Quote:
Originally Posted by twinarmageddons
And thanks, I certainly will. Actually, would you mind telling me ways how you cope with your problems? If you don't mind my asking. I know they are not the same as mine, but I'd really like a little insight, nonetheless.
|
Oh um, well. Lots of ways, really. My biggest thing is having goals - lots and lots of goals. I guess having things I want gives me a reason to stay well. I exercise, which is also a 'goal' thing for me. I ran a marathon a few weeks ago; my next goal is to run three marathons in one year. I'm also very academic and I have a lot of 'book learning' goals. I made a career goal for myself when I stopped taking psych drugs. I have financial goals; like I have a savings goal. I'm looking into an (admittedly very bizarre) coping strategy, which is to purchase certain investments which get liquidated if their owner loses mental capacity. Then I lose money if I go nuts!! Ha. That might be taking it a bit too far.
What else . . . hrrrm.
I have a special diet - which I'm currently reviewing.
I do yoga in addition to the running.
I have a kickass, eccentric therapist who takes a really different approach and has helped me a lot.
I think routines are very important; getting up and sleeping at the same time every day no matter what is going on. Eating at regular intervals. My body gets really angry at me if it doesn't know roughly what's coming next.
I avoid caffeine as much as possible. But eh, I'm (almost!) a lawyer, I think it's a law we have to drink coffee!! I don't drink alcohol, though.
Meditation. I'm getting better at this as I practice. I've heard a lot about how meditation is better than therapies like CBT because with CBT you learn to repress/divert bad thoughts, but with mediation you learn to simply sit with them.
I own very few things. I don't know why, but the more 'stuff' I have the more unwell I feel.
Sorry, that probably sounds like a hopelessly random list of crap. It is! I had to nose around a lot in my own life and figure out the things that worked for me. I did a hell of a lot of reading in self-help books, religion/spirituality books, cookbooks, diet books, personal finance -- everything. I picked out strategies that appealed to me and tried them. Some worked, many didn't.
[ETA: I forgot to add that I also started getting acupuncture and seeing a Chinese/alternative medicine practitioner recently. I noticed that my nuttery is closely linked to my hormones, so I'm going on a quest to sort that **** out.]
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinarmageddons
And yes, I'm 17, but I graduated High School early at 16. I just finished my Freshman year of college. With friends, still no luck or interest to have them. I have had a number of friends in the past, but I feel like I do not want any friends unless they are going to be in the same fantasy land as me and want to talk to me about that all the time. Selfish, I know. But it's how I think about things, nonetheless.
|
Oh wow, we're very similar! I graduated when I was sixteen, too. I was in my first year of university when I was 16/17, and I moved to Greece for it. It was a very lonely time! The men in Greece have to do military service once they graduate from school, so often I was in classes with women two years my senior and men four or five years my senior!! Unsurprisingly, I didn't have much in common with the other students.
Anyway, that's dull. What do you study?