#i have covid again help

[sorrellegiance]

oh souvla's avgolemono soup :'((

[mikey-stardust-way]

Save me Mr kingpin save me- save me clutch-

[skitskatdacat63]

Nando being silly in S2E2 of his doc 🥺

[9ofspades]

It’s disability pride month, and if you are disabled in the U.S. from Long Covid I want you to know that you’re not alone, and you’re valid in whatever you feel. Whether that’s sorrow at your new problems or rage at society for failing you, you are valid, and it is truly messed up that society is continuing to fail you.

[cistematicchaos]

hello! I have a Question about masking. when should we wear a mask? is it only when we feel sick or is it always? is it inside or outside too? if ur vaccinated but were told to only wear when sick is that bad? literally almost no on in any area around me in my state wears one except when sick and I feel unsure what to do. genuinely everywhere I go there’s close to no one. I feel afraid to wear one all the time bc judgement. but what do we need to do? I’m disabled and disability justice is important to me but since no one else wears one my friends do not think it’s needed and thinks comfort matters more bc it’s very humid here. I feel like wearing one is the right thing to do, but idk how to explain that to others or to start again and shake the fear. ppl assume ur sick when u wear bc that’s what we’re taught is the right time to. /gen

Genuinely, ty for trusting me to answer this. If you're outside or inside a public area, or inside with people who don't mask, it's best to be wearing a mask. Even when you don't feel sick! Not only can you have covid without feeling sick, but you can also carry lots of viruses without feeling sick and so can others. (Also other people don't always tell you when they're feeling sick unfortunately.)

As for the question about vaccinations, yeah, that's bad. You were lied to. People who're vaccinated can still spread covid without feeling sick and can still catch it and get long covid or die. All the vaccine does is make you a little safer if you catch it, it doesn't replace masking.

Masking is very scarce in a lot of places, so I understand that. In my area so many people don't mask and it's scary! I also understand being scared of judgement; especially from family and friends. But you're right, masking is the right thing to do and disability justice is important. And masking is especially important if you're already disabled; you're higher risk for covid fucking you up (by giving you long covid or generally worsening your disabilities/giving you more).

Since I've already explained WHEN you should be masking (if you have more questions, ask, I don't mind at all.), lemme see if I can help you out with the rest. To shake the fear, I'd suggest starting wearing your mask when you're alone to get used to wearing it more. You'll probably have to bite it and do it afraid anyway, because its a pandemic and masking is a necessity (if you can), but you can still get ready first.

To explain it to your friends, put it simply. "I discovered the vaccine doesn't replace masking, so I'm being safe." or "I realized masking keeps all of us safer during the pandemic, especially disabled people, so I'm going to keep doing it."

They may argue with you, especially since they may feel bad for not masking. You don't have to argue back with them. You can offer to send them articles about it or explain your thoughts but you don't have to justify masking!

If people think you're sick, they'll probably ask and you can explain or they'll avoid you, which may work to your advantage because social distancing from people who don't mask is good too.

If part of this doesn't make sense or you have more questions, ask me! I'd love to answer and have a lot of info on the subject if you want it. Again, thank you for trusting me to answer and I hope this helps. <3 Stay safe!

[tobibius]

Hey, what if Tommy Coolatta's first name is Tomato? Am I losing it? Has anyone else thougjt of this?

[icewindandboringhorror]

More misc. daily life pictures and such

[codacheetah]

I remembered that drawing is fun and awesome and I'm deeply tempted to crawl out of bed and go draw something else but it's 4am

[i-amusemyself]

whhhyyyy must my long covid flare again!?! i do not have TIME for this 🙃🙃🙃

like for real if you arent avoiding covid try imagining all the things you wanna do today and pick one (1). every day. indefinitely. thats your life if you get this wretched condition put on a fucking mask for your own sake i beg you.

[kozidraws]

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[sage-nebula]

I've decided to make my own post because I am not an idiot, but full disclosure that this post is 50% based on thoughts I was having while I was driving home from the auto repair shop yesterday and 50% a response to a post I saw just now that conflated "redemption arcs" (things fictional characters go through in fictional stories) with "community support" (things real life people offer to other real life people in real life) and how this relates to "fixing people" (making someone who mistreats or abuses themself or others not mistreat or abuse themself or others anymore).

Read my words very carefully.

In fiction, it is more than okay to like whatever type of toxic or fantastical relationship you want. If you like to read stories about toxic, codependent people who are absolutely horrible to one another and will never, ever change, you read those stories. If you like to read stories about a tortured man who just needs The Right Person to teach him to be better, and then he is, sometimes exclusively only to them though, then you read those stories. Sometimes you want to read stories where the main character says "I can fix him" and fails spectacularly, and sometimes you want to read stories where the main character says "I can fix him" and succeeds spectacularly, and either way, you read whatever stories you want, whatever makes you happy, I'm sure it's somewhere in this vast Archive that we call Our Own.

However, in real life?

First of all, "arcs" aren't things real life people have. An arc is something that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Real life people don't have those, because our stories don't end until we die. Unlike a character, whose life presumably continues even after their story ends (except in circumstances where they die at the end but you know what I mean), we have to keep living day by day, with all the rises and falls that come with it. Now, this does not mean that a person cannot change, or that a person can't get better and learn from their mistakes; but it DOES mean that we can't have a "redemption arc" where we complete a checklist of story beats and then suddenly we're a better person who has experienced the necessary growth to be forgiven. First off, no amount of growth or change ever requires any victims to forgive. And second, that's just not how life works. That's not how change works. Change and growth are baby steps taken each day, and sometimes you go backwards, and you get angry with yourself, but then you pick yourself up and you try again the next day, and the next, and the next. It's an ongoing journey that does not end until you die. That's life.

But second and more importantly, the real idea that I think the original post was trying to get at, but missing the mark on was . . . okay.

So, the original OP of the post (and the person who replied to OP) got angry at the idea that the strawman they had invented (the person who had theoretically said "you can't fix him!") would deny support to someone who needs that help to grow and change as a person. The person who had replied in support of OP added that the strawman clearly believed in punitive justice over rehabilitative justice as well. On the surface, I can see where they are coming from. After all, on the whole humans are a social species and do need support networks in order to not only thrive, but survive. People such as drug addicts need support and assistance in order to get into better places in their lives, and the prison system has been proven to be far less effective at preventing repeated offenses than rehabilitative programs. This is all true.

However.

The reason why "you can't fix them" is still true, and needs to be said and understood particularly by those who are susceptible to falling into abusive relationships (e.g. people who have been abused before, particularly in childhood or adolescence) is because of free will. Specifically, the free will that each of us has, but specifically the other person. Person A can want so, so, so badly to "fix" Person B so that they stop being an abusive alcoholic 75% of the time. But if Person B doesn't actually want to stop being an abusive alcoholic (even if they say they do during the 25% of the time they aren't smacking Person A around), and refuses to put in the work that it takes to become sober and be a better person, then guess what? Nothing Person A does will ever make them be a sober, non-abusive partner. They will be unable to fix Person B. It doesn't matter how much time, energy, money, or commitment they pour into that person. It doesn't matter how much they genuinely, honestly, earnestly love them. Because unless Person B wants to change, and will put the work into doing so, then they will not change, and Person A, for their own health, safety, and sanity, needs to exit that relationship.

Now, does that mean that if, ten years down the line, Person B decides they are ready to put in the work to get their alcoholism under control, no one should help them? Of course not! They should absolutely be put in touch with sober counselors, support groups, medical professionals, friends and family who can help them. Person A could potentially forgive them, if Person A chooses. But that willingness to change and put in the work has to come from within Person B first.

I've been in the position where I've seen people in awful situations just tanking their lives, people I loved and cared about, people I begged to just listen to me and get help, only for them to not . . . and ultimately I had to accept that I couldn't fix them. I could be there to offer support when they were ready to fix themselves, but the core work that needed to be done had to come from within themselves. I couldn't provide that. Not because I was inadequate, not because I didn't love them, but because I couldn't force them to do anything they didn't want, or weren't ready, to do.

So at the end of the day, "you can't fix them" isn't about not giving support. It's about recognizing your limitations as a human being. It's about knowing that:

You cannot force someone to do something they do not want to do.

You cannot force someone to do something they are not ready to do.

Not being able to help or save someone is not a moral failing of yours.

Not being able to help or save someone does not mean you do not love or care about them.

Providing support should never come at risk of your own health and safety, physical or otherwise.

When you love someone, it can be really hard to accept this. You think, "I know I can make them want to try. I know I can inspire them to want to change. I know they love me, so if I just love them a little harder, they will want to change." Nine times out of ten, though, that is just not true. And if someone is abusing you, it is not worth the literal risk to your life to keep trying. You are worth more than that. You are more than just someone else's band-aid.

Keep yourselves safe in 2024.

[savage-rhi]

.Magenta.

[tearlessrain]

I've had anxiety pretty much all my life and having my fears/concerns brushed off is not a new thing for me and sometimes it's justified, but it is uniquely annoying in this case because I keep being right, repeatedly, throughout the pandemic, and people are still acting like I'm just being my panicky self and it's not as big a deal as I'm making it.

[lovelaceisntdead]

Either I do have covid or I just already feel shitty and then I'm probably going to get covid and feel worse.

[hal-o-ween]

Aging user base post incoming, but in the last week I have had to buy both eye drops and nasal spray for my allergies because decongestant allergy medicine alone isn't enough anymore. One of my cup holders in my car is basically a medicine cabinet at this point between those and my lactaid

[icewindandboringhorror]

A very interesting cloud formation!