Posts by Laura Castillo6

Honestly, a lot of us can actually get through the day thanks to our medications, and without them, things would be pretty much impossible.

It’s a general rule that applies to just about any medication out there, not just the psychotropic ones.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely hate dealing with the side effects, but you just have to face the truth.

Look, if you don't have self-respect, you aren't going to show much respect to anyone else either. Self-respect is really the bedrock of confidence, and it’s built entirely on how you view yourself. I’ve always found that psychology offers the best strategies for building that up. Personally, I try to cultivate mine by focusing on my mindset rather than getting caught up in "external" things like trophies or career milestones—though those definitely shape who we are.

Where did I get the idea that you don't respect others? Well, based on what you mentioned about jumping into new relationships almost before the old ones have even ended. In my experience, healthy functioning in a relationship means taking a breather, being comfortable on your own for a while, and then actually being ready to dive back in. Your actions suggest you're just looking for someone to fill a void because you feel insecure; you're staying in things just so you aren't alone, rather than trying to build something meaningful. Just imagine a guy who actually cares about his partner—how would he feel seeing her with someone else just a day after a breakup? But hey, there’s plenty of "empathy" to go around, and unfortunately, this is a common pattern for men with similar psychological traits.

So, you're saying your husband is constantly playing the blame game? Instead of having healthy, assertive communication where two adults sit down and talk through their needs, it turns into guilt-tripping and emotional blackmail...

Therapy is a fantastic way to start understanding how other people perceive you. You can work through it with a solid therapist or even by diving into some heavy-hitting psychology books on behavioral patterns. But at the end of the day, all the information in the world won't change you unless you actually apply it. Our brains have this annoying habit of defaulting to our old ways, no matter how much we know better. The only way to break those patterns is through constant, daily practice.

I think you’re spending a little too much time reading those trashy tabloids. The whole strike situation—and the fact that they're already talking about more strikes—isn't really about people losing faith in our institutions. It’s much more practical than that. It’s an obvious struggle to cover basic living costs, a lack of motivation, and the feeling that they can squeeze out some better terms before the next election cycle hits.

There’s also this underlying sense of dread that if the tax crackdown keeps up—and let’s be honest, it isn't just targeting the wealthy, since we've seen how the big players often get their tax debts wiped clean—then even the middle class will start looking for the exit. I'm talking about the folks with steady, full-time jobs who, at least for now, actually make more than they spend. It really makes you wonder: what’s the point of having a government if its own citizens feel like they have to leave the country just to survive?

Jessica Miller51 said:Looks like you're playing philosopher on the psychology forums. 😛
Intelligence is just a broad term for human cognitive or intellectual ability. Since even psychologists haven't reached a consensus on what intelligence actually is, there isn't one universally accepted definition today, despite various individual theories.

Smart people can be killers and psychopaths just as easily as they can be PhDs, astronauts, or even uneducated laborers. An intelligence test isn't asking a person to act like a computer, nor are the solutions purely mathematical. It sounds like you might be a bit misinformed about what these tests actually do, since math plays a very minor role in them.

IQ tests don't MEASURE intelligence; they provide an ESTIMATION based on the results. So, the limitations of these tests are clear, yet people seem perfectly fine with getting a rough approximation.

Essentially, an intelligence test evaluates:
- Verbal skills
- Numerical skills
- Figural/spatial reasoning
- Memory and logical reasoning capabilities

There’s nothing computerized about this. I don't know how you're jumping to that conclusion. 😵 You really think you can peel back the layers of a mass murderer's psychology based on something you barely understand? 😲

Nice job.

Just to add a bit more context: if someone is born with an intellectual disability featuring an IQ below 70, or if such issues develop during their growth, we're talking about intellectual disabilities or developmental delays, which are generally categorized like this:[source missing]

Mild intellectual disability (IQ between 50-69)
Moderate intellectual disability (IQ between 35-49)
Severe intellectual disability (IQ between 20-34)
Profound intellectual disability (IQ below 20)

Wikipedia.

Elvis Presley is an idiot.

Remember that video where he was literally barking?

The real headache here is how we handle symptoms, diagnosis, and actual treatment. Most psychiatric or psychological disorders hit all three of those areas at once, which is why they end up being categorized under the international standards of disease classification.

When you look at the "Dark Triad"—and since you mentioned psychopathy and narcissism, I’ll toss Machiavellianism into the mix to complete that trio—it’s a relatively fresh concept in psychology. The thing about these specific traits is that they describe a person's personality without necessarily breaking their ability to function in daily life. Because they aren't "disrupting" everything, you can't really call them de facto symptoms. Since there's no formal diagnosis for just having these traits, people don't usually seek out treatment. That said, I was reading recently that newer forms of CBT and general psychotherapy can definitely help soften the edges of these personality traits.

Here is the main takeaway:

Lately, the Dark Triad has really caught the eye of both academic researchers and the general public alike. It’s a framework made up of three overlapping parts: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. This paper aims to walk through some of the core research findings on the subject. We'll start by defining what the Dark Triad actually is, where it came from, and what makes up its components. From there, we’ll dive into existing studies that compare the Dark Triad against the standard five-factor and HEXACO personality models, and wrap things up by looking at the most common tools used to measure these traits. I'll also touch on gender differences and how people with these traits tend to approach dating and relationships, and finish by analyzing some famous fictional characters from movies and books who fit the profile.

https://psychology-research-us.org/dark-triad-overview

There’s actually a massive distinction between psychological issues and what we typically call psychiatric disorders—the more severe mental health conditions.

It’s honestly such a fascinating phenomenon to me—the way consciousness and mental function operate during a psychotic episode. There’s this striking correlation in the symptoms; specifically, the hallucinations experienced by patients seem to follow a pattern where, for most people, they are actually pretty much the same. Given how incredibly complex the human brain is, I personally would have expected those hallucinations to be completely unique to every individual.

lonetrucker4 said:Hmmmm… I guess it’s because moderators have to have a bit of a sadistic streak, and then you’ve got us masochists coming along and totally ruining the fun for them. 🤔

It reminds me of that old joke: A masochist cries out, "Please, hit me! Step on me! Make me suffer!" and the sadist just looks at him and says, "No thanks, I'm good!" 🤣

🙏

🤣😂😂😂

Nicole Barrett76 said:While skimming through some older threads today, I happened upon a truly fascinating debate involving Newman, Delmin, and myself regarding Omega 3 EPA/DHA fatty acids

I stumbled upon this article the other day that really made me stop and think. It was talking about how the meninges—that protective layer around our brain that keeps inflammation at bay—might actually be acting like a bit of a gatekeeper. Apparently, because of how that barrier works, huge amounts of what we take in through Omega-3 supplements might not even be reaching the brain in any meaningful way. If it can't get past that shield, it’s basically just expensive oil sitting in your system without doing its job. It definitely makes you wonder if we're all just swallowing these capsules for nothing.

If you really want to get those essential fatty acids into your system, there isn't some magic shortcut or a secret pill that does it all. Honestly, the only real way to go about it is to just eat foods that are actually packed with them. It’s one of those things where you just have to focus on what’s on your plate.

Joseph Bailey41 said:With all due respect... who actually gives a damn? ☕

The real issue is just how much time people spend on the internet—specifically on Facebook. You start seeing those addiction issues pop up when users are basically glued to their screens 24/7. The more time they sink into it, the more messed up things get. Honestly, it’s pretty depressing when you look around and realize you're surrounded by digital zombies. 🤔

Believe it or not, Facebook currently boasts more than 2.1 billion users. For a huge chunk of those people, scrolling through the feed has basically become an essential part of their daily routine. But here’s the tricky part: some folks start losing their grip on how much time they spend online. They develop this intense, almost overwhelming psychological urge to stay plugged in, even when they realize it might be messing with their lives. This is what experts call Internet Addiction Disorder. When you look at it closely, this disorder hits all the classic hallmarks of addiction. First, there's "salience," where you can't stop thinking about being online. Then there's "tolerance," which is that feeling where you need to spend more and more time scrolling just to get the same little dopamine hit you used to get from just five minutes. You also have "mood modification," where people use the app to try and fix their mood, followed by "relapse," where they try to cut back but end up sliding right back into old habits. It doesn't stop there, though; you see "withdrawal symptoms," like getting genuinely anxious or jittery when you can't check your notifications, and finally, "conflict," which is when all that screen time starts causing real friction in your actual relationships with friends and family.

Research shows that Internet Addiction Disorder tends to hit men harder than women. It’s also frequently linked to disrupted sleep patterns—you know, those late nights and groggy mornings regardless of whether it's a Tuesday or a Saturday—as well as issues like insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Interestingly, though, it seems to have a negative correlation with age and certain personality traits like being open, agreeable, or conscientious. Looking at how this plays out globally, researchers like Błachnio et al. have looked into FAD in different countries, noting that FAD levels in China and The lowest in Poland represent the extremes of the spectrum. Essentially, we know that FAD pops up in all sorts of different groups and is tied to a mix of demographics, mental health variables, and personality types. But here’s the catch: we aren't quite at the point where we can officially classify FAD as a true behavioral addiction. One reason is The cross-sectional Nature of The present Studies , which providjeti Little evidence about The development and maintenance of FAD. We're basically looking at snapshots in time rather than the whole movie. To really get a handle on the epidemiology of FAD and figure out what actually drives problematic Facebook use, we really need some long-term, longitudinal research. Getting those answers is going to be vital if we want to build solid intervention programs to help protect people's mental well-being.

It’s also worth noting that a lot of the research out there regarding FAD has actually focused on places like Norway, Malaysia, and Turkey (you can check out studies like [11, 19, 20, 23, 24] if you're interested). On the flip side, even though Facebook Use Has become an integral component of everyday Life of a large part of The German population—especially among the younger crowd—there hasn't been nearly enough focus put on FAD in Germany. It's one of those gaps in the data that I find pretty interesting.

So, the big goal here was to take a deep dive into how FAD actually plays out over the course of a full year—basically looking at two different snapshots in time within an American sample. Since we’re still pretty much in the dark regarding how FAD actually develops, this whole thing was really more of an exploratory mission (you can check out [4] for more on that). We also wanted to pin down how FAD ties into various mental health factors and physical well-being (that’s where Hypothesis 1 through Hypothesis 5 come in), and see if those connections shift as time passes. Hopefully, this gives us a much clearer picture of what we're dealing with. Looking back at previous research, there’s already been a noted link between heavy Facebook use and things like depression, anxiety, and stress [11, 26, 27]. Because of that, our first thought was that FAD would show a clear connection to those same negative mental health markers (Hypothesis 1). On the flip side, researchers like Shakya and Christakis [28] and Kross et al. [29] have pointed out that staying glued to Facebook tends to drag down the good stuff, like how satisfied you feel with life or your general physical health. So, we figured there would be a negative relationship between FAD and positive indicators like life satisfaction and social support (Hypothesis 2), as well as physical health (Hypothesis 3). We also decided to throw narcissism into the mix, since studies often show it's linked to heavy social media use ([30–32]). It’s a common pattern: people with narcissistic traits often lean on Facebook for self-promotion and social interaction just to get that hit of attention and admiration they crave [33, 34]. And when they don't get that spotlight? That’s usually when the stress starts kicking in [35]. Because of that, we predicted that narcissism would be positively tied to FAD (Hypothesis 4). Finally, we looked at whether FAD might act as the middleman—mediating the link between narcissism and those stress symptoms (Hypothesis 5) (check out Fig 1 for the breakdown).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5730190/

So, there you have it—the job of the future. A specialist therapist focusing on cognitive behavioral therapy.

mistybison said:Were you taking any medications during that timeframe? It is possible you were mixing drugs that shouldn't be combined or perhaps taking them alongside alcohol.

Quincy:

coppertiger4 As specified by Douglas Gray8: Social media is truly a phenomenon. I personally feel quite guilty whenever I accidentally end up browsing the profiles of people I don't even know. It’s simply a matter of perspective. I wonder who exactly is viewing my profile and seeing my posts, only to then share that information with others who might not even have access to see it themselves. It is definitely paranoia. Or, let's say you don't post much on social media; people will start speculating about what you actually do because you're nowhere to be found online. It would have been better without that.

The internet can be quite detrimental, especially when someone spends excessive time surrounded by paranoid individuals online. In reality, the web tends to fuel narcissism, making people far more preoccupied with themselves than with anyone else—constantly obsessing over whether their selfie looks perfect, how many likes and followers they’ve gained, or if they've posted some profound wisdom they can revisit for days. 😁

It makes me wonder, when did this whole selfie craze actually take off? (🤣) I remember the first time I read a negative take on the phenomenon; it was this article from https://www.nytimes.com/topic/lifestyle/social-media/ back in 2014.

It was a super short piece that even tossed in a diagnosis and suggested therapy. When I tried sharing those thoughts with some girls I was seeing at the time, I just got the eye look—you know, that expression that basically says, "What on earth is this guy rambling about?"

🤣

coppertiger4 said:Social media is just this weird phenomenon, man. Honestly, everything about people I don't even know—just because I accidentally clicked on their profile—totally creeps me out.
It’s like your brain just starts spiraling in the wrong direction. You start wondering who's lurking on my profile, looking at what I posted, and then spreading it around to people who might not even see it themselves.
Total paranoia, for sure.
Or like, if you aren't constantly posting stuff on social media, people start gossiping about what you're up to just because you're nowhere to be found online.
We were all better off before this stuff existed....

Facebook, the web, gaming, Internet Addiction Disorder. 🍿

Robert Reyes4 said:So, did you actually ask for the cash for all that stuff you sold?

🤣

You shouldn't give more than what you’re actually okay with losing. If you end up sitting there later tallying up everything you contributed and thinking about how people took advantage of you, then you didn't give out of kindness—you were just being selfish in the first place.

Think about it like the way a mother gives to her child without a second thought. It's pure. If you aren't ready to let go of something, then don't bother giving it at all. Otherwise, you're just going to walk away feeling used. And honestly? It’s usually not even because people actually exploited you, it’s just because you can't seem to give without secretly hoping for something in return.

At that point, you're just acting like a walking calculator.

I've even seen people who give just because it makes them feel better while they're stuck in a terrible headspace. But true giving should be effortless. You should be just as indifferent about giving something away as you are when someone hands you something for free.

Just testing things out to see how this works! Looking forward to getting into the conversation. I stumbled upon this personality test online today—it’s called the SD3—and I honestly spent way more time on it than I probably should have. It’s one of those deep dives that asks a ton of questions to map out your personality traits, and while some people might find it a bit tedious, I actually found it pretty fascinating. It’s not like those quick "Which Disney character are you?" quizzes you see cluttering up social media feeds. This feels much more substantial, almost like something you’d encounter in a psychology seminar at a state university. It really makes you sit there and reflect on how you react to different situations or how you perceive yourself versus how others might see you. I ended up going down a bit of a rabbit hole reading about the different scales they use. It’s interesting how much nuance goes into defining things like extraversion or openness. I even thought about sharing my results with a few friends to see if we actually align with what the data says about us, but I think I'll keep my little psychological profile to myself for now. If you're in the mood for some quiet introspection or just want to kill twenty minutes with something a bit more intellectual than scrolling through news headlines, give it a shot. Just don't take it too seriously—at the end of the day, we're all far too complex to be boiled down to a single set of numbers on a screen!

(Start).

It honestly feels like most people have this underlying tendency to be manipulative, or they lean heavily toward narcissism, or maybe they just lack empathy altogether. It’s one of those things you start noticing once you really look for it. I actually came across a test recently that breaks down exactly where you stand in relation to those three traits compared to everyone else. It’s pretty eye-opening to see how you measure up against the rest of the crowd.

When I first sat down to take that assessment, my results were pretty eye-opening. My psychopathy score sat at a 0.3—basically the 0th percentile. Then there was my Machiavellianism at -1, which also landed me right at the 0th percentile. As for narcissism, I clocked in at a 1, putting me in the 3rd percentile. Just to clarify how this works for anyone curious: the scores range from 0 to 4, while the percentile just shows how much higher my score was compared to everyone else who took the test. Given that my narcissism was only slightly above the folks scoring a zero, I’d say it’s safe to call myself a total non-factor when it comes to the Dark Triad. I'm sitting at a solid 0% there.

There’s actually a pretty fascinating trick to this whole thing. Take someone who is exceptionally sharp—really high intelligence. They can basically study social etiquette like a textbook, learning exactly which behavioral norms make them appear "socially acceptable" to the masses. It’s all driven by psychology, really. When someone is skilled enough to mimic those patterns perfectly just to navigate a room, I tend to call them a master manipulator. If you’ve spent any time studying the Dark Triad, you’ll probably realize that a huge chunk of the general population actually carries some of those traits. Honestly, you can let a lot of it slide sometimes, but you have to be careful. If you aren't paying attention, people will absolutely take advantage of you if you give them the chance.

I’ve been thinking about this concept I came up with—the "master manipulator." I see them as being a tier above the typical Dark Triad types. The reason they sit "above" is actually pretty simple: they don't display those loud, obvious traits you usually associate with narcissism or psychopathy. Instead, their whole vibe is centered on being incredibly accommodating. Their main goal isn't to dominate you through force, but rather to stay out of trouble and keep their own skin intact by avoiding any kind of friction. They play the role of the "good person" perfectly. If they do something helpful for you, they’ll use that gesture to build what feels like a genuine friendship. But here’s the catch: they’re just playing the long game. They’re smart enough to know that once they’ve established that bond, they can lean on that friendship later to smooth over their own problems or snag a little extra benefit for themselves. In short, they are the quintessential Nice Guy or Lady Luck—acting virtuous, but always with an ulterior motive tucked away in their back pocket. You’ll run into these types most often in group settings, like big corporate offices or large social clubs. Now, look, I know it’s impossible to go around running a psychological diagnostic test on everyone you meet. You can't exactly walk into a Starbucks and start screening people for toxic traits. But if you want to spot the people who might actually be harmful to you, you really have to trust your gut. Your intuition is much better at detecting shady behavior than your brain is. If you finish an interaction with someone and you just walk away feeling used or drained, listen to that feeling. Don't try to talk yourself out of it or use logic to justify why they must be a good person. Our rational minds are often too slow to pick up on the subtle subtext of how someone is acting, but that internal alarm bell? It rarely misses the mark.

The biggest hurdle for anyone who just got hit with a diagnosis is this:

There’s this widespread assumption that everyone around you should automatically be empathetic toward what you’re going through. I bring this up all the time, and people tend to take it the wrong way, so let me clarify my point:

The reality is, unless someone is walking the exact same path as you, they truly can’t grasp the weight of your situation. For instance, if your husband has never dealt with anything more serious than a bad flu, he might struggle to connect with your reality—which is probably why he’d rather just sit there playing video games. In his mind, he thinks a quick round of medication will just fix everything and move on.
As for how that affects your relationship, honestly, it usually comes down to personality and how people react when life gets messy. Do you actually talk things out? Do you listen? Is there genuine empathy in your communication? These three things are huge indicators of compatibility, and you can usually spot them during those early dating stages long before you ever think about getting married.

At the end of the day, the core issue is that you have to accept your diagnosis as a part of your life. You have to learn to live with it regardless of whether the people around you "get it" or not. Once you truly accept it, the diagnosis loses its power over you—unless, of course, we're talking about something terminal or life-altering. That’s when things get really tough, because that's when you see people start to drift away. Most people can barely manage their own lives, let alone carry the weight of someone else's struggles. Hang in there!

Just kidding.

Seriously though, if you take a look at any other field of medicine and compare how they handle diagnostics and their overall clinical methodology...

It’s pretty frustrating. Because of a lack of actual expertise and everyone just chasing a quick buck, things that should be helping people are actually doing more harm than good today.