I attended an oddities and curiosities expo with some friends a few weeks ago. I dressed up as 'alt' as I could in my pink and purple Liz Lisa and DearMyLove clothes. OMG, the other women who were at the expo just slaying in their all black goth/scene/alt outfits just had me melting π Every time we had girl moments complimenting each other's fits, I was a mess π« Like ahhh, the hair, makeup, the everything just ended me!!
Vibi
I'm so sorry you're going through this, and I hope you can find new things and people that bring light to your life π« I went through the same thing last year with my friend group Discord server. I started to notice that I was the only one inviting them to play, trying to find games that fit all their random criteria, and then feeling terrible when I'd get every excuse only for those excuses not to apply to other friends. Recommend a game - no interest, another friend recommends the same game, all the interest. I eventually realized I was just at a different place mentally and emotionally and left. They're still my friends, but being in a server that makes me feel alone just wasn't good for me. Started putting my time into new friendships, but I'm just lucky these new people reached out to me because I'm incredibly shy. Gaming with friends is probably my favorite activity in life - not having that right now makes me sad, but I do now have friends to do irl things, which makes me happy. I don't like reading, but I did start reading manga (all wlw/yuri) and would force myself out of the house to a local coffee shop to do that; that's how I meant my new friends!
Definitely make sure to listen to the game's music if you play! Such an amazing soundtrack!!
Okay, this is getting to be a bit much. I'm over 30 years old, have been seeing my PCP for the entirety of my life- he was the one who first diagnosed my autism and have me sent to be evaluated for ADHD. Due to insurance, I've had multiple psychs/therapists, but often see them for 3-5 years. I spend hours with these people talking about a variety of things, including eating habits. Never ONCE has any medical professional diagnosed or hinted that my relationship with food is related to an eating disorder. My anxiety around meal prepping was due to me training for competitive bodybuilding and having to eat 6 large meals throughout the day mentally wore me down. This mental hangup continued after I stopped training, and has less to do with the eating and more to do with the planning my schedule around eating. I very much dislike ANY form of structure which feels rigid or like I have to be conscious of times/date. I have no problems with the food itself, I have no problems controlling my intake of food, and my only issues stem from the scheduling and routine of eating.
My understanding of binge eating when it comes to eating disorders is that people will eat when they don't want to, are already full, eat till they are sick, feel negative about binging, eating fast for hours, etc - this isn't what I experience. I do get hungry and I eat till I'm satisfied. I would not classify the way I eat in this manner as binging - it doesn't bother me, I don't eat myself sick, and I can stop when I want.
This game and Roboquest are two of my favorite roguelikes! They both have a different feel when using the weapons, but both are incredibly satisfying! The progression and unlocks feel rewarding, the coop is fun (only played them with friends, so idk how onlineβstrangers coop is), and I enjoy how the difficulty scales. Love the weapon, perk, and build variety!!
No experiences with stage fright after starting HRT (mainly because I haven't been on stage for anything π€), but there are a variety of other feelings and experiences that are different!
There's a lot of physical changes, but these are the more mental/unexpected ones for me:
β’ Just happier and more positive; life feels brighter
β’ Less physical anxiety symptoms overall (think there's a lot of reasons for this)
β’ My cannabis tolerance reset in the first month (super did not expect that)
β’ Libido/desire is absolutely gone (I'm hoping it's more that I haven't been in a situation that ignites that within me... because I miss those feelings)
β’ There's a general edge that is no longer there (it's like there used to be this weight that was always present that I wasn't aware of - hard to describe!)
β’ I've always connected to people more emotionally, but now it's waaay more important - drifted apart from some friends who are more closed off in that regard
There's more, but it's late, and my brain is melty π«
I never used TikTok either! I'm not super into short video content. I had a macro photography account on IG about 5 years ago with 30k followers; I closed it after a lot of life obstacles but recently started shooting again. I'm not super into supporting Meta, so I thought I'd just see how RN is since it's both image and video content. I've honestly been incredibly surprised! There's a lot more user interaction in posts with so much of it being supportive. There are creators posting there whose content on other platforms would always attract negative and hateful comments - absolutely none of that so far on RN. The CN community has been very welcoming, patient, and helpful to new users. I definitely think it's worth checking out, even if it's just to get a glimpse of another culture!
Anecdotally, most of my explore is lgbtq posts with plenty of comments and interaction. Some posts are many days old. I'm 100% sure there is and will be further censorship, but I've not really encountered it yet... I've also been seeing articles about there being a large amount of specific content (Luigi, guns, etc) that I haven't encountered at all.
Omg sooo true. I clear my calendar for an entire week after each session. The healing process is just ughhhh!!
I'm honestly going to go by the fact that not a single time in my life has it been brought up by my doctors, psychs, or therapists - some of whom I've been seeing for decades. I'm sure you're incredibly qualified to make these types of diagnoses based off of a few sentences from someone on a message board, but please use your time for your actual patients.
I know you've said that you've asked her, and she's stated she's fine, but I think it matters how you ask. Sit down with her, mention the behaviors you've observed, explain how these things make you feel (I assume you're worried about a friend), and just let her know you're there for her if she ever wants to talk. Try not to make it too much about yourself, but be honest with your emotions... and try not to offer fixes for anything unless she asks. Myself and a lot of other women aren't always open with men, even friends, because it can be exhausting dealing with their problem solver personalities; we normally know how to fix things already, but doesn't mean they don't weigh on our minds.