Taking Back My Joy · 7:25pm Oct 10th, 2018
Since the first, I’ve switched to drinking just water. I still eat as badly as I did before, before you ask. And it’s a radical change for me because I was hooked on soda and caffeine. In the week before I gave it up I had somewhere in the ballpark of at least a two liter a day. One day was easily four to six liters. It was a can here and here and here and a convenience store extra large there and there. It all added up. And i was still always tired. Still spiking and dipping on my energy levels throughout the day. And I was agitated, anxious, constantly fighting myself to do basic chores and maintenance.
I went from that to cold turkey. And as other former caffeine addicts will tell you, you’re gonna have a bad time. I took excedrin only when I absolutely needed to and I haven’t had one in at least four days. That’s not to say that my headaches have stopped. They’re just at a level I can handle without over the counter medication so ima handle it without. Stubborn TAM is stubborn.
““Why not wean yourself off of the caffeine teat? Why be so dramatic?” Well, because I tried that and it didn’t work. Even when I set limits for myself I broke them. I have self control when it comes to alcohol, tobacco, sugary drinks (I was drinking diet, btw), I gave up carbs for three months and didn’t really miss it or feel much different. But soda is my Achilles heel.
Anyway, point is I’m thinking about disabling comments.
“Why not just ignore them? Why be so dramatic?” First off, so not the drama. There are plenty of avenues of communication these days. My PM box is always open. I’ve also got a twitter, you can friend me on discord. I might open up my own channel there.
What I’ve realized is that for me to continue writing FiMfiction, I can’t tie my happiness to the feedback. Getting in the featured box even for fifteen minutes is great. Getting votes on my story is mixed. Getting comments is mostly just a written form of an upvote/downvote and I recall only a few interactions that I would call constructive. If I updated my Authors Notes with links to my Twitter/Discord, I don’t see why I’d need FiMfic comments.
So, my followers, what do you think? TAM Discord? It’s more likely than you’d think.
I want to take back my joy. I want to reclaim my ability to enjoy my hobby. Call me thin-skinned and fragile, say what you want. But something needs to change, and I’m staring at a little slide button that could be what I’m looking for.
You do whatever you need to in order to grow and remain happy as a person. Disabling comments is maybe one of the more unorthodox, but if you believe thats what you need to do then you have my support 100%. It's fantastic to see you back on track and I know hard it is to do so. You're a great writer and I'll be looking forward to seeing you back in the ring.
Good for you TAM, both on the soda and the comments. While I do enjoy leaving comments on your stories, I think I’d be just as happy with a discord server, if not moreso. I hope the headaches stop soon as well.
You can do it! That's a tough hill to climb. Good work on it.
As far as comments go, if you don't value them, let them go. They're not for everyone and rarely do they bring the value people assume.
I will always support you in everything you do.
Except drugs. Stay off drugs, okay! Caffeine included!!
xoxox