IChoseTheRedPill

If you do in fact have Bipolar, different forms of delusions are extremely common... Buy this book and follow Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride's instructions... She was a Neurosurgeon who flipped specialties... She is amazing... https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Syndrome-D-D-D-H-D-Schizophrenia/dp/0954852028

Rapid cycling bipolar can happen within hours in some people though it is quite a bit less common... I know someone who cycles like this... She's unbearable to be with sometimes, though we all love her regardless... She can go many weeks being relatively stable... It's best that you get a professional opinion if this is becoming a problem though...

Anxiety, Depression, and the Microbiome: A Role for Gut Peptides... PubMed ~ The N.I.H. Database for Medical Research

You state upfront "I don't see how art helps the world" yet I'm sure You're influencing others with Your photography... Two of my heroes of photography were Ansel Adams and Peter Turner... As a nature photographer I'm sure you're familiar with Adams... Both were great but Adams was all nature and more the exposure while Turner really taught/inspired me to think abstractly... To push things in the darkroom... Yes, I'm that old... As far as what art offers to the world, it's the beautiful things that others can't do but admire... I remember looking at an Escher image years ago when I was younger and thinking "What made him think of drawing that? That's cool!!!" I had several prints of his on my bedroom wall and every single one of my friends who saw them were taken by them... Hell, even my mom liked them... The same instinct that Escher had to hand draw those images is the same instinct that compelled our ancestors draw on a cave wall... They weren't thinking about some archeologist discovering their work at some point in the future... Then again, maybe were they? Surely You've seen at least one movie that made You go "Hmmmm... Damn... There's something here to think about..." Without the arts, we be a dead inside, sterile culture... That's my two cents...

I was originally diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder but that diagnosis was eventually changed to bipolar years later during another trip to the hospital... Both my wife and I had great insurance so I was in a much better place than others... Fast forward... I'm scheduled for peer advocate training next year where I'll either work one on one, in group sessions or help centers... I'm active/involved at/in the local mental health clinic in my community going on three years now... There are schizophrenics, schizoaffectives, bipolars, depressives, people with anxiety and others with all types of personality disorders... Who are the most needy? Who consumes the majority of the resources? Those with anxiety and personality disorders... I kid You not... I'm not trying to completely trivialize anxiety or personality disorders but when a schizophrenic woman who was throwing glass bottles in the street because her house burnt down gets locked up instead of given help one has to ask themselves, "Self... What the hell is going on here?" When 40% or more of prison inmates have a serious mental illnesses and remain imprisoned for decades sometimes while being exploited by other inmates, one should ask, "What is happening here?" I am not making this up... When it comes to the mental health system, our priorities are more times then not misguided... Most of the money seems to be wasted on the soft and gushy... The "Ohh my God!!! I have to get out of here!!! I'm being triggered!!!" Bitch who has dated six of the other clients in less than two months while Gary sits in his seat talking to himself... It's that bad and much worse... There are over 40,000 Vets on the street, the majority of whom suffer some form of mental illness... They claim a Vet takes their own life every 65 minutes... They served our country, as misguided as these wars were but we're not there for them... We hear patriot this and patriot that!!! yet our own live alone on the streets or take their own life every hour... Again, I'm not trying to trivialize anxiety and personality disorders but it pales in comparison to more serious mental health issues many others deal with... The system needs to change... There is no other way... We need re-prioritize where the resources go because way too many people are literally on the streets, in prison or will die...

@Leo Gura I have finally finished watching all of the videos You recommended... Thank You... Sorry it took so long... I also watched Your video on why this can't be a simulation this morning... I've watched well over a dozen videos and read several books explaining the theory and the only thing that happened was my head would spin... Not one bit of it made any sense to me... Because the great Elon says it's so, doesn't make it so, I'm sorry... Some of my friends are like "But You don't understand!!! The universe itself is a grid simulation!!!" No, I understand that there's nothing here to understand, is what I understand... Anyway, Happy Holidays...

Bernie Sanders or Tulsi Gabbard...

@Amandine What's interesting is that you managed to keep it together and discover real love... I'm very happy for You... Based on what You've shared, You deserve it... You were an amazing daughter in every sense of the word... It's time to let go for now and focus on You and Your life with those who love You... PeaCe2U Amandine...

@Leo Gura I'll check them out later once I made it back home... Have a great day Leo...

@perlita I didn't read any of the subsequent posts, so please forgive me if someone has mentioned this before... My cousin was 48 when he eventually died from alcoholism... The end was pretty horrible to be honest with You... I took other organs to begin shutting down that finally took his life... He was loved by many who tried to help him... Over 80,000 people die each year from alcohol in one way or the other... The independent psilocybin studies results are pretty dynamic... Other plant medicines could help you to based on anecdotal response from retreats... If You don't have any experience with these compounds, I don't recommend You try any of them by Yourself, as the therapy does require consuming large enough doses in order to achieve a therapeutic result... If You don't know others there's a website called called MeetUp where You may be able to locate others in plant medicine groups near Your home... I found one about 40 miles from me and eventually learned first hand about DMT but primarily Ayahausca... If You are lucky enough, the group will open up fully to You... It may take some time... It's the nature of a secret society... Meet Up These various compounds are finally being allowed to heal others... They may be able to heal You... If not, there's always A.A.

@Leo Gura Your videos are what brought me here... I want to know more...

Based on what I've read and been told calcium usually isn't the issue... Low magnesium and Vitamin D are legitimate health issues for many Americans... It's an epidemic by functional medicine standards and lab ranges are low according to these health professionals... PubMed has studies that say these levels are low by allopathic standards too... Good luck

@Leo Gura I'm guessing You meant nuance... I'm involved in politics in ways that fit my life... I supported Bernie, Alexandria and now Bernie again... I support drug legalization and psychedelic research... I spent my Thanksgiving helping to feed about 400 poor and homeless in my community but I digress... You don't know me... Politics are nowhere near as nuanced as You're suggesting... There's nothing delicate or innocent about U.S. politics... I'm sorry... I respect a number of political critics but if I was forced to pick just one it'd be Chris Hedges and truthdig hands down... If You don't know who he is, check him out, based on some of your vids you might enjoy him... Be careful, you don't know how far I've come, how far I've traveled just to make it where I am now... Do I have more to learn? Yes, we al do... That is the nature of the path as Thay would say... I am not going to judge myself on how far you think you've come... There's this dynamic going on now, where you have suddenly become my reference point... Do I measure up... That's not a question... I'm not an intellectual like some here may be, this may be true but trust me, I belong to several other forums, this place doesn't scare me at all... When I'm forced to make a political choice it generally pains me to give in and vote democrat, but I do... I hate it, but I do... You see politics in black and white... I say this based on your defense of one party over another, that they're not almost as equally corrupt... There's a hard and a soft, a yin and yang, light and dark, a male and female as they say... I see it in terms of black and dark shades of grey... I'm not challenging you, especially in your own forum but don't assume you know me by one political post... I have years of learning ahead of me? Again, by whose standards? Yours obviously since we're dealing with your idea of me... I don't have years, if this is what it's going to take me then maybe I need to focus my energies elsewhere...

Is Buddhism compatible with science and technology? I already know where I stand on the matter... Sway me...

My wife past away a little overt two and a half years ago... One of my best friends made a move on me about four months ago... I told her I wasn't ready or really into having a relationship with anyone... She was very cool about it... When I talked to my children about it both of them said they would completely support me if I did decide to start a relationship with her or anyone else... I only talked to one friend about this because he's level headed and an empath, I know the rest would pressure me to "go for it" which I don't need to hear... I will say this about her... If there ever is another one, it'll be her...