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Peppermint

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 40 total)
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  • in reply to: Finding time for love? #120239
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear XenopusTex,
    it is good to hear from you again. As the others allready said, it’s necessary to make yourself and your personal time a priority. Have you tried actually scheduling (like a doctors appointment) time for yourself? Also fill this time with something that you potentially might like. You are more likely to actually make time for yourself when you enjoy that time.

    in reply to: loving but toxic parents #120238
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear Cali Chica, dear Calisister,

    I don’t really have advice for you but wanted to give you a virtual hug and write down my thoughts anyway. Things really seem to have escalated in your family. I imagine being screamed at by your mother was a horrible experience. If nothing else, it is frightening to see a parent loose it so completely, isn’t it? She was probably frightened that her husband might die and felt helpless. Still your suggestion to call 911 was the right thing to do in my opinion – there was nothing you yourself could have done, and if he had had a heartattack, time would have been critical.
    I am conviced that:
    1. No matter how much they did for you, you don’t owe your mother to let her scream at you.
    2. An engagement party is (ideally) a once in a lifetime event and shouldn’t be all about your parents but about the groom and bride.
    I am wondering if you can take (or have allready taken) your parents out of the „planning commitee“ for the party?

    in reply to: Through the storm of anxiety #120234
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Something else occured to me: mindfulness can also be helpful. I don’t know if it will be helpful for you at this point (don’t put yourself under stress) but you might try it. This is what I do, but I’m just a beginner: When you are frightened and you notice how the adrenalin is pumping through your veins, take a moment to step out of whatever thoughts your brain is thinking right now and just focus on the now. Notice your surroundings, the people, nature, the smell of the air, the light shining through the window… whatever falls into your line of sight. Be present in this moment. Remember that the worries about the future and the negative thoughts about the past are just that – thoughts. They are not real. As anita put it (and im roughly quoting her here because I don’t think I can find it again) there is only today and maybe tomorrow.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Peppermint.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Through the storm of anxiety #120199
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear Shae03,

    I suffered from anxiety in the past, it got so bad that I developed strong stomach aches. But circumstances changed and nowadays the stomach aches are gone, so I’m here to say that yes, it can get better again. My circumstances may change again in the future and stress might return for me, still I wanted to write to you what helped me so far.

    It’s a step by step process. Don’t expect for things to get better over night (especially the antidepressants need time before they start making a difference, but your doctor probably told you that). Small steps are the key. Your therapist and the antidepressants are part of these steps. What also helped me in the past was „autogenic training“. It’s a relaxation technique. If you can find a course where they offer autogenic training, maybe try it out. I found that it helped my brain to switch off for at least a short while from the permanent state of alarm that it was in. Otherwise I think you already found a lot of good ideas yourself. I would only add „get enough rest“, „do things for myself“ and „be patient with myself“ to the list.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Should I stay or should I go? #118739
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear J,
    personally I think you can only grow by going to that informational. I imagine they will tell you about different options to go abroad and maybe there will also be some people who will talk about their own experience. It’s a good way to check for yourself if this is something you want to do right now or not (yet). Just relax, remember that you don’t have to apply tomorrow and board the airplane the day after, you are just gathering information.
    I also believe that you can go on your own. It sounds as if this is something you want to do alone, so why not? I’m reluctant to write this (because it might get your imagination going) but what is the worst that could happen? Feel free to write these fears here because I am sure there are a lot of people here who can come up with solutions.
    Also if you end up wanting to take someone with you after all, he/she could just come with you to the informational, no? I’m sure it is interesting even for people who don’t want to go abroad themselves. Or maybe they could go shopping/see the city in the meantime.
    And one last thing: if something happens on that sunday – then it’s not the end of the world, either. Don’t let the thought slip into your mind that you “should have listened to your therapist” or something.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Thoughts from a cell phone bill #118509
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear XenopusTex,

    too bad about the trip. I can see how you would want to help if people were panicking (and you really didn’t want to help with the piano). But what would have happened if you had said: “Yes, you are right, this is a serious issue, I will get right on to it on monday morning.”? Or what would they have done if you had forgotten your phone at home? Was this a life or death situation?

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Issues #118507
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear Sammi,
    I am sorry that you are in such a bad situation. The boyfriend of your mother sounds like a horrible person, I would hide in my room as well! No matter what your mother says, it is not and should not be normal behavior to call people names.

    You wrote: “I lay down, in the dark, for 20 minutes, something clicks, and then I have an uncontrollable tremor that keeps me up for hours.” This statement worries me. Are you afraid he could come into your room? Can you lock your room?

    I don’t feel qualified to give you advice, but I had some ideas while reading your post so here it is anyway.
    1. Get a new therapist/counselor. From what you wrote she sounds useless. for starters she had 1 1/2 years to file that report. I’m also curious what she suggested how you deal with your mothers boyfriend.
    2. I think you need to get out of the house more. Options that come to mind: doing some of your studying at the library, joining clubs/ volunteer groups. Getting a small job. I know especially the last one might be daunting, it certainly was and is for me. But anything you do that gets you in touch with other people is great and you can learn something (even if it’s only those cleaning skills 🙂 )

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Abusive Dad #118505
    Peppermint
    Participant

    John,
    how old is that girl?

    in reply to: Thoughts from a cell phone bill #118372
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear XenopusTex,
    I wonder how that other guy manages to go earlier. What did he say/do to be able to do that? Could you do something similar?

    And how was your hunting trip?

    in reply to: Thoughts from a cell phone bill #118175
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear XenopusTex,

    now I remember that you allready wrote that there is no therapist in your whole area before, sorry for bringing it up again. But now I won’t wonder about it anymore, so thank you for the explaination.

    You wrote:
    I think that the colleague was surprised. My time at the office has been up this week; hit 40 hours before this afternoon. Got assigned to help solve some problems, the previous person who was supposed to do so is the guy who is dating one of the women I had been interested in. Unsurprisingly, he was gone by about 5:30 every day this week.

    Thats a crazy workload! On the one hand I can totally understand if you resent the person who was supposed to solve this problem. On the other hand I think 5:30 (with the occasional exception) should be the time you go home, too! Would that be possible? Would that be something you would like or better a bit longer? Or maybe put in another way: how much time would you like to spend at work every week on average?

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Thoughts from a cell phone bill #117951
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear XenopusTex,
    I like that you told your office colleagues that you didn’t have time! How did they react?

    You said in the past that there are no theraphists in your town. What about in other towns close by? The reason I ask is that when I read your posts and especially your last one, I feel that you really need to talk about these kind of things with someone who can give you immediate feedback. Someone who is firmly on your side, because it looks to me like no one around you has had your back in a long while. Who also can train certain situations with you, like confronting your mother. If that is really not possible now I hope you will try finding a theraphist in the future.

    I hope this post doesn’t offend you. I know it sucks when someone is giving advise that is not actually feaseble. I just don’t want you to give up on the idea too soon because you think theraphists are for lunatics only or something.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Bodybuilder/Fitness Model Struggling With Binge Eating #117944
    Peppermint
    Participant

    I believe binge-eating in this case is a sign that your body is not getting something it desperately needs. One thing that comes to mind is fat – I heard the body needs at least a bit of fat in the diet so it can absorbe certain vitamins.
    Are you working with a certified nutritionist? He/ she should be able to help you adapt your diet to your bodies needs. I think it might be a good investment.

    in reply to: Jealousy / insecurity #117070
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear Anita,

    sorry for the late reply. Last time I posted I was preparing for a volunteer event that took away most of my time, focus and energy for some weeks (even though the event itself was not so long.)

    What you wrote was very nice, and I tried to remind me of it when I went to choir again last week. It so happened that my friend and I arrived at the same time and we sat together. The other girl occasionally looked at us from afar and smiled. There was no jealousy this time, because she was no threat from a distance I guess.

    You wrote:
    “When you wrote about the new girl: ” She is talkative, positive, active”- reads to me that you believe she is superior to you because you are not as talkative, positive and active. As if you are supposed to be like her and are less than for not being more talkative, positive and active. ”

    I think you are right, I feel somewhat inferior, but I see your point that different people (like you) will like different kinds of people. One person from the choir, a really sweet lady, even told me “well that new girl is really strange” which I thought strange at the time. It’s just so difficult to believe that we really might be “equal”. I am not (or only occasionally) a people pleaser. When I feel grumpy/bored/angry, I feel grumpy/bored/angry and I will not pretend otherwise. I have learned with time to listen to my needs (e.g. hunger, need for sleep, for silence etc.) so that there is no need to feel grumpy/bored/angry so much but I often slip. Also I have a nagging suspicion that I tend to be too much of a narcist, but don’t want to go into that right now.

    But I also feel like I failed my standards: I have felt alone and left out often in my life. I know loneliness so when I see other people being alone then I will try to make them feel included. I sense this loneliness in the new girl too, despite her openess. But something still warns me that she might be trouble.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Should you share your number (of sexual partners)? #117055
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Ninjaii,

    you asked „Are married people obliged to disclose their “number” to their spouse? “

    No.
    I don’t care how many people my partner slept with, why should that matter to me? I would expect my partner to disclose if he/she had contracted some kind of STD. Otherwise I would be proud that I am the one he/she chose to marry in the end.

    As to you last question:
    “Still, if a spouse (or spouse-to-be) were to directly ask, should the other person give their number?”
    No.
    This is nothing that would impact a partner personally (like STD would, or the question if someone has debts). It’s in the past and over. A spouse can choose to disclose this information, but the partner doesn’t have a „right“ to know.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Peppermint.
    in reply to: Jealousy / insecurity #114768
    Peppermint
    Participant

    Dear Anita,
    thank you for your answer. I always appreciate reading your opinion (and to some threads I only return because I want to know what you answered).

    I am a bit embaressed, but more worried. This fight-or-flight reaction was just so strong. I felt there was just no solution: My friend had one person to the left and the new girl to the right. I didn’t want to be the one who takes away the new girls seat (she offered) and on the other hand I didn’t want to sit next to her while she sat next to my friend either. Only later did I realize that I could have asked both to move one seat to the right – then I could have sat on the left of my friend. But that’s hindsight.

    I am worried because I feel I slightly lost control, though I can’t explain it well. I feel this might happen again. And no one wants a jealous friend. Jealousy makes me act strangely. Which might just become a self fulfilling prophecy : acting jealous/strange/offensive → alienating my friend → being insecure and acting more jealous/strange/offensive → people talking about me →… end: I leave the choir.

    I think you guessed right about the valid message. I like the choir because people are glad to see me when I come. Because sometimes during break I can’t talk to all the people I wanted to talk to – there is too much to talk about (and usually I am not very talkative). I only recently became second vice leader of the choir (which in this case doesn’t have many actual responsibilities attached). I didn’t really ask for it, it was more a matter of „we need someone and no one wants to do it. So let’s vote for one of the young people.“ I was the last young person left who hadn’t been bullied into any position. 😉 But what I like about it is that people ask me for my opinion and to help out with one thing or another. Had she been in the choir when we voted – they might have very well have suggested her instead. Because I guess I do believe like you said, that her attitude and behavior is superior to mine. People like positive outgoing people.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 40 total)