Medication?

And I love a metaphor! 

I find this community so good too - it’s helped me on so many occasions and I’m so grateful to everyone who shares their experience and thoughts on here. I had already severely reduced my exposure to news and politics - but I tuned into a bit more due to the election. Now I’m reducing it right down again (although I will catch the headlines because I don’t want to be completely out of touch). It’s good to get the balance right isn’t it? Not easy - but possible :) 

Hi - yes - I love that concept too - when I heard it in a talk online I thought : this makes so much sense to me! I now often think this in certain situations and it helps me to be more aware and take action to look after my well being. Sometimes simple metaphors like this can be so helpful. Thanks for sharing that you like it too - I hope it’s helpful to you in the future :) 

Kate, I just wanted to say, I really like your comments about "seeds"

Kate Kestrel said:

they say that what we ‘consume’ will ‘water’ those ‘seeds’ -

I like this concept, thank you

What a forum this is! Wish I'd discovered it sooner   Thanks Kate Kestrel for your words - I suspect there are minds / mindsets which are so special / so far removed from what "mainstream" life "requires" that drugs are needed just to get to a starting point, but mine may not be one of those, and exploring one of the many helpful philosophies (such as Zen) may be a better road to sanity.  I've always engineered my life to stay as far outside what mainstream society insists upon as I possibly can, but this politics stuff has encroached.  It won't happen again - Twitter, Youtube and political podcasts are already gone as of yesterday, and I've lanced a personal boil which was the main contributor to the crash which brought me here.  Thanks all, but don;t stop with the good advice.

I’ve recently been learning a lot about Zen Buddhism  - and one thing I found very helpful is that address the aspect of what we ‘consume’ - and using this term they are referring to EVERYTHING that we consume: food, drink, media, news, the influence of the society around us, drugs, the emotional input of the people we mix with, messaging from family and friends, social media etc etc. 

You specifically mention the influence of the election coverage and its impact on you. 
In Zen Buddhism they describe human beings as having many ‘seeds’ inside them: seeds of anger, seeds of happiness, seeds of sadness, seeds of joy etc etc, And they say that what we ‘consume’ will ‘water’ those ‘seeds’ - so (for example) if we watch lots of news coverage of Gaza it might ‘water’ our seeds of despair, or if we watch lots of  coverage of lying politicians it might water our seeds of cynicism and hopelessness. On the other hand if we spend time in nature it might water our seeds of peace, or if we listen to wonderful music it can water our seeds of joy.

It’s not always easy but in many cases we have some choice over what we ‘consume’. For example - we can switch the news off, and watch something more inspiring, or choose to listen to more music, or read an inspiring book. We can spend less time with very negative people, but instead give our time to more positive influences. We can choose to eat simple healthy food rather than eat lots of junk. 

what we consume has an effect on us. So we need to think about what we want to allow into our heads and our bodies, and make choices that help our overall well being when we can. 
I know many will disagree with me but I don’t think drugs are the ideal answer. I think there are other ways - but they do take time and effort. 
For myself Zen Buddhism is helping me to improve what have been lifelong issues with severe anxiety - it’s the only thing that has made a significant difference for me. I discovered the Buddhist teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and it’s been truly life changing for me.

Anyway - I hope you find things that help you too - I know it’s so difficult but from my own experience I’d say that there’s always hope. Good luck! 

Wow - a lot to explore there JuniperFromGallifrey - thanks very much.

Thanks for your concern Chloe Mod - much appreciated.

If the bottom line issue is intense sensory experience including emotions and a drive for resolution, all causing heightened stress, there is a possibility Sertraline is making it worse by lowering your internal  ability to filter out extra sensory stimuli through depleting the bodies inhibitors. Drugs to counter balance drugs, IMO, are a fast track to ill health. I have a friend who takes a daily supplement of L-Theanine + Magnesium, the first being building blocks to said inhibitors, which need or the world can feel like an intense psilocybin trip. 

Given that we can't save the world or control others, I find I can take responsibility for my own well-being and then find a cause or two to support. Especially one which I feel is impacting me on a daily basis such as the unaccountable mass change from natural light sources to artificial light. 

One thing I've discovered since discovering what the Autistic differences were, includes how the Typical population uses language and seemingly invisible 'codes' to communicate or command. It's perfectly normal for most to live with Cognitive Dissonance and also not see discrepancy where Autistics might - mostly due to words being fluid and symbolic rather than a utility with ground in a dictionary. Understanding how this works according to Analytic Philosophy eased the frustration a bit. But I still have to do a bit of internal logic puzzles when speaking to others. 

Hello Jubilee,

I’m sorry you are going through such a tough time, it’s good that you’ve let us know what’s happening/how you feel. Many people have similar thoughts when coping with so much and we hope you’re okay.  If you are unable to cope with the distress or despair, it’s very important to tell someone about your feelings or thoughts of suicide. Call your GP and make an urgent appointment. Your GP can make sure you get appropriate help and support. 

 If it’s outside your GP hours call 111 to reach the NHS 111 service: 

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/urgent-and-emergency-care-services/when-to-use-111/ 

 The Samaritans also provide confidential non-judgemental emotional support, 24 hours a day on 116 123, or by email on jo@samaritans.org. 

MIND have information pages on coping with self harm or suicidal feelings based on the experiences of people who’ve been through it that you may find helpful.  

  If you are very close to doing something to hurt yourself - call 999 now or go to your nearest A&E department. There should be someone there to support you and make sure you get ongoing support. 

  You can find more information here: 

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/suicide 

You may like to have a look at the mental health section of our website which has useful links to information and advice about a range of mental health issues: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health  

The information on this page may be of particular interest:

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/self-harm 

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/anxiety 

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/depression 

If you feel that you might need some support with your mental health, you can find advice and information on how to go about seeking help, including links to other resources and details of helplines and listening support services, here: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/seeking-help. 

All the best,

ChloeMod

Thx Yellow tree 118.  When you say "plenty out there", can you give me some examples?

Yeh there is plenty out there. Your antidepressants should help though. Sertraline is one of the best out there to be honest. I guess I’d you are having problems with alcohol then you should maybe seek medication for alcohol cravings and that would maybe help with that. Hope this helps.

Thanks Iain

Jubilee said:

I don't want to react to bullshit with the red flash of righteous indignation, but I do.  So, are there meds/other things which enable some of the "noise" to go away?

Nope.

Stop reading the news and following social media - that will help tremendously.

Sort yourself out a healthy diet, decent sleep regime and plenty of exercise and this will help too.

By cutting out all the rubbish you get on your feeds you will be less agitated by it so change that energy you spend consuming / reacting to it by doing something positive. Read books, study something useful to you, help a charity or something.

Thise things will help build confidence, capability and a feeling of self worth.

The noise should subside once you are off the feeds for a while and this should help a lot if you go back and try mindfulness again. Meditation takes a bit more of a clear head to start with and this may well follow.

Once you have been "digitally detoxed" for a few months then see if you still need your meds but check with your GP before coming off them as you may need to taper the dose..

Being in that better headspace without the toxicity of the media should help you find more clarity on chosing a path to your interests / work / relationships etc that does not rely on chemicals to stay stable.

All in my opinion of course.