u/Unhappy-Ad-5061

I read online that for anti-aging you do not have to move up from .025 tretinoin to a higher concentration. you can stay at .02 it will be just as beneficial.

Anecdotally did people find that moving up did offer more anti-aging benefits?

Second question: I’ve been using tret for a month at .025. I have stopped using any other skin product except for moisturizer while I adjust.

How long does it take before folks could use other products? Should I even bother with a chemical exfoliant or vitmain c or toner while using Tret? Are there some products that you would stay away from more than others?

Thank you for all your wisdom!

Hey All,

I input my info into the student loan calculator. I've been paying these loans off for about 10 years, before getting on SAVE forbearance. My IBR end of term estimate say the year 2041 - another 15 years of payments - which makes sense given I've clocked ten years. My RAP end of term estimate says the year 2056. Um, that is 30 years from now, suggesting my repayment years are getting set back to zero? I don't get it.

Is anyone else seeing this issue?

I prefer the RAP plan because I have high debt/low income and the interest subsidy will save me when it comes time to pay the tax bomb. But this is making me nervous.

Why is the IBR estimate pulling my personal history into the equation, and RAP isn't?

ELI5:

we all know it’s happening. summers are now unbearable.

people say this is the new normal. but as far as i can tell, we aren’t leveling out. it actually keeps getting hotter and hotter.

will it level out?

or are we slowly boiling? can someone explain it to me? will we be seeing summers that are like…135 degrees?

we all know it’s happening. summers are now unbearable.

people say this is the new normal. but as far as i can tell, we aren’t leveling out. it actually keeps getting hotter and hotter.

will it level out?

or are we slowly boiling? can someone explain it to me? will we be seeing summers that are like…135 degrees?

i’m scared. but i also am realizing humans are incompatible with the wider web of life. and distracted as heck. and most of us aren’t even aware that we live on a planet that is alive And if we are we still think of nature as an object for extraction or entertainment. and the most beautiful life affirming, planet loving people i know have no power and the folks that do are deranged and likely are in denial or have some freakish backup plan for their own survival. so part of me can also accept it.…

but back to the question? is the heat just going to get worse and worse until we all drop dead?

Hello All,

I was diagnosed with Chronic venous insufficiency, MCAS and Lipedema last year. It was so relieving to finally "be seen" by a doctor. They recommended Vasculera and micro dosing GLP. But the GLP made me nervous.

So, instead I started taking LDN (low dose naltrexone) which had been prescribed by another doctor who works with me on my autoimmune issues. Additionally, I

a)cut carbs out of one meal per day,

b) started walking more every day (not just working out) for vein health,

c) stopped using artificial sweeteners,

d) started taking Vasculera

Result - I lost 15 pounds, and have noticed a significant improvement in my legs. If I do eat a bunch of sugar, the next day, my legs will swell up like someone else's stomach might. I joke that my belly is actually in my knees.

It's hard to tell what is working the most, but I have a feeling the LDN has helped the most.

Have others used this and noticed it helping????

For those who want to know - LDN is an experimental drug used for autoimmune issues - it binds to inflammatory cells and prevents the release of inflammation chemicals.

i’m looking to spend 25-30 days in Ireland finishing up a writing project. so i’ll be staying in one place the whole time. i’m finding beatiful places outisde Kenmare and some decent places outside Clonakilty, but i’ve heard that’s a great city.

i’d like to be near enough the city, but in the countryside or coast. scenic, quiet, but able to drive to a city within 10-15 minutes.

any thoughts on these areas? other villages? my length of stay limits my bnb options. should i look near cork. these decisions are so overwhelming without guidance

thank you

** Addition - I wrote this on a whim. And the feedback has been thoughtful, thought provoking, gentle, but challenging. Basically therapists at our best. What matters a lot to me is that many folks said "I get it" before giving advice. Because nothing is more frustrating than when, intentionally or otherwise, clinicians here give the impression that they've got something as complex and artful as a therapy relationship all figured out. I think our questions on certain clinical topics are just as, if not more, important than our answers. And the truth is not black or white, but an ongoing inquiry. As someone who's invested a lot of money and time into this role, I'm humbled by the questions I'm still asking myself.

** Takeaways - a) Pointing out when therapy has shifted from "directional" to more "ongoing," and suggesting, in certain cases, that we move to a lower cadence or as needed. This way we aren't evaporating out of thin air. b) This was unpopular, but raising the fee can help clients determine how much they still need the therapy. c) tracking for dependency. Are clients demonstrating that they are using the tools between sessions, or are they waiting for session (for you) to implement regulatory or analytic capacities. d) For the attachment folks, one BIG thing this made me think about is the concept of a healthy ending. If the relationship is secure and useful, this doesn't necessarily mean we don't terminate, because ending on that note allows for a healthy ending, which is not something we often get as humans. TBH, I think this is the hardest for me to implement, because it is so counter-intuitive. e) checking for our own unconscious investment in their suffering or dependency - because it means we get paid.

Now let's see, like a client, if I implement any of this....or if I just come back to Reddit to complain. LOL.

Original Post:

i’ve been wanting to reduce my caseload for a couple years. so i stopped taking referrals.

two years later, my caseload is the same.

no one terminates. i was really hoping i would shed clients naturally.

i have no idea what i’m asking for, maybe just to vent, to think outloud…

i just know that i don’t want to kick people out of a treatment they feel continues to be beneficial, and clearly i’m an important attachment figure for many/most of them.

i don’t do manualized therapy, so i know we can’t predict people’s readiness. i work with a lot of complex trauma, parts work, somatic work, jungian frameworks. I’ve trained a lot. I offer a lot. Sometimes i wish i could start slacking but i’m simply not capable. I give them my all, every hour. i don‘t mean to sound sanctimonious - it’s just how i’m structured.

and i do want my clients to leave me. at least consciously. I try to help them become their own self-facilitors, So they can safely leave the nest. Still, they aren’t leaving.

it’s confusing: attachment needs to take place for certain levels of healing to occur. But sometimes it can feel like such a burden and responsibility and also hard to find the line between dependency and healthy attachment. i think it’s important to say goodbye And harder to guage when, why, and how.

Sometimes there’s a shadow side to the role, like isn’t some small part of us invested in them being dependent because it pays our bills? is this at play more than i realize?

Anyways, I wonder if i need to push a few of these birdies out of the nest.

some might say, “well have they reached their treatment goals?“ But that doesn’t fully encapsulate the work i do.

this is the hard part about relationship-based work.

if you had 2 months to travel and work on your book would you:

a) go to one beautiful place and stay put and write?

b) hop from place to place every week and try to write in intervals, between train rides or car rides? Find routines in the in-between.

c) stay 10-15 days, with a writing routine, then hop to another place?

I know. It's corny, and not the point of this sub at ALL. But when I see women my age posting pictures here, I think to myself, "Wow, she is so pretty."

yeah...our skin needs some support at this point, BUT...what I see first is beauty! Middle aged beauty. Even with our aged, sagging skin, I can see it. It's reassuring.

I know we pick and prod at ourselves, and I think it's fair to want to self-preserve and try different potions and treatments. But I actually think we might be beautiful without it too.

Still going to try Tret soon.

Anyway. Have a nice day.

hey all,

finally got my first tube of tretinoin. i patch tested this morning - no issue.

i am in a wedding May 30. not the bride, but i’ll be lots of photos.

should i wait to start the tret until after?