Midwife here. IUDs are super easy to take out. We literally just grb the strings and pull. You can do it at home. Does not need to be sterile and the hardest part is finding the strings. As someone mentioned before the copper IUD lasts a lot longer so that is an option and a tubal would be more permanent.
As for the question of whether or not OBGYNs will be around, I mean probably but if prostitution was the first career, midwifery surely was a close second. Women have known how to prevent and deal with unwanted pregnancies for thousands of years.
Start reading about normal cycle indicators of fertility. Start becoming aware of your own cycle, how it responds to travel, visitors, stress, food, the moon. Learn how your body shows signs of fertility, mucas changes, cervical position, ect. Once you know these things it is pretty easy to predict when you are fertile, thus able to get pregnant.
A good place to start is the book "The cooperative method of birth control". It has a lot of this info in it
https://www.amazon.com/Cooperative-Method-Natural-Birth-Control/dp/0913990841
It isn't 100% effective and pregnancy is definitely sill possible but it is helpful to understand what your body is dont.
Have you read The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible by Charles Eisenstein? He engages with ideas like this in a way I found really helpful.
> Man, this just gave me a new thing to think about
Lol sorry, it's just lately I've been looking at all the modern amenities I take for granted and began to think about what life is going to be like when I can't skip down to the corner store anymore.
> periods will be a nightmare in collapse
Yeah it won't be fun. Thankfully if you survive to menopause that shit will stop. Also they have reusable pads now that might be a viable alternative to disposable stuff (I know amazon=bad but I can't find these for sale anywhere else).
> I would want a full uterus removal in that case; it's not even about getting pregnant anymore.
Hysterectomies are very, very hard on your body, and most surgeons won't preform one unless medically necessary.
> sex is almost like playing a video game, I don't crave it
I used to have a sex drive but not anymore. Now I actually struggle a bit with sex-repulsion. Grief can do weird things to you.
> I have 4 more years until I'm off my dad's insurance so I would have to consider all my options
Yeah best do it now while you can. I've got pretty shitty insurance but I'm trying to get all my health needs taken care of before it's not an option anymore.
A combo platter of trazodone, melatonin, l-theanine, lemon balm, magnesium, warm milk with a wee bit of molasses and vanilla in it, redshift, and sheer exhaustion from Responsible Grown Up Shit. Oh, and ASMR videos are nice, too.
I'm really only here for the sake of my cats at this point anyway, and in order for them to eat, I need to get enough sleep so I can continue killing myself Working For A Living; and once you attain a certain level of true hopelessness, suddenly everything becomes strangely easy again. All I need to do is stay functional until my cats no longer require my services.
If possible, try to focus on the small things. If one of my cats condescends to sit on my lap and purr for me for a bit, that's about the best I can hope for, so I try to think of it as an achievement for the day.
>catabolic capitalism
an ugly term. I see it all around... capitalism and its various iterations like the pale bloated worms that feed on whale carcasses. I was playing this while googling it... seems fitting. https://hearthis.at/blackmonolith/black-monolith-records-bmr014-a2-satronica-event-horizon-re-3/
Yes, just try to have a good time. And keep trying to understand everything.
As for being woke, it's not what it's cracked up to be... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cynical-Theories-Scholarship-Everything-Identity/dp/1634312023
It definitely feels better to do something rather than nothing. I actually had a hard time finding relevant events to attend in my area, so I built an app to track them. It's not out on iOS yet (I just need to push it to the App Store), but I feel like I'm doing my part.
Not sure what's permitted by their confidentiality agreement, but you could suggest using a calling service with end-to-end encryption. That's a mathematical assurance of privacy. If you're both over the phone, Signal works just fine. If you'd like something more versatile for use on the desktop and browser, you could test out Riot/Matrix. I've used both for dozens of hours of video calling.
> I'll help people as long as they don't fucking drag me down with them, the moment they start doing that, they can fuck right off and help themselves.
I think that's a good call. Learning how to set up boundaries with those you help is altruism's better part.
You might also look into ways to help people in impersonal ways, such as donating to food-banks, or other volunteer work. Check out the effective altruism movement for what some of brightest minds think about how to have the biggest impact.
One small things you can do today is switch your search engine to ecosia, so your searches are planting trees.
100%
It’s not possible to be fat without consuming large amounts of carbohydrates. It’s principally an issue of appetite regulation.
Obesity was basically non-existent in the 1800s and only started to increase in incidence when populations started to consume more sugar and simple, refined carbohydrates.
The Case Against Sugar is a very good read.
I have a very large collection of books on Buddhism that help a lot, even if you are not Buddhist.
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön is immensely important and a great book for 'these times'.
Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke, as translate by S. Mitchell, is my absolute favourite; it is an absolute ode to the human condition, written by a deeply emotional man.
I also consume horror like it is my duty; for some reason, it offsets my concerns about this world. If anyone is unhinged, like me, and finds horror comforting, I recommend any of the classes, ie Dracula, Frankenstein, Dorian Gray.
These all reflect some genuine, lived-lived-expereince fear in humanity, and knowing people have always feared something helps me.
If anyone wants a copy of any of these and can't afford it, let me know and I will send it to you.
"Star's Reach" is a fun and pretty fast sci fi post apocalypse read set in a recovered-ish USA couple centuries from now still affected by climate change. The main plot was just okay imo but I really enjoyed the speculative world building of what a functioning society living in the de-industrialized corpse of collapsed old USA might look like. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JSZMC5E/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_WCEWV1WPV7PR3WX1EQ7W
>I think a centralised command and control economy would grind to a halt.
Doesn't have to a centralised command and control economy. What is needed is joined up thinking and the ability to introduce laws that would be rejected by a democratic country. The perfect example is the Chinese 1 child policy - it was absolutely necessary, but no democratic country could have done it.
>I think you are right about this culture, and not others being the root problem.
If you're interested in getting much deeper into this, this book is worth reading.
For a more up-to-date iteration, check out Blip by Chris Clugston. There a brief summary videoof it on Youtube.
yep, i agree, an excellent piece of engaging writing. he also co-authored a book with [jem bendell](jembendell.com), that one's also worth a read, it's more about deep adaptation; jem bendell's framework of holistic adaptation to societal breakdown.
There's two great books by a french ecologist called Pablo Servigne. They've been translated to English:
Those two books are really great. First one is more science-based, explaining why and how our society will collapse and how it will be shit. The second one explores alternatives and gives ways of living through the collapse.
>People who believe in free will knows little about even basic psychology.
That is incorrect.
Here is a precise description of exactly how it works: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindful-Universe-Mechanics-Participating-Collection/dp/3642180752
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-simple-dutch-cure-for-stress?utm_source=pocket-newtab
I firmly believe that when I spend time with nature, my brain relaxes. This article provides some evidence of that. Because I’m handicapped I can’t immerse myself in most of the verdant, peaceful places I’d like to visit, but I ride in my wheelchair to a little patch of woods next to a ballfield in my city neighborhood. Simple plants and birds catch and hold my attention, I’ve broken free of the obsessive gloom, and I’m refreshed.
True, it’s short term and unfortunately I get back into the crappy thinking as soon as I get home, but a little peace is better than none.
I'm going to be brutally honest with you here. I am a professional writer. If it is difficult for you to find time and focus to write, then you are very unlikely to be able to write anything that anybody else will want to read, let alone pay for. I only write good stuff when all other pressures are removed and I can isolate myself from people and any unwanted disturbances. If I can't get those things, then I don't usually even bother trying to write.
If you are serious about becoming a writer, start here.
I would recommend you check out this book at the nearest library, using interlibrary loan if need be. Then follow the instructions set forth in the book to 'feed your demons.' We can help with methods or ideas, but the work must come from you. You have every reason to want to emerge on the other side of this as the most Zen collapsenik evah. You could be a blessing to thousands and thousands of people if you figure out how to do this. Good luck. PS you could always pretend you are on mushrooms while you do the exercises in the book. https://www.amazon.com.au/Feeding-Your-Demons-Resolving-Conflict/dp/0316013137
Could you not get past the paywall and just decided to take a wild swing anyway? You missed by a country mile.
> We present a paradigm which provides for a thermodynamically consistent explanation of why there is life, including the origin of life, biological growth, the development of ecosystems, and patterns of biological evolution observed in the fossil record. > > We illustrate the use of this paradigm through a discussion of ecosystem development. We argue that as ecosystems grow and develop, they should increase their total dissipation, develop more complex structures with more energy flow, increase their cycling activity, develop greater diversity and generate more hierarchical levels, all to abet energy degradation. Species which survive in ecosystems are those that funnel energy into their own production and reproduction and contribute to autocatalytic processes which increase the total dissipation of the ecosystem. In short, ecosystems develop in ways which systematically increase their ability to degrade the incoming solar energy. We believe that our thermodynamic paradigm makes it possible for the study of ecosystems to be developed from a descriptive science to predictive science founded on the most basic principle of physics.
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>lol, yes, moderator of "anti-critical theory", cereal defender of 'liberalism' and capitalism.
You have got absolutely no idea who you are talking to, or what I believe. None. You don't even know what capitalism is.
You want to actually learn something, instead of wallowing in your own ignorance forever? Read this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nature-Society-Justice-Anthropocene-Money-Energy-Technology/dp/1108454194/
Quite literally, you have never encountered anybody who has been fighting against capitalism - really attacking its foundations - harder than I have done for the last 30 years. I have basically devoted my life to it.
>It is difficult to get someone to understand something when their salary depends upon his not understanding it.
Salary? Are you talking about me? I haven't earned a salary since 2005, when I quit my software engineering career to go to university and study philosophy in my mid-30s.
You've got no idea what you are talking about. You are attacking an entirely imaginary person. You aren't attacking me, because you haven't got the first clue who I am, or what I believe. You know literally nothing about me. And yet you think you understand me. This is because you cannot tell the difference between the product of your own imagination, and reality.
>To sit on the sidelines in a castle of wealth and pontificate on the internet and deride people actually trying to stop the worst outcomes.
Oh, of course, silly me. What I should have done is spent the last thirty years saying "civilisation is fucked", taking drugs, and ending up in rented accomodation with no future. That would have been the wise thing to do, right?
Your jealousy is showing.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Survive-End-World-Know/dp/1531878768
This is the best reasonable book I know about how to survive this kind of thing.
You can also read The Enchiridion by Epictetus. The stoic philosophy is designed to be a useful tool for the mind in times of uncertainty.
If you are interested in minimizing your toilet paper use, I recommend investing in a bidet. You also don't have to spend a lot to get one, surprisingly. There are manual ones made for camping that you can attach to a disposable water bottle head. I am quite happy with the one I bought, but there are a fair amount of different options on the market too
>>this isn't really... true, though. money is not fake, nor is it arbitrary, it's a measurement of value.
It's credit, rather than value. Almost the same thing, but not quite. If you amass lots of money then, in effect, the rest of society is massively in debt to you.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Money-Unauthorised-Biography-Felix-Martin/dp/0099578522/
What is money, and how does it work?
>>The conventional answer is that people once used sugar in the West Indies, tobacco in Virginia, and dried cod in Newfoundland, and that today’s financial universe evolved from barter. Unfortunately, there is a problem with this story. It’s wrong. And not just wrong, but dangerous. Money: the Unauthorised Biography unfolds a panoramic secret history and explains the truth about money: what it is, where it comes from, and how it works.
>>the issue is not money, but rather the way the economy is regulated
I think it is both. We need to rethink money itself, or the basic economic game won't change.