u/BatmanVision

When my OCD intrusive thoughts kick in (the intrusive thoughts are mainly just thoughts about injuries), it feels like my heart is made of stone as I do my mental compulsions to change the thought. I am wondering if this specific feeling happens for anyone else, like this weird and scary feeling in the chest?

It appears that the cable car is not working from what I googled. How do I get to the top? Is hiking the only option or could I take a cab to the top and then hike down?

I’ve been to both and I’d say that they look quite similar, if anything, these two cities are the closest if one were to ask “which is a city that is very similar to Belgrade/Bucharest”. Of course, beyond appearance, I wouldn’t say that these cities are particularly similar, especially in terms of city structure, and other things. One could argue there’s a bit of a similar vibe in some ways too.

But overall, what do y’all think? Are these two cities similar? Whether visually, culturally, in terms of vibe, or structure? Is there a city that is more similar to Belgrade than Bucharest visually? I haven’t been to Sofia yet so I can’t comment on it.

As far as my preferences, I really liked all of ex-Yugoslavia that I've been to so far. Sarajevo especially, with the Ottoman bazaar. I am wondering how long I would need for Prizren though - I am thinking of staying there for 1 day or perhaps 2, but it seems that the area is not actually that big and maybe I would be able to explore all of it in one day? For reference, I thought Mostar's tourist area was tiny and over-packed with tourists, and everything outside the old town bazaar area was kind of boring. I spent about 3-4 hours in Mostar and thought that it was more than sufficient before I returned to Sarajevo, which had a much nicer and bigger bazaar.

I asked this in askBalkans but I wanted to see if Croatians perceive their nation as Balkan, Central European, Mediterranean, or something else. Of course, different regions will have different cultures, but how would you describe Croatia culturally?

Thinking to do 2 days in each city:

Pristina, Prizren, Skopje, Ohrid. I am a bit worried about Ohrid being too small for 2 full days, I tend to be quick at exploring but if I like the vibe of a place I enjoy staying for even longer. For example I loved Sarajevo, I felt that 4 days (plus a half day in Mostar) was great. So how many days would y'all recommend for each place, with the calculation of 8 total days? In general I love the Balkan vibe so I doubt I'd get bored, but ideally, I don't want to spend too little in a place that is actually great or too long in a place that is small or less exciting.

I was thinking about visiting Poland eventually, but I hear that Polish people are very racist. If you are more olive-toned, but specifically Italian / Greek, will people call them gypsies (cigan)? Because if that’s the case, I would rather not go.

I am ethnically Greek, and in my short trip in Lithuania, there were random people walking past me and saying “Cigan”, which is a slur for Roma (“gypsies” being the equivalent in English).

So I guess it doesn’t matter if you’re Greek, Spanish, Italian (these three can overlap), you still get random racist remarks.

If you are Mediterranean of origin, I’d be cautious about going to Lithuania. It likely wasn’t even Lithuanians being racist but rather Ukrainians or Russians, since they were not speaking Lithuanian (one example being the word “da” but I don’t know for sure). I didn’t have an issue in Latvia, by the way.

Just for reference, when I ask most people where I look like I am from, I often get: Greek, Portuguese, Italian (most common), Spanish, Latino, or Armenian. Never “gypsy”.

This is the first and only country that I’ve been to out of more than 25 where I have received comments like this.

I’m asking this because I don’t actually think there’s anyone that has asked this before. This question is not being asked in a homophobic way, but I just want to know from anyone that is bi, gay, pansexual, etc. Do you find that homosexual thoughts and acts block your root chakra? To note, a blocked root chakra/first centre will end up giving you unrelated depressive and anxious feelings. Do you have any mental health issues or are you happy, feeling mentally good and grounded? I ask this community because I’d assume that you would have a strong ability to notice energy blockages if you can feel your energy centres.

For months I’ve been getting these long chest pain episodes, and at the hospital they told me it’s not my heart. I also know this because position matters, arm movements can trigger it, etc.

For me, my main fear is whether it’s a heart attack and if I need to go to A&E. So there was this constant stress when these pains would come on, because rationally I can’t just go to the ER every day and waste hours constantly.

I am getting a bit more used to this but genuinely - how do I get rid of this stress when this uncertainty exists?

I am in my early 20s.

I’ve noticed in the last 10 days that I get flashes of light more often than before, which I find very odd. I went to Specsavers and they did an eye test with OCT, they told me everything is fine and then prescribed me some glasses. But they didn’t do a dilated eye test, they did shine a light in my eyes and made me look to the sides, and up and down. They asked me about these light flashes but I may have downplayed how often they happen. Since I woke up almost 6 hours ago I may have seen flashes up to 5 times.

So the symptoms are as follows:

A small speck of light, like a tiny dot of white light, happening perhaps every 45 mins to an hour. I have no other vision changes and these symptoms seem to have started maybe 10 days ago. To be honest, I’ve had this type of experience a lot in 2023-2024, but not much in 2025 and half of 2026. So I am wondering if this is something dangerous or if I need to get another test with dilation specifically. These brief 1 second long flashes are my only symptom.

In general, from what I know, if I see lightning-style lights, many dark floaters, a shadow-like effect in my vision, or a darkening in the sides of my vision, then it’s absolutely something to get checked on.

Based on what I described, what should I do? Does this sound like PVD?

I’m having a bit of an issue since December 2025. When I try to meditate, my mind often enters this hypnagogic state where I start getting a barrage of images, whether it is based on movies I’ve seen or video games, or pretty much literally anything, and it massively impacts my concentration when trying to meditate. It’s almost like I can’t even really concentrate because the mind becomes half asleep or something, really quickly. Like within a minute, instead of being in wholeness and the Field, I am getting hypnagogic style imagery no matter what time I am awake at. As you can imagine, this has massively affected my meditation practice. It feels like a waste of effort sometimes because nothing is changing even if I stick it through. Before, I would be able to connect to the Field in a matter of seconds to minutes, and now it’s almost like my brain can only do that at times. I guess this also started after a period of really low sleep that eventually triggered this issue. In the moment it started, I was actually meditating, and in my mind I heard a door close. It might sound strange, but am I kicked out of the meditation realm? When I was trying to manifest, I would see individuals with my eyes closed that were moving their finger side to side as if to say “no”. I can sometimes connect but if I am too relaxed, it’s impossible. Any advice?

(Some terms like Field mean the Universe)

I’m having a bit of an issue since December 2025. When I try to meditate, my mind often enters this hypnagogic state where I start getting a barrage of images, whether it is based on movies I’ve seen or video games, or pretty much literally anything, and it massively impacts my concentration when trying to meditate. It’s almost like I can’t even really concentrate because the mind becomes half asleep or something, really quickly. Like within a minute, instead of being in wholeness and the Field, I am getting hypnagogic style imagery no matter what time I am awake at. As you can imagine, this has massively affected my meditation practice. It feels like a waste of effort sometimes because nothing is changing even if I stick it through. Before, I would be able to connect to the Field in a matter of seconds to minutes, and now it’s almost like my brain can only do that at times. I guess this also started after a period of really low sleep that eventually triggered this issue. In the moment it started, I was actually meditating, and in my mind I heard a door close. It might sound strange, but am I kicked out of the meditation realm? When I was trying to manifest, I would see individuals with my eyes closed that were moving their finger side to side as if to say “no”. I can sometimes connect but if I am too relaxed, it’s impossible. Any advice?

(Some terms like Field mean the Universe, it is language based on Dr Joe Dispenza’s meditation styles.)

I’m having a bit of an issue since December 2025. When I try to meditate, my mind often enters this hypnagogic state where I start getting a barrage of images, whether it is based on movies I’ve seen or video games, or pretty much literally anything, and it massively impacts my concentration when trying to meditate. It’s almost like I can’t even really concentrate because the mind becomes half asleep or something, really quickly. Like within a minute, instead of being in wholeness and the Field, I am getting hypnagogic style imagery no matter what time I am awake at. As you can imagine, this has massively affected my meditation practice. It feels like a waste of effort sometimes because nothing is changing even if I stick it through. Before, I would be able to connect to the Field in a matter of seconds to minutes, and now it’s almost like my brain can only do that at times. I guess this also started after a period of really low sleep that eventually triggered this issue. In the moment it started, I was actually meditating, and in my mind I heard a door close. It might sound strange, but am I kicked out of the meditation realm? When I was trying to manifest, I would see individuals with my eyes closed that were moving their finger side to side as if to say “no”. I can sometimes connect but if I am too relaxed, it’s impossible. Any advice?

Since Sony owns the IP of Demon's Souls, I don't entirely see why they couldn't just make their own game. Especially after Demon's Souls Remake by Bluepoint & Japan Studio - they had the gameplay, physics, and graphics engine fully built. Even now, the PS5 Demon's Souls remake is one of the best looking games EVER made. After the huge success of Elden Ring, the DS trilogy, Sekiro, and so on, Sony could've absolutely made more of these.

Would you have wanted to see a Demon's Souls sequel (or perhaps an entire Sony-exclusive series) made by Bluepoint/other PS Studios devs based on the Demon's Souls remake's gameplay?

I used to be on meds and I was very productive. On meds, there’s this constant urge to keep doing productive things while taking them. Bullshit fun stuff like video games and scrolling on TikTok can feel downright depressing because your mind sees that it’s a waste of time. It’s been over a year since I stopped using them and in this time frame I have been at the most unproductive time of my life. My motivation, focus, drive and energy levels are just not there. I’m not depressed at all, and I’m not sure how to go about this. This is just full on inattentive ADHD, and as you may know, ADHD can affect motivation levels massively because there’s not enough dopamine to keep you going. What I’m unmotivated to do is to write, develop things, etc. Without someone giving me explicit orders on what to create or make (e.g. as an online creator), or without the adrenaline-filled energy that comes with submitting an assignment in a few hours that you still haven’t started, it’s difficult to get my mind to care about the long term. This also affects my ability to focus when trying to manifest in the Field. I’ve always wanted to create, but I’ve never really been able to focus for extended periods on the specific ideas that I want to create. Any advice?