region of the brain known as the fusiform face area (FFA).

Image Credit: PLOS ONE

This is because people who have damage to this area of their brain experience the opposite of what we’re talking about here – they have what’s known as “face blindness,” and can’t retain faces at all.

Image Credit: PLOS ONE

One of the scientists most interested in learning more about this phenomenon now, psychology professor Josh P. Davis out of the University of Greenwich, is hoping to find more people who think they have this ability so that he can study it further.

Image Credit: Greenwich University

If you do very well on this test he developed, he would like to hear from you.

Police in the UK are already thinking that people involved in these studies might be great for identifying murder suspects and the like.

If anything bad ever happens to me, I hope one of them just happens to be around.

The post Did You Know There’s a Test to Find Out if You Might Be a “Super Recognizer” Of Faces? appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Dark Facts About Countries That Most People Love

There are certain countries in the world that a majority of people would say they would love to visit – Italy, France, England, China, Ireland, Australia…

My list actually goes on and on, because there’s hardly anywhere I wouldn’t like to go if I had the chance!

Some (or all) of these beloved countries have dark histories and lesser-known facts, though, so before you visit, here are 16 things you might like to know.

16. That’s not the worst thing they did during the war.

During ww2 japan used living POW’s for bayonet practice.

The Japanese were worse than the nazis in some ways. The difference is Germany knows their dark history and paid for it.

Japan swept it all under the rug and never paid for or owned up to their war crimes.

15. But I want to see the pyramids.

In Egypt , sexual harassment is like the air , everywhere. Something every woman must live with.

I don’t know if it’s the same now, but I travelled around Egypt for a few weeks in the late nineties when I was in my early twenties. I had a couple of rather forceful attempts against me (as a man). I learnt to be quite careful using a public toilet.

14. I think it must have been.

Here in Colombia we have enough material to have a dedicated post, but for mentioning one….

In 1928, a banana company workers ceased their production and got in protests. They wanted better work conditions because They worked a lot for the crap of payment they got.

The government’s response was send the national army to shoot a place where between 2000 and 4000 people were sleeping or relaxing. Officially 13 people died, but the people there told that number was faked and the death counter was a lot higher

13. It’s so beautiful, too.

New Zealand has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the OECD.

New Zealand also has some of the highest rates of bullying (in school and in the workplace). Everyone talks about how nice Kiwis are… but in addition to the ‘macho’ culture (and maybe along with it) there is this big, dark, ugly underbelly of wide spread bullying.

I can imagine that this very much contributes to high suicide rates.

12. I have questions.

Mongolia wiped nearly 11% of the ENTIRE world population off the face of the planet.

The largest acts of mass killing/genocide in human history.

It literally changed our carbon footprint by an estimated 700 million tonnes of carbon in the atmosphere during the 13th century.

11. Eat the rich?

The Dutch once ate their prime minister.

When Johan de Witt – the ‘Grand Pensionary’ (in effect, prime minister) of the Dutch Republic – was killed along with his brother in 1672, there are accounts of some among the mob taking parts of the bodies and eating them.

10. What the heck, New Zealand?

New Zealand: high rates of child abuse, hidden poverty and a housing crisis on the brink (not enough housing and what there is is extremely expensive to both rent and buy and rapidly rising at a ridiculous rate. It’s also not particularly high quality).

9. The face I just made.

On Toronto’s beaches up to the mid 1950s, it was common to see signs that read “No Dogs or Jews Allowed.”

8. They don’t take sides.

During WWII, the Swiss National Bank accepted large quantities of gold from the German Reichsbank.

It was payment for Swiss export shipments(weapons, ammunition..).

A large part of this Reichsbank gold had either been looted by the German occupying forces from the stocks of the occupied countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc.), or it came from the victims of the Nazi persecution of the Jews [Holocaust].

7. In Canada? Seriously?

Canada had a cult leader named Roch Thériault of Ant Hill Kids who did some VERY VERY disturbing things to his followers and the children.

Also the podcast “Cults” had an episode on them but they even left out the worse things they did.

6. Where is it going?

Canada is the biggest producer of asbestos in the world, although using the product is banned in the country.

“In 2009, about 9% of the world’s asbestos production was mined in Canada. In late 2011, Canada’s remaining two asbestos mines, both located in Quebec, halted operations. In September 2012, the Quebec government halted asbestos mining.”

5. No one teachers this bit of Western history.

France had concentration camps… in 1936 for Spanish immigrants who fled the Civil War.

They also had concentration camps in Algeria in the 1960’s, and a weird bit of bureaucracy where they didn’t call them camps.

4. Same awful story, different country.

Norway used to suppressed the natives from up north, by separating them from their parents and forcing norwegian culture upon them.

Learning norwegian and how to live like a norwegian.

3. That’s not so happy.

Bhutan forcibly expelled Hindus in order to create its “happy” paradise.

Yes.. Uncle was working for UN during the whole Bhutanese Refugee situation in Nepal. He said they were kicked out by the country. There is a large Bhutanese refugee community in Baltimore.

2. NINETEEN NINETY-SIX.

From the 1700s up to 1996, Ireland was home to “Magdalene Laundries,” basically labor camps run by the Catholic Church for “Fallen Women” who had sex outside of marriage (a lot of time the women were SA survivors who’d been molested/impregnated by priests or male relatives)

1. They can keep their lips sealed.

If you’ve ever looked at a country like Liechtenstein on a map and wondered how a country that small can maintain a flourishing economy the answer is that they’re one of the largest offshore banking sites in the world.

Most people only think of the Cayman Islands when it comes to offshore banking but the Cayman Islands aren’t even close to being the only place where rich people stash their money to avoid paying taxes on it. Most of the places that do it are territories and not countries (the Cook Islands, Anguila, Jersey and Guernsey are a few other big offshore banking sites) but Liechtenstein has made it the core of their economy.

I had no idea!

Do you know any other weird facts about these countries that might give people pause?

Share the with us in the comments.

The post Dark Facts About Countries That Most People Love appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Amazing Recovery Stories About Patients That Therapists Were Sure Wouldn’t Get There

There are upsides and downsides to every job out there.

That said, some have got to just be more emotionally tough than others. Take, for example, being a therapist (especially to children) – you listen to people in the worst states of their lives, and then let them walk out the door at the end of the hour, into the world that has broken them over and over again.

Success stories are probably relative, and maybe not measured exactly in that way, but these 12 therapists had glimpses of moments that must make all the rest of it worth it.

12. That’s one great day.

I worked on an outreach team that helped homeless folks off the streets. Found a guy downtown one day that was a classic schizophrenic. Word salad, things tied around his arms and legs, the whole 9 yards. Spent a few weeks buying him lunch and building a relationship with him.

He eventually let me move him into a hotel room and take him to a doctor. Got a shot from one of our doctors and started doing better. I transferred him to a longer term care team and went on with my life. Years later I was doing a homeless count for the city and boom, there he was standing in front of me. Clean, well spoken, happy.

He introduced me to his cousin. I’ll never forget it. “Damn Robert, this is the guy who helped you get off the street? You saved his life man. My family can’t thank you enough.”

One of the best moments of my life.

11. What keeps you going.

Psychiatrist here:

I used to do sessions at a government run long-term psychiatric hospital. Where I am a patient can only stay in a psych hospital for 3 months max, & if they didn’t get better we had to transfer them to the long-term hospital, So, the people who ended up here already had very poor prognoses to start off with, and to add to that they were all there on an involuntary basis, so co-operation was an ongoing battle. Very few are ever successfully discharged back into the community. There is a gross shortage of resources and the place itself looks pretty bleak, but we did all we could within our limited means.

I have had a few successes with patients here over the years, which you kind of hold on to in order to remind yourself that there’s always hope.

One lady I recall had been admitted via the courts after vandalizing a colleagues car that she believed had been using witchcraft against her. After being admitted and treated at the regular psych hospital, she was diagnosed with treatment resistant schizophrenia, which is probably one of the worst case scenarios in psychiatry.

Once she arrived at the long-term facility, I started treatment with probably the only drug we have for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. This drug is basically our last “big-bomb” for schizophrenia, but is not a pleasant one to have to use with a patient. It has a lot of serious side effects, requires blood to be drawn every week for 18 weeks (& then monthly for the rest of the time you’re on it, which is generally life-long in schizophrenia) and most frustratingly there is no injectable formulation, so patients need to take it willingly everyday which is a real uphill battle for involuntary patients that lack insight (lack of insight being part of schizophrenia as well, so you can imagine how challenging that can get). If they refuse more than 2 days worth of meds, the whole 18week initial phase needs to be restarted from scratch.

This patient was extremely paranoid and very hostile towards treatment in general. Every time I saw her she would get aggressive, argue with everything, and refused the meds on several occasions, necessitating a restart every time. She was one of the most challenging patients I have had to deal with, and honestly I didn’t hold out much hope for her. But, we just kept on trying, worked through every aggressive episode and tried to at least keep things steady enough so that she wouldn’t deteriorate any further.

After two years, things slowly started to change for her. She started taking the meds regularly and we had noted small incremental improvements. Despite this, her prognosis was still poor and I was just hoping to improve her overall level of functioning in any way I could.

Then one day when she walked into my office, she looked like an entirely different person. Her grooming and self care were definitely better – she had done her hair, wore earrings and actually smiled at me… all for the first time since being admitted to the hospital. To say I was thrilled at her progress would be an understatement, I was flabbergasted really.

Having gone back to her almost normal self, she was a pleasant, articulate lady with a wicked sense of humor. After that, we did a lot of work on her insight & helping her make sense of what had happened to her and understanding the medications she would need to take for the rest of her life.

After about 3 years, she was discharged home and resumed her previous occupation of being a high school teacher. Last I heard from her she was till doing well and even became a grandmother. Sadly, I no longer work at that hospital so I have since lost touch with her, but her story stays with me every time I see a “hopeless” case. It’s the starfish analogy for me, and although my job can be emotionally draining & frustrating, every now and again you get to make a life-changing difference for someone, and that keeps me going.

10. That’s all they want to hear.

I had a client who was a Senior at a highschool I was contracted at. I got him the day after he had been released from the ER for a Suicide attempt. He was smart and his plan was well executed, painless to being a diabetic. He had his method of suicide literally on him 24/7. He had second thoughts.

He was a wreck, paranoid, didn’t want to live. Are one point I had to have him involuntarily committed by the police because he could not garuntee me he could keep himself safe and his parents really couldn’t either. I hated to do it. I had no other choice though.

Every week we met. He was intense, angry and paranoid. His parents were Asian immigrants and were woefully under prepared for dealing with and understanding the extent of his mental health issues. We went on a regiment of Cognitive behavioral therapy for 6 months. He went all in, did every price of homework I gave him and utilized it. By the end of the 6 months he graduated and was accepted to NYU and prepping to attend in fall.

The last day we met I asked about his experience in therapy and to reflect on his journey. He ended by saying. ” I’m glad I didn’t kill myself”. Don’t know where he is but I hope he is doing amazing.

9. Sometimes experiments work out for the best.

I work with veterans who have had traumatic brain Injuries a lot of whom additionally have some combination of ptsd anxiety and depression. One of our most recent patients was a graduate student before deciding to enlist in 2011 to fight isis. He came back unable to walk and unable to read and remember things properly as a result of the damage to his brain.

He could no longer focus in classes, and was severely depressed which lead to him not able to finish his PhD. We do an experimental 10 days brain stimulation treatment combined with vision and working memory therapy and after his 10 days the changes were astounding.

He feels motivated again, there was an improvement of almost 100% on every cognitive and executive function task as well as improvements to his vision/reading/focusing ability. He signed up for classes at the community college here and is hopeful he can finish his PhD in geology and get his life back on track. I’ve never seen such a dramatic improvement before and it made all the difference in the direction of his life. Reminds me why I do what I do.

8. They just keep showing up.

I had barely graduated and was working in the public sector as a clinical psychologist. One day a 47 yo woman arrived. The patient was experiencing depression and had told me that in another episode she couldn’t even take a shower.

I was nervous cuz I was so inexperienced and felt a weight on my shoulders thinking: “how Am I gonna help this woman?”. But as the months progressed I saw a big transformation. In the beginning she wouldn’t even look me in the eyes and she had told me that she couldn’t even hug her children (they were young adults). She was my patient for 8 months until I had been approved to work somewhere else with a much bigger salary.

In our last session she was looking at me, dressing up, smiling and when I told her that I wouldn’t be working there anymore, she even gave me a hug. It was quite a challenge, but in the end it all worked well. I no longer work as a clinical psychologist (and don’t intend to return), but this experience transformed not only her, but myself.

I gained confidence to work with other people and was extremely satisfied to see that I could help improving someone else’s life.

7. Sometimes all you do it listen.

I’ve regularly had clients tell me some version of, “Remember that thing you told me about breaking up with them/applying for that job/telling them such and such… Well, I took your advice and it really worked and made such a difference!”, and in my head I’m thinking, “that’s not at all what I said” or “oh, that was just an offhand remark that had nothing to do with what I thought I was trying to do, but good job!”

It has made me realize that change is kind of inevitable (tho not necessarily for the better) and that when people are ready, there’s little that will stop them from moving toward that change; they’ll take what I say or, a song lyric, or a convo with the Lyft driver, or whatever is around them and turn it into the thing they need.

So maybe I’m just more like the catalyst in the sense that I can help start the reaction, but I’m not there in the end result.

6. Some parents are not the best.

I tutored students with learning difficulties and helped them learn to coordinate with their guidance counselors and teachers etc. I was kinda the go between for a lot of these kids whose parents had no idea what to do.

One of my students was one of a few siblings. Parents were totally checked out and self absorbed, entitled, expected others to do everything for them and the state to pay for everything so they don’t have to work because they don’t feel like it. They were convinced his adhd was his fault and he wasn’t sad or anything, just bad at school (because his twin brother had been using the “I’m depressed” statement for years as a reason for him to refuse to go to class or do any homework and instead play video games and hang out with a not so good crowd. his brother was evaluated by mental health professionals over and over who deemed him completely fine just unwilling to work hard because he didn’t want to and expect the state to take care of him like it did his mom and dad…this was a whole other story) But this kid was drowning in himself and I saw it and so did others. I sat his parents down and told them if they didn’t get their shit together and get him some help, he wasn’t going to make it. Period. It was crisis level bad and his brothers issues were being reflected on him as the same thing and thus ignored.

I finally got his guidance counselor involved and laid it all out. This kid needs help, his parents are ignoring it, his other older brother is trying to help but can’t, the twin brothers issues are being used as a reason why “nothings wrong with him, he needs to try harder”, the extended family isn’t close enough to do anything but know there’s a problem (they were calling me at this point), and I can’t watch this kid loose this battle. She was on board the second I informed her and jumped right in to coordinate help.

3 months later I watched him walk across the stage graduating with honors, on track with a good mental health plan, a therapist, and his grandparents directly involved in supporting him.

He’s off to trade school as of last year.

5. You’ve gotta love that.

I am a private practice therapist. I had a long term client I saw for over 2 years who was able to overcome so much (poor support, negative self talk with some suicidal thoughts, trouble regulating emotions, using substances to escape, etc).

She ended up moving away but checks in with me from time to time. Her life has completely changed and is doing so well now.

4. Sometimes it’s a simple answer.

when I was a Patient at the psychiatric ward there was another patient who I still think of sometimes. When she arrived she was so white and apathic. Some days later I met her in the halls of the facilities and she looked way better. So I talked to her to get her story.

She was brought in because she had drunk various cleaning products after 14 days without any sleep. She just wanted to sleep and didn’t know any further – I guess it was kinda like a psychotic episode. When she arrived they pumped everything out of her and fortunately she didn’t had any long term damage.

The doctors found out that she couldn’t sleep because of menopausal issues so she got sleep medication and hormones for menopause. When I talked to her she already had slept two nights in a row and she looked so much better, was smiling and talkative.

She said herself she didn’t know what happened to her. Being without sleep made her into a completely different person. I was so happy that she felt better. Overall she just stayed about a week.

Came to us like a ghost. Left us full of life. It was amazing

3. Most people have a reason.

I’m a therapist inside and outside of the prisons. I’d say at least 1x a month I meet an inmate that was likely a major piece of shit when they committed their crimes

Fast forward 10-20 years of incarceration later, and they are intellectual, hardworking men of integrity. It’s amazing what a little bit of structure can do for someone.

2. It happens to men, too.

I’m a therapist and mine is one of my clients getting out of a ridiculous, controlling relationship. He had difficulty conceptualizing that abusive (emotional and physical) relationships can happen to men and it was so bad that he internalized all those negative feelings.

I’m talking about significant, bat-sh%t controlling too like “send me a snap every 10 min, no even LOOKING at other girls, you aren’t allowed to be outside” type of thing.

Working through all of those issues over years was super satisfying to see his progress and recovery.

1. Tell the truth to yourself, first.

I spent most of my childhood depressed and chronically wanting to throw myself off a cliff. There was abuse and a lot of trauma that doesn’t need to be detailed. But I spent pretty much all of high school suicidal and self-harming. College was slightly better but about the same. I never looked depressed mind you, I was high functioning and I always did well in school, etc.

My parents knew but did nothing. I was also dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia and coming to terms with my sexuality in a strict religious environment that had no room for me. I ended up a lesbian married to an abusive man, with a decades long history of trauma, self-harm, etc.

I started therapy four years ago now. Something my therapist instilled in me from the beginning was this: once you can tell the truth about your life, then you can start to create a better story.

She taught me to identify the terrible things I had endured at the hands of the people who should have protected me. She taught me to bring those truths into the light, see them fully, and grieve the childhood I didn’t have and the way that followed me into adulthood. She helped me identify the ways I was perpetuating toxic cycles as a result of trauma: in my relationships with other people and also in my relationship with myself. She reminded me over and over again, that it was not my responsibility to create safety for myself as a child, but it is my responsibility now to protect the child inside myself. It is my responsibility now, to do better than people did to me. She taught me that I could trust myself to know what I need and what I want and what I deserve. She showed me what my life had been, held my hand and pulled me through all the paralyzing, desperate things I did to cope, and then asked me what I wanted instead, and what I could do to build that. She gave me permission to imagine better and then build better.

So I came out. I named what happened to me and stop trying to keep all the abuse a secret. I left my abusive ex. I quit the job that was killing me. I stopped drinking. I started taking medication. And it was absolutely terrifying. But I knew that I had built a trust in myself and I could trust myself to take care of myself. I believed there was a version of life that could be as good as I wanted it to be. I leapt.

And now I live in a beautiful city with the kindest woman I have ever known, whose love feels like coming home. Whose touch is gentle. Who knows every tiny thing about me. I do work I love. I have the derpiest dog to ever exist. I sleep well, which is a new thing. I say yes when I mean yes, and no when I mean no. I don’t abandon myself anymore.

Things can get better. Not overnight. Not without a fuck ton of pain and nights spent possibly sobbing on your kitchen floor. But it is possible for things to get better. And it’s also possible for things to get worse, and for you to not be alone in that, which is a different sort of better.

I owe my life to my therapist. Truly.

These just make my heart happy, y’all.

If you’re a therapist, what’s a moment that made it worth it to you? Share with us in the comments!

The post Amazing Recovery Stories About Patients That Therapists Were Sure Wouldn’t Get There appeared first on UberFacts.