To add to this, I found out that paying the statement balance before it’s due harms your credit score. Because then when the statement comes out, it shows that you owe zero and this makes it seem like you’re not using your card. At least, this has been my experience.

So, DO pay your full balance on time each month, BUT you need to wait for the statement balance to be generated before doing so.

I mean, AliExpress is great, but for many things I’m really just not interested in waiting 2 weeks for my item.

You said don’t buy directly from brands, but that’s the main thing others in this post are recommending lol.

Thing is if I bought that item from Amazon instead of Samsung, they would have immediately rectified the mistake instead of making me fight for it. And the item would have come sooner. So it’s still a win for Amazon.

I still do get why people don’t want to use Amazon for moral reasons, but again, they simply provide a massively superior experience than literally any other retailer I’ve used.

I don’t get why multiple people in this post are recommending AliExpress over Amazon. Like yeah it’s cheaper and more from the direct source…but not everyone wants to wait a month to receive the item they want to buy. I’ve seen some items on AliExpress advertise that they now have “faster shipping”, but it’s still very very slow in comparison…still taking multiple weeks in my experience.

There is a reason why Amazon got big over other online retailers. Even the online shops for many brick and mortar stores end up making you pay more for the item, make you pay a sizeable fee for the shipping, and make you wait 1-2 weeks all on top of that. Not to mention that if your order does get fucked up or you do get scammed on Amazon, they are very quick to give you your money back because they know it helps with customer satisfaction.

I had an issue with an online order from Samsung before. And despite also being a massive company with shittons of money, they gave me a hard time and I really had to fight to rectify their own mistake.

I get Amazon is evil and all but there’s a reason why they are the most used shopping platform. If no one else comes even remotely close to what they do, they aren’t going to gain much of a foothold.

I always love the nonsensical order of letters that these companies use.

Bahahaha

Thank you! He gets wet food and I have an auto wet food feeder, but it is a real PITA to set up and clean and it only holds a couple of meals. I’ll have to work on being more regular about it.

Ah ok, got it! Thanks! Good ideas!

Lol I won’t accuse you of spam. Don’t worry.

Do you take anything now?

I was initially on an SSRI but it didn’t help with that sort of thing either for me and I was also wondering if I was making me worse. :( The psych provider switched me to lamotrigine because I was still struggling and it was failing to alleviate that, but I’m not sure if this is harming my brain. I’m probably just some science experiment where they are fucking my brain up for fun.

Lamotrigine is actually specifically for the depressive part of bipolar disorder is the thing tho. I don’t have that…but if I did, it’s designed to help it.

200 mg is really absolutely not a wild dose. It is generally seen as the minimum therapeutic dose for conditions like bipolar disorder. The standard titration schedule is over several months, not several years.

It’s really frustrating that I seem to have a “paradoxical reaction” to like every psych med.

I have been under intense interpersonal workplace stress for many months now before I even started taking this drug and no med is helping me. :(

She incessantly does that. She basically sits there and tells me to find a way to deal with it. It’s frustrating to me though. Like if I knew, I wouldn’t be there. And things just keep getting worse and worse and I’m destroying my career and relationships. Honestly I just don’t know what to do at this point, I’m at a loss

Hey man that sounds great! I’ve personally tried a lot of “indirect” approaches myself and haven’t had much luck…eating right, consistent intense exercise, getting a furry companion, etc.

One thing is that I’ve found also is that you can kind of do a sort of “self therapy” with particular kinds of books. Not vague self help books, but books with actual research behind them. This one in particular was recommended to me:

https://www.amazon.com/Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-Skills-Workbook/

Now, I get that this particular therapy modality is not for everyone or every kind of issue. And I recognize that not everyone enjoys this rigid approach. But I’ve become desperate for something with research behind it that has the potential to help.

I sought out a specific therapist with this modality recently and interviewed/grilled her on the intake session. I was happy to hear her bring up this book unprompted and she said she goes through the program in the same rigid way.

I’m probably going to be dropping my current “talk therapist” for her, but we’ll see how things progress. Luckily I have the “luxury” right now with taking a few sessions with each before I decide.

BUT the point is that this book is designed in a way that it can also be used alone and not necessarily guided by a specific mental health professional.

Good luck out there, man.

Therapy is fucking expensive. Learning that the hard way right now. I hate how the modern thing people just throw out to others nowadays is “get therapy”. I’ve had many people tell me that and quite frankly it’s offensive. It just absolves people from responsibility of actually giving a fuck about you.

When sessions cost $150 a pop, it’s not fucking feasible for most. Thankfully in a position where I can afford that at the moment, but I recognize that many can’t.

Plus there are so many fucking shit therapists that do nothing to help you in the real world. “Talk therapy” seems to be so commonplace with them and it’s just not useful for actually “getting better”. It’s not only financially difficult to find a decent therapist, but also mentally…as you’re having to rehash your story over and over again until you find one that can actually fucking help.

I’m still trying but it’s offensive as fuck when people in my life get frustrated with me for “not making progress” in therapy when they aren’t giving me actionable things to do.

Yeah I thought I had found one of the “good ones”. They were my best friend for years until they totally and completely rejected and abandoned me during the toughest time in my life. Because I was inconvenient for them. I’ve been an internet dweller all my life due to social anxiety. And I know that’s the only place now that I can really find safety and comfort, not the “real world”.

We are still friends now but it shattered the illusion of what I thought existed. And it is difficult at times to like them now. I feel even crazier flipping from liking them to hating them. Never felt that before with anyone.

They aren’t a friend I can just “leave” because we work together.

My cat refuses to use those vertical column scratchers. I have to get vertical ones which are much wider than that. Also he just prefers to scratch the couch anyway even with ample scratchers that he uses >:(

It’s so fucking ugly. My place has it and I hate it so much. But a ton of places seem to where I live.

For those in car-centric countries, I’d bet that potential vehicle accidents are likely a majority of those.

Why should they have to be? Legitimately curious as to your answer, OP.

I mean I guess, but who is really going to be finding you on Lemmy lol?

I’m sorry, dude. :( Have you been able to get any sort of treatment for it at all?

I thought I did, but unfortunately no. It was pretty world shattering. I guess I know to be more careful now at least.