I used to run this setup in the morning (primarily for circadian regulation) about a decade ago. I remember it being really intense, even for 15 to 30 minutes. I’d have a strange “buzz” from it for an hour or two afterward, but it ultimately didn’t help as my problem turned out to be physiological. I’ve since repurposed it as a special effect photography light.
Probably belongs in the Alcohol thread.
For the record I’m also fairly skeptical about depression meds. They’re life saving in the short term and they work for some people in the long term, but they’re a blunt instrument. I have been on them several times myself, so I know whereof I speak. I wouldn’t take them again unless I felt I had absolutely no other option, but I also wouldn’t presume to advise others against them. They’re very situational.
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It’s not just that. Not everybody has access to proper therapy or the insurance/money required to pay for it, especially those who live in rural areas in America. Even those with insurance that supposedly covers it will have to fight the insurers to get them to actually follow through. For those people, mental illness is basically gg life. It becomes time to self-medicate oneself.
Even countries with universal health care are lacking in mental health coverage. When I was searching for mental health treatment in Prague, psychologists who accepted government insurance were loaded with patients and in some cases had a waiting list that was months long. I had no choice but to seek private care. Sure it’s worth it but I’m lucky to have the $200/month to spend on once a week meetings.
Here’s a video about it:
Yea, I’ve been writing about it in my blog, but right now I’m in the midst of helping someone who is having a bit of a suicidal crisis. He has no insurance and it’s going to take him weeks to see a doctor, so I stepped in and found one that could see him relatively quickly. It’s still gonna be 2 weeks before he can get in, and it costs $250 just for a consultation.
And meds don’t always work on people. I have treatment resistant depression. Even the antidepressant that works best on me (wellbutrin (bupropion)) still has me get a little low in certain parts of the year.
It’s a treatable problem, but it’s not always easy. Drinking is easy, so people drink.
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I wasn’t trying to put words in your mouth, just wanted to state the fact that mental health care, especially in the US, is a really difficult system
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It’s not in their head though. The stigma is real.
Sure, it’s nice to hear a “good for you” type of thing out loud for seeking therapy but that positive person is going home talking to their friends about how fucked up Tommy is.
UP is a bit of a bubble where people are generally progressive and empathetic towards people dealing with mental issues. Regrettably there’s a much larger bubble in the states that’s the complete opposite.
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It is definitely a stigma in the USA. My family thinks I’m crazy, as well as I’m sure more than a few posters here. Granted, I am a little weird and definitely not a neurotypical.
I had bad issues in my late teens and very early adulthood. I fell into drugs and a deep depression and had some suicide attempts. To this day, my family has never looked at me the same, despite getting my shit together, becoming a captain on my own, earning my own way through school with a difficult degree, starting a new career before I was 30 - all of that means nothing to them, I’m just the same perpetual fuckup I was 12 years ago.
Don’t get me started on all the hurtful names I’ve been called over the years on 22 and elsewhere. Hurtful messages telling me to kill myself, stuff like that. It just bounces off of me now - I know I’m in control of my mental health, and I am a person just like everyone else. But here in the US, a lot of people won’t see you as a person, and they’ll avoid you because you have some issues. I think it is why I have only a few close friends - I am quite open about my struggles. But while the bundle of disorders I’ve got going on in my head does not define me, it definitely is a part of who I am as a person, and I’m not going to hide it, so I don’t.
Except at work. I still hide myself there.
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I don’t know about the rest of the world, but by far the bulk of Americans are exceptionally shallow.
If you think this place is a slice of the US (a small window to view into the larger picture) @zarapochka, it most definitely is not.
You can’t separate that from society’s influence. And places where the stigma is stronger, it’s going to (rightly) be stronger in the head.
Like, that take is easier to have when you’re in a place without the same degree of societal stigma. You think you’re looking at it objectively, but you’re falling prey to the same dynamic inversely.
Sure, that’s a clear-eyed view of it. People suffering struggle to see clearly tho.
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We’re also a very suspicious society. That’s why conspiracy theories run rampant.
We’re propagandized to question everything. But we’re human so that just lets us more easily be manipulated bc we don’t trust rightful authorities. The answer in every situation for everyone is critical thinking, but we’ve been pretty dumbed down by monied interests. There’s a strong strain of anti-intellectual, Marlboro man reverence too that seems kind of ingrained (again probably by monied interests going way back).
This society is whack for this devil, especially for men.
No, I’m not saying anything like that.
I just like talking to you and was using you as a conduit to put some thoughts together.
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I am crumbling apart IRL. I don’t know how to be here or there anymore. I just felt it would be a kindness to say so for anyone who hasn’t heard from me and worries. I’m worried too. Trying another new therapist tomorrow.
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Oh man, I noticed your absence and missed your quick wit. Pulling for you.
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hang in there, don’t be afraid to use this place as support! there are a lot of people who care.
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Don’t be afraid to share of yourself. We might not be a specialized support group but we do support each other 
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Don’t give up. Everything passes. We’re here for you.
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Best of luck getting the help you need. We’re all rooting for you.
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good luck.
I was very lucky to find my therapist by accident. She is a little unorthodox, I think, but she keeps me grounded and is a great source to bounce my thoughts off of without fear of judgment. I still go 2x a month for the last several years. She’s great, she used to help me randomize my appointment times so that my co-workers wouldn’t figure out that the 1 hour appointment I had at the same time every other week was a therapist.
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Here’s a mental health story for you. Ex-wife of a friend has a child and an MA in exercise physiology. Lost her shit due to untreated bipolar. Became a homeless tweaker. Latest: was getting a ride from Dallas to LA. Middle of night in hotel decided to go back to violent boyfriend in Dallas. Stole dude’s van, then totaled it being chased by cops. The dude was living in the van, has been stranded for days without a ride to go get his stuff. She’s apparently in slammer – no recent FB posts. If anybody lives in the region and could help, this is him: Lenny Skippen