Posts by Matthew Castillo5

Ronald Garcia5 said:I'd much rather be blunt than end up completely screwed over like 😂😂😂

That’s easy for me to say—I actually own my issues. But honestly? Someone showing up on a subforum like this just to mock others for being "messed up" probably has way more baggage than most people here. IMHO. 🙄

Ronald Garcia5 said:Honestly, I don't know. Maybe two broken people actually trying to fix themselves can make it work. Perhaps. They just have to admit they're a mess and truly want to stop being one. Ugh. You've given me something to chew on.

The sci-fi author Theodor Sturgeon captured this exact dilemma beautifully in one of his short stories, posing it as: "Can two ordinary trees create bonsai from one another?" 🙏
Personally, I think they can—provided they actually put in the effort and aren't too far gone at the start.

Megan Hernandez2 said:Give me a break.
I don't watch the show, but I'm telling you, everyone is full of it.
Look at American shows; they mess with Jewish people, Italians, Irish, Black communities, Catholics—they intentionally caricature certain traits.
It's the 21st century. If you don't like what's on TV, change the channel (assuming you follow the law, of course).
In Canada, Muslims allow themselves to believe they are the only ones who matter. They can joke about anyone else, but mention pork and suddenly some martyrs or mothers start screaming at you...
This is a textbook case of "Muslim multiculturalism," and nobody should be able to defend it.

By definition, martyrs can't scream at you because they're dead.

redharbor9 said:Do you need to befriend every cow before you slaughter it just to get a steak on your plate? Or do you have to bond with every single cherry on the tree before you pick it and eat it? If the answer is no, then we have our reason. It's because that steak and that fruit exist for one thing: satisfying a basic need.

Sex is the exact same thing. If you hook up with someone you wouldn't even recognize on the street tomorrow, or someone whose name you don't even know, it's just fulfilling a need. Both sides. Period. It’s no different than eating, drinking, or sleeping... just satisfying a physical urge, nothing more.

Well, for me, sex isn't like that. Sex without love is completely off the table. Maybe it's because I'm a woman, or maybe I'm just a romantic, or perhaps it's simply because sex isn't one of those primal, baseline necessities for me like food or water.
So now I'm curious: are there any women here who view sex purely as a way to satisfy a physical need, or any men who require an emotional connection before they'll consider having sex with someone else?

~Taylor Swift~ said:
But why?
Why don't we experience this when we're out and about—walking around, working, reading, or just staring at the trees and the ocean?

It’s probably because when you're active, your brain is way too busy processing the constant flood of sensory input from the world around you—visuals, sounds, smells, all that stuff. It’s only when you finally lie down and close your eyes that your mind actually has the breathing room to focus on what's happening on the inside.

Melissa Nelson16 said:Those kinds of brain responses are known as hypnagogic hallucinations.

I honestly can't stand it when people try to reduce spiritual experiences to mere materialism.
The OP isn't talking about those random flashes you see behind your eyelids right before you drift off—which, by the way, would be hypnagogic hallucinations—but something else entirely. I guess you have to look past the purely physical stuff to actually wrap your head around it.

John Nguyen3 said:My grandmother went through the same thing 😢 seeing people staring at her, calling her name, cars passing by... it was just too much for her.

I’ve always had this theory that when people are hovering near the end, they’re essentially standing on the threshold between this world and whatever comes next. It makes sense that they might actually see loved ones who have already passed, just waiting for them on the other side.

William Reed3 said:My bad if I sounded a bit harsh there. My mistake. 😢 Honestly, I’m just on edge today.

Look, you've got uncles (and aunts) in the medical field who could probably help you sort this out. 😉

Jessica Rivera said:I’ve been on Paxil for five weeks now—did 10mg for the first three weeks, then bumped up to 20mg about ten days ago.
I actually powered through the initial side effects without needing any extra anti-anxiety meds (they weren't even that bad, honestly), but ever since I switched to the 20mg dose, everything changed. On top of the usual stuff, I am sleeping *way* too much and just feel totally wiped out all day long. For the last couple of days, I’ve been barely dragging myself out of bed by 2:00 PM!!! It’s seriously embarrassing.

Has anyone else dealt with this insane fatigue from Paxil?
Please tell me this is just temporary and it'll pass. 😢

Paxil hits me similarly; I end up sleeping way more than usual (sometimes even taking hour-long naps during the day). That’s actually why I decided to stick with the starting dose of 10mg instead of moving up to the prescribed 20mg—it’s the only way I can actually get things done. Luckily, 10mg seems to be plenty for me.

Sarah Wilson95 said:They look remarkably similar even when they are undergoing treatment, too; I actually just got back from visiting someone at a psychiatric hospital about two hours ago. Honestly, man, everyone looks exactly the same, they all carry this identical expression—it really hit me today how universal it feels.

It isn't just that slow, zombie-like walk or the sluggishness, it’s specifically that gaze. It’s wooden and detached, a stare that doesn't seem to land anywhere... yet somehow it’s so strangely piercing that it genuinely gives you the chills.

Except that look isn't coming from the illness; it's coming from the meds.

ruggedhound26 said:Eye for an eye.
I’ve always found that being cooperative pays off more than anything else in the long run.

You must have been binge-watching some cheesy crime drama last night. 😉

dustynomad50 said:Is Latin dealing with some serious illness—leukemia or something?
Lately, they haven't been keeping up with their medication either. That's definitely not ideal. 😛

From what I understand, he actually has Crohnov disease.

ruggedlynx30 said:So, what actually happens if I just stop taking my antipsychotic—specifically Seroquel—after being on it for seven months following a diagnosis of transient acute psychotic disorder? Like, does this stuff actually create a dependency or something? And am I going to run into withdrawal symptoms if I quit cold turkey? Honestly, the drowsiness from this medication is killing me—I can’t get enough sleep, everything feels totally muted and dull, my jaw keeps cramping up, and I feel like my entire personality has shifted... there's just no spark left in life anymore. I basically feel like a houseplant at this point, you know? But man, I just want to feel clear-headed and live my life again. Is there anyone here who actually knows the medical side of this?

Stopping antipsychotics cold turkey is risky business. There's a massive chance you'll end up spiraling right back into another psychotic episode.

Jerry Morales4 said:I heard today that getting a divorce might be impossible if you're married to someone struggling with mental illness, since under Family Law, you aren't supposed to just abandon someone in that state.

If that’s actually true—and I mean, is it also illegal to leave someone who’s physically ill?—then you’d just skip that part entirely. You wouldn't list it as the reason; you’d just go with something standard like "irreconcilable differences" or "breakdown of the marriage." It's basically just legal shorthand.

As for my own take on the matter? Look, I could probably handle certain types of mental health struggles in a partner, but anyone characterized by total callousness and a complete lack of empathy? Yeah, absolutely not. No way.

Hannah White2 said:Look, it’s actually pretty straightforward if you’ve got a clear set of guidelines and some basic goals in place—and more importantly, if both parents are actually on the same page when it comes to how they want to raise their kids. But if you’re just winging it without any fundamental knowledge? Man, that’s a recipe for disaster, especially when Mom and Dad are constantly clashing over different parenting styles.
Honestly, leading by example is the gold standard here. It doesn't require some magic formula; it just demands that you actually stop and think about how your own actions and lifestyle choices are playing out in real time.
If a person truly commits to this—if they treat parenting like the absolute top priority in their life rather than just some side project—the solutions will start showing up naturally.

You mentioned in another thread that your wife used to spank the kid. Does she actually believe that's a necessary part of discipline, or does she just lose her cool sometimes?

My parents never actually owned a car. They were incredibly frugal people—the kind who lived super modestly and barely spent a dime on themselves because they were always focused on making sure we kids had everything we needed. Because of that, they ended up footing the bill for all our driving tests and even chipped in to help us get our first rides. In my case, I ended up with an old beat-up Chevy, but hey, it got the job done.

Rebecca Bennett41 said:To be perfectly honest, I consume quite a lot, so I wouldn't say anything is particularly bothering me at the moment.

Nothing's wrong, you say? Okay, then maybe you recognize this part:

So, I was wondering if anyone has experience with Anafranil?
I've been on it for about a month and a half now, but all it seems to do is make me sleepier. I can't fall asleep, but once I finally do, I'm out for ages, and then I wake up feeling absolutely exhausted. My hands start shaking, and I just get this general sense of tremors taking over.

To me (just speaking off the top of my head), it looks like there might be a massive connection between knocking back heavy amounts of alcohol while taking Anafranil.

Casey Torres7 said:I haven't made it to a psychiatrist yet, but I can see it’s becoming necessary 😢
As for Matthew Castillo5, it isn't exactly easy for me to just sit down and open up about all this. I'll see how the summer goes... maybe things will improve once the stress dies down a bit 🙂
Thanks for the replies 🙂

Look, I get it. It’s not easy. I remember how much I struggled just trying to talk to my own folks about my depression. But honestly? I think having that one real conversation might actually make things easier for everyone involved. If they understand what you're actually going through, they might stop driving you crazy thinking you've just got a "bad attitude."
Plus, seeing a specialist can really make a difference.

Rebecca Bennett41 said:What kind of trouble am I looking at if I decide to drink alcohol while I'm on Prozac?

Nothing good. You’re probably just making the side effects from the antidepressant way worse, and since alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, you're essentially neutralizing the medication's effectiveness at the same time.

Does your psychiatrist actually know you're drinking while on Prozac, or are you too nervous to tell them?

I know things are incredibly heavy for you right now with everything going on with your family, but please don't make life even harder on yourself with this kind of self-destructive behavior. Seriously.

Nicole Barrett76 said:Well, you see, the evil you're feeling is actually coming from the Effexor, and now she's planning to increase your dosage even further.

Honestly, the math just isn't mathing for me either.