Posts by goldentinker21

Mark Wright79 said:Life's just one big path toward the grave... once you hit that breaking point and think about ending it all, you realize you're just becoming an appetizer for ants or a little house for worms. Even the Bible says if you take your own life, you're heading straight to hell, no matter what sins you've committed. Honestly, better to stay and drown in your problems than to go out that way and end up even worse off...

Look, I’m not exactly a believer myself, but I’ve got my own take on religion, and here it is: faith basically exists as a way to give people a set of rules to live by, which actually does some good for society in certain ways. But if you really look at those commandments, they aren't even about "faith" in the spiritual sense—they're just a code of conduct for how humans should act toward one another. Seriously, if every single person on this planet actually lived by the Ten Commandments, the world would be pretty much perfect.

Raymond Carter10 said:Why don't you just reach out to them? 🙂

Seriously, go find a hobby or something! Just get out of the house and meet some new people. Don't just shut yourself away inside four walls and isolate from everyone else—that’s honestly the worst thing you could possibly do.

Man, I spent years doing exactly that—socializing, swinging by friends' places, the whole nine yards—but eventually, it just started drying up because nobody actually has the time anymore. It’s honestly depressing to hear and see how those same old friends have basically become shut-ins, only leaving the house to commute to work and nothing else. I just got sick of calling someone up only for them to be like, "Hey, just come over to my place," and then I'd spend an hour or two sitting there before heading home. At a certain point, I figured I'd rather just grab a coffee at my own place, catch a show on TV, and wait for people to actually call me. For some of them, I was waiting forever, because let's be real—they only ever ring you when they need a favor.
Meeting new people was never really my thing anyway. I tried photography as a hobby for a while, but even then, I ended up wandering around solo most of the time, and once you realize you aren't exactly the life of the party, you just kind of lose interest in the whole social scene.

northernsailor102 said:I’ve been sitting here for quite some time now, wrestling with thoughts of ending it all. Honestly, after observing the sheer absurdity of human existence and actually participating in this charade, I haven't been able to find a single legitimate reason to keep enduring this ongoing agony. It makes me wonder: what is your reason—or perhaps several reasons—for staying alive? Where does that primal urge for self-preservation and survival actually come from? What is it that forces you to keep going? What are you living for, what are you fighting for, or what have you dedicated your entire life to? Why is it that you manage to drag yourself out of bed every single morning?
I am not asking about some grand, cosmic purpose. I am asking about the practical, raw reasons why you choose to live over and over again.

Look, we all go to those dark places sometimes where suicide crosses our minds—honestly, I’ve been there for a long time myself. The reasons vary, but after dealing with health issues, the absolute worst parts are just the crushing boredom and having zero friends to lean on, plus all those random life stressors that make you feel like you might just snap. Sometimes, the only thing that pulls me back is good company, you know, when someone actually remembers to give me a call—that stuff matters. But if you ask me, I think we’re all secretly chasing the same thing that most people won't admit: finding a partner and having kids. That’s really what keeps people tethered to this world. I’m single, and I hear people all the time saying life is meaningless, but then they turn around and live entirely for their kids, or they just grind through day-to-day, living paycheck to paycheck, just taking it as it comes. In my experience, it’s wild how people live together without wanting kids, just drifting along until, by some stroke of luck, a baby shows up and suddenly everything makes sense. Humans have this built-in instinct to survive, sure, but the urge to keep your offspring alive is way stronger than anything else.

Noah Ward5 said:Hey everyone!

My mom is 50, and she actually had a hysterectomy about five years ago.
Back in May, she went in for a brain CT scan, and the results were pretty much fine, except they flagged some calcifications. To be exact, here’s what the report said: "A 4mm calcification in the lower lateral part of the right occipital region with no impact on surrounding structures. Small calcifications of the ICA wall in the siphon area." Then, just a few days ago, she had a mammogram where they found what they called likely benign calcifications on the left side. I should also mention she's been dealing with some joint pain—both knees, her left shoulder, and her left wrist—but we haven't really dug into that yet because she hasn't been sent for any specific tests for it.

I'm trying to wrap my head around what these calcifications actually mean. Is there any way to shrink them down, maybe through diet or something? She's read in a million places that women in her stage of life (given the menopause stuff) are usually told to take calcium supplements for bone health, so I'm wondering if that's a good move here. If she starts taking calcium, could that actually make those calcifications grow even more?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I've got a calcification in my knee, and honestly, I think it's starting to spread to the other one because it's already starting to ache. It’s wild—at first, it only hurt when I hit the first step, but now it’s bothering me even when I'm just walking around. My doctor basically told me I need to stay active to "burn it off" and lose a little weight, which should hopefully stop the pain.
From what I've gathered online, you're supposed to take calcium alongside magnesium. The logic is that calcium contributes to the buildup of calcifications, while magnesium supposedly helps counteract that. At least, that's what the internet says.

casualmoose27 said:First off, a big hello to everyone. I’m honestly not even sure if this is the right place for this kind of thing, but I can’t find anywhere else that fits.

So, here’s the situation. I have a 20-year-old sister who has been, frankly, a very strange person since she was little. I’m not trying to sugarcoat anything here. Even back when we were kids, she used to get this weird thrill out of it when our parents blamed me for things she actually did. I just got used to it, and at the time, I didn't think it really shaped who I am. We just brushed it off as childhood stuff. But a few years ago, the real trouble started. She dealt with so much bullying at school that we had to move her to different classes because she just couldn't fit in anywhere. We did everything in our power to help her and make her feel comfortable in her own skin. Around that time, she started taking Pfizer and some sleeping pills that a psychologist in Washington, D.C. recommended. Things stabilized slightly, but then high school hit. Same story—bullying issues again. We moved her grades around, eventually transferring her to a different school entirely. Suddenly, everything changed. She became completely narcissistic. I figured, okay, it's just puberty, we can handle it. We put up with it for three years. By senior year, it turned into a total disaster. Our relationship deteriorated completely; the nicest thing she’d say to me was "You're stupid!" Her relationship with our parents was even worse. She would insult my dad in every way imaginable, and the worst part was when she’d stand right in front of him, screaming about how little he’s ever done for her. (And let me be clear: our parents have provided us with ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING in life). She treated my mom even worse—it reached a point I don't even want to write down. Things calmed down briefly when she went back on the Pfizer.

Then, we find out Mom is sick. Multiple sclerosis. There was still a semblance of peace. Then, just a few months later, things took an even darker turn when Mom found a lump in her breast and had to undergo surgery. It was cancer. The fight began, and we all tried our best to stay positive and help however we could. Everyone except my sister. Out of nowhere, she gets even worse. She starts gaslighting Mom, telling her she’s the reason she has cancer, and she hammers away at her with that guilt every single day. Mom cries every day, and Dad is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In the last month alone, I’ve had to beg Dad twice not to kick her out of the house. I know I’m wrong for doing that, but she's my sister. The situation won't settle down; she insults everyone, including our cat! (Yes, it sounds ridiculous), nothing is ever good enough for her, she thinks she's the only smart one, and she keeps piling guilt on Mom.

The breaking point happened yesterday. Since I have a job and my own income, Mom gave me a little gift, which she hasn't done in a long time. My sister absolutely lost it. Once again, the verbal abuse toward Mom and me started. Today, she’s giving us the cold shoulder, and she is entirely responsible for Mom's tears.

I want to go back to our relationship, which used to be good. Once. I remember one day talking to her calmly about relationships. I meant sexual ones, and I told her she shouldn't feel ashamed and that she had my support, suggesting she come to me for protection or advice if she didn't want to ask Mom, though I mentioned sex wasn't really my thing. She said she'd ask me about everything. Well, today I found out she performed oral sex on the son of our parents' close family friends. Who? My sister, apparently. I am in total shock.

To clarify that last part, we know the names of a couple of her friends, but we only know what two of them look like. She never brings anyone home, even though our parents are wonderful people. I always brought my friends over, including my boyfriend. That's normal to me. When she goes out into the city, she rarely says where she actually is, and she has spent New Year's Eve alone for the last three years. We essentially know nothing about her. She lives one life with us, and a completely different one outside. Please, help me.

Sorry for this long, messy post; I'm just feeling incredibly overwhelmed right now. Any advice is welcome...

Look, I personally believe we all have this constant tug-of-war between good and bad inside us—it's like a scale that's supposed to stay somewhat balanced. But the real issue here is how people shut down completely the second they're hit with a topic or a question they just aren't ready to face. It's like they physically can't help but show how much it's eating at them; they just can't bottle it up. It’s a massive problem because, in my eyes, it usually stems from a lack of self-confidence, which leads to a complete breakdown in trust—either they don't trust anyone, or they've been burned by the wrong people in the past. Unfortunately, once someone gets to that point, they become incredibly guarded, and when they finally *do* decide to open up, it's like a dam breaking—just a massive flood of info—and they usually end up folding under whatever pressure they feel is stronger than they are. Honestly, the best move would be to see if you could get someone from her inner circle to weigh in, though let's be real, most friends are going to play dumb because they don't want to blow up a friendship. I deal with this exact same struggle myself, so I pretty much know the drill...

If you ever need to vent or just talk things out, shoot me a DM...