#it takes a lot to work during debilitating levels of anxiety | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the---hermit · 1 year

Text

self care journey 2.0 update #1

More or less a month ago I posted this, saying me and my dear friend @oneanxiousstudybuddy were starting a new joined self care journey. It's been a slow process, which is good because I personally want to build habits, and make an effort to learn more about myself, to heal from lots of things, and generally I want to learn how to properly take care of myself. As I said more or less one month has passed and I wanted to sit down and reflect on how things are going, because there have been ups and downs.

I'll start by reviewing the initial goals I had talked about in my first post. Since I was about to start my new university journey, oone of my goals was to find a new routine that balanced self care and productivity, and I think I managed to do that very well. I will have to adjust a new routine next month, because my classes will change, but this month things have gone very well. In order to commute to class I have to wake up at 4:45 three days a week, so I do very little in the afternoons and make sure to take my time to rest and relax. So this goal is accomplished for now. I also feel like my productivity was very good, even though I did take a lot of time for myself during the week, which is amazing. I have been tracking my mood and practicing gratitude consistently, but I have not been consistent with journaling. It started very well, I had a mental breakdown and I haven't been able to pick it up properly again. I know journaling is very helpful, but for some reason at the moment I am really struggling. I have yet to come up with a strategy to get that habit back, but it's in my priorities. I have kept up my reading first thing in the morning habit on the days I do not have to wake up super early, and I really hope my new routine of next month will work around this habit because I find it incredibly beneficial, and I don't want to give it up. I have also been taking walks but only to go to university, and I'd like to get back into going on walks in nature, that will be in my new list of goals. I have not done the tarot readings I wanted to do to help me reflect on stuff, because just like journaling I really wasn't in a state of mind to sit down and reflect on stuff. I also haven't varied my self care as much as I wanted to for the same reasons. So ups and downs as I said. What mainly caused a lot of problems is that lately I have been having a lot of emotional problems around when I have to get my period, it's been really debilitating for the past couple of months especially, but in the name of self care I am actively working towards finding a solution. I am definitely scared for the next one, but I am trying to do my best in every sense. This is what caused me a major emotional breakdown as well as having very little energies for almost two weeks the past month.

My goals at the moment are:

try to get back to journaling, even if it's just 5 minutes each day

do stretching exercises daily

get back little by little into taking walks in nature

take my medications regularly

make an effor to track the things I need an overview of (mood, energy levels, anxiety and other symptoms,...), and find a good way to do it

do things that relax me (yo, the doctor told me I should, the proble is I have yet to sit down and list the things that actually relax me, which is something I really have to do)

And that's it, I am keeping this simple and light and then we'll see in a bit of time how things are going. As I said it's been a month of ups and downs, but I am very self-aware of what is happening in me, which is good I think. Of course I will still keep the priority of balancing productivity and self care.

#i edited this this morning on the bus so i definitely missed some typos and mistakes #but idk at the moment so here you go tiny update on how it's going #it was useful to sit down and write this the other day #self care #self care journey 2.0 #reflection #self care journey reflection #personal #mental health #mine #the---hermit

21 notes · View notes

fucking-feelings-man · 6 months

Text

Mental Health and Physical Illness

It’s the beginning of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. It has hit me particularly hard this year. I am very open about my physical health and tend to be a lot more closed off about my mental health. I am slowly trying to change that as I work on accepting that my mental illness are also a part of my health journey. I think we still have a long way to go on education around mental illnesses. Hopefully, in the future, it will be easier for people to open up about their struggles with their mental health.

There is a reason why I don’t share my mental health struggles. It is so easy for it to be weaponized against you. My mental illnesses have been used against me in my long journey to find my physical health diagnoses. And it prevented me from getting certain treatment options due to the stigma and poor educational training on mental illnesses in medicine. TW/CW, below, for talk of suicidal ideation, suicide, intrusive thoughts, anxiety attacks, etc. I am taking this as an opportunity to speak a bit more openly about my mental illnesses. Please, look after your own mental health right now. If this post is too much for you to engage with, that is ok.

I have dealt with suicidal ideation since I was 14. I initially received a diagnosis of OCD and 3 anxiety disorders. At the beginning, my suicidal ideation started due to untreated OCD and not knowing why I was having horrific intrusive thoughts. My compulsions were taking up most of my waking hours and I was emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted. I wasn’t able to enter a classroom for 2 years. I was the weird mentally ill kid with a desk in the hallway. I would have panic attacks if I even set foot in a classroom. I thought that if someone looked at me during class, my loved ones would die. Or if someone heard my tummy rumble, it would be the end of the world. This lead to extreme anxiety responses and thinking ending my life was the only way to escape this torment.

I started therapy after a particularly bad incident in high school that left me unable to even enter the school property for weeks. This was my first bout of active suicidal ideation. I was extremely lucky and found a psychologist that I clicked with and worked my but off for 2 years on ERP & CBT. By my graduating year I was back in the classroom (but always had to be seated by the door or on the end of a row). I was known by almost all of the teachers because I was allowed to exit during classes to go hang out in the hallway to do my work. But, I like to think by the end of it I had a better understanding of myself and my tolerance for in-class work got a heck of a lot better.

That carried into university and I remember having to tell most of my professors that I needed a reserved seat on the end of a row, and/or a seat right near the exit. I remember having horrific panic attacks if I walked into class and my usual seat was taken. Those were usually the only times I missed lectures. I still can’t quite shake that and it’s ok because it’s a heck of a lot better than it used to be. However, the exam/test anxiety never really vanished so I would dress obnoxiously nice. If I looked put-together on the outside, it kind of tricked my brain into being semi put-together on the inside. That, or I was able to take exams in another location, which was 10x’s easier.

I was doing pretty ok. My suicidal ideation was only reserved for those fleeting intrusive thoughts. I had gotten used to living with OCD at this point. My general anxiety levels were decent and I was coping pretty well. I was thriving in school and working so many odd jobs, looking back I can’t believe how I was doing it all. I was functioning at a level I never had before. I felt optimistic for the first time in my life.

Then the physical illnesses took over and my world started to shrink. The levels of chronic pain I was dealing with were unacceptable. The nausea/vomiting was debilitating. The fear of passing out every time I stood up consumed every waking moment. And it was all brushed off as anxiety. I was just stressed out. If I did some meditation it would be ok.

Now, for someone that had been dealing with mental illnesses for 6 years at this point, I was so confused. I knew my anxiety triggers. I came to learn to live with my intrusive thoughts. The hours I spent on compulsions dwindled. And then to be told by health professionals these physical symptoms were just anxiety? I was left lost. How could my mind be doing these things to my body? I thought I knew what my brain was capable of.

So, I tried to keep pushing. I dragged myself out of bed to make it to classes at the end of my undergrad and beginning of grad school. I tried to “mind over matter” the fuck out of everything. But I kept getting sicker and sicker. I started reaching out to my psychologist again because I felt so confused and defeated. I was then diagnosed with depression but my psychologist made sure to reiterate that this depression was secondary to a physical health condition. I was depressed because I was in pain and not receiving help. My anxiety was increasing because I was in pain and nobody was listening to me.

Doctors continued to brush my symptoms off as anxiety because my mental health history was long. This left me angry and sad and I felt like giving up. This is when the suicidal ideation kicked back in. And it was severe this time. I went into my first case of active suicidal ideation in 6 years and I had to work really hard on returning to my safety plan and finding distractions. But, my body was so sick that most distractions took too much out of me. I was left in a sick and dying body and my brain latched onto that and figured it would be easier to end the suffering all together.

I quite honestly don’t know how I made it through 2019/2020. I think it was guilt and spite that kept me going in my darkest moments. And the fact I had an amazing psychologist and a kick ass mum. And I still had forced connections through school to remind me that I wasn’t alone and that people cared about me. But, I kept returning to the thought of “is my brain so sick that it’s causing me to slowly starve to death and allowing my nervous system to shut down?”. Something just didn’t feel right about that and so with my psychologists help we pushed back.

I had countless letters written detailing that if medical doctors continued to use my mental health history against me and didn’t follow through on more testing, my death would be on their hands. It quite literally was stated that way. I was at severe risk for suicide and my psychologist didn’t hold back. It was at this point that MAiD was introduced as a possibility for me. I didn’t know what to do with that information so for a brief time period I started looking into MAiD as a serious option. If I couldn’t find a diagnosis, I was set on making the decision to pursue MAiD.

I held on for another year and that’s when I found the miracle doctor team who figured out why I was sick and gave me my diagnoses. The relief I felt was impossible to describe. I then spent the last year fighting as hard as I could to get the rest of my diagnoses and start the process of finding treatments and symptom management. I had come out on the other side and now have tools in place to treat some of my symptoms.

However, in the past month, the realization that most of my conditions don’t have cures and don’t have treatments has hit me very hard. I am exhausted. I don’t want to fight anymore. Those dark moments came rushing back and I have spent the last few weeks returning to my safety plan. I have had to have almost round-the-clock supervision. I want to share this as having an incurable disease that rips every shred of your identity away from you is fucking terrifying. The only thing that has kept me going has been fleeting interactions with people. I haven’t been able to properly leave bed in 2 weeks. I have made it outside 3 times to see people and one of those times was to get sedatives to try and control the panic attacks that have riddled most of my days.

Why am I sharing this? I guess the weight of suicide prevention awareness month really hit me as I realized it was September. I realized 2 more months have slipped away from me as I am in a haze of recovery from my hospital stay. I had to make some really hard decisions recently for my health that have hit me hard mentally. And when I get into these crash cycles where more things are ripped away, that’s when my suicidal ideation becomes active again. And it’s so exhausting to have to fight physically and mentally to survive.

I also share because I am always told I seem so happy all of the time and have that bubbly energy. So, I am not the face of what you would assume to be someone at high risk of suicide. I always say that I try to make the most out of every situation I have because most of the time I feel like it could be one of the last. And now that I am physically sick, those fleeting moments mean even more to me. I want people to feel a little safer in sharing their stories and reaching out for help.

I still am not able to directly reach out to people for help. I make vague posts because the thought of putting all of this onto someone else makes me feel even worse. I am lucky to have a support system and people who understand complex mental and physical illnesses. But, we have such a long way to go in ensuring people with mental illnesses are treated fairly in our health system and in our communities. Suicide sometimes feels like the only logical option to deal with the level of suffering we experience. And that is fucking grim because we shouldn’t feel like burdens or like we are drowning. We should have adequate access to resources and practical help. All the therapy in the world isn’t going to do much for me until we find treatments for some of my conditions.

I have reached the end of the mental health resource line. I am still brainstorming with my psychologist but it’s terrifying that I have already exhausted every avenue that psychology can offer me. And I have had horrific side effects from medication due to my comorbid physical health conditions. I am running out of options to keep myself alive. The only things I have left to hold onto are guilt and spite and that is a terrifying place to be.

I just hope that in my lifetime we are able to make things better for the next generation of people with post-infectious illnesses and mental illnesses. It’s not ok that people like me are left to die or are pushed towards MAiD. I always say that my life would be a lot easier if our healthcare system was in better shape and if our social systems were revamped so I never had to worry about how I’m going to afford my next round of experimental medications or have to fight with insurance to get mobility devices that will improve my quality of life. It shouldn’t be easier for me to access and be approved for MAiD than access resources and treatments to keep me alive.

All of this to stay, check in on that friend that always seems really happy and put together. Check in on that person who has mental illnesses but you haven’t heard from in a while. Check in on your sick and disabled friends because I promise you we are not ok. It’s hard to exist in a world that constantly tells you it would be so much easier if you were just dead. And I am fighting so hard to just hold on an extra day. I keep reminding myself that no matter how horrible the day has been, it always ends the same. I get to go to bed. I get to let sleep take over, even if it’s only for a few minutes at a time. I get to experience a tiny reprieve from the hell it is to exist in this world as a mentally ill and physically ill person. And I am so grateful to be able to crawl back into my bed when things get tough. Because chances are, this won’t last forever.

So, what can you do to prevent suicide? Support workers rights in your local community. Support local mental health networks and collectives that are doing the work to make mental health supports accessible. Support the push to keep our healthcare system public. Support local shelters. Support organizations that are fighting for universal basic income and a living wage. Support mutual aid projects. Support local disability coalitions. And speak up about the failings of our government and hold politicians accountable. Reach out to someone you haven’t heard from in a while. Talk about suicide. Learn a bit more about suicide and mental illnesses. And always check-in on that person that seems to be holding it together. We shouldn’t have to be resilient. We shouldn’t have to be strong.

#TheChronicallyIllChronicles

0 notes

ging3rbr3adh3ad · 11 months

Text

Man I cant stop myself from being flabbergasted at just how worse it all continues to get and then shortly after something else is going on.

I literally cannot get to the doctor to get a fucking neuro referral because of one thing or another and I keep fucking up so my health is getting worse it seems by the day but I think im just exaggerating. I CANT go to the ER super late (questionable if at all on work days) because I NEED to keep my job, I am so happy and im finally completing my dream. I've already missed too many days since being hired I *absolutely* cannot miss any more unless it is an extremely serious emergency like a close family member dying or me being in the hospital for several days, things along those lines. But I've genuinely been trying so many various routes (and I've been trying to get past my debilitating phobia and anxiety attacks around immediate care medical centers but I havent been able to do it successfully sadly) and each time, EACH of the FEW times I was actually able to successfully find a dr/place and be able to book in to go, something magically moves or pops up right during when im supposed to be doing the appointment so I end up having to reschedule or cancel. I've avoided seeking care for so long and now that I want help I cant even get to physically see my/a doctor in person! And some fuckshits been going on at work which is nothing new at my company so thats stressing me out, and then today we get a past rent due for the month and if we don't pay in 3 days we are evicted. But my boyfriend has literally called 5 separate times since June 3rd to meet up with her to pay (because the app isn't set up yet 🙄 and they've owned the building for two months now.) And they. Wont. Answer. Or. Call. Back. So thats another SERIOUS thing on my fucking plate because he is currently between jobs trying really hard to find a new one so im the only one making money which is a struggle enough as it is without all this other shit added. This upcoming week genuinely feels like a hurricane coming from the distance towards me. The kids have been gone for 2 weeks for summer, so that's gonna be a big struggle to transition back, and then the two children who have the hardest time emotionally and socially (twins) also just moved into a new house so that will most likely add to potential behaviors. Not to mention my coteacher will be out of town all week so I have to be the main main teacher with a sub in who barely knows the kids or the classroom. And we have all the other center's kids starting after they closed their location, and I guess there is a LOT of behaviors and WE DONT HAVE OUR MHDB SPECIALIST AND THE COACH WILL BE GONE WE ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE. I'm absolutely terrified of this upcoming week. I'm really worried it will have a serious effect on my health. I really really really am going to try so hard to go to the doctor to at the very least get access to a neurologist before Monday but God I do not know if I can do it. I feel so weak and pathetic, I've been telling my boyfriend over and over "oh im gonna go today" "oh im going after work" and then I cant do it. The anxiety attack is just to the level I cannot take it. I'm trying so hard and I dont know why it keeps getting worse, or how there keeps being ways for it to get more worse. I dread and fear and every synonym in English, what could potentially happen next.

#long #personal #ive long crossed over into where i just. cannot cry anymore pretty much #i still feel sad and angry but mostly numb at this point #its wholeheartedly the only way im able to keep pushing through and holding together the pieces #not to mention my boyfriend is finally trying to work through his trauma really struggling with that and ive been trying to support him #hes making good progress on therapy book i suggested to him and he said it is actually helping him though #i see so many positive changes already and i am so unbelievably proud of him

0 notes

neelkanthivf · 2 years

Text

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Its Symptoms & Treatment

Every month, millions of women around the world experience a range of symptoms related to their menstrual cycle. For some, these symptoms are mild and easily manageable. But for others, they can be severe and debilitating. This article will take a look at premenstrual syndrome (PMS), its symptoms, and some of the treatments that are available.

What is Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)?

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a set of symptoms that occur in the days or weeks leading up to a woman’s menstrual period. PMS symptoms can range from mild to severe and can interfere with a woman’s daily activities.

There are a variety of treatments available for managing PMS symptoms. Some women find relief with over-the-counter medications, while others may need prescription medications or lifestyle changes.

If you’re struggling with PMS symptoms, at IVF center in Jaipur, talk to your doctor about the best treatment options for you.

Symptoms of PMS

It's estimated that 3 out of every 4 women experience some form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) during their reproductive years. PMS symptoms can occur anytime from ovulation (about two weeks before your period) until your period starts. For some women, symptoms are so severe that they miss work or school, and their social lives and relationships suffer.

Common symptoms of PMS include:

- mood swings

- irritability

- depression

- anxiety

- crying spells

- sleep problems

- fatigue

- food cravings

- headaches or migraines

- bloating

- breast tenderness

Causes of PMS

There are a variety of things that can cause premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Some of the most common include:

-Hormonal imbalance: This is the most likely cause of PMS. When estrogen and progesterone levels are off, it can lead to a variety of issues, including mood swings, bloating, and breast tenderness.

-Stress: Stress can worsen any symptom, and PMS is no exception. If you're under a lot of stress, it can make your PMS symptoms worse.

-Diet: What you eat (or don't eat) can affect your hormones and contribute to PMS symptoms. For example, not getting enough calcium or magnesium can make cramps and bloating worse. Eating lots of sugar can cause mood swings.

-Lack of exercise: Exercise can help relieve stress and improve your overall mood. It can also help with other PMS symptoms like fatigue and bloating.

Treatment for PMS

If you're one of the millions of women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS), you know that the week or two before your period can be a real nightmare. You may feel moody, irritable, and bloated, and you may also experience cramps, headaches, and breast tenderness.

Fortunately, there are things that you can do to ease the symptoms of PMS. Exercise, for instance, can help to relieve stress and improve your mood. Eating a healthy diet, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, can also help, as can getting enough sleep and avoiding caffeine and alcohol.

There are also a number of supplements that can be helpful in treating PMS. Calcium, for example, has been shown to ease cramps and other PMS symptoms. Vitamin B6 can also help to reduce bloating and breast tenderness. And if your symptoms are particularly severe, your doctor may prescribe an antidepressant medication to help you through this difficult time.

When to See a Doctor for PMS

If you experience premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, such as bloating, mood swings, and breast tenderness, you may wonder when you should see a doctor. While most women experience some degree of PMS, some women have symptoms that are severe enough to interfere with their daily lives. If your PMS symptoms are affecting your quality of life, it’s time to see a doctor.

Your primary care doctor or gynecologist at IVF center In Udaipur, can help you manage your PMS symptoms. If you have severe PMS, your doctor may refer you to a mental health specialist. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating PMS, so working with a doctor can help you find the treatment plan that’s right for you.

Conclusion

If you're suffering from premenstrual syndrome, know that you're not alone. This condition affects millions of women around the world and can be extremely debilitating. However, there are treatments available that can help lessen the symptoms of PMS. If you think you may be suffering from PMS, talk to your doctor about your symptoms and treatment options.

#IVF Center In Jaipur #IVF Center in Udaipur #IVF Center In Kota #Female Infertility Centre In Jaipur #Female Infertility Centre In Udaipur #Best Male Infertility Centre In Udaipur #Best Male Infertility Centre In Jaipur #Infertility specialist in Jaipur #Infertility specialist in Udaipur #Best Test Tube Baby Centre In Jaipur #Best Test Tube Baby Centre In Udaipur #Best Test Tube Baby Centre In Rajasthan #Best Fertility Clinic In Rajasthan

0 notes

macleod · 3 years

Note

I'm so lonely and depressed. How do you stay so positive?

These last two years have been abnormally hard for those with depression or anxiety, and have led to more people ever to be lonely and anxious about the world. Everything seems to be going wrong, and in some cases it is.

When we all embraced going digital for work or school (when we could) we also became burnt out and unable to embrace being social equally though digital means.

We are social creatures, some more so, some less so. The point being that we are all social to a point and we require social communication. Social media tends to feed on that inherit need and litter it with junk and more anxiety inducing content. That is what is making all of this just even more debilitating for everyone. Social media amplifies what keeps us scrolling, what keeps us going, what provokes us, what enrages us. It requires us to keep looking, we have been hard wired to always stay up to date on our environment to survive, it's hard not to, after all we are social creatures.

It's hard to be happy, it's hard to make friends, it's hard to seek out good relationships. I am not abnormally happy, in fact I am resolutely sad at the very foundation. I just know that happiness is a requirement to get though the day. I set goals to accomplish no matter how small just to feel an inkling of accomplishment. Lately I have had less and less of those, and the small things that made me feel good are no longer filling the cup that it once had.

I tend to think in systems, time is a system, technology, ideologies, relationships, these are all systems. You have to figure out how to hack them, how to use them in ways they aren't made to be, find exploits in their core programming to break them down bit by bit to create extensions, mods, and do what needs to be done both for the fun of it, and for the use of it. Systems are tools, we just have to figure out how to use them to our advantage especially when they work so tirelessly against us.

No system is the same for any person, we all have our own problems, our own issues, and our own bugs.

The most enlightening thing that we should take away from this, and messages like yours, is that we are all using the same broken system on different levels. We are all different levels of lonely, we are all at different levels of anxious. We, as a collective, are depressed and anxious for tomorrow, and the next day, and the next month, and the next year because we are creatures built on habits and prediction, we rely on our central programming to expect what comes next. For some of us that is broken most of the time, for others it rarely breaks. But, for the past two years, it has been broken, time and time again, for all of us. We are all depressed, we are all lonely, we are all terrified of what comes next.

Every one of us are trying to survive during a pandemic, a plague, one in three of us in America have been through some of the most disastrous and catastrophic weather events in decades just in the past year.

We have had a lot of good things happen in light of this, but it's always a rollercoaster. Some moments we feel good, most moments we know nothing.

I can't tell you how to be happy, or not lonely, all we know is that tomorrow is going to be different. Next month is going to be different, we are all going to be a little different. All we can do is hold out hope, that those differences will be built on a more solid foundation, they will enlighten us, toughen us, make every day just a little bit easier to get through.

We have to figure out our own internal systems, and use it in ways that no one expects, especially ourselves. We must adapt, we will adapt, we always have, we always will. The future is unknown, but the past shows us how we got here and it will show us how to get out.

We don't know the future — the last two years have proven that more than anything else. Who can say tomorrow won't be better?

#mine

32 notes · View notes

petri808 · 3 years

Text

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33-Epilogue

— I just wanna say thank you so much to everyone who followed along, your comments and suggestions along the way really helped to bring this story to life! It’s my longest fic to date, and to think it started as a one-shot for nalu day 2020 lol. YOU GUYS HELPED MAKE THIS HAPPEN! 🥳🥰🥰 ILY YOU ALL!💜💜💜💜

@mcornilliac special shout out for you help with the toughest part 😘

Even after all these years, riding on a train still brought a small flutter to Lucy’s stomach as she remembered the long ago evening when she’d met her husband. From an innocent meeting to a death defying experience, talk about a roller coaster ride. And yet, if she had to do it all over again, Lucy wouldn’t change a thing. Crazy sounding yes, for why would anyone not want to avoid what she’d gone through? Touka had truly pushed her sanity to the breaking point, but well, the therapist was right in the end and Lucy felt almost invincible now. All that pain, all the struggle she’d pushed through had made her the strong and resilient woman she was today. Happily married to Natsu with their fraternal twins Nashi and Ryuu. Mrs. Natsu Dragneel, Lucy smiled to herself, there was no way she’d change a thing.

Of course, it hadn’t been easy. After Natsu proposed and Lucy had accepted, there were still a lot of work to be done. But that measure of acceptance and affection did wonders. Any worries she’d had that he wouldn’t want a broken woman melted away and gave her the confidence to get better. With each passing therapy session, her strength grew, and by the time they graduated college, Lucy could honestly say she’d been cured to a functional degree. No longer struggling through nightmares and panic attacks, her anxieties were under control and the debilitating depression a distant memory where it belonged.

Yeah... Lucy sighed happily as she watched the landscape pass by from her train seat. Meeting Natsu was the best thing to ever happen in her life, well, aside from the kids. They’d married about a year after graduation on the anniversary of their meeting. It was a beautiful affair at an indoor venue, with close friends and family to join them. They’d gone a more modern route for the ceremony but did take pictures at a garden dressed in the traditional attire for sentimental reasons. Lucy wore the shiromuku white kimono while Natsu a montsuki haori hakama. And no, it wasn’t train themed! Levy was the Maid of Honor and Gray was the best man. By then, Levy and Gajeel were also married and Gray in a serious relationship with a girl named Juvia Lockser. Lucy was so happy for them both. All of their lives were moving in the right direction.

Everything was perfect. Great jobs in their fields of interest, lives settled into a comfortable routine, when 5 years later Lucy was pregnant with fraternal twins. It was a total surprise since twins didn’t run in either of their families. Always the jovial optimist, Natsu joked that they’d been doubly blessed because of what they’d gone through, and Lucy couldn’t help but love such a concept. Of course, once the euphoria of the motherhood prospect waned, reality set in that she was having twins! Two! Double the babies meant double of everything, from the pregnancy concerns to raising them. Growing up without a mother and as an only child, Lucy didn’t have a lot of experience with small children. But Natsu patiently assured her, that she’d do just fine. Think of it as a new challenge, and after overcoming one pretty tough situation, this would be a walk in the park. On the bright side, Levy was also pregnant with the couple’s first child so the two best friend’s kids would grow up together.

And Natsu was right, there were a few bumps in the road but nothing too difficult. During her fourth month Lucy was diagnosed with gestational diabetes as well as some minor gastrointestinal issues, so Natsu swayed the doctor to put her on bed rest. Better safe than sorry. The babies were healthy, but by the 7th month, she really couldn’t move much, and she was miserable being stuck at home all the time. Lucy missed her job because she genuinely enjoyed working for the magazine. But in the end, it had been a good thing. She could manage her health easier that way and it gave her time to do something she’d thought about doing as part of the healing process. With Natsu’s support and permission, it was time to put her writing skills to good use and write a book about their experience.

It became an instant hit, especially with female readers. The book was not only an autobiographical reflection of what had happened to them but focused on shining a light on the dangers of stalkers, as well as the importance of taking the warning signs seriously. Lucy didn’t hold back in her re-telling, even pointing out the serious flaws in Japan’s laws in protecting citizens from stalkers which at the time were nonexistent. Feminist organizations working to change those laws used her story with permission for their cause. She had no intentions of becoming a poster child for the movement, but in the end her role may have played its part, because 2 years after the publishing, Japan finally adopted anti-stalking laws making it easier for police to string together harassment cases, as well as for victims to get the help they needed.

Her life was nothing but exciting to say the least! And with two young children, now age 10 certainly kept them on their toes. Their daughter Nashi was just like Natsu, very outgoing, friendly, but a bit of a daredevil while her brother Ryuu born 4 minutes after her was the quieter of the two. He preferred books like his mother to adventure. Of course, that never stopped Nashi from dragging him into shenanigans! But the best part was how close they still were and fiercely protective of each other. Lucy and Natsu couldn’t be prouder of them and hoped this would continue throughout their lifetimes.

Fifteen years... come to think of it, their wedding anniversary was coming up shortly. With Natsu now a senior fire inspector for the Tokyo prefectural government, he was often busy. Lucy did mind it, because frankly it gave her some peace and quiet. She chuckled at the thought. Not that it was all that peaceful with the twins. But she digressed. His success meant their lives were very comfortable, and her own journalism successes while not as financially based, were still celebrated in their relationship. Natsu never waned in being the dutiful and supportive, always loving husband that Lucy felt blessed to grow old with.

‘Two more stops, pick up the kids from school, stop at the grocery store for dinner...’ Lucy tapped out on her phone a to-do list of ingredients to pick up at the store. Perhaps katsudon... ‘Mmm, or maybe nabe,’ hot-pot soup since it was expected to be a bit chilly that evening.

Lucy looked up briefly, really just spacing out in thought when someone catches her eye. At the other end of the train car, she noticed a woman facing slightly away, but enough to where she couldn’t quite see a face. It couldn’t be... Lucy looked away not wanting to stare, but somehow... for some reason the woman was awfully familiar... looking exactly like Touka. Well, not exactly, but enough to make the hair on the back of her neck stand up. It was a blonde, with a different hair style— and that could always be changed. Similar body type, the facial side-profile features that Lucy could see resembled Touka...

Now despite being better, her anxieties still bubbled up from time to time, so she immediately switched to her coping techniques to calm them down. ‘You’re fine,’ Lucy talked herself through it, ‘no point in getting riled up.’ The woman hadn’t done so much as looked in her direction, so it must be okay. Contrary to popular belief, things like depression and anxiety never fully goes away, especially when someone has experienced a severe level of it. Those emotions and irrational thoughts are forever programmed into the brain, but there are ways to keep them at bay and Lucy’s successfully done just that for 15 years.

‘Just go back to what you were doing. Katsudon or nabe? And don’t forget you need to pick up milk...’ But, fifteen years... could Touka have been released by now? Lucy shook the thought away again. ‘Stop it! Everything is fine. It’s not her!’ The train was semi-full of passengers all minding their own business... including the woman. There was no reason to start panicking now. Lucy adjusts her position on her seat away from the woman’s direction. If she couldn’t see her, she could pretend she didn’t exist. ‘Maybe I should pick up ingredients for both, that way I don’t have to shop tomorrow.’ Lucy thought to herself, and with the kids with her, they could help in carrying the shopping bags. ‘Yeah, we’ve got a plan…’

After figuring out her shopping list, Lucy pulled up social media to keep herself distracted and for a few minutes it did the trick. Silly videos of entertainers never got old. The train reached the next stop and she felt it come to a stop. Since it wasn’t hers, she didn’t pay it any mind as she scrolled through her feed. But as the disembarking passengers funnel past Lucy, her eyes pick up on a pair of pink high-heels peeking from over the edge of her phone. Her body instantly stiffened up from the similarity to the ones worn by the woman, while her curiosity slowly got the better of her. ‘Breath, act nonchalant!’ Lucy’s eyes tracked the high-heels moving past her until they left her periphery. She then slowly sat back up, pretending to readjust her position, when she caught a pair of eyes looking back. Lucy’s breathing hitches with a shaky exhale. “Oh, my god—"

Standing at the doorway with one hand on the frame, the blonde woman smiled at Lucy then winked before stepping off the train.

It was Touka!

#nalu #nalu au #nalu fan fiction #nalu fan fic #natsu dragneel #Lucy heartfilia #Natsu x lucy #fairy tail #strangers on a train #epilogue #petri808

29 notes · View notes

scripttorture · 3 years

Note

Any tips for handling a character who believes the stereotype that "no scars = no harm" when it comes to prison abuse, and is convinced b/c of this that they have no right to be upset about their own abuse cause their friends got physically smacked around, and they "only" got tazed/ humiliated by the guards? (They were in solitary too but they don't think that counts.) Any way to show that their treatment, while different, was just as harmful, when they themselves don't think that it could be?

Yes, I think I can help you out. :)

I think the key to this one is giving all of these characters space in the story and signalling to readers that this particular character is an unreliable narrator.

It’s easier to establish a narrator/character as unreliable if you’re writing using a third person perspective or switch perspectives throughout the story. However it is perfectly possible to do it from a first person perspective as well.

I’ll come back to that in a moment but I’m going to start with things that I think will help no matter your writing style.

The masterpost on common symptoms of torture is over here, and the post on memory problems specifically is over here.

If you haven’t already take a look at both posts. There’s a lot of variation in survivors: we know the possible psychological symptoms but survivors don’t typically experience all possible symptoms. We don’t know why some individuals experience specific symptoms and others get different symptoms. Which means that as writers there’s a lot of scope to choose the symptoms your characters experience.

You have multiple survivors here. The easy first step is to make sure they all have similar numbers of symptoms at similar levels of severity.

I think it’s also worth having some overlap in what the characters experience.

I don’t know how many character’s you’re planning to have but let’s say there are four, the one who survives clean torture and three others.

Let’s say that the symptoms you pick out for the character who survived clean torture are: depression, panic attacks, learning difficulties and intrusive memories. (I picked these at random.)

Showing variety in survivors is a good thing, so I wouldn’t suggest giving any of the friends exactly the same symptom pattern. But there’s no reason why one of them shouldn’t also have depression. The second could have panic attacks. The third might have learning difficulties and intrusive memories.

This gives you a way to encourage the readers to question this character’s interpretation of events. They’re saying they didn’t suffer ‘enough’, however the reader should be able to see that each of their friends is going through something similar.

If you’re writing from a third person perspective, or switching perspectives between the characters you can describe these symptoms in the same way for every character. Literally verbatim the same. Repeating it in this way should reinforce to the readers that this is the same thing and it’s just as serious for every character.

No matter what the characters themselves think.

Writing from first person perspective make things a little trickier but you still have a couple of options.

The most straight forward is to have other characters call them out. It doesn’t have to be the other survivors doing this (though it can be). Doctors, friends, family, any character who has the opportunity to see all of these survivors afterwards and witness their symptoms can call bullshit on any one of them trying to downplay their own symptoms.

Another option is having the friends talk, perhaps because the character who is downplaying their own symptoms is trying to be supportive. Having them sit there while their friend describes something that’s horribly familiar and letting them slowly come to that realisation on their own is a possibility. It would take a lot more time narratively.

If these characters have access to medical treatment or mental health services afterwards that’s another good way to bring this up.

People/characters can dismiss the opinions of experts. But this does very clearly tell the reader that clean torture is just as serious.

You can also use these similar symptom patterns without any overt conversations on the subject. Describing characters with similar symptoms showing similar behaviours and coming up with similar coping strategies can help underline that they’re experiencing the same thing.

For instance if you pick panic attacks as a symptom for the solitary survivor and one of the others, describing the way both of them flinch or freeze, the way they hyperventilate and shake. They could both (independently or together) discover that breathing exercises help.

They could both go to the doctor (one saying they were tortured and the other complaining of vague chest pains and heart racing) and walk away with the same medication.

Another possible approach is to pick out some symptoms during solitary and some long term symptoms afterwards that are… culturally regarded as more serious.

Most cultures find it a lot harder to dismiss hallucinations (which solitary can cause) and self mutilation then things like depression and anxiety.

I get the impression that in western cultures most people are primed to think of self harm as cutting. In reality there are a lot of behaviours people can engage in which leave them in pain and can cause serious injury. Repeatedly punching a wall for instance.

Having this character walk into a clinic, hand bruised and swelling up, find they’ve broken several fingers- And then having the doctor, still looking at her clipboard casually say ‘How long have you been self harming?’ That can really drive home, for the reader and the character how serious this is.

Self harm isn’t something that every writer is going to feel comfortable tackling. If you feel like it isn’t a good fit for your story and character then don’t use it.

But the hallucinations that can occur during solitary confinement tend to stop once someone is out of solitary. Which let’s you put in a symptom that is usually taken seriously without it becoming long term.

The hallucinations I’ve read about have been quite varied. The majority of them were unpleasant. A few were neutral. Many read a little like waking dreams. They varied in intensity from occasionally hearing voices in the pipes to fully blown immersive ‘worlds’.

There are quite a few examples in Shalev’s Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement. It’s available free on line and there’s a link in my source’s page and in the masterpost on solitary.

The final thing I have to suggest won’t necessarily be a fit for your story. I don’t suggest it very often. But there’s one kind of serious injury this sort of torture could cause that won’t necessarily be obvious straight away and would underline that these clean tortures were bloody serious.

Brain damage.

If someone is hit with a Taser or stun gun while standing then falling injuries can cause brain damage. Even mild brain damage can be incredibly debilitating.

I’ve actually been working on a story with a character that has a mild brain injury and I’ve found this website incredibly helpful for describing the effects.

Now the reasons this wouldn’t necessarily be a good fit is because brain damage can cause some pretty drastic behavioural and emotional changes. People with brain damage tend to be a lot more impulsive, have trouble identifying and controlling their emotions, difficulty communicating and planning. The list goes on. And it includes a lot of things that might make your character… Well something other then what you intended when you created them.

If this kind of disability moves the character too far away from your conception of them you don’t have to use it.

But they’re frightening words aren’t they? Brain damage. They underline the severity of the scenario in an undeniable way. Which makes it a possible answer to this writing problem.

Wrapping up I think it’s important to consider the kind of plot, characters and character interactions you want when you choose your strategy.

Some of these techniques work well together in a story. Some of them are probably better on their own.

Hopefully there’s enough varied suggestions here that you can find a good fit for your story. :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

#writing advice #tw torture #tw self harm #tw suicide #clean torture #attitudes to clean tortures #writing survivors #writing recovery #writing symptoms #symptom severity #solitary confinement #effects of solitary confinement #mental illness #disability #brain damage

52 notes · View notes

zambiescooby · 2 years

Text

Nov 2019: Accepted into Nursing School

Jan 2020: “Love, I’m worried about going to the Getty because there are a lot of international travellers and I think your asthma puts you at a very high risk. I’m actually really worried about this virus.” “Aidan, it’s never gonna come here”

Feb 2020:Starts nursing school

March 2020: switched online a week before starting clinicals

August 2020: Starts clinicals in the hospital

November 2020: Still in clinicals, outbreak on the floor

December 2021: 3 Semesters of clinicals, vaccine drives, free clinics etc. Graduated. Ready to take my boards and applying for ED jobs… in the middle of what I’m sure will be the worst surge yet.

In July 2019, when I applied for nursing school, if you had told me I’d be here, I would have cried. I am still probably going to cry because I’m terrified of starting as a new nurse when there’s a ginormous shortage of nurses to mentor new graduates, dealing with the general high levels of stress dealing with the new soul crushing responsibility of caring for people, on top of entering during a surge full of the sickest patients hospitals have ever seen. I don’t think I’d change anything, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not just in straight denial of what’s going to happen to avoid debilitating anxiety about the next couple months. I can’t just wait to work for financial reasons, not that that would be the morally right thing to do anyway. I’m just very glad we still had all in person clinicals, so I won’t be walking in only having patient experience on vSim. angry patients on vSim just aren’t the same as those trying to choke you out. keep trying to remind myself of the older nurse telling us that if we get through this as newbies, we can get through anything.

#nurseblr #student nurse

2 notes · View notes

worldhealthadvice · 3 years

Text

Index Veins on Lower limbs Treatment

Spider Veins on Legs Treatment Treatment and counteraction of spider veins Spider veins will be little, harmed abnormal veins that can display up outside of the hip and legs or face. They will are typically not difficult or destructive, although few people may possibly wish to deal with them for further reasons. ï¿½ Spide veins can become blue, purple, or even red and may show up seeing that thin lines, networks, or branches. Men and women now and again additionally infer these people as string veins. ï¿½ A range of medicines will eliminate spider veins or decrease their appearance. ï¿½ On this page, we will analyze the various reasons intended for spider veins plus how they change from varicose veins. Many of us likewise spread the treatment and counteraction associated with insect veins. ï¿½ Causesï¿½ In typically the legs, spirder blood vessels can happen when typically the valves within the veins stops working correctly. ï¿½ Veins pushes blood returning to typically the heart. To retain blood from proceeding in reverse, these people contain a solitary direction valve that closes once typically the blood goes via it. ï¿½ About the off chance that this regulators debilitates or gets harmed, the blood vessels may struggle with streaming the right approach, it will start in order to pool within the abnormal vein. Over the long haul, this can lead to a lump inside of the vein that will branches out, bringing about spider veins. ï¿½ Spider veins on the face are frequently the aftercrop of tiny veins bursting. Increased pounds or sun ruined can make this particular happen. ï¿½ Spider veins versus varicose veinsï¿½ Spider blood vessels and varicose veins are various sorts of an ailment called venous inability. The two conditions come about inside the thighs because of possessing debilitated or injured valves in typically the veins. However, the two issues have got various indications. ï¿½ Spider veins will be generally little, slim lines that may possibly be level or even just marginally increased. They are often blue, red, or perhaps purple. Even although they can cause some inconvenience, they will are comfortable, a lot more often than not. ï¿½ Varicose veins are more popular and more outstanding than insect problematic veins. They might likewise appear knotty or converted and therefore are typically element hued or crimson. ï¿½ Dependent on their seriousness, varicose veins can cause a good assortment of indications. These may contain: ï¿½ tormentï¿½ tinglingï¿½ dyingï¿½ expanding regarding the legs or even lower legsï¿½ a throbbing or large inclination in typically the legsï¿½ Varicose blood vessels may likewise broaden could be danger associated with blood clusters in addition to course problems. Risk factorsï¿½ Components that will can expand a great individual's danger of making insect veins include: ï¿½ Hereditary features: In up to 90 percent associated with individuals with crawl veins have got a family members history of leg veins. ï¿½ Pregnancy: Increased blood traveling through the body, and the particular additional load involving the embryo, sets more tension about leg veins throughout pregnancy. A several ladies notice that will spider veins fade away after pregnancy, but they can always be lasting. ï¿½ Being female: Spider blood vessels will, in basic, influence women even more often than men. ï¿½ Being older: The valves within veins will, in general, get more susceptible as time passes. The lower leg muscles, that really help hold the legs' veins and motivate them to support blood upward, might also ose a portion as being an individual ages. ï¿½ Being over weight: Extra bodyweight can certainly place included excess weight leg veins. ï¿½ Hormones: Hormonal beginning control and hormonal medicines for peri menopause may increment index veins' danger because estrogen can debilitate vein valves. ï¿½ Sitting or addressing broadened periods: Veins in the thighs need to stir a lot more diligently to siphon blood up towards the heart when individual remaining parts happen to be similarly situated intended for a few several hours all at once. ï¿½ A past blood clump or vein harm: This specific can harm the particular valves and help to make them incapable associated with working appropriately. ï¿½ Abundance pressure found in the face: This can be due to intense hacking, wheezing, or heaving. A few ladies may get spider veins most over inside the awaken of pushing during labor. ï¿½ Sun damage: The ultraviolet light from the sun can harm your skin and cause broken veins or insect pest veins, particularly in its appearance. ï¿½ Treatmentï¿½ Even if by and typically innocuous, insect veins can inconvenience, as well as people may desire to treat or perhaps eliminate them with regard to restorative reasons. ï¿½ A few exclusive treatment choices are accessible: ï¿½ Stress stockings or socksï¿½ Wearing pressure pantyhose or socks areas tension on the particular veins in the lower legs. This specific weight can assist enhance the bloodstream in addition to forestall further index or varicose veins. Pressure stockings may help calm calf expanding and deliver down the threat of blood groupings within the legs. ï¿½ Kinds of pressure loading include: ï¿½ Backing up pantyhose: These are usually just lightweight even so are accessible in many stores. It is also feasible to purchase some sort of scope of assist pantyhose online. ï¿½ Angle pressure tights and socks: These kinds of give medium excess weight across the feet, lower legs, and legs. They are frequently accessible from expert stores and drug stores. A scope of angle strain stockings and stockings is likewise available to purchase on typically the web. ï¿½ Cure pressure stockings: These give the the majority of strain to typically the feet and hip and legs. They are just accessible on remedy plus can be found in different dimensions and qualities just as footless assortments. Remedy pressure tights are not suitable for specific individuals, like heart failure or perhaps other heart problems. ï¿½ Sclerotherapy in addition to conclusion frameworkï¿½ Sclerotherapy includes infusing a great aggravation legitimately into the influenced vein. Once the vein's dividers turn into disturbed, they keep together and defend blood from streaming into the territory. ï¿½ This technique can lessen expanding and cause the particular vein to recoil. After some time, the crawl vein blurs or even disappears. A several medicines might be vital to acquire the ideal outcomes. ï¿½ Like sclerotherapy, conclusion framework treatment includes infusing a compound in to the influenced problematic veins. It is clingy, and it shuts the vein off from typically the bloodstream, causing the particular spider vein in order to blur or vanish with time. ï¿½ As with sclerotherapy, someone may need a few medications before they are usually at ease with the end result. ï¿½ Health care specialists who can carry out sclerotherapy or bottom line framework include: ï¿½ dermatologistsï¿½ vein mastersï¿½ plastic specialistsï¿½ regenerative specialistsï¿½ prepared health care attendantsï¿½ These experts can do sclerotherapy or conclusion structure in their office while the method will not, as a rule, require sedation. ï¿½ Within the wake associated with experiencing sclerotherapy or even conclusion framework, the individual, generally speaking, might wear pressure stockings for a few days or weeks. Bug veins will step by step begin to vanish right after these procedures; however, the cycle may take as very long as in regards to a 30 days and a half. ï¿½ A few people need numerous medicines to dispose of spider veins. ï¿½ Laser treatmentï¿½ A new medical care experienced can utilize a new laser to take care of spider veins more modest than 3 millimeters and close to the outdoors of the skin area. The laser is certainly a stable, shone light emission that will causes the spider vein to cluster and evaporate. ï¿½ Laser medicines are much less intrusive than sclerotherapy or a conclusion framework because there is no infusion. ï¿½ Endovenous laser treatment (EVLT)ï¿½ EVLT is actually a fresher technique intended for the treatment of spider leg veins and little varicose veins. ï¿½ A medical services experienced constitutes a little entry point within the inspired vein and after embeds a laser beam fiber. The lazer applies heat rightly to the line of thinking and causes the breakdown. The train of thought will take an although or as long as the year to fade away. ï¿½ EVLT involves the use of community sedation. ï¿½ Health-related procedureï¿½ Albeit several careful medicines may be successful intended for more prominent varicose veins, specialists, usually, don't perform all of them on spider problematic veins. The purpose at the rear of this really is that pest veins are very little, so they really regularly respond well to the particular less obtrusive medicines above. ï¿½ Avoidanceï¿½ Certain changes in lifestyle and even self-care tips will help forestall brand new spider veins appear or prevent existing ones from going down hill. These include: ï¿½ Wearing sunscreen. Making use of sunscreen consistently may help forestall quite a few spider veins, specially on the face. Use sun-defensive limits and attire any time outside for broadened periods. ï¿½ Hanging on to up an excellent weight. This decreases anxiety on the veins and keeps bloodstream streaming admirably. ï¿½ Wearing pressure tights. If spider blood vessels or varicose blood vessels worry or manage in the family members, think about utilizing pressure stockings or clothes. ï¿½ Remaining versatile. Abstain from sitting or even representing expanded intervals without taking some sort of break. Get out of bed and even stroll around at regular intervals. ï¿½ Staying away coming from tight garments. Apparel that are excessively close up around the midsection, thighs, or pelvis may confine the bloodstream and make the hazard of spider veins. ï¿½ Maintaining a new strategic distance from your abuse of hot tubs and saunas. Extreme warmth could make veins swell, expanding the danger of enlarged and sticking veins in the legs. ï¿½ Reducing liquor utilization. Taking in liquor may cause flushing in the face and broken veins in specific people. ï¿½ Getting standard exercise. Actual activity may help improve diffusion and maintain blood from pooling in the legs. ï¿½ Hoisting the legs. Elevating the legs if sitting or resting can help keep blood from gathering descending in typically the legs. ï¿½ Seeing a dermatologist. Individuals with skin circumstances that can make the danger regarding spider veins, such as rosacea, may possibly need to think that about observing some sort of specialist or medical doctor examine treatment alternatives. ï¿½ Utilizing hide items. On typically the off chance of which the presence associated with spider veins will be a worry, people can frequently work with body or leg cosmetics to veil or limit all of them briefly. Self-tanning products can likewise help this reason. ï¿½ Conclusion Spider leg veins result from harmed veins or burst open veins. They typically are comfortable , nor mess well-being upwards, yet a several people may wish to treat them for treatment reasons. ï¿½ A good assortment of remedy alternatives can help improve insect abnormal veins or eliminate them inside and out there. For clinical systems, it is consistently necessary to help an official medical services proficient who features practical experience inside of dermatology, vein atten

#Spider Veins on Legs Treatment

2 notes · View notes

melodyolas08 · 3 years

Text

Our Round the Clock Food Supplement: C24/7 Natura-Ceuticals All Natural Food Supplement

How Modern Medicine Really Work

We were raised believing that if we are sick; take a medicine and the sickness will be cured. What we don’t know is that 99% of the time, prescribed medicines only control the symptoms and do not cure the root cause of the sickness. For this reason, medicines provide temporary relief, comfort, and extend life only but never cure the cause of the sickness. For example, medicines prescribed for treatment of high blood pressure have to be taken continuously. Patients have to live under this medication (maintenance) and may suffer quality of life. Also, medicines have tremendous side effects giving rise to other health problems.

Good news is that we have “natural medicine” in our body - our immune system. To cure and prevent diseases, we should strengthen our immune system - fruits and vegetable contains very high phytonutrients/plant-based nutrients. These phytonutrients are essential for strengthening the immune system which will lead to a healthier, stronger, and sick free body. However our daily consumption of fruits and vegetables doesn’t even reach 0.1% of total of the plant foods available! Because of that, Nature’s Way, USA created C24/7 Natura-Ceuticals All Natural Food Supplement.

The C24/7 has supplement contents of 22,000 phyto-nutrients in one capsule. Its capsule is made of vegetables making it disintegrate within 15 minutes. No excipient added, thus, what you see is what you get! 100% pure natural!

3 TECHNOLOGIES USED:

1. PHYTO-ALKATECH. A powerful complex of natural Alkaline ingredients designed to enhance the Alkalinity of this formulation and also to protect and neutralize possible acid damage when it reaches the stomach. Thus, preserving the purity and potency of this breakthrough NATURA-CEUTICALS.

2. SYNER-TECH. Embodies the Science and Technology of the Combined Complimentary and Synergistic Effects of Nature’s Most Powerful elements and Phyto-chemical Nutrients. It has been proven over the years that many anti-oxidants are better taken with other anti-oxidants providing more enhanced effect as compared to taking them alone.

3. NANO TECHNOLOGY. It’s the idea of making ingredients so tiny that could easily absorb by the cells. So the nourishing effect will start at the cellular level.

C24/7 is packed with benefits for different needs, from controlling blood sugar and cholesterol, to healthy blood circulation and sexual vitality.

ü Promotes longevity

ü Lowers cholesterol level

ü Protects against heart diseases and complications

ü Helps prevent cancer of any origin

ü Controls high blood pressure

ü Controls blood sugar

ü Enhances and balances the metabolism

ü Prevents degenerative diseases like arthritis

ü Enhances, nourishes, strengthens and balances the immune system

ü Increases the production of inherent glutathione in our body

ü Rejuvenates the skin

ü Regenerates liver cells

ü Promotes healthy blood circulation

ü Detoxifies the body

ü Reduces fatigue, depression and anxiety

ü Enhances sexual vitality

C24/7 CONTAINS:

ü 29 Vitamins,Minerals & Trace Minerals

ü 12 Whole Fruit Juice Blend

ü 12 Whole Vegetable Juice Blend

ü 12 Mushrooms

ü 14 Green Foods/Spirulina Blend

ü 12 Herbs/Specialty Nutrients

ü 12 Digestive Enzymes

ü 10 Essential Fatty Acids

ü 18 Amino Acids

ü Citrus Bioflovanoid Complex

ü Japanese Knotweed

ü Premium Red Wine Extract

ü Grape Seed Extract

ü Concentrated Red Wine Powder (certified NO alcohol content)

ü 5 Anti-Aging, Anti-Oxidant Enhancer

· Cysteine Hydrochloride

· Coenzyme Q-10

· Green Tea EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate)

· Grape Skin Extract

· Corsitine

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT C24/7 NATURA-CEUTICALS

Do I need to take supplements even if I eat a well balanced diet?

There are 40 nutrients required by the body everyday. Even with a balanced diet, factors like pollution, stress and alcohol can hinder your body from getting the proper nutrient value from food. With C24/7, it provides 22,000 Phytonutrients to our body.

What should I do if I have difficulty swallowing tablets and capsules?

C24/7 utilizes vegetable capsules (V-Caps). It is excipient free so you can pour and mix the contents of the capsule in any liquid like water of juice without reducing the effectiveness of the supplement.

What makes C24/7 different from other supplements?

There are four antioxidants that are most important in the body. Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Selenium, all of which can be found in fruits and vegetables. These antioxidants are the key factor in prevention of many diseases. However, fewer that 10% of people eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables. C24/7 ensures that you receive the minimum daily requirement with its blend of 12 whole fruits and 12 whole vegetables. With its 100% excipient free formulation utilizing V-caps (vegetarian capsule) combined with powerful “Synergistic and Complimentary ingredients”. C24/7 is the most powerful supplement in the 21st century.

Does C24/7 have any known side effects?

C24/7 has no known side effects as to date, but the effect on individual persons varies as its components balances our individual deficiencies and tries to rectify it.

Why do I feel a little bit woozy on the first two days after taking C24/7?

You feel woozy because your body was still trying to adjust to the mega dose of nutrients of C24/7, physicians calls this phenomenon as loading dose, which they claim to be quite natural while taking any type of food supplement.

I am taking other supplements and when I tried C24/7, within hours of taking I felt as if everything around me is moving fast.

C24/7 is already a complete source of vitamins and minerals, and what you are experiencing could the effects of other active ingredients from your other supplement reacting to those of C24/7. Try taking C24/7 alone and see if you would feel the same effect that you have felt before, if you do feel it again, then it is a rare probability that you may have some allergic reactions to some of C24/7 components, if not, then the other food supplement is most probably reacting to it.

I am already taking a lot of medications, is it safe for me to take C24/7?

Yes it is safe for you take it, but please be reminded that C24/7 is a food supplement and it is not design to replace your medication entirely, but it is formulated so that it can help in the healing process of your ailing body.

I am a health buff, does C24/7 helps me in keeping my body fit?

Yes, C24/7 is also ideal for health buffs like you, since it is packed with amino acids, it can help repair your muscles that was damage during heavy work outs, and helps in dissolving fats and in the process reduces your weight.

I’m not suffering from any ailments, why should I take C24/7?

It is not that only the sick who should take C24/7, but everybody else since its components help our body to strengthen our immune system and regulates our body systems, which prevents any types of diseases.

WHY YOU CAN TRUST C24/7 FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WELLNESS NEEDS?

C24/7 Natura-Ceuticals is manufactured exclusively for Alliance in Motion Global, Inc. (AIM Global) by Nature’s Way®, the No. 1 Premium Herbal Company in the United States.

ü Formulated by 200 Medical Doctors, Herbalists and Scientists.

ü Its HIGH OXYGEN RADICAL ABSORPTION CAPACITY (ORAC) – measure of its high anti-oxidant properly is independently attested by Tufts University

ü Clinically tested on 100 Diseases

ü Over the counter product approved by US Food and Drug Authority (FDA), HALAL, Kosher and BFAD

ü No Therapeutically Claimed Approved

100 USES OF C24/7

Here under is the list of 100 diseases that C24/7 Natura-ceutical can help remedy, through providing the daily essentials, anti-oxidants and other nutrients the body needs on a daily basis. To learn more about the disease:

Acute and Chronic Diarrhea

Allergic Rhinitis

Amenorrhea

Anemia

Atomic Dermatitis

Atrophic Vaginitis

Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy

Beri-beri

Bone Fracture

Brain Tumor

Bronchial Asthma

Bronchitis

Burns

Cancer and Tumor Formation

Cataract

Cervical Ulcer

Choletithiasis-Gallstones

Colitis

Colon Prolapsed and Bowel Pockets

Conjunctivitis

Constipation

Cough

Cyst

Deafness of Old Age

Diabetes-Insulin Dependent Type I

Diabetes Mellitus Type II

Dysmenorrhea

Dyspesia

Ecopora

Edema

Endometriosis

Enteritis -Swelling of Intestines

Epilepsy

Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (G E R D)

Gingivitis

Glaucoma

Goiter

Gout

Halitosis

Heart Disease and Complication

Hepatitis

Hypercholesteolemia

Hyperlipidemia

Hypertension

Immunodeficiency

Insomnia

Kidney Disease

Laryngitis

Leucorrhea

Liver Cirrhosis

Low Sperm Count

Mascular Degeneration

Mental Tiredness

Migraine

Muscle and Nerve Pain

Muscular Dystrophy

Myoma

Nephrolithasis

Neuralgia

Neuro Muscular Disorder

Osteoarthritis

Osteoporosis

Pancreatitis

Paralysis

Parasistism

Patients with Debilitating Disease

Pharyngitis

Piles – External Swelling

Piles After Operation

Pre Menopausal Syndrome

Prolapse of the Stomach

Psoriasis

Rectal Tumor

Respiratory Infection

Rheumatic Heart Disease

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Scurvy

Shortness of Breath on Children

Sinusitis

Skin Rash

Skin Ulcer

Sore Eyes

Spinal Disease

Stroke

Systemic Lupus Erthromatosis

Tendonitis

Thrombosis

Thyroid Problem

Tinnitus

2 notes · View notes

hecohansen31 · 4 years

Text

The Perks Of Quarantine:

Modern! Ivar+Tinder Date! Reader

(A/N): Hello there, lovelies!

This is a ‘thank you’ fic for @youbloodymadgenius, who donated to my Ko-Fi.

I obviously understand that this is an hard time for everyone, so I just wanted to thank you everyon who has been donating something to help me continue my passion of writing.

Please don’t feel pressured in any way in buying me a ko-fi; it isn’t the only way to support a writer (you can always reblog, comment and let people know how much you liked their stuff).

Thank you for everyone who has been supporting me!

I truly apprecciate it!

And as always: feedback is food for our writers’ minds, so please don’t forget to leave your own feedback!

WARNINGS: Mention of Sex, Quarantine, Covid-19, Disability.

Hey guys!

Have you been wondering what our two favorite idiots have been doing in quarantine?

Well, now get ready to figure it out!

And let’s start from a few questions that might arise:

THE FIGHTS:

As you might know Ivar and Tinder Date (which we’ll call TD from now on, because it is easier) they have recently moved in together and two months after that… COVID-19 hit and they were forced to discover further their compatibility and problematics.

Which might have been a pretty difficult situation.

Living with people other than yourself is already hard… think with somebody who is your lover but yet you don’t know as well as your family, all incased in an almost apocalyptic world, where anxiety is at its maximum levels,

The situation certainly wasn’t the best.

But I think that Ivar and TD would try their best to handle it, mostly through setting up two different routines, in order not to be constantly in each other’s presence, alongside setting up ‘time outs’ moments for fights.

Any fight with Ivar has the promise of being explosive, but whereas previously TD had the possibility to avoid him through going to work or taking a breather outside, this is now denied.

So, they try to avoid any fight from getting too aggressive with ‘time outs’.

Basically if either of them is dealing badly with something and TD can see that they are coming to the breaking point, they push themselves away, removing them from the situation, either moving to another room or doing something to calm themselves, in order to break the outburst from growing too big and explosive, confronting the other when they both feel calmer.

It doesn’t always work, mostly during the first times, but they are both determined to make this work out and no matter what you won’t run out or give up easily.

BOREDOM:

They deal with boredom quite well, honestly.

It’d certainly help that they both work, probably remotely, even more for Ivar, who is actually used to it, because before the entire COVID-19 many times when the pain to his legs was pretty debilitating, he tended to work from home and not go in the office with the other brothers.

I do think that he’d also be pretty nice in helping TD settling in, although she would soon know better than to invade his own ‘private office’ (like not to annoy you, but I feel like he’d be the type to have a psychotic breakdown if she accidentally brushed his elbow against his).

But he’d try his best to be helpful.

I also think that he’d drown in his work to avoid boredom, and probably the most fun he’d have (other than you know… the kinky stuff) would be rewatching his favorite movie sagas, probably wrestling with TD which movie to watch each night, although she’d probably give up, because he is the cutest geek as he does the Dark Vather’s voice.

I personally think that TD would try her best to learn new skills (me before quarantine: ‘OH LOT OF TIME TO LEARN THINGS’, me right now ‘the only thing I learned is that I can’t respect good thoughts’) and involve a rather annoyed Ivar in them, which would undoubtedly result in him learning some obscure and cool skills (such as his magical tricks or fucking origami, he’d just be so happy and calm doing origami).

And he’d hate it when TD accidentally sat on his perfect swan.

As two rather active young people, they’d also do your best to properly exercise, even more Ivar since he kind of need physical therapy so he does some small exercises on videochat with his physical therapist, unless his legs hurt pretty badly and she has to come home to him.

He’d have the time of his life, instead, watching TD train.

All those flexes and squats… he very much gets distracted every time she set up her own training moment, hence he does his best to avoid having truly busy evenings when he knows you’ll train (also because, although TD might call him a pervert, they always do a different kind of ‘exercise’, before the shower, if this one isn’t shared).

INTIMACY:

Their sex drive hasn’t in the slightest accelerated.

(I mean not that it wasn’t pretty high already).

As much as they might have more time at hands together, they aren’t that free from things to do that they can spend the entire day in bed just learning the newest aerobic moves (you spend the entire morning in bed still) (… what can you do when Ivar rolls over with those pretty pleading eyes).

It certainly does help that they can both tease each other meanwhile, working next to each other.

Although it lowers their work efficiency and Hvitserk does have a few ideas on why Ivar sometimes fakes that his connection doesn’t work.

It certainly does help instead with the intimacy part, because Ivar tends to be quite more affectionate at home, because he feels more at ease, so it is something that certainly has grown, mostly in his own willingness to start it.

Like it isn’t unusual for TD to hug him from behind if he is checking some documents and doesn’t have the webcam on, but it is certainly unusual for him to just simply grab her hand over the table, and maybe play a bit with her fingers or hair or to try to convince her to cuddle, together during one pause from work..

It certainly does help with making the dork lovey-dovey.

GOING OUT:

Exiting the house for the basic necessity is actually the most common source of fights between them, mostly at the start of the entire quarantine.

TD prefers to avoid Ivar going out of home, not because she doubt his integrity and attentiveness about all the matter (he is a clean freak so you have nothing to worry) but you are more worried by the thought that he might end up breaking a bone and might need some help, something that not many people in this time of need and rush might not be able to give him.

And to Ivar this is slightly humiliating, because he is the man of the house and he shouldn’t be afraid of anything or show any kind of weakness.

He should protect you.

Alongside this, he is truly concerned about TD’s wellbeing.

Like the only people he’d truly worry for in this pandemic would be her and his mother, because they are the sole ones that loves him freely, so he would be devastated to know one of the two sick because of him.

It’d just destroy him.

But at the same time, he just can’t fight her for ever, even more when he knows that she doesn’t mean to insult him, but she is simply stating the truth that sadly going out for him wouldn’t be as easy as for you.

He’d try to avoid this through online shopping and avoiding any problematics, but it’d scare him like hell to see you go out and he’d just hold you a bit tighter when you came back.

FAMILY:

As previously stated, Ivar misses his mother extremely.

He honestly is worried sick for her and as the complete momma’s boy he is, he’d absolutely call her daily, maybe more, although I do admit that Aslaug would do the exact same, so Td has set up a routine with the daily calls.

The fact that Aslaug always makes sure to suggest her how to care for Ivar, is a bit too noisy, but she is also very sweet in thanking TD for taking care of her ‘babyboy’ (and TD has now enough backmail material for a lifetime, with all the stories Aslaug has told her about child! Ivar).

He also low key misses his brothers, mostly Hvitserk, since they were both used to live with each other, but he deals with it better, mostly because they still work together, hence it doesn’t trouble him too much so they see daily although through a computer screens, instead I do think that some of his interactions might be healthier.

It is nice when you can’t stab your brother through the computer.

About TD, she misses her family dearly and Ivar can see it sadly, knowing when he has to cuddle her a bit closer that night, because she misses her mom’s sweet words or her father’s boisterous laugh.

Although he might not seem it, he is every inch the attentive lover she needs in these harsh times of need.

THE END OF IT:

Ivar wouldn’t believe it, truly.

He’d have the hardest time going back to reality, mostly because he is worried that the quick lift of some regulations might push people to act recklessly, so he’d be on his best behavior and would absolutely make sure TD did the same.

He’d be quite severe (constantly carrying extra-masks and hand sanitizer in every bag) but he’d also lift all his own ‘regulations’ to meet his mother and family, although he’d try his best to do it safely, being sure to avoid physical contact, although he’d wish nothing more.

He’d also keep the visits short and make sure to set up most of his work still at home, coming to the office solely if extremely needed, coming to the nearest one.

It’d take him quite some time to calm himself, but eventually he’d be happy (I hope).

@youbloodymadgenius @alexhandersenx @peaceisadirtyword @madamholmes @flowers-in-your-hayr @ justananotherlazzyperson @ thespottedcreature @ amy8220 @peakygroupie @ where-are-you-everywhere @emmyrosee @crys-1029 @avengers-fixation @ bagpipes606 @mac5323 @ serafina21 @lost-soul-was-taken @maggiescarborough @a-mess-of-fandoms @lonewolf471 @ fuckindiva

#Ivar #Ivar The Boneless #Ivar Reader #Ivar x Reader #Ivar Imagine #Ivar Fic #Ivar The Boneless Fic #Ivar Moodboard #Ivar The Boneless Moodboard #modern! ivar #modern au #Ivar Lothbrock #Vikings #History Vikings #Ivar Lothbrock Imagine #Vikings Imagine

53 notes · View notes

writingtoheal · 3 years

Text

Even In Brokenness

As I sat around listening to the other members of the group speak, I couldn’t help but wonder, how did I wind up here? Most of the others were struggling just to get out of their house regularly, with little chance of support themselves or their family. Their issues seemed so profound, from debilitating anxiety to chronic pain and overwhelming addictions. I, on the other hand, had a full-time job, a decent place to live, and, from all outside appearances, a normal existence. I wasn’t fighting battles in the here and now like they were. Many of these people were trying to escape current abusive relationships with possibly dangerous consequences. The abuse I experienced ended over 20 years ago and I still wasn’t convinced that I should even call it abuse. They needed to be in this mental hospital to gain their footing and learn new skills to break free from their addictions. I just wanted the nightmares to end. I wanted to go an entire day without a smell or a word triggering a flashback or starting up the video of those events from long ago. What did I really have to complain about compared to them? I was just desperate to relieve my family from the burden of me and felt with all my heart that my daughter would be better off in the long run if I were no longer on this earth.

I knew that my actions had led me to this place but I didn’t know what I was supposed to gain. True, I was “protected” but for how long. I had no expectation that being in this place would bring changes to the underlying feelings that led me here. I spent a lot of time in the small chapel, praying, writing, and hiding as much as I could. I asked God why this was happening and what I was supposed to do to make it all stop. I asked Him why he chose to preserve my life. I tried very hard to listen but no answers came. I knew that He hadn’t left me but I felt utterly surrounded by darkness. I was too ashamed to open up about the events that had suddenly started playing non-stop in my head. No one would ever understand. If I opened up, they would all know what a phony I was and how I didn’t belong. I desperately called out to God to help me go back to the way it was before. Thinking about those disgusting times in this new way, as abuse, only made me confused and angry, and I just couldn’t take any more. I was fully defeated, totally embarrassed, and irreparably broken.

I wasn’t thinking about being used by God in that situation. I was begging Him to allow me to just die and more than a bit angry because He didn’t. I fully believe that God is all-powerful and uses all things to work for His good. But when you’re locked up in a mental hospital, being used by God is quite far from your mind, at least it was from mine. So, I went through the motions, focusing on meeting their goals so I could just get back home. I ate when they told me to, took the medicines they gave me, and spoke just enough during group time to get a check beside my name. I shared mostly lies and half-truths, but they didn’t know that. I listened to the others, feeling a mixture of empathy, pity, cynicism, and even anger at the stories shared. Then one day, a young lady joined our group. She was just old enough to be placed with the adults instead of the teen unit. She was loud, crude, and seemed angry at the world. She couldn’t stay out of trouble and was ready to fight anyone who challenged her in any way. Her entire demeanor screamed, “Don’t try me!” For reasons I still struggle to understand, that’s not at all what I saw or heard. From the time she stormed into the room, sat right beside the door, and folded her arms in a big huff, I saw pain, not meanness. As I listened to her brag about beating up some kid over something minor, I heard fear in her voice. I had no idea why at the time, but I felt a sense of connection with this kid. It was like we had chosen different ends of the coping spectrum. She chose to build her wall of protection with anger and extreme defensiveness. If she threw the first punch, no one would ever hurt her again. I chose to throw all of my energy into making everyone around me happy. If I could distract them and do whatever it took to make them like me, no one would look too deeply and see my shame or the ugliness I felt on the inside. Both extremes were just mechanisms to try to cover up the pain.

As group ended, I walked by her and made a quiet comment that only she could hear, again beyond my understanding at the time. I said, “The world isn’t going to end if you tell someone.” The shock was instantly evident on her face. She didn’t fire back with the anger that had poured from her during group. She just stared; mouth open. I kept walking, still trying to figure out why those words came to my mind and why I felt the overwhelming need to say them to a perfect stranger. About an hour later, she approached me, eyes wide and searching, and cautiously asked, “How did you know?” Then I found myself sitting in the chapel, listening as she poured out her heart and shared the story that she had not told anyone else. Each word was so painful yet so freeing. As the tears cascaded down her cheeks, remarkably, she seemed to grow lighter and lighter. With each detail, the wall of fury she had built crumbled more and more. She wasn’t looking for me to “fix” anything, which is good considering that we were both inpatients. She just needed to get it out and see that, in fact, the world was not going to end and she could survive beyond the horrors of that horrific event from the previous year. When she finished, the change in her whole person was evident. Her demeanor at group the next day was completely different. She was eager to visit with her parents and even wanted to apologize for her behavior. She didn’t offer an explanation or rehash the details she had shared in that chapel the previous evening. We never spoke on a private level again and I have no idea what happened to her. I’m certainly not claiming to have healed her pain with a few words and a listening ear. That type healing only comes from God, Himself. I know that she wasn’t really talking to me that evening. She was pouring her heart out to her Heavenly Father, even if she didn’t fully realize or acknowledge it. I feel privileged to have witnessed His miraculous healing power. Looking back, I can now see that He opened my eyes to her pain. He put those words into my mind and pushed me to deliver His message. All these years later, I can’t help but wonder if He used that one conversation, sparked by one comment, to dramatically alter her life course. For me, remembering that series of events, reinforces that God can and does use us, even in our most broken state, whether we are open to it or not.

#mental health #mental hospital #healing #god's power #tellingmystory #tellsomeone

1 note · View note

baeddel · 4 years

Text

grappling with some personal questions about my mental health and personality. to our friends, so to speak. very personal

I have begun to think my agoraphobia is an expression of a kind of stupidity. My schizophrenia disappeared when I was around 18 or 19 following a series of extreme experiences which involve psychedelic drugs, ghosts, and violence, and was replaced with paralyzing attacks of extreme anxiety which were completely debilitating; I would almost completely lose control of myself, scramble to low ground and hide beneath the table, grabbing onto whatever I could to try to anchor myself, prevent myself from - what I feared then - being dragged off, out of the world (this happened repeatedly during a psychedelic experience.) It was as though this fear had such a fasicnation that I couldn’t even bother to hallucinate - I was fully absorbed. I coped with this experience by developing an addiction to diazepam, as well as drinking an unhealthy amount and smoking, as well as undergoing some useless CBT therapy which did nothing. During this period I, in order, detransitioned, dropped out of tech due to my rapidly declining health, and estranged myself from my friends and loved ones, partially due to my strange and irresponsible behaviour (I am a monstrous drunk), and partially due to my inability to hang out physically.

I became, for several years, entirely bedridden, only leaving bed to use the bathroom or, when obliged, visit the hospital. During this I stopped having this type of panic attack and instead developed a tremendously debilitaitng fear of heights. This was almost totally unknown to me until I had to visit my grandparents on one occasion and was completely unable to cope with the prospect of going up the hill to their house. This fear of heights was so debilitating that for a few years I was unable to go up any hills at all and had to remain at sea level, it was hard even to go upstairs, and when I had to (ie. when medical problems required me to go to use a hospital further afield), I needed a lot of valium to do it (a problem, since I had just quit the addiction). This anxiety gradually expressed itself as a general anxiety around leaving home and especially travelling. Through some effort (graded exposure etc.) I’ve been able to get up certain hills with relatively little concern but this is still an enormous inhibition in my life.

Anyway, why a stupidity? I see it like this: my passage into adulthood crashed. Instead of embracing my responsibility - my first responsibility, which is towards myself - I displaced it onto a kind of ‘divine sign’, my actions were all guided by a connection to some presence from beyond the veil which guaranteed their mystical sanctity. At the point my mother could no longer take responsibility for me, a ghost did. When this guidance ruined me and I parted ways with the ghost, I couldn’t face my suffocating responsibility which still lingered, so I retreated. My disability was the perfect alibi. For a decade I’ve been able to escape my responsibility. I am still not an adult, or even a mature child, but an infant. This became clear when I was, a little while ago, forced into a situation where I had to take responsibility and- I failed. I lingered, I postponed, I deferred to other’s judgements, and I didn’t act when the situation demanded I act. My failure, my irresponsibility, ended up hurting the people I love the most. And, currently, I don’t see any indication that I won’t do it again if I ever have to take responsibility. My agoraphobia must just be the exteriorization of this inability - a disability of responsibility, an inability to leave, travel, work, actualize anything, live at all, the most sublime excuse for cowardice.

And, I don’t know what to do about it.

16 notes · View notes

souladventure · 3 years

Text

What I learned during the Covid19 lockdown after losing my passion business.

Despite all the losses incurred because of this global cluster-fuck known as the COVID19 pandemic/lockdown, I've learned so many invaluable truths and realities that probably wouldn't have ever surfaced otherwise. Here are a few that i'd like to share with everyone so I could just get it out there for my own wellbeing and possibly help others in the process:

1. I learned so much about myself and how weak I am (or was) mentally. My heart and mind didn't fair so well when I lost so much and I'm still coping as I write this. I feel a lot stronger emotionally now after such a debilitating and humbling experience. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger I guess.

2. If you get into a business that’s directly related to a passion that brings you joy and purpose, brace yourself for the turmoil and negativity (that comes with any business) you will be introducing to this passion of yours. i.e. Surfing for me was all positivity until I had to start hiring friends and dealing with different groups who either saw me as a threat or just felt I was competition to them. I honestly just wanted to help an industry grow so every stakeholder involved, including myself, could flourish but I didn't expect a lot of people to hate on me for it.

The good news is after a decade many of these haters became my friends again when they realized my efforts actually helped them and that I wasn't there to take anything away from them. Surfing is a huge part of my lifestyle and my relationship to the community is something I'd like to maintain as a positive zone instead of a cutthroat business arena.

I'm happy to say that although I share the same passion for food and I am now committed 100% to this industry ("Tito Paolo's Inasal" est during lockdown May 2020), I'm not emotionally involved with anyone else in it and I would't care less if anyone hated on me.

3. Don't get into a business that relies entirely on the skills of only a very limited amount of individuals that aren't readily available or expendable. For this reason, i chose to close down Skwala Surfboards, a passion project i dreamt about since '99 and materialized in 2010, when the pandemic further burried me in debt. You will pay for this big time if the employees or partners who are the only ones who can perform the main operations of your business suddenly act up. (This was something I actually already knew even before the pandemic but because I was so passionate about it I still decided to continue. Now I’m facing the ramifications of being blinded by a grave emotionally driven decision).

I don't regret this tho because I still built something that was considered the best in it’s time and also established itself as the pioneer of a growing industry. This satisfaction doesn't stem from merely bragging rights but more so on the fact that I know that I can be the best at something I focus all my energy on. (I'm happy to say I have shifted this focus from surfboard manufacturing to food where I feel just as fulfilled and continue to grow and innovate.)

You yourself have to be the best at providing the product/service of your business so that when the people you hire fuck up you can fire their asses and do it yourself. I couldn’t and wouldn’t ever learn how to shape a surfboard but I’m proud enough to say that I am the best beginner level surfing instructor and I make the best inasal.

4. Don’t expect your employees to make any extra efforts or sacrifices for you in times of crisis and prioritize your business in its entirety. Do not give more than you can afford no matter how desperate they are. They will never sincerely appreciate your gestures of kindness and generosity and you best expect that they will never return the favor! Your business isn't a charity and it's survival as a whole should be paramount. Sorry to say but in my experience the employees will never ever truly understand nor realize the value of their employer's survival. They will still slack with their work and expect the same salary despite the sales amounting to zero. And don’t be surprised when they fucking steal. That’s because they feel like its their right to do so (A common issue in third world settings). To top it off when everything is close to being dead they will still ask for backpay. Make sure you are prepared legally and financially for this. But don't you ever believe you have loyal employees who are willing to join you in the muck when the shit goes down. I wouldn't either so I'm not judging anyone with this statement and I'm eating up the losses. But except for those who stole...fuck them.

5. Learn to let go and do it sooner so as not to lose more than you really have to. If you think going through a breakup is tough, try losing your dream business. Make sure you are on point with calculating your losses and pull the plug as early as you can. Don't allow your passions to overcome your decision making. One of the first things my father taught me in business was "Never fall In love with your ideas" and I'm still kicking myself for not listening. What I can add to this is if you aren’t part of the lucky few whose passions just so happen to be highly lucrative businesses then instead "Do what your are good at over doing what you love! Because when you succeed at what you are good at you can do absolutely anything you want!" Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a rich kid or a Woke AF grass fed hipster.

6. Get work online. Start a vlog, a podcast, teach english or teach anything. Just take the steps to begin a career online because this is easily available and it's work from home safe. I'm only beginning to do this now and yes I'm gonna make a vlog or podcast interview about all of these things I mentioned above but only after I'm done sorting all my shit out.

That's all I have to say for now and I'm happy to also say that I've been moving forward with a more positive attitude lately. I'm stronger now and I only care about things that are valuable to my growth. I still deal with depression and anxiety on a daily basis but this has reduced as I see new goals on the horizon.

I wanna thank all my friends who were there to drop a line and support me in even the slightest of ways when I most needed it.

I want to thank my Dad and family for being there no matter what. I'm crying now as I type this. Man, you don't know how much gratitude I have for you guys.

I also want to thank those who still stayed buddies with people who burned me in business. It allows me to know where to classify you in my internal contact list. (Facebook should have that...Friends list and Frenemies or Fake Friends, lol.)

I also want to thank God...yes I believe in you. Live Jesus in our hearts...Forever. Amen.

#perserverance #covid19 #bounceback #comeback #bankruptcy #wfh #workfromhome #freelance #business #passion #life lessons #depression #anxiety #motivation #entrepreneurship

3 notes · View notes