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January 9, 2024 at 12:10 pm in reply to: Telling the difference between gut and fear in relationships #426855
anita
ParticipantDear Seaturtle:
First the research: paraphrased, Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) is about the consumption of marijuana being problematic for the person consuming it in the context of work and relationships etc. It’s an official diagnosis in the U.S. (DSM-5) and in Europe (ICD-11)
(1) very well mind/ cannabis use disorder: “cannabis use disorder is strongly associated with both major depression and generalized anxiety disorder.. Individuals most at risk of developing CUD include those who are younger, male, unmarried, in a lower income bracket, and reside in a state that has medical marijuana laws. People with psychiatric disorders also have a higher risk”
(2) psychology today/ cannabis use disorder rising especially among mentally ill: “A great deal of excitement continues to be generated by the legalization of nonmedical cannabis use, also known as recreational or social use. Thankfully, cannabis users no longer need to fear arrest and harsh incarceration. Past criminal records for mere possession are gradually being expunged. Products tested for purity have become more available… As legalization and commercialization have become more accepted, the public’s perception of cannabis as harmless has grown. Much of this excitement is built on a foundation of ignoring and outright denying several inconvenient truths… How sweet it would be if cannabis use were proven to be free of any physical, cognitive, or emotional consequences—a myth indulged by many cannabis users…
“The study looked at trends within three age groups: under 35; 35-64; and 65 and up. In addition, researchers analyzed trends in CUD among patients with diagnoses of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, bipolar disorder, and psychosis spectrum disorders, without regard to whether these comorbidities predated or followed a diagnosis of CUD. A higher rate of CUD was found in patients with psychiatric comorbidities than in those without comorbidities, and the highest rates were among patients with bipolar and psychotic spectrum disorders…
“Many patients… prefer cannabis as their medication for a variety of psychiatric conditions, despite evidence that it often only complicates treatment and worsens illness. It can be difficult to convince a patient that cannabis generally worsens depression, bipolar disorder, and psychotic spectrum disorders when its acute effects seem comforting and frankly enjoyable“.
National library of medicine, ncbi. nlm. nih. gov: “For years we have heard in popular culture that cannabis use is less harmful or no more harmful than alcohol use; however, this does not appear to be the case for everyone…
“Although physical health is not the focus of this article, there are several reported medical adverse events that are of concern, such as cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, lung injury with vaping cannabis and arrhythmias. Additionally, the role of cannabis in trauma (e.g., motor vehicle collisions), injuries (e.g., falls), and in acute negative effects in conjunction with illicit drug use, are causes of ED (Emergency Department) admissions..
“There are signals emerging from ongoing research that indicate that early (e.g., adolescent) and regular (daily or almost daily) use, as well as the use of high potency products [high in delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)] may be particular risk variables. These risk factors appear to decrease the average age for developing a mental illness and are attributed to an increased incidence of mental illness and increase the risk for development of a cannabis use disorder. Cannabis use is also associated with exacerbation of and possibly development of anxiety disorders and depressive disorders but the evidence is mixed and not yet as extensive as that for the association with psychosis… The popular point of view that cannabis is relatively harmless to use.. may be increasing ED presentations associated with it..
“Of note, the ages 21–29 demographic comprised 52% of ED visits for cannabis-related complaints in 2017. It should be noted that much of the US data may be underestimating the effects of cannabis as the decision as to whether to go to an ED in the US can depend on medical insurance coverage, as shown by studies showing decreasing appearances by uninsured individuals”.
Jan 6 & 8, you shared this regarding N’s cannabis use: “he did not take care of himself, he smoked way too much weed, he claimed it helped with his anxiety, and never came across high, there were times I didn’t even know. Infact it was not until I lived with him that I saw how much, that almost every date he hit at least something before coming out. I felt betrayed when I first realized how he was constantly high, cause he didn’t seem it at all, his body is so used to it… When we started living together and I witnessed how much I would ask him to be sober for dates, but then at the date he was much more jittery, EVEN LESS capable of a deep conversation sitting in one place. it bored him beyond belief. I have a lot of patience but his sober self caused me to run out sometimes, I began to want him to smoke so he would chill out and sit with me. He claimed it prevented him from having dreams… When we lived together I smoked more than I had ever before, and immediately after moving out, I stopped naturally, not even craving it at all. It had become a bonding experience with him… Then would have the vapes when we moved in and I Would find them, confused. He confessed how much he used it one time, but I know he lied about it after, withholding the truth anyways, his specialty. If I did not ask a specific question he would not be transparent about nicotine and weed. this is helping me right now to recall these big negatives to n”-
– I didn’t understand the above “it prevented him from having dreams“- what kinds of dreams?
What do you currently think about to N’s negatives when it comes to his regular daily, regular smoking weed (and vaping nicotine)?
I am wondering, remembering his talk about a future where he would stay home and you will be out working, bringing in the money, those were his serious thoughts/ a plan for the relationship..? And in materializing this plan, he’d stay home smoking weed all day..?
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Blazkowich:
It is a good thing that you have social support irl.
I was wondering but didn’t ask you before in regard to this part of what you shared in your original post: “We had a fight and I kind of exploded because I was bottling up so many stuff“- what did you say to her/ what did you do during that kind-of- explosion?
anita
January 9, 2024 at 10:07 am in reply to: Telling the difference between gut and fear in relationships #426852anita
Participant* I forgot to edit out “I giggle a bit (sorry) thinking about you sending your father to pick up your things. But yes, I wouldn’t go there by myself, if I was you.”
January 9, 2024 at 10:01 am in reply to: Telling the difference between gut and fear in relationships #426851anita
ParticipantDear Seaturtle:
“yesterday my brother told me that he texted N!… he was diagnosed with manic depression a couple years ago and has been heavily sedated since then. Both my parents kicked him out because he would randomly get angry and lash out at my younger sister and scare her. Another one of his modes is hyper emotional so one day, last Thursday, he found himself ‘feeling bad for n.‘”-
– this energy and emotional instability and dysfunction is the results of a sacral and heart chakras going wild without the wise supervision and input by the crown chakra. It is important for you, for me, for everyone to not let this happen.
“Anyways both of my siblings gave HIM their sympathy.. I just am so beyond annoyed and frustrated. Both of them asking him if he was ok before me. But whatever I just have to drop this or it makes me too upset“-
– their sympathy for him probably triggers your (invalid, unjustified) guilt in regard to breaking up with N, part of you believing that N is a good guy vs you, the bad guy. But that part is wrong.
Perhaps The Third Eye Chakra can come to the rescue when this false belief is triggered. This chakra is “concerned with inner vision, intuition and wisdom… A balanced third eye chakra allows for heightened intuition, clarity of thoughts and perceptions” (zen lama. com). The title of your thread is about needing a vibrating 3rd eye chakra: “Telling the difference between gut (intuition) and fear in relationships”.
Whenever you see N as the good guy vs you the bad guy, LOOK through your 3rd eye and see the truth.
“Anyways I think it bled into my day today cause I have just had an undertone of anxiety and struggling to get n out of my head. Whether it is him angry, with another girl or just any unsolicited vision of him being somewhere… this lie flooded my head…”-the symptoms of a blocked 3rd eye.
Once you SEE N with your 3rd eye, you will have a balanced vision of him: a physically attractive man if your 3rd eye is open. Coming to think about it, it’s a relief to have a 3rd option/ Eye to use so to see the bigger picture, the truth.
“I believe he was not joking, and that while it happened he wasn’t implying a joke and that he did want me to feel pain”- when you see him as a gorgeous, beautiful man, open your 3rd eye and see him as a person who wants you to feel pain at times.
“What I have a hard time grasping is whether he was really just straight up lying to me that he was joking?”- yes, he was.
“or that he literally was lying to himself”- no, he knew that he was lying to you. (I am looking at him with MY 3rd eye and I am looking at you with my 3rd eye, seeing.. a girl who doesn’t want to take a boy off a pedestal, holding on to an elevated image of him).
“I giggle a bit (sorry) thinking about you sending your father to pick up your things. But yes, I wouldn’t go there by myself, if I was you.”
“My mom… started telling me ‘well maybe you will still end up together.. you don’t have to feel embarrassed if you get back together….he may self actualize maybe he is in therapy right now..’ all tells me my mom has no idea”- her 3rd eye is closed. She sees a gorgeous looking man. She doesn’t see a man wanting her daughter to hurt when it’s convenient for him.
“my closest friend… often talks over me.. My friend is also in a very destructive relationship and says similar things to my mom. This makes me very sad as she is my closest friend at the moment and we have known each other almost our whole lives. Definitely doesn’t help with the alone feelings I already feel right now“- to keep your 3rd eye and crown chakras open and high vibrational means to .. be alone in the midst of low vibrational 3rd eye and crown chakras.
“This feels true, I don’t think he was shocked I wanted it to be over, but I think he was shocked that I actually did it. Because he was so often able to manipulate me and that was one of the only times in our relationship he wasn’t able to. The fly out with the spider and he was shocked, and his ego was hurt”-
– a gorgeous looking man who has been okay with his girlfriend wanting out of the relationship as long as she doesn’t succeed; a spider being okay with the fly trying to disengage from its sticky web as long as it doesn’t succeed.
“Yea, I also remember thinking that maybe our crown chakras match later in the relationship. I thought the honeymoon was suppose to be heart and sacral, and I didn’t want to pressure crown charka connecting… Then this year I started to need it more and more and found my advances denied. Not only denied but he wasn’t even seeing my crown, he wasn’t seeing my depth and wisdom”- imagine an open and high vibrational Third Eye Chakra that can see a man early…
“This brought me a lot of sadness that I had been seen by others but he was the only person I truly wanted it from“- growing up wanting to be seen by low vibrational F=> wanting to be seen by low vibrational N.
I want to research cannabis use disorder and vaping as it may apply to N before I respond to the rest of your yesterday’s post next.
anita
January 8, 2024 at 6:19 pm in reply to: Telling the difference between gut and fear in relationships #426839anita
ParticipantDear Seaturtle:
I was wondering today, wondering if your sacral and heart chakra kicked your crown chakra out and took over. Good to read this is not what happened, from the parts of your recent post that I read in my current unfocused state of mind. I will re-read and reply tomorrow morning. (As far as the cannabis use disorder, it’s googable). Be back to you. Hope you have a good night.. !
anita
January 8, 2024 at 6:08 pm in reply to: How do you cope when a loved one who is depressed is pushing you away? #426838anita
ParticipantDear Justaguy03:
“My deepest sense is that she is emotionally overwhelmed and no longer possesses the emotional energy to maintain a relationship with me at the moment“- I think that you are correct, and overall, I am impressed with what I perceive to be your emotional maturity and emotional intelligence.
I am also aware of how very intense and .. well, from my experience, sickening a relationship between a mother and a daughter can be. Not saying that this is true to her.
“if I just wait it out in the background and give her gentle reminders of love and support here and there that we can get through this. Isn’t that what a relationship is about? Sticking together during the lowest of the lows“- yes, it is. What was the agreement between the two of you in regard to the nature of and length of this break/ space?
(I will soon be away from the computer and back Tues morning, which is in about 13 hours from now (here, U.S.).
anita
January 8, 2024 at 5:39 pm in reply to: How do you cope when a loved one who is depressed is pushing you away? #426835anita
ParticipantDear Justaguy01:
You are welcome. “I understand what you are saying, but I’d like to push back on this a little bit”- and you are welcome to disagree with me!
“I agree that I should stay away, but I don’t agree that I should stay away forever… if after you try and it fails, at some point – yes – you should accept it and move on. But I don’t feel I’m at that point. I don’t think she is either“-
– I was wondering when I first read this: “we had a great relationship with a bond that seemed to have started early and kept growing deeper and stronger with each passing week… She is very close with her mother… she has increasingly distanced pushed me away“- I was wondering if the type of closeness she has with her mother is the exclusive type, that is: to be close to her mother, she has to distance herself from others, including from you, with whom she was very close?
anita
January 8, 2024 at 4:33 pm in reply to: How do you cope when a loved one who is depressed is pushing you away? #426833anita
ParticipantDear Justaguy01:
“how do you support and care for someone who is trying to push you away without losing them whilst at the same time managing your own mental well-being?“- my answer: since she is an adult, and one to whom you are not married, and with whom you do not share children, once she pushes you away… you stay away. You stay away and accept that it might be a permanent break, an ending to the relationship.
There is a concept called Radical Acceptance, which is about aiming at completely accepting reality, not struggling or resisting it at all.
The Serenity Prayer states: “god, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference“- you can’t change the fact that her mother has a serious illness nor can you change any of her family history and current family circumstances. You can’t change how she feels about her family, can’t change her depression and her choice to take a break from you. So better accept (radically accept it) all that you cannot change with as much serenity as is possible for you.
“And the second being: am I validated to be feeling this mix of negative emotions myself? I feel selfish and guilty because she is the one who is really going through a hard time, but in the last week, my mind has been racing with a hundred different thoughts and emotions“-
– every one of your emotions carries a valid message, and none of us is guilty for feeling whatever it is that we feel. We are not good people because we feel a certain way, and bad people if we feel a different way. It is our conscious choices of speech and action that make us good or bad.
She is going through a hard time and so are you. You are emotionally attached to her and you want to be with her. Try to have empathy for yourself instead of judgment. Feel the pain of being away from her and endure it, then repeatedly try to … radically accept the situation as it is.
And please post again, maybe a conversation here can help…?
anita
anita
ParticipantDear noname:
“please tell me it gets better“- it is better already: you are in a long-term relationship (“my gf of 1,5 years“),
C o N g R a T u L a T i O n S !!!
“I have had 2 anger outburst towards her in the past month.. I yelled ‘fuck’ to myself in the bathroom, I wanted to throw something but I did not… The last outburst I had with her.. I screamed while driving the car. I’ve probably had about 4-5 of these type outburst with her in the past 2 years… I think I need to break up with her… I feel wound up all the time“-
– wound up all the time, you magnify the negatives: one f*** and one scream in the last month, and only 4-5 of these in the past 2 years does not constitute abusive behavior and it is not a valid reason to break up.
“I am worried that I may never be able to maintain a healthy relationship with a woman in my life. I seem to be highly sensitive to criticism, and relationships seem to be full of criticism for me“- magnifying the negatives, you probably perceive criticism when it’s not there, or you magnify what is there. The relationship you have now is probably much healthier than what you perceive it to be when under great stress.
“I don’t think i mentioned it, but i had a panic attack during a therapy session a few weeks ago. My anxiety has never been this bad before… I need a break badly, a real break, not a few days off work“- yes, this is just what you need and soon! Is there a way for you to arrange for.. an emergency break?
anita
January 8, 2024 at 10:38 am in reply to: All Of My Family Members Are So Mentally Ill and It's Draining Me #426821anita
ParticipantDear Sosaado:
“Old topic, but I experienced the same, so I completely understand“-
– First, a bit of the old topic: Tessa/ Sadpeach posted twice on her thread: an original post on Oct 14, 2016, and a second post 2 days later, on Oct 16, 2016, over 7 years ago. At the time, Sadpeach was 23-years-old, working as a graphic designer with a history of “a perfect childhood filled with softball, block parties, and best friends… raised in an upper-middle class lifestyle… we grew up in a normal household“.
She presented her sisters’ mental illnesses as having been caused by genetics, and then added: “my mother is a narcissist… My mother often times acts like a rude 16 year old, starting fights with my 28 year old sister“, and it reads to me that Sadpeach was suggesting that her mother was not always a narcissist and/ or that there is no connection between her mother’s narcissism (suspected, not diagnosed, I assume) and her sisters’ mental illnesses (suspected or diagnosed, I don’t know).
In her second post, a reply to me, Sadpeach wrote: “My 28 year old sister has some deep rooted issues with my mother, however for the most part we all agree that we had a perfect childhood“.
Second, to your Jn 7, 2024 post, Sosaado: you shared that your 2 siblings “at early 20 (have) become personality disrupted and their mental health is worsening, along with parents, which were normal when I was born“-
– reads like your understanding is similar to Sadpeach’s: your siblings’ mental health problems or illnesses developed following a normal (or perfect) childhood because of some faulty genetics that bypassed the parents but affected the children in their early 20s, a genetic fate. And so, you feel “cursed by ill fate“.
“I’m only normal person in family of four people…one of (your siblings)… exploiting parents financially and emotionally over 10 years, lazy, do not want to work, paranoid, psychotic, threatening with suicide. Do not want to visit psychiatrist“- one of your siblings is paranoid and psychotic but not diagnosed (since she wouldn’t visit a psychiatrist)?
“Sometimes, on photos we were normal family as others family, nice smiling mother, who loved her motherhood and proud father. Our home was tidy, there was enough of food. Now it is four abusive tyrants, dirty home, mess everywhere, trauma to live there even a day“-
– my best guess as to what happened is that your parents’ mental health issues were there from the beginning, before children were added to the family. And as time went on (like mud rolling down a hill, more and more mud is added to it as it moves down the hill), mental health issues spread to the children, and everyone’s mental issues got bigger and bigger.
Like a wound that’s untreated for too long, it becomes more and more severe over time.
Those split of a second moments captured on photos, when parents pose in front of the camera, do not portray ongoing reality.
“I was not exception. In early 20s, I started (to) abuse drugs to deal with pain, and after time, I get mental breakdown and I had to visit psychiatrist. There was psychotic mental illness genetically in our family genetics. I was taking medicine for while and get through psychotherapy. I’m healthy now“-
– Psychotherapy does not retroactively change the genes you were born with, so genetics is not fate when it comes to most mental health issues, or the extent or severity of most issues. The idea that mental illness in general (not a specific diagnosis) is determined by genetics alone, and therefore, parents who happened to bypass those genes, change from healthy, normal, loving and tidy parents => to mentally sick parents because their children happened to be affected by such genes.. is not true.
You advised Sadpeach: “I totally understand you how it is like to be only normal person in whole family. Although it’s rare, you are not alone. There are more like us, I believe. They simply move out from family, I think, if it is possible to start a new life, find healthy people, maybe have own healthy family which brings them joy. You are not obligated to be their Saviour because of few stupid shared genes. You are not expected to nothing. You are just expected to care about yourself and make yourself happy and that is your priority“-
– excellent advice, Sosaado, and I hope that you materialize your own advice in your own life and continue to be Your Own Saviour: move out and away from your family-of-origin, act for the benefit of your own mental health, prioritize and promote it, and find other people who do the same. This way you make the world a bit better, a bit healthier.
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Blazkowich:
“Should I try to stay connected…?“- I think that it’d be best if you do not initiate any contact with her. If she initiates contact with you, you can talk with her then, but not before.
“Are my concerns regarding her health even valid?“- I see no valid reason to worry about her health. I think that you should focus on your health.
“Is there anything I can do to help her without burdening her?“- yes, you can help her by respecting her expressed wish to not have contact with you and do not contact her. If she contacts you, then you can ask her how you can help her.
And remember, you are in need for help at this point. Try to accept her choice with as much serenity as you can, and post here again any time you’d like to.
I am wondering, do you have any social support available for you irl?
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Blazkwich:
I want to add before leaving the computer for a while, that things are not as bad as you feel them to be. One day, maybe soon, you will feel so MUCH better than you feel. Also, you can learn from your experience and behave in more effective ways in the future. Keep in mind that none of us is perfect, we all make mistakes, and we are .. in this life together. You are not alone!
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Blazkwich:
“One thing which keeps bothering me is that before the breakup she said she’s just tired and exhausted and doesn’t wanna try anymore. And the very fact that I am here caring for her is burdening, I keep spiraling and thinking should I have not done that? Should I have not tried to support her or offer any care?”-
– likely, the relationship would have ended for one reason or another because relationships often end. Even decades-long relationships too often drastically change and end for any one reason or multiples of reasons. It is a reality that we have to accept because (like the serenity prayer I quoted in my first reply), we can’t change this reality.
In regard to what I boldfaced above, it is true that when one person in a relationship cares too much about not being abandoned by the other, repeatedly asking for reassurances and overreacting to the other person, that it becomes burdensome. It may feel for the young woman in this case (I imagine) as if she has a responsibility that she does not want to have: to reassure you, to calm your worries.. like having a young boy in her life, and having to mother him…
Does this make sense to you?
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Blazkwich:
First, I want to say that I am sorry for the heartbreak you are going through. Although this has been a short and turbulent relationship, you grew very attached to her and therefore, you have been suffering a lot. I hope that you will feel better and better soon enough.
Next, I will be re-reading your original post and the posts that followed, as well as the most recent, quoting from what you shared and typing away my thoughts about the quotes. This is what I normally do in threads I reply to.
(I am the one adding the boldface feature to the quotes): “My girlfriend of 5 months just broke up with me… Our relationship started as long distance we didn’t meet a lot of times but we used to talk daily for hours whenever we had time… she would get depressed sometimes and stonewall me for 2-3 days… I gave her space again and then after a month of infrequent communication she left me… she broke up with me in the middle of her exams, she wasn’t in contact for like a week “-
– The five months relationship did not include a lot of meetings in-person, maybe only a few (?), and within these 5 months there were times of no communication for periods of 2-3 days to a week. This is a short (however long it may feel to you) and unstable relationship from the get go. Seems like the closeness, in terms of time spent together, was mostly in those hours long talks on the phone.
Let’s look at the nature and intensity of your emotional attachment to her, an attachment formed within those 5 months: “I even met her after her cat passed away and she constantly reassured me and talked about future plans”- this means that you were anxious about her ending the relationship and she reassured you that she was not ending the relationship, that there was a future to it.
” We had a fight and I kind of exploded because I was bottling up so many stuff“- there were a lot of distressing thoughts and emotions within you about this (objectively) very short relationship.
“The breakup is affecting me a lot but now I am genuinely concerned for her health because I feel at this rate she will just continue to ruin her health… she just doesn’t seem like herself anymore ever since the passing and I am unable to see her in this state… the thought that she can do something harmful scares me.. no, this is the first time she got drunk… I don’t think she’s suicidal but these things can harm her in other ways. Am I being too concerned here?.. ever since the breakup I am unable to sleep or do any tasks“-
– Seems like there are no objective reasons to be concerned for her health since she has no history or pattern of alcohol or drug abuse, does not experience suicidal thoughts that you are aware of, and she is busy being a student (as opposed to being idle, doing nothing). Seems like you are projecting your experience into her: that it is you who are in this state, that you don’t seem like himself, and that it is your health may be ruined if you continue to suffer from lack of sleep and motivation in every day tasks.
Blazkwich, did you hear or read about Attachment Styles, particularly the anxious attachment style? There is a lot of online information about it as well as books and workbooks aimed to educate and help individuals with this attachment style. Here is just a bit about it from psychology today: “The anxious attachment style is always concerned about the stability or security of the relationship. People with this attachment style tend to agonize over the meaning of words or actions by a partner. They read negatives into otherwise neutral or positive interactions. They also tend to crave constant reassurance that the relationship is secure, and the affection and love are still present”- any of this reads familiar to you, as far as your experience in romantic relationships?
anita
January 6, 2024 at 12:22 pm in reply to: Telling the difference between gut and fear in relationships #426789anita
Participant* I neglected to edit out ““- his low vibrational crown chakra is not guiding him to act maturely.”
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