Posts by David Hall6

Eric Gray2 said:Hey, I don't think we've officially met yet—I'm one of the moderators for the psychology subforum. 🙂

Now that we're acquainted, there’s really no reason for you to be rehashing your situation with your parents here, especially since you're already covering it in the appropriate thread.

The way you're throwing around terms like "schizophrenia" and "schizophrenics" as insults to describe all the crap your parents put you through—well, I won't allow that kind of demonization of the illness in this space. I am truly sorry you dealt with such terrible parents, but that doesn't give you a free pass to come into a forum meant for providing information and support—primarily for people living with schizophrenia—and insult an entire group of people just because you didn't win the genetic lottery. There are plenty of jerks out there without a single diagnosis; having a psychiatric condition isn't a prerequisite for being a complete asshole. Equating shitty behavior with actual symptoms, or trying to play amateur doctor based on nothing, simply isn't welcome here.

Fine, I'll stick to threads about toxic parents and narcissistic personality disorder and things like that.
I wonder if it would actually matter if they had an official medical diagnosis... would I still be barred from talking like this?

Eric Gray2 said:David Hall6, this is the third time I'm asking: do your parents actually have a schizophrenia diagnosis? Or were they just terrible parents, and you've decided to slap a bunch of mental illnesses on them just to be spiteful?

From now on, I’m going to flag any posts about "schizophrenics." Go demonize mental illness somewhere else.

You aren't some authority figure, and you certainly don't have the right to try and blackmail someone just because they hold a different opinion.
It’s funny how everyone on this sub talks endlessly without anyone actually mentioning an official diagnosis.
It’s perfectly reasonable to discuss symptoms and the evidence we've gathered, whether we're talking about narcissism, sadism, or anything else for that matter.

So, according to your logic, parents should have a free pass to be abusive or violent whenever they feel like it? As long as some government agency hasn't officially diagnosed them or filed the paperwork, they don't actually have a disorder? It’s a pretty cynical way to look at things.

Eric Gray2 said:David Hall6, this is the third time I'm asking: do your parents actually have a schizophrenia diagnosis? Or were they just terrible parents, and you've decided to slap a bunch of mental illnesses on them just to be spiteful?

From now on, I’m going to flag any posts about "schizophrenics." Go demonize mental illness somewhere else.

I have a family member with an official schizophrenia diagnosis. He isn't abusive, and I’m not trying to slap labels on everyone or make sweeping generalizations here. I’m simply looking at the reality of my own situation: some people are just inherently malicious, and they happen to deal with mental health disorders that strip away their ability to think logically or maintain a grip on reality. Those cognitive breaks are just part of the clinical picture.

I provided some specific examples. I'm honestly not sure if there’s a better way to label them.
Or let's just call them what they are: lunatics. It’s not enough. I’m actually posting about this over on the toxic parents thread as well.

Nicholas Barnes74 said:So, who actually has the diagnosis here? Is it the parents, one parent, or is it you?
I don't really get it. What's the point of this topic? If you're having this much trouble, just distance yourself from your parents—unless you're a minor, obviously. But based on everything I'm reading here, it sounds like maybe the issue is actually with you.

😵 You clearly have some massive issues if you can say something like that after seeing those specific examples. It's honestly painful to read.

Since my thread Children of Schizophrenic Parents was shut down, I have to keep posting about this specific intersection of schizophrenia and toxicity here:

- Imagine you sprain your ankle badly. You're wearing a brace and using a crutch—it's obvious to anyone looking. But to a toxic, narcissistic schizophrenic parent, it doesn't exist. They refuse to acknowledge it. They send you off to work anyway, and after ten minutes of limping around with a visible brace, you finally find the nerve to say, "Can't you see I can't work like this?" Instead of empathy, they just grit their teeth in disappointment at you and walk away, giving you the silent treatment because they feel insulted by your physical condition.

That’s just one example, and honestly, there are countless more.

It's like suggesting real estate as a safe way to invest. You bring it up, and since they used to work in that field before retirement, they take offense if it isn't done exactly according to their dictates. They’ll tell me I’m crazy or that I have fixed ideas, even threatening me with psychiatric intervention. Later, when the opportunity passes and I lose money, it’s as if the conversation never happened. It's like they have no memory of what we discussed.

I once offered to settle things by paying them $1,000 an hour to talk in front of a recording device or a witness—just so our positions are documented and can be defended in court or before a psychiatrist. They just laughed and ran away.

They claim I've never consulted professional medicine, even when I hand them dated lab results and reports with my name on them from actual doctors. They look right at the material evidence and the witnesses and insist it never happened.

Just try to imagine living with people like that. It takes an incredible amount of mental strength, willpower, and discipline just to endure it all.

Schizophrenia isn't just one thing that people think they understand. It’s a spectrum of symptoms, the most glaring being the inability to think logically or connect with reality. There is a complete disconnect between the things happening in their heads and the actual world they live in.

Jason Grant85 said:Johns Hopkins Hospital ER... we've got a guy there who's already survived four heart attacks—running a sky-high pulse, sharp chest pains, struggling to even catch his breath—and he was sent straight to the emergency department by Lockheed Martin... yet he sat there waiting for over two hours before finally being admitted to observation, all after three frantic pleas at the intake desk. Honestly, I have nothing but questions about how they actually define their triage priority levels. 👎

I’ve had similar experiences everywhere in this dysfunctional country. What can you do? Unless you have the kind of power required to actually fix a nation—which most people don't—you just have to deal with it. If I were you, I'd suggest looking for ways to move somewhere you're actually treated like a human being.

fadedorca84 said:I got a positive breath test result at the end of August. The plan is two antibiotics combined with a low FODMAP diet. Honestly, I'm struggling to commit to the antibiotics because it feels pointless if I don't understand what actually caused this in the first place. I’ve been sticking to the diet, but I’m not seeing any real improvement. Should I try digestive enzymes? How do you even figure out the root cause? On top of everything else, I'm dealing with constipation, bloating, gas... and then some. Please share your experiences!

I went through a round of antibiotics for H. pylori once, and it absolutely wrecked my gut microbiome. I wouldn't do it again if I had a choice; I felt much better before that treatment than after. You could give digestive enzymes a shot.
Try electrolytes too—sometimes your gut just needs more hydration.
Find some high-quality probiotics to see if they make a difference, and keep digging.
One thing that worked for me was taking Normabel with food. If I take it on an empty stomach, it has a calming effect on my head, but it doesn't touch the actual issue. When I take it with meals, it settles those stress signals from my gut. It helps prevent that mental spiral because we have the enteric nervous system—our "second brain." With IBS, the root cause might very well be sitting right there in that neural connection.

Try these methods and keep searching until you find what works. Personally, I wouldn't touch antibiotics unless there was absolutely no other way.

It’s honestly a tragedy how little mainstream medicine actually cares about the gut microbiome; the way they handle testing and treatment is practically nonexistent.

I can point you toward some decent books on the subject, but my biggest piece of advice is to be extremely careful with antibiotics. If you aren't cautious, you risk wiping out your good bacteria, which creates massive problems down the road.

If you're up for it, shoot me a DM with your SIBO results. I spend a lot of my time looking into this stuff and I'm always hunting for more data; if there's any additional interpretation included with the report, that would be incredibly helpful.

I’d also suggest getting a stool analysis done to see exactly which beneficial bacteria are missing from your microbiome.

There’s plenty more I could say, but most of it falls under alternative health, and I don't want to get flagged here. We can move the conversation to private messages if you want.

Best,

Morgan Peterson6 said:He’s in such a dark place—some days he even messages me saying he just wants to be erased, to simply cease existing. He’s craving nonexistence. He’s been on this deep journey of awakening for years now, soaking up all kinds of literature and life experiences... and now? He just can't find any meaning in anything. He says he hasn't found a single thing that gives him hope that we’re here for any reason other than being food.
He honestly views this whole world as a flawed piece of work—like something went wrong during the Creation. He thinks we're just programmed, living in some kind of matrix where entities stomp all over us like we're characters in a video game with zero free will. He doesn't find any joy in life; he's just deeply, profoundly unhappy. He can't stand the injustice and the sheer pain of this dimension. I can feel his sadness... and it makes me so sad just being around it. He’s one of those truly good, gentle souls... how am I even supposed to help him?

Help might actually be practical: a total overhaul of his diet. It sounds trivial, but it isn't. Our nervous system and glands are heavily dependent on what we eat; you can modulate a lot of biological functions through nutrition.
My advice would be to switch to vegetables (leafy greens are a must) and fruit, plus prebiotics and probiotics (if not store-bought, then fermented veggies). That way, he builds a quality microbiome to stabilize his consciousness. Most of the chemistry governing our functioning and mood actually originates in the gut.

It’s a shame he didn't find the truth sooner. In later years, it's harder to accept reality because you lack the foundation to withstand it—especially when processing things through external media. In that case, there is no "self" involved, just intellectual realization. It’s like being naked and having to carry a coat in your hands; it's exhausting and frustrating. In the first scenario, you clothe yourself with the weight of knowledge as you grow; you carry the burden, but at least you aren't exposed.

If he manages to follow these suggestions (including some supplements), he could achieve stability and become a strong, independent individual capable of progressing regardless of his environment.

That path is much harder, but the payoff is worth it. I should clarify: it isn't necessarily agonizing, just demanding. Think of it like being an athlete—it's tough, but the results provide enough satisfaction to keep you going.

velvetbear372 said:Can someone point me toward a top-tier urologist within the European Union?

How do I find a clinic in the European Union capable of actually treating this?

Are the University Hospitals in New York City and Chicago reliable choices?

Staying here is pointless; the doctors just ignore the issue entirely.

Are you looking at private practices or just public healthcare?
You could try searching Google Maps using German terms for specialists or clinics to see what pops up, then reach out directly.

PS: With urological issues, sometimes the real culprit is actually bowel permeability.

As you age, your metabolism naturally starts to drag its feet.
1) Things that used to mask internal inefficiencies—like certain enzymes and coenzymes—just don't cut it anymore.
2) It all comes down to what you're eating. If your diet was low on fiber and you weren't getting enough probiotics, your digestive tract might just be exhausted. Digestion can soak up about 80% of your energy under perfect conditions, let alone when you're dealing with a deficiency in good bacteria or enzymes.
Then you have to factor in things like systemic acidity, dehydration, or a lack of electrolytes and specific vitamins like magnesium. You also have to consider toxic load, pathogens (viruses, bacteria, parasites), and specifically keeping an eye out for things like Candida.

In a situation like this, those are the primary areas I’d look at first.

restlesshound48 said:Sometimes I think—or maybe I just refuse to believe, because that feels like too strong a word—but I don't know what else to call it.🙄

I’m not sure if there's any hope left for anything. I don't personally believe there is, but I'm asking here in case anyone actually knows otherwise.

Is there a "natural" way to manage or heal depression? Something I can work on by myself?

Your gut microbiome plays a massive role—in many cases, it's decisive. You can actually shift your mental state by adjusting your diet and using probiotics.

It's easier to start when you're younger, but it's never too late; you'll still see the effects regardless of your age.

The main hurdle with probiotics is usually the cost, especially since you need higher doses for more serious issues. That said, you can get the basics on a middle-class budget. If money is tighter than that, look into water kefir; people often give away starters for free on local community boards, and you just keep multiplying it.

Beyond that, find some healthy stimulation for your brain or endocrine system—something that actually provides a sense of satisfaction.