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ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!


NEED IMMEDIATE HELP? Call Veterans Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255 and press 1
or text 838255


Feeling alone & isolated?
Bored at work?
Unable to talk to someone who's been through the same poo poo as you?
Tired of dealing with the same old douchebags in GiP & willing to deal with another set of random douchebags?
Just feel chatty or want to brag about Tinder bitches or how to bake bread?



Slack on a PC

Slack App


Google Hangouts is dead. Long Live google hangouts.

GiP get help chat now uses Slack. You can use your computer, tablet, iphone, or android smartphone. If poo poo gets real with people feeling suicidal, we get serious & help out people in need.
Otherwise the hangout chat is basically Drunk Thread 69.0: NO MODS, NO MASTERS, NO COPS.

What is slack and why not just go to #gip?
Slack is a text based, social chat service that is more customizable & has admins/mods for each group of people in it.
The big thing for is that you can edit ALL your posts & the support system is a interactive bot.

Slack is also semi-private while IRC has 403,696,969+ possible people that can join in.

How Do you get slack?

Step 1: Install the Slack app on whatever device you plan on using.
Slack on google play
Slack on ITunes
Slack is also browser based and has an App for PC and macs.

Step 2: Get invited into the Gip Slack.
Any sort of email will work, use whatever email you want. PM me for an invite. I will be making a couple of people admins so they can also send invites.

Step 3: SHITPOST as much as you feel like.

Step 4: Turn off notifications in chat otherwise you'll go insane from the constant alerts.

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

All drunk chat and dumb poo poo I say/post aside the hangouts has helped me out (multiple times) when I've been in dire need and needed an outlet, or just simply for venting. Arguably prevented unneeded medical visits. I only wish it was around sooner


Suffice as to say if you're on the fence, intimidated for some reason, or even think the idea of talking to a group of randoms about your poo poo is weird I urge you to please at least check it out. Whether or not you're a GIP regular or just lurking


Bring your phone charger with you though

IF YOU PM US ASKING FOR SLACK ACCESS, AND GET NO RESPONSE BACK? WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE, GO POST IN GIP THREADS SO WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE....

What if I don't want to go through all this stupid steps?
There is a handful of dudes in irc, SynIRC #gip


*who the gently caress is IDR?
Oh man, let me enlighten you with this link
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3551832%26userid=0%26perpage=40%26pagenumber=13

If anyone has questions about slack please feel free to ask.

ElMaligno fucked around with this message at 10:57 on Jan 25, 2017

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Nostalgia4Infinity
Feb 27, 2007

10,000 YEARS WASN'T ENOUGH LURKING
Hey all, just a gentle reminder that I can't control who sees what you post or how they use that information once it is out there. To that end, I would keep personal information off these boards and in a more private venue (like slack). There's weirdos out there and I wouldn't want something said in a moment of trauma/stress to come back and bite you in unexpected ways :glomp:

M_Gargantua
Oct 16, 2006

STOMP'N ON INTO THE POWERLINES

Exciting Lemon
Guessing 4.0 got hidden for doxx sanitation purposes?

Nostalgia4Infinity
Feb 27, 2007

10,000 YEARS WASN'T ENOUGH LURKING
You guess correctly.

quantumfoam
Dec 25, 2003

Thank you ElMaligno.
80% of my words survived in the OP.

How busy is the slack chat?
Effort is why I haven't switched to slack so far.

UP THE BUM NO BABY
Sep 1, 2011

by Hand Knit

NoNostalgia4Grover posted:

Thank you ElMaligno.
80% of my words survived in the OP.

How busy is the slack chat?
Effort is why I haven't switched to slack so far.

I've been chatting a little but there's only five people signed up for it.

Melthir
Dec 29, 2009

I need to go scrap some money together cause my avatar is just sad.
Start slacking off you fucks.

Soulex
Apr 1, 2009


Cacati in mano e pigliati a schiaffi!

I downloaded it, waiting for authorization.

Also the link for iOS is wrong.

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

Send you an invite as i had to step outside.

Soulex
Apr 1, 2009


Cacati in mano e pigliati a schiaffi!

Are you saying we have to step outside? Cause I just got here. Let me sit down first.

MonkeyWash
Jan 14, 2005
Donkey Rinse



moving this

MonkeyWash fucked around with this message at 01:15 on Jan 15, 2017

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

A reminder i need your guys emails if you want a slack invite.

quantumfoam
Dec 25, 2003

Hey ElMaligno.

In the hangout chat someone asked "What is slack and why not just go back to #gip?"

Here's the answer I came up with(complete with skipped words & mispellings damnit).
---------

Slack is a slightly different social media messaging app than google hangouts.

Slack is more customizable & has admins/mods for each group of people in it.
The big thing for is that you can edit ALL your posts & the support system is a interactive IRCbot.

Downside: username is a one-time thing.

Why not go back to gip? Good question, hard to answer.
Offsite chats like this & slack are semi-private, without 2000+ other people(somethingawful members who paid $10)
having full access to meltdowns, opinions & altered state posts.




You might want to add both the question & the answer to your OP

Nostalgia4Dogges
Jun 18, 2004

Only emojis can express my pure, simple stupidity.

Plus the whole mobile app aspect assuming you're talking about IRC

quantumfoam
Dec 25, 2003

Nostalgia4Dogges posted:

Plus the whole mobile app aspect assuming you're talking about IRC

Oh yeah... #gip is an IRC thing. I always forget about IRC aka reddit 0.25.
Change my answer to "Offsite chats like this & slack are semi-private, without 403,696,969+ possible people (random rear end guess for total IRC users worldwide)
having full access to meltdowns, opinions & altered state posts
.

ElMaligno, add this too?

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

You can change your user name in slack, its kinda buried in all the bullshit.

Melthir
Dec 29, 2009

I need to go scrap some money together cause my avatar is just sad.
Slack is good, easy to use and intuitive. We have a lot of the SA emotes loaded and are also teaching slackbot to respond to questions although it is a little stupid. :rms:

windshipper
Jun 19, 2006

Dr. Whet Faartz would like to know if this smells funny to you?
I PM'd ElMaligno for an entry to slack.... I don't know anything about it, really though.

To be fair, I'm fire/EMS based GiP, not military, so I dunno what the rules are for that.

Nostalgia4Dogges
Jun 18, 2004

Only emojis can express my pure, simple stupidity.

You good fam

Mike-o
Dec 25, 2004

Now I'm in your room
And I'm in your bed


Grimey Drawer
Yeah you're good this isn't one of those gay forums for SPECOPS WARRIORS AND YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE YOUR DD-214 TO PROVE WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DID AND WE ADDRESS EACH OTHER BY RANK HERE HOOAHHH?????

Soulex
Apr 1, 2009


Cacati in mano e pigliati a schiaffi!

Yup. Like I said in chat, I legit said "Thanks for your service," to some firefighters today. I personally, will never turn my nose up at any public servant like that. You guys deserve respect just as we did and do. And I'm also sure every body here on some level agrees with me.

And never feel bad for asking for help. Just don't pretend to be something you're not. That's 100% not directed at you but more of a cautionary IDR thing for anyone lurking.

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

If you need help, you are welcome.

boop the snoot
Jun 3, 2016
I don't know about dreams. Maybe someone here does though.

Ever since I got put on meds, I dream. Even when I was in meds that were supposed to suppress dreams (prazosin comes to mind).

At first it was like a 9-to-1 ratio of bad dreams to good dreams. People getting blown up. People getting shot. And it happened several times every night. I would go to sleep, get woke up by a dream, go back to sleep and do it again. Only a few times did I wake up clammy and freaking out like what you would consider a stereotypical crazy vet dream like in the movies and on TV. But they were constant. It was like binging a Netflix show every night.

But I got used to them. As depressing as this sounds, my nightmares were more like an opportunity to hang out with my pals that didn't make it back (one really good friend in particular).

When I got out I stopped all meds after a horrible experience with withdrawal symptoms after the VA sent my refill to an old address. But I started smoking a LOT of weed. When I smoke a lot of weed, it helps with the dreams (but doesn't completely stop them -- more on that in a second).

But I was using weed to fight depression. I'm talking like a quarter ounce every day. It was getting bad. So last year around September I stopped and have only smoked a couple times since.

Recently the dreams have started up again. Part of me thinks it may be the weed, but I stopped like five months ago and it hasn't been a serious problem until recently.

I go through phases. I will dream hard for a few weeks and then I won't dream again for a few months. Then I will dream hard again for a few more weeks. And so on and so on. It's been the cycle for a little under three years now.

But recently, they have gotten out of control. I dream about my dog getting murdered, which shakes me to my core and keeps me up for the rest of the night. And the less I sleep, the more I seem to dream, so it's creates a cycle.

I have also started yelling in my sleep and flailing my arms at times, which I don't remember ever doing.

School is getting to that stressful part of the semester where it seems like the homework is a mile high and I'm overwhelmed with poo poo to do with no end in sight, so stress obviously plays a part in it.

My question is, how do I deal with it? The obvious answer is to go to the doctor, which I have an appointment to do in late March (earliest possible appt), but has anyone ever dealt with anything similar?

Wow that was a long post. For your reading efforts here is a dogge pic (if you didn't read please don't look at the pic!!!!!)


ASAPI
Apr 20, 2007
I invented the line.

I'm no doctor....

It seems to me that the dreams are a response to stress. Are you doing anything else differently? You mentioned that you are kinda stressed with school. Maybe you just need to carve out more "me" time and do something you enjoy. Do you have any stress relief other than pot?

boop the snoot
Jun 3, 2016
I hit the gym five days a week (six if you count runs on Sunday mornings). It's one of the only things I am able to do and stay clear headed throughout.

Saturday is my day off. No matter what I have piled up, Saturday is my day to do absolutely nothing.

ASAPI
Apr 20, 2007
I invented the line.

TBeats posted:

I hit the gym five days a week (six if you count runs on Sunday mornings). It's one of the only things I am able to do and stay clear headed throughout.

Saturday is my day off. No matter what I have piled up, Saturday is my day to do absolutely nothing.

Other than see a doc, not sure what else to tell you man. You could try different meds, but I'm thinking that won't work for you. Have you tried killing a stripper?

Soulex
Apr 1, 2009


Cacati in mano e pigliati a schiaffi!

My dreams stopped when my stress levels went down. I used to kick and flail too, including almost hitting my wife in the stomach while she was pregnant.

Even if Saturday is relax day, you need to find something to get your brain to relax. Not just your body.

Good luck.

Radical 90s Wizard
Aug 5, 2008

~SS-18 burning bright,
Bathe me in your cleansing light~
Man I''m fuckin stressing hugely right now, have to find a new flat to live, try to figure out wtf to do with myself, degree or some other bizarro poo poo, I don't even fuckin know, poo poo is overwhelming, honestly I never even had to deal with that crazy deployment poo poo that y 'all had NZ is like a cakewalk unless you're rolling SAS and gently caress that, my only job I ever had was tronic warfare so how the gently caress can I translate that to real life? Everything seems worthless I dn't know how to tell anyone I actually know though.


E] gently caress it's lame but you jerks are the only people I say this dumb poo poo to. gently caress. i didnt even go anywhere.

Flying_Crab
Apr 12, 2002



Not everyone sees close combat first hand; the closest I got to combat was probably 200-300 miles (lol Kuwait) unless you count a few suicide bombings in the general area. That doesn't mean what you deal with isn't legitimate, don't feel bad about being sadbrained.

UP THE BUM NO BABY
Sep 1, 2011

by Hand Knit

Radical 90s Wizard posted:

Man I''m fuckin stressing hugely right now, have to find a new flat to live, try to figure out wtf to do with myself, degree or some other bizarro poo poo, I don't even fuckin know, poo poo is overwhelming, honestly I never even had to deal with that crazy deployment poo poo that y 'all had NZ is like a cakewalk unless you're rolling SAS and gently caress that, my only job I ever had was tronic warfare so how the gently caress can I translate that to real life? Everything seems worthless I dn't know how to tell anyone I actually know though.


E] gently caress it's lame but you jerks are the only people I say this dumb poo poo to. gently caress. i didnt even go anywhere.

If you want to hop into the slack channel send me a PM

Genocide Tendency
Dec 24, 2009

I get mental health care from the medical equivalent of Skillcraft.


Radical 90s Wizard posted:

Man I''m fuckin stressing hugely right now, have to find a new flat to live, try to figure out wtf to do with myself, degree or some other bizarro poo poo, I don't even fuckin know, poo poo is overwhelming, honestly I never even had to deal with that crazy deployment poo poo that y 'all had NZ is like a cakewalk unless you're rolling SAS and gently caress that, my only job I ever had was tronic warfare so how the gently caress can I translate that to real life? Everything seems worthless I dn't know how to tell anyone I actually know though.


E] gently caress it's lame but you jerks are the only people I say this dumb poo poo to. gently caress. i didnt even go anywhere.

Lots of people with PTSD and depression never deployed.

I had worse issues from my time state side. Like being physically beat by supervisors and told when trying to report it that "you are committing insubordination".

But adjustment issues are really, really bad and get ignored by just about every country. You are essentially dumped into the civilian world from a very structured environment where critical thinking is essentially a criminal act to where you have to provide for yourself with little support and often inadequate training. Discharging people is like dropping an autistic 6 year old off in the woods with a dull pocket knife and telling them best of luck.

Kids who go to college or spend the first couple years of their life working at McDonalds while living at home before getting married to their first ex at least adjust to real society slower and with safety nets.

Soulex
Apr 1, 2009


Cacati in mano e pigliati a schiaffi!

My buddy has PTSD of a training exercise gone wrong involving unsecured Constantine wire and a bad LZ.

Genocide Tendency
Dec 24, 2009

I get mental health care from the medical equivalent of Skillcraft.


Soulex posted:

My buddy has PTSD of a training exercise gone wrong involving unsecured Constantine wire and a bad LZ.

This is also really common and not often addressed.

Here is the reality of vets and depression and PTSD: Just because you didn't run over an IED in the middle of an ambush in Bumblefuck Afghanistan/Iraq, it doesn't mean you don't have a real problem that needs real help.

Training accidents, assault/abuse by other service members, ect.. Lots of poo poo happens outside of deployments, see the Fort Hood shooting. Or the other Fort Hood shooting.

M_Gargantua
Oct 16, 2006

STOMP'N ON INTO THE POWERLINES

Exciting Lemon

TBeats posted:

I don't know about dreams. Maybe someone here does though.

This is gonna sound kinda :biotruths: but we tested it on deployment (submarine) and like double blind confirmed it; but my nightmares/sleep screaming at people walking by my rack and punching the bed pan above me turned out to be cause by eating anything with food dye.

I poo poo you not.

Turns out when everything is either frozen or canned you can kinda be really carful with your diet. And since it was becoming an issue we made it an experiment. Pretty much everything except the instant mix bug juice was due free. And I started watching out for the few things that did. (This was all after the O-3 I stood watch with 8 hours every day read an article/study, didn't pull this out our rear end.) bout two weeks of strict diet control I was fine. So then I'd have like, the yellow loving corn bread, and that night be having some tripy dreams. (I never remember any of the ones where I would yell and punch poo poo, but I'd always get told about them)

Then came round two. Back half of deployment my friend would randomly spike my coffee with a little food dye. We didn't have cream so it was always just black with a ton of sugar. And being in the box I couldn't leave to get my own* so the Aux would make a pot for the lot of us and I'd never know if he did it.

Except the signs showed up every single time.

Since then I've watched what I ate. Kinda narrowed it down so that if I have even a little dye I'll feel it for 72 hours, and the more I get the longer it lasts, but peaks at around three weeks of effects. Sometimes I fall off the wagon. Sometimes candy is just too good.

If you want to try something other than pulls, maybe you're like me.

And that's a good dog.

*I think that requires a little explanation, a submarine propulsion plant is run from an 8x8 room called maneuvering that's manned round the clock. You cram three or four people in their endlessly and you legally can't leave the control panel, so you get one of the more junior rovers to come in and get you things, like coffee. Every six hours the watch would change and the oncoming Aux would traditionally make coffee for the whole team for the shift and deliver it to everyone stuck in their own zones.

Sax Offender
Sep 9, 2007

College Slice
There are some studies that suggest a possible relationship between food dyes and hyperactivity in children, but nothing so conclusive that strong recommendations have been made. Whether they affect adults...:iiam:

But it's one of those things that has no drawbacks to try if you're having a hard time, so why not?

Tias
May 25, 2008

Pictured: the patron saint of internet political arguments (probably)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

TBeats posted:

My question is, how do I deal with it? The obvious answer is to go to the doctor, which I have an appointment to do in late March (earliest possible appt), but has anyone ever dealt with anything similar?


Came across this and wanted to chime in: Violent nightmares, with sleep yelling and flailing, can be symptomatic of PTSD. I have childhood trauma, and this happened a lot back when I tried to drink it away as a kid. I haven't been in combat, and so I won't pretend to know what that will do to you - but I know some tricks that have helped me:

- No coffee, alcohol, tea etc. after noon. Try to stay off mind-benders like pot and speed.
- Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Trust me on this.
- Meditate and try not to get worked up.
- Turn off electrical appliances in your sleeping room.
- Don't use your bed for anything besides sleep and sex.

Some people are helped by finding a new sleeping position. I used to have bad sleep paralysis and night terrors until I taught myself to sleep on my belly, it's never come back.

Best of luck and I hope you get a good doc!

Bloody Cat Farm
Oct 20, 2010

I can smell your pussy, Clarice.
Hey guys... I wonder if any of you can help. I've posted previously about my boyfriend and his PTSD. He has been in therapy and on medication since the fall, but recently the medication hasn't seemed to be helping much. Also, I should note, he has some pretty bad issues from his childhood that he's just now getting help for.

He went away this weekend with a veterans group from his grad school to Washington DC. As a side note, he doesn't do well at all with crowded places, death, etc. because of his PTSD. So, he went to Arlington Cemetery yesterday with the group and had a bad panic attack. He talked to the vets, and after a while of talking they basically told him if he can't get his head on straight, he shouldn't be in a relationship. Not knowing how incredibly supportive the relationship is. I help him make sure he remembers his appointments for medication and therapy, I make sure he remembers to take his medication, I offer my support and love to him always. At any rate, he decided to move out/break up. He says he is still in love with me, how it's not at all easy for him to do this, etc. He's just freaking out in general. He was crying when I asked if he still loved me. He said this whole thing wasn't planned. He said that the vets understand in a way no one else ever could. I told him I respect and accept his decision to leave and to have some time alone. I also told him that I'm always going to be here for him, and he can't push me away like he's pushed everyone else away in his life. He was crying.

We have a great relationship. We have problems like any other couple, but we work through them. Most of the problems are due to his anxiety, PTSD, etc. but I'm more than understanding and actively try to support him. He didn't even seem like he wanted to break up, but like he feels like he needs to. His family is all in shock and saying he is having a meltdown. I don't know if I should let him come to me, or if I should reach out in a few days. I'm honestly worried he's going to hurt himself. On top of worrying about him, my heart is broken.

I don't know if you guys, as vets, can maybe shed some light on what's going on with him. And if you'd rather I post this someplace else, please let me know.

LtCol J. Krusinski
May 7, 2013
You sound like a sweet girl.

I'm gonna go ahead and shoot straight with you here.

Run the gently caress away from this as fast as you can. Take some time to take care of yourself and focusing on yourself, and caring primarily and mostly, about yourself.

You can't always beat PTSD. Treatment resistant PTSD is the MRSA of mental health, and has comparable mortality rates if you really drill the gently caress down into it.

The drugs are barely more effective than placebos, and that's true across the board.

Don't waste anymore time on this pre packaged tragedy. You want to join the PTSD pain train? Finding him with a bullet in his head one day and the walls painted with his brains is a quick trip to uncontrollably bad anxiety and invasive thoughts.

I'm sorry you love a broken man, and that he has turned you into a care taker and co-dependent. But you've got to get the gently caress out and put this behind you.

Run away.

I'm giving you the best advice your gonna get.

Trust me.

Bloody Cat Farm
Oct 20, 2010

I can smell your pussy, Clarice.
Thank you for your honesty. I wish I could know what it's like to go through what you all go through. I know that you can never know until you've been there yourself. Maybe it would help me process this better.

As far as running away, that may be the smart thing to do. I'm too much in love and worried about him to run, though. I'll probably regret this. I'm leaving him alone for now. I'm going to text him in a week or so to let him know I'm here for him and love him.

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Genocide Tendency
Dec 24, 2009

I get mental health care from the medical equivalent of Skillcraft.


Bloody Cat Farm posted:

Thank you for your honesty. I wish I could know what it's like to go through what you all go through.

No. You don't.



And like Shim said, walk away from this. Make sure you have let someone know that he needs help, but other than that either that train is already derailing and you can't stop poo poo, or he will get set right by a therapist/get a med adjustment and get ahold of you.

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