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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 10th, 2023

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  • I see you’re getting a lot of answers from both sides of the spectrum. But if you’re struggling, I want to help.

    Being in a behavior health ward is good for when you can’t help yourself anymore, or need significant treatment that’s difficult to handle via outpatient (like electroconvulsive treatments). It’s not like a hospital stay where you walk out cured of some infection. It’s more like a stay in the hospital after a huge car accident. They’ll get you stable, they’ll set you up with a therapist for long-term recovery, and meds to manage the symptoms.

    You’re right that talk doesn’t fix money problems and things like that. But what it does do is help you keep from suffering alone AND it teaches you how to manage the feelings in a healthier way. That can be the difference between falling apart in the face of money trouble and having the skills to focus on finding a solution–or even just a way to survive.

    The thing about depression is that it makes everything feel worthless and hopeless. You have to trust that you can’t properly interpret whether a solution will work for you, and that the medical experts you align with are going to have a clearer view of what will help bring you out of the depression.

    That doesn’t mean all therapists are good. Or that a good therapist for someone else will fit you. But those are problems you can start to manage once you’ve taken a few steps toward recovery (assuming they turn out to be problems at all).

    I’ve been in therapy for over a decade, on meds for just as long, and once in a ward for a week. Does it suck to be “trapped” in the unit? Yep. It’s not a party in there. I don’t ever want to go back. But when I did go in, it was because I felt like I legitimately couldn’t take care of myself or see a way forward. In that regard, it saved me. So if my biggest complaint is that I felt stuck for a few days, well… so be it.

    But there are many other options before being admitted. There are social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, intensive outpatient programs, ketamine therapy, and more. You may never need to be admitted at all if you can get to treatment before you’re completely overwhelmed. Sometimes the solution is incredibly simple, like getting more vitamin D and a proper sleep schedule. Sometimes it takes a little ongoing medicine with weekly talk sessions. Sometimes it’s more. But whatever it is, it’s worth it. You can be happy in tough situations, but if you’re depressed you can’t be happy even in good situations. And that’s no way to live.

    Long story short: if you’re depressed you aren’t equipped to judge whether a solution will work without trying it, you have very little to lose by trying therapy, and the potential gains are the difference between misery and a fulfilling life. A mental institution is an extreme measure that’s only part of a longer-term solution, and you may never need it. But it can be the literal difference between life and death if you’re at the end of your rope.




  • I think the WHO has slightly more credibility than any random Lenny user.

    And no, your attitude is not called for. There’s a legitimate body that had called the safety of aspartame into question. Whether it meets your standards is personal. But it’s poor form to attack others for citing credible sources (a chemistry teacher is worth following up on for chem matters, which, in this case–again–led directly to a statement by the WHO).

    You have simultaneously said it’s both been studied excessively and acknowledged the WHO has said it needs more study.

    Rando vs WHO. WHO wins. Aspartame may be dangerous. And, incidentally, so may working as a dry cleaner. Which seems like a good warning to put out there. Thank you angry, rude person trolling this thread.

    Edit: just googled “cancer rates among dry cleaners” and wow… it seems a number of studies have demonstrated elevated cancer rates among dry cleaners. Here are a couple:

    Sweden study

    St Louis study





  • Ad algorithms might be using more complicated analytic combinations than just “similar sites” as a qualifier. Maybe you’re a fan of a product or show (or combination thereof) that typically map to right-wing readers or likely converts.

    If they’re getting (just making this up) a 5% click-throughs rate with this targeting vs 2% with just similar-site matching, then they probably don’t care about a high rate of views by left-wing users.


  • Nobody is recommending OP solely drink soda for hydration. The point was just that caffeine is not a real issue for hydration.

    If we’re going to give safety warnings for caffeinated drinks–as though OP were unaware that caffeine over consumption is not magically avoided if you’re trying to hydrate–let’s also advise them to take reasonably sized sips so they don’t choke and to drink from clean containers so they don’t get sick.

    If you’re reading this OP, virtually everything you drink is hydrating. Milk. Coffee. Soda. Juice. Tea. If you’re chugging oil-based liquids, those aren’t hydrating. But I’m guessing they aren’t a major part of your diet.