She/they; Christian; Hufflepuff; harpist; music nerd, queer. Age of majority, but be respectful. Flirting online makes me uncomfortable, sorry y'all. Critically acclaimed as a "tight ass christian chick" and "funky little opera nerd", aka my favorite ways ive ever been described on this hellsite
people on this website be like “it’s actually school’s fault that i don’t know how to read because i wanted to write my essay on the divergent trilogy and that BITCH mrs. clarkson made us study 1984 instead. anyway here’s a 10 tweet thread of easily disproven misinformation about a 3 year old news story and btw, who is toni morrison?”
-"“The Crowded Room" is a gripping anthology series that will explore the true and inspirational stories of those who have struggled and learned to successfully live with mental illness."- Apple.com, from the article titled: "Apple orders “The Crowded Room,” starring Tom Holland and created by Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman"
the first season of this series is a "thriller" that "tells the story of Billy Milligan" who is "the first person ever acquitted of a crime because of multiple personality disorder". Milligan raped 4 women, used their DID as an excuse for their heinous acts, and got off scott-free. and this going to be portrayed as an "inspirational" story.
how is the story of someone who got away with multiple rapes "inspirational" and an example of someone who has "struggled and learned to successfully live with mental illness"?
it's only an inspirational success story if you think that everyone with DID is an inherently dangerous, evil monster. clearly, this is who they assuming we are, and this will influence how people view those with DID/OSDD. it's going to reinforce people's assumptions that: DID is a scary disorder, people with DID are dangerous to be around, and there is always an evil alter (in this case, a rapist). also, this assumption that we are dangerous indicates that they have done very little research into the actual disorder. this means that this series is more likely to include harmful stereotypes and misinformation.
this series is also not fiction. it's based on a true story, meaning that people are more likely to take it at face value and see it as an accurate portrayal of DID. they are going to watch this and think "this must be what DID is like. how truly fascinating and scary and sad." because the stereotypical assumptions and misinformation will be presented alongside the actual true story that the series is about, ignorant audiences are more likely to think that this is an actual factual part of the true story. they will internalise the facts about Billy Milligan and DID and the misinformation and stereotypes that are shown in the series the same way, because they will believe that they are being shown the same thing. also, because it's based on a true story, any stereotypical assumptions and misinformation about DID are more likely to be presented as factually correct, so people will be more likely to believe it.
media portrayals like this affect how people with DID/OSDD are treated in the real world. these stereotypes shape their perception of what people with DID/OSDD are like, whether they consciously realise it or not. when people found out I had DID, they initially treated me like a serial killer. they were horrified and scared and wouldn't let me near them. this made me feel like I was some sort of repulsive monster. some people stopped talking to me. afterwards, many were weirdly infantalising towards me. one of them tried to trigger out a little because she thought it would be interesting, knowing it could cause harm (someone was literally telling her), as if my severe trauma was some fascinating circus trick for her entertainment. I have a feeling this series is going to portray DID as this mysterious, interesting disorder to engage audiences, instead of treating it with the same respect that you'd treat PTSD (which would be not treating it as an entertainment spectacle to gawk at. people with DID are normal people just like you, they've just gone through some really rough shit at a young age).
listen to the DID/OSDD community when we say this will cause real harm. DID is an extremely stigmatised disorder already, and everyone in the DID/OSDD community has severe trauma, so we really don't need this. this is just my opinion, and I don't speak for the entire community itself, but these are my thoughts, and many people in the community seem to agree with me. "The Crowded Room" is going to cause further stigma to those with DID/OSDD, which will probably cause more people to be treated like I was or worse. portrayals like this are the reason I can't tell most people I have DID.
You’re sitting at a cafe with your friend when suddenly a woman walks in with a toy poodle in her purse. The manager at the counter informs her “I’m sorry, but we do not allow dogs”. She replies with a heavy sigh and a “She’s a service dog. She can come with me”. Not knowing much about service dog law, and worrying about getting sued for asking further questions, he sits this woman down at a booth. There, she promptly unzips her purse and places the dog on the booth seat next to her. When the woman’s food comes out, the little dog begs and she feeds her bits off her plate. This dog is not public access trained, and proceeds to bark at those who walk by. This dog is a nuisance and causes many in the restaurant to complain. The manager cannot do anything but inform the unhappy customers that this is a service dog, so he can’t ask her to leave. In the end, it’s the customers who end up leaving.
Now I walk in with my highly trained service dog pressed against my leg in a perfect heel position, and I’m quickly bombarded by the manager telling me “No dogs! No dogs! We ALL know what happened last time”. Confused, I tell him “This is my medical alert and medical response service dog. Her right to accompany me is protected under federal law.” With a sigh, he seats me at a table far away from others where my dog promptly tucks under my feet, out of sight. When my food arrives my dog is still tucked tightly under the table because she knows she’s not supposed to eat when she’s on duty. She stays there ignoring those who walk past for the remainder of my meal. When we leave, a woman by the door exclaims “Woah, I didn’t know there was a dog here!”
See the difference?
Scenario number two occurs at a local grocery store when a man decides to bring his certified emotional support animal into the store with him. Upon entering he flashes a fancy ID card and certification papers. This dog is not as unruly as the first, but he still forges ahead of his handler, sniffs the food on display, and may seek attention from those who walk past. You find this dog adorable, and when he and his owner walk past you ask to pet him. The owner says yes and explains how all he had to do was go online, register his dog, and a few weeks later they sent him a vest, ID card, and certification papers.
Now I pull into the same grocery store. I’m in a rush to get an ingredient for a dish I’m making so I hurry into the store with my service dog next to me. I’m quickly stopped by a manager who demands to see my service dog’s certification card. Remember, this is NOT required by law, and most real service dog teams don’t have them. After 15 minutes of trying to educate, pulling up the ADA website on my phone, back and forth bickering, and drawing more of a crowd than I want to describe… I’m finally allowed in. I grab my ingredient, stand in line (where my service dog obediently moves between my legs to make space for those around me), and I get bombarded by people asking to pet my dog. I explain that she’s working, she has a very important job to do, and she’s not allowed to be pet while on duty. People walk away grumbling and complaining about how rude I was when other handlers like the man they met earlier allow their dog to be pet.
Moral of the story? Fake service dogs create real problems. The ones who are impacted the most are the true service dog handlers who rely on their dogs every day to help mitigate their disability. How would you feel if everywhere you went, you couldn’t make it 10 feet in the door because people were asking you questions? Imagine how much time that would take out of your already hectic day. Businesses lose customers because word gets out that there are unruly dogs in their store, customers become misinformed and start thinking some of these behaviors are okay, some people even start to believe the lies that anyone can just register their dog online and make him a service dog. The result? MORE fake service dogs. MORE real problems.
I wish people talked to me more about music and music theory! There don't seem to be a lot of musicologists or theorists on Tumblr though, just memes.
A habit I would unlearn is mentally beating myself up for symptoms I have. I can't control my brain, and it would be helpful if I could just cope without having to remind myself to be kind to myself.
My hair is currently the longest its ever been, and it's to my upper thigh! I'm going to dye it fun colors over the summer and cut it short for college.
so i saw a discussion about feeling empathy toward children where an adult was explaining that they were worried something might be wrong with them bc they couldn’t feel empathy toward children and ultimately always sees them as “little adults” and didn’t want to comfort and nurture or protect them because all they saw was “someone who’d be an adult one day.”
and everyone went on reassuring them that nothing was wrong with them, they just weren’t a naturally parental person, which is fair and true!
but I didn’t see anybody making what I feel is the most important point, which is:
regardless, you still have to pretend empathy for the child.
No, you don’t have to have your own child, you don’t have to go out of your way to interact with children, and nothing is “wrong” with you if you largely find children annoying. you can tell your adult friends “I don’t have any patience for kids and prefer to not be around them,”
but if you view children as “little adults,” you HAVE to then logically say “but they’re not. they’re children, and I’M the ACTUAL adult, and it’s MY responsibility to treat them well and be nice when I’m around them.”
and I don’t want to see any comments like “must be nice to be neurotypical” on this, because I’m not, and there’s no mental illness that makes it okay to treat others badly, sorry. You have to be nice to children.
It’s just literally human decency. It’s one of the most simple rules of our species. Just be good to children.