kag101

i used to be fragile, then i tried doing a bunch of random macho stuff. it didn't heal me; actually, engaging in these type of activities just added to the problem. neither did doing the opposite -- forcing myself to do overly-stereotypical feminine stuff -- do any good. it might be interesting to explore some of these things, but being neurotic about it won't help in the long run.

sometimes I get the blues, like a relapse, thinking that everything will go wrong and that I'll be a failure. overcoming a trauma is about understanding that these ghosts come back from time to time, but they no longer define my life as a whole. it's essential to be prepared for these moments, knowing that they will come. after all, expecting everything to be perfect is a recipe for frustration. "oh, how come I'm having these thoughts again? I can't believe it! I really am a fraud." maybe I am. maybe everything I do nowadays is just a temporary fix. perhaps my future is one of incapacity and weakness. but maybe it can be different. maybe I can put things into perspective, be kinder to myself, and trust in myself a bit more. but, I feel like time is running out too fast. I feel like my time is running out. however, I'm grateful for where I am today. I've been in a terrible place, a really terrible place, and it was frightening. and today, I'm happy. yes, I have my issues and insecurities. "you haven't achieved anything yet! you're still just playing at life. you're a joke, and no one would take your life seriously." well, maybe they wouldn't. it seems pretty easy, but who said it has to be hard? I think it's all about putting things into perspective, where I was and where I am now. I love you. you're a really great guy. it wasn't easy to go through what you went through, but now you're safe! isn't that wonderful? safe, finally! I know that sometimes the trauma comes back, but there are people here to help you. you're getting through this. trust the process! it's showing results! from 2019 to 2020, there was a significant improvement, because I was so far behind before. since then, the improvements have been more gradual, but that's okay. I know there's still a long way to go, and things aren't the way you want them yet, but you have the resources to get better, and you know how to use them.

view it as experiment. in my case, it was really beneficial. i was afraid of the side effects, but fortunately i didnt get any of them. it really helped me have an extra boost of energy to lift myself out of depression. it also helped me when i had a psychotic break (which i thought was enlightenment lol).

one day this will all be memories. nothing, but memories. every person, every worry, every smile. in fact, most of it will not even be memories -- but simply a void. it is a privilege for an event to become a memory.

Let's talk about something that's often misunderstood – hypersensitivity. I’m tired of people labeling as "natural" or even worse: a “gift”. Let me tell you, it's far from it. Background Being sensitive is natural and valuable. However, hypersensitivity is like living in a world with the volume turned up too high. Lately, I've been feeling emotional hypersensitivity. It's as if everything impacts me way too deeply. Simple things that other might not even notice can affect me. When I’m in a crisis, I feel vulnerable and fragile. Thoughts of envy comes to mind. “Why can’t I be like everybody else?! Why do I need to feel everything so deeply?” I've traced the roots of my hypersensitivity back to a messy divorce my parents went through during my childhood. I got the habit of becoming hypervigilant to check if everything was okay. That period was like an atomic bomb, and the residual radioactive effects still linger in my psyche years later… Strategies What Does NOT work • Going brute force: “Screw this! Nothing’s gonna affect me anymore! I’ll be a fcking stoic!” That is an artificial and unsustainable solution. • Pretending that it’s not a problem: “Oh… everything is fine. It’s just who I am and it's the world that is problematic and it should change, not me”. That's like wishing the world had zero things on the floor that can hurt my feet. Let's get real: should I really wait for the world to fix itself, or should I just grab some goddamned slippers? What HAS worked • Going to an excellent psychologist, and it's provided some relief. I do have some “relapses”, but they are getting more infrequent and easier to deal with. • Having the awareness of this problem is half of the solution to it. Because at least I know what I'm dealing with. • Celebrating progress. Even though I'm not where I want to be, I've moved from a hypersensitivity level of 9 to a 5 over the past three years. Conclusion The ideal is to find the sweet spot of honoring and protecting my natural sensibility; and yet gently pushing myself to gradually desensitize at times. In essence, I want to live a life where I can engage with the world without feeling completely overwhelmed. I want to have the resources to tackle the challenges that will arise in my life, without having the need to hide myself from the world. What are your experiences with this? What has helped you? I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Is your body tired?

I haven't posted here for almost a year. I thought of opening a new journal, but I don't think it's needed. I have to be honest: i’ve been feeling kind of lazy to write journal entries. So what I’m gonna do is focus on writing shorter ones. I don’t know… problem is, as soon as I finish writing, I don’t think it’s worth it. And I’ve done this mistake in the past of not being concise or posting cringey shit,. But fuck it… Let’s go to some random thoughts: • I used to fear artificial intelligence. Well, it will rob the job of many people. But in my case, I think the most important thing to do is to not fear it — but to embrace it, to work WITH it. • i’ve been seriously considering going to a rheumatologist. I have some persistent pains in my body, and I think going to professional (at least once) would be a smart move to find a solution to that. I think it’s worth the investment. • I’ve improved in organizing my room, which was something that I was not doing well last year. I’d say it’s improved from a 3/10 to a 5.5/10. In other words, it’s pretty decent. Problem is. I’m not very good at maintaining it organized. as soon as I finish organizing, but kinda falls back into its homeostasis. But what the hell, progress is progress. I think that’s enough for today.

If I am experiencing true results in my practice, then criticism does not affect me. If I am just experiencing fake growth, then I will get defensive and try hard to ignore what others are saying about it.

I know we’re already halfway through January, but I still think it’s worth it one thing I have done in the past few years is to always set an intention for the year. I got that from Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield. It becomes sort of like my compass. It is not a goal per se. It can be an affirmation, or even just a single word. Some ideas: - Be kinder to myself - Self-negotiate - Bond with others - Contemplate the meaning of my life - Emotional intelligence - Think less, act more - Expose myself to new experiences - Focus on yourself, and the rest will follow - Decide quicker - allow myself to do things imperfectly After I choose one I set a timer for 5 minutes and I repeat the intention over and over mindfully. It’s been giving me very good results. It’s almost magical tbh. Btw, It’s important to not overanalyze your choice, nor keep changing it all the time anyway, here’s mine and an explanation: 2023: worry as least as possible im a chronic over-worrier lol. Anything that’s out of the ordinary, I start panicking and coming up with all sorts of worst case scenarios. It’s an inability to allow things to figure out by themselves. It can be related to the collective (e.g., politics, climate change, etc) or individual (e.g., I’ll never get a good job, sooner or later I’ll go downhill, etc) I think this stems from my parents divorce in which my world fell apart. Suddenly I had no stability. So I came up with a bunch of low-quality defense mechanisms to deal with the chaos anyway, this year I want to focus specifically on that, so that when I start worrying too much about something, I go, “oh yea, this year I will experiment with worrying less, so let me give this a try” at the end of the year, I’ll remind everybody that replied to this (if any lol) to share their results doing it on your own also works, but it’s more fun to share it

if you teach in schools, it’ll always boil down to really beginner stuff. it seems that your passion is to teach the nuances of chess, and not how the knights move. have you ever given private classes? Maybe this way you’d be able to get more motivated and higher rated students

interesting testimonial are you feeling good 24/7? or do you still have moments that you feel sad and/or not performing at your highest ability?

Certain types of porn are harmless — if consumed moderately — by healthy individuals.

How long have you been feeling well?

I've tried this sort of strategy in the past, and it only left me feeling exhausted, inauthentic, and empty afterwards. What has worked for me is to embrace my introvertedness. That doesn't mean I only stay in my shell. Whenever I tried to be "extroverted", I'd either try too hard and end up being cringey, or I would freeze completely. So what I've been doing is: • Letting go of all should statements ("I should be talkative, funny, extroverted, etc"). • Stop forcing myself too much • Focusing on making small inputs that I truly want. This way, I get a sense that I'm contributing to the conversation (and therefore get a sense of belongingness) + because I don't speak that much, when I do, people truly pay attention. I doubt there's a hidden hack which will make you feel drunk without the side effects. Some questions regarding drinking: 1) Do you exaggerate? 2) Is it causing you any substantial harm?

Books and information are not enough to treat all those conditions. What has truly helped me is getting treatment with a high-quality psychotherapist and psychiatrist. Unfortunately, they’re not only expensive, but hard to find. But it is, hands-down, the most important investment I have ever made in my life.