Most of you are familiar with that phrase; "You can take the red pill or the blue pill?".  This popular phrase was spoken by Morpheus in the movie, Matrix when he asked Neo if he wanted to stay in his virtual reality by taking the blue pill, or if he wanted to see the world in it's reality by taking the red pill.  Neo took the red pill and was brought into the real world. The real world was ugly and terrifying to Neo.

I have personally taking the red pill far too often, and rarely will I take the blue pill, if particularly, I'm not to ready for the reality. 

The Metaverse/Meta is the Matrix.  AI and technology are briskly taking over our lives keeping us from spending time with real life friends, and settling for an artificial experience that promises the full experience of sight, taste, smell, etc.  While, VR, is fascinating on a technological level to me, I fear VR will become too dominate and our society will fail to engage on a human level, much preferring the AI.  Human interaction can sometimes have it's downfalls, but that's where we become inspired to grow, learn, laugh, love and enjoy life. 

My thought is to always keep a balance.  Spend more time with your family, and friends, in real life and enjoy the benefits of social networking as an extension of your life to share thoughts, pictures or whatever is on your mind when you have that extra time to enjoy the interaction.  I've found that friends in my computer are often the most deepest thinking people and are often more available then my real life friends.  What does that say?  It speaks of several personality types that navigate to a social website.  Some real life people are tied to a social website and share their whole day, everyday.  Some people crave the attention of being on a social website, often to a detriment to their self. Some people with that unique dynamic of offering empathy and friendship know how to keep a balance.  

Strive for that balance between technology and real life!!

As I've been reading around the internet for local, national, and world news, as well as, catching up on some of my favorite websites, I've noticed a positive trend of "resistance" to the dangers of VR.  I was actually stunned that over 90% of the member's on LinkedIn whom replied on a thread concerning FB name change to Meta, were negative.  Member's responses were of particular concern about the power of VR in their homes and affecting their families, implicating the danger's of being anti-social.

It's no secret that I'm a science fiction fan and I recalled an episode from STNG; Season 5, Episode 6, The Game.  In this episode, an ocular mind game was brought on to the Enterprise.  The game was so powerful (a VR experience) that the Enterprise crew could no longer function in reality and became addicted to this game.  Their experience is not any different then what people experience today with gaming and VR. This is where you have to create that balance between VR technology and real life.

A brief introduction into the brain and neurotransmitters:

There are several neurotransmitters in our brain.

    Acetylcholine (Ach)
    Dopamine
    Glutamate
    Serotonin
    Norepinephrine
    gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)

These neurotransmitters send signals within the brain to neurons and then muscles etc. Dopaminergic signaling, in particular is profoundly linked to reward-motivated and pleasure behavior reactions. If you are a gamer and you "swipe right" and your maneuver gives you points, you leveled-up, became MVP of the game, or you win your game by your skill, what happens?  All of a sudden you feel some happy euphoria because of your gaming experience.  That is a perfect example of dopamine utilization. This on the most part is normal behavior, however, what is not normal behavior is being consumed by technology and your real life diminishes because you are no longer interacting physically and socially with friends and family. To illustrate, recall, the episode in the Big Bang Theory, Season 2, Episode 3, The Barbarian Sublimation, where Sheldon introduces Penny to the virtual world of gaming.  Penny becomes hooked, looses track of the days as she is playing this game for days.

I believe I have made the argument to the dangers of addiction with VR. I don't think I could even confidently say that adults may have a handle on it because I’m aware of too many adults with additions to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and over indulgence of food and the list goes on.  All addictions, but how many of their addictions are simply caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters?  I do believe addictions are multi-layered and relative to a persons social “happy-meter”.  Adults can correct some of their issues with a good support system, maybe talk therapy and other interventions.  Where there is the greatest fear is especially in children, where their reasoning skills, social skills, emotional and values constructs are underdeveloped.  

Too many children are already online in social media at too young of an age. They are already being prepped for a VR world as they have been insidiously introduced to the addiction of social media for years now.  How do parents help to mitigate exposure to too much screen time and keep a balance in their child's life?  There lies the answer.  I always said, “No fun until the chores are done”.  This included homework too.  When you incorporate some clever rules with rewards to follow, solutions to keeping a balance with a child’s screen time may help. I’d add to that, always know what your child is doing on the screen and who they are talking too.  I’ll avoid the rabbit trail of “grooming and bullies” as this post is not addressing that, but I’d be remiss to not mention those dangers.

Do you want the world to look like the movie Ready Player One or do you expect more from real life?  I believe if parents, educators, and professionals continue to share their thoughts and speak up about the future in VR maybe we all can stifle the coming wave of new addictions, by teaching our children values, encouraging real life social interaction for all ages and mostly being very aware and cognizant as technology presents itself in different forms.  Always ask yourself, what is the endgame to new introduced technology?  If you are honest enough with yourself, you should be able to see through the technology and determine if it’s right for you or your children. It’s also okay, if you try it and decide differently too.  We all can only make decisions based on the information we can find at the time, unless you are particularly intuitive, then you are way ahead of most of us!

Wishing you and your girlfriend many more happy years.  That's so wonderful you have a soul mate, you lift each other up and totally enjoy each others company.  You both are a very unique couple and so lucky to have each other and to also be each other's "very first" in the meaning of a true relationship.

Love technology too, grateful for all the ways we can network.  On kids, I worry about the constant tech exposure to children. I believe real life interaction and play in childhood helps to cultivate good social skills in an adult life.  Some parents are just not present enough in their child's life to guide them.  A helicopter parent is another type of parent, so I'm not referencing to parents that micro-manage their children, but that parents at least have a clue, you know what I mean? 

"Red Pilling" is pretty prominent in my household.  This dynamic also opens the door for complete discussions on anything.

Real life friendships used to be different for me many years ago until now.  My best real life friend (known each other since we were one years old) passed away (a senseless death) last November.  We were like your real life friend of 30 years.  We saw each other more until we both started working.  Then we would see each other a few times a year and then it just became for her family birthdays or funerals. We could pick up where we left off and the familiarity of our families merged/lifetime history made that easy too.  Her mom, was my mom's best friend.  Her mom passed away a year before she passed. She came from a big Catholic family.

That is so great your life is richer through your online friendships, me too.  I was trying to isolate what would be the dynamic that really solidifies these unique long term/online relationships, and my answer would be, that our online friends take the time to read and experience what we are experiencing daily in a real-time event like online public journaling.  They get us and learn about what we are thinking about in real-time and we get to read what their replies are to what we just wrote about in full paragraphs, often written with encouragement when needed, or they take your side when you are mad at your co-worker (and that always helps when someone stands up for you), or they offer ideas or inspiration when you are having some personal issues.  There is the ugly side of this, where there are people of prey, or just off enough that they have some crazy in them, but I've found that I can pick up on that pretty easily. 

I've had several online friends I have either met, or I've talked to on the phone and texted or have just emailed for years.  Ceri and I met online, back in 2007.  We have talked on the phone and have texted all of these years, though we haven't met.  She's like the twin of me.  She's a delight and my life has been so much richer that she's in it.  I have another friend I met online at the same time as Ceri, and at the same website, and we have emailed all of these years.  She's also amazing, intellectually challenging for me, and also an author (another side story but related to my oldest website).  Then there are other friends that I've stayed friends with for years after meeting online and we keep in touch through various means of communique. Communique, I like that word but that's probably too formal....meh...leaving it there anyway....lol

I'm sorry you have had so much pain and challenges, thank you for sharing and reaching out.  You had a difficult decade in working on your recovery.  Probably a very dark time in your life, but also a time when you were able to swim out of your dark waters and reach the top, with a supportive med and the miracle of communication through your computer.  Your ability to reach out and help others is significant, and obviously your calling.  In your BBS outreach, those friends/relationships are a circle of friendships that have more strength because you are at the helm, helping them through their own tough times.  The beauty of websites and why we choose to serve the public in some way.

I have felt for a long time, that psychologists, therapists and psychiatrists use their clients as a human study, either for their own personal amusement or to benefit the medical journal they write for or worse, the book they will write using fictional names, of course, but none the less use our pain for their benefit.

Not to totally diminish these fields as not "essential", there's a place for these counselors and doctors, but finding the right person that you benefit from is the same as finding the right person to repair your dryer and not mess up another part when they're done.

I think psychologists overall, follow the same path of psycho-babble evaluation rather then tailor their treatment to their patients needs.  Most medical doctors are the same.  Finding a medical doctor to treat "out of the box" is virtually impossible, because they fear losing their license.  All right, I get some of that, but what about doctor's with a stronger spine to fight the lobbyist for a doctor's right to treat the patient in a way that's customized to their patient's situation.  Now we have bureaucrats in insurance companies telling doctor's how to treat their patients. 

Your doctor did you a great disservice for several reasons.  You should have been informed of your costs, and should have received the proper billing all along, not after12 years and expect you to pay a substantial bill.  Finally, it doesn't sound like your psychologist got in your head enough to really understand you and reach you by giving you positive feedback.  Sorry you went through that!

1. No one should ever shame someone else for any medications they are on, ever.  There's a lot of biochemistry that goes along with people that need SSI, SSRI, anti-psychotics or other psychiatric meds, nor should they take likely what you say or take it like you are suddenly so much better.  I believe most want to feel well and be well, and during seasons of our life, that we are ill, would naturally look for that moment to tell someone else, you are better.  There are a lot of components to you being "better", such as the medications are dialing down your symptoms and that's why you are better....if you went off of the med, then maybe you wouldn't be so good.  This was always my argument with one of my doctor's office asking me how much better I feel....well...duh, there's a lot that goes into that.

I agree, your doctor was never in your head.  He just assumed that it was only natural for everyone to go to work.....well, maybe on a small scale...his mistake was expecting you to go full-time and all of a sudden deal with retail people.  That's like throwing you into a fire pit of hungry lions.  There's something to be said for the saying; "take baby steps". Retail customer's are the worst.  I know, that's what I started out doing in HS.

I'm glad you have reconciled and please don't relive it.  I have those days, where just trying to explain it again to my husband just raises my blood pressure.

I had a therapist in HS when my parents were divorcing.  He was into hypnotism.  ♪♫♪ I wish I knew then what I know now. ♪♫♪

Oh, my mistake on the SSI....sorry.  I guess my brain just took me to all of those medication acronyms.

Now I understand what happened though.  Your not so nice doctor, again, used his situational power to force you into a difficult environment that you weren't ready for.  Tragic.

Yeah, hypnotism, I don't know what all of that was about but my mom had left my dad by this time and my dad was too trusting and had me with a male therapist.  It didn't work for me either.  Had I been old enough to use some choice words and not gotten in trouble, I believe I would have used them.  No female in counseling should be in a room on a couch next to a male counselor on a chair.  Not right!!!

The first time I took Zoloft I experienced euphoria.  It was actually extremely funny when it happened.  I was working for a dentist at the time and my co-worker was already on Zoloft, which we referred to it as Vitamin Z.  When I got to work, I took it and my whole world suddenly got really happy.  She was laughing so hard at my reaction.  Nothing bothered me that whole day.

Wellbutrin is exceptional without any side effects for me.  That would be the only one I'd take and sometimes there are seasons to take it and sometimes everything is all good. Zyprexa, I had not tried before.  Pristiq and Cymbalta, many many years ago, really hard to get off of, major migraines.

I can relate to the lack of inspiration, it can be rather dulling.  I like dopamine, so Wellbutrin was really great.  I also like Provigil which is really great to get your brain thinking and keeps you on a tasking treadmill all day.  The problem with Provigil, is it's hard to get because it's a medication that has been abused.  It's originally for people with narcolepsy, but used successfully for people that need that extra brain jolt, rather then Adderall.

Maybe on your writing, you can lower expectations of how long you should write and just jot down thoughts as you have them and just do what you can when the time is right.

A friend of mine taught me years ago to be "happy with good enough" each day.  A very hard concept for me to learn back then, but now it's much easier...if I don't get it all done today, it will be there tomorrow.  Now if it's something that's going to bug me like the dishes, oh, well, yeah, got to do that...lol!

I forgot I tried Effexor; instant weight gain....off of that also instantly.

You have been through a lot!  Doctor's would do well to listen to their patients and not try to mess up your harmony.

Without going through much detail, I do understand all of your challenges and the myriad pitfalls when there isn't balance.  Balance is a big deal, and I can always tell, when I'm in dopamine and serotonin burn out. 

Thank goodness you have Zyprexa, a great girlfriend that also balances your life and all of your friends in your computer to complete your harmony.

Zoloft is great. I can recall a season in my life where I was glad I couldn't feel any emotions, thanks to Zoloft.

I can almost hear your "happy" coming from your keyboard.  You have complete harmony in the most important aspects of your life. Life is good!!

Happy, humble and thankful.  A good place to be!!

Indeed a long journey. May we all be so lucky to find ourselves happy and looking to positive future's to behold!