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Joined 11 months ago
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Cake day: December 18th, 2023

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  • Everything (except 8, obviously) is pretty standard practice for CBT as well. In terms of self-help, I’d also definitely add

    9: Find nice people/a nice group to spend time with. Doesn’t really matter what it is: sports club, theater, study group, board game club, garden builders. Just follow your interests.

    I think many people dismiss the incredible value friends bring to our life and the stabilizing effect it has on out mental health. Loneliness is one of the deadliest causes out there (some studies say it’s as harmful as smoking daily), so make sure to have people around you whom you like spending time with! And no, digital groups are not the same as real-life ones. Body language is incredibly important in communication, and with it missing orr brain processes information differently.

    Tl;Dr: Get out there and find nice people.






  • This is really valuable advise. I’m 20 at this point, and (after therapy) I’m looking back and realizing now much self-acceptance and connection with your own emotion shape the way I perceive the world. I’m really glad that I started this young, and for people who live in a country where psychotherapy is covered by healthcare - there are usually offers of a short psychotherapy (in Germany it’s called Kurzzeitherapie, short-term therapy) which will in my opinion as a psychology student will benefit every person.




  • One of my classmates did the Hitler salute and exclaimed “Heil Hitler” - an expression which is (rightfully) penalized in Germany, where I live.

    The guy was a son of our local police officer.

    He didn’t got expelled, but he had a very stern talk with our school director. I presume that it was made clear to him that if this ever happens again, he’s out. From what I heard last, in the last few years he was really ashamed of what he did when he was younger. I sincerely hope he is doing okay now - he got into the police, and people like him who recognize that being right isn’t cool are needed.

    Coincidentally my school is in Dessau; our city is well-known for producing Zyklon B, a lethal gas used in KZs across Germany, and a “case of sudden self-igniting” of a migrant called Oury Jalloh in a police cell. Obviously all the camera footage of that cell randomly broke down, there was blood found in the dining room and the guy didn’t have anything to lit himself on fire with. But that all obviously is just a coincidence ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Not a good city to do the Hitlers salute in (if there ever was any, which - surprise - doesn’t), tbh.


  • Psychology student hère.

    In short, our professor explained to us that there are two approaches as to how subconscious thoughts and emotions work. The first one is that sometimes thought processes are subconscious, but they can be “brought to light” relatively easily; this perspective has been well-validated and compatible with modern psychology. The second approach is the psychoanalytic one - that some thoughts and emotions are forcefully kept away from the consciousness in order to self-regulate. This position has been debunked and doesn’t seem to have empirical basis.

    That’s why classical psychoanalysis today, where you dig deep into thoughts and feelings in order to go beyond the “defensive forces” of the mind (in German also called Abwehr), is seen as outdated.



  • That is true only to some extent. Frances Wright, who admittedly lived later than Washington (1795-1852), was one of the most vocal public abolitionists in the USA to the extent of my knowledge. Specifically, she was a feminist and abolitionist. Both she and Jefferson were Epicureans and knew the sources well, but she drew other, more ethical, conclusions, and supported the fight for abolition.

    It is important to keep in mind that she was living later than Jefferson, and thus had access to different sources than he did. However, her example demonstrates that it was not impossible, even back then, to recognize that owning slaves was wrong and unethical. While I agree that it was typical for the elites to do it regardless, I want to emphasize that the sources to recognize that slavery was wrong were already there. Many people simply chose to ignore it.

    Thus my stance is that it definitely was a sign of the times that it was widespread, I think the defining feature of the time was that people chose to ignore ethical conclusions. It isn’t just a sign of the time that people kept slaves - it was sign of the time that people chose to keep slaves even though they could’ve recognized that it was wrong and unethical.

    I hope my point is understandeable. Just adding my two cents :)