rural-lesbian - Tumblr blog

[rural-lesbian]

PSA re Dogs

Dear World, 

Dogs bark. 

The end.

[rural-lesbian]

I fell in love with the idea that the mysterious thing you look for your whole life will eventually eat you alive.

Laurie Anderson explaining her attraction to Moby-Dick (via mythologyofblue)

[rural-lesbian]

rural lesbian tale

There’s been some construction on the highway here. When I say highway, i use that term loosely. 

One day, it was my turn to lead on the road ahead while the traffic coming from the other direction was stopped. But I got a little confused and swerved in between the pylons a few times before getting back on the right path. 

low and behold, every car behind me did the exact same thing. 

This was the moment when I realized leadership is in my future. 

[rural-lesbian]

Rural Lesbian tales

A few weeks ago I was so tired I tried to unlock the door to the house with the car remote door opener. 

[rural-lesbian]

I will not be silenced. 

We will not be silenced. 

“Your silence will not protect you.” -- Audre Lorde. 

Image c/o Brooklyn Museum

[rural-lesbian]

Assessment of Mental Health Care in Nova Scotia

CW/TW: This letter refers to mental health related issues including self harm, suicidal ideation and assault. 

I emailed the following letter to Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia; Michelle Thompson, Minister of Health & Wellness, Nova Scotia & Hon. Brian Comer, Minister, Office of Mental Health & Addictions, Nova Scotia; concerning the poor state of mental health care in the province. The Premier has announced additional funding to be put forward to support the system, however I do not believe that the Premier and Ministers in charge of this area of the government have enough training and understanding to put into action true change that will improve the system and what is offered. 

To date I have not received a response. As such I am publishing this letter outlining the major fissures in the system publicly. Please share as you see fit. 

Dear Mr. Houston, Ms. Thompson and Mr. Comer

I am writing to with great concern regarding the state of mental health care in Nova Scotia. As heads of state, government and mental health care in particular, it is imperative that you understand the failings in the system as it exists now, before you begin to start attempting to repair a broken system through means that will not create lasting change. I hope you will take this letter seriously as it pertains to the health and well being of all members of society in Nova Scotia in particular those most vulnerable: Indigenous, Black and people of colour, women, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and those experiencing homelessness and poverty. 

I am 38, a lesbian, white settler and present as a cis-het woman*. I have many privileges & I live with chronic mental illness and historical trauma. Because of my health I have been unable to work full time in a job as society stipulates one should (9-5pm Monday-Friday for a fixed salary) since 2015. I have lost incomparable income because of this as well as the pandemic. My financial situation is now critical. I live with my mom because I have not been able to find a way to support myself monetarily and continue to live a healthy life. 

I have been seeking therapy through the public health care system in Canada since I was a child in many different provinces (Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and now Nova Scotia). Each province’s system works differently and has pros and cons. The system in Nova Scotia is the weakest I have experienced. 

In Nova Scotia, if you need to seek mental health treatment you must complete a telephone intake. Anyone who has sought mental health treatment will be familiar with this: the phone call where you reveal all your deepest and darkest truths: whether you’ve been assaulted, whether you experience suicidal ideation, whether you have or continue to self harm, etc. Once you are placed with a clinician you have 8 sessions with them. When I found out my therapist was leaving (for other reasons) I was distraught as I wanted to deal with traumas in order to live a healthy fulfilling life, and I don’t believe this is something that can be accomplished in 8 sessions. 

My therapist at the time explained that the mental health care system in Nova Scotia provides care for 8 sessions because they do not want patients becoming dependent on talk therapy. This is because (according to my therapist & presumably the government putting this system in place) ongoing therapy DOES NOT WORK. I have seen this at work before: the revolving door, the patients who come, leave & come back again in crisis. This is not a cycle that I want to live in or repeat. With the help of a well rounded mental health system and clinicians who can provide optimal care this would not be the case or would not need to be the approach. 

I am tired of repeating a cycle where I receive inconsistent care simply because I can’t afford to pay for private care. 

I am tired of entering the mental health care system in crisis only to be leave several months later with no support. 

I am tired of & I do not want to be a patient who needs to return over and over again in that manner. That is not healthy or a holistic approach to health and care. 

My therapists response was: That sounds like the way mental health care works. My therapist, paid by tax payers, believes that going to therapy in crisis, leaving a few months later and reentering in crisis mode is the way therapy works. 

This form of mental health care makes capital the most important tenet for offering care. Making patients into capital is not a health care system focused on health but on making money. 

When I said I wanted consistent mental health care & to leave when I felt ready. My therapists response was that is unrealistic because that will never happen in the public health care system. She furthered that if that were the case (that I left when I was ready) would mean I would be healed of all mental health issues, which is not just unrealistic but impossible.

In essence a government employed health care worker admitted to a patient that the system they work for & that I am seeking help from does not and will never work for its patients. 

This therapist then furthered that if I indeed wanted consistent care I would need to go into private therapy. Again I find this really problematic, that a government employed health care worker would a) redirect a patient out of the public system because they are indicating it is insufficient but also b) assuming that I have the means to support that. 

If I was able to pay for private therapy I would never waste my time on the public system. The reason I am seeking mental health care in the public system is because I don’t have the means to support paying for private mental health care. 

This statement is insulting, ignorant, disrespectful, privileged, tone deaf and ableist. This was said to me - as I stated, a white, cis-het presenting woman. Imagine what that would feel like, how demeaning and invalidating it would be, to someone facing even more barriers than I am. 

The major flaws I see in the system is that it is upheld within a patriarchal, white supremacist, hetero-normative, cis-centred system & culture. The mental health care system requires workers with trauma training, clinicians who are Black, Indigenous and other people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+,  clinicians who are disability activists, who respect self-care advocation & who are able to see beyond their own privilege. 

I’m invoking the words of Johanna Hedva’s SICK WOMAN THEORY [https:// www.topicalcream.org/features/sick-woman-theory/] which you must read if you have not. 

I am raising my sick fist in solidarity, in protest with all the other sick fists raised in protest. 

I expect to hear from you. 

Colleary. 

[* cis-het presenting means I present as a woman and I am a woman and appear to be heterosexual; being white, cis and hetero-presenting are all privileges].

[rural-lesbian]

Happy Belated Beltane! from this Irish Witch to you. This image came from the internet - via Ignota press - thanks Ignota I love everything you do! 

Also happy May Day! I believe in workers rights and unions! Here Here!! 

[rural-lesbian]

Hello, Felicia

I have returned to TUMBLR land. 

I deactivated Twitter today since the big purchase by Elon Musk with a nice BYE FELICIA. So. Hello, Felicia, i mean Tumblr. 

Are Tumblrs still cool? 

[rural-lesbian]

Cynthia Girard, from To my friends, the unicorns (on now at Parisian Laundry, Montreal)

[rural-lesbian]

The Anti-Flirt Club

The Anti-Flirt Club was an American club active in Washington, D.C., during the early 1920s. The club was composed of women who had been embarrassed by men in automobiles on street corners with the aim of protecting them from unwelcome attention in the future. The Anti-Flirt Club launched an “Anti-Flirt” week, which began on March 4, 1923.

The club had a series of rules, which were intended as sound and serious advice. These were:

Don’t flirt: those who flirt in haste oft repent in leisure.

Don’t accept rides from flirting motorists—they don’t invite you in to save you a walk.

Don’t use your eyes for ogling—they were made for worthier purposes.

Don’t go out with men you don’t know—they may be married, and you may be in for a hair-pulling match.

Don’t wink—a flutter of one eye may cause a tear in the other.

Don’t smile at flirtatious strangers—save them for people you know.

Don’t annex all the men you can get—by flirting with many, you may lose out on the one.

Don’t fall for the slick, dandified cake eater—the unpolished gold of a real man is worth more than the gloss of a lounge lizard.

Don’t let elderly men with an eye to a flirtation pat you on the shoulder and take a fatherly interest in you. Those are usually the kind who want to forget they are fathers.

Don’t ignore the man you are sure of while you flirt with another. When you return to the first one you may find him gone.

[Image Source: 1]

[rural-lesbian]

Art House Café lecture series. Grimsby Public Art Gallery in partnership with Grimsby Public Library and sponsored by Niagara Neighbourhood New Idea Fund. Dedicated to the memory of Edith and Pat Brown, art lovers, community supporters and dear friends. For more info visit www.town.grimsby.on.ca/artgallery or google Grimsby Public Art Gallery

[rural-lesbian]

[rural-lesbian]

Enchanted forest where this summer i discovered touch-me-nots, herb robert, purple nightshade, wild raspberries, elder berries and solomon’s seal. Bruce trail, Grimsby On.

[rural-lesbian]

Solace for a workplace. Oakville.

[rural-lesbian]

Santa Meurta through shadows on green bedroom walls. Hamilton.

[rural-lesbian]

Elephant cloud. And icecream. Hamilton.

[rural-lesbian]

visiting Albert, Maud and Pat.  Grimsby, ON.