So while I still have a fair amount of stress over money, and of course over our impending societal collapse/chaos, I noticed the other day my overall stress level is suddenly much lower! And while it should be obvious, it's AMAZING how much one's mental health improves when you just have some of your daily/regular stressors removed or mitigated. How has this happened? Two things:
1) This little monster. I definitely don't want to jinx it, but the meds he's on have had a SIGNIFICANT impact on his behavior and issues. Sure, I now get the typical teenage boy BS, but that is almost a RELIEF in comparison to his other issues - and the latter have been significantly helped by the meds. Bonus: this time, he himself will remember to take them and he has said they make him feel better! We've been down this road before, and he managed to eventually develop an "immunity" to the meds, but hopefully with the changes in his brain chemistry these will "hold" - please direct all thoughts, prayers, positive energy and vibes his way to make it so!
2) Facebook/Meta/Bluesky. I know, I KNOW, I have tried before ditching Facebook. It SUCKS that there is not currently a "perfect" alternative to go to keep up with friends, engage in groups, etc. HOWEVER, that stunt by that POS Zuckerberg over "No Kings" PLUS just the INSANE GROSSNESS vomited out by their algorithim now has pushed me - once again - over to Bluesky. Almost immediately, my general daily stress went down. Like, a LOT.
First of all, I wasn't doomscrolling through my FB feed trying to not engage with all their vile click bait BS vomited up by maga turds and Russian/Chinese bots. Now I go to Facbeook ONLY to share something with a lot of folks at once, and/or to interact with my groups. I tried going immediately to Feed and clicking on Friends, but it was just too annoying and too many steps to do every time. If only it were easier, like with...
Bluesky has two main click options at the top: "Discover" and "Following." The former acts like most social media sites using your preferences, likes, etc. to share content they think you would like. The latter shows only stuff from folks you follow. Simple, clean, no multiple steps, etc. Bonus: the former is not filled with random garbage designed to enrage or disgust you. Also, as it so happens, I've had folks reach out to me on Bluesky just to chat, share stories and thoughts about what's going on right now, etc.
Now, I'm sure there are random weirdos, bot like creatues, trojan horses, etc. on Bluesky. But I've yet to experience it - and CERTAINLY not at the level of the cesspool that is now Facebook. I know I probably won't be COMPLETELY cutting the cord on Facebook any time soon, but hopefully I can keep up this current method of engaging with social media just to protect my own sanity! Please join me on Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/pcdavidw.bsky.social
