SubArcticTundra

I imagine some of these agencies didn't exist before 2010, meaning they got staffed under the Tories. I know viewing the Tories as purely bad is a very simplistic way of looking at things, but when Boris was partying in Downing street and clearly resigning on his duties to protect the public, how come this level of resignation didn't seep into these govt. agencies? From the articles below it seems that even after 14 years fhey still have teeth. Are they independent enough to escape influence from the Cabinet?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/20/the-big-tech-firms-want-an-ai-monopoly-but-the-uk-watchdog-can-bring-them-to-heel https://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/national/24470785.data-watchdog-reprimands-school-facial-recognition-canteen-payments/

From the book Plurality chapter 2-2

I'm just thinking about ways that PR could be passed. If Labour get a massive majority, and the party (ie. MPs) want PR but the government does not, would having a ton of MPs beyond a majority make it easier to pass as a private member's bill in defiance of the government, as even a substantial amount of Labour MPs sticking with the govt would not bring aye votes below the 50% mark? (Plus if the newly strengthened Lib Dems voted in favour)

I've been having quite a stressful period of exams recently and at one point I started feeling a mixture of burnt out and depressed. I immediately stopped preparing for the exams, and to ease the thought that I would need to manage 2 more years of this (this is what triggered the depression), I started making plans to switch to an easier degree.

Usually when I feel depressed I know exactly why (my mind tunnel visions on the big picture problem and blocks out the present), and once I address the cause I begin to feel hopeful again. But this time, although doing these things eased the immediate feeling of burnout, I have carried on feeling depressed. I am usually a humorous person so I tried to watch my favourite comedy to rekindle my playfulness but I felt completely numb to the jokes and nuance in it that I usually appreciate. Same when I tried to socialize.

I've removed the cause so I don't understand why I'm still depressed and what else I need to do to make my mind operate normally again. Could it be from other unadressed things in my life that have been in the background? Does anyone have any ideas?

My psych wants to take me off Strattera because it isn't helping my ADHD and apparently it's quite expensive.
One thing it is helping me with though is my anxiety – I no longer get the random bouts of anxiety that I used to and I feel like I'm just generally more chill and enjoying the present moment.
What's more, I can actively feel the Strattera keeping me calm at times when my brain would have panicked before, like when approaching girls.
Do you know if other anti-anxiety meds my psych is likely to give me will have this same effect, or should I urge him to keep me on Strattera?

I've realized that I check the news several times a day but not because I'm curious about what's happening on the grand scheme of things, but because my brain wants to check something that keeps changing with new, evolving information. It fills a slightly different niche than social media, and I don't watch sports so I don't have that to check. Can anyone think of something else that could fill this need? I could read blogs but they just don't feel current. And the news is making be stress about information I didn't need to know.

My main problems:

• Inability to stick to lowly stimulating tasks
• Executive dysfunction
• Forgetting what I was doing every 2 minutes
  Bonus mention: random bouts of anxiety
  (Don't know which subtype this amounts to)

Meds I've tried so far:

1. Atomoxetine (extinguished the anxiety but did nothing for the ADHD)
2. Methylphenidate (amplified the ED, essentially gluing me to even boring tasks. This helped for reading but not for my executively intensive physics homework, where I literally had to use my inner voice to guide myself. Did nothing for the forgetfulness.)

Has anyone had a similar response? What ended up working? I'm in the UK so there's no Aderall.

My train of thought has gone down the same path hundreds of times when bored. There is no new realisation about that topic that remains to be had. And yet every time my inner monologue goes down the same well trodden path. It almost hurts at this point. I don't really choose the topic, it's usually just one I've come into contact with repeatedly and they change over the years. I commute by bus and the monologue is always at the same point at the same point in the journey. I am going crazy. How do I turn this off.