People Think Being Self Aware Cancels Out Mental Illness. That When You Realise Your Thoughts Or Behaviours

a little comic(?) about holding back & being trans online

shout out to this one interaction i had with my therapist yesterday

therapist: "the best part of being human is..."

me: *tilts head*

therapist: "...the best part of being somewhat human is..."

u heard da man

Happy Birthday Noctis !

Sometimes terms mean certain things and belong to certain groups of people and are not meant to apply to people outside that group. And that is on purpose and valid. You can make your own terms to describe your own experiences, you don't get to take terms from other people, especially people more vulnerable/less privileged than you. If multiple people tell you that the term is not for you, respect that.

When terms get used for many different situations they get diluted and trivialized. Remember "trigger"? It was a specific medical term and is now used to mean "something that pissed or upset someone". Brain fog is now turning into abled people just being a little sleepy or out of it, not literally a clinical term for brains not functioning correctly due to various illnesses. I tell someone I have brain fog and they say lol me too XD no you fucking don't. "Spirit animal" was taken from indigenous peoples so white people could make funny haha relatable t-shirts. Two spirit almost got taken by queer white people as well (although I think most people have backed off on that hopefully).

Not everything needs to apply to as many people as possible. You don't need to and can't relate to everyone. We can still support each other while respecting differences.

(Edited ver)

Think systems with a high number of fictional introjects are a new phenomena? Kluft's paper on polyfragmented/extremely complex DID from 1988 includes a patient with LOTR introjects, and another based off of Shakespear's Tempest. Fictional introjects have been a thing for a very long time!

Contrary to popular belief, “hating praise” is not just a PDA thing. There are many reasons it could not sit right with someone.

It’s also assumed that people like this just hate all praise, but that’s not true either. What we hate is feeling manipulated, or lied to, or monitored, etc.

I mean, do you realize how much adults are encouraged to use praise to manipulate kids and people in care?? We’re supposed to use it to get more of the behaviors we like, and to promote a “growth mindset,” and to encourage them to stick with activities we think are good for them, and so on and so on.

That’s so much trying to get people to do what we want them to do! Is it really any wonder that praise could end up feeling disingenuous and manipulative after a while? How often are we just genuinely appreciating something they’ve done or who they are as a person, and how are they to know the difference?

If you have someone in your life who reacts badly when you praise them, maybe take a look at your motivations or the way you’re doing it instead of assuming they are the one with the problem. Maybe there’s something like low self esteem or rejection sensitivity skewing their perception, or maybe their perception is just fine and they’re picking up on your ulterior motives (and they don’t appreciate it!).

And please know that you don’t have to withdraw all praise. Everyone wants to feel like they’re good at *something* and that people like what they do. Just wait until it’s wanted, and make sure it’s genuine, with no expectations attached.

Me, picking at some moldy brownies: I bet I could scrape the gross parts off and—

Food safety angel on my shoulder: No! You could still get sick! The spores extend past the visible mold parts!

Me: I mean, probably not that sick.

A second food safety angel (this one is wearing a double-breasted Victorian naval peacoat), gently pushing the first angel aside: Expired food can give you BOTULISM, which is what killed the fictionalized version of James Fitzjames in the 2018 miniseries the terror.

Me, so caught up in pity for JFJ’s death I utterly forget that botulinum toxin is produced by anaerobic bacteria, not molds: Oh shit! I better not mess around with—

Second food safety angel, tearfully: Frauncis… God wants you to live.

Silly doesn't know that Danger Days is a mandatory stage of development of any personality