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[Gentlefish]

What the fuck did I just read.

No, I know what I just read... I just read a HuffPost opinion piece from a guest writer, which a middle-aged woman on Facebook used to reinforce her beliefs that "happy pills don't help, you just need to face your fears".

The woman's been either a librarian or a teacher for most of her life, you'd expect her to have a little more critical thinking. Or education. Or something.


In other news, my disability application has been approved... From January 1st 2019, I'm officially an invalid. I just got my public transit discount card, worth a 50% discount in ticket prices when presented alongside valid photo ID.

...Which is great fun, because that card is only issued to senior citizens over the age of 67, or people on disability. It doesn't specify which on the card, but I'm very obviously not 67+. Huzzah.

But hey, fuck it... I'm a parasite mooching off of our hard-working taxpayers anyways. If I didn't want to wear a mark of shame in public, I should've gotten myself a career.

Heh. Blacking out can lead to anxiety too. I did it once, sobered up in the middle of a college class, panicked internally and left.

Anxiety is also a pretty common symptom of a hangover. You can happily be anxious and twitchy all day without even having a headache, all depending on how your body's handling the alcohol it consumed. It's called "fylleangst" in Norwegian, "bender angst".

Neat! I get bender angst. Thanks God, I hate it.

As for being a parasite on society, I don't think you are. The duty of society is to take care of its own, including and especially those who cannot work in the standard 9 to 5.

This sounds like a chance to discover what really gets your gears turning (though I think your girlfriend seems to like to put the kaibosh on that from what I've read. I could be totally wrong!) and devote yourself to learning that thing and becoming The Best You Can at it. Not the best, that's silly.

[Kagus]

This sounds like a chance to discover what really gets your gears turning

I'll tell you what gets my gears turning; random supposedly-intelligent people on Facebook spreading harmful statements based on flimsy nonsense articles, that's what gets my gears turning...

Or grinding, rather.


Anyways, there's kind of a media sensation here in Norway of youths abusing the social support network because "why wouldn't they?". If you could get paid some money for working every day, or get paid more money for sitting at home playing vidyer gaems, why not take the easy way?

This has fueled a big fat campaign of cutting down the support network the past few years so as to plug up some of the vulnerabilities the system has for being abused, as well as a massive stigma towards young people receiving financial aid. Unfortunately, I'm smack dab in the middle of that demographic, and my reports of "yeah, I've spent a lot of time at home playing video games in my life, because it's the only time I don't feel awful about everything" isn't exactly a very convincing argument for my innocence, 'least not when it falls on the ears of social workers who have been slapped and hammered by politicians about increasing their vigilance against those filthy youths who would undermine our fair country.


So, yeah. I've been blamed and punished for trying to cheat the system and get away with being lazy a lot. Doesn't really help with my own internal conflict of "am I actually sick or am I just lazy and blaming/manipulating everyone around me?", but that's another matter.

I... Don't really feel I deserve this much money, though. This is more than I was getting on unemployment, and I already felt guilty about that.


Really do need to see this as an opportunity to "collect myself, take a breath, and focus on getting better", as according to my shrink.

[ChairmanPoo]

I play videogames a lot and am acknowledged as a useful member of society. You can quote me

[dragdeler]

-snip-

[Iduno]

The woman's been either a librarian or a teacher for most of her life, you'd expect her to have a little more critical thinking. Or education. Or something.

I would do no such thing; I've met teachers.

[BlackFlyme]

I'm getting fed up. My mom has to ask permission for me to come over to her boyfriend's, since he doesn't want me around. She shouldn't have to ask, and I shouldn't have to go, but she doesn't want to be with him alone every weekend.

My class is going to the bar later for the end of the semester, and I was thinking of going. I shouldn't have told my mom, since she phoned up several family members and her boyfriend saying that I was going, and that she was going with me, which started an argument between them. She did this before even talking to me about it, and now I don't even want to go.

[pikachu17]

Why is your mom still dating this guy? He sounds like a jerk.

[BlackFlyme]

Nothing else to do, I guess? I don't know. She's not happy where she's living, and doesn't have any hobbies or anything to do at home when she's not working, so his place is somewhere to go and do stuff.

[Castlecliff]

Ahh yes. My financial situation is a joke also. The last few years I have been living off my savings and odd tax free jobs, now my girlfriend is pregnant and I have apporoached the government for assistance. The job market is bad here and honestly. I just don't like being told what to do and a few bad employees have made me apathetic towards a full time job.
I have never asked for assistance and I help the people around me (family, neighbors, friends) without asking for anything.
I do not feel like a parasite or a mooch, my government (and many others) are happy to drop a few cents to the needy.
I also can't drive a car making it hard in my city with terrible public transport to get to a job on time every time.
So finally 26 and I'm asking someone for help.

No one should feel bad for asking for help. If you do then try to let go of the pride

[Akura]

My ISP is shoving adverts into my browser. When I first opened the window, a third of the page was taken up by an advert for Disney On Demand. They have the nerve to say that their advertisements are designed to be not intrusive.

[Kagus]

My ISP is shoving adverts into my browser. When I first opened the window, a third of the page was taken up by an advert for Disney On Demand. They have the nerve to say that their advertisements are designed to be not intrusive.

They're probably not intrusive...

To the blind.

[Yoink]

As for actual anxiety, it's been pretty heavily linked to depression, and weather can fuck you up good sometimes. There's a reason seasonal depression is seasonal. It strikes in the dark and/or rainy months.

You being Australian it's summer down there, but I dunno if it's your rainy season or not. That could spike anxiety.

Of course, it could just be a buildup of a million little things on your mind coming to a boil and it decided to boil over.

Yeah, I used to think of my depression as just the logical by-product of my crippling anxiety and the effect it had/has on my life, but now it seems to be its own thing that sometimes strikes even when I'm feeling as anxiety-free as can be.

It was grey and rainy yesterday. I considered that could have been partially the cause, but... I like a bit of rain, and it was all scenic and shit and I didn't even get more than slightly damp. Weirdness. Maybe I was already on my way to a bad mood for unknown subconscious reasons and the weather just bumped me over the edge. Who knows.

Anxiety is also a pretty common symptom of a hangover. You can happily be anxious and twitchy all day without even having a headache, all depending on how your body's handling the alcohol it consumed. It's called "fylleangst" in Norwegian, "bender angst".

I can't believe Norway has such an amazingly useful word like that. Damn. That's like, Deutsch-levels of oddly specific.
Yeah, I often get extra anxious when I'm hungover, but in this case I wasn't - I got drunk and hungover after my anxiety spiked.

Congrats on the increased benefits, by the way!
I feel like commenting on your wholly unnecessary feelings of guilt, but I can't get my thoughts on the subject in order right now. I will say that it's a little embarrassing whenever I need to show my "Pensioners Concession Card" to folks, though, but it's also kind of fun. Like, I realise they must be wondering WTF is wrong with me. A good time to look into their eyes and allow them to glimpse the madness lurking beneath the surface, before shuddering and averting their gaze... but usually I just thrust out the card and avoid eye contact. Oh well.   
Nobody's ever been rude enough to ask me why I have such a card. I guess if they're in a position where checking people's concession is part of their job, basic customer service, manners and not being a huge gronk is probably also part of it.   

No one should feel bad for asking for help. If you do then try to let go of the pride

True dat. Take pride in your merits but don't bother with stuff like shame, especially when there's no good reason for it.
Glad to hear you're getting some assistance, too.    

[misko27]

Things I discovered while standing outside my apartment in the rain, waiitng for someone to let me in:

1) If you stare at the ground and don't move, a skunk will quickly decide you aren't worth paying attention to and go about its merry business digging through trashing less than a foot away from you. It was kinda funny when it poked its head out of the bushes, noticed me, went back through the bushes, walked the long way around, then dug through the garbage cans right next to me anyway. But it was also mildly concerning for a while how little it cared that I was there.

2) You know how you can see your breath in cold weather? I noticed I can see... well, something that looked remarkably like come out from around my feet. Yes, my feet. Just wearing sneakers, nothing that explains it away. Coming from my shoes themselves? Or perhaps my pants somehow? I don't know. But it was definitely there. For what its worth, it was cold enough to see my breath, so it's probably something like that but for my feet... but what the hell is that?

[IcyTea31]

My ISP is shoving adverts into my browser. When I first opened the window, a third of the page was taken up by an advert for Disney On Demand. They have the nerve to say that their advertisements are designed to be not intrusive.

Where do you live where an ISP can do that and stay in business? I'd already be calling their competitor.

[Akura]

My sinus infection is getting worse. Nose will not stop running, and I think some fluid got into my left ear so now that hurts.

My ISP is shoving adverts into my browser. When I first opened the window, a third of the page was taken up by an advert for Disney On Demand. They have the nerve to say that their advertisements are designed to be not intrusive.

Where do you live where an ISP can do that and stay in business? I'd already be calling their competitor.

It's Optimum.