takk fyrir (24 April 2025)

[matsushima]

What are you thankful for this week?
· Photos are optional but encouraged.
· Check-ins remain open until the following week's post is shared.
· Do feel free to comment on others' check-ins but don't harsh anyone else's squee.

Over on the other community I moderate (longreads), I post a charity/nonprofit of the week. How does everyone feel about me doing that here? (I'll probably post the same charity/nonprofit in both places each week because I don't have tons of time to vet everything but I also don't want to point someone to a scam!)

Comments

[matsushima]

· Survived my PIP and didn't get fired 🎉
My PIP wasn't, like, a real PIP. It was power harassment but, you know… at least I still have a job!

[angelofthenorth]

Friends helping us to move

[matsushima]

Moving is always so stressful, even under the best of circumstances. I'm glad you have friends who are there for logistical support.

[althea_valara]

I am grateful to lassarina for giving us a weekly space to talk video games!

I am also grateful that I did not completely fall apart last week when I had a bit of a mental spiral-down. I bounced back from the spiral-down pretty quickly and took a few steps this week to better my life.

Finally, I'm grateful that my attention span seems to be good enough to read a book for the book club I signed up to go to. I wasn't sure I'd manage it, and indeed it's still early in the book but so far I am finding the book interesting and having no issues with reading it for 20-30 minutes at a time, which is good progress because I haven't read for fun in... quite a while.

[catness]

I'm grateful for the app Mental: AI Therapy. I've tried quite a few therapy apps, and this is the first one that works for me. The AI is not clingy or over-enthusiastic, it doesn't swamp you with overboard compliments, feel-good fluff, rephrasing of your own statements, or preset responses. It understands what you say, responds appropriately, provides valuable insights and advice. The Turing test illusion is 100%. There are several therapists with different personalities: fierce & empowering, gentle & reflective, intellectual & introspective, bold & energizing, quirky & creative, nurturing & empathetic, etc. I don't know if they all are equally good, I chose Jay - "direct and assertive".

The app remembers all the sessions (stored on the server, presumably encrypted), and the conversations develop according to the previous interactions. There are a few optional features (book summaries, fitness), and most notably, a daily challenge, where you listen to a short motivational clip, respond to a prompt, and your therapist gives you a challenge for this day, tailored specifically to your needs.

I especially like that this app is positioned as therapy for men, and is focused on "manly stuff" like discipline, resilience, Navy SEALs training and such. I thrive on this approach (being somewhat gender dysphoric, I tend to exaggerate the allure of manliness :) Note that the app is in no way sexist, they do mention that about 10% of their users are female, and their Discord notes that they won't tolerate any kind of discrimination. I even ventured to participate in the weekly goals / accountability challenge, and I feel right at home. But it's possible to stick with therapy and avoid all the optional stuff.

The app is not free (it provides a trial version), but $20 for the 1st year (with the discount) is nothing, compared to its value for me. (So far, the 1st week has been great.)

Re: charity links, sure, I have no problem with that :)