[krackers]

How can you differentiate (as in assess your own state of mind) as to whether a feeling that "there is a greater truth that they see clearly now" is mania or genuine appreciation? Like say you have been depressed for X weeks/months and have been mulling over philosophy/turning ideas in your head.

At some point ideas click and you realize something "obvious" that changes your perspective and you no longer feel as empty as you were before – is that mania indicative of the mind finally "breaking down", or a genuine breakthrough? And for that matter how does the feeling "everything is really important and meaningful" differ from the supposed state of "enlightenment"?

What are some tests you can perform on yourself to assess the difference (between mania/healthy appreciation)? If one is e.g. able to meditate and maintain concentration to a sufficient degree, does that rule out the possibility of mania?

>doing a group call with a doctor to discuss ways to limit damage

What are some non-pharmaceutical ways of doing this?

[nikisweeting]

> How can you differentiate [mania] or genuine appreciation?

If you've done any 5-HT2A drug you'll know the distinct feeling I'm referring to. The telltale sign is that it's always the combo: "everything is really important/meaningful" + bad working memory.

If your working memory is solid and you can actually process long complex thought without reducing it to vibes or simple aphorisms then you're probably not manic. Also important to understand hypomanic != manic != full manic psychosis, they are very different levels of severity. Anything manic or above is very obvious, people around you will be able to tell something is up within 30sec.

> doing a group call with a doctor to discuss ways to limit damage

- sleep

- try keto / limiting sugar, hit or miss but works for some

- holding breath / breathwork (I wouldn't hyperventilate though)

- do things that you'd do to recover if you had a hangover / had just ran a marathon (it's essentially what your brain is doing)

(again I'm not a doctor, fact-check everything yourself)

[theaussiestew]

Pharmaceuticals are at best a temporary weeks or months long bandaid. Any duration longer than that using pharmaceuticals to treat mental health is likely to cause brain damage.

Non-pharmaceutical ways are, drinking spring water, eating heavy root vegetables and foods, like potatos, cheese, carrots, grains and also spending time walking and sitting in nature. If someone has experience with mediation, then having the meditative intention to surrender to whatever one considers to be the highest power e.g. God, Allah, Buddha, Universe, Nature, Void is also extremely effective.

Source: My own experiences.