thecyclist

Have you tried a micro dose of Trazodone for sleep?

That is just so totally wrong and uninformed and overgeneralizes. While sedatives just mask symptoms, SSRIs do not. They have lifted millions of people, some longterm or even permanently, out of a deep black hole.Minimal side effects for most, been around for decades, so pretty much as tried and tested as any medication. And they do not lead to a downward spiral. It's either an upward spiral or they often are just ineffective. They can change your brain chemistry and neuronal networks in a way similar to meditation. Obviously mindfulness meditation is way better than pills, but it takes a lot of time and effort to make that work. Vipassana,yoga or breathing exercises are something that you start when you feel normal and they might help you to never suffer from depression in the first place, but to start meditating when you are right in the middle of a severe bout of depression is either impossible or ineffective. It's like starting to exercise when you are in the middle of a heart attack. You exercise and eat healthy foods to prevent a heart attack, not to short-circuit one that is in progress.

Off and on it for ages. Was off it before the lockdown. I am in Vietnam right now and the hard lockdown with not even outdoor exercise allowed - I need my daily jog or bike ride - Was driving me nuts. So back on it. You don't take antidepressants just to get you through a rough patch, sedatives (finely calibrated and slowly tapered off are for that).Minimum is 6 to 12 month. All side effects (mainly insomnia and for a week or two increased anxiety) are temporary. The only exception is a marked delay of orgasm/ejaculation. Not libido or erectile function (which in my case improved), but it just often takes you forever to come. By the way reading up on the subjects was sort of therapeutic in itself for me. It puts you in charge of your own treatment, and learning about all the different treatments available instills optimism and improved mood.

Exercise and meditation (I do both) are very helpful, but they are unlikely to be enough to get you out of the acute phase. You have had it only for a week, so it might just clear up by itself. But the deeper you sink into that black hole the harder it will be to get out and stay out. There is something to be said for nipping it in the bud. Andrew Solomon makes a case for that in his brilliant book "The noonday demon"

There is a good chance that the depression is secondary to the panic attacks. The panic attacks cause you to lose control, you constantly worry about having another one, and that makes you depressed. Once you get the panic attacks under control the depression will subside. The Pattaya Bangkok hospital used to have (and probably still has) a good psychiatrists. The choice of anti-depressants is still hit and miss. About a 50 % chance that the first one will hit the spot. For me Sertraline worked wonders. It takes a couple of weeks to take effect. During that time the anxiety might even get worse. They will prescribe you Alprazolam to tide you over.Minimal side effects. Insomnia for a couple of weeks,treated with Zolpidem. The only side effects that stays is delayed ejaculation, probably not a major concern at your age. If you are lucky you feel like like a new human being,you wake up one morning and Depression has turned into elation

Although Sinopharm is recognized by THE WHO. At least you are not getting the Cuban (Alibaba or something) one, In Vietnam, where I am right now, they purchased a couple million doses, and acquired the license to manufacture it locally.

Bar girls: the only Chinese you see in bars are from Singapore, Malaysia,Thailand,Taiwan, America..... Russians are a rarity too.

Thais are super superstitious. As one of the real monks (the late Buddhadasa Bikkhu of Surathani's Wat Suan Moke) used to say and write, the average Thai has a total misconception of what Buddhism is all about. Buddhism is for sure not about prostrating yourself. Back in the eighties I spent some time in Wat Suan Moke where devotees would come to prostrate themselves before Buddhadasa, and you could see the dislike and distaste that the great monk had for this 'miscarriage' of the Buddha' s teaching.

There are some juicy tidbits behind this story.

Yeah, remember that scandal, the venerable Yantra Bikkhu, aka the sex monk. Was one of the few monks revered as enlightened, a status that comes with huge donations from the Sangha eager to ensure good Karma and a more profitable rebirth. The venerable one then spend the alms on prostitutes in Australia, where he was on 'spread the four noble truths' tour.

Yeah, I saw that video too.Most of these destitute foreign teachers were in Saigon, where they had a super hard lockdown for 2 months. You couldn't even go out to buy groceries. Total insanity.

In Southern Vietnam, the epicenter of the 4th wave, all schools are still shuttered, so, if there is any teaching it would be online. There might be some provinces in the north, that remained largely unaffected by the Delta wave, where teaching might have started already. Hanoi is debating whether to gradually open in November. Saigon the most likely opening date will be in Jan. But there has been a lot of hemming and hawing on the part of authorities. Nothing definitive yet.

Unless they the quarantine requirement all together (at least)for vaccinated travelers, they are not going to see significant numbers of visitors. Who is willing to spend 7 days under house arrest for 3 weeks of traveling.

Schools here are notorious for late payments of salaries, and often failing to pay at all. Here is an extreme example of the lack of respect by management for their staff.They are good at forgetting to pay, delaying and making excuses. And this guy, after having done all this for years, topped it off with a vanishing act. sold his house and cars, and did a runner with tuition fees for future, post Pandemic English courses, leaving teachers, staff and students high and dry.

Yes, In theory you are right, but let's be realistic. Only diehard athletes, sports addicts, people who have have done one Form of exercise or another all their lives will be motivated enough to endure the tedium of running up and down stairs or Sois. I ordered a jump rope from Lazada at the beginning of the lockdown, and I have used it just twice.

Great boxer, but only in the Philippines and the US can somebody with a way below average intellect run for higher office and have a chance of winning.

Unfortunate experience, but I wouldn't call it a romance scam. The typical romance scam is when you have a usually male, often Nigerian, pretend to be an attractive female. All the dating sites are full of these fake accounts. They profess love and can't wait to come to visit. They just need some cash to do so. You, on the other hand, had 'physical' relationship that while expensive, lasted years. Nothing out of the ordinary in LOS that she tried to get as much money out of you as possible. She even might have had some feelings for you at some stage.

Anything under 5k and you might end up spending as much time in the repair shop as on the bike itself. If it's for regular exercise a few extra grand will get you a halfway decent sturdy Giant, Merida,Trek...., which will make the ride more enjoyable (the cheap ones you are constantly dealing with one or another part loosening, gears not shifting properly etc)

It was a good start. Probably not a trained butcher. Nor did he have the skills of Jeffrey Dahmer..not that easy to cut up a human body, so I was told.Might give it a shot as soon as somebody rats me out to immigration.

I am about to buy a new smartphone. Noticed that some of the latest models advertise their 5G capability.Most of my web surfing is done over wifi, not data. Would 5G phone have any advantages over 4 G phone in that case?