Hello I'm a total freak

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subjectiveobject
Posts: 6
Joined: May 3rd, 2017, 11:19 am
Gender: male
Issues: isolation, social anxiety, academic failures
preferred pronoun: he

Re: Hello I'm a total freak

Post by subjectiveobject »

I did not know the SLAA meetings were particularly religious.
It is absolutely not necessary for you to take the numbers. Godd job on not collecting more pressure. You can always get those numbers later on. They will understand your decision.
Take your time for the group-work. If something works for you just be persistant on it.
I was weirded out by my group for their spirituality focused way of doing things but eventually found a way to appreciate what they did for me without needing to leave my safe atheist spot.
Just try to figure out what they can do for you specifically as you just observe the rest without engaging in everything.
It does take time and the first few meetings are (at least in my case) weird and confusing. Just take your time and leave if there is nothing you can get out of those meetings.
Your writing is relatively structured and your thoughts seem to be reasonable for the many variables that must fly through your head right now.

Sex or pornography is often used to releave some stressors. I think you know yourself where it gets problematic. Maybe you want to suggest to you partner to please each other. :lol:

Maybe you want to write on a piece of paper "I will stay strong" and read that out to you loud before going on the radio. Whenever i found my hand squeezing in my pocket because bad feelings overwhelmed me, i also found notes i wrote to myself for these situations. You can choose what you want to be reading ahead of the situation. Honestly you probably know yourself best what the situation will be like so you might want to change the words above.

Is your partner attending therapy? Unfortunately THC will tear you apart if you consume it while your depressed. You partner needs to stop smoking cannabis as long as she has depression!!! It gave me the worst phsychosis you can think of. This drug is severely misunderstood by most people. Please tell her she should not underestimate the strong sublime effects she is probably not going to realise as long as she keeps smoking. Her assuming cannabis would help against depression already shows that she has absolutely no clue what cannabis can help for and what not.

Sorry for getting into that like this but it always makes me angry hearing the cannabis misconceptions advocated by interests that do not care about the health of people and exploit their lack of knowledge and need for help. :snooty:

Your partner is probably expressing the lack of trust in the situation (when you were the most honest towards her) yesterday night also partly because it is a "new" or "intense" behaviour you are showing towards her. Of course she also expresses it because you did stuff in the past that makes it harder to trust you. Nevertheless there are strategies to overcome this. I cannot tell you on here but i think your therapist will.

Honestly you did mention a lot by now that aggregated makes it hard to sort out where cause and effect lies. Obviously the depression of your partner doesent make it easier for you.
Is she living with you in the hostile shared apartment?
Do you know of any serious problems your partner is struggeling with (especially those that affect you directly)? (other than cannabis and depression - which btw correlates)
What genre is your music about?

hope to hear from you again

ps: maybe you want to prepare for your therapy session as there is a lot to talk about. i find it helpful to write stuff down and outline as it make the conversation more structured and fulfilling
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HowDidIGetHere
Posts: 246
Joined: June 22nd, 2016, 9:51 am
Gender: Male
Issues: Bipolar II, Borderline/Avoidant Personality Disorder, child abuse/neglect
preferred pronoun: he
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Re: Hello I'm a total freak

Post by HowDidIGetHere »

Thanks for posting, void. I too went through a time in SLAA and found it really helpful for a while, if only to relieve some of the shame. Being able to sit in front of a group of people, tell them about my deepest secret, and see some of them nod and say "me too" was powerful. To me, that's the biggest value of 12 Step meetings and recovery in general.

At the risk of putting pressure on you, I would favor taking those numbers. There usually comes a time when you find yourself in a position you don't want to be in or facing a choice you don't want to face and having that number in your phone can be a real life saver. Rest assured, people who give out their numbers in meetings are okay with you never calling, even if they hope you will.

The other thing to remember is that they're doing it for themselves as much as for you. Even recovering addicts are selfish as hell. :)
'The field “Issues” is too long, a maximum of 80 characters is allowed.' Wow. Totally outed by a message board.

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oak
Posts: 3548
Joined: January 18th, 2013, 8:44 am
Gender: Male

Re: Hello I'm a total freak

Post by oak »

Well done for going to the meeting!
Work is love made visible. -Kahlil Gibran
A person with a "why" can endure any "how". -Viktor Frankl
Which is better: to be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort? -Skyrim
void87
Posts: 18
Joined: June 13th, 2016, 2:26 am
Gender: male
Issues: depression and anxiety
preferred pronoun: he

Re: Hello I'm a total freak

Post by void87 »

Hey all,

Attended my 2nd SLAA meeting yesterday. This time I spoke in front of the group which was quite theraputic but obviously my depressed brain told me I didn't say everything right and missed things out! Anyway, I was approached by a sponsor who volunteered to talk to any newcomers and he was a great comfort. I felt he understood my pain and situation and patterns right away (as well as having depression, dealing with suicidal thoughts and self-harm); I shared my story with a stranger, with no judgement and cried tears of relief and sadness. He seemed like genuine and caring person, so I'm happy that I have that person I can call on when times are tough.

I won't be going today as I feel I need a break and focus on a few other things today.

subjectiveobjective, thanks again for your advice! The piece of paper idea is a really good one. And it means a lot that you see my writing as structured! As for our sex life, we had amazing sex; it felt intimate, close and really involved. But I don't think there'll be much of that anytime soon. She has stopped smoking cannabis for the time being and she did this by herself and I believe she sees it as a problem when dealing with depression and all the pain at the moment. As well our relationship, my partner is also dealing with her father's terminal illness, job insecurity and the depression as mentioned. I have encouraged her to see a therapist (she has sadly cancelled the last two sessions due to work) and sent her links of places where she can get help as well as encouraging her to speak to friends and the Samaritans etc. We don't live together.

I had a particularly difficult conversation with my housemate yesterday who is now asking that I move out of the house. I left feeling incredibly angry, patronised and talked down to. I am trying not to dwell on it, but yesterday was an exhausting day. My music career was threatened, I was talked down to and ultimately, made to feel little. As well as having a therapy session yesterday and having very difficult conversations with my girlfriend (we've decided not to be in contact for a few days, it's difficult but for the best), I need some rest today!

I make mainly experimental/drone/ambient/noise music which has been a channel and form of therapy for my depression, which I have talked about in interviews and in press releases. I also play in a punk band which is another excellent form of therapy.
subjectiveobject
Posts: 6
Joined: May 3rd, 2017, 11:19 am
Gender: male
Issues: isolation, social anxiety, academic failures
preferred pronoun: he

Re: Hello I'm a total freak

Post by subjectiveobject »

Your SLAA experience sounds really great and wonderful.

The intimacy with your partner probably returns if you both get some stuff ordered and feel less stressed.

Is there any rational way to talk to your housemate? What is he bringing up to justify kicking you out?

Is it all electronically generated or do you actually record sounds and instruments you play yourself? ;)

Kind regards
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oak
Posts: 3548
Joined: January 18th, 2013, 8:44 am
Gender: Male

Re: Hello I'm a total freak

Post by oak »

Good for you for continuing to make good choices.

I hope things go well for you. Please keep us up to date.
Work is love made visible. -Kahlil Gibran
A person with a "why" can endure any "how". -Viktor Frankl
Which is better: to be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort? -Skyrim
void87
Posts: 18
Joined: June 13th, 2016, 2:26 am
Gender: male
Issues: depression and anxiety
preferred pronoun: he

Re: Hello I'm a total freak

Post by void87 »

Hey all,

Sorry for the late reply. This week has been tough and confusing!

I stayed sober for a week but broke last Saturday and the Monday just gone. Started sobriety again on Tuesday and haven't broken yet. I got a call from my (now) ex-girlfriend asking me who I was having an affair with, there's a rumour (a now third hand one) that I had an affair with a Spanish woman which I know nothing about. I am now stuck in a loop with my ex who doesn't believe or trust me when I tell the truth and to be honest, I was quite annoyed and angry about the whole situation. On top of this, my housing situation with my current flatmate got increasingly worse, I won't go into detail but like before, I feel I have been insulted, patronised threatened as well as bullied (after talking to my therapist and friends and showing them the messages). I don't want to say anymore on this as I just want to move on.

I've been to two more SLAA meetings. In the second one space was offered for newcomers but I wasn't able to speak quickly enough and missed my chance to talk. I will try again!

Things have been more complicated with my ex-gf too that I don't want to go into right now but I have in the space of one week felt joy, pleasure, pain, self-hatred and shame. It's an exhausting time.

I have a few leads for new places to move into and some of them seem promising. I also have a trial shift for a potential new job tomorrow which I hope will go well. Fingers crossed.
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