#1 Taln Fan

Well well well, I think I've let ya'll get far enough

Tehe @Fizz9

Sorry to hear that Hopefully they can have a more mature reaction than that. Even if they don't understand it, it's not actually that uncommon. (Up to 27% of adolescents SH at least once in their life, tho a much smaller percentage actually make it known) And if they don't understand why you'd do it, that's precisely why therapists are a good thing, which you can explain. A therapist most of the time will know your reasons better than even you do. If your parents want you to be safe from harm, then a therapist is actually a best case scenario, since it's the best way to help you. (I'm not a psychologist, but I do also have a few strategies for resisting urges that could be helpful, if you want them.)

Sorry for the late reply! I had a long response typed out but it vanished, and I'm knee deep in finals prep. I very much agree with everything you said, it's very well put. There are some advantages to sharing with others dealing with similar problems, as you'll feel less alone in your struggles and can share healthy coping strategies for things like SH. But it's also true that if it's just bouncing pessimism and hopelessness off each other, eventually it can worsen problems. Which is part of why, as you said, talking to a licensed psychologist is very important. I know some of you have tried therapy, and it didn't work super well. Either the therapist themself wasn't great, or you didn't open up fully about everything. If the first therapist or two isn't great, try another one! They won't be offended. There's a huge variety of different personalities and therapy methods across therapists. Keep trying until you find one you work well with. It's also important to note that you reap what you sow. If you're not telling your therapist everything bothering you, they can't help you fully. If they don't know everything, they can't put together the full picture. Ofc that's hard, but no matter what you're going through, they've heard the same and far worse tons of times, they're not going to judge you. So sorry, that's a rough situation. Do you not think your parents will take it well? Any loving parent would be concerned for you and want you to stop, and even if it's tough to have that conversation, your parents are in the best position to help you, and to get you help if you need it.

Welcome to the Shard! There's plenty of interesting topics over on the Cosmere subforums if you wish, though there's a variety of other subforums and topics here as well. What's your favorite and least favorite Sanderson book? And if you could have lunch with any character from Sanderson's books, who would it be?

Heal Starsight, hurt Bilming Kholinar - 5 Hearthstone - 5 Narak - 5 Urithiru - 6 Luthadel - 5 Fadrex - 5 The Pits of Hathsin - 5 Elendel - 5 Bilming - 4 The Roughs - 5 Southern Scadrial - 5 Elantris - 4 Widor/Fjorden - 5 Teod - 5 Idris - 5 Hallandren - 5 Kezare/Lossand - 5 Diggen's Point - 5 The Emerald Sea - 7 Torio City - 5 Kilahito - 6 Patji - 5 Starsight - 5 Alta Base - 5 Newcago - 3 Evensong - 5

I've enjoyed most of Sanderson's non-cosmere works, though Skyward is by far my favorite. Books 2-3 were ok, but Skyward 1 and Janci's novellas were excellent

Hey all, I want to let you know that we've updated our Forum Policies with some new rules regarding posting and discussing AI generated content: If you suspect that something someone posted is AI-generated, we ask that you simply report the post rather than confronting the poster directly, and the staff team will deal with the issue as needed. In addition, we've also clarified our stance on how the rep system is to be used: If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to either reply in this thread, or PM me or another moderator.

That video is really so informative, it's changed the way I handle roundabouts unlocked it, go wild

GASP NO YOU DIDN"T

"The mods" have a 3 hour chem lab in the morning xD I win

I think that’s fine, I’d say just put a content warning at the beginning. I do, tho reporting is also fine to get a hold of a mod, and preferred, as Kansas said

Welcome to the shard! What's your favorite non-Sanderson book or series? One quick note, double posting twice in a row isn't allowed on the forums per our forum policy, but you can always edit your previous post if needed. No worries at all since you're brand new, but just for future reference.

Yep (SH)

Ok I’ve got an actual professional’s answer to this now

“and only allow the reddest of red lights” Again, this is a very over optimized method. But I turn off all lights except my very red screens at 8:30 pm. And to be clear, there’s no need to turn on the red filter until about 3 hours before sleeping. Nope! That’s good! I have mine on the reddest setting possible

Hey ya'll! Some of you may know I'm very passionate about getting adequate sleep. It's been proven to be vital for both physical and mental health. But many of us (myself included until several months ago) just get 7 hours (or less) and say we're good, but wonder why we're tired, struggle to get out of bed, and deal with so much fatigue and mental struggles. You've probably heard the estimates that teens should get 8-9 hours of sleep, and adults should get 7-8 or so. But that doesn't do as much good if it's not quality sleep. There's a whole crap ton of factors that can worsen your sleep. One of the worst culprits is blue light, which I'm sure you've heard of. While blue light glasses or the "night shift" settings on devices certainly help, that light still affects your sleep quality. In addition, even just a bathroom light on in your room or a night light can affect your melatonin release, meaning that even after you close your eyes to go to sleep, your brain may not want to for quite a while longer. Though most indoor lights are warmer than screens, so those are still the worst for your sleep. While you don't certainly have to do this, one good solution (and what I do) is to cut off almost all light 2-3 hours before bed, and only allow the reddest of red lights. There's ways on most devices (apple for sure) to make your color filter completely red (if you want help finding the setting, lmk), and that's much better than the basic slightly warmer night shift filter. This is ofc a bit extreme, but I've found that it works amazingly for my own sleep quality. Whatever extent you can do is good. Another key factor is sleep consistency. Research shows that sleep consistency is actually more important than sleep quantity for longevity. Try to generally go to sleep (or attempt to) and wake up within 15 mins of the same time every day. Caffeine. It has a half life of 4-5 hours, which means that if you drink a Dr Pepper at 6 pm, half of that caffeine is still in your system at 10-11pm. Even if you "can still go to sleep after having caffeine", your brain still has to process it, and it'll worsen the quality of your sleep Try not to eat any heavy meals or intense exercise 3 hours before sleeping, and not drink anything an hour before sleeping As alluded to before, try to make your room as dark as possible when trying to sleep. Ideally, an hour before sleeping, turn off all devices and light whatsoever. You could use this time to do whatever, but I personally like to stretch, meditate, and listen to music, a podcast, or an audiobook. Again, that's over-optimizing a bit, dimming lights is also good. Pick whatever time you want to wake up throughout the week you want to wake up, and try to go to sleep 8-8.5 hours before then. You can also fiddle around with the timing to see what your body naturally prefers when you're following the proper steps. I always thought I was a night person, but when I'm following this routine, my body starts getting sleepy around 9, and I wake up with no alarm at 6:30-7 Lastly, I know that this routine isn't always feasible. Some people work late, and lots of activities occur late at night. I've certainly spent many nights not following this routine. But when I do, especially consistently, I've personally found that I have way more energy that lasts throughout the whole day, I can retain learned information way better, and my mood is just better. Thank you for reading my ramblings, and go get some good sleep Disclaimer: I'm not a sleep doctor, but most of this is based on things I've learned from the book Why We Sleep by Dr. Matthew Walker, which I'd highly recommend. This is stuff that's just worked extremely well for me, and I hope it helps for someone else.

Sleep quality is vastly different from sleep quantity, so that may have to do with it. And mental fatigue and diet can also affect physical tiredness. (Just wrote up a blog post I've been meaning to write on sleep quality if you want to learn more xD) Imo that's even better if you have a loving supporting family. Since they're likely around you more and know you better than most, family members are often in the best position to help you. This is a very big point, and it's super important. The more you just accept depression as a part of your identity and a fact of your life, the harder it becomes to overcome it. Your subconscious begins to think of it as normal, and thus any stretches of feeling better become the new "weird", and your subconscious rejects that. Same reason why addicts relapse all the time. Our brains don't like change, even if it's positive. Uhhh a lot actually xD Teens have more intense and frequent mood swings than fully developed adults, and teens and young adults have the highest rates of anxiety and depression.

I'll once again stress to everyone here: A book forum full of teenagers is not the ideal place to get mental health advice (even if it can be helpful) Find IRL friends you can open up to and share with, and see a therapist, who's actually trained and can provide professional help. Even if you've had a bad experience with a therapist in the past, there's lots of different ones, so try someone else until you find one that works for you. And remember to take care of your sleep

When it comes to opening up to your friends, you get what you put in. If you don't tell the full extent of your troubles, they can only help so much. For me, my two closest friends know literally every secret and struggle I've had, and because of that they're able to fully support me with anything. And it also means they can trust me with anything in return. Imo, true deep friendships come from mutual vulnerability. Ofc being able to hang out in person with friends is better, but friends you know IRL and mostly text with are fine too. Whatever's feasible for you individually. I'll also say, you don't necessarily need a bunch of friends. Some people want to, and that's fully up to individual preference. Different people have different social needs. But even if you just have one close friend you can open up with, that's good.

As others have said, going outside is great for both physical and mental. Spend as much time off screens as possible, time with IRL friends whenever you can. Engaging in creative activities (especially if non-digital) is also very good for you. Doing a daily "3 good things" at the end of each day is also shown to help increase positive emotions. (Writing down 3 things throughout your day that made you happy, or smile, or were even mildly enjoyable, no matter how small). Gratitude journaling is also great. Specific activities are up to you, but in general, outdoor and creative activities are best, and things with friends are good. Also, there may be certain momentary situations when dwelling on emotions/problems isn't the best, but generally you do want to think on them and process them at least some. Like for as short as 5 seconds, maybe longer, but keep it to a finite amount of time. Then go do something that aligns with your goals of who you want to be in the long term. (Though ruminating for a long while without doing anything isn't good) Yes, please do. Saying that you're fine while not being fine is a practically universal experience, so most people can relate. If my friends opened up about mental struggles that they'd be hiding, I'd in no way judge them for hiding it, I'd just want to help them. If your friends are actual friends, they'll feel the same.

@Kansas Stormcursed (And all) SH

Welcome to the Shard! I've moved your post to Sanderson Fanworks, which is where fanfic, fanart, etc. is best suited. The introduce yourself forum is more for introducing yourself and letting people get to know you, rather than fanfic/book discussion.