https://commonslibrary.org/ I think a first step might be searching here for “toolkit” or specific topics. I remember seeing a lot of useful zines and posters and guides around the internet, and if you’re interested I can try to track them down, but this site might have what you need.

This can also be a useful resource: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/special/index

I have an earliest memory that I wonder if it’s just my memory of me recounting it at this point. And another memory of being attacked by a dog that I believe was a dream that got mixed up with reality because the neighbor’s dog scared me. ‘Memories of memories’ seems accurate the further back I try to remember.

I think you need an account. I look at tags, sometimes, because I like finding new artists to follow, but I’m not sure that’s expected useage.

You can probably start with careful exposure therapy. I’m not sure how to do that with germ phobia. I dealt with a fear of spiders by reading about them and looking at pictures until I stopped feeling disgust/anxiety. I then just kind of noted and moved on when I saw one in real life. These days I see a spider and can even move it if it’s in a bad spot without feeling anxious.

Not knowing your triggers, I can’t say if that path would help or make it worse.

https://fherehab.com/learning/germophobia-treatment This could be useful for learning terms so you can look up and find reviews for self help books.

For my social anxiety, I started out getting books from the library about that specific phobia. It took a lot of time to get from there to telling my doctor I was anxious all the time, to medication, and then therapy. I doubt I’ll ever be free of it, but I can do a lot of things now I once couldn’t (small talk with customers? wow!)

It kind of has to be guided by you and the specifics of your phobia, unfortunately. Like, would looking at a picture of a dirty surface for five minutes a day make you anxious? Just a little, or a lot? If a little, try it. If a lot, scale it back further. Hopefully someone with a similar phobia comes around with more relevant advice. Good luck?

I’m not familiar with bluesky feeds. Can someone explain in more detail the purpose of this community? It’s just curiosity, so don’t feel obligated.

No, but it’s something I’ve heard other people describe. I don’t know if it’s common, but it doesn’t sound odd.

People at church when I went as a kid would talk about a sense of feeling guided. People talked about feeling “called” to something. I always felt a lot of nothing, but I don’t think most of them were lying about that feeling, even if I suspect a different source than they did.

Search on their site shows best of year lists going back to like 2011

It’s not fast, unfortunately, but I was prescribed a high weekly dose by my doctor and it did seem to help eventually. The long time it takes means I’m left wondering if I feel better because of the vitamins, or something else, but I do feel better.

https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/long-vitamin-d-work-3555995/

Research has found that vitamin D insufficiency resolved with 12 weeks of weekly high-dose vitamin D.

Unfortunately, when your D is really low, you should up the dosage to get a noticable change, but too much vitamin D can be dangerous so I wouldn’t recommend it without finding out what your levels are. When I was checked both my vitamin D and iron were low, which is why I was sleeping constantly and still feeling fatigued.

“power user” is such a kind way to describe that, thank you!

Looking at what I have now, it’s a mix of tasks I don’t want to forget to do, a long article I was reading but felt i wasn’t absorbing, some fanfic I am probably going to read in the next couple days plus the rec list I got them from, a podcast I’m still midway through for when I’m driving, an article for a work thing I’ll need tomorrow, a couple dnd race pages open as I’m making a character for a new campaign, and two bsky people who post interesting articles on the daily so I read them daily. Some stuff is bookmarked, but if I’m using it in the next week, it stays in tabs.

They all get closed when I’m done with them, but new things get rotated in. I’m at my max now, but it’s rare I have under five open. It’s a to-do list, basically, and there are always new things to do, and read, and think about, and learn. Bookmarks are for when I want to save a link to look at much later. Like, webcomics I’ve caught up with, artists I like, utility pages, resources, etc.

I used to be “worse” because I had fun in the early 00s generating link lists for character fan pages. It involved opening every relevant link on an already vetted and tagged page, and then checking each one (and opening pages from their links if they turned out to be relevant). When I finished a character, I’d start on the next, so I’d have one or two hundred open most of the time. I lost interest, eventually. The impulse to link to relevant topics still exists in me, however, which is a big reason I’m on this website.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/why-do-humans-have-a-taste-for-alcohol-43579

The theory in this article is that ethanol indicates a higher caloric density in fruit, which makes that fruit more desirable when you’re struggling to get enough to eat. I have no idea if this is true, but it’s one possible reason I guess.

The first sleep paralysis episode I had I was convinced the whole time I had died and was in this weird ghost zone where I could hear people and see a bit, but couldn’t move. Fucked me up, too, though in my case I was scared of sleeping for a while. It doesn’t sound as bad as your experience, though, damn.

I think it’s an NSAID? That’s a “use with caution” situation, then. The salt water gargle is something I forgot about. I’m glad I posted this question. It’s reminding me of all the stuff that’s helped before in case the coughing gets worse.

Yeah, I know any sleep I get with the booze, it won’t really help. I wish I didn’t know that, though. A hot toddy sounds nice, but…ah, well.

Oh, pineapple! Whew. I was like “i don’t think pine and orange would mesh well…but if I feel really sick…”

Spicy food does sound like a good idea!

Oh, duh, I even have an electric kettle and I’ve just been staring into space and sipping soda. I must be really out of it.

I should keep a pack of weed gummies on hand and keep them in a nyquil box for times like these

That sounds amazing

I remember reading an article years ago about how little good cold medicines actually do against the illness, so I’d already been mostly avoiding them. Except when I’m too congested or coughing too much to sleep. Then I miss them SO much.

They might distract me!