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QYResearch released the latest report Global E-cigarette Market Outlook: 2024-2030 that presents a grand panorama of a thriving e-cigarette market. In the coming years, the e-cigarette market is projected to continue its robust growth trajectory at a steady annual rate of 8.7%. By 2030, its size is expected to soar to a remarkable $44.87 billion, showcasing the thriving potential and boundless business opportunities in the e-cigarette industry. The research data reveals the competitive landscape of the global e-cigarette market in 2023. In 2023, those top ten e-cigarette manufacturers collectively hold a significant share of 43.0% in the global e-cigarette market. Among them, these renowned brands include British American Tobacco, ELFBAR, Altria (Juul Labs), SKE Crystal, Imperial Tobacco, RELX, Japan Tobacco, MOTI, Boulder, and Smoore International, etc. The following chart illustrates the specific percentage of each global leading market share:
In 2024, which e-cigarette brand will make it to the list, and which one will drop off?
SMOANT and ANTBAR, two best vape brands with a decade-long history in e-cigarette research, production, and sales, which have a great potential and change to catch attention and make the ranking!
In terms of the division of the global e-cigarette market based on QYResearch’s research data, the offline channels have become the main driver of demand, accounting for approximately 82.8% of the market share indicating the core position and significant influence of offline channels in e-cigarette sales.

Hello
25F, 130lbs, 5’10”, no tobacco, MMJ user, hydrocodone and oxyxodone as needed, cyclobenzaprine, protonix
If you read this thank you so much because I’m absolutely desperate and my doctors are tired of me and I think they think I only want pain meds. I don’t, I just want to feel better. I have a huge stash of emergency oxycodone anyway so I barely even need them for that.
On 12/15 I fell down the stairs and hit the lower of my middle back quite hard. 12/19 I had a LEEP done, 01/06 I came down with extreme urinary issues and between then and now have been back 6 times, seen 4 specialists and have seen my PCP at least ten times for urine samples. I’ve also only been able to attend my full time job for 43 days so far this year and have no more money for copays and if it weren’t for my ADA paperwork, I’d have been fired a long time ago
Over the last two weeks, it’s been taking me up to two hours to produce urine while having a full (and very sore - mostly left side) bladder. This is infuriating. When I do end up finally feeling the need to release, I have less than 3 minutes to get to a restroom before my vision starts going spotty from the bladder pressure pain.
My urologist ordered a cystoscopy, but has been blaming my 3mm kidney stone until I begged for an ultrasound last month of my bladder. Found bladder wall thickening and bladder cyst / possible urachal remnant.
I found out what Cuada equina is today. I learned that it is very very commonly missed. I can barely walk, and at the music festival I went to over the weekend I had to use ADA for just about everything. I look completely normal so I got judged pretty hard, but I do have paperwork. I have been losing weight without much diet change and my back has been killing me as well. I feel so weak. My urine flow is so small compared to what it used to be. I had a period of time where the pain was so bad, I couldn’t feel my clitoris or labia at all so sex was pointless as well, and I thought I’d lose my relationship and be alone forever. They send me to an OB-Oncologist who said not to come back, which is why my urologist finally agreed to check my bladder.
Is it possible that all my issues are related to the cyst and thickening, or could this be cuada equina that was missed on multiple CT’s? I can’t find info on bladder cysts. using retention. When is the appropriate time to go to the hospital? I can barely walk without pain meds. I urinated about 40 times on Saturday, with my usual being 10-20 times, and some days there’s very little pain or urgency at all, but the retention is almost always there to some extent.
It almost feels like the part of my brain that controls my bladder doesn’t work anymore because no matter how hard I tell my bladder to release, it just doesn’t happen sometimes and I can’t get comfortable after that. I’ve slept a total of 4 hours since Saturday morning and I only have one hydrocodone left. Pyridium does NOTHING except for when burning pain presents, and I can’t take NSAIDS until my GI clears me due to extreme gas, constipation and bloating / belching thought to be caused by peptic ulcers. I can’t walk at this point without pain meds, but the ER always releases me with the same DX of cyst and bladder wall thickening and tells me they have no clue what that means. But I’m in so much pain I feel like there has to be something they can do other than give me fluids and monitor me for an hour or two until I can get to my cystoscopy next week.
If you have any advice for me I really appreciate it. I don’t want to die but I feel the only way out of lifelong urinary pain after 6 months now is suicide. The only time suicide doesn’t cross my mind a couple times is when I do end up having to take a pain pill. In March, I had to take oxy every day. I only take them now when I can’t walk because the effects are too strong for me to keep my life in order while taking them every day. But this weekend I have had the most trouble walking, and using the restroom, since all of these issues began.
I can’t afford any more specialists visits after my procedure, so I really wish the ER could do something for me as they’re the only ones who won’t turn me away for not having money at this point. My GI doc actually canceled my appointment because I don’t have $20 and I’ve been putting off another ultrasound because it’s $200 up front. IDK what to do but I’m pretty sure this is how a lot of people end up on fent and heroin - if I had been denied pain meds this far I would have turned to the streets, and that’s coming from someone who has chosen - on their own - to quit most drug related and extracurricular activities to better their life at a young age and is much happier for it.
I can’t even get the ER to catheterize me when I can’t urinate for 6+ hours at a time. What gives? Why won’t they run a different imaging test? They wouldn’t even give me a breath test for h pylori recently and now I’m waiting a month for an appointment I can’t even afford.
TL;DR extreme bladder pain, nobody understands why, extreme difficulty urinating, ER can’t do anything for me and awaiting surgery. Is there anything I can say or do to get proper medical attention or can the ER really not touch your bladder like they say? Is there a way I can convince them to admit me so I could see a urologist before my procedure? My urologist is unavailable until my follow-up and I don’t think the company they work for allows them to Rx narcotics and I’m against taking more than 1 oxycodone a week at this point but so far have been unsuccessful in getting something weaker like hydro or tramadol.

I (30F) have been with my partner (32M) for 10 years. In general, we've had a great relationship. He's smart and caring. We've continued to do new things over the years like move to new places, traveled, gotten into new hobbies, started businesses, etc so it's been eventful (at least outwardly).
The problem is for one, the sex life is non existent. We used to have a lot of sex (typical honeymoon phase), went down to 1-2 a week for a few years, then since the pandemic it dropped off a cliff. It's been once every 4 months for about 2.5 years, and even then it feels like a chore, like "oh it's Valentine's, should we do it then?". It lacks passion and despite many discussions on my part, he isn't open to trying new things, and seems offended when I ask.
Second, I feel guilty that I don't find him attractive anymore. I manage the majority of the social calendar, planned birthdays, trips, friend hangouts etc. If I don't, he doesn't make an effort, and doesn't even plan the occasion date night anymore. Physically, he's the same as when I met him, but it's more that the passion that made him attractive to me has gone. I asked my friends if this is just typical of long term relationships, most of them said they still find their S/O sexy/beautiful/attractive etc as always. I find myself wanting to spend more time with friends or alone, than I do with him.
Things like sex and physical attraction are NOT the most important things, I understand that. At the same time, I don't want to be celibate for the rest of my life. And feel like even though I love him as a person, it's different than being IN love. We're not shouting or having dramatic fallouts, most days it just feels like we're co-existing. I've brought up couples therapy, and his thought is that the relationship is basically over if you need that.
How do you know if a relationship has run its course or if it's just in a low period? Is it ok to be just content in a relationship, or is that settling? Have you left a relationship thinking the grass would be greener and was it worth it or not?
TL;DR - Been together 10 years, no longer have sex or attraction, feels comfortable but passionless. No big red flags but can't help but wonder if this is it.

Part 1
I ended up buying a house at the edge of this town.... before i knew all the bullshit that was goin' on around here. Got bored and went down to the local sheriff Jack and asked about an opening, Didn't even fill out an application, got the job on the spot. For the first few months it was the usual, speeding tickets, drunk and disorderly, normal shit right? Well... let the fuckery commence....
I had been a deputy for 7 months when one of the local farmers called in and reported he had some animals killed last night and wanted someone to come out to his house. John Nixon was a 60 year old farmer who lived by himself. His wife passed away years ago, but he never remarried and they never had kids. We met one day at the local tackle shop. Me being new in town, he took me to some of the good fishin' spots. The man was a huge military history buff and would always ask about my time in. I thought I knew him personally, so i took the call.
As I rolled up to the gate on his property, I saw John standing at the gate with a shotgun. " Hey john, can I ask why you are standing there with that cannon in your hands?" No response, he just stared at me. "John! put that damn shotgun down!!" I yelled. Its like he snapped to out of a trance. "Mason, i need you to come round the back side of the house to the barn, now!" he snapped.
"OK, OK, let me get outta the car and grab some gear." I said opening the car door. While i was grabbing my gear, John was standing there with his eyes scanning the tree line. "Come on mason! you need to see this!" He said heading towards the back. I closed the trunk and started walking over in his direction.
"So what the hell is going on that's got you walking around here with that damn bazooka?" No response, he just keeps walking and scanning the tree line. We finally got to the back of his house where the barn is. It looked like a horror movie in that pen.
"What the fuck happened here!?!" I said covering my mouth. There were pieces of chickens and goats everywhere, a few pigs looked like they had been filleted. "Its back mason, after all these years" John mumbled. "John what the hell are you talking about? what did this?" I asked.
John took his eyes off the tree line and looked me dead in the face. "Your not from here so you dont know." "Know what man? what are you saying?" I asked getting annoyed now. "Years ago this same thing happened to a few guys I know. All of their livestock had been killed. Not killed and eatin', just killed. It got people 'round here up in arms. Well, a few of us got together and decieded we were gonna look for whatever did it" he said. "What the hell are you telling me john?" I interrupted. "There were four of us. We were young, thought we were bullet proof. We went out into the woods one morning, determined to find the damn thing that had been killing our animals.
Tommy was the first to say something. "Hey, did you guys hear that?". The rest of us didnt hear a thing, so we kept moving. We got about three miles deep into the old pine forest at the edge of town. Will was the next to say something, "WHAT THE FUCK?!" he yelled out while looking down at the mud. We ran over to where he was standing to find him wide eyed. "I dont know what the actual fuck did this, but we..we need to go and I mean right fucking now!!!" he said pointing. This track was huge, at least 14 inches long with huge claws. Gerald spoke up "Let's fuckin' go guys!!".
We started back tracking out of the area, when we were stopped cold in our tracks, we all heard it this time. It was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same damn time. A sickening, shrieking laugh was coming from all around us. We panicked and starting runnin'. As soon as we did that, whatever was making that noise centered as if right behind us, and it was coming fast, ungodly fast" John said eyeing the remains of a chicken that was torn apart.
"We were about a mile from the trucks when I heard a thud and a scream, when i looked back Gerald wasn't there. Will and tommy were right behind me, terror all over their faces. Tommy pulled his pistol and started shooting backwards. Only one shot rang out before something tackled him and Will. I stopped, raising my rifle, but they had already been torn apart. It was seconds, and they were in shreds" John said.
"Mason, what i saw standing over their shredded bodies has haunted me since then. The fucking thing was nine feet tall, shaped like a man, but not. Its skin, or or scales was a mixture of black and grey and it looked slimy. It looked like a damn bodybuilder with hugh claw like hands. Its head was massive, with what looked like horns coming from the jaw to around the chin. Its eyes, glowed bright green in the middle of the fucking day, and it had a mouth full of fucked up jagged teeth." He said lowering his head.
"I jus.. just stood there, waitng for my turn. This thing paced back and fourth, staring at me, with this creepy damn smile. It looked down at Will and Tommy, then it looked back up at me. My heart almost stopped when it pointed and shook its head at me. It started making that shrieking laugh as it grabbed what was left of my friends in each giant claw and walked off into the woods, still fucking laughing. I fell to my knees as it vanished into the trees."
I stood there, thinking he lost his damn mind. John had stopped talking, he had this way off look in his eyes. "John..., john.., JOHN!!" his eyes snapped back to mine. "So what are you telling me? A nine foot creature with claws killed your friends and animals?!" I half mocked. "Yea.... thats what i'm telling you. Its back for me, i know it." "What makes you think it was this thing you say killed your friends? It could have been coyotes" I asked " I know mason, i heard that same horrible shrieking laugh in the woods behind the barn last night."
Now I’ve heard some real bullshit in my time, especially during my time in the contracting field... But this was the most out there shit I had ever heard.
"Alright, alright... let's just take a big ass step backwards. I need to wrap my head around all of this." I said takin a deep breath. John laid the shotgun down to his side. "I'm telling you the truth mason. i'm too old and tired to lie about shit" he said shrugging. I looked deep into this man’s eyes. When I did, I saw something that told me this was the absolute truth as he knew it. " You haven’t given me any reason to doubt you... but fuck man... this is hard to swallow. I need proof John, that's the way this works." A look of frustration washed over his weathered face.
"Proof?! you want proof huh? follow me" John groaned.
He started walking towards the tress behind the barn. As we got closer to the trees, I started to smell rusty copper. Blood I thought out loud. John raised his shotgun as we walked closer. That damn gun had to be illegal, but this wasn’t the time for that. Him raising that gun made me a lil' uneasy, so I pulled my Glock 9mm out and flipped the safety off.
John owned about 90 acres, most of it unkept. A lot of the land was behind the barn which butted up to a state forest. We took about 12 steps into the wood line when the smell of death hit me like a brick. "I'm taking you to where I heard the noise coming from last night... your PROOF is out there Mason" He said with a slight edge to it.
We walked almost a hundred yards into the woods when john stopped in front of a tree. It looked twisted and warped all the way to its top. I stepped around John and saw huge claw marks cut deep all the way around the base of the tree, it's hard to even call it that. "What the hell is this?" I said looking up. "This is a marker, it's territory starts here" John replied. I looked at john like he was crazy, which at this point I thought he was. "This thing travels throughout these woods. I've found five more of these trees in our town" he said putting a hand on the tree.
"This isn’t telling me anything John, just that you've got a weird ass tree on your property" I said back to him. "Do you hear that?" So we could move this mess forward, I stopped talking and just listened. I hadn't noticed that during our walk into the woods it had got quiet, and I mean not one sound. " What the hell? where did all the animals go?" I asked looking around. "They're scared mason... you should be too. Let's get back to the house."
We turned and started making our way out of the woods. We were damn near the tree line when I heard a snap. I turned around, gun raised to see a black streak dart back deeper into the woods. "What the fuck was that?!" All John said was "we need to leave, now!" We turned and started sprinting the rest of the way out of the woods. I was surprised at how fast john was for an old man. We got all the way back to my patrol car. "I don't know what that was, but I don't think you should stay here tonight John. Pack some stuff and come to my place" I said pointing my gun at the trees. John just let out a sigh as if frustrated and defeated.
"You weren't listenin'. The pine forest, these trees, it’s all connected. I’m talkin’ bout before this area was even inhabited by native peoples. This fucking thing has been around for a very long time. I have been looking into this since that day, I had to find out what it was and if it can be killed" he tried to explain. The whole time john was talking I had my eyes and weapon pointed at the trees. " You can put that down mason, it just wanted you to know it's here" He said.
"John, I to need process this shit. I've never seen or heard anything like this and to be straight with you, I’m at a loss right now" I said opening the trunk. "I get it, I get it. The sheriff jack was a deputy back then. When you see him... tell him I said the dark is here..." And with that, he just turned his back and walked back into his house not saying another word.
I got back in the car and sat there. Looking at the treeline. After a few minutes I went back to the station. I must've walked in with that universal what the fuck look on my face, because Cathy the clerk asked what was wrong with me. I told her I was fine and asked if she had seen the sheriff? "Yeah, he is in the gun cage. Are you sure you’re ok Mason?" She asked again.
"Yeah, I'm good, just need to talk to Jack." I started walking towards the back of the building, when Jack came around the corner. "Hey mason, what's up?" he says walking up to me. "I just got back from John's house." The look on his face completely changed. "He had a bunch of animals killed last night. It looked like a slaughterhouse. He told me to tell you the dark was back?" I told him noticing his reaction.
Jack stiffened up and not saying a word gestured for me to follow him towards the back security door. We headed towards the back and out the door. Jack had stopped to make sure the door was secure then pointed at his truck and said "get in."
After getting in he looked over "I need some coffee" then started the truck up and headed west out of the parking lot towards the coffee shop. He ordered a large black coffee with extra sugar then asked if I wanted one. "I'll take a small black, no sugar." We pulled out and headed east back past the station. We ended up driving towards the edge of the county. "What's going on and why are we heading way the hell out here?" I looked at jack and said.
Jack just took a long sip of his coffee then placed it back in the holder.
After a long breath "You want some answers about what happened at Johns' house... I’m sure he told you about a few other things about this town... well we're gonna go get you some answers" He said looking at a black sedan passing in the opposite direction. "Aight so, like you mason, I’m not from here either. I was a trooper in New York for a few years before I came down here. I resigned after a call to an old couple’s house" He said reaching for his cup. "My partner Jake and I responded to what was thought to be an animal attack. We were the first on the scene, having been a couple miles away lookin' for speeders.
When we rolled up an older woman came running over to the cruiser. She had a panicked look on her face and just kept repeating "they're dead, they're dead!!" We hopped out and sat her in the back of the car then asked what happened. "I...I... came over to talk to gloria and... and I saw the door open. I walked in yelling her and Alan’s name, but they didn't answer... I found them upstairs... it's horrible!!" She said sobbing. Jake and I drew our weapons and started making the move inside. Like the witness said the front door was open, so we moved in. It smelled like sulfur and blood when we entered. We started clearing rooms. The first floor was clear, so we made our way up the steps.
The smell was overpowering now. We cleared the bathroom, and the two smaller rooms were clear also. The door to the master bedroom was slightly opened. I motioned to Jake and we hit the door.... it looked like some movie shit!! I kid you not. Jake turned and went back into the hallway and threw up. I stepped into the room and... listen I had never seen anything like this before" Jack stammered out.
"These two people were in shreds on the bed, they're insides had been yanked out and thrown around the fucking room. After looking at the bodies I noticed these huge claw marks in the wall, I’m talking if Andre the giant had had a Krueger glove. I stepped back out of the room and radioed to dispatch that we needed more units. I walked back to the front door where Jake was standing hunched over looking out of it.
Parked outside were 3 black SUVs and a black sedan. I counted 11 men dressed in black tactical military gear, some with a type of rifle I had never seen before, but you could tell it was large caliber. The rest with SMG weapons. When i looked over towards the patrol car, one of the men had the door opened and was talking to the witness. He saw us and started our way. He was dressed in all black too and carried what looked like a desert eagle in a chest holster.
When he got closer I got a better look at him. He looked to be in his late 40's with salt and pepper colored hair and a big ass scar that ran down the right side of his face. He got about ten feet from the steps "We appreciate the assistance, but you are no longer needed" He said in deep voice. As he is saying this, one of the other guys escorts the witness out of our car and into the back of that sedan.
The guy started walking away from us "Who are you? and what the fuck is going on?" I yelled at him. He turned with a look on his face that you only see in movies then took a few steps towards us. "Your command has been informed and you are to leave now!" He said raising his hand up towards that holstered pistol. Jake looked at me and shook his head "fuck it, let's go, let them deal with that mess upstairs" he said still coughing then started heading towards the car. I followed him down the steps... looking this guy up and down, checking out the vehicles... for anything that might tell me who we were dealing with.
The only thing I saw was on the assholes uniform... there was a patch on his shoulder. It was an all-black diamond with a weird looking black M in the middle on it. The guy stared us down until we were in the car driving away. He had that pistol in his hand and the other men starting moving into the house. Jake and I didn’t say a word until the radio squawked and we were told to head back to the barracks.
When we got there, we were told to report to the troop commander’s office. Commander Thompson was sitting in his office along with a man in a nice 2-piece suit. The man in the suit stood there quietly while Thompson told us that we never responded to any call out to that farmhouse, and that this was the first and only time he would say it. With that, he dismissed us and and we walked out. The shit didn’t sit well with me, and I ended up resigning a few months later.
I came down here and then that shit in the woods happened. I was on the scene, I saw the claw marks. They looked just like the ones in New York, and the same damn trucks showed up with different personnel. I knew just to shut up and walk away, and after making that choice I have had a pretty good career here." he finished grabbing his cup out of the holder.
My brain was in overdrive. I was just about to completely question bomb jack when he said, "We're here." He pulled off onto this overgrown driveway and drove for about a quarter mile. We pulled up to an old two-story house that looked like it was in ruins... but the lights were on. "Where the hell are we?" I asked As the last word of that question left my mouth, the front door of the house opened... standing in the doorway was a old man, dressed in weathered black clothing. Jack leaned over to me "You wanted answers... well.... there they are."

I’ll try to make this as concise as possible.
So I’ve started seeing my current boyfriend about 2 years ago. I am Christian and he is Muslim but we are both not religious. His family isn’t very religions and his sibling is married to a Christian and they’re happy and all is well.
My family, on the other hand, is very religious and when I announced that I’m seeing someone but he’s not Christian, they immediately told me to break it off before it gets harder to later. I have then been trying to speak to them and convince them that this is my choice and I’m not very religious but they keep saying that they see into the future and this won’t end well because his family is of a different background in terms of religion.
My sisters were also supporting me in the beginning but only when I mentioned that he might be able to convert (which is not the case anymore because converting has serious consequences that him or his family don’t want to go through) and when they found out he won’t convert anymore, they stopped supporting. We all live fairly close to one another so I see them and my nephews and niece a lot but I’m getting tired of seeing them and acting like everything is okay.
I’ve spoken to my mom and dad countless times, explaining to them how I’m not going to let go of my Christianity, how I will baptize my kids, we can also try to get something called a dispensation letter from a bishop that will allow this, I will introduce my kids to Christianity and they still won’t budge. I also clarified that even if I am to marry someone Christian, I will choose someone who’s not as religious and I won’t be taking my kids to Sunday school or forcing them to have the same level of faith that I or their grandparents have. They are also worried that when my kids mingle with my sister’s kids, that would be an issue.
They’ve also told me I must bear the consequences if I choose to take this path because I’m the one leaving theiChristianity’s path by my own will and I have to bear the consequences of them not meeting him, not attending my wedding, not meeting his family, not mingling with us at gatherings. My father also told me that they love me and because they love me they’re doing this to avoid the inevitable future I will be facing and that i should wake up and see that I’m doing is wrong and come back to the right path.
This has gone on for too long and it’s affecting me mentally and physically as I have gained a lot of weight emotional eating. My boyfriend’s family welcomes me with open arms and I see them regularly but not all of them know the issues we’re facing with my family.
TDLR: it’s getting tiring to do everyday tasks and act like everything is okay when it’s not. It’s also exhausting to be made to feel that I’m doing something wrong and throwing away my values and that it’s my fault if they stop mingling with me.

Sorry I need to rant about my lack of social skills
TLDR: I’m a good looking guy that can’t get a date/a girl interested in me to date long term. Seeking advice
Just a little physical background about myself for reference:
Male 6’2” (187cm) 170lbs (77kg) with virtually no body fat Blue eyes, brown wavy hair 21 y/o

 This might not mean coming from other straight males, but I seriously get guys all the fucking time telling me, “dude if I looked like you and if I was that tall, I’d get all the girls blah blah blah”. 

I get so incredibly extremely nervous around girls. I have no idea how to meet new girls, ask them out, or crucially, text them and keep them INTERESTED!
I feel my physical attributes don’t even help me when it comes to finding love. All I want is a girlfriend man. I watch my good buddies go through girlfriends every few months, and overall go out on dates with so many girls and I’m so jealous I’m getting depressed.
When it comes to dating apps, I prove my point to myself. I have over 150 matches between my hinge and tinder, but whenever I try to talk to them, I either get left on read, or the conversation doesn’t make it past a few sentences
As much as this is just a rant, I’d love to hear whatever you have to say. I hope nobody I know sees this because I will be more than embarrassed, but below I will attach a photo of what I look like. I DO NOT CARE ABOUT ANY VALIDATION ABOUT MY PHYSICAL APPEARANCE! I just want reddit to have a bit better of an idea of what I’m going through.
https://i.imgur.com/FFvryjB.jpeg
Side note: I have tried one personal improvement books about dating called How To Be A 3% Man by Corey Wayne. I found a couple tips useful in there, but nothing deal breaking.
I would love any tips you have about: • How to go from a match on tinder, to the first date • where to meet new people my age (I’m not in school) • advice on nervousness/stuttering

Xanax, also known as alprazolam, is a prescription medication used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. This type of medication belongs in a class called benzodiazepines, which work on the brain and central nervous system in order to bring about a calming effect on the user. As such, it works by increasing the amount of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. Increased GABA is correlated with a reduction in stress levels and, as such, people who take Xanax typically feel a great reduction in their anxiety and panic disorders.However, while Xanax can reduce the stress levels in the user, it is only meant as a temporary fix for anxiety. Because Xanax is highly addictive in nature, it is extremely dangerous for a person to take this medication long-term, especially if they misuse or abuse the drug. As such, it is imperative that if an individual is seeking relief from anxiety or a panic disorder that they understand the side-effects associated with taking Xanax and what withdrawal from Xanax can look like before taking this medication. On the other hand, if Xanax addiction is already at play, it is essential to the individual’s health and well-being that they seek immediate medical guidance. This article will address all of these concerns by diving deeper into the effects Xanax has on an individual and how to seek appropriate help if the individual is struggling with an addiction to this medication.

Is anybody else sick and tired of dating? Trying to meet the ‘right one’, if that even exists. Seeing relationships collapse around me, or long term situations where people sacrifice sooo much of themselves. I’m only 24, never been in a relationship. I think I’m fairly attractive, curvy, good personality. But the guys I meet are always looking to just get me into bed. I’ve tried everything, either I like them they don’t like me or see me past sex, or they like me but I don’t like them. I’m just TIRED of it all. I tried online dating, didn’t work out. I tried going out more, met some weird FREAKS! I’m usually okay with being alone, it doesn’t bother me much. But I just feel disillusioned like it’s not gonna happen for me. Love. Am I alone in this feeling? Does it get better?

Hey guys, i’m new to this but i just wanted to share my story. I’m 22 F overweight and I was vaping for about 3 1/2 years. When I was continuously vaping, like chain vaping, I would notice heart palpitations happen but go away after a couple minutes. It would only happen if I vaped back to back multiple times. It got to the point of vaping becoming even more of an addiction and causing panic attacks, even while taking lexapro. I was in denial and thought the lexapro was the thing causing my anxiety spikes. IDIOT, i know. Anyways, i quit lexapro in november, and continued to vape. But then starting January 2024, i started having constant panic attacks lasting hours at a time & feeling out of body. So very reluctantly, i quit vaping, cold turkey. The day after i quit, i started getting heart palpitations again. I thought “maybe it’s just my body detoxing? But I would rather that than the constant panic”. So for awhile i thought, maybe it’s from not vaping? But, it never went away.
I also wore a heart monitor for 3 days and was told i get premature atrial contractions (PACS). I spent hours in the ER multiple times just to find an answer to why. I reached out to many drs & was told it was from “anxiety” and that if i got it under control, they would go away. I was given prozac first, but the side effects of it made me bed ridden,dizzy, nauseous and unable to do anything. I did notice my heart palpitations were gone, but my heart would randomly race and my anxiety got even worse. I then got off of it, and for a week i started getting palps again. I finally started taking 10mg lexapro again in February and my psychiatrist accompanied it with 20mg propranolol (inderal). The palpitations went away for about a week & 1/2 after starting the medications.
I started going to therapy & doing better mentally. my anxiety has gone from a 10 to about a 2. I then started going to the gym and the day after, the palpitations came back & wouldn’t go away. I only lifted weights and fast-walked on the treadmill. The same thing happened every time i went to the gym, even if i skipped cardio. The palpitations would come on a couple hours after leaving, or even the next day, never during or right after. My medication would barely help as well These palps are the only thing causing my anxiety. like i said, it’s at about a 2. But when i get them, my anxiety gets to be about a 4/5 but sometimes harder to control. My primary dr still hasn’t given me any answers , but told me to take more propranolol, so now i’m taking 40mg in total, 20mg pills twice a day. I was also given a new heart monitor and i wore it for 7 days. I just got my results back and i get isolated occasional PACs (1.4%, 10125) and (<1.0%, 12) SVE couplets. (don’t know exactly what that means). still waiting for a dr to go over it with me.
I have gotten basic blood tests done already as well. Glucose was good, electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, carbon dioxide) normal & magnesium, b9 & b12 were good. Since it’s been about 4 months since quitting vaping, i don’t think this is specifically related to withdrawals anymore. (it could still be related to vaping, i’m not denying that) I don’t know if it’s related to weight? i’m trying to lose weight, it’s just hard when i can’t exercise bc my heart wants to go all wacky. I know gastrointestinal issues can be linked too but i haven’t been tested for it? i just need advice on wtf to do. Blood test orders? Requests to ask my dr for? Things to do at home? literally anything, i am desperate!!

My best friend and I have been close since school so for around 10 years now, we’ve seen eachother through a couple of awful relationships, been in single girl phases and spent pretty much every weekend together. Until we both got into relationships again, we don’t see eachother as much anymore which is fine we’re both busy.
Unfortunately my friend was coerced to move in with her long term boyfriend, as his tenancy was coming to an end and he insisted she joined him on his next one, and if she didn’t he’d of been really upset. She exclusively told me that she’d love to live with a friend before a boy, but that she couldn’t do this because he’d be upset.
This is now a theme in their relationship, they live together and spend every weekend together, and eat dinner together every night. They don’t have friends over to their place, he has had a tantrum when she said I was coming over for lunch and he refused to let me come as it was ‘messy’. She can’t even go to the cinema or the gym alone, he insists that they have to do things together and she just goes along with it! She won’t see films in the cinema because HE doesn’t want to see them! He’s also said before that they can’t go to the gym seperately because they need to ‘support eachother’ and go on the journey together…every time I hear a story it’s piecing more things together in my brain and I don’t feel good about it. I can’t believe she’s actually happy and wanting to be with this person long term? He’s attended gathering at my house where I have warned her it’s just girls and no guys are attending, and then made her leave early because he was bored.
He also gets annoyed at her whenever she makes plans with me (maybe once every month) because HE wanted to have plans with her on that day too. I’ve noticed her become a shell of herself, she doesn’t take care in her appearance like she used to. She doesn’t seem happy when we meet up and he’s just smothered her entire life outside of work. I thought maybe the change was just because she’s settled down, but the stories she tells me of him getting annoyed at her for making plans with me just make me think differently…
So she fought her corner and said I don’t care if you’re annoyed at me, I want to see my friend and have a day out so I’m going to do that. We went on a road trip, I drove there and back probably around 100 miles round trip. I didn’t ask for fuel money, and I didn’t ask for money for the car park when we were there. But she didn’t even give me a ‘thank you’ or offer to contribute anything towards fuel or parking. This has left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I also hate the situation she’s in with her relationship. It’s making me not feel so loving towards her, the fact she was ungrateful and not helpful, and the fact she’s losing her personality, and not doing anything about the blood sucking man in her life. I have so much anger towards him and this situation and I want to go the fuck off on him but I can’t.

Hi there,
I’m on my second day of being unemployed, and the peace I’ve felt in the last day and a half is unmatched.
I recently made the tough call to quit my job in administration. There were a number of factors that led to that decision. Despite voicing concerns around workload distribution, nothing changed. By the time I left, the numbers showed a glaring 85/15 workload split between myself and my coworker despite having identical job descriptions. Add in the constant firefighting fuelled by general disorganisation and isolation in the office due to a coworkers extreme flexible hours, and it became clear to me that I had to leave.
I know many people will deem this move ridiculous, irresponsible, and even extremely privileged, and maybe there’s some truth to that. But honestly, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to see my next step from within that environment, and I’m confident in my decision and proud of myself for knowing when to walk away.
Thankfully, I’m in the very lucky position to be able to sustain myself financially for at least 6 weeks, and I know that if needs be, I’ll work anywhere temporarily because I value hard work and understand the reality of making ends meet. But staying where I was just didn’t feel like an option.
Anyways, the point of this post is that I’ve completely rediscovered the headspace I didn’t know I was missing over the last couple of days. Don’t get me wrong; I’m very much a results-driven person and I enjoy being productive, so I know this hiatus won’t be sustainable or practical in the long run.
Still, I’ve been sticking to my regular 9-5 routine, waking early, eating better, getting my housework done, updating my CV and LinkedIn, wrapping up a data analytics course I’m doing, and tackling tasks that I’ve procrastinated for ages - like cleaning my car. And to top it all off, for the first time in a long time, I’ve been sleeping soundly without sleep aids.
All of this is to say what kind of scam are we living in that we’re trading over half of our waking hours for the means to survive? No wonder anxiety and stress are sky-high. No wonder people get sick.
Maybe I just needed this breather, but I can’t help but feel that we really just aren’t built for the world the way it is - or at least I’m not. I’m actually achieving about as much as I would at work, but the day feels calmer, less chaotic. And at the end of the day, I can say I’ve done something that adds value to my life.
With a bit of luck, I’ll be back in the workforce in the coming weeks. But for now, I’m just relishing the quiet, the freedom, and the sense of accomplishment and peace that comes from doing things on my own terms.
Have a nice day!

Hi all! I’ve just completed a week as a solo female traveller in Tokyo. I’m moving on to other places but have decided to come back to Tokyo for another week because I love it so much!

1. If you want to see Shibuya crossing but don’t have / can’t afford a ticket to Skytree or Shibuya Sky, there’s a Mexican restaurant on the 14th floor of Shibuya metro station / Shibuya Sky that we just walked straight into. We got a booth directly overlooking the crossing, it was very quiet, we sat there for a few hours and had really nice drinks. (we being me and a first date!)
   
2. IMPORTANT: I’m not sure if other people are aware of this tradition - i wasn’t - but in smaller bars and izakayas there is a tradition of paying in rounds, i.e buying everyone at the bar a drink - usually 6-8 people in my experience. I was charged for this before I realised and then the next time, I was with a local Japanese companion who told me this is a cultural thing (we didn’t pay it and left). If you’re handed a free drink in a local bar just know the next tab is on you and there isn’t really a choice.
   
3. Express v Local trains - if you’re getting on the metro be mindful that it’s not an express train. These ones skip a lot of stops and you can end up accidentally going super far away without realising :/
   
4. I think i only saw this maybe once - but on the metro people don’t cross their legs and put their bags on their laps, EVEN when it’s dead quiet.
   
5. Smoking in public is EXTREMELY frowned upon (unless you’re outside a nightclub or bar). And for gods sake, do not throw the butt on the ground!! A lot of Japanese smokers carry around portable ashtrays so use theirs or even put it out and carry it with you in a bottle or something … This ALSO includes vaping. In busy areas like Harajuku they have tiny enclosures on the side of the road where people smoke. Same in shopping centres and some metro stations. (I’m European so this surprised me!)
   
6. If you need the toilet there’s one in every metro station. Starbucks will also let you use theirs. If you need a bin both options have them.
   
7. If you’re handing someone something it’s polite to do it with both hands. If there’s a tray for example at a cashier desk then use that.
   
8. Elderly people are highly respected in society. If your culture isn’t like this then be mindful and let them pass before you, open doors, let them skip you in the queue, give up your seat. (you should do this in your home country anyway but …)
   
9. People stare a lot. I find Japanese people curious, and if you smile at them or wave in response they light up! This was new for me because in my culture staring is rude. Don’t take it personally! It can lead to lovely interactions.
   
10. People don’t show skin. For me, 25 celsius is a summer day. For them, every single person is covered head to toe (unless dressed alternatively). I wish i had brought more long trousers and long sleeve tops!
    
11. They don’t wear perfume either. In fact if you smell perfume in public it stands out a looot because it’s so rare. My Japanese friend confirmed they wear very light stuff if anything. Just be aware if you’re taking the metro it might not be the best time to wear Hypnotic Poison …
    

That’s everything for now! Apologies if any of these seem obvious to you but they were things i found important to pick up on and be mindful of. Tokyo is the biggest city in the world yet it runs so smoothly - perhaps because of the amount of unwritten rules that people abide by to maintain politeness and give others space / consideration. Let me know if you also noticed any of these :)

Starting point. I’ve been daydreaming for a long time (I’m in my mid 20s now), by textbook. To me it’s both stimming and escapism. I have come to regulate this activity as I tend to “schedule it” post meal, launch or dinner with a very specific routine. That works fine for now, during the day.
During the night my “usual” looks like: ALWAYS when I go to bed (23.00 to 00.30) “for 2hs past bedtime” I struggle a ton to get asleep. Then blank, then prior to waking up (30 min) I start daydreaming (light - aka without the pacing nor the music) in bed. Not ideal, yet I’m very much used to this.
Now, for the past month I had major sleep disturbances. Just like there was an alarm set - without any second of delay (literally) - I suddenly get “fully awake” at 4 AM. I mean I can talk (even complicated topic in another language) and the body feels awake too. From this moment on, I enter a really “hyperactive mental state” - meaning once I am awake at 4 am, the daydreaming activity completely take over. Intense and nonsensical. Mind skip from one scenario to another frantically and therefore it’s really difficult to regain sleep.
My questions are: does anyone else has precisely a 4 am sudden awake? Also, my question about “cause and effect” is precisely: I wonder if “I wake up bc unknowingly some hyperactivity is working in the background of my mind” or “since I woke up, and daydreaming happens bc I’m fully awake and I have to await some more hours to start the day”.

I have celiac and was diagnosed a few years ago now. Since then, a different stomach pain keeps coming and going mostly in mornings after I wake up and after eating. Last week I found out from my GP that in my last endoscopy back in December they had found signs of mild chronic gastritis which explains all the stomach pain I've been having. My GP only told me last week when it's been months since the endoscopy and now she's prescribed me some proton pump inhibitors for a whole month.
She also told me my gastritis could be caused by a food intolerance like lactose, dairy, spicy foods, ect and I just have to test which foods I can and can't have. I started having the tablets on Wednesday afternoon once per day and after 2 days I haven't felt any stomach pain. On Friday night I forgot to have to tablet so I just skipped it for a day. But that didn't change how I felt and I haven't had any pain. And it helped with the side effects since I've been getting a slight case of diarrhea from the tablets. So I decided to skip the tablet two days ago as well.
But I've read up about the side effects of long-term use and I'm just worried that having the tablets for a whole month is too much when it's usually used only when needed. Should I just continue for the month or only have it every 2nd day?
Advice please? Has anyone else been prescribed PPI for a month and did it work?

In today's competitive manufacturing landscape, businesses are constantly on the lookout for methods to refine their products and reduce expenses. Plastic injection molding presents itself as a solution, enabling the creation of intricate and precise plastic parts in a high-volume and cost-effective way.
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Long rant ahead, pretty disorganized as well as it was initially a reply on another post before I decided to make it its own post. Apologies!
As an Israeli, it's absolutely incredible to me how this conflict, which has nothing to do with the Westerners' public, takes up such a significant part of their lives. There are countless other significantly worse conflicts, tremendously worse global problems (climate change, the lingering effects of COVID, resources dwindling for humanity as a whole, pollution, etc.), the heaps of domestic issues (especially in the US) - and this far away conflict in a piece of land smaller than some major world cities is the biggest focus of some of these peoples' lives.
This isn't whataboutism, I'm not saying people can't take an interest with issue X just because there exists a worse issue Y. The point is the amount of time people are spending on this vs. other issues, even if we put aside the fact that they are all ignorant, completely misinformed useful idiots.
These "activists" are fully investing their time in this completely irrelevant issue to them. I was just visiting the US, and I passed by a virtue-signaling house in Seattle. It had it all - BLM, pride flag, and others. All worthy causes. But those were all small signs on the side of the house, but on the front was a gigantic Palestinian flag with a gigantic "free Palestine" slogan as well. Really?! This is the issue you're spending energy on and bringing the most awareness to? Not BLM, not LGBT, both of which are incredibly relevant to you and your country? Do black people, your actual fellow countrymen, no longer face racism? Do LGBT not get harassed or suffer violence?
And let's not forget another big elephant in the room - none of them speak up at all against antisemitism. So what, human rights activists, but Jews Don't Count? Hell, forget speaking up - many of them ENDORSE violence against Jews (and as we've seen from many of their protests, they're just violent in general). Unbelievable hypocrites, so it's "Palestinians are not Hamas" on the one hand, but every single Jew on the planet is complicit in whatever blood libel you've concocted?
Like with Jews in general, their hatred of every single Israeli alive is also massively hypocritical and obviously vile and wrong. I've not seen a single people alive receive as much hate as we do purely based on our nationality. Even those other nations that experience such hate online, it'd usually be isolated to receiving it from whatever nation they are in conflict with. Are Russian immigrants expected to give answers about the war? Do Chinese immigrants get hate for their government's actions? And so on.
I'm 35 years old and a computer nerd, and pretty much since I can remember myself, I would receive hate and contempt online just for mentioning I'm Israeli. Whenever we would take a trip abroad, my parents would make sure to tell us to always say we're from some other country if asked. Do you have any idea what an impact this has on a kid, growing up knowing he needs to be afraid to mention where he is? How difficult it was to understand why people might harm us when I'm just a kid, never did anything to anyone in my short life?
The amount of propaganda out there is just astonishing. It is mostly driven by Iran, Russia, and Qatar. It is extremely hard to fight this with such a small country as Israel, especially when our PR is disastrous and more often than not, it's regular people who do the job instead of officials. And Westerners eat it up, as well as apply their local race politics (mostly Americans) to the conflict when it has nothing to do with it, not to mention how they're completely unaware that even if it was relevant, the majority of Israelis are Mizrahi Jews, "brown" as Americans love to say, and on the flip side a sizeable amount of Palestinians are white skinned themselves, hell a lot of Levantines are like Syrians and Lebanese. Druze are basically 100% levantine and are pretty white skinned. Anyway, yeah, skin color has nothing to do with it, which is probably head error-inducing for Americans used to making it all about race.
It's depressing. And it honestly seems hopeless to battle it, we can't stand up to the incredible propaganda machine working against us constantly. Couple it with people generally prone to fall for populist rubbish and be ignorant in general, it's a losing battle.

I need some help &, don’t really know what else to do. Or how to properly convey this but, I would like to have a serious long term monogamous relationship with someone of the trans experience &, whenever I try, I seem to fail for some reason. I feel like, when I express my intentions & interest I’m looked at as if I’m lying/not telling the truth. Then, I have to pursue them & out in a bunch of extra work & the. it seems like I’m only getting attraction geared towards me bc of my genitalia, & anything else they like about me is second to that. other than that I feel as though I’m not taken seriously beyond that. Sometimes it’s my fault, but largely it’s not.
If I don’t give people their way they get upset & block me, if I don’t want to talk about something I get blocked, if I feel like they have a type In certain men that’s not me I get blocked, if I don’t want to meet their family members right away I get blocked. I’ve legit had people project things onto me that their insecure about, make snide remarks about me being a cis gendered guy, been called a nigga/nigger by some who aren’t black when we get into an argument , then when I snap I’m the bad guy. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but, any type of help or advice would be greatly appreciated.