I honestly have zero desire for them. None at all. Maybe I’ll feel differently in ten years, though I highly doubt it—just the thought of being near them makes me cringe. I don't know how to act around them, nor do I want to learn. I just feel this massive, suffocating pressure to "perform"—to hover over someone's baby and coo about how cute it is while the kid is literally screaming its lungs out everywhere. Brrrr, no thanks. I’m perfectly happy with what I have at home. My own little private zoo is enough for me; I’m fine with having three pets instead of a child. And honestly, seeing how many guys cheat on their partners while they're pregnant? I can't even imagine putting myself in that position. It's wild how women in small towns get treated—like everyone is constantly dictating what you should do, how to act, and who to be with. It’s always the same cycle: give birth, clean, cook, satisfy the man, clean, cook, give birth, clean... and then apparently produce ten sons because girls are just seen as "trouble." The social pressure is relentless, too. According to my circle, I’m at the "perfect age" to get married and start a family. Like, excuse me, what?! Just because I’m a woman, I’m supposed to immediately check off all these boxes because I've reached a certain age—lol. It’s just more stuff expected of me. I don't want to be rude, but seriously, just leave me alone. Nobody ever asks what *I* actually want. If I say no, suddenly I’m "weird" or a lesbian or whatever label they want to slap on me. I’m actually really glad I stumbled upon this thread, because it looks like I’m definitely not the only one feeling this way. Don't get me wrong—I don't have anything against kids. If someone wants them, go for it. If someone doesn't, that's fine too. Why would anyone force themselves into parenthood when it causes them such visceral anxiety? It’s better not to have them than to raise them in an environment where you aren't happy. I have to say, the pressure from my surroundings is literally killing me—from the older generation down to my boyfriend, who tries to push the whole marriage and kids thing indirectly. Sometimes I just want to pack everything up and move somewhere where nobody knows me, just so I can live in peace. Especially in a patriarchal country like this, where the church tries to dictate whether you can have an abortion or what you should do with your own body. It’s nauseating when some priest starts lecturing about women's health and stuff like that. For example, just yesterday—this was a total "moment of truth"—someone asked a woman if she had ever had more than two abortions, and her sister or whoever started panicking, clicking buttons and saying it was a "Catholic matter and only God should know, not some TV show." It was terrifying.😲🙄🙄 Look, maybe one day the desire will grow, you never know. But right now, and for the foreseeable future, there is absolutely no chance.
I see people are comparing pets to children here, which is, by the way, an absurd comparison—and that’s exactly why I choose to have animals instead.
Look, if you see a psychologist, they’ll try to help you out just like everyone else here—give you some solid advice and tools to work with. But if you go to a psychiatrist, they're mostly just going to hand you a prescription for sleep. The second thing is, you already know deep down that you can't keep living like this. If I were in your shoes and had the means, I’d honestly start looking for a new apartment right away. Insomnia is brutal on your body—it really wears you down—so you need to tackle that issue as soon as possible. Yeah, dealing with all the paperwork and the logistics of moving is a massive headache😳 but I promise you, it'll be worth it! And for now, you aren't doing anything wrong by seeing a psychologist.
I’m in the exact same boat as you, Brenda Allen2. Everything carries through the walls in my place—for example, if someone is on a conference call, you can only imagine how thin these walls actually are 🙄 I'll try to explain how I deal with it myself. Basically, I just lie down and listen to all the noise. At first, it drives me absolutely crazy—my heart starts racing and I get all worked up—but then I try to focus on those different sounds and start thinking about something else, like something that happened during my day or just whatever comes to mind. Eventually, all those noises blend into one steady, quiet hum, and I finally manage to drift off. lol. I hope that makes sense. It really works for me. You just focus on the sounds while you're exhausted and sleep-deprived until they basically become one single thing, and then you stop noticing them altogether. Anyway, give it a shot and let me know if you followed what I meant 😁 😉
Here’s the deal with Ambien—for me, the hallucinations would start kicking in pretty much right after I took it, and then by the next day, I'd be dealing with this intense tension and anxiety. xanax 👍
Mind if I jump in here? I'm a chronic insomniac. I stopped by a local health food store today to see if they had any herbal teas that might help knock me out alongside my xanax. Honestly, I don't even feel the xanax anymore—I've been taking it for four years now—so I'll probably be looking for a different sedative soon anyway. I thought about trying Paxil, but from what I’ve read in the discussions here, it doesn't seem like the best move, so I'll pass on that for now. Anyway, does anyone know of a solid sleep tea that plays nice with anxiolytics and antidepressants? The woman at the pharmacy wasn't much help and didn't give me anything concrete to work with. Chamomile does absolutely nothing for me. If anyone has a recommendation, I’d really appreciate it. You can take Sanval along with xanax; that's what I did for a while 😉
George Garcia9 said:Hey Arthur Evans8, that little voice inside my head keeps whispering: just end it, life is pointless 😛 Jokes aside, I know I have to put in the work myself and that nobody can fix me if I’m not doing the heavy lifting, but I also know that isn't enough. I need better support. Better meds and a therapist who won't talk down to me. Yesterday, I felt like such a spoiled brat, taking everything good in my life for granted and doing absolutely nothing out of pure laziness.
Angela Rogers2, obviously my take on this mental monologue is subjective, and I feel like she just doesn't get me, but the FACT is she told me I either need to start acting like an eight-year-old (by staying on my parents' dime for another year) or finally "get moving." I don't understand why she won't take it seriously when I say I want to die and that I have zero will to live. If I have no will to live, HOW am I supposed to "get moving"??? She seemed nice enough until yesterday, when I realized the woman either simply doesn't understand or is so overwhelmed by even "crazier" patients that she's just brushing off my condition. Anyway.
My diagnosis is anxious depression & an eating disorder (not anorexia or bulimia, just cycles of binge eating followed by periods of not eating at all 😛)
Yesterday I was thinking about quitting therapy altogether and stopping my meds since they aren't helping. Right now I'm taking two Sulpiride and one Lexapro in the morning, one Sulpiride in the afternoon, and then two Lexapro and one Ambien in the evening to sleep. Hm... it's 3:21 AM and I'm still wide awake, so clearly that's working 😠 I don't know. It feels stupid to ask for meds if they aren't working, but at the same time, it feels irresponsible to just stop on my own. Ugh. 😕
I probably won't go to my exam on Monday (even though I've memorized everything 😎 ) because I feel so fat. I'll go in two weeks instead; hopefully by then I'll have lost 2 or 3 pounds and actually have some confidence. Sounds pathetic, right? Welcome to my life. 😬
Hope you all have a good weekend 😘
😲 Come on, seriously—you've got to kill that kind of mindset. Real confidence comes from passing an exam and actually knowing your stuff, not from how you look physically.🙄 Don't just bury yourself alive here. It’s all about what’s going on in your head, George—until you wrap your mind around that, you aren't going to see any real progress with your disorder or your therapy.
As for the therapy and the psychiatrist—if you feel like your doctor isn't getting you anywhere, then change them. Seriously. Change the treatment too if you need to. Just help yourself in that regard. Why put yourself through the struggle? Not every psychiatrist is the right fit for everyone; it's all very individual.😉
If you're struggling with sleep issues, Ambien is usually the go-to—but just so you know, you'll definitely need a prescription for it. Here’s the deal with that medication. It’s classified as a hypnotic, which basically means it helps you knock out fast and keeps you from tossing and turning all night. You really have to take it right before you hit the sack, otherwise, it won't work quite like it's supposed to. http://www.tegobe.com/vademecumi/lek/sanval.html
I just retreat into my own little world—staying inside my four walls, sitting there in the dark, petting my cat and having a cigarette. I don't tell anyone what’s going on or why. I'm just trying to figure out how to make this pain go away on my own terms. To me, even if I did open up to someone, they might offer some kind words of support, but that isn't going to actually solve the problem. It's just me.
Does xanax actually do anything for you? I’m asking because when I first started my treatment, it didn't seem to touch my anxiety at all—I barely felt like I had even taken it, yet the panic attacks kept hitting me just as hard. Eventually, I switched over to taking 3x0.5mg instead. I honestly have no clue what to expect, though I'm scheduled to swap out the xanax for something else in about a week. My biggest worry is just how I'll handle the transition—trying to taper off one while simultaneously starting the new medication 😢 Hopefully, I can just power through those first week or two until my body adjusts to the change.
My psychiatrist actually suggested I try Rivotril, but honestly, I’m a little nervous about taking it—especially since I’m already on Lamictal, which is also an antiepileptic. I'm worried about how they might interact. Plus, as someone who's dealt with panic attacks for a long time now, 🙄I know deep down that the anxiety over taking it would just eat at me. But man, I really could use some relief here. 😳 Some of these seem okay, like Norval.
Hey everyone. So, I’ve been on Xanax for about four years now—and honestly, my body has just gotten so used to it that I don't even feel it anymore, let alone get the same effect I used to. Because of that, I’m working with my psychiatrist to switch things up and try a different anxiolytic instead. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for something that doesn't come with a ton of nasty side effects, and right now I'm torn between trying Inderal or Paxil. 🤔 Thanks
You’re probably feeling that heavy sedation on the second day because of how much the Risperdal makes you sleep. It was the exact same thing for me back when I was on Zyprexa—it's an antipsychotic just like Risperdal, so they have similar effects and, clearly, similar side effects. Maybe talk to your doctor about lowering the dose, or see if you can switch to another medication in the same class. In my case, I swapped Zyprexa for Moodstar and I feel great—I'm sleeping less, I don't feel wiped out on the second day, and I can actually function normally. As for the Misar—or rather the Xanax—I take that too (0.5mg three times a day), and I really don't think the Misar is causing such intense sedation. Based on what I've been through, I'm pretty sure the Risperdal is the culprit.😉
Yeah, why couldn't it be possible? Psychosis is a completely different beast altogether. There’s an entire thread dedicated to this over on the psychology subforum.