Question of the Moment: How do I deal with the mood swings that come when you stop opioids.Answer: I wish I knew.Opioids act as a mild anti-depressant from most of us. I would also argue that a good chunk of us had mental health issues to start with: depression, anxiety, PTSD, and the like. Opioids feel fucking good. Why else would we take them, right? Well, I think the answer is more nuanced. Opioids have diminishing returns. At a certain point, the don't feel THAT good. Continuing to take them is more of a stop gap measure to avoid the mental (and physical) hell that comes from getting off of them. The higher the dosage ie the more you are taking, the less you are generally getting out of them. I strongly recommend any of my active user friends out there try remedies to reduce tolerance. It is a few days of bullshit but it will mentally benefit and financially benefit you. Baby rhino tolerance = baby rhino spending and the potentially criminal bullshit that comes with keeping that beast fed.My mental state is a series of ups and downs. I notice recently that social media is making this worse. Everyone is younger, prettier, happier, and more social than me according to these pictures. Also- fuck your flat stomach. Just kidding, sort of. I was skinny once too, it just took starvation and a metric fuckton of stimulants to get there. I've been on a diet for 18 months so excuse my bitterness. I'll take another sip of coffee to wash that down. Black of course. Cream and sugar have delicious calories. Anyway, find some things you like. I have my support animals. I try to walk 3 to 5 miles 5 days a week. I have a few close friends that seem reasonably okay with my levels of sanity. I periodically have fits and block people. I don't know why I am an asshole at times. Isolation tells me I don't need people then reason slowly creeps in.I personally have avoided psych meds. This is my own internal fears and stigma. Don't listen to me, do your own thing. Mostly, I have been terrified of the potential side effects. I can honestly say I will take them if my cycles of depression get much lower. I'm not afraid- I'm just cautious. Not that "I don't want to be dependent on anything" bullshit that anti medication people spew. That is not it. It is more- I am afraid of weight gain, sexual side effects, and not feeling myself. But, as I said, I'm open to anything that might help me in the future. If things change, you'll be the first person to know because I have no filter.I went on a hike yesterday. I don't know how I went from a country girl to the Tenderloin to a suburban mom type but I did recognize how to find rabbits. Seven year old me was excited that I still recognize tracks that don't involve removing a syringe.