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from David Seekar
What Is Norco Used For? Benefits, Limitations, and Safety Considerations
Norco is a prescription pain medication commonly used to manage moderate to moderately severe pain when non-opioid treatments are not sufficient. It combines two active ingredients—hydrocodone (an opioid pain reliever) and acetaminophen (a non-opioid analgesic)—to provide effective short-term pain control under medical supervision.
What Is Norco Used For?
Norco is typically prescribed for acute pain situations, and the Norco Pill is commonly used to manage post-surgical pain following dental, orthopedic, or minor surgical procedures, as well as injury-related pain such as fractures, sprains, or trauma. It is also effective for severe dental pain and short-term flare-ups of pain when other treatments are not sufficient. Doctors usually recommend when alternatives like NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen or naproxen) or acetaminophen alone do not provide adequate pain relief.
How Norco Works ?
Norco’s effectiveness comes from the dual action of its active ingredients, which work together to provide Norco for pain relief in moderate to moderately severe pain conditions. Hydrocodone acts on opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord to reduce the perception of pain, while acetaminophen enhances overall pain relief and helps reduce fever by acting on pain pathways in the central nervous system. Together, these components make Norco for pain more effective than either ingredient alone, often allowing lower doses of the opioid while still achieving adequate pain control.
Benefits of Norco
When used appropriately and for a limited time, Norco offers several benefits:
Effective pain relief for moderate to severe pain
Faster comfort and improved function during recovery from surgery or injury
Combination therapy that may reduce the need for higher opioid doses
Short-term symptom control, helping patients rest and heal
For many patients, these benefits can significantly improve quality of life during acute recovery periods.
Limitations of Norco
Despite its benefits, Norco has important limitations:
Not intended for long-term or chronic pain management
Tolerance can develop, meaning higher doses may be needed over time for the same effect
Dependence risk increases with prolonged or improper use
Side effects may limit tolerability in some patients
Because of these factors, healthcare providers usually prescribe Norco for the shortest duration possible and reassess pain frequently.
Safety Considerations
Using Norco safely is critical due to its opioid content.
Common side effects may include:
Drowsiness or sedation
Nausea or vomiting
Constipation
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Serious risks include:
Respiratory depression, especially at higher doses or when combined with alcohol or other sedatives
Opioid misuse, dependence, or addiction
Liver damage from excessive acetaminophen intake
Anonymous
What Is Norco Used For? Benefits, Limitations, and Safety Considerations
Norco is a prescription pain medication commonly used to manage moderate to moderately severe pain when non-opioid treatments are not sufficient. It combines two active ingredients—hydrocodone (an opioid pain reliever) and acetaminophen (a non-opioid analgesic)—to provide effective short-term pain control under medical supervision.
What Is Norco Used For?
Norco is typically prescribed for acute pain situations, and the Norco Pill is commonly used to manage post-surgical pain following dental, orthopedic, or minor surgical procedures, as well as injury-related pain such as fractures, sprains, or trauma. It is also effective for severe dental pain and short-term flare-ups of pain when other treatments are not sufficient. Doctors usually recommend when alternatives like NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen or naproxen) or acetaminophen alone do not provide adequate pain relief.
How Norco Works ?
Norco’s effectiveness comes from the dual action of its active ingredients, which work together to provide Norco for pain relief in moderate to moderately severe pain conditions. Hydrocodone acts on opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord to reduce the perception of pain, while acetaminophen enhances overall pain relief and helps reduce fever by acting on pain pathways in the central nervous system. Together, these components make Norco for pain more effective than either ingredient alone, often allowing lower doses of the opioid while still achieving adequate pain control.
Benefits of Norco
When used appropriately and for a limited time, Norco offers several benefits:
Effective pain relief for moderate to severe pain
Faster comfort and improved function during recovery from surgery or injury
Combination therapy that may reduce the need for higher opioid doses
Short-term symptom control, helping patients rest and heal
For many patients, these benefits can significantly improve quality of life during acute recovery periods.
Limitations of Norco
Despite its benefits, Norco has important limitations:
Not intended for long-term or chronic pain management
Tolerance can develop, meaning higher doses may be needed over time for the same effect
Dependence risk increases with prolonged or improper use
Side effects may limit tolerability in some patients
Because of these factors, healthcare providers usually prescribe Norco for the shortest duration possible and reassess pain frequently.
Safety Considerations
Using Norco safely is critical due to its opioid content.
Common side effects may include:
Drowsiness or sedation
Nausea or vomiting
Constipation
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Serious risks include:
Respiratory depression, especially at higher doses or when combined with alcohol or other sedatives
Opioid misuse, dependence, or addiction
Liver damage from excessive acetaminophen intake
500 days in the cold, empty world of The Long Dark - part 1
from Chris is Trying
Steam tells me that I've played The Long Dark for over 1200 hours over the last several years. I've jumped in & out of other games but TLD has been a consistent mainstay. I can't get away from it.
It's a survival game set in the eternal winter of a post-apocalyptic Canadian island (named Great Bear Island) where you're the only survivor, battling against the elements and the wildlife for as long as possible. The world is too cold for you to just walk around forever; shelter and warmth are critical otherwise you'll die in hours.
You'll initially get by with lightweight clothing, racing between man-made shelters where you can eat packaged snacks and canned goods to avoid starvation, but eventually you'll need to embrace what's available from Mother Nature; spending more time hunting & gathering, and upgrading your clothing using natural hides from the animals you've killed along the way. In the Long Dark, the only goal is to survive as long as possible, and since permadeath is enabled, one major mistake might end your run forever.
500 days is often seen as the 'finale' of any Long Dark run; if you're able to survive that long then you can essentially survive forever, and it's an achievement that is taken fairly seriously in the TLD community. If you've done that, you've practically mastered the game.
The difficulty level of your TLD run is the main way you can set the tone of how you play: changing it drastically changes the amount of hostile wildlife, the type of loot you can find and the harshness of the environmental conditions – which can either make your life in Great Bear frantic & uncertain or peaceful & straightforward. But regardless of play style, ticking off 500 days in any difficulty still shows a level of perseverance and determination.
There's no denying that the game mechanics can get repetitive after the first 100-200 days; there's only so much you can do in a cold, harsh, mostly-lifeless game world, so most experienced TLD players end up defining their own goals. Kill every single bear & moose spawn in the world. Fill up the jerry cans you find with oil generated from cooking the fish you've caught.
With no goal but to survive, you really do have to choose your own adventure. What's always grabbed me about TLD is the mindfulness of just living in the game world draws out in people. The 'cosy' atmosphere of setting up your base with chairs and rugs while a blizzard rages outside will work for some players, while others will crank up the custom difficulty settings to truly test their skill. You can get seriously attached to your run, especially if you have the intent of playing it without an end date in mind. This game often generates the most heartfelt writing I've seen about a computer game, simply paying homage to a game world that dominated their lives for several hundred hours or more through their personal memories (give this and this a read if you like).
Roleplaying and execution
As for me, I've enjoyed the quasi-cosplaying element of a lone survivor, journalling his thoughts using the in-game note function every few days when he has a chance to collect his thoughts. The solitude element of the Long Dark is hard to avoid; there is hardly any dialogue apart from the occasional complaint of being too cold/hungry/thirsty/tired (although if you want, the Wintermute story mode has plenty of characters to interact with) – and I've found that the journaling aspect is a reasonable way for a lonely survivor to avoid going completely insane.
I almost exclusively play on the Interloper difficulty, which was the hardest difficulty until mid-2024 when the brutal Misery mode was released. On Interloper, loot in general is hard to find, most high-end clothing and food items don't exist at all, and the overall temperature of the game world gets colder over time, affecting how far you can travel without freezing and requiring you to craft good clothing as a high priority.
Nobody would be advised to play on Interloper when starting to play The Long Dark, of course. The world of Great Bear Island is formidable at first, and the variety of regions with their unique challenges mean that if you're unprepared in the slightest your run is over. At the very least, you need to learn the region maps to a general extent if you're going to attempt the harder difficulty levels – at the very least knowing where the main shelters are (and the best paths between them), knowing where to find forges & workbenches, and where certain types of wildlife can be found.
I also enjoy 'loper because of the urgency to execute on a regular basis, otherwise your game run is over. Interloper forces you into forward planning; you need to kill that deer otherwise there's no decent food source in easy access. You need to gather more wood otherwise this fire will die out and you'll freeze too much and then you'll die before getting to the next cave. You need to carefully avoid this bear seeing you, because your arrows are all broken and if it mauls you, you're done for. And so on and so forth.
So yes, the game is completely out to get you (that's the point) but if you put some preparation into what you're doing, you'll stand a good chance. You'll learn what kind of contingency plans work for you, such as carrying a few pieces of coal so you can always warm up with a fire in the toughest conditions, or always having an emergency stim (or two) to get out of a tough situation with timberwolves or a rampaging moose. It's all manageable, at the cost of your precious inventory space.
My 500 day run – the first days
Every TLD run is a hugely personal journey, and many players love sharing key moments & experiences of their survival (or lack of). I've relied on my in-game journaling, and some select screenshots to recall my time during my current run and selected some of my favourite moments of the run.
On Interloper, you get a random spawn – and only in the more challenging regions. However, I was lucky enough to spawn in Ash Canyon, the mountainous region in the north-east of Great Bear:
Needless to say, I was pretty lucky. Matches and a hammer on day 1 is a great start, and heading towards the backpack in the gold mine on day 2 (+5kg of permanent inventory space) was even better. When the cougar was introduced, in Ash Canyon it was placed outside the natural exit of the gold mine meaning that you couldn't easily grab the backpack and exit Ash Canyon efficiently unless you were prepared to kill a cougar, so grabbing it before it spawned on day 10 was a real blessing.
My path out of Ash Canyon was clear & known to me – zip down through Timberwolf Mountain then loot the plane crash, which has a good chance of clothing items lying around.
After this point, the run followed a fairly standard trajectory familiar to all experienced Long Dark players – get all of the various items to make a bow & some arrows, so you can defend yourself from predators and start killing big game for long-term food survival. To do that, you need a hammer to forge arrowheads, you need to cure some birch & maple saplings for the bow & arrow shafts (which can only be cut by using a hacksaw, or by forging a hatchet) and curing some guts from small game that will act as the bow's string.
As you go, you need to start curing hides so that you can craft better clothing to stay warm and better protected (remember, the game world is getting colder as you go), while at the same time you're running all over Great Bear looting all of the major spots and staying out of trouble.
It's at this point that you're incentivised to be as efficient as possible – how many places can you trek to and loot in a day, while also being in a good position to move on to the next region? It feels like you're constantly solving a 'Seven Bridges of Konigsburg' problem, so that you aren't wasting time, retracing your steps unnecessarily, and digging into the reserve food that you're carrying around.
You can easily spend 50-60 days traversing the entire game world, visiting all of the major regions. I ended up travelling through the more central regions of Mystery Lake and Pleasant Valley several times, and planned on 'loops' that visited a few regions, bringing back high-value loot to my home base in the Camp Office in Mystery Lake. The loops included:
- Leaving via the Ravine and going to Coastal Highway & Desolation Point – always a favourite part of GBI given the high amount of loot and the beachcombing loot you find along the way
- Heading through Forlorn Muskeg and on to Broken Railroad – not a high priority but the Muskeg includes a forge which you need to visit early on
- Mountain Town & Hushed River Valley – plenty of houses to loot in the former, and guaranteed high value loot in the latter
- Ash Canyon & Timberwolf Mountain – great for getting the technical backpack and also checking out the Summit, respectively
I left Bleak Inlet and Blackrock for later – you don't want to be fending off timberwolves without a bow & plenty of arrows.
Infact, it took me until day 81 to make my way into the fabled Bleak Inlet workshop, where I was able to use the milling machine and repair my tools:
Round 2, i.e. building up the bases
So what do you do once you've visited all of the regions, you've crafted some pretty good clothing and you're feeling pretty confident in moving around the world?
Well, you visit all those places again.
Instead of the Contiki-like whirlwind tour from the first 60-80 days, it was time to properly build up some bases with food, water and cured stuffs. It's a proper focus on hunting big game, while at the same time looting the out-of-the-way areas. If you're feeling particularly relaxed, you can use some of that charcoal and map out parts of the region you're spending time in.
All of those little trips become mini-holidays in a way – you work on the achievement of building up your stockpiles, spend 10 to 15 days hunting whatever comes around, and all the while the world of Great Bear puts a smile on your face in the oddest moments.
The bear on the tree
Day 100 was spent in the Deer Clearing area of Timberwolf Mountain:
Fun note: that fire underneath the bear kept me perfectly warm while I was on the tree branch harvesting it up!
The first cougar kill
I mixed up the base stockpiling with other mini-goals along the way, such as hunting a cougar for the first time, selecting the Wood Lot in Mystery Lake on day 149 as my first hunting ground:
The beachcombing boat
And I remember the confusion on my face when doing some casual beachcombing along the Crumbling Highway, and seeing an actual boat washed up on shore. And it was lootable!
A lot of people say that The Long Dark is all about the early game – the panicked rushing around of finding the best loot as fast as possible, making snap decisions of which part of the world to visit based on your capabilities, and balancing the risk-reward of battling the weather, your health, and the mere potential of finding the next critical item to help you on your journey.
But the unique memories from Great Bear Island tend to come from later on – when your adventures become more of a meander, and the story unfolds in front of you when you least expect it. You also feel a lot more attuned to the wider world as hunting becomes your primary food source.
I'll share some other logs & screenshots of the rest of my 500 days journey in another post. For now, I hope you enjoy your own Long Dark run, and if you haven't gotten into it, maybe give the game a go yourself!
割れた面がアメジストに見える
from 下川友
昨日の自分は、体が割れそうだった。 ひび割れた自分の体から、過去の断片的な記憶が漂い始める。
机の上のものがどれも動かせなくなる時、それは新しいことを始めようとしていて、最初から手法を間違えていたのだ、と気づく瞬間がある。 このような時、そのような光景だけが、頭の中にぼんやりあり、実際にそこに置いてあった物体は白く塗り潰されていてよく思い出せない。 どのネジだったのかも分からない細かいパーツは、すべてポリ袋にまとめられ、自分が捨てたのではなく、勝手に処理されたものとして脳が判断する。
缶でも箱でも、そこにあればとりあえずそれを振ってみる、という自分は、もうとっくにいないのかもしれないと思った。 そもそも、振るべき缶や箱が目の前にない。 家にある箱はすべて、自分で買ってきて、自分で何かを入れたものばかりだ。 子どもの頃に目の前にあった箱は、文脈の分からない容器だったばっかりに、大きく振る事で、その存在を自分に近づけさせていた。
そうして、缶を振っていると、友人が少し遠くに見えてくる。 缶を振っていて、自分が学校へ向かっていることには気づいていなかった。 少し走れば追いつけるし、話したいこともきっとあったはずなのに、理由を並べても、俺は走らない。 歩く速度を変えないまま会えず、それでも話しかけるときの第一声だけは無意識に考えていて、結局その言葉は使われないまま、その文章はただ消失した。
そんな事を繰り返しただけ、ただ体だけが大人になっていく。 大学生になった自分は、英語に興味はないかと言ってきた大人に誘われて、特徴が全くない灰色のビルに入った。 何もテナントのない階で、シャツのおじさんが降りていったことだけは覚えている。 磁場が下から上へと体を走り抜けたとき、さっきのよく分からない階で、おじさんが自分のためだけになる何かをしたのだと思った。
目的もないまま家に帰った記憶もなく、次の場面では自分はパソコンを触っている。 目が乾くというのは、劇的な出来事からはほど遠いサインのひとつで、本当に一日中パソコンを眺めていただけだったのだと脳が決定づけた。
ポップな色合いの民族ラグの上にガラクタを置いておくと、元々持っていないはずなのに、高級な電子音楽機器を盗まれたような感覚がして、どこか寂しかった。 代わりにおもちゃのお金でも置かれていれば、それは目で楽しむエレクトロニカとして処理されて、星と星とが衝突したかと思えば、クレヨンで描かれた火花が体裁を保っていただろう。
料理実習で、授業の終わりに、人がある程度いるにも関わらず、部屋の6割ほどが大きな空洞を占めていた。 大きく空いたスペースは、これまでの人の会話をすべて吸収するような形で、お別れを静かに開催していた。 誰かが何かをしている、音が反響する関係で、そんな事しか分からなかった。
鳥を飼っていれば、飼い始めた当初のことは多分思い出せない。 自分とは別の、ただ色違いの自分みたいなやつが飼っている鳥なのだと、どこかで無意識に考えている。 お金に反射した光が当たれば、色違いの自分は消える、そんな感覚であり、隣町を見れば、いつも厚い層の雨雲でいっぱいだった。
ご飯が炊ける音がして、電源ボタンを連続で2回押された気がした。 豆腐を使えば味噌汁が二杯もできてしまうが、おかずが貧相なので困らない。
明日には体がボンドでくっついて、全て元に戻る事を祈る。
Keys!
from An Open Letter
We got the keys to the house, and it’s both amazing but also super overwhelming. There’s so much shit to be done, but I’m happy.
from folgepaula
sure come over let's roll a joint and chill you can spread yourself over the couch pillows sure come over we can dream with eyes wide open and I can stare at you for hours while you breathe the air from my nose holding that trembling pause that sits between the lips to lips and we both feel that stupid organic electricity so much so that now you need to distract and start counting my freckles I hate when you do that until you try to connect the dots in the hope of revealing the image of some mythological being perhaps finding a map of a submerged treasure but all you will find and believe me when I say this all you will find are some random shapes that do not provide you any clues do not provide you any directions it only says yes I am here.
/oc25
from folgepaula
become the orgasm you are.
/jan 26
from folgepaula
I sleep with myself, lying in fetal position I sleep with myself, spooning my soul I sleep with myself. I sleep with myself hugging myself, there's no night so long I do not sleep with myself. like a troubadour holding his lute I sleep with myself. under a starry night I sleep with myself, while others are born or die or have birthdays I sleep with myself. sometimes I fall asleep with myself still wearing my reading glasses. but even in the dark I know I am sleeping with myself. and whoever wants to sleep with me, will have to sleep by my side.
/dec 25
EpicMonday 05: Die drei Gesichter der Neugier
from 
EpicMind
Freundinnen & Freunde der Weisheit! Ein neuer Monat hat begonnen und der Newsletter erscheint bereits in der fünften Ausgabe. Heute zeige ich auf, warum Tagträumen alles andere als nutzlos ist.
Tagträumen galt lange als unproduktives Abschweifen. Neue neurowissenschaftliche Studien zeigen jedoch, dass genau dieses mentale Umherschweifen dem Gehirn hilft, zu lernen und kreative Verbindungen zu knüpfen. Dahinter stehen drei unterschiedliche Arten der Neugier: epistemische Neugier, die nach neuem Wissen strebt; divergente Neugier, die spielerisch nach Möglichkeiten sucht; und affektive Neugier, die emotionale Reize verarbeitet. Während Mäuse im Labor frühere Reize „vorausschauend“ erneut aktivierten, zeigte sich beim Menschen, dass stille Wachphasen das Gedächtnis stärken und kreatives Denken fördern.
Diese Formen der Neugier zeigen sich besonders dann, wenn der Geist nicht gezielt gelenkt wird: beim Duschen, Spazieren oder bei monotonen Aufgaben. In solchen Momenten wird das sogenannte „Default Mode Network“ aktiv – ein Hirnnetzwerk, das Erinnerungen aufruft, Zukünftiges durchspielt und neue Lösungswege simuliert. Wer also scheinbar abschweift, ist oft in einem kognitiven Zustand erhöhter Verbindungskraft zwischen Planung, Erinnerung und Vorstellung – ein perfektes Umfeld für Ideenentwicklung.
Auch im Alltag zeigt sich die Wirkung: Menschen, die bewusst kurze Denkpausen einlegen, tolerieren Schmerz besser, reduzieren Stresshormone und lösen Probleme kreativer. Firmen, die „mind-wander breaks“ einführen, berichten von effizienteren Meetings. Statt das Abschweifen zu bekämpfen, lohnt es sich, es gezielt zuzulassen – als stillen Motor für Lernen, Kreativität und emotionale Balance.
Denkanstoss zum Wochenbeginn
„Das ganze Ungluück der Menschen nährt sich aus einem einzigen Umstand, nämlich, dass sie nicht ruhig in einem Zimmer bleiben können.“ – Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
ProductivityPorn-Tipp der Woche: Zwei-Minuten-Regel
Wenn eine Aufgabe weniger als zwei Minuten dauert, erledige sie sofort. Das verhindert, dass kleine To-dos sich zu einem riesigen Berg aufstauen und spart dir Zeit beim späteren Nacharbeiten.
Aus dem Archiv: Sind Eulen die schlaueren Köpfe?
Hast du dich jemals gefragt, ob es einen Zusammenhang zwischen deiner bevorzugten Tageszeit und deiner geistigen Leistungsfähigkeit gibt? Neue Forschungsergebnisse legen nahe, dass „Eulen“, also Menschen, die nachts aktiv sind und spät schlafen gehen, in kognitiven Tests tendenziell besser abschneiden als „Lerchen“, die früh aufstehen und morgens am produktivsten sind.
Vielen Dank, dass Du Dir die Zeit genommen hast, diesen Newsletter zu lesen. Ich hoffe, die Inhalte konnten Dich inspirieren und Dir wertvolle Impulse für Dein (digitales) Leben geben. Bleib neugierig und hinterfrage, was Dir begegnet!
EpicMind – Weisheiten für das digitale Leben „EpicMind“ (kurz für „Epicurean Mindset“) ist mein Blog und Newsletter, der sich den Themen Lernen, Produktivität, Selbstmanagement und Technologie widmet – alles gewürzt mit einer Prise Philosophie.
Disclaimer Teile dieses Texts wurden mit Deepl Write (Korrektorat und Lektorat) überarbeitet. Für die Recherche in den erwähnten Werken/Quellen und in meinen Notizen wurde NotebookLM von Google verwendet. Das Artikel-Bild wurde mit ChatGPT erstellt und anschliessend nachbearbeitet.
Topic #Newsletter
Anonymous
How Long Does Xanax Last in the Brain and Central Nervous System?
Xanax (alprazolam) is a benzodiazepine commonly prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders. Many people ask how long it really lasts—not just how long they feel calmer, but how long it remains active in the brain and central nervous system (CNS). The answer depends on how the drug works, how the body processes it, and individual factors like dose and metabolism.
How Xanax Works in the Brain?
Xanax enhances the activity of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that slows down brain signaling. By increasing GABA’s calming effect, Xanax reduces excessive neuronal firing, which eases anxiety, muscle tension, and panic symptoms.
Once absorbed, Xanax Tablets quickly cross the blood–brain barrier, which is why its effects can be felt relatively fast compared to some other anxiety medications.
Onset, Peak, and Duration of CNS Effects
Immediate-release (IR) Xanax follows a fairly predictable timeline:
Onset in the brain: ~30–60 minutes after ingestion
Peak CNS effects: ~1–2 hours
Noticeable calming effects: ~4–6 hours
Residual CNS activity: up to 12 hours or longer in some people
Extended-release (XR) Xanax releases the drug slowly, leading to:
A smoother onset
Lower peak intensity
CNS effects that may last 10–24 hours
Even after the noticeable calming effect fades, low levels of alprazolam can still influence brain activity.
How Long Xanax Stays in the Brain vs. the Body?
Xanax has an average half-life of about 11 hours in healthy adults, which determines how long xanax for anxiety- relief continues to influence the brain and central nervous system.
After roughly 11 hours, about 50% of the drug remains active in the body and brain.
After approximately 24 hours, a smaller but still measurable amount of xanax for anxiety- relief can remain present.
Complete elimination from the CNS may take 2–4 days, depending on individual factors such as metabolism, age, and liver function.
Even when xanax for anxiety- relief no longer feels strongly active, subtle effects on attention, reaction time, and mood may persist while the drug is still in the brain.
Factors That Affect How Long Xanax Lasts in the CNS
Several variables influence duration and intensity:
Dosage: Higher doses last longer and have stronger CNS effects
Frequency of use: Regular use can lead to accumulation in the brain
Age: Older adults often clear Xanax more slowly
Liver function: Xanax is metabolized in the liver; impairment prolongs effects
Body composition: Fat tissue can temporarily store benzodiazepines
Drug interactions: Alcohol, opioids, or other sedatives can intensify and extend CNS effects
Cognitive and Neurological Effects Over Time
While active in the CNS, Xanax may cause:
Drowsiness or sedation
Slower reaction time
Impaired memory or concentration
Reduced alertness
With repeated or long-term use, the brain can adapt to the presence of Xanax, which may lead to tolerance (needing more for the same effect) and dependence.
What Happens as Xanax Wears Off in the Brain?
As alprazolam levels decline:
GABA activity returns toward baseline
Anxiety symptoms may gradually reappear
Some people experience rebound anxiety or restlessness
Abrupt discontinuation after regular use can cause withdrawal symptoms because the brain has adjusted to the drug’s presence.
Key Takeaways
Xanax begins acting in the brain within 30–60 minutes
Peak CNS effects occur around 1–2 hours
Calming effects usually last 4–6 hours, but brain activity changes can last longer
Complete clearance from the brain may take several days
Duration varies based on dose, formulation, metabolism, and individual health factors
Maak een klaaglijst aan het einde van je dag (32/40)
from tomson darko
Geloof mensen niet dat ‘negativiteit’ je negatief maakt. Klagen is goed. Je moet de boel daarboven in je hoofd goed ventileren.
Start daarom een klaaglijst.
Het werkt heel simpel. Voor je gaat slapen sla je je schriftje open, doe je de dop van een stift eraf, zet een ‘bullet’ en begin.
Klaag over al je onzekerheden, irritaties, opmerkelijke momenten, stomme momenten, grappige momenten en andere observaties van de dag. In een lijstje.
Ja, ik weet het, je hoort geen zeur te zijn. Je mag niet te negatief doen. Maar juist bij onze beste vrienden klagen we erop los, omdat die niet oordelen.
Toch?
Het papier is je beste vriend.
Het papier oordeelt niet.
Klaag daarom vaker.
Haal de frustratie van het leven uit je systeem.
Grote klachten. Kleine klachten.
Je zult zien dat, over een paar maanden als je erin terugbladert, het leest als poëzie. Het laat je grinniken. Het laat je relativeren. Het laat je herinneren. Het laat het tijdelijke ongemak van het leven zien.
Nou. Hier een klaaglijst van mij:
- Gesport, maar mijn Fitbit blijft maar ‘rusthartslag’ aangeven, terwijl ik doodga bij de jumping jacks en de push-ups.
- Voor wie doe ik het dan, als Fitbit mijn uitsloverij niet registreert???
- Kuttechnologie. Het stelt altijd teleur.
- Chaos bij mijn opslag. De werknemer kon de stress niet aan. Maar ik heb nu wel een hok van 18 m³ in plaats van de bezemkast.
- Past best een bureau in. Jammer alleen van de rattenkastjes in elke hoek van het gebouw.
- Mijn boeken Ik hoop dat je gedachten lief voor je zijn gaan te hard.
- Offerte opgevraagd voor nieuwe druk.
- Wat een leven.
- 80 bestellingen ingepakt vandaag.
- Nog 80 te gaan.
- Enveloppen bijna op.
- Waarom RAAKT ALLES OP.
- Tijdelijk ongemak.
- Voet doet pijn. Vooral mijn hak.
- Voelt niet als tijdelijk ongemak.
- Nieuwe trailer van een Tom Cruise (1962)-film gezien. Hij hangt weer aan een vliegtuig, gaap.
- Iemand valt al een jaar elke avond met mijn stem in slaap.
- Word warm van het idee.
- Maar ze steunt me niet via petje-af.
- Kut fan.
- Grapje.
- Wat is er mis met mij?
- Een hoop.
Benieuwd naar jouw klaaglijst van vandaag.
Je volgende trauma is altijd dichterbij dan je denkt. Wees voorbereid met een mentaal noodpakket. (31/40)
from tomson darko
Het stomste aan een mentale stoornis hebben, is dat die nooit helemaal weggaat nadat je ervan af bent gekomen.
Het is zo’n litteken dat gerust eens in de zoveel tijd opnieuw opengaat.
Zo kan ik me op sommige dagen nog steeds zonder reden enorm gespannen voelen, omdat ik de deur uit moet.
Als een echo uit een tijd dat ik jarenlang elke dag gespannen was om de deur uit te gaan.
Hoewel deze spanning niet precies voelt als toen en ik weet dat ik de controle heb, is leuk anders.
Wat ik doe op dit soort momenten, is mijn mentale noodpakket erbij pakken.
In dit pakket zit het volgende:
- een playlist genaamd KALMTE
- mijn comfortfilm
- mijn favoriete spirituele boek
In mijn playlist staat maar één liedje. Ik druk op de repeatknop en zet daarna het liedje op. En vanaf de eerste tonen gaat mijn ademhaling automatisch naar beneden.
Het nummer heet The Lotus Eaters van de band Dead Can Dance.
(Ik kan gerust uren praten over hun muziek.)
Vertrouw de techniek niet. Zorg er ook voor dat je het liedje echt in bezit hebt. Via een cd of als digitaal bestand. Laat je niet verrassen als je ergens in de bergen zonder 5G in paniek raakt en je kalmtenummer nodig hebt. Zorg dat het fysiek op je telefoon staat.
Ik weet bijvoorbeeld dat sommige mensen mijn podcast opzetten om een paniekaanval weg te ademen. Heel goed. Wees voorbereid. Maak playlistjes aan met je favoriete afleveringen en download ze.
Ik heb bijvoorbeeld mijn favoriete boek zowel fysiek, digitaal als luisterboek. Er ligt een exemplaar bij mijn computer, in mijn boekenkast in mijn werkkamer en in de kast in de woonkamer. Zodat ik er altijd overal direct toegang toe heb.
Het is het boek van Thomas Moore (1940) — met dubbel o — genaamd De donkere nachten van de ziel.
Als ik gek word van mijn perfectionisme bij mijn teksten, sla ik het boek A Guide for the Perplexed van Werner Herzog (1942) open om zijn radicale visie op kunst te lezen.
Het inspireert enorm.
Net zoals ik de film Palm Springs (2020) opzet als ik echt niet kan slapen en mijn gedachten me gek maken. Het is mijn comfortfilm. Ik kan er geen genoeg van krijgen.
Nu een opdracht voor jou:
- Maak een lijstje met wat jou kalm maakt.
- Denk aan liedjes, films, podcasts, boeken, objecten.
- Vraag je af of al deze dingen binnen handbereik zijn in je leven.
- Zo nee, schaf extra kopieën aan.
Je volgende trauma is altijd dichterbij dan je denkt.
Wees voorbereid.
Voor wie leef je eigenlijk? De wijsheid van Walter White (30/40)
from tomson darko
In het laatste seizoen van de misdaadserie Breaking Bad (2008) ziet Walter White eindelijk in voor wie hij het allemaal deed in het leven.
- Niet voor zijn familie
- Niet voor de (terugkerende) kanker in zijn lijf
- Niet voor zijn zoon, die een lichamelijke beperking heeft
- Niet voor zijn vriend Jesse
- Niet als wraak op zijn vroegere beste vriend en zijn ex-geliefde, die een succesvol bedrijf begonnen met zijn ideeën
Nee.
Hij startte een drugsrijk voor zichzelf.
Gewoon voor zichzelf.
Hij was alleen te egoïstisch om dat in te zien.
Hij praatte seizoenen lang al zijn slechte daden goed. Inclusief moord, vernieling en het overspoelen van de straten met zijn zelfgemaakte drugs. Dat hij het voor anderen deed.
Wie kan er nou tegen wat ambitie zijn om je familie zonder zorgen achter te laten als je sterft aan kanker?
Binge-watch een middag een Amerikaans real life-spelprogramma en je wordt overspoeld met mensen die meedoen om hun familie trots te maken en hopelijk met veel geld terugkomen om aardig gevonden te worden.
Niemand die zegt: ‘Ik sta hier, omdat ik denk dat mijn leven minder waardeloos voelt als mensen me op straat herkennen van tv.’
Ik vraag me ook altijd af voor wie mensen in januari naar de sportschool gaan. De maanden ervoor heb ik ze niet gezien. En na februari ga ik ze ook niet meer zien.
Dus voor wie doen ze het?
Die ‘nieuw jaar, nieuwe ik’-motivatie-wind-in-de-rug is voor niemand voldoende om een nieuwe routine in te bouwen. Het moet uiteindelijk toch volledig uit jezelf komen en dat is blijkbaar niet aan de hand.
Volgens komiek en zelfhulpgoeroe Jimmy Carr (1972) is dit probleem simpel te tackelen.
Vraag niet ‘wat iemand doet in het leven’, maar ‘waarom je doet wat je doet?’
Wat?
Nee. Waarom.
Als de wat en de waarom niet hetzelfde zijn, is het wachten op een existentiële crisis omdat je het allemaal niet meer weet.
Ik wil daar graag de vraag aan toevoegen voor WIE je het doet.
Wie zegt dat je buikje er niet mag zijn? De samenleving? Die ene op wie je indruk wil maken? De stem van je moeder uit je jeugd?
Of ligt het probleem dieper?
Waarom blijf je maar ongezond eten in huis halen? Waarom blijf je maar snaaien?
Welke leegte probeer je te vullen?
Of is het gewoon simpeler?
Je vindt het lekker en je hebt geen zelfdiscipline?
Ik oordeel niet.
Maar je denkt van wel. Dat ik oordeel.
Waarom denk je dat?
Doe ik je aan je vader denken?
Zo’n zelfcrisis is niet erg.
Er zullen er nog vele in je leven volgen. De melancholie gaat je nog regelmatig opzoeken.
Om jezelf weer in het gareel te brengen. Om uit te vogelen wat je volgende stap in het leven wordt. En die stap willen we graag begrijpen. Daarom is de ‘waarom’-vraag zo belangrijk.
Zodat je op een dag kan concluderen wat Walter White concludeerde in het laatste seizoen:
‘I did it for me. I was good at it. And I was really… I was alive.’
Liefs,
tomson darko
Review: Bright Green Futures
from Nerd for Hire
195 pages Edited by Susan Kaye Quinn (2024)
Read this if you like: Solarpunk, short speculative fiction, inventive worldbuilding
tl;dr summary: Collection of shorts that each imagine a hopeful future in a different way
One of the coolest things about science fiction is its capacity to inspire actual change in the real world by showing people what's possible. There are plenty of examples of technology imagined in the pages of a novel and later created in a physical form. And it can have a similar impact on how people think and view the world. This is one of the reasons I've been getting more into solarpunk. It's an antidote for that overwhelmed hopelessness that sets in when I think about climate change and how incredibly fucked the planet is. Stories might not be able to solve the whole problem, but I like reading about one potential way that we could sidestep disaster (or at least be okay, still, after the disaster happens). I also feel a smidge of hope knowing that someone has put a solution out into the world that, just maybe, someone else can run with to make some aspect of reality just a little bit better.
All of the stories in this collection nailed that spirit of solarpunk. There are elements of nearly every story that are depressing or downright terrifying on their own: a flooded future Rio de Janeiro; a derelict space station populated by giant centipedes; an invisible beast trapped behind a city fence. But these potential downers serve as jumping off points for very hopeful narratives, and that ability to find the points of light hidden inside something very dark is really what's so magical about solarpunk in general for me.
Getting a bit more specific with this collection, I found the worldbuilding to be on point across the stories. They were consistently able to ground the reader in a very vivid setting without bogging it down with tons of description. ”The Doglady and the Rainstorm” especially is a perfect example of how using the right specific details can build an entire world in just a few paragraphs. The opening image is the main character, Joseane, boating down a street-turned-canal between vertical gardens, accompanied by the buzz of pollinator drones. By the second page, I'm fully anchored in a place and can place it roughly in the semi-near future, and I'm ready to move with Joseane through this world.
“Centipede Station” is another one where the worldbuilding is on-point and accomplished very quickly through choice descriptions (it also just might be my favorite, though that's a hard choice because all of the stories have their strong points). In the first two paragraphs, we understand both that Pebble and Moss are on a space station, and that we're dealing with something more organic than what you might expect from that setting. It's not easy to both establish and subvert a reader's expectations that quickly without giving them whiplash. It's accomplished here by keeping the language straightforward and the characters central. It doesn't start with a zoomed-out view of the station—it starts with two characters huddled around a campfire, then extends outward to the centipedes chittering in the dark, then finally hovers over them to show the context.
Something else I enjoyed about both of these stories is how they defied reader expectations. I've read stories set in flooded cities before, but never one that focuses on a dogwalker as a protagonist like “The Doglady and the Rainstorm” does. Telling the story through that unexpected perspective, and then adding in the surprise wrinkle that she has a paralyzing fear of rainstorms, makes the familiar trope feel completely new. With “Centipede Station” I was able to see the ending coming from fairly early on, but in that “I feel smart” way, not a way that kills the tension. Instead, it shifts the tension, away from a fear of the centipedes and the environment and more toward the other layers, like how the characters are dealing with their grief while navigating this alien landscape.
As a cryptid fanatic, “What Kind of Bat Is This?” was pretty much written for me to love it. It has a somewhat familiar setup: a scientist, Bree, accidentally falls into an unsearched cave and in the process stumbles across a long-hidden form of life. What I like is how this premise is balanced against Bree's relationship with Izzy, a former colleague. The emotional arc isn't just the combination of fear and excitement associated with discovering a new species, but also Bree's complicated relationship with Izzy, and the way it sours what should otherwise be an incredible discovery. I also like the way it comes around at the end, with the ultimate conclusion being one of sharing the joy and working together, which is a spirit I think is central to the idea of solarpunk in general.
When it comes to which stories in the collection I think have the most helpful and in-the-moment beneficial message, “A Merger in Corn Country” tops that list, I think. The premise of this one, in brief, is that a sustainable commune buys the farm next to an old, set-in-his-ways corn farmer. And spoiler: it doesn't veer into the obvious conflict you'd expect from that set-up. Instead, it's generally a warm-fuzzy feel-good romp, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The voice really helped with this. It's charming and folksy without veering into caricature. There isn't a ton of conflict or tension in the story—but in this case, I feel like that's the point. In a way, the reader’s expectations generate the main tension. I, at least, just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for there to be some big fight and falling out between Dennis and the commune, and I was glad to be proven wrong and have the story go a different direction.
“The Park of the Beast” has the darkest, most ominous feel of all of them. At first, I would say there's a more dystopian vibe to the caged-off substation than the utopian world most of the stories inhabit. But there's a quirkiness to the voice that lightens it, pushing it more toward absurdism than horror. The beast is frightful, but described in a way that makes it feel like something to root for more than something to fear. Maybe I'm reading into this, but it felt to me like the narrator was eager for the day the beast would break free of its cage, like it would be the force that freed all of them from a larger fear. I liked that inversion of the expected, and that's what kept it feeling like it belonged in this collection.
I think it's fitting that “The Park of the Beast” comes after “Ancestors, Descendants” because it's another one that starts off feeling more dystopian. It opens on the protagonist alone in his town after the rest of its inhabitants abandoned it; when he does find more people, they're not exactly friendly. This turns in the second half, though, and ultimately the arc is one of finding strength in community. From a craft standpoint, I was impressed by how “Ancestors, Descendants” covered such a broad span of time and still gave the reader characters to care about. It's written as a kind of diptych of flash pieces, each with its own arc. That's an unusual format but one that works for this story because it keeps the characters completely separate in the reader's mind, and lets them fully sink into each world and get to stay with each character for a whole stretch.
“Coriander” feels like an excellent anchor for the collection for multiple reasons. For one, I like the symmetry of starting and ending with flooded worlds. In the case of “Coriander”, that world is the city where her great-grandmother (her ah-zho) grew up. The narrator is there to connect with her lineage, and that mission also puts the story in conversation with “Ancestors, Descendants.”
I often focus on the individual stories in a collection, but the overall reading experience is important, too, and Bright Green Futures does an excellent job in that regard. The variety of settings and voices keeps each story feeling fresh, but they have enough of a thematic thread running through them that they feel like they all belong together. I'd definitely give this collection a strong recommend for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the solarpunk genre.
See similar posts:
#BookReviews #ShortStory #Solarpunk #SciFi #WorldBuilding
✝️
from 
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Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil
Amen
Jesus is Lord! Come Lord Jesus!
Come Lord Jesus! Christ is Lord!
🇻🇦
from 💚
The Victory of Notre Dame
In places West of here The champions of change forego And Justice have- in the forecast More than supple rain And the Earth to be our Water Justice Rome Things of portence view Assaults in trial and view The subtle preoccupation In time a bliss report To barren optics and unclear The victim path But we were weary in support I’m seeing other paths- this victory due In time will change the atmosphere And messy wars to challenge- the natural view It’s favoured here Loving simple mountains Bare on top And robots receiving oil Never in need of oil affects the better- and their heir We suit as human And playing for Paris go This is us- til Tuesday And victory again For subtle paths we wonder Can calm assaulted be But through blue brine Epistles of the few And Justice Marry The solemn maybe Clearing chance For our message- End of oil.