Amamsa

For a long time I was very "iffy" about my diagnosis because "how can I be hypomanic if I'm not feeling happy" was an all too common question

Maybe, as a crooked comparison, it's a bit like drinking way too much coffee; you feel energetic, but maybe also jittery, and happiness doesn't really have anything to do with it.

As for antidepressants; after decades of two kinds of severe depressions, i learned to meditate and haven't been depressed in over a decade. It changed the way i view the world in a fundamental way and i learned to not focus on the depressed feelings (focusing on them would make it more intense). So, i don't use any medication for it anymore.

Thanks for your kind words and have a great day

I hope they'll figure out what it is. Often, like yours, it can be a very long journey, like with a virus for instance.

What i learned is to divide chores into small pieces. And when i have a busy day, i try to plan a number of days of being able to take it easy, physically.

And if people don't get it, the spoon theory can be helpful to explain to others.

Yes, i was not trying to say that hypomania is fun for everyone, but thankfully for me, it was a pleasant surprise, though it took a bit of digging to find out what was happening and where it came from.

Years ago, i got off anti depression meds within two months (only later heard that it's better to taper down over a year). One of the symptoms i got was hypomania; it was awesome! For a week i had energy like never before and after a day of cleaning i caught myself looking around and trying to find something left to clean.

Kicking those meds was a nightmare, but honestly, that week of hypomania was the greatest i ever felt. Mentally i was fine, nothing weird, but just this boundless energy. While usually, since i have a genetic bodily disorder, i often feel tired and if i do too much, i can't do much for a week after.

What I don't understand is why governments don't try to fund open source software.

Honestly, i think a lot of politicians are actually too old to understand even the slightest thing about cybersecurity and safety on the internet. Looking at my age group and certainly above that age, they often don't even know the difference between windows and a browser!

Why didn't i think of this, thank you! Both channels are great.

Yes, definitely. It's not only more people, but marketing tactics have grown terrifyingly fast and vicious. It's hard to fight when you know there are tons of people who are getting paid for thinking the entire day of how to boost sales.

Last week i heard someone tell me that they made 25% profit, but the CEO started firing people because they had aimed for some ridiculous number; 75% or so.

I definitely think that the emphasis should be on the industry and making laws. However, the industry should get signals from us that there is a market for change, i think. I don't think we are completely powerless; we might feel alone in doing little things, but there are many people who also feel alone and powerless, but together they do make an impact.

That's why i never have been hesitant to send mails or ask for certain things. For instance, i asked a franchise local supermarket to sell certain vegan products and they listened.

And i know there are vegan facebook groups (i don't use it, but some friends and family do) which group together to mail stores, or push for change in whatever way they can. Also, i donate to certain organizations who fight for change, for instance they successfully lobbied in europe to allow vegan burgers to be called that, despite strong push back from the meat industry to stop them calling vegan food 'burgers', 'milk', etc I also am a member of a political party that advocates strongly for all the changes that are dear to my heart and thankfully, they are steadily gaining support in my country.

I'm not in the US and i don't think we have that here, unfortunately.

I am learning to sew and should i embark on starting to sew some pants, they will have pockets, big enough to carry my phone without risking it falling out.

Oh, and i haven't mentioned it but i'm also interested in repairing my clothing as much as possible. Particularly visible mending has my interest. There was a lively subreddit, but i don't think we have such a community yet, though there is a sewing/repair community

Europe will soon decide whether to ban or to allow roundup (glyphosate-based herbicide) for 15 more years. I fear that this will indeed happen, despite many groups (for instance parkinson patients) fighting to ban it.

Some thoughts.

I understand that clothes that are ethical and of quality cost a lot more, but up to a point. Certain brands raise prices because they can hang a 'green' label on it. For instance, as a vegan i bought plastic shoes (not happy with that, obviously) and they were pretty cheap. Then, companies discovered they could call those shoes 'vegan' and the price went up, up, up, for those same cheapo shoes.

One of the reasons i learned to sew is that i hope to have slightly more control over the fabrics i choose.

I have a cotton sweater in my closet that is about 30 years old. It still feels very thick and it looks fine. The thing goes in the dryer and everything. Nowadays, cotton is so flimsy, it's ridiculous. I've had clothes that i put in the washer before wearing them for the first time and they came out shredded.

But even cotton - or so i read - is not that environmentally friendly, because it uses a ridiculous amount of water, not to mention that some dyes are probably also terrible. Even wool sometimes undergoes harsh treatments that are not environmentally friendly at all.

I feel like the amount of effort we have to make to choose our clothing is ridiculous and tiring. Yet, with our actions we need to give a signal that we want changes (as a side note, just like i buy pants in the men's department, because pockets). Actions through what we wear, but also political choices, because so many parties encourage greed in the name of 'the economy'.

That's beautiful, i never heard of it so thank you for sharing. I have a scar from one of my - deceased - dogs; she had sharp nails. I love that scar; it's like she left a permanent memory on my skin

The worst will wear off but i don't think there is a universal time frame for how long it will take. I've had many pets and it also depends on how close you were with them and how they died. For those with a traumatic death, it took much, much longer, compared to a pet that peacefully died of old age. Don't wait for the pain to wear off. Just live your life and it will take how long it will take. I do hope you don't have to deal with people saying things like; just bring in a new pet. That is a completely personal decision; for some it might help, for others it might feel like a betrayal.

Wishing you all the best.