Film: Zombieland (2009)
Synopsis
Zombieland (2009) is a dark comedy that follows a “geeky college student” as he makes his way through a post-apocalyptic zombie apocalypse. Meeting three strangers on his way back to Columbus, the group takes an extended road trip across the US while following “Flagstaff's rules for staying alive.”

How it relates to the field of psychiatry

A running theme in Zombieland is the list of rules Columbus discovers for surviving the zombie apocalypse. The rules are constantly revised and expanded. For example, “Don't be a hero,” is later changed by Columbus to “Be a hero” after he saves Wichita and Little Rock at the amusement park.
By the end of the film, the Columbus list has 33 rules, #5 of which is “No Attachments.” But, as the group leaves Pacific Playland in the final scene, Columbus realizes that without relating to other people, one “might as well be a zombie.” The revision of Rule 33 parallels early childhood development which evolves from a state of egocentrism and self-preservation to a level that incorporates attachment theory1 (moving past “No Attachments”) and emphasizes social needs.
Early Development: Beyond Bowlby and Ainsworth
From Freud’s original work on narcissism2, Paul Federn introduced the concept of healthy narcissism in the 1930s3. Kohut expanded on Federn’s concept and showed that if the narcissistic needs of the child are adequately met, the individual would move on to “mature form of positive self-esteem4.”
Later Development
The individual moves from satisfying their own needs to a stage where they seek to achieve social needs. This is conceptualized by several social theories including the Maslowian stage of Love and Belongingness as well as Erikson’s psychosocial stage of Industry vs. Inferiority when children enter into the greater society beyond the family.
Maslow posited that after physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled, the third level of human needs involves feelings of “belongingness.” As a social need, belongingness refers to connectedness and, as Columbus reminds us, being part of a group.
References

1. Cassidy, J. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4085672/.
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0959354316638181
3. Federn, Ernst (1972). “Thirty-five years with Freud: In honour of the hundredth anniversary of Paul Federn, M.D.” Journal of Clinical Psychology. 32: 18–34.
4. Heinz Kohut, The Analysis of the Self (Madison 1971) p. 215.

Anthony Tobia, MD, Copyright © 2022 Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. All rights reserved.

This is not medical advice. I just realized today that I'm sliding into unplanned life coping mechanisms under stress, and without a consistent Adderall supply (or quality--holy crap it's been shit quality recently) it's been extra shit. I wanted to sort of publicly hold myself accountable to what works best/put the info out there.
None of this is a replacement for proper medication/doctor treatment, and none of it is medical advice. Partially because lifestyle changes + needed medication are even better than only a single medication. And partially because fuck the system for freaking out and calling it paranoia for rationing controlled drugs in case the system suddenly stopped providing them (which, no surprise, it has. Repeatedly.)
Anyway. Here's what works for me even on days where I can't focus for shit and am just overwhelmed and tired, but still need to get the things done.
1) Binaural beats/brown noise. Good Lord god bless this shit. You obviously can't live your whole life with headphones on and loud weird fan beeping sounds in your ears (if for no other reason than that you'd go deaf while still having tinnitus god dammit), but 20 minutes of this helps everything recenter temporarily, at least enough to focus.
2) Priority list, quadrant style is best. Important/urgent, then urgent, then important. It's likely nothing else will get done so plan accordingly.
3) Go, the fuck, to sleep. Take the child's size melatonin 12 hours before you need to focus deeply again, do your bedtime routine, and get in the bed without your phone an hour after that. Go to extremes with screens not being on after 7 or even 6pm if you need to. No decisions after dark--if you're wondering if you need to go to bed, the answer is "yes immediately now now now". Keep a notepad and pen next to you to write down all the random shit you have to do first thing when you wake up that you totally forgot about into you laid down and now your brain is trying to remember. Let it fail, go to sleep.
4) bright light in the morning.
5) move. Stairs, walking, I don't know. Get up and move.
6) Calendar events for everything. Deadlines for everything.
7) Dedicated "this is my time to do literally nothing" time. Even ten minutes.
8) "I only need to do this for one minute and then I can stop" kick-starts for tasks that are super fucking boring and aren't hurting anyone to leave undone but are also important.
9) Be kind to yourself.
10) Remember that no one is doing it all. If they think they are, it's only because they're not thinking about it. Simplify your life so that it works best for you (this looks different for everyone, but you can see it even in people you might be comparing yourself to. Same breakfasts every day, same grocery lists every week, same clothing. Simplify your life until it's easy and then add back in as it works for you. It's okay to lean into having an off-work uniform. It's okay to throw out and mismatched socks and only buy ones that are all the same color. It's okay to put your grocery list on subscription reorder. Focus on what actually matters.
11) Do binaural stimulation: games, sports, play an instrument, whatever.
12) Go talk to people or even just exist around them, whether that's in person or on line, for body doubling AND regulation. I've been around enough ADHD people to know that a group of us together, in any environment where you're hanging out or even better, working together on something, have basically all visible symptoms disappear. Our communities are not set up for this. We do not encourage this as a default in American society. Go do it anyway. It's not normal to live in isolation and I think ADHDers feel that effect really quickly. It's not normal to be able to regulate your brain without other humans. We are communal beings. Find people where you can do that in a positive way, and be a positive force in that community.
What else would you add to this list?

Just a small tip that if you are lucky enough to spot that rare'ish event and you patiently wait by the banner while the clock is ticking down and noone else is around try loading into the zone again (which is possible this week at least) and see if there isn't another group of guardians preparing for the fight.
No human player is able to solo that event so you have nothing to lose :)
My event count so far: 2 events completed 3 exotics
Good luck!
PS. Another small tip - if you "vex skull" is near the end and you can see other "small" minotaurs walking around it might be better to quickly finish them of with the rest of the skullcharge than to pour it all into one of the giant vex.

I'll try to make my rant as short as possible. Feel free to skip the drama.
​
After four years, I decided to go back to law school. I had to retake all the subjects due to LEB Memo. 24. In one of my therapy sessions, my doctor agreed that I am already a fit-to-study. We made adjustments to my medications. I was given different coping skills in case I experience excessive anxiety attacks or major depressive episodes.
During enrollment, I was told "kaya mo yan. Parang review na lang yan sa'yo." There were some who said "kaya mo yan, nasurvive mo nga si Atty. _____ dati." I didn't let those words get into my head. I made sure to study harder, read all cases, and bought more books for cross-referencing.
But I struggled.
(1) It's a new environment although I enrolled in the same school. I had to fight nostalgic and traumatic flashbacks while walking in the corridors. Nostalgic because I missed the ambiance and the people, especially those closest to me. Traumatic not because of the profs but because of previous encounters I had with a few students, especially someone who harassed me.
(2) I had a subject wherein I received a high mark. Right now, I am under the same prof in the same subject. He said in class that I should show my classmates what I learned from him and why I passed. I know he meant well because he is kind, but I started beating myself up whenever he sees me struggling with recits. There was also this quiz on another subject. I studied well but my mind went blank when I noticed that my excessive anxiety attack was manifesting.
(3) I tried to stop myself from oversharing, especially about my condition. I tried so hard to hide them but my excessive anxiety attacks became frequent. I don't even want to use my condition as an excuse. It's humiliating.
My doctor and I were able to slowly managed it but we decided to drop one subject.
(4) I studied for midterms. I have colorful notes to help my photographic memory, which became a bit rusty being dormant. Still, I felt lacking in my answers.
(5) We had this activity after the midterms. In one of the sub-activities, were asked to write negative thoughts we have during the moment. I wrote mine. Of all the members in our group, my paper was drawn. Our names were not shown but I wasn't ready for my thoughts to be dissected. I'm already paying for psychotherapies. Some already assumed that I (although they didn't know it was me) was solely relying on my stocked knowledge. Some said I was complacent just because I already passed the subjects before. I fought the urge to tell them otherwise.
THIS IS A FRESH START AND I AM TRYING TO MAKE SURE NOT TO WASTE THIS CHANCE.
I never bragged that I passed my subjects before. I didn't even know how I passed in the first place. I made many miscalculations which dragged my grades and mental health down. Plus some unhealed and new traumas. That's why I had to stop. I am even ashamed of my TOR because I have a failed subject.
Going back, I understand what I'm putting myself into again. I understand that I need to toughen myself up to be able to survive. I'M TRYING. I want to be a lawyer. I want to become the person I needed when I was younger. I have advocacies I need to fight for.
I'm grateful to my classmates for helping me adjust and for telling me I'm doing well naman. My doctor told me to start learning how to listen to them instead of my intrusive thoughts. Sadly, they won't be my classmates next sem since I'm an irregular student.
It kinda sucks having Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar 2 Disorder. Pero kakayanin kasi kailangan.
​
~Please, I am not fishing for compliments nor asking for sympathy or pity. I just want to let this all out so that I could drown my demons just for tonight.
​
If umabot ka sa part na 'to. I'm sorry for this dark drama.

In Love Island it’s either couple up or get kicked out, so get ready for daily drama! We are an 18+ Discord roleplay server based off of the reality TV show Love Island, and are looking for more members to rp their characters as part of the cast. We run multiple exciting and unique weekly events for characters to compete for date privileges and the hideaway, and new characters are allowed to take anyone they want on dates when they join.
We are a literate group and are looking for writers with experience in roleplaying. Please do not apply to join if you don't have any roleplay experience. These are the only requirements, you do not need to have watched the show to join, but it will be easier to understand if you have an idea of the structure!
Right now, we have just begun our third IC week and are recruiting for the Casa Amor section of this season. We are looking for 5 or more characters to complete the cast for Casa Amor. This means your first character will have a greater chance of going home, but we can assure you priority in our character queue for your second characters.
Casa amor will begin in about 5 days, spots are filling up, so apply soon!
If you join after we've already reached capacity, we'll put you in the queue and do our best to get you in in a timely manner, but it could be a few weeks. Please be patient!
We are a very welcoming, friendly, inclusive, and diverse group. All identities are welcome and appreciated.
With all of this in mind, here are a few disclaimers:
• If you are not someone who fares well with IC drama, this is not the server for you.
• Be prepared to work for your character’s position in the game, no one else will work for you.
• This is not a smut server. We allow smut, but if you are looking to write smut and smut alone, we are not the server for you.
• We have a short screening process, so be prepared to answer a couple of questions and submit a writing sample.
Hope to see you on the island!
https://discord.gg/seWFC4j4QR

Hi everyone,
I have been panicking all day.
I just saw that on my last Class 1 medical I forgot to put down key critical information. I forgot to mention that I was once admitted to hospital when I was born. Reading my newly discovered medical reports, it says I was placed onto a ward and also given fluids and some medication etc.
I have obviously not disclosed this and fear my medical will be revoked. Also to make matters worse....I didn't fill in the section where it asks if I had loss of consciousness. I recently saw a video of me as a 6 month old and I clearly randomly fall asleep and black out. Is this a big issue? Should I come clean??!! I have left 17 voicemails to my AME and am currently considering driving over to the clinic to surrender myself in and hopefully plead a lower punishment.
I only discovered these medical records on my return from the middle east where I was fighting for radical extremist groups. Will the medical.stiff.impact my future career!!???
So so scared it will somehow effect my medical/ airline clearance.
Pls help, thank u.

In Love Island it’s either couple up or get kicked out, so get ready for daily drama! We are an 18+ Discord roleplay server based off of the reality TV show Love Island, and are looking for more members to rp their characters as part of the cast. We run multiple exciting and unique weekly events for characters to compete for date privileges and the hideaway, and new characters are allowed to take anyone they want on dates when they join. We are a literate group and are looking for writers with experience in roleplaying. Please do not apply to join if you don't have any roleplay experience. These are the only requirements, you do not need to have watched the show to join, but it will be easier to understand if you have an idea of the structure!
Right now, we have just begun our third IC week and are recruiting for the Casa Amor section of this season. We are looking for 5 or more characters to complete the cast for Casa Amor. This means your first character will have a greater chance of going home, but we can assure you priority in our character queue for your second characters.
Casa amor will begin in about 5 days, spots are filling up, so apply soon!
If you join after we've already reached capacity, we'll put you in the queue and do our best to get you in in a timely manner, but it could be a few weeks. Please be patient!
We are a very welcoming, friendly, inclusive, and diverse group. All identities are welcome and appreciated.
With all of this in mind, here are a few disclaimers:
• If you are not someone who fares well with IC drama, this is not the server for you.
• Be prepared to work for your character’s position in the game, no one else will work for you.
• This is not a smut server. We allow smut, but if you are looking to write smut and smut alone, we are not the server for you.
• We have a short screening process, so be prepared to answer a couple of questions and submit a writing sample.
Hope to see you on the island!
https://discord.gg/seWFC4j4QR

Hi.
I'm a US-IMG, non-Caribbean graduate. Would like to know how i could improve my application for the 2024 match cycle. Any input would be great thank you. Graduated 2022, step scores 215/256, plan to take step 3 this summer. I Have 3 months of interning at a specialty clinic with an endocrinologist. 3 LoR, 1 Endocrinologist, 1 Internist, and 1 pain management, all from the same clinic. I'm pretty sure the internship counts as USCE as I see patients on my own and discuss lines of management with the physicians. Also have access to EMR and can put in orders. Just cant sign off on them. No publications, no volunteering, and 1 (medical) work experience as a medical interpreter. There's still 9 months until September and I'm not sure whether to continue my internship at the same clinic (physician has offered me to continue indefinitely) or look into CMA/CNA positions at a university internal medicine outpatient clinic at the program I would like to match at. I'm hoping to match to internal medicine, but will apply EM and FM as back up. The end goal is to be an endocrinologist or gastro/hepatology. However I love Primary care and am not opposed to being a PCP.

My company provides technical support to a few medical facilities. Most of the doctors we work with are entirely pleasant and genuinely kind and delightful people but we have a handful of them that think they are gods and that the rules shouldn't apply to them because they are so important.
Recently we had a run-in with such a doctor. The company she works for is a new client and they did not have 2-factor security set up previously and we told them that as a condition of us agreeing to work with them they would have to step up their security. This doctor has worked there forever and is known to be generally difficult but brings in so much money that everyone just puts up with her frequent tantrums. So anyway, we work with the client to roll this out. We send out user training which she ignores. Then eventually we just enforce the policy so that no one can log in until they set this up.
Enter crazy doctor.
The first time the doctor is forced to use this to login she goes ballistic, calls up and chews out one of my employees, demands that it be removed immediately because it was too much of a hassle to use and would impact her ability to see patients. (this is every doctors pocket excuse for everything). We pulled the call and took it to management and they had our backs and told her that she would have to use it like everyone else. So then she fights back and claims that it is " a violation of her personal device " to have to set up 2-factor and therefore if the company wanted her to use it they would have to pay for her phone and phone service.
At this point everyone is fed up but the company is probably going to relent and actually pay this crazy lady. Because again, doctors get whatever they want. But then someone on my staff had a great idea. We reached out to the practice and told them that we would donate one of our old phones to this doctor....... (a shitty old android with a failing battery that had been sitting in a drawer for 5 years.) We set up the phone with no SIM and locked it down to only use the authenticator app. The practice was very happy about not having to pay for anything. We deliver the new phone to the doctor and she is really mad about having to carry two phones but has backed herself into a corner and doesn't really have any more excuses. So now she to carry around two separate phones and keep two separate phones charged with two different chargers to be able to log into her account and every time she gets asked why she has two phones she has to figure out how to explain it without sounding like the crazy primadonna she is.
TLDR: crazy doctor wants to get special treatment, now she has to carry two phones.

In Love Island it’s either couple up or get kicked out, so get ready for daily drama! We are an 18+ Discord roleplay server based off of the reality TV show Love Island, and are looking for more members to rp their characters as part of the cast. We run multiple exciting and unique weekly events for characters to compete for date privileges and the hideaway, and new characters are allowed to take anyone they want on dates when they join. We are a literate group and are looking for writers with experience in roleplaying. Please do not apply to join if you don't have any roleplay experience. These are the only requirements, you do not need to have watched the show to join, but it will be easier to understand if you have an idea of the structure!
Right now, we have just begun our third IC week and are recruiting for the Casa Amor section of this season. We are looking for 5 or more characters to complete the cast for Casa Amor. This means your first character will have a greater chance of going home, but we can assure you priority in our character queue for your second characters. Casa amor will begin in about 5 days, spots are filling up, so apply soon!
If you join after we've already reached capacity, we'll put you in the queue and do our best to get you in in a timely manner, but it could be a few weeks. Please be patient!
We are a very welcoming, friendly, inclusive, and diverse group. All identities are welcome and appreciated.
With all of this in mind, here are a few disclaimers:
• If you are not someone who fares well with IC drama, this is not the server for you.
• Be prepared to work for your character’s position in the game, no one else will work for you.
• This is not a smut server. We allow smut, but if you are looking to write smut and smut alone, we are not the server for you.
• We have a short screening process, so be prepared to answer a couple of questions and submit a writing sample.
Hope to see you on the island!
https://discord.gg/seWFC4j4QR

So my husband has a life-threatening medical diagnosis; it's probably going to be ok, it's just rather intense. This is what autism was made for! In just a short amount of time I've read an enormous amount about the condition and treatment, including hundreds of scientific papers, we have him doing things that are turning around his symptoms and tests already, and we're getting him connected with the best care possible. This is why hyper-focusing can be a super-power.
I'm really glad to have my (self)-diagnosis and this group though, because I'm running into autism problems!

• Masking with doctors and medical professionals. - Trying to play dumb and innocent when in reality I've read a ton about the issue at hand. Trying to subtly protect my husband and help him get the best care while not offending the medical professionals.
• Rejection-sensitive dysphoria - between forum posts, calls, talking to our friends and family, I'm interacting with dozens or hundreds of people a week in a very vulnerable way, putting myself out there about our goals or approach or how we are deciding to handle sharing the news, etc., and many people are wonderful, but occasionally I get burned. It's daunting to be exposed to (and getting) this much subtle rejection day after day. Particularly when I feel rejected for just being myself (I guess I have less bandwidth to mask while I'm dealing with a crisis).
• Now that my husband is seeming more stable and like his treatment's working (and I'm not like bawling at night thinking I was going to lose him like I was for a while), I'm mostly getting run down by a handful of people who are just proving difficult to work with -- his PCP and his family mostly. I was getting physical stress symptoms from dealing with them in particular, so I might need to just withdraw from those relationships and stop attending those appointments (I'm trying to be there for my husband at all his appointments and tests for support, if I can do it without too much risk to my own mental health).

Whew. I'm honestly just glad I know how to even label these things because that's half the battle of dealing with them better.
Anyone relate about masking with medical professionals, or the power of hyper-focusing for a crisis? or the rejection stuff? TIA

In Love Island it’s either couple up or get kicked out, so get ready for daily drama! We are an 18+ Discord roleplay server based off of the reality TV show Love Island, and are looking for more members to rp their characters as part of the cast. We run multiple exciting and unique weekly events for characters to compete for date privileges and the hideaway, and new characters are allowed to take anyone they want on dates when they join. We are a literate group and are looking for writers with experience in roleplaying. Please do not apply to join if you don't have any roleplay experience. These are the only requirements, you do not need to have watched the show to join, but it will be easier to understand if you have an idea of the structure!
Right now, we have just begun our third IC week and are recruiting for the Casa Amor section of this season. We are looking for 5 or more characters to complete the cast for Casa Amor. This means your first character will have a greater chance of going home, but we can assure you priority in our character queue for your second characters. Casa amor will begin in about 5 days, spots are filling up, so apply soon!
If you join after we've already reached capacity, we'll put you in the queue and do our best to get you in in a timely manner, but it could be a few weeks. Please be patient!
We are a very welcoming, friendly, inclusive, and diverse group. All identities are welcome and appreciated.
With all of this in mind, here are a few disclaimers:
• If you are not someone who fares well with IC drama, this is not the server for you.
• Be prepared to work for your character’s position in the game, no one else will work for you.
• This is not a smut server. We allow smut, but if you are looking to write smut and smut alone, we are not the server for you.
• We have a short screening process, so be prepared to answer a couple of questions and submit a writing sample.
Hope to see you on the island!
https://discord.gg/seWFC4j4QR

Harvey Specter: (walking down the street, talking on his phone) Look, I don't care what the client wants. We're not settling for anything less than what we agreed to.
Jesse Pinkman: (sitting on a nearby bench, watching Harvey) Damn, that guy's intense.
Harvey Specter: (noticing Jesse) Hey, watch it. You don't know who you're talking to.
Jesse Pinkman: (standing up) Sorry, man. I was just admiring your style.
Harvey Specter: (smirking) Well, I can't blame you for that.
Ross Geller: (walking by, stops to watch them) Hey, Harvey. What's going on?
Harvey Specter: (smiling) Nothing much, just discussing some work-related stuff with Jesse here.
Jesse Pinkman: (nodding) Yeah, just business as usual.
Ross Geller: (curious) What kind of work are you in, Harvey?
Harvey Specter: (confidently) I'm a lawyer, Ross. I work at one of the top law firms in the city.
Ross Geller: (impressed) Wow, that's pretty cool.
Sheldon Cooper: (yelling from his window) Hey, you three! Keep it down! Some of us have important work to do!
Harvey Specter: (rolling his eyes) Great, Sheldon's at it again.
Jesse Pinkman: (whispering to Harvey) Who's Sheldon?
Harvey Specter: (whispering back to Jesse) He's just a guy who lives in that building over there. He's always complaining about something.
Suddenly, Dexter Morgan comes walking down the street and notices the commotion. He approaches the group and tries to diffuse the situation.
Dexter Morgan: (calmly) What's going on here?
Sheldon Cooper: (yelling from his window) These two are making too much noise. They're disturbing my work!
Harvey Specter: (frustrated) We're just talking, Dexter. This guy doesn't like any noise on his precious street.
Jesse Pinkman: (nodding) Yeah, it's not that big of a deal.
Harvey Specter: (agreeing with Jesse) Exactly. We'll keep our voices down and respect your need for quiet, Sheldon.
Sheldon Cooper: (somewhat mollified) Well, alright then. Just be sure to keep it down.
Dexter Morgan: (smiling) See? We can all get along if we just communicate.
Ross Geller: (laughing) Looks like everything's settled then. I'll be on my way.
Harvey Specter: (smiling at Dexter and Jesse) Thanks, guys. I appreciate you diffusing the situation.
Jesse Pinkman: (nodding) No problem, man. We don't want any trouble.
As the group disperses, Sheldon Cooper goes back to his work feeling somewhat satisfied that he was able to enforce his rules,
A knock is heard on Sheldon's front door.
As Sheldon Cooper opens his door, he sees Dr. House standing in front of him.
Sheldon Cooper: (surprised) Dr. House, what are you doing here?
Dr. House: (smiling) I heard there was some commotion going on and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Sheldon Cooper: (exasperated) It was just some people talking outside. You know how I need my quiet to work.
Dr. House: (smirking) Yeah, I heard about your "rules." But you can't expect everyone to cater to your needs all the time, Sheldon.
Sheldon Cooper: (annoyed) I beg to differ. The world would be a much better place if everyone followed my rules.
As the group walks by and overhears Sheldon and Dr. House bickering, Harvey Specter can't help but interject.
Harvey Specter: (chuckling) Ah, Sheldon. You and your rules. When are you going to learn that the world doesn't revolve around you?
Sheldon Cooper: (defensive) Excuse me, but I have certain expectations for the environment in which I work.
Jesse Pinkman: (rolling his eyes) Yeah, we heard all about it earlier.
Dexter Morgan: (smiling) But we were able to come to a compromise, right Sheldon?
Sheldon Cooper: (grudgingly) I suppose.
Dr. House: (smirking) See, Sheldon? Compromise isn't so bad. You might even enjoy it.
Suddenly, as the group continues to joke and banter, a wormhole appears in the room and Spiderman jumps out of it.
Spiderman: (looking around) Whoa, where am I?
Harvey Specter: (surprised) Spiderman! What are you doing here?
Spiderman: (looking at the group) I was chasing a villain through a portal and ended up here. But it looks like I've stumbled into quite the party.
Jesse Pinkman: (smiling) Yeah, you could say that.
Dexter Morgan: (curious) Do you need any help, Spiderman?
Spiderman: (nodding) Actually, that would be great. But first, could someone explain to me what's going on here

TL;DR = I'm a very patient person and don't like to be annoying; I probably could've been a bit more assertive but regardless, I feel like my dentist office has done poorly by me. I would've made different decisions regarding my insurance coverage in hindsight, but I had a root canal done and it still hurts now 6 months later.
I don't smoke. I rarely drink.
I got a root canal/crown last September shortly before my employer provided insurance was ending due to me leaving job to focus on last year of grad school to become a therapist.
I'm in Kentucky, and at the time, medicaid did not cover root canals or crowns, so I was thankful to have decent dental coverage through my job to get it done before I lost that coverage.
I was still having pain, so they did some adjustments on the crown.
Still had pain, they sent me to a different office within the same dental company that could do a CT scan. After CT scan, a different younger dentist came and spoke to me and said there wasn't anything immediately noticeable but it did say there was a bit of "fog" in the area that made it difficult to see everything, but that it was possible there could be a rare second pathway or canal for more nerve that could've been missed, but it wasn't anything that would be in their responsibility to fix as a continuation of the original root canal. It would just be getting another root canal essentially is how it was explained to me.
At this time, I still had like 2-3 days left to decide if I wanted to elect COBRA coverage to continue my dental coverage which I was considering doing since I was still having issues. Right about that time, it was announced that effective 1/1/23, medicaid in my state would start covering root canals and crowns and stuff, so that eased my mind. Then I got a phone call from the dentist office saying the head dentist looked at my CT scan and that they would be fixing the issues with my tooth "at no cost to me". I recorded this phone call by putting my phone on speaker phone and using another device to record a voice memo, mainly so I would remember what they said. My girlfriend used to work in billing at a dental office so knows all the terminology much better than I do. They said they would call me with an appointment. This was early December.
I never got a call, holidays happened, I got covid, was sick, January semester started, and life was crazy. As long as I didn't chew on that side of my mouth, I could get by.
End of January, I started reached out again to find out what the plan was, and they kept putting me off. I told them what was said to me about fixing my tooth based on what the head dentist saw on the CT scan which they basically denied saying. I finally sent them the recording to prove it to several email addresses on their website, and I immediately got a call. They were "going to look into it".
After weeks of back and forth, "looking into it" has turned into a referral to a endodontist which I have no coverage for at the one they referred me to. My medicaid only provides endodontist coverage at our local medical school, which I'm fine with, but the wait is a really long time.
To make matters even more frustrating, I had made an appointment with a different dentist office for my routine cleaning that was supposed to happen yesterday, but they called me on Monday to cancel because they noticed that they are capped at medicaid patients. I told them I was on medicaid when I made the appointment with them and sent them my medicaid information via email or through an online submission form. So that sucks.
Any advice?

Petition
I'm a nice guy who doesn't believe in eternal damnation (that eternal is a long time!). I believe in the road to redemption for many people. And lately I've become concerned about a couple of our favorite billionaires: Charlie Munger (99 years of age), and Warren Buffett (92 years of age). I’m wondering if they should be tying up some loose ends at their age.
My concern started when I saw their Berkshire Hathaway company held a huge share of davita, the huge kidney dialysis company (40% last I looked - though only a tiny part of the Berkshire portfolio, less than 1% from what I understand) - I’ll give some background and then why I’ve worried.
I've been well acquainted with davita since the year 2000 when my daughter was in a dialysis clinic (transplant now). My experience with kidney dialysis peaked in 2007 when I helped head-up a group that got a bill for the certification of kidney dialysis techs passed (renewed in 2012 and 2019).
What surprised and concerned me about Berkshire being involved in davita was the fact I would think Berkshire would check out the "product" better. I can tell you what we've been seeing: just the numbers and John Oliver and friends. With davita less than 1% of the Berkshire portfolio I thought this must just be some sort of oversight! But then I became aware of this. Huh, besides a long line of former kidney dialysis patients waiting for Mr. Munger and Mr. Buffett in the hereafter there maybe others lined up behind the dialysis folks! It looks like they may have some explaining to do! (thank you Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) I don't think billionaire tears are going to be enough to put out the fire of anger in so people.
So how can we help these dear unfortunate souls who may have gone through a good portion of their lives with blinders on? I say we encourage Mr. Munger and Mr. Buffett to put the dialysis field of medicine back to the way it was! It was a group of many small clinics - the big for-profits have proven they can't handle too much power!
They have been guilty of:
- a lack of oversight
- using underpaid, undertrained, overworked staff (staff used to be mostly nurses vs. mostly techs now)
- shortening of treatments
- a multitude of scandals - among them having had the Highest Mortality Rate in the industrialized world! And unique in medicine for having had rising mortality
For starters, a person could sign this petition. If they are really feeling it, they could show up on May the 6th for the annual Bershire Hathaway meeting in Omaha Nebraska - I'll be there! I have my one share of Berkshire (B) so I'm sure I'll be treated like royalty. Before the meeting, we can gather in front of the Hall of Justice, 1701 Farnam St, Omaha, NE 68183, a 20 minute walk to the CHI Health Center where the Berkshire meeting will be held. For times and further info visit HQ-Save-the-Billionaires-Walk-updates at dialysisethics2.org.
P.S. Maybe I'm dreaming, but it would be great if Senator Warren ever go wind of this endeavor. But then I was but her phone bank captain for Southeast Denver (sorry I got sick)

Alright settle in for a story ya'll cause it's a long one.
At the beginning of the week I was dancing, singing, being helpful, just smiling. But you see I just needed to recover after my family kind of took my medicine in a forced detox and almost killed me. (previous legal post if you're curious) Now today I'm screaming at everyone and wanting to end my life over a lost tablet pen.
I got into a fight with my bf and it just was the last straw. I was like I don't want to go but take me to the mental hospital. If I get into one more fight something bad will happen.
I checked myself into the hospital and agreed to do a 5150 on the agreement they wouldn't send me to Merced California's Mary Greens. The head nurse bitch there told me if I ever came back there she would never let me leave. (My wife had to fight to get me out for 3 months).
They sent me to Santa Rose Behavioral Health Clinic. At first, the place seemed nice. I even got a pamphlet of my rights. Like the nerd I am I read it.
And realized that they were breaking the law left and right.
At the beginning, I asked for a space to worship and they led me around until they straight up told me they wouldn't. I asked every nurse I could and no one would work with me. I am a filipino pagan, and my religion was destroyed by Catholics so there are no clergy or Bibles I am just trying to recreate what I can by my research of the Gods of Visaya.
I even asked legal, a woman named Dory, and she straight up told me the facility couldn't provide it and with a straight face tried to convince me that was okay. I realized she was in the pockets of the company and ended my interview with her.
I didn't get to worship until the day I was released because my pagan case manager bought the supplies herself.
I wasn't trying to find dirt. I swear. I was just trying to get through my stay. I was supposed to be there 3 days but it turned into 5? 6? I don't know. The drugs they gave me made me so foggy and I am having a lot of pain and trouble since I went there.
I explained to them I wanted as little drugs as possible. I kept a journal that was supposed to be my medical journal too (I know nerd) and I started on 600mg of gabapentin but by the end of my stay without my consent I was upped to 1200mg of gabapentin. My wife gets seizures and the most they ever put her on was 900mg. A nurse there who eavesdropped on my conversation with my wife (also illegal) tried to convince me that it was okay for me to be on as much as 1800mg of gabapentin and they put the kids on more than me. I told him that didn't sound safe.
And worst of all nurse Allon. I thought he was cool. We were having a great conversation and his wife was a gender studies major and I was excited to know more. But then the first night with him I was able to write in the hallway. The next night I wasn't even allowed to write with a crayon in my room.
You see I have bipolar which gives me an energy bunny in my soul. I usually only need 4-6 hours of sleep. They kept trying to give me trazodone which I kept telling them would interact with my latuda and give me a manic episode but they didn't even switch it to another sleeping med.
I also told them I didn't want sleeping meds. As an Asian I would prefer preventative measures such as exercise, diet, herbs, and coping skills rather than just shoving medications down my throat. Well, guess what they did.
It is illegal for the staff to medicate a patient for their own convenience.
Nurse Allon 2 nights ago decided it wasn't okay for me to write in the hallway for whatever reason. I was upset as it was 3:30 and they expected me to do nothing but read study books (with no highlighter or anything to take notes with) for 4 hours or just sit and 'think'. I demanded my usual coping mechanism because it wasn't an unreasonable request. They refused. I asked for something to go back to sleep with. They refused. They sent me to my room.
So I cried. And then that turned into praying. And then that's when things got super shitty.
Nurse Allon called my episode a tantrum. I tried to call the patients advocate line or 988 but the phones were off. They coerced me into taking a drug to go to sleep. They claim it was seroquel. But that's not what I remember. They didn't release my information in a printed sheet they gave it to me on a sticky note. But I don't remember it sounding anything like seroquel.
I did my own research and tracked it down to two possible drugs. Clonazepen or clorazepate. I'm leaning towards clorazepate because I remember a 'cl' and 'r'.
Other things in my journal from my interviews.
They do not attend to the elderly. I had to harass them into doing their jobs. They were so understaffed and overworked that they just couldn't get their breaks in or do the basics. A woman I interviewed said she came from unit 500 and an elderly woman wasn't bathed and basically sat in her shit for 3 days and no one cared.
A homeless woman who wants to remain anonymous and is my friend is trapped there. She has been held there for 2 weeks without justifiable cause. A nurse named Nikki agreed and told us both that. This facility gets $2000 every day we stay there and more money for each drug.
That woman's drug chart is a fucking mess. She's on 1200mg of lithium. They're going to kill her or break her brain.
My dudes what do I do? What steps do I take?
My current plan is to gather more evidence. I want to go to each of the individuals that left bad reviews and explain to them I want to do a class action lawsuit not for money for myself (though I need to cover the cost of my lawyer) but that I want to sue that corporation into properly investing its funds so that we don't have paper thin blankets and the cheapest art supplies that never get updated.
I'm suing the hospital not for personal money, but to make sure the funds go back into the facility so it is properly run. the staff is properly paid and that there is enough of them for the patients care, that they do not use the cheapest materials, are not retaliatory to mentally ill episodes and are properly trained, and that everyone has the right to worship as they please. I want the rules to reflect fairness and kindness. I don't want this hierarchy of 'good patients' versus 'bad patients' and so much more. For the Gods sakes. We didn't even have windows to look outside. Why is sunshine a priviliege?
I don't really know...how to make this happen???? Any advice reddit?

I started yesterday, I got to the royal city, and now I’m trying to do the group missions from the portal wizard, but I can only start them and no one joins, and I don’t see a window or an option to search or join peoples dungeons… do I have to make a party first? Can I get grouped with Randoms for the 5 people dungeons? Please help a noob ;(

Submitted 16 Nov 22.
Claim deferred 10 Feb 23.
Claim Closed 21 Mar 23.
I was already 90% combined. looking for an increase. I thought I'd be disappointed if I didn't make 100% and I was wrong.
I was a low 90% with an actual percentage of 86% (highest one being 60% with a couple 20% and a few 10% to make up the 86%
My main request for an increase was for insomnia due to my inability to sleep because of the stomach issues I have. My stomach issues were rated at 20% when I was medically retired with one medication I was on indefinitely.
I am now on 3 medications for my stomach and the VA approved my increase to 60% (the evidence they cited looked like they took into account the constant doctors appointments I've had the past 2 years for it + the C&P's they did).
this new rating brought me from an 86% to a 93%. So I am still only at a 90% and did not make it to the 100% mark I was hoping for. but after reviewing it, I am happy and it seems to be a just and fair rating by the VA. I hope this will help me down the road as I get older and inevitably get worse to make it to that 100% when I need it more than I do now. I was hoping for 100% so I could cut back on work and focus more on my health, I will still have to juggle the two for now while I let the bear rest. Once I get to a point to where I've deteriorated enough to get the extra 20% I need to get there, I'll try again. It would have been nice to get it now and focus on my health and not stress about ignoring the pain and trying to focus on work while doubling over at my desk from the pain but it is what it is. Thanks to this group, I've learned a couple things, the fight is never over as long as you have a reason to fight, don't settle for less than what you deserve, and I also learned to see things from a different perspective. I wanted that 100% so bad, I feel like I deserve it from the issues I deal with day to day, but I'm choosing to be thankful that they agreed and raised a condition from 20% to 60% when they could have given me 40% and forced me to appeal. but reading the criteria, it seems fair to me, even if it didn't get me to where I wanted.

28F. Ontario, Canada. Diagnoses: Anxiety, Panic disorder, Depression, ADHD. Medications:
Desvenlafaxine 100mg x1 Quetiapine 25mg 1x (+.5 PRN), Lisdexamfetamine 30mg x1, Iron, Gabapentin 600mg x 2 pills 3x a day.
Works for my depression, but does not help with the anxiety which is my main concern. I have had panic attacks all my life, when I am unwell it may be 3+ a day consistently for around 1-2 months, then when it subsides 1-2 a week is my baseline. They make life VERY difficult to live and I spend most days trying to avoid situations that cause panic. I have seen 7+ psychologists on separate occasions through my life but I cannot afford to keep it up. I have been unable to see a psychiatrist since I was 13 years old. (“Why would you need that? They’ll just do the same thing I am doing”)
Benzoyle peroxide & Adapalene. This has been the only thing she will prescribe me since I was 16 and it has never helped. She has tried it 4 separate times.
I have a family Doctor who I have been seeing since the start of my life. My Doctor will not refer me out of her care. I’ve had trouble with my skin, with my mental health, had an accident that caused pain for a year and other issues. It takes 2+ months to get an appointment. All my life I have just struggled through my issues knowing that if I talk to her, I will just be denied. She will not refer me out, for example, issues with my skin: I’ve asked numerous times to see a dermatologist, she says “why? I will just do the same thing they do” and prescribes me a medication (never one that actually works), she doesn’t even look at my skin. If I ask her outright she refuses. My mental health, she has me on 10 pills a day for panic attacks…. But again, I struggle every day just to get by. The one pill that I think would help, she will not prescribe because of fear of issues with addiction (there is NO HISTORY, and I know how important it would be so I would never misuse it). Last time I had an appointment with her, she had me sit there for 40 minutes while she tried to research what else she could prescribe me.
I have had an appointment with her every month for the past 8 months and she STILL will not take me seriously. I finally gave up 3 months ago, but the issues are still there and I just want ACTUAL help.
I’ve looked for other Doctors but have never been able to find one taking patients. I am so tired of trying to ask for help but doing it on my own. I am TIRED of trying so hard to survive. I finally worked past consistent intrusive SH thoughts that I have had since I was 13 about 2 years ago. All that remains are the goddamn panic attacks. I know she is trying, but in the end, I feel stuck in a playbook without an end in sight.

Same table I'm running a game now and I'm going to start a new campaign starting from where the previous left off. We are going to be shifting themes, from goofy to serious, and game systems.
The players, in my soon to be finished Spelljammer game, are going to kill some eldritch evil on Atlantis. The citizens of this place are unaware of what's going on, they think their kingdom is all fine and good. An evil Lovecraftian cult runs society and had been an evil force in the 'unierse' and they have no idea as living there it seems normal. This campaign is going to end in them killing this being and that being's death will destroy the island.
Next campaign begins shortly before that. I'm going to rip all the portal fantasy tropes i've seen on tables and in media. Each player is going to pick a real life person to play as. That person was brought into this world "recently" as someone in a young body. They are brought there by this cult to train a kind of like "jedi" or Buffy type problem solving group that they deploy throughout their world. Or Bracers if you know Legend of Heroes lol. They, however, have little to no memories of their past lives.
As they play the game the table will gradually "unlock" their memories, as some kind of mini game. Until that point only the DM knows WHO they are playing as. What is revealed is up to the player, with DM approval to ensure it's not too obvious. At each stage out of character the rest of the table will guess who they are. They each get 1 guess and it's random order. If anyone is correct they will get some in game boon. Each time the players do this I will grant the players something, that I haven't determined yet. Maybe a feat or stat boost or a themed homebrew bonus or item, like if someone is playing as Lu Bu maybe he gets Red Hare as an animal companion.
OFC there will be table rules so nobody plays as like Pol Pot or Ed Gein or anyone like that. Session 0 will stress from like Buddy Holly to Achilles type characters who are regular people, famous, or 'heroic' types. I will allow mythological legendary people as well as confirmed real people. Accurate or legendary versions, one person is a serious Dynasty Warriors fan so i'm expecting somethin like that obviously. The table has already bought into this pitch so I don't have to worry about that.
The first part of the game they will work on a short intro quest for this organization and then the "apocalypse" happens and they are thrown out into the world. The theme is going to be bronze age post-apocalyptic dark-fantasy similar to like Conan.
One thing is the player's do not know it's Atlantis, i'm leaving it open so that for the next game I could have it take place anywhere. It just can't be Krynn or Toril due to plot reasons but I can easily fit it into Golarion if I felt like I wanted a premade world. At the moment though my intent is it to be a legendary/fantasy version of bronze age earth which is a setting I always wanted to run.
Previous game was a wacky spelljammer game so we are doing a big shift.
Does anyone have any ideas or input I could use to expand on this idea? I'm open to any ideas.
I am open to content suggestions as well. If it helps we are playing Pathfinder 2e this time but I can adapt anything.