Yeah, I tend to reply for lurkers, not to change the OPs mind.
Lurkers who haven’t entered a dog in the fight are more likely to be convinced than someone already wound up and swinging. As they read, they are more open, much as I am when I lurk.
This is also why I don’t necessarily mind “fake” posts. The original situation in the post might be fake, but the discussion from people responding does tend to have good or interesting responses in varying levels of nuance.
Self discipline.
Once I learned the skill of purposely removing myself from certain online things…world of Warcraft and social media arguing were two big ones…I got a lot of my life back.
It really just comes down to self discipline and self control, which are necessary to learn if you want to actually mature and grow up.
Edit: you could also consider it the art of learning boundaries.
It’s sometimes easier to do speeches with a mask on.
My easiest speech in high school was in a grim reaper costume that covered my face.
Sounds like I should test if going on testosterone does the same someday.
Escitalopram fixed my Raynaud’s at a low “taper up” dose basically immediately. Although it wasn’t prescribed for that, this was just a happy side effect. I guess some SSRIs do that.
For depression, it took about a month to ramp up enough to see a difference. It did ease the anhedonia, but it also masked my emotional flashbacks until it was too late to disrupt them.
I also had SEVERE issues with my sodium while on it, which is why I didn’t stay on it past a month. However, I don’t snack or eat salty stuff so someone with higher sodium intake might have fared better.
I would have tried to get used to it to see if the masking of the early signs of flashbacks got better as I got used to it if it hadn’t messed up my sodium so badly.
Also, the sexual side effects are real.
Are you completely unable to see images or hear voices in your mind’s eye/ear? No matter what you read? And it’s always been like that?
Or do you just get fatigued after a while? But with effort can have a visual or audible imagination?
The former could be something called aphantasia, which is when someone is born without the ability to visualize things in their head
The latter might just a skill thing. When I was about 10, I had to train myself both to sharpen my imagination, but also not to fall asleep reading every time. I remember doing this distinctly, just constant practice with my imagination. It got a lot easier as I practiced.