That sounds fantastic Hippie :D
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Comic Talk and General Discussion
2015 Rant/Share/General Discussion thread
So, my busy couple of weeks!
First of all, my dog had surgery. He had a huge benign tumour removed…we had put it off for ages because he's so old. But he's fine! So that's good, but it was definitely nerve-wracking.
I went and visited my best friend in Ottawa! It was super fun. We spent a lot of time wandering through the various hip neighbourhoods and along the canal, and saw parliament and the national gallery (which was amazing). Then she had to work one day, so I took the long way walking to the history museum and went by way of the Byward Market. It was a really lovely day, but super hot out.
I'm taking an intensive online course. I didn't initially know the date of the exam, so I was trying to watch the lectures basically as they happened. Of course, I got a few days behind when I was travelling so I was panicking trying to watch them all back-to-back. Turns out it's not until the end of the month, so that was a bit silly. Ah well, at least I'm ahead of the game now.
My sister's wedding was yesterday! It was less terrible than I expected - I was kind of dreading the long day and having all of our broken family lumped into one room, but it all went pretty smoothly in the end. I skipped out of the reception pretty early though…I drank enough to make speeches fun, but not enough to make loud music in a room full of people I didn't know that well fun.
And now I have to work on my essay for my online course, and also the history department's chair has asked me to edit a huge dissertation (he's paying me for it, which is cool). And I have to pet sit when my sister goes on her honeymoon.
So yeah, it's all been good-busy but basically I haven't had a day off in three or so weeks.
Earlier this year I had a nervous breakdown, brought on by a combination of things but work stress was the straw that broke the camels back. Had a fair amount of time off and thought I was better, sadly I seem to have developed some kind of anxiety disorder. I've struggled with depression in that past but I've always been good at managing it and overcoming it for the most part. This on the other hand… I feel like I'm losing. Medication is still in the time frame they give for it to start taking effect. I have random anxiety attacks which leave me shaking like a sitting dog. Going to work is a struggle, and after a day or so at work I'm a wreck for another few days. I'm signed off at present as I couldn't manage it. Which would sound obvious due to the work stress thing, but a shifted out of the stressful role to a boring but easy role to help recover from breakdown. I get anxious when I try and sleep, I wake up numerous times at night feeling stressed. It's not a good time.
It's weird… That sounds to me like you have an overabundance of stress hormones in your body doing that to you can causing the issue.
-I say as a non-doctor and non-biologist.
Once upon a time we used to think that sort of thing was purely pscological, but that really didn't get people anywhere. Counseling can't stop that, it could make you better at coping with it but you'd still be stuck with the physical problems.
From what you describe it sounds like those poor creatures who suffer an overabundance of noradrenaline in their systems. It's like running a car engine on nitro constantly; for a short time it'll give a great boost of speed, but if you ran it longer like that you'd destroy the engine.
-and even if it's not like that, thinking of it this way helps me understand it and empathise.
I feel for you man, that must be absoloutely horrible. I'd hate to have that issue, it sounds like hell.
————
Warpedwenger, creator of Wakon Yosai had a birthday yesterday. he normally posts weird stuff on his Facebook wall, so to wish him a happy birthday I searched Youtube for "fursuit Birthday" to see what would come up and then posted a link to a nicely weirdly birthday themed vid for him. - it was a vid of a bunch of fur-suited people at a bowling alley to celebrate a birthday of one of them.
In a bizarre conicidence, the date of the furry's birthday was exactly the same as Wenger's. It came up in big numbers at the start of the vid.
ozoneocean wrote:As someone who is like, 80% better from some serious struggles with panic disorder, I would have to disagree with that actually. When you start having panic attacks, what you get in most cases is a bit of a mind-body feedback loop. Yes, it probably starts out with an overabundance of stress hormones or whatever, so your body feels a bit weird. Then your mind goes "Crap, I'm having a panick attack" (or whatever your particular brand of anxious thoughts is), and you start to feel even worse as your body reacts to your anxious thoughts, so you become even more panicked in your brain, and so on and so forth until you feel absolutely awful. When you learn to deal with the thoughts (which are often very ingrained and almost unconscious) and cut off that feedback loop at the beginning, all you're left with is that brief sensation of "Oh, I feel a bit weird. It will pass." And even that, I've found, lessened quite a bit over time - although I'm not sure why.
It's weird… That sounds to me like you have an overabundance of stress hormones in your body doing that to you can causing the issue.
-I say as a non-doctor and non-biologist.
Once upon a time we used to think that sort of thing was purely pscological, but that really didn't get people anywhere. Counseling can't stop that, it could make you better at coping with it but you'd still be stuck with the physical problems.
In short, Genejoke - you'll get past this! When I first started seeing the shrink who changed my life, he had me lay out all my anxious, repetitive thoughts that I had during episodes of anxiety. One of them was that I would never get better, and I would feel bad forever and never be able to function normally. He proceeded to calmly tell me that well, panic attacks are in fact very treatable. It was a simple thing to be told, but a real turning point for me to be told so confidently that I would be okay.
People are unique in terms of what kind of treatment will work best for them, but with some real work and a good psychologist to help you out I'm confident that you can learn how to deal with these. I'm kind of delicate emotionally at the best of times, so if I can figure it out then you definitely can. Have you looked into/tried CBT? That was the magic bullet for me. I always hated talk therapy and I don't think it ever did a thing for me, but I liked the logical/methodical nature of CBT. I also have meds for those days when I'm feeling really bad and just don't have the mental energy to deal with it, but those are few and far between. They're more like a security blanket than anything else, really. For you the solution might be somewhat different, but you'll figure out something that works for you.
Didn't realize I posted just after you there, Genejoke! In my experience searching for the things that were triggering my anxiety just made it worse, because over time I became convinced that everything was causing panic attacks to the point that even leaving my house was hard. It becomes kind of a self-fulfilling prophesy when you decide that certain things cause you anxiety, I think. That being said, there are definitely legitimate causes of anxiety like overwork, family stress, big changes in your life, being ill, etc etc. But for the most part I think anxiety is the result of internal stuff, not external triggers.
I hope I don't come across like I'm trying to be a psychiatrist! I'm definitely not an expert, but I know how crappy anxiety can be, and so I'm trying to offer up any personal experience that I think might be helpful.
That's cool. I'm just a lite fed up of people trying too hard to help without actually listened or knowing anything. Most focus on one thing such as "you need to change job, it's clearly the cause of your anxiety. "
Your comment about it being lots of things is likely. I've had a lot of changes in the last few years. Marriage break up. Difficulties with my eldest. Some crazy relationships since marriage. Changes in work and taking on a high profile and pressure role at work. Coming away from that role and ptentially hindering my career. A cancer scare, a multitude of lesser health issues which add up significantly. Phew, it all adds up.
bravo1102 wrote:I agree - whiskey helps! :D
… maybe a chemical solution might be necessary.
.
Seriously, though, crashing through a couple of failed marriages myself, and watching my older children jump on the same 100 mph path of destruction I was on, thinking they can do it where I couldn't… and I know how it's gonna end…! And EVERYBODY thinks they can tell you how to fix it all… Except your work managers, of course, they still want their deadlines met…!
.
While nobody's life and problems are the same, but let's just say I empathize completely
.
So many dark years… Sometimes just the fact we're all still alive, still standing, feels like a victory!
Well, I’ve had a fun couple of weeks. The wife and I thought I had man-flu, but it turned out I had pneumonia with complications. Got rushed into hospital and spent a few days there. Home now, but feeling a little out of it. Apparently it will take another four to six weeks until I feel fine again. So I haven’t done anything comic-wise, or music-wise for the last couple of weeks, but hope to get back into things in a while.
YUP.
"Man-flu" doesn't exist what so ever. Men and women get just as miserable when they're sick, it's just that men are expected to bear up better. The myth of "man-flu" leads to that sort of crap. You could have litterally died from that Gunwallce.
I'm glad you're ok!
Next time someone tells you you've got "man-flu" tell them to fuck off :D
Man-Flu??? First I've heard of that. The last flu I got was back in April 2014… after attending my father's funeral. I came back to Guam and for two weeks the flu I had was so bad that I was barely able to work, let alone stand up or sit in front of my computer for any period of time.
Now if only I could get rid of my narcalepsy…
Man-flu is a pop-culture sexist presumption. Humans get sick and react according to how nasty they feel and their loyalty to their preceived role in their lives. So if your thing is working or care-giving you're more likely to tough it out whatever gender you are.
Or you can a sensible person aware of your own health and take to bed and get plenty of rest and fluids and get over it in a day. Toughing it out the infection can linger for weeks or one is gotten over and another takes it place. Back when I was hard-working and not health conscious I woudl tough it out and the illness would linger for weeks and get so sick I couldn't eat or sleep until some care giver forced me to. Yeech. Never again. Bedrest and fluids. And the minute my temp climbs above my norm, it's call the doctor. No fooling around. I'm cold blooded so 98 F can be a fever for me.
The idea of man-flu could be based exclusively on my dad. He starts moaning the second he feels less than perfect. That's just how he is all the time, though. He also tends to overreact to being hungry, thirsty, tired, having a slight pain, etc. If he's slightly parched he is in fact DYING of thirst and we need to immediately get him something to drink.
—
I injured my tailbone about 10 years ago playing around on some slippery rocks at the beach. Ever since then it's bothered me off and on. I'll have a good period and forget that I need to be careful about how and how long I sit, so I start being stupid and it starts hurting again. I'm not 100% sure what I've done, but the past few days it's been hurting more than it has since the original injury. I can't even lie on my back. I'm just really really hoping it fixes itself soon, or at least dulls to a manageable amount of pain.
I have never heard of man-flu before. I know my husband can be a big baby when he has an allergy attack. But, I also know that a stuffed up nose has the power to drive me insane.
———-
Welp. My brother has given me enough to make a web comic that could last long after he is gone. Going to start making a Slice-of-life called And Brother Makes Three really soon. I was going to do it myself, but hub wants in on the action. He thinks the comic will be therapedic both of us. We'll see.
I look forward to reading it. The family dynamic would be interesting, especially if your brother is involved (kinda like how the creator of the cartoon "Steven Universe" has her brother involved in the production… and HE's the inspiration for the show's main character)…
And now I need to take my eyes off this page. I'm being heavily distracted by the Double Take Ad. I like how those lines are drawn, the curves, the….
LKUPOGIJEPIHDPHFIWOBE!!! Gotta stop staring now. X_X
My lovely wife can also indulge in hyperbole to express her needs. I am trying to break her of the habit of saying she's "starving" when she's merely peckish. Saying you're "starving" when you just crave a bite to eat tends to make you eat more. Saying what you feel in an exaggerated way (I'm dying of thirst, I'm starving, I ache super bad and feel miserable) CAN have the power to make your feelings snowball into general misery. Saying you're tired or exhausted all the time can make you feel more and more tired because you are reinforcing your feelings.
Good view to have when dealing with lots and lots of senior citizens all day.
http://m.smh.com.au/national/health/research-backs-up-man-flu-sufferers-20130125-2dc68.html
Just sayin'…
ozoneocean wrote:
YUP.
"Man-flu" doesn't exist what so ever. Men and women get just as miserable when they're sick, it's just that men are expected to bear up better. The myth of "man-flu" leads to that sort of crap. You could have litterally died from that Gunwallce.
I'm glad you're ok!
Next time someone tells you you've got "man-flu" tell them to fuck off :D
It's a dodgy mwdia friendly press release to sell that woman's book though… pop science unfortunately. There's no actual research on that subject that proves anything shes just using existing brain reseach to justify a hypothesis in a chapter of her book.
:/
My own Anecdotal experience:
the only woman I have ever known who functioned well and didn't complain at all while sick was Pitface. Everyone else, male or female reacts with vaying degrees of dismay and woe, gender doesn't affect things. - although the "man-flu" stigma does encourage men to hide or downplay symptoms, at least here in Australia, which has been dangerous on occasion.
Gunwallace is a good example of what can happen to men AND women when we try and tough it out.
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