Great except I wrecked my car.
Damn sorry to hear that. What happened?
Not much point in telling it really - totally my fault, somehow I made a turn across in front of somebody, didn’t even see them coming. Nobody hurt and the other car just had a busted front corner, but my car was undrivable and the insurance company totalled it. It was a 2014 Nissan Leaf. I loved driving that thing - instantly felt completely at home in it, it felt like a little spaceship.
Im glad you’re safe. Hang in there man. At least you’re brave enough to try driving. Im too anxious to drive.
In my late 20s I had anxiety so bad I constantly walked around feeling like I was about to have a heart attack. Inspired by the movie Fame, I signed up for a community college acting class in the evenings. I forced myself to jump in with both feet on the first night. Getting through that was all it took - it turned out I was actually good at it and it was a blast. I became a total theatre guy - had big parts in a couple plays, designed and built sets, did props, ran lights, became stage manager… And almost immediately I had a thriving social life - going out in groups for food, going to parties, throwing my own… theatre became my life, my job was just something I did during the day. In all this my anxiety COMPLETELY faded away.
Besides all the fun there were other benefits. Learning to get into character transformed job interviews for me - I would just reframe the situation so it wasn’t a job interview - I already worked there, I had just been away for a while and it was my first day back. It was going to be great to see the people again! It was a great group and our manager was awesome, I couldn’t wait! So I would get into that character and walk in genuinely feeling glad to be there instead of being nervous. That’s 90% cultural fit right from the start. My success rate skyrocketed (I was a contractor doing software jobs, so I had to get new jobs quite often).
Theatre led directly to eventually meeting my wife, and gave me the confidence to become a dad. I wouldn’t be the person I am if I hadn’t taken that first step. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone with anxiety!
It’s actually going not too bad compared to last year. This time last year I was living in my mom’s basement, anxiety ridden, lonely, and had no money. Now, I’m in my own place, have some money to spend on myself finally, and my anxiety has gone down significantly. Still lonely but now I can distract myself and have a lot of online people I talk to no so…better than nothing. So far, I’d say not too bad.
Sound like huge wins to me.
My employer was taken out of commission by a ransomware attack for nearly a month.
About when that concluded, my fiancée contracted severe pancreatitis from a fairly routine surgery and has been fighting for her life ever since.
My doctor chalks down all the extreme dizziness and sleepless nights I’ve had down to stress. I have to hope she’s right cause I really don’t have the energy to spare for being ill right now.
So in summary, less than great so far.
I’m sorry you’re dealing with so many stressful things at once.
I just recently learned about some causes of vertigo along with a super quick thing to try to relieve it, and I thought I would share it under the chance it might provide some relief to at least one of the awful things. It came from a newsletter by a chiropractor I saw who many years ago. I know some chiropractors are quacks, but this one was incredible at recognizing patterns and was able to provide me extreme pain relief mostly just from simple stretches he taught me, so I have high respect for what he shares.
What are the causes I find that trigger vertigo?
- Tight suboccipital muscles at the base of the skull.
- Blocked sinus cavities not draining, backing up mucous and fluid into the middle ear cavity.
- Fluid imbalances in the inner ear due to NSAIDS and antihistamines being used in excess.
- Tight jaw muscles causing abnormal tracking of the jaw when opening and closing the mouth.
- Very rotated fixated first cervical vertebrate pinching off the eustachian tube of the middle ear that is responsible for allowing drainage to occur to the back of the throat.
Then he provides this 1m video with a tapping technique that tracks 20 seconds.
Doesn’t speak to the sleeplessness and I’m not a medical professional. I’m just a concerned stranger who recently gained knowledge that could maybe be helpful to you?
Outside of my country being on fire and being a bit worried the small company I work for will survive, my personal life has been pretty good.
I’ve been casually seeing a new woman and it’s been nice to break out of my usual comfort zone of “you are now half of my life” relationships. And it’s given me motivation to get consistent with lifting weights because I want to look good for her (and tbh love when she grabs/holds my arm), which has really helped me control my blood sugar. I might even be able to dial back my medications depending on how my next doctor’s visit goes.
It’d be absolutely grand if it weren’t for the collapse of democracy. There really are a lot of things coming together for me right now and I’d be so happy if I weren’t worrying about having to flee the country.
The first 5 months were hell but today I left the US for good, so things are starting to look up
I live in America, so there’s that. I’m over 40 and now health is definitely a priority.
However, I passed my CompTIA A+ certification and had a few interviews but decided the tech industry is a volatile shit hole even if the pay can eventually be great. I was substitute teaching in the in between and have LOVED it, so I decided to go back to school and I’m starting graduate classes in a week for my Master’s in (elementary) Education!
great, self-esteem is pretty good and i’ve started writing fiction (it’s very terrible writing since i just started, but it’s writing nonetheless). my drawing skills have been improving at the usual pace and my social skills are, overall, much better than last year. a lot of school stuff to do though, ugh.
Yep
My cat died on the 5th of January (brain damage due to the stress of fireworks) and it’s only gone downhill from there.
I’ve been in flight or flight mode for months now. Still haven’t decided which.
How are you posting this if you have flight mode turned on?
That’s a damn good question!
🫂
I wish I was dead but thanks for asking. I have a busted tooth I can’t afford to fix, we had to get a replacement vehicle and it costs too much, which gave the insurance company and excuse to double the insurance rate even though it’s a newer, better car. We can’t afford that either. I’m going to have to file for bankruptcy just to get by.
Good and meh. Personal life is great. I’m able to engage in all the hobbies I want to and am particularly chuffed about learning to play piano. Got a new motorcycle last month that I actually enjoy riding.
Marriage is pretty good. Got a bunch of child support earlier this year, which helped pay off most of my son’s medical debt.
Work is…meh. I love my job but I’m over it when it comes to working in general.
Health-wise… it’s okay considering how bad it can get. I don’t sleep well due to my heart pounding half or the whole night (been an ongoing thing for over a decade and no one can tell me why) so I take a blood pressure supplement (the only thing that helps). Always tired. I’ve become more of an introvert, which is completely fine because I really love my alone time. Have a good group of friends that I stay in touch with and occasionally socialize with.
Overall, I have no complaints. Unsure about the government situation but I can’t get stuck in worrying about that because that dumpster fire will just keep burning. Hoping for enough resistance to keep things from exploding…
The boulder gets bigger every day.
All of this decade has been the worst time of my life, but this year has been very slightly better than last at least. Really need people to start actually hiring again and for the economy to stop being the worst, but no hope there. I’m just begging for the reaper at this point.