V is for Vanilla 21

[asitis]

I'm very glad you are getting all that support IRL.

I was actually thinking of some anti-anxiety meds on an as needed basis, but I'm not M.D., so I'll leave that to those that do. I'm glad it was a psychiatrist rather than a general practitioner who evaluated you (although the latter would have almost certainly just wrote the prescription for Prozac out of reflex).

On the lucid dreams, I agree that they can be very helpful. Especially repeated dreams. The idea, at least in theory, is that dreams where you can fairly easily see elements of your life is your sub-conscious working through something that you've not addressed fully in your conscious mind. So journalling is one tool. The other I have read about & seen work is to just sit w/ the dream after you are awake and gently explore what the emotions you were either feeling in your dream or that are triggered by remembering the dream. It has to be gentle, and if it starts to get too much, back off and stop.

Again, the theory (and anecdotal evidence supports this) is that facing those submerged parts of ourself by gently leaning in allows them to lose some of their power, whereas repressing them tends to lead them to maintain or even gain strength and erupt out into our lives causing all sorts of mischief.

On the diet, I'd advise against the strict reading of Atkins. There is a huge amount of very good scientific literature that debunks his obsession w/ simple sugars & glycemic indexes as too simplistic. Yes, don't eat highly processed carbohydrates (table sugar, white flour, etc.). However, it is a mistake to lump fruits and vegetables into this, even if they contain a lot of sugars & simple carbs. Fiber and whole foods is the difference. So, go ahead & eat the tomato. Think of it this way, how do you think that someone who subsisted on fruits and vegetables would get fat? How about someone who subsisted on fatty foods & highly processed foods containing lots of sugars and other carbohydrates stripped of their fiber?

Most of the Atkins diet's successes comes from plain old calorie restriction. And the ketosis isn't really supported in the literature either.

Not that I want to get side-tracked into a diet flame war.

I'd say for your mental & physical health, I'd be making sure I ate a lot of fruits & vegetables for the micronutrients, and just cut portion size while keeping some steady activity & a bit of weight lifting to keep the metabolism & support your overall and mental health. But that's me.

Keep on keeping strong!