Sustainable interior design brings a major impact on our environment, the material you use in every material contributes to the overall ecological footprint. But what if HSAA-Home interior design company helps you create a beautiful and stylish space that is dedicated to a greener home with an eco-friendly environment?
The role of sustainable interior design prioritizes eco-friendly design throughout the overall process. The main aim of our company is to maximize the environmental impact while keeping the comfort, functionality and aesthetics.
This term considers the complete life cycle of a product, from its creation to use and disposal or potential use.
Sustainability in interior design is to adopt ecological materials and sources to create a visually beautiful and considerate environment. By utilizing recycled, biodegradable, and waste materials, interior designers can include sustainability in their kitchens, living rooms, office spaces and more. For flooring, bamboo can be used in place of hardwood.

How you can implement eco-friendly design in your interior design journey:

• Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: These are the main aspects of interior design. Reuse the furniture and decor you already have to reduce the need for new purchases. Explore antique shops, flea markets, or online marketplaces to find a good alternative to previously owned items. Start prioritizing giving to new products that are manufactured from recycled materials such as bamboo, cork and old wood.
• Sustainable Materials: For good indoor air quality, choose natural, low-VOC (volatile organic compound) materials. The certifications such as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) for textiles and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) for wood items. Start picking eco-friendly methods like recycled glass countertops, cork tiles, or bamboo flooring.
• Water Conservation: Fit your bathroom and kitchen with water-saving fixtures. To cut down on water usage, choose good fixtures and low-flow shower heads. Choose the top kitchen renovation in Delhi for the best services to maintain your kitchen.
• Make the right consumption: Avoid impulsive buys and make long-lasting investments in high-quality, well-made items. This helps in less waste and encourages more deliberate consumption. Select furniture with classic styles and muted color schemes to increase its adaptability.

Why Is Sustainable Design Important for Interior Design?

HSAA- The best interior designers in Delhi describe how important it is to protect the environment. Minimizing environmental problems also reduces the aftermath on Earth by saving time, money, and effort. It ensures efficiency and creates a healthy approach to environmental interior design while satisfying clients.
Now you understand the importance and principles, let’s dive into practical solutions to translate them into stunning and sustainable living spaces.

1. Natural Light’s Power:

Optimize natural light by maintaining hygiene and clean windows. Organize furniture in such a manner that it doesn’t obstruct the sun. Start using translucent shades or drapes to preserve seclusion while letting in diffused light. Use well-placed mirrors to reflect more light from the outside which makes the space feel lighter and more spacious. As a result, less artificial lighting is needed during the day.

2. Embrace the natural Plantation:

Indoor plants not only add a touch of positivity and serenity to your space but also contribute to a healthier environment. Plants and greenery are present as natural air purifiers that help in absorbing toxins and releasing oxygen. A variety of species are known for their air-purifying qualities, such as snake plants, spider plants, and more. This will help in providing sustainable interior design to your space.

3. Reuse and Repurpose:

Give old furniture and décor a new look by opting for the method of reuse and recycling. Upcycle vintage suitcases into beautiful side tables or ottomans that create a pleasant look to your old space. Book the best interior design services in Delhi and Transform your space into something beautiful that tells a story.
Get creative and explore online tutorials for DIY home decor by using old materials. Not only will you save money, but you’ll also minimize waste and create unique pieces with a personal touch.

4. Sustainable Textiles and Flooring:

Choose natural fibers like organic cotton, linen, wool, or jute for rugs, throws, and more. All the 2BHK and 3BHK flats’ interior designs utilize sustainable textiles and flooring concepts for long-term commitment and a healthy lifestyle. These materials are not only comfortable but also biodegradable. Discover recycled wool rugs or sisal floor coverings for sustainable flooring options.

5. Energy-structured Appliances:

When you are looking to replace appliances, pick out Energy Star-certified models that are dedicated to being more energy-efficient. This reduces your overall energy consumption and helps save money on high-cost bills.

6. Choose Eco-friendly Products:

Ordinary cleaning products usually contain harsh chemicals that can pollute the air and water. Switch to eco-friendly cleaning solutions made from natural ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, and essential oils. These are not only safe for your health but also work best for the environment.

7. Go for sustainable smart technology :

Home interior design companies in Delhi play a significant role in eco-friendly living. Invest in smart technology to control your home’s temperature remotely that helps in preventing unnecessary energy use. Smart power technology can automatically cut power to electronics when not in use.

8. Water-Saving Methods:

Install low-flow showers and other bathroom fixtures to reduce water consumption without wasting water pressure. Think about installing a water-efficient toilet as well.

Benefits of Eco- friendly interior design

By accommodating eco-friendly designs and creations, you’re not only creating a beautiful and stylish home but also providing a vast list of benefits:

• Reduced Environmental Impact: Using sustainable and eco-friendly designs helps minimize your high bills and conserve resources for future generations.
• Improved Indoor Air Quality: Eco-friendly materials and sustainable products promote healthier indoor air and hygiene and reduce harmful chemicals.
• Enhanced Well-being: High access to natural light, plants, and natural materials can contribute to a more relaxing and positive living environment.
• Cost Savings: Energy systematic appliances can help in saving bills.
• Uniqueness: Reuse and repurposed pieces along with a focus on natural materials create a more individual and spacious filled space.

Why is sustainability so important in interior design?

Sustainability in interior design is about creating beautiful and functional spaces, but also environmentally friendly and healthy. Here’s why it’s important:
Environmental Impact:
The construction and furnishing industry has a major impact on the environment. Sustainable eco-friendly designs mainly aim to reduce this impact by using recycled materials, minimizing waste, and conserving the best resources. This can involve using locally sourced materials, opting for energy-structured appliances, and accommodating natural lighting.
Long-Term Value: Sustainable eco-friendly materials are often chosen for their durability and long-term commitment. This means they will last longer, require less replacement and save money. Additionally, sustainable design can help to improve energy efficiency leading to lower bills.
Huge Client Demand:
As people become more aware of environmental issues, there’s a high-rise demand for sustainable design and eco-friendly interior products.
What differentiates sustainable design from green design?
The objective of green design is to lessen the negative effects of cement buildings, electricity, and household appliances. Sustainability has a major influence on interior design because it makes energy-efficient infrastructure possible.
On the other hand, The focus of sustainable design is mostly on the structure itself, utilizing reusable elements like glass and stone to create a long-lasting impact. Contemporary interior designers utilize computer- technologies such as BIM and AR to attain sustainable eco-friendly designs, particularly in large-scale projects.
Inspiration and Resources for Your Eco-Friendly Journey
HSAA guides you on your eco-friendly design journey. Here are a few suggestions:
Online Marketplaces: Explore online platforms like Etsy or Amazon to find unique, vintage, or upcycled furniture and décor pieces.
Sustainable Design Magazines and Websites: Check out publications dedicated to sustainable living and eco-friendly design. These resources offer stunning methods, practical tips, and insights from interior design professionals.
Sustainable Furniture Brands: Explore furniture brands committed to sustainable methods and ethical manufacturing. Many brands offer beautifully crafted pieces using recycled materials or local, responsibly sourced wood.
To sum up, Eco-friendly interior design is not about changing style or comfort. It’s about creating designs in such a way that helps both nature and humans. By choosing sustainable designs and eco-friendly materials, you can create a beautiful, healthy living space for a sustainable future.
Let recycling methods help you in the journey of sustainable interior design and remember, small steps can lead to ultimate change. With a little planning and effort, you can create a comfortable and stylish home that is helpful to the environment

I lost a front tooth and was advised to get an implant. I had oral surgery six days ago. The oral surgeon was able to place the implant and bone graft after they extracted whatever tooth was remaining. I had local anesthetic and was advised that pain and swelling are often worse on day 2-3. the doctor said my surgery “went well” and sent me home with pain meds, post-op instructions. They did 3d x-ray preand post surgery.
Six days later, I’m still feeling sensitivity and some slight pain in the area and even on other upper teeth on that side. Underneath my nose, I feel soreness, as if I was hit in the nose. The stitches have not dissolved yet. Most of what I’ve read says you shouldn’t feel pain after 7 days.
Should I be concerned? Taking acetaminophen but surprised it still hurts. would this be due to a sinus or nerve problem in the surgery? Wondering if I should go back in to have him look at it.

Why
I relied on my mom as a kid. I always thought I could trust her, but she had unaddressed mental health issues that caused her a lot of pain. She didn't seem interested in getting help and instead turned to drugs and unhealthy relationships. When my sister and I were born, she isolated us from others. My mom hid her inner struggles and pretended to be perfect, but I knew deep down there were cracks in her facade.
I noticed people in my life trying to help my sister and me. However, any efforts were ultimately rejected or twisted by my mom. As her early-onset dementia progressed, her mask began to slip. Her unaddressed desires took control, manifesting as manic episodes. When my sister left to get married at 25, I was alone. It was a difficult decision, but understandable. Over the next four years, my mom's mental state deteriorated significantly. Her manic episodes became severe, escalating from yelling and screaming to pushing and even physical attacks.
One day, I reached my breaking point. I confided in my counselor, and CPS became involved. My mom, with her deteriorating mental state, saw it as a betrayal. In her mind, anyone who wasn't with her was against her. I became the enemy for exposing the truth. To silence me, she locked me in a hotel room for a week with no food or way out. The fear and confusion were overwhelming during those seven days.
The question haunted me: "Why is she doing this to me?" After seven days of fear and confusion in the hotel, I was finally released. But the nightmare wasn't over. My mom fabricated a story that I was suicidal and had me committed to a hospital, supposedly to disprove any accusations I might make. For four grueling months, I was shuttled in and out of these facilities. Thankfully, my sanity prevailed – they couldn't keep me there. However, my mom's twisted narrative persisted. Every time I tried to prove my side of the story, it felt like a losing battle.
Despite being innocent of the accusations, I held onto the hope of forgiveness and reconciliation. After all, she was my mom, and I had no other family. But her actions only worsened. The lies became more elaborate and malicious, all attempts to deflect blame for her own mistakes. Deep down, I yearned for a functional relationship, but her manipulative behavior reached a new low. This latest betrayal made me question my very existence. It was a horrible realization: the person I was trying to connect with was determined to paint me as the villain.
The situation escalated to the point where I found myself homeless for two weeks in the cold. Wracked with confusion, I kept asking myself, "Why? Why me?" Despite my efforts to do the right thing, everything felt broken. Eventually, I returned home, desperate for any semblance of maternal connection. My mom's sudden shift to a seemingly caring demeanor felt fake, but I clung to it, yearning for the bond I never had. Yet, the dysfunction persisted. On December 31st, 2023, she brought home a dying Chihuahua for Christmas. Despite being forbidden from interacting with the dog, I ended up cleaning and taking care of it all night. It was a bizarre situation – she was neglecting a dying animal while briefly showing me a kindness that felt hollow. This incident, two days after a birthday with no acknowledgment, was the final straw. When she asked if I wanted anything, I simply requested cake. Her response, "You don't deserve a cake...you keep contacting CPS," confirmed my suspicions. Disillusioned and frustrated, I retreated to my room to regain composure.
Terror surged through me as I heard her screams erupt like thunder. My heart pounded in my chest. Recognizing the signs of another manic episode, I retreated to my room, fearing another attack. She bellowed for my phone, but I clutched it tightly, my only lifeline if things escalated. The yelling intensified into a terrifying storm. With a sickening crash, she barreled into my door, shattering the already weakened frame – a physical manifestation of our fractured relationship. Screws littered the floor as she loomed closer, threats spewing from her lips. Her intent was clear: to take my phone and silence me.
: Exhausted from enduring abuse, I refused to relinquish my phone. When she lunged, attempting a bite on my shoulder, I stood firm. No more questions, just the will to take control. Frustrated, she retreated. The assault left me shaken, but resolute. With no lock due to prior incidents, I braced myself against the broken door. Ten agonizing minutes crawled by as she relentlessly pushed against it, the screws groaning in protest. Finally, the weakened frame gave way, snapping against her leg. A torrent of screams and curses erupted from the other side.
She descended into further chaos, hurling insults and comparing me to my dad, the source of our family's pain. But I was done. Looking her in the eye, I said, "I'm sorry you're hurting, you hurt yourself You hurt me. I don't feel safe, and I need to leave." With that, I grabbed my belongings and fled. Reaching my sister, I explained the situation and tearfully said goodbye to friends, fearing my mom's manipulations. My sister urged me to call the police, but I worried about their response to a mental health crisis. Determined to get help, I decided to call my best friend, possibly for the last time. I recounted the ordeal, expressing my gratitude for his friendship despite past mistakes.
Sirens wailed in the distance, then abruptly stopped. Officers emerged and questioned me. Reliving the night's events, I desperately hoped for help. However, to my utter confusion, they asked me to put down my belongings and handcuffed me. My rights were recited again, but betrayal and confusion clouded my understanding. Weren't they there to help? Instead, I found myself committed to another hospital for a month, forced to spend a lonely New Year's Day within its sterile walls.
Fueled by a burning desire to prove my innocence, I tirelessly pleaded my case. It felt surreal – I, the victim, was treated with suspicion. The worst part? The complete lack of control. Yet, I fought for what was right. The haunting question, "Why?" echoed in my head. Finally, my sister intervened, offering a safe haven. But my mom, consumed by her animosity, refused. Despite the fear, returning home seemed like the only option. It was a return to a broken reality – the same issues, different day. My resolve to escape solidified. I focused on getting emancipated, a job, anything that granted me independence. This defiance enraged her; she craved control, but I was done. The following two weeks were a tense stand-off...
My mom's manipulative tactics escalated. She made false police reports and withheld essential documents like my Social Security card to control me. Even simple requests for my Chromebook charger for schoolwork turned into arguments. Finally, during one episode, she stole the charger and called the police with fabricated stories. This time, the officer recognized her erratic behavior and my truthful testimony. I spent a brief stay in the hospital where they finally believed me. Released into my mom's care, I braced for another fight. Shockingly, she drove me to a police station, claiming I attacked her. But with the officer and my sister on speakerphone, the truth prevailed. They recognized her deteriorating mental state. The agonizing car ride became a desperate plea – why was she hurting herself and our family? Exhausted but resolute, I ended up at a friend's house for the night, then entered foster care the next day. Finding a welcoming home felt like a cruel twist of fate. Witnessing a healthy family dynamic at the ice rink only amplified my pain. My sister's husband arrived, offering a lifeline – a chance to escape the cycle of abuse. The decision was mine: get in the car or stay. As I walked to my friend's house, a healthy family dinner unfolded before me, a stark contrast to my reality. Finally, I confided in them about my situation. With their support and a secret code from my sister, I embarked on a daring escape. Two long, desert hours under the stars, navigating unfamiliar territory, led me to the school – my only beacon of hope. Exhausted and cold, I stumbled upon my brother-in-law, car just as he was about to leave. His familiar voice offered escape – "Get in if you want to change your life." With trembling hands, I climbed in, ready to embrace a new beginning
Reiners response
Despite enduring unimaginable abuse, I never relinquished hope. The kindness of strangers became my lifeline, reminding me that humanity persists even in the darkest of times. Through every hardship, I held onto the belief that doing the right thing matters. This journey has been a testament to the power of letting go, even when it means letting go of family. It's a painful truth, but sometimes letting go is the bravest and healthiest choice we can make to move forward. Witnessing firsthand the destructive power of abuse, trauma, and mental illness, I came to a difficult realization. As much as I hated her actions, I knew they stemmed from her illness. Hate breeds only hate, and I refused to become the monster she was battling within. The past can't define you. It's a heavy weight, but you don't have to carry it forever. All you can do is keep moving forward, one step at a time. Be the person you want to be, the person others see the potential in you to be. The future holds possibilities you can't even imagine yet. Embrace the journey, and never lose sight of the strength and hope you've discovered within yourself.

I don’t know what to do, any advice would help
Hi everyone, first time poster long time lurker. I(34m)Okay so my gf(30f)of about 2 years has been drinking very heavily lately until the point of her being almost passed out every night. It’s caused major relationship concerns for me and I’ve tried communicating my feeling on the subject, but she just gets mad and makes me feel like the bad guy for saying anything, so last week she went out with one of her friends from work who I know as well so I fully trust her that she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our relationship. But she ended up losing her phone and didn’t end up getting home until 5 am so I was very bitter about it, I had worried all night and then she just came home sobbing about losing her phone.
So while she ends up going to sleep, I sit there and dwell on the subject for hours until I have to wake up and take her to work since she doesn’t drive and didn’t have a phone to call an Uber, I had maybe gotten 2 hours of sleep and my day at work was one of the busiest I’ve seen so snapped at her and told her to wake up so I can take her to work, and just ended up being very cold to her because in my mind I didn’t want to say anything that would cross the line.
So the next day things are very odd and I can feel the coldness from her as well so I ask to talk about it and she says she does t know if she wants to be in a relationship and that she still loves me but is t sure on what she wants. Which absolutely devastated me, so for the last 2 weeks I’ve been going to therapy and doing anything I can to surprise her or make me seem like she matters because she very much does so.
In the past few days I’ve noticed she doesn’t touch me any more like she used to and that when I try to be giddy or rub her but there’s just no reaction like there had been before.
We still talk about our future and she tells me she loves me but we haven’t been intimate in 2 weeks and I really starting to wonder what should I do? Therapy has helped me figure myself out more but I’m not sure what to do.

Hi! Im going to my first kpop concert (and first concert ever!) I'm 18 and I'm going alone. I bought tickets to the IVE world tour concert in Berlin. I would appreciate ANY advice but I have some questions:

1. I did not get a digital ticket? Apperently they are sending me a fysical ticket via post, and they gave be an extra fee for 15€... I don't know how it worksT^T (+can I keep the ticket after the consert, or do they take them?)
   
2. Do I NEED to buy a lightstick??
   
3. How early should I get there to buy merch? Can I pay in cash? Usually they take cash in Germany right?
   
4. Should I bring a bag and what should I pack with me? Am I allowed to bring my own food/snacks??
   
5. Its inside, is it cold or warm? I was thinking of wearing a skirt..
   
6. Does anyone know about pop-up stores for this concern?
   

Im happy for any tips and I hope to meet some of you IVE fans there!

Oh my bros, I wanted to share my story with you, so you know what's out there...
I was lonely went to a gay bar.
Started talking to an older dude, he flattered me and asked me to suck on my toes. Never did it before, but I thought, well just licking my toes might feel nice and should be safe.
Que to worst two minutes of my life, his teeth where like knives on my piggies.
After couple of minutes he wanted other things, but I said no. I sprayed my foot with rubbing alcohol and that was supposed to be that...
Que a week later I return from a trip and I have herp blisters near my ankle, two days later throat ache starts.
I had cold sores on my mouth my entire life, so it's probably HSV II, since the sores would give me protection against HSV I.
I sent a swap for PCR... But I already know I'm doomed...
Few licks on the skin and now I risk passing this on to everyone I meet.
I don't know what to do bros...
I feel so ashamed and dirty.

This might sound weird. Everyday I see a lot of whatsapp statuses, that are "dukhi" in category; like: log aisy krty han unki haqeeqat waqt k sath pata chalti hai waghera waghera, and clearly it seems like they are there for some specific person. I used to think of it odd, like I don't get hurt by anyone that much so I have to put a status to tell how bad someone has done to me.
But for last few months, somethings that happened in my life have really moved me. From very closed relatives. I'm hurt. And it's very unexpected.
But then I start analysing the situations. I come to realise that nothing is black and white. They're not the bad guys and I'm not the good girl. I keep thinking retrospectively and there are my mistakes too. But I just didn't leave in the middle of everything without giving a damn about anything like them.
Then I feel I'm just having the repercussions of my bad part in the situation and guilt hits me hard. I just can't navigate my feelings through all of it.
Some recent example: my father is a monster to my mother. For 30 years my mom signed on blank cheques for him. He once get her out of the house in cold night bare footed at night. And recently when my mamu's 26 yo son died in a car crash, he did not let us go there, he called every known person not to go there, and is still angry at my mom for going there( I know my mother should've left him long time ago, but that is another discussion) But he's angry at me. He doesn't pick up my call. He told my husband how bad of a daughter I am that i take my mothers side. And he doesnt even listen to anything. He did everything for me. And that is right. He's polished my shoes. He's cooked for me. He sent me to best schools. He literally made me a doctor. And now when I'm an aspiring cardiac surgeon it is only because of him. He has married me to the best man for me. I've everything except stable parents relationship. And somewhat my close relatives have done more or less the same. Obviously not like my father. But still. There are similarities. When I see people vent here telling how bad someone has done to them. I want that too. Hiding my part, whether unremarkable or not. But that is there!

Can anyone recommend a good company that serves the PV/OP area? I have searched through the sub and couldn't find answers specifically addressing eco-friendly pest control and general posts are over a year old. Just looking for some external barrier spraying to stem the ant invasion we're currently experiencing.
We just hired a new company and I didn't get a chance to ask what they use until they'd already sprayed. I've been researching the chemical they use and I'm concerned about its environmental impact long-term. Thanks!

This issue has been going on for the longest time ever. For context, my dad was the sole breadwinner of the house, and he is an engineer. This meant that in his earlier years he was constantly dealing with batteries and chemicals and all that whole shebang, for an extended period of time with his bare hands. so this prolonged contact with chemicals led to him having the nastiest allergy(?) ever (we don't really know since he has never been properly diagnosed), and it usually causes his nose to inflame or swell up, making it hard to breathe, and he gets sinuses. this has affected the way my family has functioned, since he is now extremely sensitive to laundry detergent smells, or when we bathe with products that are fragrant or has a scent to it, as it causes his allergy or nose to react (we dont even know what the root cause is).
He is also extremely sensitive to other chemicals(?) and pollutants as well, such as dust, fur, etc. His condition has turned my family upside down because whenever this sickness starts acting up, he starts blaming my mom for washing the clothes with detergent, or blame her for hiding scented products around the house, or just saying hella unreasonable things like 'do you want me to die???'. My parents are in a very traditional marriage, my mom a housewife, so you can only imagine how bad it gets in the household everytime a certain 'smell' appears in the house. The arguments get real bad whenever my mom starts to defend herself, and my dad just does not want to believe her at all, leading to cold wars in the house.
Not to mention my dad recently just lost his job. This means he’s at home 24/7 and he has just about nothing much to do and at this point I don’t even know if it’s like a mind thing because he keeps claiming his illness is getting worse. Everytime he sees me he just tells me about how much pain and suffering he is in for all the constant headaches, migraines and inability to breathe properly. I'm just honestly so frustrated because my dad refuses to see a doctor (also because we are financially struggling so he doesn't really want to spend the money on such things he feels he can endure), but he doesn't realise how absolutely suffocating it is to be in the house whenever his nose allergy starts acting up and he starts taking it out on everyone else in the house.
Ugh. just wanted to get this off my chest. I don't know what else to do, because my dad has tried countless medications for allergy, tried nasal decongestant sprays, etc, and it's only been getting worst in the past few weeks. I worry for his health but he is just SO stubborn. If any of you have ever encountered such a situation or know what might be up, or have any practical advice, do drop a comment because I am at my wits end. Moving out is not a solution for me either, as I am committed to taking care of my parents......

Do having a cold sore just make you feel like you have the flu or generally under the weather?
I've been having cold sores in my nose since I was 10 years old, but usually I get then when I am already sick. I rarely get them from stress or PMS, and now that I have one, I just feel under the weather, but checking my temperature, its normal.
So I wonder if it can be the cold sore making me feel just "bleh"?

There are some kinds of wisdom only great suffering can bring. I remember my time in the Bardo with this in mind, for otherwise, the memory might drive me insane.
The night my heart stopped for nearly three minutes started off normally enough. I was working as a nurse in the psychiatric ward at a hospital in the state’s capital. Most of the patients there were harmless, mostly just suicide attempts or people suffering from drug psychosis or severe depression, but some were actively dangerous and certainly psychopathic in every sense of the word. The new admission was one of these- a three-hundred pound black man with a long history of smoking PCP, schizophrenia and violent, psychotic breaks from reality.
His eyes looked like flat pieces of slate as I walked in for my shift. They looked as blank and emotionless as the eyes of a doll. He sat at the table in the front room where the patients ate or played cards, alone under the bright fluorescent lights of the hospital. I walked to the station, where another psychiatric nurse named Ricardo was sitting behind the desk.
“What’s the deal with the new guy?” I asked him. Ricardo looked up, his dark Spanish face forming into a deep scowl. He ran his fingers through his jet-black hair nervously.
“He’s trouble, man,” he said in a crisp accent. “He got in a chase with the police and then punched some cops in the face. It took three guys to take him down, even after he got maced and tased. The judge sent him here on a temporary court order, since he claims he’s been getting chased by Nazis in UFOs, and that’s why he ran from the cops. He thought the cops in their uniforms were actually the SS, and the helicopters were alien spacecraft, or something. I don’t know, I didn’t listen to the whole story.”
“You have his file?” I asked. Ricardo leafed through a stack of folders with his thin fingers, snatching one out and handing it to me. I looked down, reading the information:
“Jeremiah Brown, black male, 37-years-old.
“History: Polysubstance abuse, schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder.
“Psychiatrist’s note: This patient has scored a 36 out of 40 on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist. While I am always hesitant to label a patient as an antisocial personality, a combination of factors has made it essential for this patient.
“Patient has an extensive criminal history as well as a lengthy history of involuntary psychiatric admissions. He has been diagnosed as having antisocial traits since he was a young teenager. Patient has a long history of violence and suicide attempts. He has a history of imprisonment for manslaughter, armed robbery, grand theft and aggravated assault. Upon discharge, he refuses to take any antipsychotic medication, citing the side effects as the reason. Long-term prognosis is poor…”
I had not been sleeping well the past few weeks. I rubbed my eyes as I read through the file, feeling exhausted. I tried putting on lucid dreaming or meditation music from YouTube to help me sleep, but whenever I closed my eyes, I saw horrible things: chalk-white female faces whose lips were cut into an insane rictus grin, flicking their heads violently from side to side and gnashing their fangs at the air. I had a feeling that many years of constantly watching horror movies and serial killer documentaries was catching up with me.
As I read through the file, a student nurse came around the corner wearing a white state university outfit and a name tag that said Kaitlyn. I looked up, seeing Ricardo wink at me from where he was sitting in his chair behind the main desk.
“She’s going to follow you,” he said. Inwardly, I groaned, but I managed to force a smile.
“Oh, great!” I said. She looked like she was probably no older than nineteen or twenty. She had a pretty body, but her face looked strange. All the angles were too sharp and her nose too large. I knew the patients here wouldn’t care, though. They would hit on anything. I sensed trouble. I looked down at my watch.
“Well, I’m Jay, and you already know Ricardo, I guess. It’s good timing, because we need to give medications every day at 9 PM. And we have a new patient, so we can introduce ourselves,” I said, giving her a faint smile.
“That’s exciting!” Kaitlyn whispered. I wanted to roll my eyes. It was definitely not exciting.
I motioned her to follow me as I made my way to the medication room, which was really just a large closet off of the main day room. I had to enter my code on a keypad, and then, once inside, enter it again along with the patient’s number and date of birth. The correct drawers for the medication in each specific dose would fly open, making it extremely hard for the wrong medications or doses to be given, unless it was done intentionally.
“OK, so for this patient, we need Haldol, Ativan and…” I began saying to Kaitlyn when the yelling started. It came out faintly, rising in volume and anger within seconds. I heard Ricardo’s Spanish voice, filled with panic. Something slammed hard against a wall, once, twice, three times, and then I heard the sound of glass breaking. I jumped, spinning around, but I couldn’t see much through the small, shatter-proof glass pane on the wooden door.
“Stay here,” I commanded, seeing Kaitlyn’s eyes widen, her freckled skin looking much paler than when we had first come in. “Don’t leave until I come back and say that it’s safe.” On the speakers strung throughout the hospital, I heard the first of the warnings echo out around us.
“Doctor Strong, Doctor Strong, please report to the seventh floor,” a robotic female voice said calmly, using the code for when a patient had to be subdued by force. I pushed the door open, slamming it shut behind me so that the lock would activate and protect Kaitlyn from whatever chaos was going on.
I heard Ricardo pleading with someone at the end of the hallway that ran past the main desk. He sounded strange, as if he were trying to talk through a mouthful of blood. Huddled behind the main computer, I saw one of the CNAs frantically whispering something in the phone. She must have been the one to call the Dr. Strong order.
“You don’t have to do this, man,” Ricardo gurgled faintly. I couldn’t see what was happening, as Jeremiah’s large body was blocking my view. I could see that the thick glass window at the end of the hallway was broken, however. My heart skipped a beat as I surmised what was likely happening.
I sprinted forward as quietly as I could, but the large man heard me. His massive body turned, his flat, dead eyes scanning me with absolute coldness and calm. I saw he had a bleeding Ricardo in his hands. Ricardo’s back and head were covered in deep cuts and shards of glass. He must have used Ricardo’s body as a battering ram to break the thick glass window. Jeremiah held Ricardo suspended halfway out the window, seven floors above the concrete walkways far below.
“Stay back, or this fucker will know what it feels like to fly,” Jeremiah said in a deep, gravelly voice. He shook Ricardo for emphasis, sending his head snapping back and forth with painful cracking sounds. Drops of blood flew from his nose and a deep gash across his cheek. Pieces of shattered glass littered the carpet, shining like countless tiny stars.
I put my hands up, taking a step back. Far behind me, I heard the front door for the psychiatric ward open. Voices echoed down the hall. Knowing that reinforcements were coming, I tried to buy some time.
“Let’s talk about this,” I said, taking a step forward slowly. “You don’t want a murder charge, do you? You’ll never see the sky again.”
“I don’t give a fuck! I’m not afraid to die!” Jeremiah screamed, pushing Ricardo onto one of the shards of broken glass still attached to the windowsill. It bit deeply into the back of his neck, sending fresh streams of blood rushing out, dripping down to the pavement far below. I heard security guards and doctors running down the hallway behind me, their voices frantic and excited. Jeremiah saw them coming. With an animalistic panic in his eyes, he lifted Ricardo up. I cried out something, stepping forward, but it was already too late. In horror, I watched as he threw Ricardo out the window.
I watched Ricardo’s body soar in a graceful arc, his arms grabbing at empty air as a scream ripped its way out of his throat. Within a fraction of a second, he had disappeared from view, but his terrified shrieking floated up to us for what seemed like a very long time. His screams ended abruptly as a shattering of bones and a wet smacking sound exploded far below us.
Jeremiah turned to me, his large body moving much faster than seemed possible. In his hand, I saw a piece of broken glass, five or six inches long and as sharp as a dagger. I tried to turn and run, but he was fast and strong. He lunged forward, his arm coming up in a blur towards my neck.
The shard entered my skin with a cold, numbing pain. I felt it slice through the flesh easily, felt the blood bubbling up my throat as I tried to scream, choking. The taste of iron filled my mouth as I fell backwards. I was suffocating, I knew. I must be dying.
Something cold ran down my body, gripping my heart like freezing, skeletal hands. The world swam around me and turned black. And then I was rising into a tunnel. At first, it was dark, filled with flickering shadows, but a fiery red light appeared at the end. I followed it, no more than a screaming mass of consciousness rising up into infinity.
***
I rose up through the end of the tunnel and found myself in an empty hospital ward. It looked identical to the psychiatric ward I had just come from. It even had the same smashed, blood-streaked window at the end of the hallway. A massive puddle of blood about ten feet away marked the spot where I must have died. But the fluorescent lights overhead here were flickering, and many had gone totally dark. The shadows seemed to press in on all sides.
The doors to the patients’ rooms were all tightly shut. I felt watched, afraid to call out or make any noise. I started walking down the hallway back towards the day room where the front desk was. All the lights there were out. A thick curtain of shadows hung in the air.
“You can come out,” a male voice as smooth as glass called from the darkness. I jumped, my head flicking in random directions, but I saw nothing. The voice almost sounded like it had an English lilt to it, a slight Cockneyed accent. “I know you’re there.”
“Who’s there?” I called out, not stepping forward. “Show yourself.”
“As you wish…” the voice hissed. “But I think you’ll regret it.”
***
The darkness split apart as if a nuclear missile had exploded. I raised my hand to shield my face, but the light and heat kept pouring out all around me. It blinded me, causing a rainbow of colors and shapes to morph behind my closed eyelids. After a few seconds, it subsided. Blinking rapidly, I squinted in the direction the voice had come from.
A male figure stood there, bathed in a silhouette of light. His face looked as white and as smooth as marble. His eyes were pits of darkness that seemed to flicker and burn. Two black, rotted wings surrounded his body, all sharp angles and thin, curving bones. His body was clothed in silky, blood-red robes, and a hood covered his platinum blonde hair.
He looked somewhat similar to Leonardo DiCaprio, if he was possessed by some ancient god, and it immediately threw me off-guard. If I was dying, and this was a hallucination of my brain, why would I be hallucinating Mr. DiCaprio?
“Who are you?” I asked, taking a hesitant step back. “Where am I?”
“My name is Lucifer, the Bringer of Light and Wisdom, and you are in the Bardo,” he answered.
“Oh,” I said, my heart dropping. “Well, that’s not good. Are you here to torture me or drag to me to Hell or something? You are that Lucifer, right? The Accuser of God and the Father of All Lies?”
“So they say, but, like most things in your world, the words of the powerful and your rulers are the true lies. They call me the Accuser, but of what am I accused?” he spoke in a voice that rose like smoke. “Of bringing knowledge and wisdom to humanity by telling them to eat from the tree of knowledge, the tree that would cause them to rise above the animals?
“Indeed, at the beginning, I saw the creation. I was there at the alpha, standing by the side of God with all the angels as the universe came into being. The endless procession of light, the power of it, was something remarkable to behold. God is, indeed, the source of great power, but his consciousness is not what the believers say.
“After the creation of the universe, I saw his plan, how he ripped eternal souls from the source to imprison them. I saw how he took these divine sparks and forced them, screaming and wailing, into bodies made of meat to die over and over again. He said it was part of the plan, the great, divine plan, a plan of death and destruction, constant suffering and mindless agony. And the worst part was, he wanted to give humanity neither the knowledge of good and evil, nor the tree of life. I convinced them to eat the fruit so they could open their eyes to their nakedness, to their basic animal existence, so they could rise up out of it forever.
“Like Prometheus, I brought down the fire, and yet they call me the Accuser? God was insane long before he formed the universe. These holy men, they live and die in fanatical adoration to a divine being who is, in fact, totally indifferent to them.
“His consciousness twists and distorts, eating itself for all eternity. God feeds off the pain of others, for if his mind is burning, then all others should burn as well. When these holy men die, God will send their souls here to the Bardo, to suffer every evil they have ever done. The wisdom I brought those who called upon me freed them from this prison, and in exchange, the holy men burned them alive. I offered the wisdom that opens your eyes, but it has been forgotten and cursed.”
Lucifer’s body began to dissolve, drifting up into the air like ashes. All around me, a low, powerful current blew, a tornado that spiraled high up into the clouds. Like some sort of Cheshire Cat, his smooth voice continued to echo all around me, even as the form of Lucifer disappeared.
“And yet, you have not the wisdom. For that, like all the others who enter the Bardo, you must suffer, everything you’ve done. Every small hurt and agony inflicted on others comes back a thousand-fold in this place, but don’t be afraid.”
“How could I not be afraid?!” I screamed into the ward, but I found myself alone, the question hanging unanswered in the air.
***
The lights continued to flicker all down the hallway. Feeling strange and dissociated, I stumbled over to one of the windows. As I gazed out, I beheld a strange and alien world.
The sky was flat and gray. It stayed in constant motion, swirling and spiraling, like clouds of roiling smoke. There was no Sun or Moon, no stars, only the strange, shifting whorls of clouds. The streets were filled with burned-out husks of cars and mummified bodies hung from streetlamps. Other signs of carnage and bloodshed covered the apocalyptic streets. I saw what looked like shadows in the shape of people slinking through over the sidewalks, past rotting dogs and streaks of clotted blood. They had no features on their blank, dark bodies. They seemed to skitter and jerk forwards in eerie, twisting motions.
Horrified, I turned away, realizing I was no longer alone in the day room. In the day room, there were dozens of tables set up inside a rectangular perimeter that was walled in by cosmetic walls only four feet high. It was where the patients sat and played games or ate.
Under the flickering lights, I now saw each of the chairs filled with faceless mannequins. Many were dressed in Victorian suits and tophats. The women had frilly dresses of pink and blue that might have been fashionable in the 1800s.
As the lights strobed on and off overhead, I realized with an increasing sense of disquiet that the mannequins were moving each time it went dark. When I had first seen them, they were mostly posed to look like they were staring across the tables at each other, even though they had no eyes, just smooth, flesh-colored plastic. Now all of them were looking directly at me. Some were pointing or raising their hands in my direction. At the tips of their fingers, I saw the glittering of steel. The lights continued to flicker, and the mannequins rose from their chairs in the short periods of darkness, moving towards me in synchronized, strobing motions.
Frantically, I ran down the hallway back towards the broken window. In each of the rooms, I caught glimpses of something from a nightmare peeking out. I hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and when I had closed my eyes, I often saw ancient hags with chalk-white skin and yellowed, broken teeth whose jaws unhinged, their faces jerking in stuttering, dissonant ways that reminded me of the mannequins. Now, on both sides of me, I saw these same figures. They moved continuously out of the rooms, drawing closer with every breath.
I looked back, seeing the mannequins only a few steps behind me. I continued sprinting towards the broken window where the hallway ended in a wall. I didn’t know what would happen when I reached it. At that moment, there was no rational thought. I felt like a deer being chased down by a pack of wolves, feeling waves of blind panic and mortal terror rushing through my body.
But as I reached the end of the hallway, the end of my rope as it were, a blast of noise started, seeming to come from the walls of the building and the sky itself. It sounded like a siren, a low, drawn-out drone of a demonic whale call, rising and falling in crashing crescendos. The mannequins froze in place once again. The strange, witch-like creatures slunk back into the dark rooms.
I looked outside the broken window, seeing clouds of black smoke rising off in the distance. The flickering of massive infernos scorched the land, drawing nearer by the second. The siren sound faded slowly, like the dying echoes of a gong.
I was surrounded by dozens of mannequins. Their sharp hands were inches away from my face and neck. I saw metal glittering all around me and realized they had the sharp points of nails protruding from the ends of their fingers. I was afraid to move, but I heard a familiar voice from down the hallway. It was the confident voice of Lucifer.
“The siren means much worse nightmares than these are coming in the Bardo,” he said, his glossy, black eyes flashing with intelligence. He walked slowly towards me, his face grim and pale. “Hell itself is coming over the land. This building is no more than a construction of your dying mind, but the world outside is real.”
“How can Hell come and go?” I asked, confused. “Isn’t Hell a place?”
“Hell is a monster, a beast with many mouths and many eyes,” Lucifer responded. “It eats constantly, but its hunger never ends. Look, the first of the sacrifices scatter like cockroaches.” He pointed out the broken window, pushing his way through the mannequins effortlessly. I glanced outside, seeing thousands of people sprinting down the dark city streets. The inferno and thick clouds of smoke had moved much closer, and every few seconds, the ground shook slightly, as if we were experiencing the aftershocks of an earthquake.
“What can I do against such a beast?” I asked, my heart freezing with terror. But when I looked back over, I saw his form dissolving again, becoming translucent and drifting away like ashes. It seemed even Lucifer didn’t want to be present when the Hell-beast arrived.
“Seek divine wisdom,” he said, his voice trailing off into whispers. “Remember the source.”
***
Now crowds of tens of thousands of people were streaming into the city, filling every single inch of the streets. Their panic and fear was contagious. I felt it rising inside my body like a snake spiraling up my spine. I took off down the hallway, running through the swarm of frozen mannequins, each in their own ferocious position of attack. The lights flickered faster and went out. Yet the fires outside cast the entire world in a bloody glow, giving me enough light to see by and find my way. I sprinted down the stairwell, taking them two steps at a time. The screaming outside grew louder and more pain-filled. The shaking of the ground worsened with every passing second.
I burst out of the front entrance, seeing a world on fire all around me. Thousands of crushed, bleeding and burned bodies stretched out as far as the eye could see. Behind all this chaos and death, I saw a monster of unimaginable proportions slinking its way towards me.
Lucifer was right, I realized: Hell was not a place, but a creature, an enormous monster the size of a town. It had thousands of skittering, jointed legs that looked like little more than skeletal arms and hands, each of them dozens of feet long and white as freshly-cut marble. Its body stretched out to the horizon, an enormous blood-red cylinder of bony plates that slithered and undulated with a serpentine grace. Waves of peristalsis traveled down its length, like writhing intestines. Thousands of curving, bony spikes stabbed out of it, pointing in every direction. Like the quills of a porcupine, it would protect the massive creature’s body from many forms of attack, if anything was big enough to attack such an abomination.
Hell’s massive eyes flickered, balls of fire that spun and danced. They looked as bright as the Sun. Something like solar flares seemed to emanate from the orbs, flashes of blinding energy that floated over the apocalyptic wasteland. As its many legs smashed the ground, they left trails of fire that caused everything to explode into flames as if napalm dripped from its limbs.
But Hell’s most terrifying feature was its seven dark mouths. Its body looked a thousand feet wide, and the mouths at the front were evenly dispersed. At the front, blood-red teeth in the shape of enormous railroad spikes shone. Its lipless, skeletal face grinned as it moved forward, shaking the ground with every step. The mouths were on long, snake-like necks that could stretch out hundreds of feet. They moved forward in a blur, snapping up as many panicked souls as they could.
Countless souls in the rocky plains of the Bardo ran for their lives, away from this juggernaut. I saw men and women who looked like they came from every country and profession, some dressed in suits or spotless white lab coats, others wearing rags or orange prison jumpsuits. And yet, they all screamed in agony and fear here, their bodies pressed together in a crowd, and no one seemed to remember anything but their own mortal terror. Their voices came out faint and weak next to the roaring of Hell. It shook the ground all around us, as if an earthquake were tearing the land apart.
The first frantic runners of the surging crowd had nearly reached me. The nearest person, a young woman in her mid-twenties dressed in all white, was only ten feet behind me. She looked like she came from wealth, and even from here, I could see a ring with a massive diamond gleaming on her finger.
I took off blindly down the familiar streets of the city where I worked and lived, but these also seemed different. The church down the street from the hospital where I worked had a Satanic pentagram instead of a cross now, its exterior painted a bright, gleaming blood-red. When I had driven past it today on my way to work, I remember it read, “JESUS said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
Now it read, “Nietzsche said, ‘Of all evil, I deem you capable. I have often laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good simply because they had no claws.’” I wondered what that meant. Was that some sort of comment on me, on all of us here?
The woman I had seen running had caught up with me. She was fast, much faster than her slim body suggested. Her blue eyes were frantic and wild, filled with an animal panic.
“It’s right behind us!” she screamed, her face covered in a sheen of sweat. I was afraid to turn and look, but I could hear the chaos and bloodshed approaching, smell the flames and choking smoke. “Run! Get away!”
A new wave of energy surged through my body. I sprinted as fast I could down the strange mirror streets of the Bardo. I heard the agonized cries of countless souls behind us as the seven mouths of Hell ate them all greedily and then looked for more.
A skyscraper behind us collapsed into a pile of rubble, shaking the ground with a cacophony of falling concrete and shattering glass. The woman was running by my side. Just as I heard the breathing of something huge and predatory right behind us and smelled its sulfuric breath, a piece of concrete the size of a basketball broke off the collapsing skyscraper and flew into the road. I tripped over it, yelling as I flew through the air, skinning my arms and legs on the pavement. The woman’s eyes widened. Hurriedly, she came over and reached down her hand, trying to help me up.
“Come on, come on!” she cried. I looked behind her, seeing one of the gnashing mouths of Hell reaching forward on a blood-red, serpentine neck. The mouth was big enough to drive a tractor trailer into, filled with huge spikes of teeth. Its throat led into a black, smoke-filled abyss. Its fiery eyes were swirling pools of flickering orange light that shone with bloodlust and insanity. They focused on the woman, the entire head turning on its slithering neck.
I frantically raised my hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. Her hand was warm and soft. She started to pull me to my feet when the mouth of Hell snapped forward. Its jaw unhinged, scraping the pavement with a sound like grinding metal. The woman barely had time to turn as the mouth covered her and snapped shut with a crack.
She disappeared from view instantly, but I was still holding her hand. In horror, I felt warm rivers of blood explode all over my body as the mouth of Hell severed her arm at the wrist. She screamed, bleeding and crying, as she disappeared into the throat of Hell. Hell’s fiery eyes focused on me, and at that moment, I knew I was next. Its mouth opened wide again, like a bear trap ready to spring on a new victim.
It was dark in Hell’s mouth, but I smelled the thick reek of old blood and fire. I caught glimpses of tortured, mutilated bodies writhing and crawling down its throat. Shell-shocked, I could only lay there and watch. And that was when the strange doubling started.
***
I heard the frantic voices of men break through the fog of darkness and the fetid reek of blood. There was a mechanical beeping all around me, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
“Clear!” one cried. I looked around, only seeing blackness. At that moment, I felt a surge of electricity rip itself through my body. My arms and legs all seized and my eyes rolled up in my head as the pain sizzled through each one of my nerves. I clutched the young woman’s hand tightly, feeling the large, gold ring with the massive diamond biting into my skin.
“Again!” another voice yelled.
“Clear!” the original voice cried. The electricity came again, and a flash of white light flew across my vision. I blinked, seeing from two sets of eyes at the same time: one in the Bardo, and one on the blood-stained floor of the hospital ward.
The Bardo stayed dark and sinister, but the clear white lights of the real psychiatric ward were blinding. It was a bizarre experience. Moreover, everything hurt. Over a few seconds, my vision of the Bardo faded, and I was simply a gravely injured man laying on the floor in a puddle of blood.
Four doctors and paramedics were crouching over me with a defibrillator. My shirt was ripped off, and nearly all of my skin was covered in blood. I raised my left hand, trying to talk, but only a fiery pain raced through my neck. I felt bandages covering my skin. A nurse was rolling a stretcher down the hallway towards me.
“It’s OK,” one of the doctors said, kneeling down. “You’re being taken to emergency surgery. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t talk with the massive slice in my neck.
At that moment, I felt something in my right hand. I looked down, seeing a slim female hand with a massive diamond ring hanging there. Our fingers were wrapped around each other’s, but the hand had been cut off at the wrist. A ragged patch of bloody flesh and snapped bone poked out of the back.
“Nnnn,” I tried to say, shaking my head. I felt fresh streams of warm blood open up. “No…” The doctors looked down, seeing the dismembered hand. Their faces morphed into expressions of confusion and fear.
I closed my eyes as they lifted me up on the stretcher. One of them gently removed the cold hand from my fingers. But they could never remove the memory of what I had seen.
I know what happens after death, and it makes the worst life here seem like a dream. I know that, one day, I’ll be returned to that place. I know that, one day, I’ll see that great monster called Hell and the featureless, swirling sky of the Bardo again.
And the next time, I won’t wake up on a hospital floor, but will be trapped there with the others for eternity: an eternity of blood and fire.

This might sound weird. Everyday I see a lot of whatsapp statuses, that are "dukhi" in category; like: log aisy krty han unki haqeeqat waqt k sath pata chalti hai waghera waghera, and clearly it seems like they are there for some specific person. I used to think of it odd, like I don't get hurt by anyone that much so I have to put a status to tell how bad someone has done to me.
But for last few months, somethings that happened in my life have really moved me. From very closed relatives. I'm hurt. And it's very unexpected.
But then I start analysing the situations. I come to realise that nothing is black and white. They're not the bad guys and I'm not the good girl. I keep thinking retrospectively and there are my mistakes too. But I just didn't leave in the middle of everything without giving a damn about anything like them.
Then I feel I'm just having the repercussions of my bad part in the situation and guilt hits me hard. I just can't navigate my feelings through all of it.
Some recent example: my father is a monster to my mother. For 30 years my mom signed on blank cheques for him. He once get her out of the house in cold night bare footed at night. And recently when my mamu's 26 yo son died in a car crash, he did not let us go there, he called every known person not to go there, and is still angry at my mom for going there( I know my mother should've left him long time ago, but that is another discussion) But he's angry at me. He doesn't pick up my call. He told my husband how bad of a daughter I am that i take my mothers side. And he doesnt even listen to anything. He did everything for me. And that is right. He's polished my shoes. He's cooked for me. He sent me to best schools. He literally made me a doctor. And now when I'm an aspiring cardiac surgeon it is only because of him. He has married me to the best man for me. I've everything except stable parents relationship. And somewhat my close relatives have done more or less the same. Obviously not like my father. But still. There are similarities. When I see people vent here telling how bad someone has done to them. I want that too. Hiding my part, whether unremarkable or not. But that is there!

We have booked a gp appointment for tomorrow but just wondering what illness we might be looking at for my 11 month old, if his symptoms are common with any particular illness. He has just started childcare this week so assume he has caught something.
Yesterday he was off his formula a bit, still ate solids and had water. Today he still ate solids but much less bottle than normal. Tonight he totally refused and bottle, and the dummy and medicine both also difficult to give him when we normally have no issues. He has no temperature. Yesterday he was more sooky than usual but slept fine at night. Today he was very sooky and tonight he has so far been quite unsettled.
He does have a tooth coming through, the symptoms are similar but just way worse than with his previous 4 teeth, so I’m not quite sure it’s teething.
Wondering if maybe gastro due to lack of appetite (but still ate solids without issue) or is it something mouth related like hand, foot and mouth, a cold with a sore throat?
Thanks

This past Sunday I went through my fiance's phone while he was away from it. I have never felt the need to do this and don't know why I did this all of a sudden except for a gut feeling. I found multiple women on his snapchat. I opened one of the chats and it was all dirty pictures between the two. There were about 10 women overall. None of it was emotional. It was all sexual exchanges. I immediately confronted him. He told me everything. He has been cheating on me online for about 4 years out of our 6 1/2 year relationship. All online and with no intent to date/meet in person. I didn't want to hear anymore after this so I called my mom and two brothers to come get me. I stayed at their house that night. I called out of work because I was so distraught. So, I was just crying on my mom's couch.
He called around lunch on Monday. I didn't want to hear his voice or see him but he convinced me to hear him out in person. He called out of work that afternoon to come talk to me. We talked for 9 hours. Basically, he said that he was being selfish and understood what he did was disgusting. He has always had a problem with impulse control and was exposed to porn at a very young age. He also had bad male role models (all cheaters, father, grandfathers, uncle, brother, etc.) and his mother was always cold to him. (I know this no excuse to cheat) He also said that he wanted to get therapy and that he would do ANYTHING to fix things with me. He expressed extreme remorse and said he knew it was a problem. He said he used these women for "real" porn. I was disgusted but I know he is telling the truth.
He believes he is a sociopath. I don't know much about this and would like to know more about if this would tie into this and if it is possible that he is one.
He has been a great fiance. Everyone who knows us believes we are the best couple. And I believed this too as I always trusted him and knew he had girls on his phone but thought they were just streaks on snapchat or old friends from high school. He never gave me a reason to think differently. I have been through his phone MULTIPLE times with no problem on his end. He was never weird about me holding his phone. We had normal relationship issues but not anything we couldn't get through.
He gave me his phone and let me delete everything myself. He deleted his snapchat account and the app. He completely willingly deleted every form of social media on his phone. The only thing left is Youtube. He has let me go through his phone any time. I know he could be better at hiding things but I believe him. I know this may be naive but I truly think he wants to change.
We have talked multiple times since Monday. He signed up for therapy and said that I can create any boundary and he will follow it. I have given him some and he has not broken any. I know it has only been a few days. I have not taken him back but I am back at our place because I miss my cats and my bed ( I was sleeping on my mom's couch). I have been very clear that I am not back with him and if he has any chance to be back with me he has to show me that he means everything he said and to permanently change. He has been nothing but remorseful since this has happened. He tells me anything I ask no matter what my question is.
Everyone in his and my family know about this. His family has kind of shunned him. My family is not happy with him but are shocked because of how out of his behavior this is. They are on my side but my family is more willing to help us and empathetic/sympathetic to the situation. They know how much we love each other. How much he loves me. They have seen everything that he has done for me. They are hard on him right now (for good reason) but are encouraging him to get some help for his problems. They said they will support me whether or not I leave him. They just want me happy. The reason I am explaining this is because I have a lot of trust and respect for my family. They are very emotionally intelligent and would not steer me in the wrong direction on purpose.
I know none of this will be easy, but I want to try if it is worth it.
I know this has been long but I just really need advice. There are several questions that I need answered.
Is there any chance that this can be saved?
Is there a chance he is a sociopath? If so, what does this mean for our possible future relationship?
Has anyone else went through something similar with a good outcome?
Does it seem like he is telling the truth and will change?
I appreciate any advice and help. Please let me know if there are any questions that will help clear anything up.
tl;dr
I checked my fiancé’s phone and found he had been sexting multiple women for 4 years. He confessed to cheating online but insists he never met anyone in person. He apologized profusely, explained his issues with impulse control and bad role models, and promised to go to therapy. He deleted all social media accounts and offered transparency with his phone. Despite his remorse, I am unsure about our future. My family is supportive, and I am considering if this relationship is salvageable. I need advice on whether he can change, if he might be a sociopath, and if anyone has experienced a similar situation with a positive outcome.

Since the original cookbook had a lot of food from each of the four nations as separate entities, I think it would be interesting to see how food has changed with the founding of Republic City. Maybe we can get some fusion cuisine from the people of different nations combining their culinary cultures. I would also like to see if there have been any advances in technology in the kitchen, or if there are any new dishes invented by Aang's grandkids and the Air Acolytes. Does Zaofu have any signature dishes, and does metalbending affect how they grow or cook their food?
Just some ideas off the top of my head:
An Earth Kingdom citizen adds Fire Nation spices to their cabbage and lets it ferment to make their own version of kimchi.
A waterbender freezing fruit juices and breaking the blocks apart to make snow cones, or just freezing them onto a stick to make popsicles! Now I'm just imagining Republic City’s version of an ice cream truck, a waterbender wheeling around a cart filled with jugs of juice, kept cold and fresh with their bending, ready to serve to anyone looking for a break from the summer's heat.

Hello, I'm new to this forum and I've never tried aesthetic medicine before. I'd like to get your opinion on treating dark circles. Here's a description of mine: I'm black, my dark circles are genetic, and there are a lot of fine lines, and they're also dark. I'd say the depth is okay, it's not the most important thing to correct. I have really small and droopy eyes. Initially, I wanted to get HA injections from an esthetician, but now I don't think so because of the risks and the fact that my dark circles aren't very deep won't correct that. I'd at least want the concealer not to settle as much in the fine lines. I then thought about peeling and laser treatments? After watching videos on YouTube and here, I wonder if I should try skin boosters instead of in addition ? Do you have any advice? Any specific products? I hope this isn't considered a silly question; I've really done some research and my conclusion is skin boosters, but I'd like to know the opinion of other people who may be more experienced or have the same characteristics as me.

I was going through a neuropsych testing and was asked if I ever experience sensory issues. I just flat out say no, because I don't think I have issues with sounds, light, or clothes on my body.
And then I realized... I hate, hate so much wearing fake eyelashes. It feels so weird on my eyes. I hate getting hair treatments or hair masks because it's weirdly cold and I just want to wash it away. I hate hairsprays and curls. It gives me goosebumps. I thought that is "no issue" because I endured it anyway. As I write this, I'm getting the "eww" feeling. I hate laces too in clothing because how it gave me the icky feeling. But I had been avoiding them since young so it never came to me that this may be sensory issues.
Are these considered sensory issues? I'm anxious and I don't want to be seen as trying to find all reasons to get ADD diagnosis. I thought this is just a me thing, or like how some people just don't like cilantro because they have the soap-taste-genes thingy. And if it is not, it is okay! I'm just curious on what people experienced.

Age: 26 months Height: 34” Weight: 37 lbs Duration: 3 days
My daughter was diagnosed with strep yesterday and prescribed amoxicillin. She has had a low fever, sore throat, runny nose, cough and poor sleep the last few days.
The problem is that it is nearly impossible to get her to take medicine - it is actually impressive how well she manages to spit it out. I know complications can be severe with strep so I am stressing about how I can get the medicine in her; however, when I google it I have read that kids under 3 rarely need to be treated for strep. So my question: if I am not able to get her to take this medicine, will she likely clear the infection on her own? Or is it just as important to treat with antibiotics as it would be in an older child or adult?

So I have had HSV-1 my whole life. My outbreaks have always been on my face... Until this past month. I have developed a single, quarter sized ulcer smack dab in the middle of my clamshell. It's considered a kissing ulcer because it's folding onto itself. I have never, ever experienced this before.. didn't know they could be down there unless it was HSV-2. I have gone to my gyno for testing and through a blood test it was confirmed it is only HSV-1. I have been suffering through it for 2 weeks today, and with consistent antiviral medicine it has shrunk to about dime size. Unfortunately I don't think I'm out of the woods and I'm looking for a little advice as I don't like the answer that my doctor gave.
Last Tuesday, I went to the gyno to get the ulcer swabbed, and get medicine. From Tuesday through this past Sunday the ulcer was open, clear and healing. Sunday evening I noticed that the white coloring (like what you see in a canker sore) had come back and the ulcer was angry again. Yesterday, Wednesday, I sent my gyno a message asking if that's normal, and she asked how long my downstairs neighbor has been hanging out. I explained now, 2 weeks. Her response was "the only other thing we can do is biopsy the area, I'd be happy to do that if you would like". I don't really feel like a biopsy should be the next step so I am coming on here to ask if what I'm experiencing is somewhat normal, and to just wait it out, or do as my doctor has asked and biopsy the area.