Ptsd - Blog Posts

Because we all need to hear this sometimes.

I’ve been having a bad couple of weeks and I just really needed to hear these:

You are NOT a burden

You are valued 

You are NOT a shitty friend, even when you think you are

You don’t need to have it all figured out yet

It’s OK to have bad days

And it’s OK to hide from the world if you’re having a bad day

Because sometimes you just need to have some time to yourself

And that’s OK

You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to

What happened to you in the past is NOT your fault

Don’t feel guilty for not being productive

It’s going to be OK

Breathe

Relax

Recharge

YOU ARE WANTED

YOU ARE LOVED

YOU CAN DO THIS

I BELIEVE IN YOU

I rub the blanket across my cheek, trying to ground myself.

I feel your skin instead burning and intrusive. Grating on me.

I feel like I'm floating. I'm off in a dream.

Experiencing horrors I've already seen.

My breathing is heavy. I try not to scream.

I scrub at my skin. It never gets clean.

Oh yes, this is a really helpful guide. It can also be helpful to non-autistics as well! Some symptoms of ASD can also cross over to other conditions like PTSD and ADHD. It’s important to recognize your limits and know when you need to step away!

Some things that tip me off when I’m getting overloaded are on this list, but disassociation and the freeze response can also be reactions of overload too. So can becoming mono-syllabic or non-verbal.

Another important thing: don’t belittle yourself for needing a break! Everyone needs one from time to time, even neurotypicals. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, knowing how to take time for yourself in stressful situations is a sign of good boundaries and good mental health! I wish more parents taught this stuff to their kids; so many meltdowns could have been avoided.

Clues to help you figure out if an autistic friend or loved one is in overload

Overload is basically the point where our Autistic brains can no longer handle input. It's not a meltdown or shutdown, but more of a mental checkout. Frequent overloads, however, can lead to meltdowns or shutdowns.

It's important not to assume that we will have overload only in loud or busy environments. Autistic brains often process information at a much slower pace than a NT brain, so even quiet environments can cause overload if something triggers it.

Note: not every autistic experience is the same and these are general guidelines only.

Common signs of overload:

Loss of facial expression or difficulties in making facial expressions. May start to exaggerate facial expressions, too, as they are struggling to mask.

Staring off into space, easily distracted, struggling to pay attention etc.

Increased stimming.

Difficulties in speaking such as stuttering, forgetting words, mixing up sounds, or difficulty speaking at all.

May try to cover their ears, eyes etc to sensory input.

Increased sensitivities and may include new or unique sensitivities.

Headaches or feeling physically sick such as sweating, stomach ache etc.

Fellow Autistics: what signs would you like for others to know?

Prompt #26

Once a group of young heroes saved the world from a great evil, like it has been foretold in a prophecy.

Now there is a new prophecy and you and your friends have to save the world from another great evil. Therefore you seek advice from the last heroes.

Turns out all of them now have PTSD. And one has depression. And another one has social anxiety. They are a mess.

So they try to convince you and your friends that it’s totally not a good idea to fight great evils when you are only a teenager.

“What’s your favourite animal?”

Me in my recovery arc

All of you probably don't know this. But I am a multifandom person (I'm in multiple fandoms) and my main fandom is Sonic the Hedgehog... And he is the main character of my big series: Chronicles of The Universe...

Now this is a really fun AU I like to have fun with, because there is a tone of lore and I am here to explain it all (I have no idea how that rhymed) Sonic has the ability to travel into different fandoms (Amphibia, The Owl House, ect.)

But the first fandom he went to was My Little Pony! My childhood show (I still love it to this day!)

The reason he first went there is because Sonic had murdered all of his friends (basically all of the characters ik), and he had to learn the path of redemption, you all are probably wondering "oh, what about Hazbin Hotel!?" No, my OC, Multi-Sonic, the god of the Multiverse chose MLP because it would give Sonic a chance to learn friendship... Here are my headcanon friendships for Sonic. Exe and Fleetway and Sonic himself:

Sonic - Twilight Sparkle (two strong protagonists and I think they would get along very well)

Sonic. Exe - Rarity (he would be a great person to be friends with her as he would help her in the boutique)

Fleetway - Pinkie Pie (two Chaotic characters, they would be perfect for each other in friendship)!

Shadow - Fluttershy (she would remind him of Cream back at Mobius)

---

I hope you like this AU!

They sure don’t.

(—I’ll do a happy version of this later, since it’s two sides of one coin. ;) )

via weheartit

me watching myself tell my psychiatrist everything is chill (everything is not chill but I forget that as soon as we start talking)

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson & The Olympians (Movies), Hellenestic Religion Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kronos/Rhea (Percy Jackson), Bob | Iapetus & Kronos (Percy Jackson), Hestia & Kronos (Percy Jackson), Hestia & Rhea (Percy Jackson) Characters: Kronos (Percy Jackson), Rhea (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Iapetus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Hestia (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore) Additional Tags: Angst, Abuse, Trauma, Psychological Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Kronos has PTSD, Ouranos is an ass father, Good father Kronos AU, Rhea is an awesome mom, Baby Hestia, Additional Tags To Be Added As Story Progresses Summary:

What if Kronos never ate his children? What if he raised his children as a good father? Alternative Universe where Kronos is a good father.

Hello hope you're doing good. Question, if you want to answer: what does catatonia feel like for you? I watched a friend have her first catatonic episode last year and she didn't have a good memory of it afterward. I'd like to get some idea of what goes on there. Obviously if this is an unpleasant topic ignore

There are different types of catatonia and not everyone will have the same symptoms; I dont even have the same symptoms every episode. So my experience is just that; mine.

Withdrawn catatonia feels like being stuck inside my body. I can see and hear everything going on, but I can't react to it as normal. It's kind of as if I'm externally inanimate; I can't move (or can barely move), but if you move my limbs for me they stay in whatever position you put me in. I often get stuck in uncomfortable positions because one of the first symptoms I usually get is abnormal or exaggerated movements (and Im hypermobile so its even worse).

It's very hard to describe the actual feeling that goes with it though. It's like being drugged by your own nervous system. My body feels like lead and all my processes feel slowed. Even though I am aware, depending on the episode and trigger I may be confused and/or dissociated.

But I also experience excited catatonia, which is pretty much the opposite of what I described. I cant slow down. I either cant speak or cant communicate normally. I'll repeat things over and over, I'll do the same movements over and over - which usually ends up with me hurting myself. I feel very panicked when I experience this. It doesnt happen as often as withdrawn type, though. And when I do experience it, its usually a severe episode where I flip back and forth between withdrawn and excited.

For me, withdrawn episodes are usually triggered by stress like - dissociation, anxiety, and trauma. Excited episodes are usually triggered by autistic/schizophrenic nervous system overload. Both can be related to/triggered by psychosis, and there's decent overlap between my catatonic episodes and disorganized speech/thinking episodes.

So yeah. If anyone's ever wondered what it might be like, now you know.

notalgia is so strange because what do u mean i long for things that remind me of the worst times of my life?