Wellbutrin was absolutely wonderful for me, just the perfect drug. I was prescribed Wellbutrin for mild depression, but it actually knocked out the reason I was mildly depressed - the stress of being in school while struggling with ADD.

For the semester I was taking it, I was focussed and organized, and happy with the way my life was going. But I also started having horrible panic attacks, something I'd never experienced before or since. I also became a hypochondriac and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 4:39 PM on July 25, 2008

An update for anyone else who is reading this thread because they're learning to swim:

The most useful advice for me was to keep my head down, my legs up and breathe a bit more mindfully. After a few tries, I'm already flailing less, conserving a bit more energy and swimming a little farther than I could before.

I liked Total Immersion's program. The free videos on their site helped, and I plan on ordering the "Happy Laps" dvd. Then,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 4:24 PM on July 25, 2008

I just got off the phone with a friend who is on the faculty of Colorado College. She describes it as a lot like Reed without the angst. So that's one more school to look into.

I know some absolutely brilliant, radical thinkers who are very proud to call SUNY Binghamton their alma mater. They're blue-collar, class-conscious kids who found their intellectual community in a public university. Unlike their peers at Reed, Yale and Sarah Lawrence, they didn't feel like... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:03 PM on July 23, 2008

Get your bike professionally fitted, if you haven't yet. People absolutely can suffer long-term if they ride under conditions that are hurting their body, and if you have hand, wrist or arm problems already, riding can exacerbate them.

When I get numbness in my hands, it's usually because my neck and shoulder muscles are tight. Learn some good upper-body stretches, and practice them each and every time you stop to rest. Making a habit of shaking out one arm, then the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:55 PM on July 20, 2008 marked best answer

Practice is good, but you have to go about it the right way. Losing at Scrabble to superior players will improve your game much faster than winning against inferior players. Go to isc.ro and download the Scrabble client, and choose games with people who are rated higher than you. Your ego may suffer, but your game will benefit.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:49 PM on July 20, 2008

I LOVE RRR, and I incorporate a lot of it into my own program. The reason I'd encourage you to find a new word is that you've been using C-O-M-E since your dog was a puppy, and he's heard it a million times. There's a lot of baggage in that word. If your dog is like most, he's heard the word, but decided not to come to you after all, and learned that "come" is an optional command.

While you're in the early stages of RRR training, your dog will come to the sound... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:27 PM on July 13, 2008

This suggestion may be WAY outside of your comfort zone, but the absolute best thing I ever did for my body image was to model for art classes. You'll have people scrutinizing your figure, but only because they want to find the best way to transfer it onto paper. No one will be thinking, "Look at how jiggly that woman's upper arms are!" or whatever else your pet worry is. They'll be thinking, "How can I make that woman's arms stop looking like they're growing out of her neck?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:48 PM on July 10, 2008

If you decide to go with grinding your dog's food, I'd start reading websites made for and by people who feed their cats raw. Those are the folks who know how to make raw food for smaller mammals.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:40 PM on July 10, 2008

Soon after I lost my virginity, getting poked in my cervix really, REALLY hurt, enough so that I saw stars each time. Now that my cervix is desensitized, it feels good.

I agree that for a while, it's hard to discriminate between pleasure and pain, not because they're the same thing but because they sometimes happen at once. In the beginning, it might be best for you to be on top most of the time so you have room to experiment with what feels best to you.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 9:05 PM on July 2, 2008

Seppaku's advice is great. One of the things I really like about crate training in cases like this is that it removes a lot of options for the dog. When dogs are anxious or bored, they'll experiment with different ways to make themselves feel better. Unfortunately, most of those options (chewing, barking, pacing, digging) not only fail to relieve their anxiety, but are very annoying to humans. Many dogs will relax when their decision-making privileges are taken away and their owners take charge.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:47 PM on June 27, 2008

When I was dealing with a knee injury, one of the things that irked me most was what doctors call the "theater sign:" some people with achy knees find that sitting for long periods exacerbates it. It wasn't that sitting was damaging my knees, but that the pain increased when I was sitting still. Getting up and stretching your legs a bit and walking around every half hour or so might make you more comfortable.

A good question to start with is why you sit... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:26 PM on June 27, 2008

There are some good answers here. One thing I'm taking away from a lot of them is that some people are reading my inclusion of the phone number to mean, "I'm done with emailing you. If you want any other info, you'll have to call."

My schedule is usually pretty full, and most of my clients are busy working people, so I really do need to talk to them on the phone if they want to make an appointment with me. A web-based scheduling program works great for my... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 10:25 PM on June 23, 2008

Yeah, you were a dick. We're all dicks sometimes. Now you're making a good faith effort to understand your knee-jerk reaction and overcome your superstitions. That takes some strength of character, so good on you.

It might make it easier to imagine the exact opposite situation. What if your male best friend revealed his bisexuality to you? Would you dump your girlfriend and start shopping for china patterns with him? Of course not; you're not attracted to men, not even... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:05 PM on June 21, 2008

I recently ran across a blog post detailing what some diet bloggers actually ate during a normal week. Everyone profiled had pretty good eating habits, and ate things that I'd actually want to see on my plate.

http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/success-stories-blogging-and-dieting-a-follow-up.html

Body For Life has eating plans online, but it's heavy on "on a diet" foods like turkey bacon and low-fat cheese, and encourages the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:49 PM on June 21, 2008

One of my friends, who was on great terms with his boss in a company that was planning on laying off 25% of its workforce, asked to be laid off, but his request was denied. He did it tactfully, and no harm was done. He quit a few months afterwards, but while he remained, that conversation with his boss didn't hurt their relationship. If you don't think your boss is the retaliatory type, it might not hurt to ask.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:00 PM on June 21, 2008

Hi! I might be the aforementioned person with a catahoula mix. She looks to me like she might have some Catahoula Leopard Dog in her, but that's probably my regional bias. Around here, we get lots of Catahoulas, but they're not a common breed in all parts of the country.

I see maybe a smidgen of beagle, and german shepherd, lab and some herding breed that carries the merle gene. I can say, almost for sure, that she doesn't have any Australian Cattle Dog in her.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:16 PM on June 19, 2008

I've been doing Pilates for a long time now, but before I started, I had the exact same issues. I was always constantly fidgeting and readjusting myself, because it hurt so much to sit in a chair. Looking back on my life, I wish that I'd discovered Pilates before college or chosen a less challenging school - sitting in a chair and reading a book used to be excruciatingly painful for me. I actually chose the career I have now because I don't ever have to sit in a chair.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:02 PM on June 19, 2008

Maybe you did something that challenged your psoas, a small, deep muscle that usually doesn't get much love. Stretching the psoas feels wonderful, in an owy sort of way.

I do this stretch or a seated modification thereof pretty frequently. It feels great.

You can also sit in a chair, and cross your ankle over your opposite knee, and then lean forward FROM YOUR HIPS. Don't bend your spine at all; keep a straight back. If you keep your back nice... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:50 PM on June 19, 2008

Go ahead and check out the ads. I found one of the bands I'm playing with now because I checked out the classifieds in my free weekly on a whim one day. I'm now the bassist in an all-girl (well, woman) Bollywood cover band consisting of three middle-aged psychiatrists and myself. We drink iced hibiscus tea, eat snacks and make seriously cool music. Best band ever.

I've also had success with Craigslist. Yeah, most people posting and reading are 22 year olds who want to be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:18 PM on June 19, 2008

If you're really hungry at 2 in the morning, you should listen to your body and adjust your meal schedule accordingly.

There's little evidence to support the idea that food eaten after a certain hour will turn straight into fat. Certain foods, eaten late, can disrupt your sleep, but that's a different issue entirely.

Figure out how many calories you should eat per diem, and make sure that you have a good three or four hundred calories left over... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:42 PM on June 14, 2008

Good, good advice above, but I'll add my own bare bones viewpoint.

Cat behavior is a little less mysterious when you strip away the feline quirks, and consider the laws of behavior that all healthy animals, ourselves included, follow.

When a behavior, any behavior, is rewarded, it tends to increase in frequency. When a behavior elicits absolutely no response, or is punished, it tends to decrease in frequency. Cats are scrupulous about conserving... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:56 PM on June 14, 2008 marked best answer

You might want to keep a diary for a few days. Log when you go to sleep, when you wake up, and how you slept. Log what you eat and drink, and when. Note when you take each dose of Lexapro. Every hour, on the hour, describe your mental state in a few words. Whenever you lapse into your irritable state, make a note of the time you first notice it. If there's a pattern here, that might help you catch it.

Years ago, when I had a very boring job, I experienced the same thing... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 10:37 PM on June 7, 2008

IANAV or a mind reader, but If your adult cat is a vaccinated indoor cat, the vet most likely recommended against introducing the kittens to protect the health of your adult cat, rather than the other way around. Besides scary acronyms like FIP and FeLV, newly rescued kittens can also carry coccidia and giardia, earmites, upper respiratory infections, etc.

A week or two of quarantine will give any such problems time to develop, and give your adult cat time to get used... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 5:18 PM on June 5, 2008 marked best answer

Check to see if any of the colleges in your area have a rideshare board. There are also rideshare websites, but I don't know anything about them, and therefore can't recommend one over the other.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:50 PM on May 29, 2008

I'm not a fan of letting animals work things out for themselves in these kinds of situations, and I'm very uncomfortable about letting dogs and cats be together unsupervised when there's tension between them. Dogs, even rat terriers, have much stronger jaws than cats, and they can kill with one well-placed bite and some shaking. Cats with claws can take out even a big dog's eye, and cats without claws can give a nasty bite that gets infected easily.

Dogs, in general, are... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:57 PM on May 23, 2008

Dogs and cats have not lived happily together for millions of years without human intervention. Domesticated canids and housecats are the product of human intervention, and neither of them have even existed until quite recently. There's nothing "natural" about dogs and cats living successfully together in a house. It's a highly unnatural situation.

Wild animals absolutely do not have magical "instincts" that allow them to communicate happily with each... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 11:00 PM on May 26, 2008

The good news is that since you're female, and it's been ten years, the cartilage in your knees may have firmed up somewhat. Many late-teen/early twenties women experience softening of the cartilage, and that contributes to knee problems.

Yoga and stretching are great, especially for people whose main issue is muscle tightness, but if you have hypermobility issues, they won't prevent the injuries you're most likely to suffer. People with high arches often have... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 11:17 PM on May 24, 2008

Dogs are fantastic deterrents. If you're not keen on making a 12 year commitment, you might consider fostering through a rescue group. Robbers aren't great at evaluating temperament, so it doesn't really matter if the dog's not protective. A dog's presence alone is deterring.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:29 PM on May 23, 2008

Most def. not any of those bands. And as far as my memory serves me, those are the exact lyrics, so it's possible that the lyrics have never been transcribed!
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:43 PM on May 22, 2008

I may never find my song, but I've got a lot of great, long-forgotten music on my ipod this week, so it was well worth the asking!

Thanks, everyone.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:24 PM on May 23, 2008

Floating drunkenly down the river is Texas's national sport, and I seriously don't understand how people do it without getting a migraine.

You'll be on the water in full sun, with more sun reflected back up at you. Bring, and drink, plenty of water. If you do decide to drink beer, do so sparingly.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:11 PM on May 21, 2008

Shovelglove, shovelglove, shovelglove.

I'm a 98 pound weakling of sorts who has always been strong for my size, and insanely active, but not as strong as I'd like to be. I was a bike messenger, with the leg muscles that go along with it, but no upper body strength.

I joined a gym, and got pretty arm muscles through weightlifting, but it didn't make much of a difference in real life, where I have to load musical equipment into a van or help... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:53 PM on May 19, 2008

Pain medication works best if it's given *before* the pain starts. If your father has taken his prescribed dose, and he's now in kidney-stone level pain, a double dose probably won't help that much, and there are all the issues that posters above me have described.

Rush him to the quietest ER in your area; a little more drivetime trumps waiting time in a busy ER. Take his pain meds, and redose him there if they recommend it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 8:40 PM on May 19, 2008

I'm sure you're not the first person to leave. If this person has a pattern of driving good people away, other people will take note. And if you're in a small, connected industry, you may have peers who have been through the ringer with her too. It's a good idea to get in touch with some of your past coworkers, just to talk things over and confirm that it wasn't just you.

If she's really professional, she won't talk behind your back at all. If she is the sort of person... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:22 PM on May 19, 2008

Don't worry too much about dynamism and sharpness. If you try to speed up your normal speech, you'll just sound nervous and unsure of yourself.

Play to your strengths. If you have trouble articulating yourself, but you have a lot to say, slow down to a pace at which you're comfortable. Work on avoiding fillers like, "Um" and "You know," and replacing them with meaningful pauses or deep breaths. Someone who appears to be thinking deeply about what... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:05 PM on May 10, 2008

Peppermint oil, with the instruction to rub it on her temples and wrists when she's feeling exhausted. It's a great pick-me-up. And Clif bars in a flavor she likes. And hot cocoa. Not fancy cocoa that needs milk added, just Swiss Miss or something easy. Enclose a spoon, if you think she's a straight-out-of-the-packet kind of girl. Nostalgic candies like fruit slices or Swedish Fish. Annie's Mac n Cheese.

Truly great care packages consist mostly of cheap, familiar stuff... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:41 PM on April 26, 2008

You're in a shitty situation right now, but let's break it down piece by piece.

Living in your town, with your family, is untenable.

If you don't move to Montreal, where your bf lives, he'll probably call your long-term relationship quits.

If you don't get into a good university, you'll be unhappy.

You have three different problems, but you've chosen only one solution - "I'm going to McGill... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:19 PM on April 26, 2008

I can't say whether you're suffering from a learning disability or a long history of bad math teachers.

Sheila Tobias's books will help you, either way.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 9:41 PM on April 22, 2008

Shovelglove!

Hooping is also great, not just for cardio but for toning your abs. It's fun, too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 11:12 PM on April 16, 2008

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. Just reading your askme made me out of breath.

No wonder you feel anxious. You sound like someone who just doesn't have any kind of "off-switch." Meditation won't help if your brain is still going 65 MPH the whole time you're sitting still. Excercise won't help that much if it's weightlifting or running or anything else that lets your brain work on overdrive while you're doing it. Talk therapy will help, if you find the right... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:43 PM on April 12, 2008 marked best answer

I don't have anything to add to a discussion on "Integrative Mind Body Therapeutics," but it sounded interesting, so I googled it. I found one hit, back to this Askme. So I'm guessing that "Integrative Mind Body Therapeutics" is this person's description of the approach she takes, rather than an established treatment modality.

Nutrition and dreamwork fall well outside of CBT, and a purely CBT-focussed therapist wouldn't ever be interested in the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:41 PM on April 12, 2008

When you were a little kid, were you ever told that you had a speech defect, even though your speech progressed at a normal pace? Did you lisp, mumble or mispronounce words?

My tongue is so short that I can't really stick it out the whole way. It's called ankyloglossia. If you're not sure, just ask your dentist next time you go in for a cleaning. She'll be able to give you a ballpark estimate on how long your tongue is in comparison to others.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 6:13 PM on April 12, 2008

I run in Vibram Fivefingers on every surface. There's virtually no cushioning; they're just protective sheathes for your feet, and running in Fivefingers is biomechanically identical to running barefoot. You'll have to cut down on your mileage while you adjust to barefoot running, because your technique will change, but once you do, shock absorption becomes a moot point. I find that I run differently depending on the surface, but they serve me well wherever I go. The nice thing about Fivefingers... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 11:01 PM on April 7, 2008

I wish that you could see the scrunched up face I made when I read the word "flooding." Flooding is a very, very advanced technique that only works under carefully controlled conditions. It isn't something that anyone can accomplish with a prerecorded tape. It isn't anyone's best first course of action. By all means, get a second opinion; you don't deserve to be anyone's guinea pig.

Don't let your first experience with a crazy therapist turn you off from... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 11:38 PM on April 3, 2008

I was a long term mono sufferer, and I have to say, it affects everyone differently. I have friends who were back to school after a week with no lasting effects. Me? I almost died a few times, and many of my major organs were affected. I lost 25 pounds and most of my hair. I suffered through several life-threatening secondary infections.

Mono affects everyone differently.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 10:56 PM on April 3, 2008

This is why anonymous askme isn't always for the best.

You're 28 years old. You've been of marryin' age for about a decade, and all of the sudden, in the past year, you're getting multiple marriage proposals when it's never been a problem before?

What did you do to cast yourself into the pool of available women?

Without information about your cultural background, where you're finding people who want to propose to you and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 11:30 PM on March 27, 2008

Sell it, and use the proceeds to get a very nice used Volvo 240. Mine gets 22 gallons to the mile, per my unscientific calculations, and is dead reliable.

I lost my last 240 when someone in an SUV rear-ended me at 70 MPH. They did enough damage (shattered my rear window, ruined my rear bumper, and propelled me hard enough into the car in front of me to ruin my front bumper) to total it, but my passenger and I walked away without a scratch. It's a shame, though - we were... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 10:43 PM on March 27, 2008

There are very liberal, open-minded folks living in the rural areas near Austin, TX. I know some people who are very happy living in their yurt in Dripping Springs, and nearby Wimberly also comes to mind.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:08 PM on March 27, 2008

This is something I've wrangled with too. I tend to have interests that lead me to meet more men than women.

One idea: straight guys often have girlfriends. If you like your friends, chances are you'll like their girlfriends too. Invite your male friends to do couple-y stuff with you and your boyfriend. Better yet, invite a few couples over to play Wii, Guitar Hero or board games.

Another thing that has made me happy is being more open to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 7:05 PM on March 27, 2008

Thanks, everyone!

He definitely doesn't have Lyme Disease, arthritis or a torn ACL, but those are all things that we've looked into. Calvin goes to the vet for an acupuncture treatment on Monday, and I'll mention Pred then. It's nasty stuff, but it's worth considering.
posted to Ask Metafilter by freshwater_pr0n at 10:02 PM on March 25, 2008