Understanding Anxiety: Five Insightful Observations

Navigating through the labyrinth of anxiety reveals its deeply woven connections with our surroundings, biology, and behaviors. It’s a condition that affects countless individuals, intertwining the mental, physical, and environmental aspects of our lives. Through ongoing research and observations, we’re beginning to uncover fascinating facets of anxiety, offering new perspectives for management and therapy. Below … Continue reading Understanding Anxiety: Five Insightful Observations

Therapists Divulge Their Biggest ‘Holy Sh*t’ Moments With Their Patients

Going to therapy is the first big step you should take if you feel like your mental health needs assistance.

If you need it, do it. Don’t be ashamed.

That being said, there is a lot therapists have to deal with on a daily basis, not all of it good. Sometimes they can’t help but judge the people they’re trying to help.

It’s not explicitly said, and from the sounds of it they maintain their professionalism, but sometimes that’s what the internet is best used for—venting your frustrations about what awful people your clients are.

Reddit user, homowithoutsapiens, wanted to know what happens when the hour starts.

They asked:

“Therapists of reddit, what was your biggest “I know I’m not supposed to judge you but holy sh*t” moment?”

Trying To Inform Them Of The Proper Way To Cope

“I work with youth and adolescents who have anxiety, trauma, and/or depression. Some of the kids I worked with had some pretty severe attachment issues. Regardless of this, I never thought I’d have to seriously explain:”

“You can’t just buy a straitjacket for your kid.”

“Feeding your kid ultra Spicy Ramen each night instead of the meal everyone else is eating isn’t specifically defined as abuse, but you have to understand the emotional abuse that this causes.”

“Your kid isn’t trying to kill you because they stand in your doorway at night crying. Thats likely because they’re scared of their traumatic nightmares, but feel like you will just yell at them if they wake you up.” ~ Shozo_Nishi

That’s The Opposite OF Social Distancing.

“Here’s my most recent one: As the pandemic worsened here in the US and more lock downs are on their way, one of my most extroverted clients and I brainstormed ways to meet her social needs while remaining safe.”

“The following week she canceled her session and told me that she’s positive for COVID after attending an orgy, which definitely wasn’t one of our ideas. I let out the deepest most defeated sigh after I hung up the phone.” ~ gyakutai

You Are Allowed To Move On

“Not a judgment – you kind of train your brain not to judge, because you are seeking to understand and help. When you do those things, you can’t simultaneously judge. We could all use a little more of that in real life, I suppose.”

“I’ll share this though. I do feel concerned about this recent phenomenon of young people I worked with self-diagnosing, sharing, and identifying very closely with mental illness; as if the pendulum quickly swung from ‘never, ever share your feelings’ to ‘OMG, you’re depressed? All of us are too!’”

“Life’s challenges can be tough and they don’t need a scientific-sounding label to be valid and real. You are not your diagnosis. We can find validation and support in healthier ways.” ~ Reddit

Take. Care. Of. Your. Child.

“Clinical psychologist working primarily in forensics here. This means my clients are usually involves in legal proceedings (family court, juvenile court, criminal court, etc…)”

“My job is usually to evaluate or provide treatment. I’m not there to judge, that’s the judges job, but of course I have my thoughts.”

“I am usually impressed by the justifications people make for sh-tty behavior. The one that irks me the most is when parents manipulate their child against the other parent.”

“I’ve had to do therapy for a 5yo who said she doesn’t want to see a parent because they haven’t paid child support. Excuse me? What 5yo knows, understand, or needs to be worried about child support.” ~ FriktionalTales

Aware Of Your Own Shortcomings

“Once had a patient whose wife shook their baby to death. He wanted help reconnecting with his wife.”

“At the time I was a young father of a newborn myself, and he triggered a lot of fear in me for my own child, a deep loathing of his spouse, and pity (the ‘how pathetic’ kind) for the patient.”

“I tried for 3 sessions, met his spouse and everything before handing the case over to my supervisor (who knew about my initial reactions, and tried to help me through it).”

“Unfortunately, it ended up being more about my feelings than his, and I was new to the profession at the time. These things are expected to crop up from time to time, but I was still taken aback by my own reactions.” ~ PrimeGuard

A Serious Lack Of Support At Home

“I work in mental health and have worked in acute and crisis settings for the majority of my career. The most notable event I experienced was when a young person had presented with significant ongoing suicidal ideation who was dealing with a lot of sh*t.”

“I spent a lot of time with them mostly deescalation and working out what the plan should be moving forward.”

“One of their parents came in a little while later and I had the opportunity to speak to them about where their child was and what had been going on, with their consent of course.”

“Midway through me trying to explain some of the psychological constructs and ways the parent could help they said to me, ‘is this going to take much longer I have a show to go and watch’.”

“All I can say is, I never judge my patients, I have never walked their path or viewed the world through their eyes. But the people around them who perpetuate the suffering of the people I work with through ignorance, malice and selfishness, I judge them.” ~ Tedkin

Seriously. Why Dunk On Your Child Getting The Help They Need?

“Therapist here,”

“To piggy back on what others have said, it is highly unlikely for me to have moments where I judge my clients. It happens sometimes, but I’m able to shut down those thoughts quickly in my head and return to being present for the people I see.”

“People are so incredibly complex that my judgment wouldn’t have any meaning anyway and it doesn’t have a place in our work together.”

“I will admit though, something that does get me feeling a little salty is when I have a client’s parent that attempts to sabotage the therapeutic relationship I have with their child, or pulling them out of therapy entirely when some of the things we talk about challenges some potentially unhealthy family dynamics. I don’t feel anger toward the parents, mostly I feel bad for the kid.” ~ dirtyberti

I’m Here To Help, But You All Suck

“Lots of people discussing pedophilia as an example of the toughest stuff to not judge despite our training. I haven’t yet treated a pedophile thankfully. At least not an identified one.”

“I did run a men’s anger management group though, and some of those men had done some terrible things to women. Most of them I found ways to like and admire for their positive aspects, but there were two guys in that group I just could never find ‘unconditional positive regard’ for.”

“One guy basically never spoke in group. He would give one word answers and occasionally just discuss how unfair the ‘system’ was to him. I worked really hard to open him up and find things to connect over but he never opened up to me or the group.”

“He left the group after he strangled his girlfriend and went to jail. She survived thankfully.”

“The other left group early routinely, showed up late, participated minimally and similarly never wanted to open up honestly. He left early one group after we had discussed him staying to the end and threatened me when I told him he wasn’t going to get credit for attendance (something the court required).”

“Oddly, I eventually moved into the apartment below him (completely without knowledge) and listened to him scream at his girlfriend and break sh*t while I called the cops.”

“I judge these men. They’re sh-tty. Maybe they’re redeemable, but redemption requires self-exploration and they both refused to do so.”

“It’s worth noting how differently I felt about them than so many others in the group; men I found ways to help and admire and respect even in spite of their awful behavior in the past.” ~ MyFianceMadeMeJoin

People Are Too Down On Themselves

“Okay, real therapist here. I got one.”

“Some of my clients are SHOCKINGLY BAD at giving themselves credit, holy sh*t!!

“Like they might get a nearly straight A GPA in a brutal major while battling depression, or overcome years of phobia and get behind the wheel again, or write a literal novel, or raise a kid as a single parent with low income, or build new relationships after being burned, or cope with OCD well enough to hold down a job.”

“And they’ll talk about themselves as if everyone on earth is better than them, as if their accomplishments are worthless. And I know it’s because of depression or anxiety or another condition, but I’m often stunned by how differently I see them compared to how they see themselves.” ~ Reddit

Don’t be afraid to share with your doctor.

That’s what they are there for.

Get the help you need.

People Share The Most Useless Advice They Ever Received

As we come up to new milestones, we may find ourselves face-to-face with a life experience we don’t know how to navigate.

While this reasonably will lead us to ask those around us for advice, that doesn’t necessarily mean the advice we will receive will actually be useful.

Redditor PsychedelicAirFusion asked:

“What’s the worst advice you have ever received?”

Some Redditors discussed mental health.

“‘Don’t be depressed, you have nothing to be depressed about.’”

“I hate any advice, especially concerning mental health, that invalidates or considers anyone’s personal situation as a reason why they can’t have x condition.”

“Yes, I had a good home life and a good childhood. But that doesn’t make my brain produce more dopamine or serotonin. I can’t just ‘get over it’ or stop feeling sad.”

“I was encouraged by my mom to stop taking my medication because it would have ‘long-term effects’ on me. She may not be wrong, but I think perpetual sadness and depression are worse.”

“I took control of my own mental health once I realized it wasn’t shameful to do so. It was way later than it needed to be. I’m doing better but there are still things I need to work on.” – dawrina

“‘Don’t go on meds, just exercise’ for depression.”

“Meds ended up practically saving my life.” – Introvertedpanda3

“My mom told me not to ‘bother’ one of my boyfriends by talking about my mental health issues. She said he doesn’t need to hear about it and it’ll just overwhelm him and make him more likely to break up with me.”

“I ignored that advice, and my current boyfriend and I frequently talk about our mental health issues and it makes us stronger.” – mrwilliamschue

There was a mention of addiction.

“When I realized I was an alcoholic at 21, I opened up to a friend and they said, ‘We’re supposed to be young and wild and free! There’s nothing wrong with that!’”

“I lost 3 more years of my life to drinking and a suicide attempt before I got sober at 24 – I’ll have 3 years in February! (No thanks to her)” – OrganizationQuiet470

Some received terrible relationship advice. 

“To break up with the girl I was dating because I felt unsure about it.”

“From there she became my girlfriend, I moved in with her, we moved to a bigger house, got married, and took a dog and now we plan for children.”

“Meanwhile, most of those friends only had short-lived relationships with long single periods for years. I think they are the ones doing something wrong.” – Lvcivs2311

“‘You weren’t physically abused so just get over it, it wasn’t that bad.’”

“Bro, I was mentally, verbally, and financially abused for two years straight by someone who was supposed to love me.”

“He pointed out insecurities I didn’t even realize I had, putting my self-esteem so low that for literally the first time in my life, I started to have very intense suicidal thoughts. And now I have an extremely hard time trusting anyone that comes into my life in a romantic sense because I’m convinced that the same thing is going to happen again.”

“I would love to just get over it. I would love to be the person I was before I met my ex. I would love to just have my self-esteem back and love to not to be as anxious as I am.”

“But I’m not. It took me almost a year, and getting back with him briefly to realize it WAS that bad. Maybe he didn’t beat the s**t out of me, but he made me believe that I was someone that wasn’t worthy of love. It was absolutely that bad and it’s going to take a long time before I completely heal from the trauma he caused.” – Pear_Jam2

“Only make friends with people who are of a higher ‘status’ than you are so you can use them to better your situation.”

“This came from my paternal unit (PU) when I was about 15 (in response to a new friendship of mine with the daughter of a cemetery worker*) and I knew it was pure bulls**t the second he said it. Lost all remaining shreds of respect for him in that moment.”

“*his job mattered to the PU, which is the only reason I mention it.” – maggie081670

Others received questionable advice for their futures.

“April 2008 – ‘You should really look into buying a house instead of renting.’ I started the process of getting preapproved and looking, but for some reason decided to wait.” – ioncloud9

“When my wife and I were looking for houses, my manager at the time called to ask how the house hunting was going.”

“At this time, I was rumored to be up for a promotion that would be a rather sizable boost in salary, about $1,200 a month. There was absolutely no guarantee when this promotion could hypothetically take place.”

“He said, ‘Here’s the thing, I could be a finance guy doing this s**t for a living, but I couldn’t stop smoking weed long enough to finish college — don’t buy something that suits you now, because you’re always going to wish you would have gone bigger.’”

“He continued, ‘Buy something that you can grow into. You’re going to be making a lot more money soon, so buy something you almost don’t even feel comfortable buying.’”

“I bought a house well within our means, got promoted a few months later, now have a huge disposable income. Glad I didn’t think his advice was sound.” – Forwardbase_Kodai

“I was told by a guidance counselor as an incoming freshman (who didn’t know me from anyone else, by the way) that taking more than one honors course plus being in Band was too much.”

“My mom was persuaded. I had to fight both of them to ignore the advice. I ended up taking every honors and AP course possible throughout high school, finishing with a perfect 4.0 GPA, then doing the same in college.”

“Don’t take advice on what you should or shouldn’t do from someone who doesn’t know you. Always take into account your personal strengths and weaknesses when considering any advice in life.” – Kooky_Finding8516

While the people expressing these pieces of advice might have been earnest, these definitely weren’t the shiniest gems of advice we’ve ever seen.

The glowing takeaway here seems to be to understand yourself, what you need, what you want and what you’re capable of.

If you remain honest about that, you’ll make a better decision than any of this advice could lead you to.

People Describe The Most Wholesome Facts They Know

It’s always good to add some new wholesome knowledge to your life.

Here’s extra wholesome facts from the folks on the AskReddit subReddit to hopefully make your day a little better.

Redditor PM_YOUR_HAPPY asked:

“What is the most wholesome fact you know?”

Coral Is Awesome

“Someone, while handling coral, discovered that when shattered, coral will grow back and mature at unprecedented speeds.”

“This discovery has led to the very real hope that the Earth’s endangered coral beds can be repaired quickly and efficiently” – breedlesbean

“That’s great to hear! Can you give me your source?”

“I’d really like to read more about that.”schuelli27

“Of course! Because there are actually quite a few sources, I had a bit of trouble narrowing it down to the best ones but here is a well written article and a PBS video on it!”

Article

Video” –breedlesbeans

Relief Cattle

“In 2002, Kenyan Masai tribe people donated 14 cows to the U.S. to help with the aftermath of 9/11.” –MalonePostponed

“IIRC, the US ‘accepted’ the donation, but let the cows stay in Kenya as the shipping would have been enormous.”Little-Jim

“To add to this, they started paying the village who offered the cows to look after them on America’s behalf.”HoundOfNoHouse

Gorilla Song

“Gorillas make up cute food songs and sing louder for the food they prefer.”halinw191


GIPHY

“Today I Learned (TIL) I’m a Gorilla”silkblackrose

“This sounds like my children”IMuleIt

“This is the link from a Reddit TIL a few days ago”MuSE555

Slumble Bees

“Bees sometimes fall asleep on flowers.”tealgirl94

“I saw one today with its big bumble bee bum sticking out of one today and thought it was dead. Around 40 minutes later it woke up and got back to bumble beeing.”inselaffenaktion

“They are resting as they’re tired. They can die from dehydration!”

“It is often advised to leave a teaspoon of water and sugar out for bees to drink so they can quench their thirst. It is important that we do this.”

“Always remember to feed the little fellas who spend their entire lives feeding us.”OmenedRaven

Mr. Rogers Is Always Wholesome

“Mr. Rogers mom, Nancy McFeely Rogers, knitted all the sweaters he wore on tv.”Cheshire_Cat8888

“Mentioning Mr. Rogers in a thread about wholesomeness is cheating.”

“And since we’re cheating anyway, I’ll take the opportunity to share his quote:”


GIPHY

“‘When I was a boy and would see scary things in the news, my mother would always say to me “look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping”‘.” –pm_me_n00d

“There is an episode of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood (current animated spinoff of Mr. Rogers) where dad tiger says this to his son, Daniel, and I tear up every time!”mrsgarrett27

“To add to this wholesomeness: When he would feed his fish on the show he would announce that he was doing it because the mother of a young blind girl wrote him saying her daughter was worried that the fish were not getting feed, so, he started doing it to let her know the fish were ok.”whiteknight804

Beavers Are Actually Adorably Wholesome

“Beavers ‘close the door’ of their lodges with sticks whenever they go out and i find it incredibly cute for some reason”doradeexplora

“Baby Beavers look like teeny adult beavers when born. Before you go ‘well duuh’, think of all the other animals – birds, humans, dogs, cats – that look similar but not identical to their adult versions.”

“Also they have fwooopy tails.” –Redditor

“Also guinea pigs. Every time I see a newly hatched guinea pig my brain cannot compute that it is EXACTLY the same as an adult guinea pig only smol.”FlippityFelts

Dogs Are, Of Course, Ridiculously Wholesome

“Dogs, when aggressively playing with them, will sneeze to let you know that they are just playing and don’t want to hurt you.”Agent_301

“My dog sneezes whenever she’s excited. Or going out the door. Or going for a wee. Or a poo. Or anything, really.”

“Maybe everything is exciting?”t-scotty

“My dog does this when she gets excited about meeting someone familiar, I always thought it was something uncontrollable TIL”SvenskBlatte

“My trainer told me that some breeds do this as a way to “clear their head” when getting excited or flustered. A person might pause for a moment and shake their head but a dog sneezes to reset themselves.”

“I was told this is especially common in terriers and other smaller breeds”My_Invalid_Username

Dolphins Are Great Too

“Dolphins will assign other dolphins a sound, kind like a name, and even if the dolphin doesn’t know who said it’s ‘name’ it will still respond.”lobo_Cop

“It’s even cooler than that. The dolphin’s ‘name’ is called a signature whistle.”

“A dolphin’s signature whistle usually fully develops within the first year of life, and rarely changes throughout adulthood. A calf develops its own signature whistle based on the signature whistle of an adult in its pod.”

“The calf does not copy the whistle, instead it uses it as a model. Calves tend to model their signature whistles after those of adult dolphins who they do not spend much time with.”

“This leads to the signature whistles of individual dolphins in the same pod sharing certain characteristics, almost like a family name.”

“When two dolphin meet in the open ocean, they emit their signature whistles to each other. From this they decide whether they are friends of if they should fight or run.”

“So with this information, we know that dolphins can use vocalizations to reference others. And they have a sense of permanence and continuity of others.”

“The question is do dolphins use vocalizations to reference objects, and will they do so without being taught by a human. The really cool thing is that is the basis of language.”tweakingforjesus

Seals Are Kings Of Wholesome

“When seals feel safe and content, they do this thing.”subjection-s

Various seals in banana poses.

“they become banana”Rantsandopinion

“They not only become banana, they become happy and calm bananana.”Redditor

“I actually went home on Friday for the day and was on the train from Edinburgh when I saw some seals on a rocky shore doing this. I feel happier knowing this”CaledonianWarrior

Keeping Others From Making The Same Mistake

“There was a guy who jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge when he was 19 and immediately realized he’d made a huge mistake. He miraculously survived the fall.”

“Thanks to help from a sea lion he was kept afloat and it swam around him until he could be rescued. He is now a mental health advocate and has gone on to save who knows how many people from making that same leap.” –morbidnerd

“Kevin Hines is the guy’s name. He was a guest speaker in a class I once took.”

“Fascinating to listen to what was going through his head as he fell. Instant regret, reaching out for the rail as he fell back away from it.”DangerBrewin

“I am not a religious person, but this really sounds like a divine intervention.”Turhaturpa

“Well, female sea lions can act a bit interesting around divers. One kept trying to feed a National Geographic diver penguins.”

“It made numerous attempts including stuffing one into his face, and got anxious that he wasn’t taking it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was maternal behaviour, but quite wholesome that they do it to another species.”inselaffektion

“I like to think that in its own way, that sea lion has also helped save all those lives along with the kid who survived the lowest point in his life.”morbidnerd

Hopefully these wholesome facts helped improve your day, even if just a little.

Tweets That Will Make Sense to People Who Are Perpetually Anxious

I don’t want to say that I “have anxiety,” because I don’t really know what that means.

What I WILL say is that I’m constantly worried about absolutely everything and that worry is always turning to anger and that anger back to worry and I self-medicate in order to escape that cycle enough to rest and carry on with life.

Or wait. Is that just having anxiety?

If you clicked this link, you can probably relate. And so can all the people who wrote these tweets.

11. Just panicking

I promise you my brain works, just not particularly well.

10. Practice makes perfect

I never heard or registered any other part of the book or the knowledge it contained but it was well worth it.

9. You’re right

We need to take this to the next level, you and me.

8. Something’s off

It’s like having an alarm for just nothing in particular.

7. Isolation

It’s not you, it is most definitely me.

6. Join the black parade

He said son when
You grow up
Could you be…

5. Social battery drain

And then you just can’t possibly get out of there fast enough.

4. Tap the mic

Somehow I’ll just never trust that little icon.

3. Follow the light

Do you actually know or are you trying to get me to tell you?

2. The montage

Cue the music and grab the dial tone.

1. 50 years

I’m gonna be on my deathbed thinking about some petty crap I pulled when I was like 25, I promise you that.

I don’t know how to end this. I’m too nervous now. I love you? Goodbye? (Stupid…)

One a scale from 1-10, how anxious are you in general?

Give us your ranking in the comments.

The post Tweets That Will Make Sense to People Who Are Perpetually Anxious appeared first on UberFacts.

Memes That Anxious People Can Go Ahead and Worry About

It’s not easy being an introverted, anxious type of person. Most of us find our ways and our outlets where we feel comfortable breaking out of that, but we’re still probably going to wear our giant headphones as we walk around town with nothing playing in them, just to dissuade anyone from thinking we might want to interact.

Luckily, there are lots of ways to cope, and as with most things, the number one coping mechanism available to us is memes.

So let’s look at some memes courtesy of Reddit which will help us process our anxiety, anxiously.

10. Form your words

But when it DOES happen to hit right, you feel like a superhero.

Always embarrassing myself from socialanxiety

9. It’s a sign

I dunno man, pretty sure I’m imagining this right now. Aren’t you a No U-Turn sign?

Whoever made this get out of my head. from socialanxiety

8. Give me compliments

But also please don’t because I have no idea how to process them.

Uh.. from socialanxiety

 

7. Which is which

“You’ll worry less what people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.”

This is too real from socialanxiety

6. Here and now

It’s gonna take quite a while to prep for this.

Plus thinking about how you sounded afterwards from socialanxiety

5. The best laid plans

Why do I do this to myself? How have I not learned?

*checks excuse book* from socialanxiety

4. The cycle

You think the makers of Spongebob ever thought he’d end up getting used like this?

It’s a vicious cycle from socialanxiety

3. Sending signals

Also I don’t wanna use any apps, so just figure it out everybody.

Hope it works… from socialanxiety

2. The golden ratio

I can’t look this in the eye.

Aye, contact sucks from socialanxiety

1. Game over

Some things are just the last straw.

Thanks brain, very cool from socialanxiety

Hang in there, fellow awkward people. We’ll make our way through.

What’s your most awkward moment lately?

Tell us in the comments.

The post Memes That Anxious People Can Go Ahead and Worry About appeared first on UberFacts.

People with Antisocial Personality Disorder Discuss How Exhausting It Can Be

There’s a lot of misunderstanding about different mental health disorders out there.

Especially when these disorders are misrepresented in TV and movies, right?

One example is Antisocial Personality Disorder.

People with this diagnosis can be described as sociopaths, but not psychopaths, as some people assume.

The two may share some traits, like recklessness and impulsiveness, but Antisocial Personality Disorder is treatable and doesn’t mean the person is dangerous.

Living with a diagnosis that others are suspicious of can be exhausting, as these 10 people will attest:

1. Pretending to react the way people want you to

You know what’s expected, but having to fake it all the time will really wear you out.

I'm tired of pretending that I have emotions. I have APD and I can't help how I'm wired.

Image credit: Whisper

2. It puts you under a microscope

And suddenly even your family thinks they need to worry about you.

I was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder last week. Now my mother keeps googling it and looking at me in a judgmental way. I'm still the same daughter. Me being f****d up is not brand new info.

Image credit: Whisper

3. It can be a lot to take in, even for yourself

Because what does a diagnosis really mean, at the end of the day?

Recently disagnosed as having antisocial personality disorder, technically a sociopath. It makes perfect sense, but also doesn't feel true or real. I don't feel particularly worse than anyone else.

Image credit: Whisper

4. Maintaining relationships can be a real challenge

You can’t always give your family what they want and need.

Antisocial personality disorder really hurts my family life. I have no emotions and never have remorse for my actions.

Image credit: Whisper

5. It can be a weird internal dichotomy

You don’t care how they judge you, you just don’t want them to judge you at all.

Telling people I have antisocial personality disorder is a lot better than the world psychopath. I am so tired of the judgment... but I also kind of don't care.

Image credit: Whisper

6. Finding someone to be with is endlessly frustrating

People tend to stop at the label and not look any deeper.

I hate my life. I just can't seem to find someone to date who looks past my diagnosis and just sees me for ME. So what if I have antisocial personality disorder? I am so much more than that.

Image credit: Whisper

7. Fitting into society’s norms is the most exhausting part

It’s never easy to have to pretend all the time.

I have antisocial personality disorder. I'm tired of hiding everything and being forced to pretend to be normal.

Image credit: Whisper

8. Dealing with the repercussions of lazy tropes may be the worst part

Forget what you’ve read and seen on TV. A diagnosis doesn’t turn you into a serial killer.

I have antisocial personality disorder which means I'm a diagnosed sociopath. I experience and process emotions differently. Thisdoesn't make me eviland you shouldn't be scared of me.

Image credit: Whisper

9. Treatment may be a long hard road

But it’s at least a relief to know that there are treatment options available.

I got diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (APD). My first therapy session starts today. I'm nervous, but I know it's needed.

Image credit: Whisper

10. Even though it’s hard, answers are good

A diagnosis is never easy–even ones that make you go, “Oh. That makes sense.”

This morning I learned that I have an antisocial personality disorder which I later learned is a nice way of saying I'm a sociopath. Sadly, it all makes sense now...

Image credit: Whisper

Those all make me feel a lot of empathy for people with this diagnosis.

What about you? Does it bring a little clarity to their struggles? Tell us in the comments.

The post People with Antisocial Personality Disorder Discuss How Exhausting It Can Be appeared first on UberFacts.

People Talk About How They Managed to Get Out of Deep States of Depression

I’ve been around many people who have struggled with depression during their lives.

Hell, I’ve had my own bouts with it, too.

And unless you’ve been through it yourself, it’s hard to explain to people what it’s really like. And snapping out it is totally different for everyone.

We hope that these responses will help some people out who are struggling.

Did you ever get out of a deep, dark depression?

These AskReddit users did and they shared their stories.

1. A combination.

“For me it was a combination of things..

Music – learned to play guitar on youtube

Books – found out about stoicism

Myself – I was listening to a Pink Floyd song (echoes) and theres a part where they say “I am you and what I see is me” and I realized that we are all going through something, and if I helped someone else then in return I was helping myself.

Lo and behold, I started to feel better about myself after helping others.”

2. You’re in charge.

“My dog. It forces me to get up and do something.

Feed him, take him outside multiple times a day. If I didn’t have him I would spend all my time off work in bed.”

3. Set your goals.

“Setting a schedule for myself.

Setting VERY small and attainable goals (read 1 page of a book, draw for 10 minutes, do a 5 minute exercise warm up, etc).

Making myself reach out to friends when I’m struggling, and getting proper meds.”

4. Get yourself going.

“Cold showers.

Honestly, I lost my job due to COVID and was going through a bunch of other stuff and would lay in the floor and sleep the day away.

Once I figured why not try it?

Oh man, that woke me up and got me just enough energy to start cleaning the house that id been putting off and that would feed into more motivation. Didn’t cure it completely but it helped get me jump started.”

5. Focus!

“Puzzles.

Jigsaw puzzles have brought me out of some dark pits. Gives me something to hyper focus on.

I don’t need to think about it too much or put effort into it, but I can sit there for hours doing one. It’s helped me feel productive again.”

6. Get things done.

“Cleaning up often helps me.

There’s something about staring at a messy room that always brings me down.

Just getting the dirty dishes clean feels like I accomplished something.”

7. Books and music.

“Books can be a great way to get out of your own head, music was able to somewhat help me.

As I got worse myself I had more and more time with nothing to do and being alone with my thoughts was pulling me deeper into the spiral of depression.”

8. Good tip.

“Try to only use your bed for sleeping.

Even if you spend the whole day on the couch instead, it will help your sleep and its a first step to potentially getting other things done.”

9. Start small.

“Exercise.

“‘Ill do 5 push ups and if I dont feel like more, thats okay.”

Or set a 5 min walk as the target. Keep going if you can.”

10. Take care of yourself.

“Eat and take vitamins.

You likely dont feel like eating anything. But you need to. Getting your daily vitamins can go a long way to healing and get easy to make food so you dont have to cook.

Canned soups were my best friend.”

11. No more alcohol.

“Mine was when my alcoholism was at its worst.

As you can guess, the solution was getting sober. At this point I was just drinking all day every day waiting for death to come on its own.

In the state I was in the only thing that meant anything to me was my mom’s dog, Ginger. I don’t really follow any religion, but I truly believe that Ginger is my guardian angel.

I was watching that sweet girl while mom was on vacation. I think it was day two, 8/11/2017, when I decided I had had enough. I needed to get better by any means, or else I wouldn’t be around to watch Ginger the next time mom took a vacation.

So I texted a friend who I knew was in AA, and gave him full decision making power over my life for the time being. After a 3 day hospital stay, I started going to AA meetings and learning how to exist without alcohol. I don’t go much anymore, but have never felt any threat to my sobriety. I know I am one of the lucky ones to have staying sober be so easy.

If you had asked me on 8/10/2017 (the day before I sought help) what I’d be doing today, I would have told you, “I’m not gonna live to see 2018.” But here I am in 2021, telling my story to anyone who cares to hear it and happier than I’ve ever been.”

12. Hobbies are good.

“Really diving deep into my creative hobbies. I had always dabbled in writing and music. Just jumping in with no real plans or expectations and seeing what happens.

I’ve suffered from panic attacks my entire adult life and depression alongside with it. When they reached their worst point most people gave up on me.

I spent a lot of time after that learning more about music. I’d always played bass but I decided I wanted to be able to make music all on my own. I learned how to make mashups, then I learned how to make remixes, then I started composing originals.

I’d previously written two articles on the SCP wiki and then just sort of stopped. I decided to really expand my submissions and wrote a bunch of new articles. I even rewrote one of my old articles because it was kind of weak.

The funny thing is, that became a good measuring stick for me. I always told myself I was awful at everything, but I was basically compiling evidence I was good at something.

Having songs that get praised by people and added to someone’s personal playlists makes you feel validated.

Looking next to a story and see hundreds of upvotes mattered to me.

I realized that when I was depressed it wasn’t that I didn’t want to do anything, it’s that I kept convincing myself that I couldn’t. That I would fail. That I would just waste my time. That I didn’t even deserve success anyways.

And I was wrong.

I have ideas worth sharing, and I’m going to share them.”

Now we want to hear from you.

How did you get out of a deep depression?

Talk to us in the comments and share your stories. Thanks!

The post People Talk About How They Managed to Get Out of Deep States of Depression appeared first on UberFacts.