I think it was John Oliver who did a segment on dollar stores being the scavengers in a dying economy. They might thrive here

Hoooonestly! I feel like every month or two I find a new thing in my mind that's some reactive trauma response I developed decades ago. It took me months to read the book because about every ten pages I'd break down crying, but it helped so much

Happy to be of service! I spent a couple years training lieutenants and had many opportunities to ad-lib this presentation lol

Hello, chronic major depression haver here! I can't really give advice because it will be different for everyone and therapy isn't my strong suit (my last therapist told me I "need someone with more time and experience"). But I can share some experiences.

My twenties were fucking hell. Sleep all day, lay in bed all night, every color is the same flat gray, etc. I met someone who lit up my life, but it ended. That spiral was baaaaad.

I've tried disappearing/running away/taking a long trip. The trips are wonderful and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. However, when you leave everything behind, you only take what's already a part of you. This can be a great opportunity for self-reflection, or it could make everything louder. Depends on you and what you're ready for.

I've tried drinking it away. Spoiler: you can't. It's not worth trying.

Over time, I learned to see the way people in my life helped me grow and be better and this was when things started to turn around. Part of it was just growing up and maturing. Part of it was time and distance. All things must pass, and this will too.

Emotion and logic are not separate things. Emotions react to your experiences and they are there to tell you something. Sometimes it's that someone is good or bad for you. Sometimes it means you need carbs and a nap. Let them speak, but do not let them rule you. They are advisors.

Some books that helped, and I cried through, are The Elephant in the Brain by Simler and Hanson, Behave by Sapolsky, and Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker. They may or may not be right for you at different times and you shouldn't take them as gospel on your feelings or state of mind, but they can provide insight that no one else may be providing.

All in all, what you're going through is okay, valid, and natural. Try different things. Rest, move, talk, or don't. My therapist told me I somehow cobbled together a functional set of coping skills through trial and error. I'm not saying to be like me, for the love of all things please don't. There are better ways. Seek help when you need it and live your life on your terms.

Uh, ramble over, I guess? Not sure it's helpful, but let me know how I can help.

This is fair. I was just thinking that my short haired dog wouldn't sleep on pavement, but it could be something else

Had the same thought. Kind of heartbreaking that it chose to sleep on pavement instead of the pile of leaves in the background

Yeeaahhh I tried to watch it again a couple years ago and had a hard time with the first few episodes

Oh wow. I saw this show when I was like 8 or something and it stuck with me, even though I can't remember why

I disagree here. Rent is a siphon for your money to go to the wealthy landowners, just like these rising housing prices siphon more of your money to banks.

Unless you're saying that renters have more political leverage? Which I'm also not sure I agree with. It's easier to evict a renter than an owner. I think we need more affordable housing, which depends on building accessible homes, controlling outrageous rent, and addressing zoning laws, but all of this depends on a strong economy for those goods and a surplus of jobs that pay enough. Systemic reform of zoning laws and lobbying is where change is

So it sounds like a rock and a hard place. Homeowners don't want to lose money (and for many doing so would destroy their financial well-being), but they're also incentivized by banks and realtors to ask higher and higher prices. This also affects voting patterns (i.e. "I bought at an astronomical cost and if it loses value I'm fucked"). But it all sounds like the homeowner is caught between market forces that propel prices higher. The relatively recent introduction of blackrock to corporate homeownership has an outsized impact, like your example, where they spend a ridiculous amount for a property they intend to never sell which will also inflate the property value in a region. I'd be curious to see how that difference could be quantified and understood. Honestly it all feels like 2008 again

This is just anecdotal experience, but when I bought my house I was the only bidder who needed a place to live. The seller and the people I bid against were all looking for rental properties. I honestly only got the place through a fluke

If I were to guess it serves two purposes:

1. To dampen the reaction when absolutely wailing on some piece of shit steel that warped
2. Accidentally getting welded to things

Slowly? I have a full on Deutsch conversion

Can you explain how? I fail to see how families owning a single home to live in is more extractive than megacorps and banks leveraging leviathan assets to create an artificial shortage and rent market

It's yet another in the growing list of shows I've only watched because the memes are good

Three hours ago I remembered this meme about a show I've never seen and now I'm 7 episodes deep

Reminder to all passersby that you can block users like OP and reduce their platform

Edit for clarity: Post OP, not comment OP

Is this about a memoir? I think I'm missing context

We call them land-sea lions. I tame them.

Fully concur

The DoD provides its unclassified network with an Internet connection and the software it needs to do the job, while keeping this baselined and secured (or as secure as an Internet connection can be). Dirty Internet is just a commercial line with zero safeguards. This is so far beyond accidentally bringing your phone or smartwatch into a SCIF. He asked for his computer in the Pentagon to bypass all network security otherwise in place