Don't take this the wrong way, but I think your friend is just looking for an easy way out; pretending to have PTSD just to secure a pension feels... well, a bit cowardly, if you ask me. I've been dealing with schizophrenia since 2009, and I fought tooth and nail to finish my degree, though I didn't quite make it, and now I'm working a demanding physical job for $1767. I could have easily applied for disability benefits, but I chose not to. Partly because the money isn't enough to live a decent life—maybe not enough to live at all, really—but mostly because I refuse to let my illness define me; I'm still young, and I don't want my whole existence to be swallowed up by a disability check. But then again, it seems like this country allows just about anything to slide.
bluejackal2 said:Man, we were out grabbing a few drinks yesterday and I ended up getting totally grilled by some guy I went to elementary school with. He starts attacking me about how it's such a waste that I'm not working, especially since I finished that brutal engineering degree, and that I could be tapping into European Union grants and all sorts of other nonsense. I’m trying to explain to him how antipsychotics basically turned me into this emotionally numb shell of a person along with my illness, and why I wouldn't even want a job anyway since I'm retired and dealing with my veteran disability benefits and zero remaining work capacity, etc., etc., but he just doesn't get it. See, his business was struggling, so his neighbor—who's a vet himself—convinced him to just retire based on PTSD claims, so he listened, played the "crazy" card, got his pension, but since he didn't qualify for the specific veteran disability status, he's now trying to hunt it down because of this new law. The guy is healthy as a horse, doesn't take any meds, and now he thinks I'm just faking my mental health issues to get a check, like we're all cut from the same cloth. It's easier for him to shove that logic up my ass than to actually wrap his head around it, and it's not even the first time he's been riding me about working just because "it's a waste of a degree." No wonder people get pissed at us veterans when there are folks like him around. Look, I've got an IQ north of 110, but frankly, I don't give a damn about that. I just want peace, quiet, and for nobody to mess with me using their weird fixed ideas about what I should be doing. People should just live their own lives and stop trying to manage mine; I'm not asking anyone for advice or help.
Did you finish college before or after your diagnosis? I fell ill during my freshman year, and I was also studying electrical engineering. I didn't end up finishing.
If I manage to wrap things up at the office by Friday as early as I did today, there shouldn't be anything standing in my way from joining you all for drinks at 7:30 PM...🙂 I'm really hoping everything works out that way.
I really wish I could make it, I truly do, but I’m just not sure when I'll finally be back in Chicago since I have to work an overnight shift out in Austria this Friday. There's a slight chance I might pull up around 6:00 PM, though it's just as likely I won't roll in until closer to 10:00 PM. Honestly, nothing is set in stone yet. :/
I can't really make any promises, honestly; I've been out in the field working up near Austin since Wednesday. If there's any way I can swing it and make it here, I definitely will.
Carl Rivera43 said:Weather forecasts for the Washington, D.C. area and the surrounding suburbs look pretty solid. We’re looking at about 79 degrees with a mix of clouds and sunshine. Might see a little rain in the morning, but I’m still aiming for around 5:00 PM. So, we should all be able to get together!
I might run into a bit of a scheduling snag getting there by 5:00, since I'm honestly not sure when I'll be wrapping things up at work that Friday. It would probably work out much better for me if we met at 6:00 instead, otherwise, I'll likely be running a little late. Anyway, I'll touch base and give you all an update on how things are looking once Thursday or Friday morning rolls around.
bluejackal2 said:The first time it’s just your typical manic episode like anyone else, but the second time around, suddenly you’re some deep-cover CIA operative. 😬
Honestly, the first time I went through it, I was convinced I was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. I eventually let go of that notion pretty quickly, mostly because I still had enough grip on reality to know better. The second time around felt much more terrifying, though instead of getting caught up in religious delusions, I spiraled into political ones. The hardest part about that second episode was definitely the hallucinations. It took me about three weeks just to shake them off enough to feel somewhat grounded again, and it actually took a full year before I felt truly back to my old self. It wasn't until I started reintegrating through work that the very last symptom—this nagging feeling that someone was tracking my every move—finally faded away.
Alexander Adams94 said:We all know it. Plus, nimbleharbor46 is in her prime; to those of us in Washington, D.C., she’s even more attractive than someone from Florida. She’s been pretty open about wanting to find a boyfriend on a few different threads. I’m not trying to beat around the bush—it seems pretty obvious given how we all interact with her.
It doesn't necessarily have to be that way, though. For one, I actually have a girlfriend. I’m just pointing out that our attention tends to lean more toward the ladies, which—thank God—is only natural 🤔. Don't get me wrong, I definitely talk to the guys too, but if I had to break it down, I'd say my focus is about 60/40 towards women, provided they're actually around 😁
Let’s be honest here—women have always been the center of our attention, and I don't see that changing this time around, no matter how many of you decide to show up 🤔 😁
Jose Ward4 said:Look, guys, I’ve got some bad teeth. I actually developed a cavity right on my front tooth. Are you all going to judge me? It's been rough. My dad passed away two years ago, and honestly, I'm only just starting to process everything. I spent a whole year straight just looking after him during his illness. Pretty sure it was cancer. I wanted to see a dentist back in October, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it before now.
I am so incredibly sorry to hear about your father. 😢
If your tooth is actually hurting, please try to get it looked at as soon as possible. You really shouldn't be relying on painkillers for another month and a half.
Well, you know how it goes with girls sometimes; they make all these big plans to show up, but then they get hit with a sudden wave of nerves and end up ghosting you at the last minute.😛
nimbleharbor46 said:I was just wondering, how many women usually end up joining the conversation?
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It really depends, I suppose. Some times you might see three or four people, other times it's just one person, or sometimes nobody at all. To be honest, though, it feels like nothing has been organized here on the Psychic Couch for quite a while now.
I hate to be the one to jump in and break up the argument, but I wanted to let you all know that I'd love to join the get-together next weekend on Friday. I actually have some other things lined up for that weekend, so it would be even better this because, if I'm being honest, I'm feeling pretty lonely lately and the weather forecast looks absolutely miserable. :/.
Nicole Barrett76 said:I would argue that Borderline Personality Disorder is actually the more complex challenge. While its symptoms might not be as explosive or overt as those seen in schizophrenia, does its profound difficulty to identify and diagnose not make it even more complicated?
After all, can we truly provide effective treatment without first establishing an absolutely precise diagnosis?
Bordere is notoriously difficult to treat. While schizophrenia presents a wider array of overt symptoms, those can often be managed quite effectively by combining just one or maybe two antipsychotics.
Jose Ward4 said:Actually, I was Neo last year. John was Jesus. As for what Diego was... honestly, I haven't a clue.
If we're talking about roles, I suppose I was the most significant figure in America—the big optimist who stepped in to replace the ultimate pessimist, Sanders, back in 2009.🍿
Jose Ward4 said:There’s definitely some truth to that. Honestly, I’m a total rebel against this whole corporate machine, even though I’m right in the middle of it. I’d give anything to just be out in the woods somewhere, growing my own tomatoes, making homemade jam and preserves. It drives me absolutely nuts. Sometimes I don't even know what to do with myself because I'm so deep in this corporate lifestyle—I'm using the system while simultaneously hating it. I was always a rebel, even back in high school. I used to drive my parents crazy. "Don't do this," "Watch out for that." It always had to be my way. Since I was a kid. When I fell into that obsession with having to—and I think we all feel we have to—save the planet... man, I was spiraling. Thinking about pollution, how fish are disappearing, forests being leveled, all that crap. While I was losing my mind worrying about the Earth and what kind of mess we're leaving for the next generation, my friends were just out partying and hooking up. I couldn't wrap my head around it back then. Like, do they really not see what I see? Even if the education system is a complete joke. I had this specific vision where biology, physics, and math had to merge to reach those five postulates. Basically, all science needs to unite to solve the problems currently torturing mathematicians and biologists. A unified science. All of this started about five or six months before I enrolled at the University of Michigan, which I didn't even finish. I totally washed out after the first semester. I won't even lie and say I understood much of it. It was just too hard. No practical application whatsoever. And all those visions, that initial mental spiral... I didn't experience any of that until I was 24.
You probably signed up for one of the hardest programs in the US—physics. Physics is actually tougher than MIT, for real. I personally tried my hand at studying for the FBI, MIT, and the University of Michigan. At least my conscience is clear because I genuinely gave it my all to try and graduate. Over ten years, I only managed to pass one single year. But unlike some people, nobody was funding me from the start until the moment I quit; I paid for everything myself. And yeah, I also dealt with that mental spiral starting when I was 21.
Laura Castillo6 said:If you ask me, the absolute scariest part is losing your grip on reality. I think that's why people are so terrified of it in the first place.
Yeah, that’s the main point I forgot to bring up earlier. Ultimately, losing your grip on reality manifests as hallucinations, and I've actually dealt with visual, auditory, and even olfactory ones myself.