u/Status-Ad-8511

can someone please provide resources on learning qigong or similar meditative practices? i've tried some from youtube, but feel slightly mistrustful / fearful since i overactivated my third eye chakra / upper dantian during a series of ill-informed and misguided spiritual practices which led to full-blown psychosis a couple of years ago.

i generally get on the mat and try to combine breathwork with stretches while holding positions that i feel called towards by my body - but ive spent my youth in a state of escapist behaviours trying to outrun the demands of my body so need to harness self-trust first and foremost. i think a lot of spiritual practice comes naturally to me but i have spent so long in conceit/disbelief and misguidedness that i don't know where to start.

a list of issues i would like to focus on:

building inner resilience. strengthening my nervous system. keeping my heart open. gut issues, physical lethargy, anhedonia, mental fatigue. being thirsty 24/7 (dryness). processing trauma / letting go of past / moving on in life / finding purpose.

i'd be very grateful if someone could share relevant pdfs / book names / or guides i can follow online. what other practices should i embody in my life apart from qigong, yoga, and meditation?

in valencia town.

please please please lmk if u have a contact !

hi dosts. i've been going through some personal issues which have made me extremely reclusive. over the past two years i stayed primarily at home and gained 18-20kg, since food is the only emotional outlet for me atm. the problem is that i hate going outside now because i've gone from being very thin to pretty overweight, which only makes me shame eat.

i was wondering whether i should start with at home exercises, yoga, or strength based training? i'm also very lethargic, both mentally and physically, so mustering the energy to do anything feels difficult. i know that the only way out of this loop is to commit to an exercise routine but not sure where to start. i want to eventually gain good muscle but the immediate goal is to drop fat while retaining as much muscle as possible.

would be so grateful if someone helps me draft a fitness plan. i'm also open to co-exercising, if someone else is on a similar journey and is interested in doing it together (based in lhr near valencia town)

stormfiber has become a horrendous experience over the past year. anyone in valencia w a better internet provider? heard ptcl recently upgraded wires here, should i switch to that or transworld? would prefer sth budget friendly + works rly rly fast + good customer support

can someone unknowningly find that they can manipulate energy? how does one protect their energy / ensure it remains good? i understand the idea is to link back to source but it also appears that there's this grand duel between right vs wrong ongoing on an energetic level as well as in the physical field?

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i came across the idea of vampirism recently and sometimes it feels as if that's what im engaging in (did not know this was a thing before right now but have energetically had this fear before) and i got very scared. how does one keep themselves *pure* or cleanse their energy?

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another one: how do the people on here tell the difference between what is truly spiritual/shamanic vs what is purely psychological? ive struggled with mental health issues most of my life and am weary of entering psychosis - however, i also understand that all reality is constructed based on the sociocultural indoctrination of that individual

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next question: how would you interpret seeing a dead crow? especially granted that you've attributed spiritual meaning to crows previously (as guides)

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im clearly very new to all of this and have an inkling that i might be good at this or idk that im meant to awaken or whatever but i think i keep getting stuck because i have zero resources and i would also like to keep myself grounded in reality

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example: last year i was meditating a LOT because again mentally ill but somehow i just was able to do reiki.... and then i talked about it and i lost it but the people around me all testified? i just feel very spiritually lost and am scared that my energy is just.....

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hi everyone!

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i recently quit psychiatric medication (2 months ago) AND nicotine. Currently undergoing extreme withdrawal symptoms which have brought back my mood issues with a vengeance. I was more or less in remission before but the past few months have genuinely made me question my sanity. I'm looking either for:

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1. homeopathic doctor who can help manage withdrawal

2. general advice on self medication

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I'm based in Pakistan, which means that most of the doctors here are extremely judgmental due to social stigma against mental health issue. I went to a homeo doctor recently who straight up said that I don't look like someone who has anxiety (i do) because I was answering his questions?

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Please please reach out if you can help, I would be ever grateful!

alright so this one is probably going to be a doozy (and a long time coming at that):

i grew up in the global south with a lot of taboo and shame associated with sex / sex ed etc. i have vague memory of a girl my age (who worked for us) telling me that it felt good //down there//. i remember this because the first time we got a muslim shower i told her it felt great and she no longer wanted to try it herself (i remember feeling intrigued by her decision not to try it because she was the one who had in fact told me about how touching myself down there was supposed to feel good) (for context: we wouldn't do it together and i have no memory of ever touching her).

i think some time before this we were showering together (maybe 6-7 max?) and either i asked her to check what was there / she was doing it by herself and i hurt myself because she went in too deep? from my understanding of this, i think i was obsessed with understanding genitalia bec nobody had explained it to me and the idea was always to equate it with peeing? (like genitals were just understood as where u pee from and it made no sense it felt good)

as i write this im not sure if i crossed any of her boundaries? i don't remember doing so but def concerning.

anyway: i became obsessed with touching myself / pleasing myself with the shower head. it was definitely a problem (especially as i got older). there have been a few instances where i did stuff i can not explain and that has me questioninf everything: (k**sed a baby while they were sleeping / positioned the cat so it feels nice)

i still don't understand how these facts can be about me because i dont understand myself as someone who would do anything like this especially since im a survivor of as**ault in adulthood?

my question here is: is all of the above completely sexually perverse and was i born a deviant? because wtf was all this?

so i quit cold turkey 2 weeks ago and holy shit am i going insane ? for context: ive been smoking/vaping for 10 years and have a history with addiction.

right now:

1. anger unmanageable= i could chew someone's head off

2. akathisia?????

3. eating sugar like my dads willywonka

4. v lethargic

5. dopamine feels flatlined so can't do hobbies i enjoy etc

6. SKIN IS BAD PLS MAKE IT MAKE SENSE

in conclusion is this normal or am i the most nicotine hangry mf on planet earth + do u guys suggest i see this through lr quit quitting + how long do u reckon it will take before i can exist with myself without losing my mind ???

thanku for coming to my breakdown !

I've been suffering psychiatric abuse for the past 8 years. It doesn't help that the doctors in my region are incompetent. Now, I've accidentally stumbled into withdrawal again and I'm calculating whether I should just bite my teeth and face this headfirst.

For context: I lost my job earlier this month, and I have some savings so now could potentially be a good time. I'm 28 right now and shudder at the thought of being on meds in my thirties. My bone health is that of a 70 year old and my memory could easily be of someone even older. Cognitive capacities are at an all time low. In fact, I was recently losing my mind last week because I had convinced myself that I was intellectually disabled (until i realized these #happypills have been eating away at my brain)

Here's some history for those more knowledgeable than I:

2018-2020: excessive substance drug abuse accompanied with on/off meds (lamictal, sert, benzos, wellbutrin, you get the gist).

diagnosis: MAD + GAD + CPTSD + exploring personality disorders

2020-2023: primarily Epival, Flux, Valium (was also on multiple antipsychotics but alas memory fails me now)

2023-2025: Flux, Topamax, Valium

2025: Quit the above mentioned meds for 4 months. Then restarted with Lamictal (prescribed 25mg), since the withdrawal felt unmanageable. Extreme irritability, anger, sensitivity.

new diagnosis: ADHD

Was given Wellbutrin (but it made me feel high / overstimulated so I quit) and Atentra (also had to quit bec I was physically ill, feverish etc)

2026: Quit Lamictal without tapering off (for 2 weeks, this was unplanned). Got scared that I was developing a rash when I got back on it. Consulted add psychiatrist and was prescribed Sert and Alp. I was supposed to taper onto 50mg sert but on the 2 week mark idk if I missed a dose but I had a complete nervous system crashout. I was convinced I was a character in a game and that s#i would "wake" me.

it felt like I was high even after I took the next dose (thoughts being translated into surreal images etc). Reported this to the doctor and tapered it to half the dose (not sure if original daily dose was 50 or 100 but i was taking 1/4 of it for 1-1.5 months).

Now: it's been a month approx (3ish weeks) since I've been off meds completely. The reason I quit was because the images issue was not going away and these were trippy images which scared me. They're better now but i still see some activity when i close my eyes (not as vivid).

My options now are: see the withdrawal through and enter acute withdrawal/ paws stage. Or: Lamictal (it was most helpful back when i was on it, but idk if I want to make this trade-off long-term).

I'm thinking about creating drastic lifestyle changes so that my brain can find healing through new neural pathways. What do you suggest?

Also, here are my current withdrawal symptoms. Please let me know what else to expect if I go down this road.

1. lack of internal narrative / thoughts are jumbled up
2. difficulty articulating
3. overexcited neurochemistry
4. sleep issues
5. sensitivity (especially socially)
6. sensory regulation issues
7. irritability
8. emotional dysregulation
9. impulse based anger/ sadness / helplessness