#withdrawal
I’m pretty sure we contribute to the whole vampyre myth…
Taliban members escorted Americans to gates at Kabul airport in secret arrangement with US
By Barbara Starr and Brianna Keilar, CNN
Updated 9:13 PM EDT, Tue August 31, 2021
(CNN)The US military negotiated a secret arrangement with the Taliban that resulted in members of the militant group escorting clusters of Americans to the gates of the Kabul airport as they sought to escape Afghanistan, two defense officials told CNN.
One of the officials also revealed that US special operations forces set up a “secret gate” at the airport and established “call centers” to guide Americans through the evacuation process.
While one of the military officials said the arrangement with the Taliban “worked beautifully,” Americans involved in an unofficial network dedicated to helping Americans and vulnerable Afghans said there were problems – particularly in the beginning – as the Taliban turned away US citizens and legal permanent residents the militant group was supposed to allow through.
The two US defense officials said Americans were notified to gather at pre-set “muster points” close to the airport where the Taliban would check their credentials and take them a short distance to a gate manned by American forces who were standing by to let them inside amid huge crowds of Afghans seeking to flee.
The US troops were able to see the Americans approach with their Taliban escorts as they progressed through the crowds, presumably ready to intervene in case anything happened.
Multiple sources in the US who were in contact with people trying to escape reported that American citizens and passport holders in Kabul were in disbelief that they were being told they would receive safe passage from the Taliban. Many thought they were misunderstanding the directions and sought clarification.
The Whumpee clenches their teeth as the Whumper adjusts themselves behind them, shifting both their coat and the gun pressed into the Whumpee’s back. The two stand in the middle of a deserted city street in the winter night, the Whumpee facing an exterior ATM. “Colder than a witch’s tit,” the Whumper grumbles. The Whumpee presses buttons to withdraw from their account, repeatedly looking into the convex mirror above them to both survey the Whumper’s position and scan their surroundings for signs of other people. The Whumpee pulls out a stack of bills once the machine presents them. They pause as if unsure of what to do with it. “What now?” they ask. The Whumper looks over their captive’s shoulder and sees the cash. “Throw it in the air like confetti. What do you think what now?” they say sarcastically. The Whumpee takes the money and places it carefully in their own interior coat pocket, which aggravates the Whumper even worse than tossing it in the air - it is supposed to be theirs to take. They press the gun into the Whumpee’s back - hard - and the Whumpee can feel their hand tremors even through their own coat. “I bet it’s been a while since you last used,” the Whumpee taunts them. “I bet that’s why you need it so bad. And I bet you know you’re weak as a kitten, don’t you?” The Whumpee turns around to face the aggravated Whumper, though they keep their hands presented in calm surrender. “Or else what’s stopping you from just taking it from me? Go ahead,” they continue, nodding at the pocket containing the money. The Whumper narrows their eyes at the Whumpee as they keep their wobbling gun pointed forward without reaching for the Whumpee’s pocket. “You know what else tonight has in common with a witch’s tit?” they ask the Whumpee. In a swift move they grab the Whumpee’s arm closest to the pocket and press it hard into the atm, then place the tip of their gun over the Whumpee’s leg. They use their own knee and brute strength as leverage to keep the gun steady with precision aim at the Whumpee’s knee. The two have their faces inches apart as the Whumper pins the Whumpee in place, threatening to shoot at any moment. “It’s mine to take from, as I see fit.”
Your whumpee is forced to become addicted to a drug, and has to go through the subsequent withdrawal.
Perhaps this is a brutal cycle the kidnapper takes a great amount of glee in continuing.
Anon wrote: Hello, I’m a 19-year-old female INFJ and I have some problems with a friend. He seems to be an ESFP. I’m still practicing typing other people, so I’m not really sure about it. He uses Se a lot.
The problem I have is not about typing, but rather about his behaviour. Lately, whenever he has a problem with something, he becomes quiet, he doesn’t talk about it at all and he pretends that he’s fine. Then he tries to escape from his own mind by behaving carelessly and engaging in risky activities (drinking a lot of alcohol, smoking many cigarettes, gambling, etc).
I have noticed the risky behaviours only recently, but his tendency to isolate has been going on for a few months. Before, we used to talk a lot. I used to help him when he had problems and he used to do the same with me. Now the situation is different. He has been distancing himself from me, even though I haven’t done anything to him. He’s doing the same thing to two of his dearest friends as well. There are probably plenty of reasons for that, and I suspect that two of them are the war and his new girlfriend.
I don’t want that he talks necessarily to me. He can open up even with others. The only thing I care about is that he doesn’t put himself in danger and that he doesn’t cut off all the important people in his life (except the girlfriend). He doesn’t seem to understand that his behaviours can damage himself, nor that isolation is likely to just make things worse. In your opinion, is there anything that I can do? Thank you in advance.
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The behavior you describe is indeed concerning. Without knowing the real reason for his withdrawal, there’s not much I can offer by way of solutions. It’s difficult to help someone who won’t open up, but it’s unclear whether he’s resistant or just sliding into passivity.
Withdrawal is a common warning sign of poor mental health. It may indicate that a person needs time and space to process negative feelings and emotions. It may indicate that they need help but don’t know how to get it. It may indicate that there is a difficult problem sapping their energy and they aren’t able to resolve it. It may indicate an existential crisis, in terms of being deeply unhappy about something in life and not knowing what to do about it. It may indicate some serious mental health problem with depression or anxiety.
Withdrawal is an unhealthy coping mechanism because it leads to isolation, feeling stuck, and being cut off from social support. Ideally, the person should be reaching out for help or talking about their problems rather than ruminating on them. However, it is sometimes difficult to get withdrawn people to open up. The first step would be to try to figure out 1) why exactly they’re withdrawing, and 2) whether there is some obstacle preventing them from reaching out or opening up. There are many possible obstacles, for example:
-Not knowing where to start: ESFPs are generally open, easygoing, and sociable. But they sometimes have difficulty confronting complexities and dissecting complicated situations. They might not know how to begin talking about a problem because their feelings seem soooo large, they have too many mixed emotions, and they feel oppressed and overwhelmed by the heaviness of it all. Under normal circumstances, ESFPs are naturally expressive and generally quite comfortable with opening up, which means that perhaps all you have to do is ask them the right questions and give them a chance to process their thoughts and feelings freely out loud. If you prod them to open up and they refuse, then they are making a conscious choice to close up and there is likely a deeper problem at play.
-Lack of emotional vocabulary: It is natural for Fi to seek private time for emotional processing but, being extraverted, it is essential for ESFPs to let their feelings out, the sooner, the better, otherwise, the negativity will eat them up inside. However, people who don’t have a good relationship with their emotional life won’t feel free/safe enough to let their feelings out. Gender is an important factor to take into consideration because men are socially discouraged from being emotional. If someone is emotionally repressed and has spent many years burying their vulnerability, it might take a lot of empathy, patience, encouragement, and reassurance on your part to get them to open up. Sometimes, all you can do is provide social support by creating a safe, warm, and supportive environment. Remember that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
-Feeling like no one will understand: If an ESFP feels alone and, for whatever reason, believes that you won’t validate their feelings and experiences, they won’t open up to you. Ideally, they should talk to someone with some similar experience so that they feel less alone. It’s easier to open up to someone who has been through a similar situation and can offer useful and practical insights about how to get through it. If you’re not the person with the right experience, then offer to help them find the right person to talk to.
-Feeling too ashamed: ESFPs tend to be prideful, so it can be difficult for them to confront a problem/mistake that is tied to their sense of self and affects their self-esteem. They are prone to beating themselves up for not having done better. Reassure them that you’re willing to hear everything they say without any judgment whatsoever. Express your compassion and put their emotional well-being above all other concerns. If appropriate, share one of your own sources of shame in order to help establish trust and get the ball rolling.
-Hopelessness: To lose hope is difficult for anyone but especially for ExFPs, since a positive attitude is integral to their way of being. It’s difficult to instill hope in someone who is determined to be pessimistic. It’s difficult to persuade someone to have hope in a truly dire situation such as war. Perhaps all you can do is remind them of the good things in life to feel appreciative of and/or help them find something positive to look forward to or work towards.
-Helplessness:Being naturally proactive, it is unlike ESFPs to be passive in the face of a problem. However, anyone can fall into helplessness when they lack the knowledge, skills, or resources to solve a difficult problem. They might need a mentor to teach them the knowledge and skills required to overcome their challenges. You can try to point them toward good learning resources. ESFPs learn best with practical advice and/or a respected role model to emulate. Once ESFPs have a concrete plan for moving forward in life, their mood should improve quickly.
-Not wanting to be a pain or a burden: If an ESFP really cares about you and sees that you have a lot on your plate, they will not want to bother you, so they’ll try to work things out on their own. Reassure them that you’re truly there for them. Tell them that you can handle sharing whatever emotional load they are carrying. Examine which mental, emotional, spiritual, or material needs of theirs are going unfulfilled and provide an idea or method to get them fulfilled.
While you see his reckless behavior as harmful, admonishing his behavior isn’t the right way to go about helping him, because it will only give him more to get frustrated about (and feel defensive about). Remember that the recklessness is only a symptom of the problem, so it should be forgiven in order to get to the actual underlying problem itself.
Tbh I’m feeling abt as impaired by my wd dissociation as I would feel by a low dose of dph, which is actually great because my functionality was still absolutely impaired on low doses, but I COULD function.
Pristiq withdrawal suggestions? Tapering off, with supervision, and replacing it at the same time. Feeling it hard, esp tremor and vertigo. Will accept things that work via placebo effect. (Pls mark placebos with a “P” so that they don’t somehow get taken as fact by some walnut.)
“oh homeless people are just gonna use your money to buy drugs” and? and?? the government uses my tax money to buy bombs and cops, you think I care if someone in a shitty situation uses money I gave them to feel marginally less shitty? fuck off!
I’m looking at a lot of replies to this and some people really don’t get what this is like.
For context; I’m a recovering poly addict (somebody who was addicted to multiple different substances). For those who are nosy, it was alcohol and opioids.
I was also *technically* homeless for a period. I was lucky to be able to couch surf but there was definitely days where I had no idea where I was going to stay, and constantly had to rely of the kindness of others. I was on welfare at the time, but not much.
I was trying to get sober while couch surfing and holy fucking shit, it’s hard, I don’t think anyone understands how hard it is. I was fortunate to be able to lay on a warm couch and have withdrawals and even then, it was hard. That added stress of knowing that I was going to have to move on to the next kind person in my life was an extra layer to add onto how fucking sick I was. A lot of people don’t understand the physical aspect of drug use. My first night I spent violently shaking and clinging to a toilet bowl, wondering if I was dying.
I cannot even begin to fathom what it is like for those living on the street going through withdrawls. Hungry, cold, sleeping in a tent or on a cardboard box or on the god damn ground. I do not blame a single person for using money I give to avoid that. That is not a situation where it is reasonable to ask people to get sober. It’s just not.
Support homeless addicts, unconditionally, or don’t bother pretending like you care about them. Take the niciesties out the fucking door. If your criteria for helping homeless people includes “sobriety” then you don’t actually care.
i got my ritalin refill like 3 weeks ago so a total of 60 10mg pills and im almost out, and i cant ask for a refill for another two weeks sooooo hey
Ostatnie chwile względnego spokoju
We’re taught that withdrawal won’t work, that it’s a sketchy contraceptive method, if one at all, and that its failure rate is high.
That said, 60% of sexually experienced women rely on withdrawal at some point in life! And on our fertility app Glow, we’ve also seen that a disproportionate portion of our population — 18% of our birth control users — list withdrawal as their primary birth control method.
These stats imply that withdrawal isn’t going anywhere. And if that’s the case, we need better education about withdrawal, good information about how to make the method as smart and safe as possible, and how technology can help.
We’re on it. Glow authored our first Medium article about this very topic. Check it out! This is data you certainly won’t want to pull out on ;)
