u/AgeOk8349

Hi! I’ve been looking into nutrition lately bc I want to be healthier and It occurred to me that being vegetarian is healthier than being someone who eats meat.

I know that can be controversial and people can get very upset about that statement but I also feel like as someone who’s been eating meat for 19 years I was kinda like “well okay 🤷‍♀️” I’m not even sure if it’s 100% true but either way it’s a choice for what I put in my body.

Idk if it’s true or not but I guess what I’m wondering is why you all chose to be vegetarian.

I have a few friends in my life that are vegetarian and I’ve never seen it as a big deal I mean it’s just what u choose to eat but I also feel like people WILL view you differently if you choose not to eat meat and ur cultural food has a lot of meat within it (for reference I’m Nigerian lol).

There are times when I eat meat and I’m like okay this is good but there are other times when I REALIZE it’s meat? Idk how to explain. Like it makes me gag. I feel like I’m so used to it but I’ve just been questioning “why” I eat it? Idk.

I guess I’m trying to figure out my “why” behind it. Some people stop bc of their love for animals, some stop of health reasons, some stop bc of religious reasons.

I’m not someone who eats meat that often, I usually just eat chicken and beef but my God I hate pork and fish.

I feel like figuring out my “why” will help me understand what I’m going into. Plus I’ve always explored vegan and vegetarian meals and they are tasty so the whole “it’s not as good at meaty foods” thing is just a huge lie to me.

Looking forward to ur responses!! Thanks a bunch :)

This is a rant and I guess also an opening for any potential advice + discussion.

I’ve been experiencing OCD for the past 3 years and after a year or so of therapy it’s improved quite a bit for me. But I also can’t help but feel like I’m grieving a little bit? My OCD entails me not feeling like I can trust myself when I say that I’m lesbian. There’s a whole lot of other layers there when it comes to my sexual orientation — religious guilt, lack of self worth, self disgust.

But I miss being 13 and having my first crush on a girl. I’m 18 turning 19 this year and sometimes I look back on it and I miss that person. I remember trying to impress her constantly and texting her all the time. I remember getting so nervous whenever she said my name or laughed at my jokes which made me want to make her laugh even more (all the corny stuff like that lol). I remember how happy I was when I found out she liked me too.

I hate that it feels like the only answer to this is to accept this uncertainty. Apart from missing my somewhat regulated brain, I miss telling people I was gay with such confidence and normalcy. And I miss talking about my sexuality with such pride and excitement.

I want to believe that I can get that person back again but I’m just dissapointed because I know that even if I do there will always be this layer of acknowledgment towards what my thoughts were like before and all that uncertainty. I know u never know what’s gonna happen in the future but I miss FEELING sure. If that makes sense.

Anyways I just wanted to say if ur someone out there experiencing OCD in terms of sexual orientation just know that ur experience is valid. No one can tell u that ur intrusive thoughts towards SO OCD isnt “that bad” compared to other OCD themes because this is (surprisingly) something that has been said within this community. OCD intrusive thoughts are irrational. And things do get better but the process can be absolute hell and even tho i have improved, I don’t feel “safe” enough to have crushes on people or date. I’m no longer excited.

As dramatic as this may sound, I feel like I’m grieving my lesbianism even tho it hasn’t gone anywhere. I’m so angry at the slightest possibility of a change in that because I want to be with women. I want a gf and a wife and kids with my wife. But it makes me sad that this may be a future I might not get — one that makes me so happy at just the thought of it. I am protective of it and it just makes me deeply sad. It’s not even just anxiety anymore, I’m just angry like it almost feels unfair.

I’m exploring this question currently because I’ve realized that it’s blocking any sort of connection I want with God. I don’t consider myself religious but I have had my own fair share of health issues (chronic pain/fibromyalgia) despite being someone who was healthy for a long time and ate generally healthy foods.

Maybe this is my way of making sense of things, but when people say things like “humans have free will” I can understand that in the case of war and abuse but in scenarios of cancer, chronic illnesses (e.g., diabetes type 1), natural disasters (e.g., tornados, tsunamis, floods) there is only so much that humans can do in situations like that.

I think the thought of a God doing something like this to humans honestly hurts. It’s a vulnerable thing to admit and a tough pill to swallow but it’s one of the many things I’ve been exploring in my own personal journey with God that’s been stumping me..

Anyways, thanks for reading this far and I look forward to hear all your views :)

Please keep it kind lol

This is literally a cry for help at this point. I have tried so much to help me balance this. I am 18 and my brain just feels so tired.

I started experiencing chronic pain three years ago after a bad OCD flareup. I’ve been trying medications and they haven’t really done much. I’ve been trying to do more yoga, eat differently, going to therapy, going to doctor’s appointments and I hate doing it but it doesn’t feel like anything is really helping.

I want to do so many things and I’m not saying my life is over but I’m just getting so worried because my brain feels so heavy and tied constantly. I have two weeks where the pain almost felt manageable. And now it’s back and I’ve been having pretty big flares for the past few days.

I feel like I have absolutely no control here and it’s scary feeling how exhausted my brain feels from literally everything. I go to sleep and wake up feeling just drained even if I slept early and got 9-10 hours of sleep. It’s not just pain it’s fatigue.

I will try anything at this point to get rid of it. I’m tired of treating just the symptoms?? My OCD has even gotten so much better and I’m managing my anxiety better. But the pain is still there.

Any advice will help