Bradley Bailey4 said:hey everyone, so something totally wild happened to me today. basically... I recently got my driver's license, so I had to head back to the doctor since it's been more than six months since the first checkup. That first time, I pretty much just breezed through the appointments without any real deep dive. The psychologist chatted with me for a bit and decided there was zero need for me to take those psychomotor tests given that I was a straight-A student and finished college and all that. fast forward to this morning at 7:15 AM, and I’m staring at this test like it's written in ancient hieroglyphics—just a complete mental block!! There were about ten guys from some local construction firm in the room with me, plus one high school kid. So yeah, I'm the only girl there, and clearly the most educated one by a mile. But man, I was totally out of it! The doctor is grading the tests and gives me a "nice job" (mentioning my profession and everything), but then he suddenly realizes he's actually supposed to be grading mine next. I look over, and there's this guy who looks like he's got his whole life together, scoring a 39; the doctor is practically singing his praises. Then he gets to mine... and right under the score: 21!!! He just mutters, "well... okay..." I swear I almost wanted the floor to swallow me whole from the sheer embarrassment! I just don't get it. I took these kinds of tests back in elementary school and always scored way above average... then again before starting college... and now this??? How is that even possible? Now I'm sitting here wondering if I've been living a lie my entire life. I never went around thinking I was Einstein, but I always considered myself smart and capable, and that's how everyone who knows me describes me too... I was never someone who just memorized things; I always connected everything to what I already knew... Is it possible that my intelligence was being sabotaged by the anxiety and panic attacks I was dealing with toward the end of college? Do you guys even believe in these kinds of tests?
Anxiety didn't lower your IQ; it just tanked your score on this specific test. You admitted you hit a mental wall. Also, a driver's ed exam isn't an intelligence test. Besides, you passed it anyway. 😉
Read the rules this, then go ahead and check out this too. I guess almost any issue can be framed as psychological, but you really have to put in some actual effort 🙂
I mean, it’s honestly great to start by admitting you tend to see people in black and white. It means when you find yourself totally smitten with someone new, you can actually stop and say, "Whoa, hold on a second." You have to ask yourself: what exactly is it about them? Why am I actually feeling this way? What specific traits am I projecting onto them, and what evidence do I even have to back that up?
And I guess you should probably apply that exact same logic whenever you decide someone is a complete jerk.
frch Why isn't it allowed on Reddit to ask which song people feel more connected to—"America the Beautiful" or "From Sea to Shining Sea"?
moderator Johnny B. Goode responds
Johnny B. Goode Because those two songs were sung under completely different regimes—they represent two totally different countries—and frankly, we don't need topics like that cluttering up the Politics subforum here on Reddit.
So, I’m left wondering—and I mean this sincerely: 1) Why does a moderator refer to the democratically elected government of the United States as a "regime"? 2) Can a moderator like that actually stay impartial while running the Politics subforum?
Maybe try using Google before you start a whole thread?
For instance, Wikipedia, which is basically a lifesaver for anyone with gaps in their education. Or do you honestly think it’s some massive scandal to say someone enforced a strict workout regimen or had to follow a special diet for health reasons?
Sure, the current administration in America is nothing like a communist regime, or how things were back during the era of the old guard.
Socializing seems to be harder for you than a final exam in advanced calculus. It takes an exhausting amount of effort just to catch onto a joke. Maybe try a few months of actual work:
Something tangible: pick some guy from your class you’d actually want as a friend—and no, not the most popular or successful kid in school—and see what he’s into. What’s his thing? A specific band, gaming, whatever? Just start getting into it yourself.
It’s easier if you just look at what *you* actually care about, then go find people who share those interests. There’s a massive difference between listening to country music and heavy metal when it comes to picking your crowd.
As for that feeling that everyone is staring at you: that’s just standard insecurity talking. It has nothing to do with reality. If you're really paranoid, imagine being at a Madonna concert right when she strips down on stage; everyone is staring at her chest, yet you'll still be convinced that everyone is looking at you instead. Think about it.
Jessica James3 said:Well, I mean, sure, he can decide if he wants to play a sport or whatever, but the rest of it? That's a bit tougher, I guess. Maybe the kid is just shy, or maybe he’s just not into those kinds of social scenes like everyone else is. Or who knows, maybe he has parents who are constantly breathing down his neck to focus on schoolwork. It could even be stuff he can't help at all—like how tall he is, his build, or even his hair color. Honestly, some of that isn't really under his control at all.
Well, then let him pick a sport! That’s an automatic way to make new friends.
Even if your parents completely forbid you from going out (which, I hope, isn't really a thing anymore), you can still hang out at school or during breaks... It's not true that only the "tall, blond jocks" get to have a social life. Anyone can, I guess, as long as they actually put in the effort. If you just sit there waiting for someone to invite you out, 👎
Henry Lopez14 said:Not really, but when I say mental disorder, I mean something I can't just switch off. It's more like I was just born this way and it isn't really within my control to change it, I guess.
So you're saying it's out of your control whether you hang out with people, make friends, go out, or play sports?
placidwolf27 said:I’m initiating this discussion within the realm of psychology—it feels like the most appropriate lens through which to analyze this specific pop-culture phenomenon and its various implications. While the answer might seem somewhat obvious to some, perhaps someone with more specialized expertise could uncover deeper layers or at least articulate the mechanics behind it in a more compelling fashion.
I'm curious if anyone else has picked up on that massive Mac that Thompson drives into the stage floor during the opening of his sets. What exactly is the psychological function of such a prop? Beyond the surface-level symbolism of power or, of course, peace... Is it an attempt to establish a connection with the earth? An assertion of traditional authority?
Looking at it from a historical perspective, certain political movements have always been fond of phallic imagery—axes, clubs, eagles, and so on. It makes one wonder if there is a non-accidental link here. But can we truly assume the similarity is intentional? Or is this something more profound—perhaps a subconscious manifestation of a specific state of consciousness?
Here's the topic: Sword symbolism (assuming that's what we're discussing).
Look, if you're asking what purpose that prop serves, the answer is pretty obvious: it's decorative.
EDIT: You guys are in the psychology section now, not politics. Read the psychology subforum rules so you aren't confused when posts get deleted or users get banned.
If you’re a believer, you should know that God is the one who judges and forgives, not some random person on the internet.
Personally, I find it distasteful when people throw around terms like "trash" to describe anyone. This individual committed a terrible crime. He took his own life, so the state didn't even get a chance to put him on trial. I'm no expert on church doctrine, but I know that for a long time, they wouldn't allow someone who committed suicide to be buried in a cemetery or receive religious rites. I suppose I don't know exactly when those rules changed.
The church used to treat suicide much more harshly than murder.
Rebecca Chavez85 said:I find myself scrolling through the comments on the local news sites out of California, reading what those Lawrence types have to say. Is it just me, or does everyone seem to be scrambling to find some pathetic excuse for a murderer? They bring up mental illness, PTSD, financial struggles—as if any of that makes it okay. To put it bluntly, there is absolutely no justification for such human filth. Only a true monster could lay hands on children. May they burn in hell forever...
There are no excuses. None. We're just trying to figure out how someone turns into such a monster.
“If he didn't think his illness was putting his family at risk, then he simply couldn't bear the thought of being apart from them. He loved them so much that he just didn't want to leave them behind,” one close friend noted.
Because everyone seems to agree on one thing: Ljubomir absolutely adored his kids, maybe even to a possessive degree. He was a devoted father who was endlessly proud of them. His friend suggests that this horrific act really shows the scale of his despair—just a total, complete breakdown.
For those who didn't personally witness someone being killed, but lived within that atmosphere: out of an American population of 330 million, at least 250 million felt the impact. You should realize that PTSD doesn't just affect the veteran; his wife and his children experience it too. (Not every veteran suffers from PTSD, of course.)
And you, living in a place like New York City or Chicago or Los Angeles, witnessed how it suddenly became normal to kill a person, to seize someone's home simply because they belonged to the "wrong" nation, or to fire them just because they turned 38 or had a certain last name... the aftermath of war isn't an excuse. If it were, then every single German after WWII would be considered a criminal, or every Russian, or every Ukrainian, or every Pole... (I am referring to nations that were absolutely devastated by World War II).
I am not making excuses. Rather, I am attempting to understand the mechanisms that can drive a person to such actions—both the individual psychological drivers and the environment they inhabit, which includes the broader social dimension. I haven't understood at all that this is about justification; it shouldn't be about that. It is about understanding the forces that lead to these outcomes.
Perhaps you misunderstood me; I am not saying that having served in a war is the decisive factor that causes a person to kill someone—God forbid! I am merely stating that it is a factor that places them in a demographic group that is documented to have a higher tendency toward certain types of psychological issues. And those types of psychological issues include the erosion of a value system and problems with aggression... which is certainly not an insignificant point.
I agree,🙂
My only point is that we can't use the aftermath of war as a discriminatory factor, because most of society felt those consequences directly. It's like saying the cause of a murder was eating apples in childhood. Everyone ate apples!
We just have to accept that the fallout from war and major societal shifts results in much higher levels of violence and crime. 😢
What we were shocked by twenty years ago has basically arrived on our doorstep now. 😢
I was miles away from the front lines, but my immediate family was right there. In uniform. Carrying rifles. I lost school friends. My college buddies came home disabled.
And regarding those who didn't personally witness a killing but still lived through that atmosphere: out of an American population of roughly 330 million, at least 250 million felt it. You should know that PTSD doesn't just affect the veteran; it hits the spouse and the kids too. (Not every veteran gets it, obviously)
Whether you were in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, you saw how it suddenly became normal to kill someone, to seize a person's home because of their nationality, or to fire them just because they turned 38 or had the "wrong" last name... War consequences aren't an excuse. Otherwise, every single German after WWII would be a criminal, or every Russian, Ukrainian, or Pole (referring to the nations that took massive hits during WWII)
Kyle Lee7 said:I honestly don't think this was just a crime of passion; it feels much more calculated than that. According to the news reports, he actually bought and prepared the rifle a day in advance. He waited until early morning to strike while they were still asleep, which suggests this wasn't some heat-of-the-moment argument. Planning something like that requires a certain level of premeditation. Then again, since his mental state was clearly not sound at the time, we could be looking at a psychotic break. It’s such a tragedy because there's no way for us to get any clarity from them now.
In some of these heartbreaking cases where a parent decides to take both themselves and their spouse, they sometimes kill the children as well, thinking they're doing them a "mercy" so they won't have to grow up as orphans.
Ugh, now I'm remembering those news stories from back home 😢
Like, that one woman who killed her five kids before killing herself 👎
My brain just totally froze up from how horrific that story was, I completely forgot about it.
electrictiger70 said:I am not entirely convinced that war alone isn't enough. I believe that being placed in a location and a time where all human dignity and moral rules cease to exist—where you witness horrors like mass killings for extended periods—fundamentally alters one's perception of life. It is something very few psychotherapies can actually resolve. This isn't just an individual question of a "mental disorder"; it’s about having been there and witnessing absolute chaos, seeing someone brutally tortured simply because of an ethnic label attached to their name. You were present when a person was massacred just to steal a gold bracelet.
And then, from that mental state, you are expected to reintegrate into the moral order of a peaceful society? Good luck with that.
In my view, certain consequences remain for life, whether one is formally diagnosed with PTSD or not. It is entirely possible for one's entire value system to be completely dismantled. Your sense of identity might shatter, likely reaching a point where you can no longer distinguish yourself from your surroundings... add to that the poor social support for veterans here in the US, the lack of understanding from the general public, and the situation has the potential to end exactly how it ends every five days in our national news; yes, frustrated by long-term societal neglect, a man picks up a gun and delivers judgment upon himself and "his own."
Since we aren't talking about a domestic dispute here, and he killed children as well—I don't believe he did this out of pure malice, but rather out of a distorted sense of possessiveness. In a moment of ultimate fury toward the world, he probably can no longer distinguish his own existence from theirs; if he is leaving "this hellish world," then "his people won't stay either"—that is likely the logic at play. Beyond the fact that he is reacting impulsively in the moment, the moral categories that would normally signal that his planned actions are wrong were likely shattered during the war long ago; the question is whether he even possesses them in the way a "normal" person does.
What I fail to understand is why this country does nothing regarding this issue. It is one thing when such a tragedy occurs once or twice—that is an individual problem. But when similar headlines appear every five days, it becomes a systemic social crisis. Why on earth don't they sit down and establish a social support system for these individuals, along with a social work framework designed to provide regular monitoring...
electrictiger70, how old are you?
We all lived through the war. In my opinion, the fallout isn't just something reserved for someone born in '95 in some suburb far from the front lines, especially if their immediate family wasn't involved and they went to school with kids in the same boat. How many people like that actually exist? I highly doubt there’s a single school in downtown Chicago where you won't find children of veterans—either those who died or those who never came home. Everyone growing up today in places like Houston, St. Louis, or Indianapolis is dealing with the heavy aftermath of that conflict. It's a reality they don't even have to remember to feel.
If you spent your whole life in a place like Chicago just watching war unfold on the news, you still carry the weight of it. You witnessed the total collapse of every moral value imaginable. I guess it leaves a mark.
The war left deep scars, and I don't just mean for the veterans. Society seems to be looking the other way. We simply don't have the budget, I guess. Maybe we just don't care.
slypuma17 said:And how exactly would anyone have known earlier if he didn't tell a soul? Honestly, shame on you for assuming that. 🤷
If we rule out mental illness, then we’re left with the implication that his actions were a calculated, rational choice. Do you truly believe it's possible for such an act to be the result of a perfectly sound decision? Is that the kind of thing people with impaired judgment actually pull off? 😁
You have a point; war alone doesn't justify an action like this, especially during peacetime.
It would certainly be enlightening to get a look at his private journals or transcripts. 🤷
not really🤣
I guess I misspoke. My bad. I've talked about this quite a bit with people who actually know their stuff, and I accepted the explanation: if the guy was in a full-blown psychosis (ha, someone here recently gave me a lecture on what qualifies as a psychosis 🤣), he wouldn't have been able to hide it for long. In that sense, I meant he wasn't severely mentally ill.
But it's obvious he was completely unhinged at that moment.
Still, my understanding doesn't come anywhere close to explaining that act. I can understand a jealous husband killing his wife and her lover in the act. I can get the motives behind someone like OJ Simpson. Any abused woman who snaps and commits a crime—I think I can roughly feel the desperation of other criminals who do something horrific when they finally hit their breaking point. But not this. 😢