Look comrade, my instant instinct is to dunk on the take mercilessly but I am going to choose to be kind because I really want to share my experience with that approach and that (at least where I live) this is specifically not recommended by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals.

I'm glad this works for you. I have (unconsciously) been doing this for 40+ years and it works until it doesn't. Maybe it's the autism's fault (in that I am unable to interpret bodily cues) but I spent the last 8 years trying to discipline my way out of objectively hopeless situations and recently my body just gave out completely.

To be more specific, instead of just accepting that there are systemic problems in my environment which make it challenging all people, neurodivergent or not, I thought if I just worked harder or longer than everyone else I could Fix It.

Every single professional I am working with to recover is telling me the key to a healthy life is building a life where I am not constantly trying to overcome my disabilities. The cruel cosmic joke is that maybe I can outwork my disability to some extent, but it's going to literally kill me.

I'm sorry for being immodest but I'm really, really good at my niche job and well known for it throughout the geographic area in which it is relevant. Publications, awards, speaking invitations etc. When I told people I was going on leave the common response is confusion. They see the performance, not the fact that I work absurd hours because I need to check things over and over again and can't work if people are interrupting me all day (which they do because it's my job to help them do theirs too). So now my job is to figure out workplace accommodations, which feels more like boundaries for myself and how I work with others.

I suppose that's exercising discipline too, but not in the sense that I'm masking my disabilities by just trying harder. I hate it lol. But I'm doing it for my family and to be a role model to other neurodivergent people in my field (we are over represented).

(I understand this is a super privileged position and not everyone can afford to say no to masking in this way in our current capitalist hellscape.)

Maybe the key is that you feel the crash. I don't feel the crash and I thought the drugs were making me anxious but that happened even when I forgot to take them 😐 turns out it was burnout lol.

Others have mentioned eating with the vyvanse and I did find that helped, as well as taking it later in the day (before I leave for work vs as soon as I wake up).

I understand that some people cannot tolerate stimulants because they do cause anxiety in some people. I'm not trying to suggest this can't be what's happening for you but rather sharing that I thought it was the case for me and it wasn't.

I wish the drugs could fix me but they can't and that sucks pretty bad. Apparently that's expected. I'm not discouraging you from trying other meds but caution you against thinking there will be a med that will take away all your challenges. Stimulants were lifesaving for me, but they didn't fix me.

While it's not personal experience maybe this counts as actually answering your question a bit. Some discussion and evidence about the effecicacy of non stimulant meds:

• https://www.additudemag.com/non-stimulant-adhd-medication/?srsltid=AfmBOoo497zdWJ0v3gTHhHXnPw4G1dEa6y3eNI7k4b6sIsMqP19RPsvi

Non-stimulant ADHD medications are considered second-line or third-line treatments because the level of benefits and response rates are significantly lower. Meaning, stimulant medications are more effective at relieving symptoms for a larger percentage of people.

This means they aren't the go to because when you are scatter shotting the stimulants are a better bet. It doesn't mean they work less for the people they work for!

• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3000197/

This one talks about the different types, how they work and their effectiveness.

Today, the clinicians have a wide variety of non-stimulants for the treatment of ADHD. A large amount of research and data support the use of non-stimulants in ADHD. Although stimulants still remain the primary treatment, there is a growing trend in using non-stimulants, especially if the stimulants do not adequately treat the symptoms, are not tolerated, or are in the presence of contraindications for the use of stimulants

• https://www.adhdevidence.org/blog/rethinking-first-line-adhd-medication-are-non-stimulants-being-undervalued

Stimulants have earned their reputation as the go-to drug of choice for ADHD. They are among the most effective medications in psychiatry, reliably reducing core ADHD symptoms and improving daily functioning when properly titrated and monitored. However, when stimulant and non-stimulant medications are compared more closely, the gap between them appears smaller than commonly assumed.

Hope you find something that helps you!

Literally me except I was determined to find legal documents related to our property I was told didn't exist. I found them at 4 am lol.

I woke up to a push notification for ticket presale for Sonic Live. I feel personally attacked lol.

No hate for Sonic, I'm just not the right demographic for it to have been a part of my youth so I lacked exposure.

Yes.

Not intentionally, and I'm not sure I did miss it.

I have a daily pill holder thing that has individual containers for the days that come out of the main holder. When I went to take my Monday dose I noticed one of the daily containers by the sink. I may have taken the Sunday dose out, went to get water and left them there, or I may have gotten my water and taken the dose out of the original pill containers. I was refilling the daily dose container at the time and it's not unusual for me to fill Sunday and leave it rather than leaving it empty.

That's not something I can just "do better" at.

The cute girls and dogs were there all along, comrade.

I do?

Yes, my garden!

It's native but I got it at a garden centre and planted it.

I do box breathing and tapping (as a form of EMDR) when I have panic attacks (rare, but they do happen). The problem I'm trying to deal with is that I can't tell when my body is in a stress response if it's not uncontrolled panic.

The gardening when my body was showing stress was very much brain disengagement. No screens, over the ear headphones (off, just to drown out some of the noise), pausing to breathe the fragrant air deeply or appreciate bird song and wind chimes. In contrast, I was doomscrolling when my body was showing signs of rest.

I guess I'm not sure if it being backwards is a symptom of chronic stress or if it's something I need to adapt to.

I just want you to be aware that Garmin’s stress measures physical stress NOT mental. Having food increases physical stress as your body needs to work to digest, but it can also lower mental stress.

I don't think this is entirely accurate. It's a measure of physiological stress. Burnout (as far as I understand it) is the point where the physiological impact of mental stress starts impacting your ability to live a normal life.

I'm not shilling for the brand or anything (which is why I didn't specify what it was) but from their website:

Stress levels (0–100) are estimated by the Garmin Human Performance Lab engine, primarily using a combination of HR and HRV data. This data is recorded by the optical heart rate sensor on the back of your device.

Divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, your ANS [autonomic nervous system] regulates your physiological systems to best match the expected demands of your current situation. The sympathetic branch dominates when it’s time for action. Your pulse quickens, blood vessels dilate, digestion is interrupted, and adrenaline flows. This is sometimes referred to as the fight-or-flight response. In quieter times, the parasympathetic branch is more dominant, and your body enters what is referred to as rest-and-digest mode. This is when your body can repair itself and replenish resources depleted during more hectic times.

...

Stress levels are not measured by your Garmin device during physical activity because the strain of physical activity itself can be considered stressful. The impact of physical activity is best measured and understood in other ways. Public speaking and running up a flight of stairs can both send your heart racing, but the underlying reasons why are fundamentally different.

...

You can configure select Garmin devices to alert you when your stress level is unusually high. The alert encourages you to take a moment to relax, and the device will prompt you to begin a guided breathing exercise with the relaxation breathing timer.

Elsewhere:

Food intake, as well as stimulants like caffeine, has no impact on your Body Battery.

Anecdotally, people have shared that alcohol or eating greasy heavy meals or large meals before bed have raised their score. In my examples above I ate more on Monday (lower stress day) than I did on Sunday. I also know I took my stimulant meds in Monday but think I forgot Sunday.

I understand that this is all an approximation and wasn't even really why I got the watch to begin with. I needed to replace my Fenix and didn't need all the features so I got a much simpler version that had a HRM. I had previously used a chest strap because I was (unknowingly) being very autistic about triathlon and wanted data to improve my swimming. The stress/body battery/ HRV is interesting to me because the approach my therapist takes is based on polyvagal theory so outside of this I know I am displaying signs of being in flight/freeze way more often than is needed or healthy.

https://www.pritzkermilitary.org/explore/museum/past-exhibits/hunting-charlie-finding-enemy-vietnam-war/who-charlie

They were the North Vietnamese Army, the NVA, the People’s Army of Vietnam and they were the People’s Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam. Collectively the United States often called them the Viet Cong. It was commonly shortened to VC, which in military alphabet code was spoken as Victor Charlie. It was further shortened to just Charlie.

They could at least stop actively supporting it and cheering it on, but that's too "divisive" 🙄

Do you know what part of swimming was uncomfortable for her? There is no universal rule about not swimming while bleeding, it's largely cultural or related to the type of product she wants to use (internal vs external). I think understanding what the restriction is will help you understand options.

A splash pad might be an option if she wants to use pads and therefore keep parts of her body dry. Wading pools, sitting on a dock with feet in the water, etc.

Other than that, anything that doesn't involve submerging the body would work:

• cold compress + fan
• cold fruits
• popsicles lol

Are you friends with anyone who works on military projects, in the "defense" industry, is in the military or has served in the military in the past (same question for police)?

Do you attend events that include "thanking the troops"? Do you allow your kids to go on field trips that involve the military or cops? Do you go to war museums? Participate in or support Cadet programs?

Have you filed an objection to selective service (if you fall into the demographic that it applies to? Are you rude to recruiters? Do you protest recruitment offices if they open in your community?

If yes, then congrats on your gold star for the bare minimum. If not then maybe you and the other the 350 million Americans can ask themselves why they put their social comfort over human rights .

(And yes I do these things in my own country)

Of course you don't need to defend yourself to a stranger on the internet. My point with the questions is it's not armed insurrection or nothing.

If you believe, deep in your heart, that you are doing all you can (which is all anyone can do!), why make defensive comments saying it's too hard and people who think it's possible just don't understand? I'm not saying you need to publicly or privately support these specific tactics if you don't agree with them. You just don't need to do the empire's propaganda for them, ya know?

Lmao don't @ me on this if you aren't openly rude to any military or police involved person.

I want to put this in the comments because people who don't read the article carefully will miss it.

During an unrelated news conference in the northwestern Ontario city Tuesday, Ford was asked about recent calls from First Nation leaders to close the old jail, which MPP Mamakwa calls “a death trap.”

“We just want to make sure we get some consultation, and we built a nice jail, very nice jail up here," Ford said. "Matter of fact, it looks like the Four Seasons Hotel. I'm not sold on that. When people commit crimes, they shouldn't be in this fancy-dancey jail.

“But we're going to invest in it and let's see what we do with the old jail. Do we renovate it? Because we need more cells.”

The article mentions these comments came less than a week after an inquest into a death of an inmate there finished. The inquest made recommendations such as :

• develop and publicly release a plan to decommission the jail within five years of the opening of the new Thunder Bay Correctional Centre.

• the 100-year-old jail never be repurposed to incarcerate individuals in the future.

• develop a functional capacity for correctional settings that considers institutions' ability to provide adequate supervision and support services rather than simply focusing on housing inmates.

• review and revise policies related to opioid use disorder and suicide prevention

• for correctional officers to receive ongoing training on substance use disorders and trauma.

• round-the-clock nursing care be implemented at the jail

• ensure inmates know what supports are available

• that inmates spend at least five hours a day outside their cells.

Kevin Mamakwa died in prison while on Suboxone to treat opioid addiction.

Earlier, the jury heard Mamakwa received his four doses of suboxone at a pharmacy May 14, 2020, which would have run out four days later. He was remanded into custody May 28, 2020 and died five days later.

Boban explained that in 2020, if a person missed six consecutive doses of suboxone, they had to be re-assessed by a doctor in person before they could receive additional doses.However, the jury heard Mamakwa had no chance to see a doctor during his time at the jail.

Boban also said it seemed it was unclear to jail staff whether Mamakwa had an active prescription, and they didn't know he was given a 21-day prescription May 14 which would have lasted until June 3, the day after he died.

From another article:

Dr. Leonora Regenstreif, an adjunct assistant clinic professor at the department of family medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, provided testimony Wednesday about opioid withdrawal symptoms.

...

“Withdrawal from suboxone, from what I hear from patients, tends to be worse at three to five days. It can go on for a couple of weeks,” Regenstreif said.

...

“It was very common for people to be in what we call forced withdrawal. So for me, the challenge early on was I was very shocked it didn't meet what we call equivalency — meaning that people in corrections were not getting equivalent care, equal care to people who are outside.”

Kevin Mamakwa's death was ruled a suicide by the inquiry. He died by suicide during opioid withdrawal. He had a prescription for medication to treat this withdrawal, but was not given access to this medicine.

That absolute timbit of a premier had the audacity to roll up to tbay having no idea of what happened in that inquiry and make these cruel comments. I'm not even sure he realizes what a jail is. Jail is where they keep people who haven't been convicted yet, in addition to people on short sentences. It hasn't been determined they commited those crimes yet.

Even one of the guards knows it's fucked up:

“There are days when I'm putting people in cells where I actually feel like a bad human being because I don't care what crime you committed — I wouldn't want to be treated that way,” he said of the 100-year-old building’s conditions.

I did a super quick search and found this auditor general report that stated that 84% of inmates at that jail were on remand in 2018/2019.

What an absolute jackass.

I wish this was for any reason other than a big "no u" to the US.

As if CORCAN doesn't exist.

So pretty 💕