Posts by David Vaughn75

brighthawk0 said:Two months on Paxil 2 x100mg, and things are looking up, I guess. The obsessions have dialed back significantly, which helps me make much more rational decisions. I still deal with bits of anxiety every now and then, but the main thing is that I’m functioning way better in social settings—and honestly, fixing my social anxiety was the whole point of this treatment. 🎉

Anyway, maybe this helps someone out.

That's what I'm talking about! Keep crushing it!! 👍 👍

James Gray33 said:David Vaughn75, thanks for the input.
Is this easier to manage than something like schizophrenia? I’ve been reading up on it quite a bit, and it doesn't seem like schizo—or at least, he isn't showing those specific symptoms. He doesn't mumble, he doesn't seem paranoid (in fact, he’s almost too carefree; he never even locks the door), and there are no hallucinations. He actually seems tuned in to his surroundings. Before he started therapy, he was constantly worried about his grandmother and making sure she was okay while she was sick. His routine mostly involved heading out to pick up marijuana or staying cooped up in his room on his laptop. Honestly, I think his biggest issue is a total lack of respect for authority and tension with his parents. One psychiatrist mentioned it might just be an adolescent crisis since he’s only 19. He did seek help on his own once, but he gave up pretty quickly.
I realize diagnosing him is difficult, but we were hoping for better guidance on how to handle him. We need a serious conversation because his thought patterns are concerning. Our main fear is that he'll turn to alcohol or weed.

Look, bipolar disorder is no joke—it’s a heavy hitter—but honestly, it’s all relative. It’s one of those things where every single case is its own unique beast; some people have a relatively smooth ride while others are constantly hitting rock bottom. I deal with schizophrenia myself, and man, people always tell me I look totally "normal"—like, they’d never guess there’s anything going on behind the scenes. But here's the reality check: you absolutely have to stick to the meds, and stay far, far away from weed. Seriously. And if his doctor is being vague? Don't be shy—corner him in the hallway at the clinic if you have to just to get some straight answers. By the way, which hospital was your brother at? If he was at one of the major psychiatric centers in a big city like Chicago or Boston, they usually have these massive setups with tons of different programs and group therapy sessions designed to really walk patients through the whole mess of what they're dealing with.

James Gray33 said:Honestly, I’m in the dark about what he’s actually suffering from. The doctors aren't giving us any real answers. We go in for checkups every ten days, but they only last a few minutes, and nobody even bothers to ask how his behavior or mood has been lately.
He struggled with alcohol and marijuana in the past. When he was using those substances, he was aggressive. Later, he just shut everyone out and dealt with insomnia. To me, it looked like classic depression, but things hit a breaking point when he intentionally injured himself just to get money out of his family.
I'm asking because the doctor claims he's only on a small dose, but it doesn't look that way to me. He's constantly lethargic and completely lacks any drive.

Honestly, that sounds a lot like bipolar disorder to me.
And look, you have to realize it isn't easy for doctors to nail down a diagnosis right off the bat. It's pretty standard practice here in the States to label everything as an acute psychotic disorder first, and then if you end up back in the psych ward again, they'll pivot to whatever diagnosis actually fits the reality of the situation.

But at the end of the day, the specific label doesn't matter nearly as much as the goal: getting your brother to slowly work his way back to being a functioning member of society—you know, socializing, holding down a job, finding a girlfriend, all that stuff. Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. It took me about six months of grinding just to feel like myself again, but statistically speaking, there's a 66% chance he's going to pull through and get back on track.

James Gray33 said:Hi everyone. I'm hoping I can ask a question here—I wasn't quite sure which thread to use since there are so many similar topics—but if anyone is willing to share their thoughts, 🙂
my brother is currently being treated with atypical antipsychotics. We don't know his exact diagnosis because the doctors haven't shared any specifics with us yet, but he’s been on this medication regimen for about a month now.
My main concern is whether this combination—62.5 mg of Clozaril, 3 mg of Risperdal, 750 mg of Efexor, and 2 mg of Ativan—is excessively heavy. He's sleeping through the entire night and most of the day as well. During his last check-up, the doctor actually increased his Clozaril dose to that amount because my brother complained he wasn't getting enough sleep. In reality, he was just having trouble waking up when we tried to get him ready for the appointment. The actual consultation lasted maybe two minutes.
Thanks.

Is he dealing with psychosis?

If that's the case, then yeah, almost any treatment plan is going to feel incredibly heavy at the start. Once your brother starts getting more active and finding things to do—and I don't mean he needs a full-time job right away, just some kind of engagement—that's when the doctor will likely start tapering him down.

Harold Anderson3 said:Honestly, I’d just be grateful for the medication and my psychiatrist. If you aren't dealing with symptoms on top of everything else, it really means your dosage is right where it needs to be. 😉

I mean, I'm on a pretty low dose myself, but honestly? It's good to keep in mind that you can actually work through and mitigate most of those nasty side effects just by staying active and training hard.

ruggedtinker9 said:Antipsychotics primarily target dopamine blockade, though they also partially affect serotonin and various other neurotransmitters. Since dopamine and serotonin are the neurochemicals responsible for experiencing pleasure in life, that is likely why you are feeling this way. Essentially, the nerves that would normally trigger excitement or enjoyment are being blocked.

But if that's how it works, then how come I’m taking these antipsychotics and I still—more often than not—actually feel some damn joy and excitement? 🤷

Nicholas Gonzalez8 said:And besides, who’s to say God even judges at all? Does it even make sense to talk about "choice" if God is constantly stepping in to oppose what we decide?

Look, karma isn't some cosmic punishment system. I mean, seriously, who would be punishing us, and what's in it for them? What do *we* actually gain from being punished? It's more like a feedback loop—a way to see the consequences of our own choices so we can actually move forward.

The weight of spiritual guidance is massive, sure, but it’s even harder to sit around waiting until you've mastered everything before you try to help someone else. Both teachers and students are going to trip up sometimes—it's inevitable. The real goal is just making sure there's long-term progress and that everyone actually finds some joy in the process.

Exactly. 🙂

I mean, look at Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and all those ancient Middle Eastern religions.

Plus, even in Hinduism, sometimes God gets bored with some demon and just decides to descend to Earth to take them out personally.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Back on my home island, there was this one guy from the local militia who was executed in the winter of '45. See, the partisans had pushed into our town after some pretty brutal fighting, and most of the resistance surrendered. But this one fighter? He didn't surrender; he just hunkered down, hiding out in a church bell tower, waiting for his moment. And his moment came sooner than expected—he popped out with a machine gun and cut down several partisans.
It was his fate, I suppose, but the sentence was death—purely for disobeying direct orders and taking matters into his own hands during combat!

Some elderly women saw him being led out for the execution and started weeping.
And he just looked at them and said, "Don't cry, ladies; I earned this death by being shot." 😢

If you spend even half as much time reading this forum as you think you do, you'll eventually realize how many innocent Americans were wiped out by the communists, and those who actually made it through the purge were left with nothing but bread and water while getting beaten daily.

bluemason3 said:Since there isn't a consensus among spiritual leaders—nor any actual proof—why should writing about spirituality automatically mean you have to assume or accept the concept of karma?

I'm operating under the assumption that karma exists—you're the one trying to argue against the possibility here.

Maybe spirituality isn't some fancy, modern invention—it’s actually just our primal, baked-in instinct that kept us from dying out in the wild back in the day

bluemason3 said:spirituality isn't about consensus either

And even if there *was* some massive consensus, you still couldn't actually prove karma exists, could you?

bluemason3 said:That’s assuming karma and karmic debt actually exist, of course.

But look, man, you aren't hanging out in the science subforum anymore—you've wandered straight into the spirituality section. 🙂

Ontopic: I finally broke loose and let my inner artist run wild—something that was basically locked behind a steel door while I was growing up

bluemason3 said:Being a guru isn't some mystical state of being or a level you reach. There’s no cosmic consciousness meter used during some licensing exam to measure your status. You just declare yourself one and start trading.

The ultimate judge for any Guru exam is God himself 😎

Most gurus have absolutely no clue what they're getting themselves into.
If they start leading people down the wrong path, karma is going to hit them like a freight train.
Let's be real: providing spiritual guidance is probably the heaviest responsibility a person can ever take on.

So, I’m looking at this thread over on the Democratic Party boards where everyone is losing their minds over the whole immigration crisis in Europe.

It’s honestly wild—if you scroll through, basically every other post is just some basement dweller calling Islam a criminal religion for pedophiles and terrorists, or labeling Black people as vermin and cattle. And yet, the mods just let this topic sit there, completely unmoderated. It’s a total free-for-all.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance.

17 years old😁
Back when I was your age, I felt like I was switching up my entire social circle every single month—just constantly hunting for where I fit in.

Honestly, though? The older you get, the more you start to realize exactly what kind of people actually deserve a spot in your life. It all starts to crystallize eventually.

Larry Barnes10 said:But my take is that the meds just stop me from being so anxious, jittery, or totally blocked up. It gives me enough breathing room to actually deal with life's bullshit and handle situations without spiraling. It lets me slowly retrain my brain to act differently. Obviously, nothing happens without putting in the work, but I need that foundation to even start building.

Honestly, you guys on here (you, Kevin Nguyen3, and the rest of the "experts" giving advice) have helped me way more than my actual psychiatrist. But hey, whatever, you know how it goes. It's a long fight and there's a million things to change... gotta take it one step at a time.

What’s your experience been like with ADHD meds? How much did they actually help you out?

Look, if you actually find a decent psychiatrist who isn't just pushing pills for a paycheck, they’ll eventually taper you off those anxiolytics. They’re incredibly addictive—we're talking serious physical dependency territory here—and let's be real: anxiolytics have never actually "cured" anyone's panic attacks. They just mask the chaos.

Larry Barnes10 said:So, how long does it actually take before you can tell if a med isn't working? Like, am I supposed to see massive improvements right away? Everyone I know who took it saw huge changes almost immediately, but I'm sitting here taking Elixa

Look, meds aren't some magic wand that fixes your entire life overnight. People always have this naive idea that they'll just pop a pill and—boom—everything is suddenly sunshine and rainbows. It doesn't work like that. You need a combination of the right medication and actual guidance from a pro to make any real headway.

shadowbear9 said:Well, if that's how you feel, maybe you should go ahead and dedicate your entire life and education to uncovering the root causes of insomnia, preventing it, and actually fighting the disease. Once you've mastered all that, then perhaps you can join the conversation, rather than just spitting on professionals who clearly know what they are doing. Besides, I don't recall anyone asking for your opinion. ☕

There's really no need to be so rude, honestly.

Honestly, doctors who go around handing out antipsychotics just to help people sleep should have their medical licenses stripped immediately. It’s absolute madness.