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3 votes
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The reverse birth tourists: Americans are choosing to have babies abroad to avoid the crushing maternity and childcare costs in the US
8 votes -
A brief history of quarantine: Sin, space, and ships
3 votes -
Everything, um, unusual about Kodak’s Trump-assisted pivot to pharmaceuticals
11 votes -
Four terminally ill Canadians get special exemption to use psychedelic therapy
5 votes -
Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started...
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
4 votes -
Virginia touts nation's first contact tracing app with Apple-Google tech
6 votes -
State Health Director warns coronavirus is widespread on Oahu
5 votes -
Local governments ‘overwhelmed’ in race to trace US COVID contacts
6 votes -
Weekly coronavirus-related chat, questions, and minor updates - week of August 3
This thread is posted weekly, and is intended as a place for more-casual discussion of the coronavirus and questions/updates that may not warrant their own dedicated topics. Tell us about what the...
This thread is posted weekly, and is intended as a place for more-casual discussion of the coronavirus and questions/updates that may not warrant their own dedicated topics. Tell us about what the situation is like where you live!
12 votes -
Outbreak hits Norway cruise ship MS Roald Amundsen – traveling from port to port along Norway's western coast, the virus may not have been contained onboard
11 votes -
Coronavirus: Iran cover-up of deaths revealed by data leak
13 votes -
"I'm sorry, but it's a fantasy" - Arizona school superintendent on trying to reopen his schools safely
18 votes -
Melbourne placed under stage four coronavirus lockdown, stage three for rest of Victoria, as State of Disaster declared
17 votes -
"We could see this tsunami of people coming": Inside the world of intensive care units
5 votes -
Mask off: Crisis and struggle in the pandemic
6 votes -
Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started...
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
6 votes -
Covid-19 and the limits of American moral reasoning: The “war on coronavirus” is lost. It's time for new pandemic metaphors - and a radically new culture of care
8 votes -
There are so many coronavirus myths that even Snopes can’t keep up
10 votes -
Hydroxychloroquine: "Extra-scientific factors overrode clear-cut medical evidence"
4 votes -
America's looming primary-care crisis
6 votes -
Urgent care from the Army Corps of Engineers: While the rest of the US federal government flails, the military's builders are getting it done
5 votes -
Weekly coronavirus-related chat, questions, and minor updates - week of July 27
This thread is posted weekly, and is intended as a place for more-casual discussion of the coronavirus and questions/updates that may not warrant their own dedicated topics. Tell us about what the...
This thread is posted weekly, and is intended as a place for more-casual discussion of the coronavirus and questions/updates that may not warrant their own dedicated topics. Tell us about what the situation is like where you live!
9 votes -
I'm stuck in an endless loop
For several years now (4-5-ish, but hard to pin down when it started), I have been stuck in a cycle of enervation/depression. I don't really like to use the word 'depression' to describe this,...
For several years now (4-5-ish, but hard to pin down when it started), I have been stuck in a cycle of enervation/depression. I don't really like to use the word 'depression' to describe this, because in my youth (I'm in my early 50s now), I suffered from serious bouts of extreme depression, and by comparison, this is a walk in the park ... so I've gotten into the habit of colloquially referring to is as "ennui".
The duration varies (a lot), but the cycle is most often roughly 7-14 days long, where 60-70% of the time, my energy, motivation, my ability to focus on and accomplish tasks ... all goes into the toilet, and I spend most of my day reading news, surfing the 'Net, playing video games, watching re-runs, walking about town with my dog, or even just sleeping. The other 30-40% of my time, I feel good -- clear-headed, focused, motivated and energized -- and I spend most of this time catching up on all the stuff I neglected during the ennui phase, and making Grand Plans for the future.
It is hard to tell, objectively, whether I am getting better, worse, or just treading water ... in part, because the cycle varies enough that it's hard to see any clear trends over anything less than 6-8 month time frame ... but more so because my ability to objectively assess my status is so colored by the cycle itself ... when I am in one of my ennui phases, it feels like I am getting worse or, at best, maintaining. When I am in the manic-ish phase, I feel like I will never feel unmotivated again, and I must often remind myself that it is temporary, and in another day or 3, I will be back in a funk. As objectively as I can be, however, I think I am actually treading water or, possibly, getting gradually worse at a very glacial pace.
I know the "up" phase of my cycle sounds a lot like the manic- part of a manic-depressive bipolar thing. Maybe it is; as I said, it is hard to be objective. That said, though, I am really, really confident that, prior to the beginning of this, ~5-ish years ago ... that "manic" phase was my normal state of mind. I used to be a very focused, productive individual.
So ... I've tried many different things to address this. Assorted doctor visits have mostly concluded that either they don't know what the problem is, and/or, I'm exaggerating/imagining it (no doctor has explicitly said this -- it is my interpretation of "we can't find anything wrong with you"). I've tried increased exercise, more time outdoors, more sleep, less sleep, meditation, a wide variety of changes in diet, vitamins/minerals/supplements, etc. I've lost over 40 lbs. I'm currently trying (for a 2nd time) large daily doses of turmeric, and contemplating trying (also for a 2nd time) a round of tDCS self-treatment.
For context, I am right now on an upswing, coming out of my latest "ennui" phase and feeling optimistic and productive.
I should also add that I have another issue ... one that I believe is unrelated, but sounds similar when I describe it. This dates back to about 15-16 years ago, and is another thing I have seen many doctors for, and tried various things to remedy. In a nutshell, about 15 years ago, I got dumber. Prior to that, my ability to learn and remember, my executive functions, my ability to deduce, my ability to focus and prioritize and plan ... were all much better.
Over the course of 12-18 months, I lost a lot of my mental functions. For anyone who has read it, it felt a lot like the tail-end of the book "Flowers For Algernon". The simplest quantifiable example I can give of this is the notion of ... how many things are on your mental shopping list (stuff you need to get at the grocery store) before you realize you better write it down? For me, prior to this loss, my magic "I'm gonna forget stuff if I don't write it down" number was around 12-13 items, that I could fairly confidently remember. Afterwards, that number dropped to around 3.
At that time, my doctor found a (benign) lump in my throat (a goiter), and ultimately, they removed half of my thyroid. After they removed it, over the course of 6-12 months, my mental faculties improved again, but I feel to this day, that they never returned to anything close to what they were before. My mental "shopping list" number today is around 5.
Multiple tests since then have repeatedly confirmed that my half-of-a-thyroid is fully getting the job done, and I do not need any kind of supplemental hormone treatment -- with the possible exception of testosterone (ps: I'm a guy), which I tried for a little while -- and dammit, it helped, too -- but then I freaked out and quit once I started reading about side-effects.
I am writing this explicitly looking for suggestions and advice. Keep in mind, though, that (I'm guessing here), 80-90% of my responses will be "already tried it, didn't help".
In advance, danke y gracias.
16 votes -
A vaccine reality check: So much hope is riding on a breakthrough, but a vaccine is only the beginning of the end
16 votes -
We asked coronavirus experts about their summer plans — and if it's safe to fly, rent an Airbnb, swim in a pool, or dine outside. Their responses varied greatly
5 votes -
Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started...
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
7 votes -
Why has the Republican response to the pandemic in the USA been so mind-bogglingly disastrous?
11 votes -
SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity in cases of COVID-19 and SARS, and uninfected controls
12 votes -
"Knowing it could kill you isn’t a deterrent": The deadly trade in diet pills
6 votes -
"Before I become your doctor, you have been intubated for weeks" - one doctor's experience during the pandemic
9 votes -
Oxford vaccine triggers immune response
7 votes -
Weekly coronavirus-related chat, questions, and minor updates - week of July 20
This thread is posted weekly, and is intended as a place for more-casual discussion of the coronavirus and questions/updates that may not warrant their own dedicated topics. Tell us about what the...
This thread is posted weekly, and is intended as a place for more-casual discussion of the coronavirus and questions/updates that may not warrant their own dedicated topics. Tell us about what the situation is like where you live!
10 votes -
Voices from the pandemic: "No mask, no entry. Is that clear enough? That seems pretty clear, right?"
13 votes -
Children from age 10-19 spread the coronavirus just as much as adults: A study of nearly 65,000 people in South Korea suggests that school reopenings will trigger more outbreaks
21 votes -
If we want any US vaccine to actually work, we have to prepare for it now
12 votes -
Anti-mask protesters' new weapon: Wearing masks that offer no COVID-19 protection
19 votes -
Teachers are ready to quit rather than put their lives at risk: "Most parents have no idea how bad this is going to be"
40 votes -
US hospitals are suddenly short of young doctors — because of Donald Trump’s visa ban
9 votes -
Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress
10 votes -
A second coronavirus death surge is coming
11 votes -
Open letter urging challenge trials for COVID-19
3 votes -
US Coronavirus data has already disappeared after Donald Trump administration shifted control from CDC
6 votes -
Florida nursing homes see infections surge as workers spread virus
4 votes -
Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started...
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
4 votes -
Hi, How Are You? - Mental Health Support & Discussion Thread (July 2020)
Bringing this back for those who need it. Vent, share your experiences, ask for advice, talk about how you are doing. Lets make this a compassionate space for all who may need one.
21 votes -
Headaches top symptom for coronavirus, but only one third have any sign of illness
6 votes -
What happened to those mental health threads?
I think those could be real useful especially now. Sometimes I want to share related stuff but they would not warrant a full thread . It’s possible that they never existed and I’m delusional. In...
I think those could be real useful especially now. Sometimes I want to share related stuff but they would not warrant a full thread .
It’s possible that they never existed and I’m delusional. In which case, I think they should be a thing.
9 votes -
Population decline due to expected global crash in children being born
18 votes -
Warnings of possible cover-up in progress as Trump orders hospitals to stop sending coronavirus data to CDC
21 votes