Discomfort

[madamesilverspurs]

With Trump in the Oval Office every day feels more and more like we are subjects in some protracted Zimbardo experiment. Squicky.


.

[ck4829]

1. We've been transplanted to an alternate reality where we're living out the cards of

a Cards Against Humanity game that a group of people in some other reality is playing.

That's my theory anyway.

[forgotmylogin]

5. It all started with the Berenstein Bears!

That was our first sign of something amiss!

[ck4829]

9. Haha

[Oubaas]

2. If You're Looking for Me...

I'll be on Tralfamadore until it all goes away.

[Wounded Bear]

3. With the privacy screen down, I presume...

[Oubaas]

6. Yep!

That's the plan!

[Quanta]

4. I literally got my meds adusted today.

Several things have happened this year that made it necessary, but as soon as I mentioned "current events" to my doc (whom I know voted for Trump), she doubled my antidepressant and prescribed Xanax as well. And she's NOT they type to give out pills willy-nilly.

[Oubaas]

7. Um...

I don't want to tell you what to do or anything, but I would like to mention that after I retired from the military, having been disabled in the line of duty, the VA decided that some Xanax would be good for me after I was diagnosed with severe PTSD. I was on it for a few years. It was a long, white pill that looked like a brick. It made me feel lethargic and sort of dull.

Anyhow, one day I picked up a copy of Barbara Gordon's book, "I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can". After reading it, I decided that perhaps benzodiazepines weren't my cup of tea, so I stopped taking Xanax forthwith, all of a sudden like, and I never took it again.

The result was 45 days of total amnesia. What else it did to me is anybody's guess, but losing 45 days of my life just for stopping it was enough to convince me that I don't want anymore benzodiazepines. I recommend reading Barbara Gordon's book before swallowing any. It's been 8 years since I quit taking it, and I don't miss it.

[Quanta]

10. Yeah, I agree...

I was on it in the past, switched to Buspar, then totally got off of any hardcore anxiety meds, then this happened. She's a stickler for pill hunting, and that's never been my intent. But, I have a major job change, and my partner is going through bowel reattachment surgery this month and my Mom died this year, so...she actually encouraged me to take a xanax scrip. My anxiety and depression according to her is mainly reactive...but I CAN'T take anything addictive for a prolonged period, cuz of family history..whatever!

The bottom line is that this Administration is really starting to effect the mental/emotional health of a LOT of people in this nation.

And...that's fucked up in itself.

[politicat]

8. Just don't forget that alprazolam is a rescue med, not a maintenance med.

Think of it like a rescue inhaler for asthma -- it's only to be used when you're having symptoms of anxiety. It's not a sleep med. (It will make sleep worse, because it messes with GABA. Try not to take it after whatever is your local mid afternoon.)

Get a referral to a therapist, if you don't have one. (Even online therapy or phone therapy.) An hour every couple weeks with homework and mindfulness practice is better for longterm anxiety and depression (which go together, with sleep) and for enduring this (which is technically situational anxiety and depression). And if you don't have a copy of a self-care checklist, grab one and tick those off when you're feeling particularly stressed.

There are good drugs and bad drugs; most in the benzo family are closer to my professional definition of "not great, but useful in specific circumstances."

[Quanta]

11. Yes, Politicat

I do need to reach out to those resources, but for right now, I have a LOT to do.

There's no time for that in some ways. I'm just trying to stay chill while the chaos works itself out. And, I haven't actually filled the prescription yet. It's still waiting there for me. I will pick it up tomorrow, but I totally realize it's an "as needed" kind of thing.