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Non-Drug Therapies Can Help This Phoenix Suffering from Sleep-deprivation and Emotional Illnesses

Ask Papabear - Tue 26 Nov 2013 - 12:54
Hello Papa Bear,

Only recently have I found your advice page, and oddly I had been looking for one. Weird how that all works out....

Anyway, I’m a phoenix, but I suffer from a fairly ironic problem. I have problems getting to sleep at night. Mainly due to when nest down for the evening, I am flooded with feelings of fear and depression. My mind runs straight to "You just lost another day of your life" and "One step closer to death." I haven't been able to get it to stop and it's making my feathers fall out. When the thought of death is unavoidable when its nesting time, it scares me to death.

At one time I went for professional help. After many tests I was diagnosed with panic attacks, night terrors, and depression. They tried to medicate me, and thanks to a previous life I am not at all proud of (involving heavy drug use) I am majorly afraid of using anything that isn't natural or that forces me to do anything.

I really don’t know what to do about this, the lack of a good restful night sleep is really starting to effect me badly. my heath has been taking a turn for the worst. 

What can I possibly do?

From one tired birdy,
Dimitri

* * *

Hi, Dimitri,

Thanks for your letter. Quick question: do you drink diet sodas or anything with artificial sweeteners? 

Please get back to me and I'll write again soon.

Hugs,

Papabear

* * *

Actually I don't. I mainly drink tea and water. I never had a taste for soft drinks.

* * *

Hi, again, Dimitri,

Okay, I always like to check that first because a lot of people drink diet sodas and consume other things with aspartame, which can really mess up your neurological system.

That aside, first allow me to congratulate you for getting off the drugs. That is no small achievement and deserves recognition. I also understand that you would be hesitant to take prescription drugs, since they can have many adverse side effects (just watch any drug commercial on TV—got depression? Take this pill.... Oh, sure, it might give you thoughts of suicide and give you a tumor, but you won’t be depressed! Say what?)

There could be a lot of things going on here. You say you sought professional help (good for you) and they diagnosed you with panic attacks, night terrors, and depression. Okay, so, that’s the diagnosis, but did they try to find out the cause of all this? Or did they just reach for the pills? Treating the symptoms will not help you without finding the cause.

One possibility could go back to your drug use. Drugs, as you well know, can really mess up your brain. It could be that whatever you were ingesting or injecting or snorting has damaged your neurological system (just as aspartame does) and this has caused your current problems. If that’s the case, then the damage is done. Now, sometimes your brain can, over time, rewire itself and recover. Other times it cannot. I personally know a man who took heavy drugs when he was young and now he is a walking zombie. It’s really sad. Fortunately, it’s not quite that bad for you and maybe there is help.

Now, going even deeper, it could be that the real problem is whatever caused your drug use in the first place, such as if you had a particularly traumatic childhood or, if you were in the military, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

These are things that you really need to discuss with a professional. Go to a counselor or psychologist (not a psychiatrist), or, if you think any of the above is true, you could also seek group therapy.

What you need to do, in the meantime, is calm your body and mind. That in itself may help you gain insights into the possible causes of your issues. There are several ways to do this without drugs, including:

  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Exercise
  • Creating a sleep-friendly bedroom environment (using aroma therapy and soft music and making sure the room is dark and comfortable)
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (a good drug-free therapy alternative)

There are also a number of foods, too, that you can eat that are conducive to sleep. Ever hear of drinking a warm glass of milk before bed? It’s more than just a household remedy—it can actually help. Some other foods that help you sleep are:

  • Lemon Balm Tea (also helps digestion) and other herbal, decaf teas
  • Cherries or cherry juice (also helps joints)
  • Foods with tryptophan, including whole-grain cereals (mixed with milk!), seafood like halibut, shrimp, tuna, and cod, and, as many post-Thanksgiving diners know, turkey!

What you need is sleep. The less you sleep, the more imbalanced your brain becomes, and the more likely you are to have nightmares, depression, and so forth. In recent years, the medical community has become increasingly aware of how vital good, restful sleep is to our health. An organization that specializes in sleep research and assistance is the National Sleep Foundation (http://www.sleepfoundation.org/). I recommend you visit its website, join the online community, and perhaps seek a sleep therapist (a directory is available on the site).

You might discover that your problems stem from less shocking causes such as sleep apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome, or some other very treatable trigger.

Many doctors these days are too quick with the drugs. Try some of the approaches above and I’m confident you will get some relief! 

Happy Thanksgiving! Eat Turkey!

Grubbs

Furry writer with a question!

Furry Reddit - Tue 26 Nov 2013 - 10:34

Greetings and Salutations furry redditers. I am a fairly new redditor and figured I could post my inquiry here. I am an aspiring writer and I am working on a super hero story. In all my 5 years of writing, this is the only project I have continued on a conatant yet irregular basis. I love this story I am writing ao much I was thinking about a submitting it to become a comic book series. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I will need to so in order to make this dream of mine a reality? I place this under a furry subreddit as the story does involve anthropomorphic animals with super powers. Any assistance is greatly appreciated!

submitted by GrungeFox22
[link] [18 comments]
Categories: News

Heartbroken after Her BFF Has Moved Away

Furry News Network - Tue 26 Nov 2013 - 07:57
Author: Dear Papa Bear, It’s hard for me to write this, but I just really need advice on something very important in my life. Someone very important, that is. I’m only 13, but I’m going through something very hard. My best friend, let’s call her Daisy, has moved away 600 miles from me in June. […]
Categories: News

Risk of Rain Multiplayer, anyone?

Furry Reddit - Tue 26 Nov 2013 - 00:10

Nothing furry about the game but it's a really fun roguelike inspired romp. I'd love to actually play some multi-player with some folks. Anyone interested?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/248820/

submitted by TobiasAmaranth
[link] [5 comments]
Categories: News

What are some good commissionable avian artists?

Furry Reddit - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 23:26

I've decided to treat myself and get some character art commissioned, and would like to hear from you guys who some good artists to commission for avian art are.

submitted by jhnmdn
[link] [9 comments]
Categories: News

Ok, now I'm actually streaming! Sorry for the confusion!

Furry Reddit - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 22:18

Link to stream

Not sure why but the program was dropping all the frames causing me to be unable to stream. it's fixed now :)

submitted by VideoHusky
[link] [2 comments]
Categories: News

4 New Persona Games Annouced Among Other Things

Gaming Furever - Furry Game News - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 21:53

November 24th was a huge day for Shin Megami Tensei: Persona fans, as a ton of new games have been annouced, and I think it would be best to break them down one by one.

Categories: News

‘Family Guy’ kills off Brian Griffin

Furry News Network - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 17:39
Author: Higgs Raccoon Brian Griffin, the martini-drinking anthropomorphic dog from the animated series Family Guy, has been killed off. In the episode which aired on November 24, Brian was hit by a car and subsequently died from his injuries. In the same episode (entitled Life of Brian), Stewie Griffin had dismantled his oft-used time machine, […]
Categories: News

Ep. 86 - MFF 2013 LIVE!! - Yup yup! It's our hometown con, and we put on a show for our awesome loyal fans. We were joined...

The Dragget Show - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 16:42
Yup yup! It's our hometown con, and we put on a show for our awesome loyal fans. We were joined by Draggor and Pandez, and the con theme was pirates! Also, check out Xander's MFF stand=up when you get a chance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS4A8dsBRCI Lastly, don't forget to pre-register for Fur Squared! www.fursquared.com Ep. 86 - MFF 2013 LIVE!! - Yup yup! It's our hometown con, and we put on a show for our awesome loyal fans. We were joined...
Categories: Podcasts

Ep. 86 - MFF 2013 LIVE!! - Yup yup! It's our hometown con, and we put on a show for our awesome loyal fans. We were joined...

The Dragget Show - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 16:42
Yup yup! It's our hometown con, and we put on a show for our awesome loyal fans. We were joined by Draggor and Pandez, and the con theme was pirates! Also, check out Xander's MFF stand=up when you get a chance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS4A8dsBRCI Lastly, don't forget to pre-register for Fur Squared! www.fursquared.com Ep. 86 - MFF 2013 LIVE!! - Yup yup! It's our hometown con, and we put on a show for our awesome loyal fans. We were joined...
Categories: Podcasts

Talk show about furry phychology!

Furry Reddit - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 16:03
Categories: News

When did you realize you were becoming more comfortable with your furriness?

Furry Reddit - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 15:11

Kind of an odd question perhaps, but it's something I'm curious about. I would like to hear about when you realized you were comfortable with your furry self?

[Wall of text warning]

For me, it has been recently (who would've guessed) and talking with a good friend. I met her on XBL playing Halo and recently we had began talking a lot. I asked her if she had heard of furries and when she said no I gave her a quick run through of the basics, including showing her The Furry Experience (one of my favorite webcomics, btw).

It eventually became apparent that I considered myself one (took her long enough, my gamertag has Fox in it for goodness sake!). She began calling me Fox (fucking love that) and I began talking to her more and more about it as she asked more questions. She was the second person that I told about my love of Anthros, but the first person to show an interest in it and me in that way.

She doesn't consider herself furry or anything, although she is open to it, but when I start acting a little wild, she goes nuts.

So there you have it, that's my story. What/when/who was it that helped you realized you were comfortable with your furriness?

submitted by Incredible_Mr_Fox
[link] [75 comments]
Categories: News

Robbie at MFF 2013!

Furry Reddit - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 14:44
Categories: News

Inspired by the "Parallel Universes?" thread, the synopsis for a World War Z style book, *Collision*

Furry Reddit - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 14:29

Set in the aftermath of a "Universe Collision Event", the story revolves around a journalist trying to piece together the truth of how close the world came to ending...

Tell me what you guys think! And any criticism is accepted...

And thank you /u/IssacsoftheEEC for giving me the idea of turning my strange dream into a story!

submitted by GrayghOst123
[link] [10 comments]
Categories: News

Lookit my face.

Furry Reddit - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 14:15
Categories: News

It’s Time to Light the Lights

Furry News Network - Mon 25 Nov 2013 - 14:05
Author: rodney Since 2009, artist and writer Roger Langridge has been playing in Jim Henson’s world by creating various comic book series featuring the Muppets for Boom! Studios. Titles like The Muppets, The Muppet Show, and The Muppet Show: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson. Now, over at Marvel Comics, they’ve announced that all of these […]
Categories: News