My first Nicole message was today. You’ll join the club eventually.

Definitely the lunar effect, but that is still under study. There’s a documentary called “The Shark Side of the Moon” which follows a scientist trying to prove a lunar effect on sharks. There’s also some inconclusive evidence of a lunar effect on people with bipolar disorder; the full moon might trigger mania, probably due to excess light during nighttime. Context: >!People with bipolar disorder (known as ‘manic depression’ years ago) are very sensitive to light, substances, and many other things that can trigger manic or depressive episodes for them. The possible mania under the full moon may be a reason behind myths like werewolves and terms like ‘lunatic’.!<

I’ll edit if I find more.

Edit: I found another one which I would easily try or suggest to others if evidence-based therapies have failed.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy in which the person being treated is asked to recall distressing images; the therapist then directs the person in one type of bilateral sensory input, such as side-to-side eye movements or hand tapping. It is included in several guidelines for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some clinical psychologists have argued that the eye movements do not add anything above imagery exposure and characterize its promotion and use as pseudoscience.

The moon haunts you.

I guess you’re right that it takes an enormous effort to hold on to life in those situations. It reminded me of the book by Viktor Frankl, the one about his observations on who died and who lived while he was in a concentration camp. Man’s Search for Meaning. Although I wouldn’t say all cases of letting go are weak. Sometimes depressive states are like allergies, an organic reaction to low light, lack of nutrients, etc. But I can now see your point.

The thing I cannot agree with is the ulterior reason. You speak, and probably many people would do too, as if life were an obligation or the right path to follow. As if staying alive was the point, and therefore to submit to the desire to leave or to escape was inherently wrong or mistaken. But there’s no mandate to live in my book. Whoever decides to persevere in life has the right to do so, but, to me, it is just as valid to leave because there is no point in being born nor in dying (again, as far as we know) anyway.

I just commented this to some other person here. I’ll paste my answer; I hope that’s okay.

China, India, Peru, and Mexico, to name a few, have deeper and larger canyons. A similar one to the Grand Canyon is the Copper Canyon. It is located in Chihuahua, Mexico. It is four times larger and almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. It has many tourists’ activities, and you can even add other destinations to your journey if you visit it by train. It is a nice option while we all wait for the end of the almost-fascist/probably-fascist situation in the U.S.

China, India, Peru, and Mexico, to name a few, have deeper and larger canyons. A similar one to the Grand Canyon is the Copper Canyon. It is located in Chihuahua, Mexico. It is four times larger and almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. It has many tourists’ activities, and you can even add other destinations to your journey if you visit it by train. It is a nice option while we all wait for the end of the almost-fascist/probably-fascist situation in the U.S.

Are you implying suicide is a weak option? I don’t believe so. It’s not a stronger stance to side with a survival instinct; you could say it’s actually the easiest thing to do. It requires nothing more than to exploit our biology (adrenaline, aggression, etc.). Not to downplay the complexity of all of us animals, but it’s not extraordinary to behave like that, just as a lion or a rat would do too.

The other option requires something unique to humanity (until now and as far as we know) that is to question our actions, to reflect upon them, to give them a personal value, and to make decisions upon all of this. Few animals commit suicide and probably most do so due to a pathological state and not a philosophical argument behind. To embrace this is very hard; it goes against our body’s program.

I won’t say it’s necessarily stronger, but neither is it weaker. I admire the honesty and bravery of doing such questions.

Important article about bats.

“Bites” is so cool…

I enjoy Lemmy because there’s always interesting comments to read. I bet it wouldn’t be the case if we were all the same age. And… that’s why I think I fit in here for the most part: because many lemmings are like me and enjoy this small but engaged community.

I understand the big problem this technology has brought. Still, while engaging in a videogame or even a post like this one, it might be useful to remember the problem of other minds. After a brief moment of anxiety (that may return from time to time), I think many of us reach the conclusion that it is worth assuming that you’re interacting with a real being. And while many contexts might not be suitable for this assumption on the internet (e.g., comments talking about how good a product is), others as the ones I mentioned might be.

I’m not trying to say that you should be blind just because it is more convenient for your emotions. More like: there is a possibility that I am a bot, and that even in person I am a being without internal experience (maybe a simulation, a test designed for you, a hallucination/delusion, a dream, etc.). Still, our conversation can be carried out with you willing to talk as if I were real because the leap of faith is worth it in this particular interaction; also, you can act with precaution (e.g., do not believe everything you read or listen or whatever), but still read, listen, etc.

I love it, but the test would need to ask our preferences about federation and if that’s a priority. In my case, I’m in this instance because it lets me read a lot of other instances (even the infamous triad). I don’t know if we have a certain personality; I just like to lurk diverse communities.

*Mexican United States.

Also, it’s not about the name but how that name came to be. Mexican United States (Mexico) are called that way because they’re the region around the mexica territory (today part of Mexico City). They’re not ‘stealing’ the name from anyone.

The United States of America (U.S.A.) are called that way because they were the first independent states in America, the continent’s name: a well known fact at the moment. But today, most American countries are independent, so the people from the United States have been rewriting geography and even history saying there are two continents, that there isn’t a continent named America, etc. Sorry, but many countries and thousands of historical documents tell us that America was and is the name of the continent, and that it is not okay to take it for one country alone.

I imagine the outrage this would cause for centuries if France (just to name some country) tried to pull this off. “United Communities of Europe”, “we are the only Europeans 🇨🇵”, “Europe is a country”, “there’s West Europe and East Europe, the Europes, but that’s it”…

It’s not that easy… Skincare should always be adapted to you, not only in terms of products but when and even how to apply them. It’s not the same to be a professional athlete than a programmer that works at home; it’s not the same to take care of a dry skin than to take care of an oily one. Also, dermatological issues need to be taken care of.

For example, my skin is prone to acne and I suffer from seborrheic dermatitis, I stay at home, and my skin is dry. I need a light sunscreen. Mineral sunscreens are recommended over chemical ones because they’re healthier, but it needs to suit one’s skin. I need a moisturizer to deal with my dry skin without being oily and heavy because, otherwise, I may exacerbate some acne or dermatitis. And I don’t use serums, masks, etc.

I admit I often only use my moisturizer (because I know that even at home the Sun is causing damage, but I struggle to keep new habits). I add tea tree oil to my moisturizer for my dermatitis. Tea tree oil has helped me a lot with acne in my body too. It never goes directly to the skin, though, in case you try it.

And that’s what helps me. In case you are like me (dry skin that reacts negatively to heavy products), I haven’t had problems with gel moisturizers for dry skin. Also, no fragrance, hypoallergenic, etc.

There are a lot of tutorials, especially inspired by Korean routines, that are not for everyone. My advice: Keep it as simple or as elaborate as you feel your skin needs. Good luck.

You reminded me of something I think no one has mentioned yet:

In philosophy and rhetoric, the principle of charity or charitable interpretation requires interpreting a speaker’s statements in the most rational way possible and, in the case of any argument, considering its best, strongest possible interpretation. In its narrowest sense, the goal of this methodological principle is to avoid attributing irrationality, logical fallacies, or falsehoods to the others’ statements, when a coherent, rational interpretation of the statements is available.

From: Principle of charity.

Applying this, I think we can interpret the *independent thinking" not as thinking without conditioning factors but as what is known as “critical thinking”.

Although some feelings are malleable through thinking, but yeah, others come from (and can only be worked by) different places (including the health of our body).

I don’t understand why the people here who like TikTok aren’t on a Reddit instead.

Reddit is not as leftist as I’d like it to be. Reddit app is garbage while Sync is awesome. I left in solidarity the day they banned third party apps.

I like the idea of decentralized social media and I trust you tech savvy lemmings about its importance, but I also have a weakness for nice communities and TikTok has/had one.

I am not a better human being, but I’m combating my irritability one cause at a time. Firstly, treating physical conditions that cause irritability (as much as money has let me): hormonal issues, sleeping issues, etc. Secondly, addressing psychological and psychiatric problems (I had to learn a lot of these topics because I wasn’t able to afford specialists all the time and it was an interest of mine anyway). Finally, fixing external or environmental causes, e.g. working on changing toxic relationships.

It is still a work in progress, but my life is getting calmer and calmer as I am ticking the boxes in that list. At some point, you get to a place where you can search for your own answers, existentially speaking, and that also helps. Here I mean exploring philosophy and your own ideas; your feelings, your passions, etc.

Be patient. Be compassionate with yourself (and others).

I hope he doesn’t hear about the Gulf of California. He is not going to understand that the Californias were Mexican and, thus, the Gulf is still named after the fact. He’s going to claim some wacky s*it like “the name indicates it belongs to one of our states”, “Mexicans are trying to steal California’s assets”, or something like that.

It is nowhere near South America. The Gulf of Mexico is in North America, touching Mexico, the United States, and Cuba.

The name makes sense because, technically speaking, it is an ocean basin. Most of the basin goes towards Mexican territory; not meaning the touching of the borders but that it covers what would be Mexican territory. It “pushes” or “delves” more towards Mexico. (I hope I’m explaining myself, lol).

It has been called “the Gulf of Mexico” for about five centuries and it made even more sense less than two centuries ago before the United States stole a big chunk of northern Mexican territory.