Best posts made by Kestrel

@silverfox Thank you for sharing this very important mews.

Saint Andrewism is a Trinidadian artist & anarchist who makes video essays about aesthetics, politics and idealism.

Pros:

• Calm, soothing voice which is pleasant to listen to
• Videos are peppered with bits of dry, biting sass which will make you smirk
• Informative, educational and original thinker
• Some essays are long (my favourite of his is 50 minutes) but some are short (10 minutes or less) so when time is a factor there's still plenty to choose from.
• They aren't overly visual so you don't actually have to pay full attention to the screen and can just play his videos in the background while taking care of chores or whatever.

Cons:

• He's not very apologetic about his views so it may not be suitable for people who sit comfortably either on the fence or on the other side of it.

Linking his popular uploads playlist, the first of which is just 8 minutes: What is Solarpunk?

So ... has anyone seen any benefits from therapy for ADHD?

From stuff I've read online it seems like medication + therapy together is the best approach, rather than either one on its own.

But the therapy I see recommended for ADHD is CBT, and my awareness of the history and proliferation of it in modern psychology leads me to be very sceptical of it.

I don't know if MSB is the best place to ask this and I could probably go on some ADHD reddit or something, but the MU* community is what led me to initially pursue an assessment for it and I feel like my thought processes probably share more in common with other MU*ers than with the average person.

@greenflashlight said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):

@kestrel I have no personal experience with it, but someone I know is on medication, and without getting specific, he once said that he only needs to miss a day's dose to notice big changes that negatively impact his life.

I'm currently on medication and the difference of being on/off it is night & day. However I'm still in the "trial" phase so I wasn't prescribed enough to take it daily and even have that last a month. Delays in booking a second appointment and getting the prescription renewed have also given me ample leave to really appreciate that.

So, I've been rationing it for days when I think I'll need it most, i.e. when I have important obligations, expect to be around other people or know that I'll have a good stretch of time to get certain things done. A day I want to spend deep-cleaning the house or sending off a bunch of emails, etc.

I still feel like therapy might also help? Because basically I've structured my whole life up until this point around the expectation that there are certain things I just can't do and therefore shouldn't try to. And now I feel like, actually, with medication, maybe I can. I just need a push to adjust that mindset or relearn basic life skills I've previously adjusted to making do without.

@wretched said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):

My Previous doc wanted me to do an 8 week CBT course, but it was only available wednesday evenings and there were hurdles about time and the like that meant i couldn't do it. But Kaiser in my experience is terrible with accommodations in appointments and scheduling that would actually be helpful to people they are treating with ADHD.

Haha yeah this kills me. Even before I started to entertain the idea that ADHD might be a factor it's always frustrated me that mental health professionals would be aware that certain things are just hard for me, because of mental health issues, but still make no provisions for it. Like you'd think this is the one field where things are a bit easier and missing or being 10 minutes late to an appointment doesn't carry the same consequences.

My experience of CBT is not good, and I think the scientific consensus surrounding it leaves much to be desired as well. I think its popularity has more to do with business interests than actual worth. I won't rant about this here but you know, google it, and talk to people in the mental health profession who don't personally stand to profit from it or from you.

@arkandel said in Good TV:

Same as Saruman's 'voice' it made the wielder extremely manipulative, and even that not in a direct 'mind control' kind of way.

Wormtongue too, and the Arkenstone.

I think these concepts work as metaphors too, but I concur it is a shame we don't get to see the victims of this show humility when the spell is broken. Because it was "just" magic.

Waiting a month to be contacted by a specialist about what should be a fairly straightforward medical referral; contacting them to check in on the hold-up; finding out I'm on a one year waiting list.

I'm glad my country offers free healthcare but it's kind of also a gigantic lie.

I decided to dedicate 30 minutes before bed tonight to read up on the nitty-gritty science of dopamine, stimulant drugs, nutrition and sex hormones. I wanted to prepare notes for an upcoming shrink appointment and had left it to the last minute.

Well, it's 4 hours later, but I did obtain a lot of useful information, and will now be increasing my intake of matcha tea, probiotics and velvet beans.

My New Year's Resolution for 2016 was to give up alcohol. As of 2017 I've accomplished this, and didn't have even a drop of alcohol throughout the last year, not even on my birthday or any other special occasion. It didn't feel like that much of an effort but I am super proud of myself all the same. Bit by bit I'm trying to get healthier, and having gone plant-based a few years prior (also as the result of a New Year's Resolution!), this felt like the next logical step.

Granted, my goal was also to drop 10kgs in 2016 and I didn't succeed in that resolution, but you know ... win some lose some. (I actually dropped 20kgs but regained it. GDI yo-yo dieting.)

My resolutions this year are twofold, and are a fair bit simpler:

• Be more selfish.
• Start a bullet journal.

The first resolution I realise isn't one most people would make, or even look favourably on other people for making, but I've come to realise that taking better care of myself is a major step I need to make as a grown-up. I'm one of those people who'll drop everything in an instant for a friend, but when it comes to my needs, I usually leave those to the wayside and I'm way too critical and harsh on myself, while other people never meet me halfway, nor do they extend the same care or permissiveness I offer them. So ... yep. 2017 is the year that I stop feeling bad for needing to put myself first, in lieu of expecting other people to meet the standards I set for myself.

Apart from that, I'm notoriously disorganised and need to get my shit together. So instead of making a list of resolutions for myself this year (which I usually do), I've decided to take it bit by bit, month by month, and set myself health/education goals as I go, to suit my fluctuating state, while focusing on the little things and the getting of the shit together (e.g., do laundry today). I like that the bullet journal system is very suitable for an on-the-fly kind of lifestyle, since you don't pre-plan your year or even month — you use as much space as you need for the day/week, index your newest lists and goals, and then write up your next month after as many pages as you've needed to use for the one prior.

I may post pictures after I've prettied mine up for the week and stuff, if this thread is still going and I'm not feeling super self-conscious by then!