makingpeacewiththedark

[makingpeacewiththedark]

this blog hates donald trump

[makingpeacewiththedark]

I bring a sort of "actually mass traumatic events have an effect on the public's mental health and you're NOT acting in isolation from that trauma, and ignoring it doesn't make it go away" vibe to the party that Americans do not like

[makingpeacewiththedark]

[makingpeacewiththedark]

Me and my brain are not having a good time

[makingpeacewiththedark]

Poetry Comics Month Guest Artist: Kat Schneider

@katschneider is a cartoonist and printmaker in New Jersey making poetic comics and risograph prints. Her use of color is masterful, and her drawings convey deep emotions in just a few words and pictures. She has a graphic novel called I'D LIKE YOU TO LIKE ME in the works from Random House Graphic. Find Kat on instagram, visit her riso print shop, and subscribe to her newsletter Pretend I Never Sent You This at https://katschneids.substack.com.

[makingpeacewiththedark]

[makingpeacewiththedark]

[makingpeacewiththedark]

Found this reddit post. This kinda makes me feel better. And it’s something I think about sometimes because I always feel like regardless of how hard I work on something I don’t get anywhere.

[makingpeacewiththedark]

extremely fucked up that the only way out is through

[makingpeacewiththedark]

I remember years ago when I was still in therapy I told my therapist that I felt bad asking my friends for help because a lot of them were also going through some bad stuff and she told me

“You know, sometimes people in crisis will enjoy helping. It can be a distraction from their own problems.”

And then the next week I reached out to a friend who was in the middle of going through something about what I was going through and my therapist was right. That friend jumped at the opportunity to help.

And I’ve realized since then that my own problems rarely have anything to do with my ability to help others with theirs unless I am literally having an attack of some kind at that moment. In fact, it is actually refreshing to work on other peoples problems with them sometimes. Listening to problems you’re not soaking in constantly and helping your friend is often something you just want to do because you care about them. And you don’t stop caring about people because you’re having a hard time right now.

So I guess sometimes inviting someone into your sinking ship does work actually.

[makingpeacewiththedark]

the annoying thing about adhd is that like, most of the symptoms you can’t even argue are “evolutionary flaws” or “chemical imbalances.” literally it’s just that it’s not good for lining somebody else’s pockets. being “distractible” helps people notice predators or juicy berries out of the corners of their eyes. hyperfocusing on a task until it’s done is literally exactly in line with what an alleged persistence predator would need to do to actually follow through on hunting other animals. there’s so many little things that are obviously beneficial to have outside of a fucking factory assembly line

[makingpeacewiththedark]

YOU CANNOT SELF-FLAGELLATE YOUR WAY INTO EXCELLENCE

[makingpeacewiththedark]

You might not want to hear this but people with anger issues and/or violent impulses need social accommodations. And no by accommodation I don't mean walking on eggshells around them, actual accommodations for people with these issues comes down to giving them a space away from what's triggering them to process their emotions and calm themselves down same as what kind of accommodations people who get sensory overload or just any kind of overwhelmed. There is no moral value to having anger issues or violent impulses, people with them are deserving of accommodation the same as everyone else.

[makingpeacewiththedark]

[makingpeacewiththedark]

Some days it’s not pieces of advice or anything resembling wisdom. Some days it’s just a mistimed joke about an actual insecurity that sets off a spiral and no one to blame but myself. You think I would learn, but the lesson never seems to stick. I honestly feel bad for anyone who stays around long enough to see the pattern. I’m sure it’s as annoying from the outside as it is from the inside. 

And what do you do with worries and insecurities and things that you feel with the certainty of a fact? Who do you turn to with those things, trying to vent them so they’ll just stop echoing in your head for a few minutes? What kind of reassurances can anyone offer that will mean a damn and sound anything less than hollow and trite, cookie cutter responses to a problem with no solution, no matter how genuine or sincerely they are meant? 

How many times can you hear the same things, over and over, year after year, before it gets to be too much? 

[makingpeacewiththedark]

I like this a lot.

[makingpeacewiththedark]

I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but intrusive thoughts are basically your brain’s (sometimes very upsetting) way of saying “If there were two guys on the moon and one of them killed the other with a rock would that be fucked up or what?”

I’ve personally found that adding the “would that be fucked or what?” part in myself really helps put the more disturbing thoughts we sometimes get into perspective. Helps me say “yeah thar sure would be fucked up” and move on with my day.

It’s not not a secret desire, it’s not something that only occurs to you because you’re a bad person. It’s just your brain deciding to process the fact that it knows an uncomfortable thing exists in the world by feeding it to you in an absurd “what if” with you as the main character.