Am I going mental?

[UnSub]

Are you a social cripple?  I think this stress will be good for you.  You should keep subjecting yourself to it.  You need to feel comfortable around people. 

This from someone who ranted about people not walking fast enough for him.

My advice: join a geriatric zimmer-frame relay team. It will help you toughen up by constantly subjecting you to something that obviously stresses you. 

[dusematic]

Nice selective quotes.  Why don't you relax and take some more meds.

[Broughden]

Are you a social cripple?  I think this stress will be good for you.  You should keep subjecting yourself to it.  You need to feel comfortable around people. 

This from someone who ranted about people not walking fast enough for him.

My advice: join a geriatric zimmer-frame relay team. It will help you toughen up by constantly subjecting you to something that obviously stresses you. 

I got to agree with Duse on that one. People walk slow as shit. Usually while waddling their obese asses down a sidewalk, dripping cheese from their supersize burgers and pulling their snot covered obese kids along with them. Get the fuck out of my way!!!!! GAH!

[Paelos]

Again, talk to someone with some specialization in the area. You can see what kind of responses you get here.

[apocrypha]

So, what's actually wrong with me? Am I having trouble handling stress? Am I crazy?

There's nothing wrong with you, it's the world that's fucked. Work shouldn't be this shit.

[schild]

Again, talk to someone with some specialization in the area. You can see what kind of responses you get here.

Dude, there's only two results no matter who he talks to:

1. Helmet
2. Pills

And, maybe:

3. Helmet & Pills

Yes, getting help is worth it. It helps you UNDERSTAND, but you can't carry a shrink around in your pocket. Stress, assholes, and assholes that cause stress are everywhere. You have to learn to cope, either through yourself or with someone else to help make sense of it. But it doesn't change the end result. The responses have all, from both sides, been helpful.

[Broughden]

Again, talk to someone with some specialization in the area. You can see what kind of responses you get here.

You must have missed my post.

Simple. Sounds like social anxiety disorder or more likely avoidant personality disorder.

I took a class on this in college. I actually had to read the book and everything.

[Paelos]

Or, given that you have no idea what the hell you are talking about in the mental health arena, you could just let him ask somebody else.

Unless you are currently medicated, have been medicated, or have a degree in it. If you do please enlighten us with examples.

[dusematic]

Are you a social cripple?  I think this stress will be good for you.  You should keep subjecting yourself to it.  You need to feel comfortable around people. 

This from someone who ranted about people not walking fast enough for him.

My advice: join a geriatric zimmer-frame relay team. It will help you toughen up by constantly subjecting you to something that obviously stresses you. 

I got to agree with Duse on that one. People walk slow as shit. Usually while waddling their obese asses down a sidewalk, dripping cheese from their supersize burgers and pulling their snot covered obese kids along with them. Get the fuck out of my way!!!!! GAH!

Hard not to agree with the thesis that people should stop shambling around in a permanent mindless daze like zombies.  But of course the cream of the crop that is F13 found a way.

[dusematic]

Again, talk to someone with some specialization in the area. You can see what kind of responses you get here.

Dude, there's only two results no matter who he talks to:

1. Helmet
2. Pills

And, maybe:

3. Helmet & Pills

Yes, getting help is worth it. It helps you UNDERSTAND, but you can't carry a shrink around in your pocket. Stress, assholes, and assholes that cause stress are everywhere. You have to learn to cope, either through yourself or with someone else to help make sense of it. But it doesn't change the end result. The responses have all, from both sides, been helpful.

/thread

[gryeyes]

It has already been said, you have to find the happy inside. Professional help offers nothing beyond self awareness and drugs, 90% drugs. You seem fairly self aware, so the issue is how to deal with it internally. Ive never had my dreams get negative and crazy so you have my sympathy. Work in a warehouse before customer service, 10 times the stress for the same wage.

[rk47]

Hey, thanks for the advice, you all. I guess I'll just try to enjoy my weekend for now and browse through the bookstores first before heading to a clinic.

[NiX]

Hey, thanks for the advice, you all. I guess I'll just try to enjoy my weekend for now and browse through the bookstores first before heading to a clinic.

Find an outlet, take up exercise and re-evaluate your health as a whole, which includes food and what not.

Not to be weird, but what do you have in your room aside from your bed? What do you do in your room aside from sleep (or trying to)?

[Yegolev]

Hey.

1) Stress is crappy, it will kill you and you need to find a way to deal with it before it puts you in the ground.
2) You will need to figure out how to do this.  Many suggestions in this thread are worth trying.
3) You can try combinations of things since it's unlikely one thing will be the Magic Cure.
4) If you go the pills+therapy route, I suggest looking at it as a short-term process rather than a lifestyle.
5) If you hate your job, get another one and fuck the money.  Can't spend money when you are dead.

Also, I like Epictetus.  A bonus effect to practicing Stoic teachings is that it infuriates certain people.

As for jobs, I don't know.  I'm thinking of doing all kinds of crazy shit for money if I get laid off.  Just yesterday I laid out a plan to do some lumberjacking; I can use a chainsaw and the trees are all ten-year-old pine.  It might not be ideal but it will pay and I won't have to deal with jackasses, just wildlife.  Mostly, though, I get stressed out about the situation for no good reason... not that there is ever a good reason to be stressed except when you are surprised by a bear or hippo.  I'm worried because I currently have very little confidence that Plan B (start an AIX consulting company) will produce money.  I'd really save a lot of time and effort if I can use my existing expertise in AIX somehow.

I find that since nothing can be done at the moment, the best approach is to distract myself from it with games, home improvement and F13 jibba-jabba.

[stray]

Haha wow, I was gonna pull out the Stoic card, but was afraid it'd be a bit much. ;) I second the suggestion. Personally, Taoist and Buddhist writers help me, but Epictitus and Aurelius aren't too shabby either.

[Yegolev]

There's always room for Stoicism.  Zeno, Marcus Aurelius, it's all good.

[Sjofn]

Yes, I talk to friends. Half said I should 'Hey, toughen up and manage stress better the other half said 'I think your mental state is more important'. I'm 26, and I think I'm not in any shape to risk going mental just to be 'tough'. But maybe I should see a doctor about this.

The awesome part about the "toughen up" crowd is that they don't seem to realise that saying, "Fuck, I think I might be crazy" is pretty goddamn tough. Especially when people like them keep telling you shit like "Get a helmet." There's still a lot of stigma attached to ANY sort of mental issue, even the ridiculously common ones like depression. I particularly enjoy the people who act like I'm a weak, terrible person because I have to take medication to control my depression. My brain chemistry is broken, but that's apparently a personality flaw.

Your issues MAY just be a "lern2stress" issue but they MAY be something more serious. It's definitely worth it to at least find out, and fuck the people who think you'd be weak to do so.

Where is this "toughen up" crowd you speak of?  People have been pretty fucking sympathetic.  Stop projecting.

The toughen up crowd mentioned by rk47? Quoted by me and then quoted by you? Plus schild's initial suggestions of "don't be such a pussy" and "get a helmet" were not exactly helpful, and definitely smacked of "toughen up." Since he actually elaborated, I can see what he's trying to say and it's not so bad, but a blanket "you're being a pussy" is bullshit.

[Yegolev]

I agree.  The problem is that even if "stop being a pussy" is the actual solution, the presentation is all wrong.  It's not usually the actual solution, though, since that's the first thing every random asshole says in these situations and the person with the problem has likely already considered this.  Interestingly, a therapist (often) knows how to tell someone to stop being a pussy while framing it in a manner in which the person with the issue can understand.

Speaking of understanding, chances are most people don't actually have a good understanding of themselves and I submit, based on personal experience, that learning what makes you tick will do absolute wonders for your ability to handle Shit.

[Lantyssa]

Seconded.

A good therapist will teach you how to be more self-aware.  People are really bad at it.

[Jimbo]

Nightmares suck.

One of my friends lost her niece in a car accident, now she has the hardest time taking care of kids.  It is the guilt of not being able to help, the sorrow that she knows we did all we could, the anger that she was a wonderful child who died...yet the drug addict with kids from different fathers lives when she should have died (or other person she treats and seems ungrateful and mean).  Stages of grief and dying can really fuck with you, and it makes me and my coworkers crazy, yet we deal with it in ways that make us enjoy what we do for a living.  She has worked threw her depression and anger, mostly because she asked for help and we all pitched in for her.

[Engels]

/em listens to Jimbo, since of all of us, he probably knows a thing or two about job related stress.

[NiX]

Go with therapy. Make it a good one too. If I could afford to, I would be seeing one right now.

[WindupAtheist]

I think he has a Brain Cloud.

[tazelbain]

Just go mental; you'll fit in better with rest of America.

[stray]

I was given antidepressants when i was younger, but they did nothing (at least good) for me. But a family member of mine is prescribed them, and they definitely help... In his case, depression is an overwhelming thing (I think at the time, I was only merely sad.. because I've been off meds for over a decade and depression has never been "overwhelming". I just don't need them). But umm, my point is, I wouldn't knock it. I've seen how it can get, and it's not as simple as toughening up sometimes. And if not depression, and anxiety is the main problem, ust stay the hell away from stuff like Xanax, like I said. Hell, you'd be better off smoking a bowl than that. Xanax is not much different than feeling stoned, except it's highly addictive, a major bitch to get off from, and probably more damaging to your body than weed in the long term. So smoke weed, if anxiety is your problem.

But besides weed, like me and Yeg said, go buy a copy of Aurelius' Meditations and the Tao Te Ching while you're at it.   Good reading. I recommend them to anyone. The bottom line of those philosophies is to just be in the moment.

[Yegolev]

Weed doesn't work for everyone.  Doesn't do a damn thing for me, for example.

About the therapists, unfortunately you will want to try more than one.  Find one that seems to understand you and that you like.  My first one was an arrogant dick and we obviously had very different core philosophies.  Second one was much better.