Posts by Michelle Evans

Chloe Flores40 said:But if the data shows that lefties only make up like 15% of the population!!! how can you still claim they're "BETTER"? I guess I'm saying it's just because all the righties are swallowed up in that massive 85% majority!

so what I'm trying to say is that 15% of lefties isn't really a big enough sample size to conclude they're actually more intelligent!

I mean, I just think they're "weirdos" since most of them act that way anyway!🙂

Chloe Flores40 said:

I guess angela1234 just doesn't get it, maybe they should probably look into things more before talking. kaže:
Here’s what I know about them:
I guess people just have a better sense of things now compared to how they did back in the day.
Maybe it just helps with memory, I guess.
Acting, music, painting... basically just calling it art. 😁
Maybe they're just hyperactive or something, I guess.
So, some researchers are claiming that every single leftist who took an IQ test ended up scoring above 140, I guess.

Just give me something to work with here. I guess you want me to weigh in on something, but there isn't much to go on yet.

Look, I think it's all just total nonsense. I know a handful of leftists—like ten of them, if I really sit back and think about it.

From what I've seen, those lefties you're talking about are just hyperactive, and honestly, they seem kind of clumsy and uncoordinated to me. Though, I guess a few of them are actually pretty good at sports.

I guess their spatial awareness is pretty trash, and honestly, they seem totally lost whenever they end up somewhere unfamiliar.

I guess scientists say whatever they want about IQ, but if you look at the ratio of 100 lefties to 100,000 righties, maybe righties end up having a higher IQ or being smarter just because there are way more of them numerically. 🙂

rustylynx70 said:We just hold our utensils opposite to our dominant hand. Taste buds stay put where they belong, but the brain is what sends out the impulses; there are actually studies on this stuff...😍

rustylynx70 said:Hey everyone, I consider myself one of the leftists. I wouldn't necessarily claim we’re more intelligent, but maybe it's more about being open-minded toward different ideas. One thing I've noticed about people on the left—well, at least among my circle—is that we tend to have several books going at once. Some of us might lean more toward art, music, or film, though I suppose that really just depends on an individual's specific interests. Also, funny enough, whenever I hold a utensil in my right hand, food almost seems to lose its flavor or scent, but that's probably just because our brain centers are located on the opposite side of the right-handed folks...

Carl Jackson;39164217 said:

I'm definitely not following... so you're saying aggression isn't necessarily a symptom of starting an episode, but rather someone who wasn't aggressive becomes so during one?🤷

It's not quite that simple. Just look at what Henry Garcia9 posted:

During episodes, they can be aggressive, but when they aren't in psychosis, they're just as aggressive or non-aggressive as anyone else.

The key is "can be."

Look, this might sound harsh, but you can't help someone who refuses treatment—especially if their immediate family is enabling them. It’s just the reality of it. From what I can tell, you don't live with her, so you aren't seeing the day-to-day behavior, only what you hear about later. You can't really draw conclusions from that. And even if you could, it wouldn't change much because, again, she doesn't want help. In the US, unless they are an immediate danger to themselves or others, you can't force someone into a hospital against their will.

If you've ever encountered someone in a psychotic state, you'll usually know it immediately...

Carl Jackson said:It seems weird to me too. If you don't account for all the stress and the circumstances surrounding the episode, and just base everything on one 10-15 minute conversation, then yeah—that diagnosis comes way too fast.
I wasn't about to let such a rushed, thoughtless diagnosis follow her around for the rest of her life, so I went to see a "distinguished" private neuropsychiatrist for a second opinion. He was in a rush. He told me he couldn't say anything until he saw her, then practically kicked me out after two minutes while still charging the full session fee... as if we’d been there for 45 minutes. Fine. So she goes in, and he repeats the exact same diagnosis. Of course, he saw the initial report, and I told him that was specifically why we were there. He prescribed some meds—I can't remember the names because I was in a complete fog from everything—but we paid about $275 for the visit. Then he suggested hospitalization. Those meds just made her sleep constantly, which honestly wasn't the worst thing. We went back to the local clinic where the first doctor was, and it was the same old story: more meds, more talk about hospitalization, end of story. It makes me wonder how they handle young people facing these issues for the first time if this is their approach... how do they even deal with them in a hospital setting? We didn't go through with it. I was leaning toward it at certain points, but my dad definitely said no, so she wasn't hospitalized. The worst part was the weight gain from the medication; eventually, she just decided on her own—I'm not sure when exactly—to stop taking them. My dad supported her stopping, but I didn't. But what am I supposed to do with a 26-year-old adult? I can't tie her down and force-feed her pills. I can't achieve anything without her cooperation. Mostly, things just settled down and we stopped talking about it, especially not in front of her, but I'm still constantly anxious. She's still depressed, almost non-stop, angry, and we have to walk on eggshells around her...

What should I do? Is there any way to approach people this sensitive? Can anyone with experience tell me what the actual symptoms of living with schizophrenia are? I read here on the forum that it mostly hits young people around age 18; is that true?

Carl Jackson said:I’m wondering if schizophrenia can just be a one-time thing in someone's life, or is it a lifelong cycle? My sister went through one episode, which doctors labeled as F20. We didn't go for hospitalization and things eventually settled down, but I’m still living with this constant anxiety...
It mostly happened during an incredibly stressful stretch—objectively speaking. It manifested as these delusional ideas, like people were following her or watching her from the windows of the apartment building next door, or everyone was plotting to hurt her. She would talk total nonsense—stories where the "characters" were people we know personally, even though they had absolutely nothing to do with whatever topic she was spinning, all supposedly part of a plot against her. Many of these people she hasn't seen in years, let alone having any connection to her situation. There were cycles of her talking this nonsense (the whole family would just sit there listening, too afraid to tell her it wasn't true) and crying. She also became convinced all her friends were in on the conspiracy to harm her.
So... I accompanied her to the doctor for the first time, and then a few more times when I could. In my opinion, that first doctor handed out such a heavy diagnosis far too easily. They even referred us to a social worker who pushed for hospitalization. What I resent most is that despite the symptoms I described, the doctor added hallucinations to the mix, which isn't true! The doctor claimed my sister said she saw eyes, but that’s just false. I was right there while she was explaining how she thought people were following her, and the doctor asked, "Right, do you sometimes see eyes too?" My sister, being completely lost and overwhelmed, replied, "No, I don't see them, I don't know, I don't see them." And this idiot interprets that response as a "yes." If I hadn't been standing there, who knows...
Ultimately, things stabilized through a combination of medication, sleep, and taking some time off work. After about four months, she went back to her job. Since then, she seems to function normally, though she's become very withdrawn, so I don't really know the details. What do you all think? Does anyone have similar personal experiences or stories about a close loved one?

Noah Davis3 said:Just so there's no misunderstanding about what happened. Specifically, the last time this went down—after I finally dragged myself to the couch to try and sleep (honestly, after she spent the whole night yelling at me because she couldn't get comfortable and wouldn't let me sleep, which was my plan all along), she started forcing this weird "couch vs. bed" power struggle on me. I was basically running away, eventually ending up sleeping in the bathroom wedged between the tub and the door—so she couldn't get in since we don't have locks on the inside of these doors. Then she started slamming against the door, and when I heard her hitting it—and she’s usually pretty laid back—I went out to check on her (look, she gave me an earful, but I still love her) and suddenly she’s screaming and running away from me. She started banging on things, and of course, somehow I'm the bad guy here... yeah, same old story as my first post.

It’s not really about one tiny little thing; there’s some underlying mess going on here, though most of it is pretty trivial. In any other context, we probably would have laughed about these situations. That’s why it’s so jarring when it actually spirals into this much drama.

Noah Davis3 said:I guess I’d say rocking her is what actually calms her down—like, if she starts getting worked up about wanting to go out or whatever, maybe a little mantra like "it's okay, we're staying in" helps depending on the situation. But honestly? She doesn't hear a single word I say—she won't react at all to anything I tell her—until I actually try to pick her up to move her to the couch or the bed. Then, the second I touch her, she just goes absolutely wild again. It happens a few times like that before she finally just settles down on her own.

Not really—it mostly boiled down to studying and concentration issues, which she was actively avoiding. And since that was maybe three or four years ago, and I actually agreed with what Fortune Teller wrote back then, I didn't push the conversation too hard. At the time, the main stressors were just general anxiety and dealing with her parents.

Look, it’s not exactly a direct trigger, but say we start getting into some full-blown war over something—and I mean really digging my heels in—so then I push back a little, right? And instead of letting it go, she just keeps nagging and making a scene. Then I end up grabbing my stuff and heading out, only for her to start hounding me about the apartment rules because apparently, I’m not allowed to sleep on the couch while she gets the bed. Suddenly, I'm right back in the middle of a total war zone.

Aaron Jackson3 said:My bad, I totally missed that part. 🤦

Aaron Jackson3 said:I’m just gonna throw this out there since nobody else seems to be giving a coherent answer... Is it possible she’s just an ultra-sensitive person who takes everything way too hard? I know I am. I tend to bottle up all my frustrations for ages, trying to play it cool because I know if I actually started snapping at people, I’d look like a total lunatic.
Then something happens—in my case, there’s usually one specific person who constantly pushes me right to the edge. I try to hold it together, which just makes the frustration and negative energy build up even more until I finally just snap.
When I blow up, it turns into some insane swearing 🤣 and I start tearing into that person. Honestly, part of me wants to get physical or smash stuff, though thank God I’ve never actually gone that far; I always manage to restrain myself. But when the dam breaks, the curses just fly out of my mouth like I’m possessed by some demon. It’s just pure, unadulterated venting. 😠 Maybe she’s dealing with the same thing? Maybe something pushed her over the limit after she’d been stacking up enough "material" to explode.
That whole scene of her sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth and chanting to herself... it looks to me like she’s experiencing some kind of release, like she's desperately trying to find her center again.
The big question now is what actually set her off. Was it something tiny, like someone leaving a dirty dish in the sink, or was it something genuinely massive?

It took everything I had just to get her to see the counselor at our university. Every time I tried to bring it up, she’d skillfully dodge the conversation...

Brenda Allen27 said:As far as I'm concerned, I've done over 30 voluntary blood donations, so I know the drill. 🙂 Last time I was there, I noticed two guys hanging around, but I didn't realize what they were up to then—it was during a plasma donation, which is still kind of new to me. From what I've been reading, the Institute of Immunology doesn't let anyone over 30 donate, though they actually pay people for it. If there's money involved, I guess it means there's some kind of market competition going on, because why would anyone do it for free if they could get paid? Sadly, it feels like fewer people are willing to step up and sacrifice like that these days (I mean, you can only donate blood maybe four times a year, which isn't even close to the 40 times you can do plasma, so it's not really comparable).

Brenda Allen27 said:So, from what I’m reading, the Institute of Immunology won't even take anyone over 30... I guess the whole voluntary blood donation thing is fine, but I don't see the logic behind paying an "expense fee" when you could just go through the Institute. 😕

Brenda Allen27 said:Are the rules any different than what they do at the Institute of Immunology? Like, is there an age limit, or does it cost more, or is the whole process different?