Saturday, 26th September 2015, 03:56 by Aule
Nate, this is an excellent idea. Thanks very much for the OP. But an excellent idea is only a solitary flash. If the spark does not spread, no conflagration can begin, so I also thank all of you who have joined in sharing your personal lives.
It seems that I actually do have things in common with many of you. Importantly, I also suffer from neurochemical "imbalances" that predispose me to a raft of disorders, including diagnoses for major depression, post-traumatic stress and attention deficit. To the content thus far offered I would only add a note of caution about pharmaceutical treatments for depression. Over the course of about fifteen years, I was on, in sequence, six different SSRI or SNRI medications. Those years of my life were my most difficult and laden with anxiety, suicidal thoughts and personal tragedy. Half of the six medicines produced regular suicidal thoughts, two of them very seriously, and one which I actually attempted it while taking it as prescribed (and I meant it, but I even suck at that). A couple of years ago, after facing the imminence of another desire to attempt, I'd had enough, and quit taking those kinds of drugs. Since then, I've relied on self-medicated but dosed quantities of marijuana, which has done wonders, but even if I am absent some for a while I find no real difficulties. My brain doesn't go haywire like it did when I missed SSRI doses. My purely anecdotal and personal experience has been that the presumed benefits of pharmaceutical treatments do not outweigh the risks. I have not felt this good for a very long time, and while I am not cured, I am no longer plagued by my very being.
On the more positive note, I also love and adore my kittums, having three (same litter, born in my dresser drawer) whom I have raised and nurtured for going on thirteen years. Two are black (males), one is grey (female).
I also have been putting off writing a novel, except I decided I wanted to be a writer thirty years ago at age 18. I did finally envision a real story two years ago, and I actually began and have been writing it, but it's still being put off just the same. I've given myself five years to finish the first draft.
I used to be a coder and database developer. Could still be if I put in the time. Have put in a little time lately, but it's the first in a long time, so I say "used to be."
These days I work as a carpenter and handyman to earn a living.
I live in Florida, which is just relentlessly hot most of the time.
I often sit in my backyard and observe nature, rescuing any little bug critters that happen to fall into the pool, as happens from time to time. I'm especially fond of bees. When I get them out, I let them stay on my finger or hand, and they preen and primp to prepare for flight. They always do this little arm/antennae/head motion before taking off that makes them seem genuinely grateful to have been rescued. (Anthropomorphization, I know. I said "seem.")
I read a lot, mostly research papers and related texts these days, with multiple foci across cosmology, biology, physics, geology and economics.
I have no formal education.
IQ > 125, but I guess that still qualifies as *CENSORED*.
My right/left brain allocation is pretty even, as are my gender identity metrics, at least according to the tests for these things, so I guess I'm as smeared out as my characters' skill allocations are.
I play Crawl to enrage myself, seemingly, and it's a lot like gambling for that reason.
- For this message the author Aule has received thanks:
- ThreeInvisibleDucks