#mental health awareness 2019

[mansorus]

DONDA Tonka ❕

[spockasmr]

how fake mental health awareness fans act when i start pulling my hair and clawing at my face and punching myself in the head

[sp00kysk3lly]

All the NHS have done to me:

These are all the things each department has done to me and maybe some explanation on them. Some are just wrong, one is just downright creepy and it just proves you can’t even trust the NHS. The people that are suppose to actually care about you.

Diabetes Clinic -

Diagnosed in 2016 at age 18 nearly 19. I couldn’t fault them at first. They were alright. It was when I had to sign a confidentiality agreement which started the first issue. The DSN actually got narked with me because I said I trust my counsellor at the time more than I trusted her. Yeah I guess it was quite mean off me, but in my defence they were being nasty to me as well. All because I disagreed with my diagnosis which is a common sign of accepting diabetes. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. So I was just going through the 5 stages of technically “grief.”

The next thing is the no support or help, which I’ve stated in my last post. I begged and begged for some support in getting my sugars under control. My sugars were badly controlled, I don’t know why they were, I never found out. I wrote them a letter, stating that I don’t feel supported when I go there. And I still don’t really have any support. Mainly because they’ve finally decided to give me a pump and my sugars are controlled sort of now. But it’s too late because I now have several chronic illnesses/conditions that I have to live the rest of my life. Which I 100% blame them for, and I 100% believe that if they had supported me when I had come to them, I wouldn’t have most of them and I’d be living my life normally now.

Mentioning my weight when they know full well that I am very very sensitive about my looks, especially my weight. (I have been gaining weight for no reason, they have been told this pretty much most times I go to a appointment). I’ve asked to speak to the dietician I saw before because she knew more about my bowel condition than the gastro clinic did. But still not received an email from her yet. But to mention my weight like the doctor did is pretty inappropriate. Making it seem like it’s my fault I’m gaining weight by not getting enough exercise or eating large portions. It’s not my fault. (See my post before this to see my evidence on that).

Not letting me on the DAFNE course. For no actual good reason. “You don’t talk, so it wouldn’t be good for you.” So, because I have social anxiety I can’t go and do something that will probably help my diabetes and sugar control? Ok then, makes sense, doesn’t it? So now I can’t properly correct my sugars because I don’t know how to do carb counting, because they won’t let me!

That’s pretty much it from diabetes clinic, I’ll add more if I think of any more. But honestly they’ve done so much more to me than any other clinic it’s hard to remember all of the events that’s happened.

GP -

Constantly ignores everything I say. That’s first and foremost.

I had a bad fall in mid-2019, where I originally damaged my legs. I had a bad hip and had to go to the doctors. She pretty much said, “you have to go to hospital as you might have broken your hip.” Which I said “if I had a broken hip then I wouldn’t be able to walk.” I refuse to go to hospital if I don’t have to. She replied to my above comment with “you can walk if you’ve broken your hip.” Really? No, no you can’t! Dumb as f**k!

While I was dealing with the fall I had, if it’s connected I still don’t know. But I had some bladder issues. I wasn’t urinating as normal, every chance I got to see the doctor, I told her that I was having these issues. In 2020 I was blue-lighted to hospital, my bladder was distended and it looked like a massive ball inside my stomach. They catheterised me and that was it. I had the catheter for a year and a half. From 2020 to the middle of 2021. I told her that it was her fault for not listening to me, which she responded with that I didn’t tell her until November. Which is a lie, I told her from late August, early September. So she basically lied to me.

There was another time with a doctor (not my GP) who clearly didn’t know what was happening. I went in because my back was killing me after a bed frame had fallen on top of me. And she states that “she can’t check my back because my sugars are high.” Well, didn’t end well for you because my GP at the time not the one from above had a right go at her and told her my back has nothing to do with my sugars.

Another time a doctor called me “stupid” for self-harming at that time and the GP I had then literally had a go at her! You don’t call someone whose depressed and hurting themselves “stupid”!!! This doctor who called me that was the one who wouldn’t also come out for me on the day I was diagnosed with diabetes! She also got told off by my GP at the time and the 111 operator! So she got a double whammy that day!

Yeah, not much for the GP, but it’s still messed me up in the long run!

Gastroenterology Clinic -

Firstly, I’ve met my usual gastro doctor once or twice at the most. When I first met him, he googled what Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in front of me and my mum! He actually googled it! The first sign that no one really knew what this illness is. I guess that was my first warning that this condition would be the near-death of me!

He sent me to have an MRI scan. That was scary, but I guess it was also fun to do as it was my first time having an MRI scan. After he got the results back, he emailed me, not rung me, emailed me that he found an issue with my bile duct and he would send me for more scans. As you probably guessed, this panicked me and scared the living hell out of me as it would have done with anyone. A week later after trying to research what this could be, he contacts me again, once again by email and told me that whatever it was, was completely nothing and i don’t need anymore tests. So, basically made me scared for absolutely no reason.

He started acting funny towards me, I don’t know why this happened as i didn’t do anything to him. Not that i know off anyway. But I recently contacted him last year because i asked for an update on the stoma bag question that I asked about middle of 2022. I then contacted him again in August, asking for the said update. He told me that I would be contacted at some point by the surgeons. I never did get that update. Which brings me to October 2022, I sent him another message and basically told him I was going to go find a second opinion as i don’t trust his medical capability which is true and yeah all that I’ve stated above, he wrote me back a pretty nasty email, (BTW, I didn’t send him anything nasty, I simply just told him politely that I can’t trust him and I just want a second opinion as i still don’t believe I have EPI. He told me that I should just go get a second opinion. Ok then, thanks for your permission asshole!!

Which brings me to the appointment on Monday 23rd January, my most recent appointment. Nothing was said to me in the appointment about them having nothing more they can do for me. They couldn’t say it to my face, which shows what type of people they really are. They waited to send me a letter the next day, stating that there was nothing more they could do for me and that they haven’t bothered to make me another appointment. They’ve started me on stupid tablets that won’t work and to basically contact my doctor (GP) if I need any more assistance. Which that was a kick in the teeth if there ever was one. So, fine. Give up on me then, I’m glad to finally have you out of my life because you didn’t help me anyway. And its also given me the confidence that I will just have to starve myself and get on with my life. Because i know if anything happens to me while starving myself then it will be down to you and you will be held responsible!!

That’s it for Gastro. Completely useless and too scared to say anything to my actual face because they worry I will “hurt them” no doubt. Why would I? I’d have felt completely better if you had just told me to my face.

Eye Clinic (ophthalmology) -

These are still recent, so there’s not a lot to say about these. So instead of bullet points I’ll just type up normally what they have done since being with them from 2021.

So first off, I was diagnosed with Diabetic Retinopathy, in April 2021. I was sent a letter by the Diabetic Eye Screening.

(Quick side note on the Diabetic Eye Screening, because they didn’t invite me to come see them in 2020, I would have known about this in 2020 and not too late in 2021. The fact being that they were inviting everyone else to the appointments and I never received one. Even my nan got her appointment in 2020, even when covid was still pretty new. So this is partly also their fault.)

So I was rushed into the emergency clinic a few days later for emergency laser eye surgery and so on. That was the start of them.

I’ve not had too many issues with them just yet. But I went under for the laser eye surgery last year or late 2021 (can’t remember), because I couldn’t handle the laser eye surgery while I was awake.

I waited 8 hours in hospital for this surgery to be done all over a Covid test that I had done. It was negative, but because it was for the wrong clinic they needed to check everything. Which was pathetic because it was still negative, what was the problem? Isn’t it suppose to be negative?

After the 8 hours, I spoke to the doctor who was doing the surgery. He told me before this, when I first met him that he would help me with my sight and get it back to normalish form. Which I was pleased about, I am a writer and that was my biggest fear.

So when he told me in the room that he was not helping my eyesight he was just making it so I could see better. I got upset because one minute he’s telling me one thing and the next he’s saying they won’t be trying to help me get my eyesight fixed.

The next situation was last year in August or September. They done the usual stuff. There was new nurses in the clinic. Ones I had never seen before.

They wouldn’t let my mum come in the room with me. First red flag. The next red flag is when they got me to read out numbers while they were shining a bright torch in my eye.

When I finished and I obviously got stuck on a few, but I done it. At the end they called me slow. For no reason.

The other nurse was struggling with the computer. They even pissed off a consultant who came in and told them it was my right eye that was the problem and had to keep repeating it. He was visibly pissed off just like I was.

The next thing that happened f**ked the whole day up and I never even saw a consultant.

They literally lost EVERYTHING! And I mean everything. All the tests I done when I arrived, all the stuff I did with the nurses who called me slow. Clearly the person who was working that computer (the nurse above) deleted everything in the process. They wanted me to do everything all over again and at this point I had been at the hospital for 4 hours. I was visibly distressed and panicking and trying not to freak out. It was a disaster from start to end.

I really should have seen it coming because the hospital transport that was taking me to my appointment, broke down on the way there and we had to sit in a supermarket car park (a video from my TikTok posted below!)

Yeah this ^^^ was my sign not to go to the eye clinic that day. It was funny at the time because it’s never happened before, but it wasn’t funny afterwards after everything happened in the day.

So yeah, that’s it for the eye clinic. For now. They’re still behind on my reviews. I was suppose to go back in November for a 2 month check on my eyes and it’s now been nearly 4 months later. They’ve done this before in June/July I waited 3 months for another appointment when I was suppose to have an eye check in a month. So I’ve now got an appointment in February and hopefully nothing goes wrong with it. i.e hospital transport, nurses that call you names, or deleting every single thing.

Now I’m going to start on my normal hospital stays. One of them is incredibly creepy, like nonce/peado level creepy.

Normal Hospital Stays -

They first is the diabetes diagnosis in 2016. This was my first hospital stay, in my whole life. Apart from when I was younger and went to Great Ormand Street Hospital for lopped ear deformity surgery.

I was in there for at least a week. It was okish. Apart from the fact that I was in a ward full of old people. No one my age in there. I was literally sitting across from an old lady who kept staring at me and talking to her imaginary daughter about house bills. It was quite entertaining for a while, but then I grew bored.

The day nurses were fine, could not fault them. They were actually brilliant. It was the night nurses that were the problem.

It was my first night there and I was pretty terrified because like I’ve said it was my first time being in a hospital like that over night on my own. And I also could have died a few hours earlier from having diabetes and not realising it.

I was crying, and I had the light on. This nurse came in, told me to “shut up because I was keeping everyone awake.” The fuck? The audacity. I wasn’t even being remotely loud because I made sure of it. I don’t cry in front of people, let alone people I don’t even know. So I made sure to keep myself quiet.

The next time she came in, she told me to turn of my lamp because it was as she put it “night time and I had to go to sleep.” Like I was a 7 year old. I was 18!! I wasn’t disturbing anyone with my light being on, I was extremely scared of the dark and being in a new place my fear was 100x worse. She turned the lamp off and left, also closing the bed curtains so I couldn’t see the corridor light after I told her that I had to have it on because I was scared of the dark. Coincidence? I think not. She done that to be spiteful for no reason. I had done nothing to her, absolutely nothing. I didn’t swear at her, I didn’t shout at her. I didn’t do anything to cause her to be so horrible to me. I was a scared vulnerable person in a new place and she made my experience horrible. After that I haven’t slept with the light off or tv off ever since.

Other times conceded of the same sort of stuff. Spiteful night nurses, nurses not reporting what I was eating so I couldn’t go home straight away even though I was eating.

There was one other time, where I was sent to hospital for “DKA” (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) and it turns out I never even had DKA, because the ketones THE DOCTOR tested were in my urine not my blood which I could have easily flushed out of my system. It doesn’t take a genius to know that. And he was a doctor. Not a very smart doctor. I’ve had diabetes for years now, I think I know when my body is fine and when it’s not!

The next incident is the creepy one so be prepared. This is the most recent. The reason that I had nightmares for 2 weeks once I came home.

I was in hospital in 2020 for my bladder being swollen and being catheterised. As stated above.

That night my mum had to leave to get me some more washing because I had run out of clothes. So I was on my own for the first time. I was pretty much ok, I got a bit upset but after that I was fine. The nurses kept coming in to check my blood sugar which they do to diabetic patients all the time.

Once they stopped coming around I finally fell asleep. Which is extremely difficult, but I did it. I woke up about 12am (midnight) not even being asleep for 20 minutes, so I must have sensed something.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a male doctor sitting on my bed! Literally sitting on my bed, facing me. Clearly watching me sleep for god knows how long because honestly I don’t even know when I went to sleep so it could have been 20 minutes or longer.

He told me that if I didn’t have the catheter back in I would die. My kidneys would fail and then I would die. What a thing to wake up too! I was clearly pissed off and rightly so! So I said “oh, what a pity!” Because it’s midnight bro, I really don’t care at this point. It could have waited until morning, until my mum was in my room with me. Which I did tell him I’d have it put back in when my mum arrived in the morning because having a catheter put inside you is a very painful experience.

He wasn’t obviously pleased with this answer, so decided to carry on. At this point I was getting extremely pissed off, I was ready to punch him in the face and rip his balls off. So I shouted “JUST FUCK OFF!” And he stormed out like he was the victim and I was in the wrong. Was I though? You came into a patients room, a vulnerable and mentally ill patient I should add, sat on their bed, watched them sleep for god knows how long, and then when they awoke you proceeded to tell them that they were going to die??? Yeah you was clearly the victim!! *obvious sarcasm*

As you can see there’s a lot of trauma to do with hospitals surrounding me. These people are the reason I barely sleep at night, feel bad about myself, on a bunch of medications for mental health, struggling with mental health.

It all stems from them. They don’t care. They never have and probably never will. I am not the only person that has seen the way they treat me. My friends have seen it, family have seen it. Probably even people I don’t know have seen it. This is why I’m so angry at the medical professionals from around my area, because it does seem to be only my area.

[fortima]

that reblog made me think like i really cannot handle people who are so lacking in social skills they always make me cringe when something questionable is said like something that is clearly a faux pas that like you really wouldnt want someone else saying to you and i get ppl dont do it on purpose but i really hate it

[sleepykyupid]

original callout post is by @menheratic !! if you want more info, please ask them. i am merely reuploading the original callout post of ezaki. please do check out the link of the jp community calling him out in 2019 ^^ https://togetter.com/li/1327770

! The following post talks about the various bad things that Menhera-chan's creator, Ezaki Bisuko, has done.

Here a japanese summary of all the shit he did so far, including but not limited to:

• registering Yamikawaii as trademark

• sending his fans after gyaru YouTuber Usatani to harass her into a suicide attempt over unknowingly buying a shirt with stolen PPG fanart he drew

• himself buying products with stolen art, even promoting their sales, because it’s totally ok when he does it

• the reason why Usatan’s original design was changed aka it was a ripoff of Cult Party’s iconic rabbit mascot that was designed by their artist Maromika-chan

• wrote a whole guide on how to legally get away with sex work as child

• proof of him tracing art for the more detailed MCH artworks

• how he attended the Menhera Exhibit only to smear misogynist bullshit with blood on maxipads

• complaining about how anime for little girls are evil feminist agenda TM because ain’t nobody need men to be saved anymore

• boasting about being a fashion designer only selecting the finest fabrics for his merch when it’s actually made by the japanese equivalent of Redbubble

• “parody” works featuring child characters like Chibi Maruko-chan prostituting themself, the message being all women are whores regardless of age for the right amount of money

• the small “terms and conditions” shield he has at his con booths where you agree that you need to buy anything you touch

• how he setup an earthquake victim fundraiser only to keep the money

• telling his english fans they are not allowed to use any of his art for private use, like as icon, unless they pay him

• how he wants to move to the US when he turns 30 because of all the evil haters TM in Japan

• copyright claiming everyone left and right

• japanese Menhera speaking out about he keeps hurting the community

In regards of the maxi pads:

TW, CW // nooses, misogynistic text in red on maxipads

Our favorite being the second row second one, “Abortion is murder”.

Some more recent event: When he started harassing and hating on disabled people after Tokyo Fashion translated a Tweet of his because being disabled is discriminating yourself.

It’s like a trainwreck that refuses to end, now with 100% more crypto on NFT while shitting on those who warn about the dangers.

His NFT sales can be found here: https://foundation.app/@bisuko_ezaki

For some reason, after 7 years, he also decided to re-release the infamous wrist-cut bracelet to sell at events. The leader of the Neo-Decora group bought one for example:

TW // Bracelet that imitates sh, includes blood

Also keeps doing collabs with “Tokyo Uragawa” under Yamiko so Seigi (Mental illness is justice), which focuses on self-harming girls as fetish objects.

TW, CW // drawn sh

Recently, he also wrote a long-article on his definition of Yamikawaii:

https://harajuku-pop.com/67775/

Still not sure where overseas people got “this is about mental health awareness” from, might be based on mistranslations because the word for mental health and illness is one in the same, and his definition is about glorifying mental illness. In fact, this is why he was banned from Tumblr because he kept posting other people’s self-harm photos to his aesthetic blog Menherabusu.

Next up: Made suicide baiting posts over his following decreasing in the hopes of getting attention, fans sent him photos of cute animals to cheer him up, and he decided to post about destroying the pictures.

Tbh, this list could go on forever as he does this kind of bs on an almost daily basis now, but apparently people don’t care enough to stop throwing money at him.

Meanwhile the Japanese community made a whole Wiki for tracking all of his drama considering how much it is by now.

https://ezabisumatome.wiki.fc2.com/

TW // mention of shotacon

Decided to nickname himself Shotabi, the name being a combination of Shotacon and Bisuko, while using nsfw anime edits of male child characters in sexual situations as decor for his selfies.

𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝:

Is it ok to still like Menhera-chan?

𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:

Sure, the problem is really only Ezaki himself and his increasing problematic remarks fueled by his ego, the manga is a lot older than him being like that.

Fun fact: Ezaki actually hates Menhera-chan because it's the only thing he ever gets approached for by the media, he constantly rants about this on Twitter. If you have noticed, he barely makes new MCH content anymore (unless he gets paid for it) and mainly reposts old artworks and fanart (without permission) instead because it's the only way he can still get attention as his other works, like the misogynist Manapisu, which is just him hating on women as "dumb wh*res" as a manga, flopped badly.

Just try to not fund his bs by buying new goods.

[morallyinept]

For anyone that needs to hear this, and I also just want to talk about this for a minute... or maybe several.

Back on the 29th April 2023, (I know, this year is going TOO fucking fast 😵‍💫) Pedro attended The Last Of Us For Your Consideration Event at The Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles, with his lovely co-star, Bella Ramsey.

The above video appeared by Deadline from the event, with Pedro explaining to Bella, after they queried, as to why he puts his hand over his stomach. "Do you know why? My anxiety's right there." He can be heard saying to them.

And the whole of Pedro's fandom fell in love with him all over again. I mean, you just would, wouldn't you? I know I did. 😍 What a man.

Why? Because he demonstrated that he's human. Relatable. Pedro recognised and embraced his vulnerabilities publically, and by doing so - whether he knew it or not - made everyone who has ever felt the crippling weight of anxiety crush them, feel seen and heard.

Back in 2019 Pedro said in an interview with The Guardian, "anxiety is something that I’ve lived with since I was a child, so it’s a part of my chemistry. I don’t know what kind of person I’d be without it. It’s something that I manage, but it’s also part of what makes me, me."

"I know that I have to put myself in high-stress situations to be happy. I mean, within reason. But there’s a certain level of anxiety that helps me do good work. It helps me be aware of the things I need to be aware of,” Pedro added.

So why does Pedro put his hand over his stomach/sternum area specifically? What is it about that pose? We often see him doing it, even dating as far back as 2005, so for almost 20 something years it's been a part of his red carpet and public appearances.

But what does it mean?

Well, putting your hand on your stomach/sternum area can symbolise many things if you scrutinise body langauge. I'm no expert, but I've worked in fields where I've had to study it and teach it, and it's really interesting at how much you give away about yourself to others in your body language, without even realising it...

Ever heard of WORDS, MUSIC, DANCE? 🎵🎶 In a nutshell (because I could totally talk your damn ear off about all this! 🤪) WORDS is what we verbally say, which is made up of only 7% of our communication. I know, small right? MUSIC is how we say it at 38%, i.e. the tone of our voice. Finally DANCE is our body language, which is 55%. Think about that for a sec. 55% of how you communicate with someone is without even opening up your mouth. 😳

Your stomach - or gut - is a very vulnerable part of your body; a lot of vital organs are smooshed up in there, so by placing a hand over it, you're protecting yourself from harm or attack. It's also a similar thing we do when we feel unwell or sick; we rub our tummy to feel better, right? It's an unconscious protecting motion that stems from our primal selves Think of the foetal position; you curl inwards towards your stomach. The abdomen walls contain significant muscles (some vital for our health ☝🏻) and we can carry tension in here too, so by 'holding' them or protecting them, we feel at ease within our core and can relax better. (#nerdalert 🤓 I love science!)

Some people do it as a means of comfort. Others do it purposefully. Pedro's stance is him possibly trying to rebalance himself. Focus on his breathing and stay grounded in the moments of utter chaos spilling out around him. He also breathes steadily in through his nose, deeply. You can see him do this in various clips, as well as in the one above. His shoulders drop back and you see him relax almost instantly when he does it. Deep breathing is another tactic that is known to keep anyone suffering from anxiety or panic, calm in the moment.

It's incredibly admirable for a man to expose such a personal vulnerability like that, especially in such a public forum. Sadly, mental health is still not a subject that is spoken about or advocated for enough, despite being in the 21st century. We're doing better as a society, but there is still much work to be done. As a man, it can still be seen as very 'unmasculine' or 'weak' to talk about it. So, I really admire Pedro's honesty and the fact that he feels confident enough in himself to recognise that he is just a human being, who sometimes goes through some shit.

Speaking out can only help those, who suffer too, feel validated and that they are not alone. And you're not alone. Anxiety is often stigmatised or not taken seriously, yet it can be terribly debilitating and can cause further issues such as panic attacks and lead to chronic depression if not addressed with help and support.

Pedro has always been open and forthcoming about his own anxiety, and has been quoted in several interviews talking about it, and on his - now deleted - Twitter/X account about how he deals with it.

As someone who has had their fair share of anxiety, I've personally found that meditation has helped me tremendously. 🧘‍♀️ Breathing exercises are really helpful and really do work. I use an app called Balance (not sponsored/affiliated with) and for 10 minutes a day (or whenever I need it) I can breathe, focus and come back to myself. I also find that doing something I really love, like reading (smut), or going for a long hike, really helps. Creative hobbies are brilliant for channelling that negative emotion into something positive. Singing off-key in the shower, dancing crazy like a loon - even though my neighbours can probably see me through the window headbanging in my pants 🤘🏻 - painting, drawing, writing, photography, cooking... These are all things I do myself and love, and would encourage you to try, if you're not already.

Hell, even whacking on your fav Pedro movie makes you feel good too, right? Name your favourite Pedro movie in the comments, GO! 🎬 Mine's Prospect, d'uh. 😏

It's said a lot, but hydrating really helps. Drink that water, bishes! 💦 And eat some greens. 🥦🥬🫑🍏 What you put into your body also helps into what you'll get out of it long term. Food is fuel. 💪🏻🧠 If you eat crap, chances are you're going to feel like crap, capiche?

And I cannot tell you how much a good night's sleep can really turn things around. As a chronic insomniac, sleep can often be the enemy, but it really is vital for your mental wellbeing to rest and switch off for a bit. So put down your phone and get some shut eye. (Ideal time for some hot, mustached Latino man dreams too... 🥲)

And failing that, talking to someone about how you feel can also help. 🗨 A family member, a trusted friend, your cat (personally I'm a dog person 🐶 Woof); a Tumblr mutual... My inbox is always open for a chat FYI. You'll never be judged in Jett's place. 🖤 I'll make you a figurative cup of green tea. Not literal, I mean, I'm not a fucking miracle worker... ✨️🧚‍♀️

What was the point of this long-ass ramble, Jett? I know, I hear ya, I hear ya...

So, to anyone out there who feels a tad (or a helluva lot) anxious from time to time, please know that you're not alone. And also remember to stop and take a moment; breathe deeply in through your nose and slowly out through your mouth three times. Do it with me now. One... two... three. There. You good?

And remember, more than anything, that you are more than enough. You're stronger than you think you are. Your anxiety doesn't define you, nor does it control you. It's just a little shit that likes to come out now and again and try to tell you that you suck. You really don't. (Unless your name is Max Phillips 🧛‍♂️) You've got this. Trust me. You've really got this.

And just like the rather fucking awesome Mr Pedro Pascal, you're fucking awesome too, babe. 🖤

🖤

[bidotorg]

Happy birthday to our favorite Bi Betty, Lili Reinhart!

Lili Reinhart is best known for her role as Betty Cooper on the popular TV series "Riverdale," which is based on the Archie Comics. She has received critical acclaim for her performance on the show and has become a prominent figure in the entertainment industry.

She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and developed an early interest in acting and the performing arts. She started her acting career in community theater and school plays.

Her breakthrough came with the role of Betty Cooper on "Riverdale," a character known for her intelligence and determination. The show premiered in 2017 and quickly gained a dedicated fan base, propelling Lili Reinhart to fame.

In addition to her work on "Riverdale," Lili Reinhart has been involved in various film projects. She has appeared in movies like "Hustlers" (2019) alongside Jennifer Lopez and "Chemical Hearts" (2020), which she also executive produced.

Lili Reinhart has been an advocate for mental health awareness and body positivity. She has openly discussed her own struggles with mental health issues and has used her platform to raise awareness and promote self-acceptance.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Julian Adorney, Mark Johnson and Geoff Laughton

Published: Mar 23, 2024

In The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard tells the story of a jet fighter pilot who was practicing high-speed maneuvers. As Willard puts it, “She turned the controls for what she thought was a steep ascent—and flew straight into the ground. She was unaware that she had been flying upside down.”

What if we were flying upside down? But let’s go further. What if an entire generation was flying upside down–flying through fog and danger, unable to see either ground or sky, and the well-intended adjustments pushed on them by “experts” were just bringing them closer to catastrophe?

That’s the lens through which we interpret Abigail Shrier’s New York Times bestseller Bad Therapy.

There’s no denying that the youngest generation is in crisis. As the Addiction Center notes, members of Generation Z “run a higher risk of developing a substance abuse problem than previous age groups.” A 2015 report found that 23.6 percent of 12th graders use illicit drugs. The American Psychological Association reports that just 45 percent of Gen Zers report that their mental health is “very good” or “excellent,” compared with 51 percent of Gen Xers and 70 percent of Boomers. A concerning 42 percent of Gen Zers have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, and an astounding 60 percent take medication to manage their mental health.

It gets worse. The rate of self-harm for girls age 10-14 increased over 300 percent from 2001 to 2019 (before the pandemic). According to a 2021 CDC survey, 1 in 3 teenage girls have seriously considered killing themselves.

Well-meaning therapists, teachers, and school counselors are trying to help the next generation to rise up. But what if everyone involved is upside down? What if, like the fighter pilot that Willard describes, what they think is rising up is actually bringing them into deeper danger? Shrier makes a strong case that that’s exactly what’s happening.

Lots of educators encourage kids to spend more time checking in with their feelings. In the 2021-2022 school year, 76 percent of principals said that their school had adopted a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum. Common SEL practices include: asking students how they’re feeling at the start of each day, teaching that students should be more aware of how they’re feeling in any given moment, and encouraging students to use activities like writing and art to express their feelings.

The problem is that all of this obsession with feelings can actually make students feel worse. As Yulia Chentsova Dutton, head of the the Culture and Emotions Lab at Georgetown University, says, “Emotions are highly reactive to our attention to them.” “Certain kinds of attention to emotions, focus on emotions,” she explains, “can increase emotional distress. And I’m worried that when we try to help our young adults, help our children, what we do is throw oil into the fire.” Or to put it another way: when we ask kids over and over again how they’re feeling, we’re subtly and accidentally encouraging them to feel bad.

The reason is that, as psychiatry professor Michael Linden explains, most of us don’t feel happy all the time. Dealing with life involves ignoring a certain amount of moment-by-moment discomfort: I’m tired, my feet hurt, I’m sore from sitting down all day, I’m a little worried about my mom. When we encourage kids to check in many times per day on how they’re feeling, we’re tacitly encouraging them to bring to the surface–and then dwell on–all the things going on in their minds that are not “happiness.” That’s why, as Linden puts it, “Asking somebody ‘how are you feeling?’ is inducing negative feelings. You shouldn’t do that.”

But it gets worse.

Obsessing over our emotions can actually prevent us from doing the things that might make us feel better. Anyone who’s spent too long wallowing after a bad break-up knows this; at a certain point, you have to shelve your unpleasant emotions so that you can get on with your life. Psychologists describe two mental states that we can occupy at any given time: “action orientation” and “state orientation.” “State orientation” is where you focus primarily on yourself (e.g., how you feel about doing the task at hand, whether your wrist hurts or you’re starting to get sick, etc.). “Action orientation” is where you primarily focus on the task at hand. As a study published by Cambridge University Press notes, only the latter is actually conducive to pursuing and accomplishing goals. “State orientation is a personality that has difficulty in taking action toward goal fulfillment,” the authors warn. By encouraging young people to focus so much on their feelings, we might be hurting their ability to adopt the mindset necessary to accomplish goals in life. If so, that would make them even more unhappy. 

But the dangers posed by well-meaning “experts” telling students to fly in the wrong direction–towards the ground instead of towards the sky–go well beyond encouraging unhappiness and depression. Rates of suicide and self-harm for young people are skyrocketing. But in their attempts to cope with the spike, well-meaning administrators might be making the problem worse. Here are questions from the 2021 Florida High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered to students age 14 and up:

During the past 12 months, did you ever feel so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing your usual activities?  During the past 12 months, did you ever seriously consider attempting suicide?  During the past 12 months, did you make a plan about how you would attempt suicide?  During the past 12 months, how many times did you actually attempt suicide?  If you attempted suicide during the past 12 months, did any attempt result in an injury, poisoning, or overdose that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse?

A survey authored by the CDC asked students “During the past year, did you do something to purposely hurt yourself without wanting to die, such as cutting or burning yourself on purpose?” Another survey offered this question to Delaware middle schoolers: “Sometimes people feel so depressed about the future that they may consider attempting suicide or killing themselves. Have you ever seriously thought about killing yourself?”

Administrators may be asking these questions with the best of intentions, but the end result is to normalize suicide in young peoples’ minds. If you were 12 years old and taking a survey like this along with all of your classmates, you might reasonably conclude that suicide, or at least suicidal ideation and/or self harm, were pretty common at your school. Otherwise, why would everyone your age have to take such an exhaustive assessment about it?

One reason this is so dangerous is that, as Shrier writes, “The virality of suicide and self-harm among adolescents is extremely well-established.” Following the release of Netflix’s TV show 13 Reasons Why, which some said valorized a fictional girl who killed herself, several studies found a spike in teen suicide rates. The CDC agrees. In a post warning about the dangers of “suicide contagion,” the CDC said that journalists should avoid things like:

“Engaging in repetitive, ongoing, or excessive reporting of suicide in the news.”

“Reporting ‘how-to’ descriptions of suicide.”

“Presenting suicide as a tool for accomplishing certain ends” (i.e., as a “means of coping with personal problems”).

But this is most of what the surveys described above are doing. They are deluging students with repetitive and excessive discussion of suicide. They are describing different methods for killing yourself (e.g., cutting or burning yourself). One survey, which asks students who have considered killing themselves why they did so (possible answers include “demands of schoolwork,” “problems with peers or friends,” and “being bullied”) is a textbook example of presenting suicide as a “means of coping with personal problems.”

The authors of these surveys seem to at least recognize the risk that students are flying upside down, and that these surveys might take them closer to the ground. One survey concludes by telling students, “If any survey questions or your responses have caused you to feel uncomfortable or concerned and you would like to talk to someone about your feelings, talk to your school’s counselor, to a teacher, or to another adult you trust.” The survey also includes links to different hotlines.

Communicating to kids that suicide is normal and a possible solution to their problems might be the worst way that some schools are failing kids, but it’s also far from the only way.

Schools are increasingly lax about standards, willing to let almost anyone get away with almost anything. Some accommodations do make sense: for example, it makes sense to give a kid with dyslexia more time to complete the verbal component of the SAT. But Shrier argues that standards are falling for perfectly healthy students too. “School counselors—students’ in-school ‘advocates,’” Shrier writes, now “lobby teachers to excuse lateness or absence, forgive missed classwork, allow a student to take walks around the school in the middle of class, ratchet grades upward, reduce or eliminate homework requirements, offer oral exams in place of written ones, and provide preferential seating to students who lack even an official diagnosis.”

Shrier documents stories of students who have been allowed to turn in work late because they were having a “tough Mental Health Day” or because “I was having a rough day and dealing with my gender identity.”

The problem with this is that one of the primary things that children and teenagers do is try to figure out the boundaries of the world. When a child throws a tantrum, it’s not malicious–they’re trying to understand this new world and figure out what they can get away with. As Jordan Peterson writes in Twelve Rules for Life, young children are “like blind people, searching for a wall.” “They have to push forward, and test,” he writes, “to see where the actual boundaries lie.” What’s true of young children is also true of older children and even (to a lesser extent) adults. All of us are trying to figure out the rules of life–that is, what we can get away with. If well-meaning teachers and counselors tell students that one of the rules is that you don’t have to do your homework on time if you say that you’re having a rough day, then we shouldn’t be surprised when more young people seem to manifest rough days.

But this is the opposite of what students need–especially the truly disadvantaged students who so many of these efforts seem to be aimed at helping. In his memoir Troubled, clinical psychologist Rob Henderson writes that, “People think that if a young guy comes from a disorderly or deprived environment, he should be held to low standards.” But, he warns, “this is misguided. He should be held to high standards. Otherwise, he will sink to the level of his environment.”

So kids are depressed, anxious, and poorly behaved. Educators are trying to help them by encouraging them to tap in more to their feelings, by asking them more questions about suicide, and by trying to accommodate their difficulties even more. But all of this is backwards. Educators are encouraging students to do what they think will take them higher–away from the ground and back to the safety of the sky. But both kids and educators are upside down. And every adjustment that the “experts” are telling kids to make just brings them closer to the ground–and a catastrophic collision.

Now’s a good time to emphasize that this isn’t all schools, all teachers, or all administrators–not by a long shot. There are heroic educators working every day to help students to rein in their problems, stop taking advantage of accommodations that they don’t need, and develop the emotional resilience to deal with the problems of adolescence. But the problems documented above do represent a trend. And while it’s not every school, the trend is too big to ignore.

What will happen if this trend continues–if an entire generation keeps going “up” until they crash into the ground? Most severe and most damaging is the harm to the generation itself. Shrier tells the story of Nora, a 16-year-old girl who helps put a human face on all of the brutal statistics described in the introduction to this piece. Nora describes her friends as going through a litany of serious mental health problems: “anxiety,” “depression”; “self-harm” (as Shrier notes, “lots of self-harm”) including “Scratching, cutting, anorexia,” “Trichotillomania” (pulling your hair out by the roots); and more. As Shrier writes, “Dissociative identity disorder, gender dysphoria, autism spectrum disorder, and Tourette’s belong on her list of once-rare disorders that are, among this rising generation, suddenly not so rare at all.”

But the dangers can also ripple out beyond just one generation. The full danger may be nothing less than an imperiling of our democracy.

As Shrier notes, many kids in school are almost constantly monitored. Her own kids have “recess monitors” at their school–“teachers who involve themselves in every disagreement at playtime and warn kids whenever the monkey bars might be slick with rain.” On the bus home, they have “bus monitors.” Better that kids know they’re being observed by an adult at all times than that one kid push another to give him his lunch money.

One of the most pervasive forms of monitoring is what are called “shadows”—ed techs or paraeducators whose job is to cling closely to one particular student so that they don’t have any issues. The original intention certainly made sense. If a child had autism, a shadow could help the kid to integrate into the main classroom rather than being sent to Special Ed. But, as Shrier notes, scope creep has been substantial. “Today,” she writes, “public schools assign shadows to follow kids with problems ranging from mild learning disabilities to violent tendencies.” Nor is the problem restricted to public schools: “private schools advise affluent parents to hire shadows to trail neurotypical kids for almost any reason.” Shadows monitor and guide almost every interaction with their chosen student, from when to raise her hand to how long to hug a fellow student.

As Peter Gray, professor of psychology at Boston College and an expert on child development, puts it, “Kids today are always under the situation of an observer. At home, the parents are watching them. At school, they’re being observed by teachers. Out of school, they’re in adult-directed activities. They have almost no privacy.”

But when kids spend their entire waking lives being monitored by an adult, they start to think that kind of monitoring is normal. Worse, they start to think that they need it. If a child gets constant guidance from an adult, what are the odds that she’s going to cultivate her own independence? If she expects authoritarian adults to monitor and run every aspect of her life already, what is she going to think of a liberal democracy that more-or-less leaves people free to handle their own affairs?

No wonder just 27 percent of Americans age 18-25 strongly agree with the statement that “Democracy may have problems, but it is the best system of government” (compared to 48 percent of Americans as a whole). 

So what’s the solution? If our kids are upside down and getting lower to the ground, then the only thing that makes sense is to help them reverse course. Is there something that’s the opposite of always asking them about their feelings, telling them that life is too much for them or their peers to cope with, and constantly telling them that they’re too fragile to do their homework if they’re having a rough day? Yes. That something is called antifragility.

Antifragility is the idea that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. As social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Greg Lukianoff note in The Coddling of the American Mind, kids are naturally antifragile. That doesn’t just mean that they’re tough. It means that “they require stressors and challenges in order to learn, adapt, and grow.” Not letting a kid hand in homework late doesn’t just teach them to do their homework on time; it also teaches them that they can deal with a 0 in class and not die. They can pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and even earn an A in the class overall if they bust a sweat for the rest of the semester. Telling a kid who’s having a “tough mental health day” that you’re sorry to hear it but they still need to take today’s test doesn’t just teach the kid that low-level excuses don’t fly; it also teaches them that a hard day isn’t enough to stop them. It teaches them that they’re stronger than whatever negative emotions they’re currently experiencing.

It’s time to remind kids that they are strong–before it’s too late.

All quotes not otherwise attributed come from Abigail Shrier’s book Bad Therapy.

-

About the Authors

Julian Adorney is a Contributing Writer to FAIR’s Substack and the founder of Heal the West, a Substack movement dedicated to preserving and protecting Western civilization. You can find him on X at @Julian_Liberty.

Mark Johnson is a trusted advisor and executive coach at Pioneer Performance Partners and a facilitator and coach at The Undaunted Man. He has more than 25 years of experience optimizing people and companies. He blogs at The Undaunted Man’s Substack.

Geoff Laughton is a Relationship Architect/Coach, multiple-International Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and Workshop Leader. He is the founder of The Undaunted Man. He has spent the last twenty-six years coaching people world-wide, with a particular passion for supporting those in relationship, and helping men from all walks of life step up to their true potential.

[foxes-that-run]

Boyfriends

A self aware take on Boyfriends, including Harry and boyfriends of those he cares for. The lyric video features a lone swan, a symbol of commitment. Harry was with a swan in every image for his May 20 2019 Gucci Campaign, released the week Boyfriends was first written. Harry and Taylor were pictured with a Swan on her birthday when they went to The Lakes. Harry who has spoken about the song with pride and deference. Let's start with the gorgeous first take:

Harry said to Zane Lowe it was written at the end of Fine Line:

"There was an extra week where we wrote some stuff, wrote Adore you, TPWK and we were recording Lights Up. [...] At the end of that session everyone left and I started writing Boyfriends and it almost felt like OK there is a version where we get this ready to put on this album, and I think there was something about it where it felt like it's going to have it's time. [...] I am learning so much by saying it [...] It is both acknowledging my own behaviour, looking at behaviour I have witnessed and looking at I grew up with a sister, so it's like watching her date people and watching friends date people and you know people don't treat each other nicely sometimes. And it turned out about boyfriends because I started paying it and saying boyfriends. [...]Just say what you think of boyfriends.

Harry was in the studio from 15 May 2019, the Swan Gucci Campaign was released on he and Taylors anniversary that week. It was also 2 weeks after Me! Was released. When speaking about Boyfriends Harry constantly mentions these other songs. They have a common theme about the impact of the behaviour of others on his relationships and self, true his nature it is subtle and gentle:

Adore you's video asks fans to respect the partner(s) of his choosing, in contrast to fan reaction who he dates.

TPWK, as the title says, Harry told Rolling Stone " It made me uncomfortable at first, [...] I feel like that song opened something that’s been in my core.”

Lights Up - to Rolling Stone Harry spoke about stepping out from 1D on his own, the lyrics of "I'm not ever going back" and "All the lights couldn't put out the dark running through my heart", link the experience of the band and fandom to mental health and knowing who he is, rather than who others want him to be.

To me, coming at the end of that session adds to Harry taking ownership his role in failed relationships in that time by being unaware of the impact his 1D persona. fan treatment of his partner(s) and emotional unavailability. Taylor has also described her anxiety dating him in Slut! and Gold Rush. However, as Harry said, it is not limited to himself. On its release at Coachella, (3 years after it was written) "To Boyfriends Everywhere, F*** you". This was weeks after Taylor wrote You're Losing Me about Joe. His face to the end of this is everything:

Setlist and Tracklisting

Harry placed Boyfriends on HH between Satellite and LOML. Harry stopped playing Boyfriends after November 15 2022, when he played it live with Ben Harper at the end of the L.A. Forum residency. It was only played once in 2023, at Wembley June 16. The next night was the only time he played Sweet Creature since 2018. When it was on the setlist it proceeded LOML or Lights Up.

Ben Harper

To Variety Ben Harper said: "It was a wonderful recording session — one of the most memorable and most musical I’ve ever been a part of. [...] Harry invited me to stick around because he wanted to finish the song right then and there. To get to watch Harry in his process was eye-opening, and I learned a lot. [...] Yeah, I mean, he orchestrated the vocal harmonies like a classical composer, spot on, note for note. He just stacked them perfectly in pitch, one better than the next, and it was really eye-opening to see somebody step on the mic and have the parts orchestrated in his head. I’ve never seen anything like it actually."

Lyrics

Hoo Niaga ti ta kcab er'uoy, loof Boyfriends They think you're so easy They take you for granted They don't know they're just misunderstanding you You, you're back at it again

The opening is Backwards 'Ooh Fool, you’re back at it again'. Sunflower Vol 6 also opens with 'Sunflower' backwards. I think of this as about a backwards life, success followed by a normal life.

The first verse describes how boyfriends take their partner for granted and misunderstand.

Weakened When you get deep in He starts secretly drinking It gets hard to know what he's thinking You love a fool who knows just how to get under your skin You, you, you still open the door

The second verse describes where partner has met their guard down some boyfriends withdraw, and start drinking. Harry has sung of this before in Half the world away “I’ve started drinking”. Harry has mentioned drinking in other songs, but HTWA has a similar meaning, of drinking in secret to cope.

Harry touches on common themes in his discography:

Not communicating, similar to MMIH “we don’t talk about it”

Not getting over this person - Getting under you skin is a reference to Taylor’s The Lakes: “What should be over burrowed under my skin in heart-stopping waves of hurt” and IWYW “You always knew how to push my buttons”

Doors - here Harry's muse is opening the door, Harry has 7 songs that refer to knocking, opening or not opening doors. Taylor also has 13 songs about Harry and doors.

You're no closer to him Now you're halfway home Only calling you when Don't wanna be alone Oh, and you go Why? You don't know

While the first 2 verses the Boyfriend was uncommunicative, emotionally unavailable and didn't consider their partner. In the third verse the boyfriend and partner are learning from failed relationships, but still no closer. Now the boyfriend is only calling when they want company, rather than to be there for their partner.

Halfway home: The X Account 'I am Halfway Home' was started to promote HH. The term could have several meanings:

a Halfway house is a place to reintegrate into society from an institution.

The song is a play on words of having no more emotional closeness despite being physically halfway home, and

Halfway home is the name of a documentary about the toll war takes on veterans and their families.

Home is an important theme to Harry's work, Home meaning being with the right person rather than a physical place. To me, this lyric is Harry is saying that despite his growth since leaving the band and break down of this relationship they are still not emotionally closer.

Boyfriends Are they just pretending? They don't tell you where it's heading And you know the game's never ending You, you lay with him as you stay in the daydream You feel a fool You're back at it again

The closing of the song is a sense that the boyfriend is being a player, not communicating.

But Harry's muse gives in, wanting to stay in a dream. Slut! has a similar idea of choosing to stay in a love haze when you know it's not going to last "Got lovestruck, went straight to my head / Got lovesick, all over my bed / Love to think you'll never forget / Handprints in wet cement". Harry also says this in Daydreaming: "Livin' in a daydream"

Harry and Taylor have both used 'fool' in reference to their relationship before (in Fools Gold, Cardigan, Illicit Affairs, Joker and the Queen and in Long Pond Taylor said it 7 times about James in Betty.)

Finally, it refers to the cyclical nature of their relationship with 'back at it again' as OOTW 'built to fall apart and back together' and Style "when we go crashing down we come back every time' and many other songs.

[coochiequeens]

A female correctional officer in Canada has won an employment tribunal case after she suffered a mental health injury while being assigned to monitor a trans-identified male inmate who had been transferred to a women’s prison.

According to a court ruling filed on October 3, the female correctional officer will be entitled to workers compensation benefits after being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) she had acquired while being forced to monitor a trans-identified male inmate for 12 hours without relief despite her increasing anxiety. 

The plaintiff, a 55-year-old woman who had been working in corrections for 11 years, had been assigned to monitor the inmate after he had been placed on suicide watch in December of 2019. The officer immediately made her employer aware that she had mental health concerns due to childhood sexual trauma, making the task difficult for her. 

She testified that on December 16, 2019, she had been sent to the maximum security wing of the institution she was employed at and told to take over the monitoring of a trans-identified male inmate while he was on suicide watch. The assignment required her to unwaveringly monitor a video stream from inside the inmate’s cell.

According to the court records, she was made to sit in a small, dark office by herself and record what was happening in the cell every 15 minutes, including when the inmate went to the bathroom and masturbated.

While the identity of the prisoner is unknown, the court documents state he had been incarcerated in a men’s institution for “years” prior to claiming to be transgender and receiving a transfer to a women’s prison. 

The officer repeatedly requested she be relieved of this duty, and advised her managers that she felt a male officer should have been responsible for the task considering the inmate was fully intact, but her requests were denied and she was told she had to remain at her post.

Throughout her shift, the officer became increasingly anxious, and ultimately divulged that she had survived child sexual abuse to her supervisor. But her boss threatened her with disciplinary action or termination if she did not complete the task assigned to her. 

While she was originally scheduled to work from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., management was unable to find a female officer willing or able to assume her post at the time she was supposed to leave, resulting in the worker having to remain at the station until 2 a.m. During the course of the 12-hour shift, she had also been denied a proper break or bathroom time, as no one was able to assume her post.

The day after her shift, the officer sought mental health assistance. She was given a note by her doctor to remain off work until January 3, and was ultimately diagnosed with PTSD within that timeframe.

According to the ruling: “The worker testified about the impact on her life since the incident. She testified that she could not return to work and was constantly reliving her childhood abuse. She felt re-traumatized and unheard by the employer when she tried to reach out. She felt like she had no options to get out of the assignment and felt numb. She testified that it was devastating.” 

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) initially denied the worker’s claim for PTSD benefits, claiming it fell under certain exemptions in WSIB’s Traumatic Mental Stress, Chronic Mental Stress, and First Responders policies.

But the Workplace Safety and Appeals Tribunal ultimately ruled in favor of the female officer, finding that being forced to monitor the male inmate for an extended period of time without break “triggered memories and a reliving of childhood trauma,” and ultimately caused the worker’s PTSD. She is now entitled to workplace benefits for the trauma she suffered while employed at the institution.

As of December 2017, inmates in Canada who claim a “transgender” identity can be housed in the facility of their preference regardless of physical anatomy unless “there are overriding health or safety concerns which cannot be resolved.”

While it is unknown what institution the female correctional officer was employed at, details from the court document suggest it may have been a federal facility due to the length of sentence the male inmate was serving. In Canada, inmates sentenced to prison terms in excess of 2 years are under the jurisdiction of the Correctional Services of Canada, which operates only one facility for incarnated women in Ontario — The Grand Valley Institution for Women.

The facility has had multiple controversies surrounding the transfer of trans-identified male inmates in recent years. 

In September, female inmates at Grand Valley Institution reported that a violent male necrophiliac had been transferred to the facility after beginning to identify as transgender. Catherine Lynn was incarcerated for the 1995 murder of a woman. Lynn stabbed the victim to death before raping her corpse.

Heather Mason, a former federal inmate who served her time at the Grand Valley Institution, has been on the front-lines of providing information to the public on the necessity of keeping prisons in Canada single-sex.

Mason, now a vocal women’s rights campaigner, reported last year that 50% of male inmates seeking transfer to women’s prisons in Canada had been convicted of sex offenses.

The data is consistent with findings from other nations. 

In the United States, it was found that almost 50% of male Bureau of Prison inmates who identified as transgender had been convicted of sex offenses. In the United Kingdom, 60% of all trans-identified male inmates with legal gender change documents have at least one conviction for a sexual offense. 

Prison self-identification policies in other countries have also resulted in the sexual harassment and even rape of incarcerated women by male inmates who are transferred to women’s prisons.

Earlier this year, a trans-identified male inmate at Rikers Island was convicted of raping an incarcerated woman while in the female facility of the New York City prison complex. Weeks later, Reduxx exclusively revealed that a trans-identified male inmate reportedly sexually assaulted a female in a California institution.

By Shay Woulahan Shay is a writer and social media content creator for Reduxx. She is a proud lesbian activist and feminist who lives in Northern Ireland with her partner and their four-legged, fluffy friends.

Why not just build a separate wing for trans identified prisoners? They would be safe from the other men and women would be safe from the whole lot.

[dayscapism]

K-Dramas recommendations & short reviews

Because I've watched way too many to not make a list. Warning: I like romance and fantasy a bit too much.

These shows made me cry. 10/10. Five stars. Recommend to anyone. They live in my mind rent-free:

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) - Attorney Woo is such a wonderful person, I love her character. I can't say much about the representation, but I like that it opens up the conversation around autism & neurodivergence, discrimination and prejudice, particularly in work environments. I rarely like shows about law or lawyers but I was surprisingly engaged with the cases and the story. It deserves a second season. (The only thing I don't like about this show is they're pushing for a MinWoo and Choi Su-Yeon ship. Which huh--disrespectful.)

Hotel Del Luna (2019) - A great place to start with k-dramas if you like paranormal fantasy. This show has such a special place in my heart. I wanted a different ending but I am okay with it because it was a tight narrative. The main character is iconic (Man-Wol please step on me). The show has amazing sets, AMAZING costumes, an amazing OST, amazing and heartbreaking performance by Yeo Jin Goo. The main couple is so soft; like they're such good friends and coworkers and gentle with each other (eventually). It's enemies to reluctant friends to lovers. It's perfect for asexual viewers who want more than physicality in their romance shows. Cons: the secondary characters' goodbyes and backstories left a little to be desired. A few other nitpicks like Chang-Seong is the one to suggest the main character a new hobby instead of her just discovering it by herself.

It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020) - Also a good place to start with k-dramas. This show is a lesson in good narrative; this has perfect writing & storytelling. The cast is so good. The female lead is an icon. The character work I excellent. The mental health issues are so well addressed and it taught me a lot about mental health I wasn't aware of. Each small minor character plays a very important thematic role. (The villain isn't the best thing ever but she serves her role in the themes and plot.) The production and the storytelling with the children's book animations are just *heart eyes*. The OST is so good too. You need to watch this to understand how good a k-dramas can be. A must-watch.

Goblin: The Lonely and Great God (2016) - This is the most iconic fantasy/paranormal k-drama ever. A lot of current tropes were started here I think (including the weird k drama last-episode time jump separation of the main couple). This show broke me. You will cry. The bromance and comedy are amazing here too. Gong Yoo and Dong Wook Lee have great chemistry. Main female lead is so cute and her character is so heartwarming. The ending felt a bit rushed. The death, existential related stuff with the grim reapers and such is so good tho.

Business Proposal (2022) - Best rom-com ever! (Well, it could be gayer tbh.) It's my new comfort show. I already watched it twice. It's campy, hilarious, chaotic, iconic and messy in a way that feels like real life (but obviously played up for drama and comedy). Excellent character work. The love interest is definitely written by a woman. Gorgeous cast (Sejeon omg I have a crush, but also the others). It was too short! I would have loved another episode, and more of Grandpa and Ha-Ri. Warning: this has the weird kdrama last-episode time jump couple separation.

W: Two Worlds (2016) - A young resident medic accidentally finds her way inside the webcomic her father created. Like, that premise is killer. We have Lee Jong Suk at his finest here; the character fits him so well. He was born to play a lead. This show has amazing meta-commentary on writing, authorship, and existential crisis. The confrontation between the webcomic character Kang Cheol and the author is insane! The main couple is an epic pair. Would rewatch. High wump value. Cons: The second part could have been more swoony with the romance, Kang Cheol kind of became a bit cold. (A warning: this show also has the k drama weird last-episode time jump couple separation.)

Would recommend with popcorn, I rate them 8/10:

Crash Landing on You (2019) - Really good. The main couple has the best chemistry I've ever seen. It's not that much of a personal fave show, but still pretty awesome and will tug at your heart. It got a bit overly dramatic in the last episodes and again, has that k-drama last episode weird time jump couple separation, but here it actually makes sense. And sort of mirrors the separation and eventual unification of the Korean Peninsula. It was very interesting to see the contrast between North and South Korea.

Shooting Stars (2022) - Aside from the terrible, horrible, insulting Africa storyline (where the male lead goes to 'help' African kids with water scarcity, not even a country name is called, he just goes to *gestures vaguely* Africa to help goddammit he's such a beautiful soul! /s) There's a weird creepy sugar mommy wannabe side storyline and it's weird and out of nowhere. But the rest of it is good and campy and the main characters are so cute. All the couples are cute. The male lead is a cute disaster. Female lead is also a capable cutey but a disaster when it comes to romance. It's hilarious. I love all characters. It's fun. It's great. It shows a very interesting side of the entertainment industry.

While You Were Sleeping (2017) - A man and a woman who don't know each other have precognition powers and after they meet, they use them to take down a corrupt lawyer. The show isn't very heavy on the romance, tough the pair work pretty well together. I liked the main actress. Lee Jong Suk has chemistry with anyone. The male role was not exactly a good fit for Jong Suk. He's so much more naturally charming than the character. It's a fun show to pass the time. The found family is nice and all the characters work great together. The mom is great.

The King's Affection (2021) - I'm going to be honest, I didn't finish watching this. Ups. I got bored after episode 15. It's a very slow show but what I watched was quite good. It was just not a show for me. Having a bisexual male lead was awesome, I appreciate that he falls for the main character while he thinks she's a man. (Could be gayer tho, just saying.) Pretty good discussions and reversals of gender cliches. It has complicated parent-child relationships that are very well written which gives a lot of heart and heartbreak to this story. The political stuff gets very convoluted. I really wish the queer part was bigger though, and not limited to the main couple. We could even have poly representation! I still have half a mind to finish this but I don't know There are so many other shows I'd rather watch instead. (Boy, I really need to get into the actually queer side of k-dramas because the side I'm currently on is giving me crumbs.)

Lovers of the Red Sky (2021) - The premise was so cool. This has so much lore I like and the setting is beautiful and rich, but it also has so much lost potential. The plot is very weak in the second half and could be restructured. I loved the atmosphere, costumes and the actors and their characters: the blind cursed scholar nobleman, the female genius cheeky painter and her friend trio and the prince are all great characters. Ahn Hyo Seop is pretty good in it and looks very pretty indeed in historical costume (but the design of the villain creature he's possessed/cursed with is so, so bad omg). Great premise failed execution. Good first half but it went over the rails quickly. Still entertaining if you like historical fantasy.

Romance is a Bonus Book (2019) - It's a bit slow and could have done so much more with the female lead and her child. She's a bit underwhelming and her daughter is barely in the story. The second female character played by Jeong Eu-Gene was awesome, I love this actress now. Lee Jung Suk is always looking hot and being an excellent actor with what he's given; he's very charming here. He could have chemistry with a piece of wood and yet I wasn't that fan of the romance. Maybe it's just because friends to lovers isn't my cup of tea. There's a weird out-of-nowhere backstory between the male leads. The commentary of ageism in the workplace is a bit surface level (it's not that big of a deal for the company if you're overqualified for a job, the point should be that is an issue for you and your career, who is too good for the company). You can tell the writers really care about books; it's definitely a love letter to editors and an interesting window into the world of book publishing; you can feel the love editors put into making books. Bonus: the founding members of the publishing company have very funny moments.

Do no recommend:

King: Eternal Monarch - Couldn't even finish this. I was so, so confused. The dialogue, narrative and backstory make no sense! Everything is so unnecessarily confusing. There's no chemistry between the main couple. The king and the bodyguard had more chemistry. Lee Jung-Jin (playing the villain Lee Lim) & Woo Do-Hwan (the bodyguard) carried this show and are pretty much the only thing good about it. The female lead is sidelined. It had an intriguing premise but failed execution.

What's Wrong With Secretary Kim - Skimmed most of the second half. It's a mess. The love interest CEO is such a narcissist and asshole he wouldn't be able to keep a working, healthy relationship with his partner without some serious therapy first. The female lead seems to be repulsed by him most of the time even when together and even looks scared when they get intimate. There's an unnecessarily convoluted plotline about the main lead's brother and a kidnapping in their past. It has tonal issues and it's cringy rather than funny. The secondary characters are just a lot of useless filler. The female lead sacrifices her independence and dreams to be with the main guy. Just go watch Business Proposal instead.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo - The only pro of this show is IU. The romance went the undeveloped route. Cheap-looking production, with too many episodes, melodramatic, characters pivot in place instead of naturally developing; it's definitely a telenovela. The point that the female lead is from the future doesn't even matter for the story (should have made her a Goryeo historian instead of a random cosmetologist). Pass!

Tomorrow - Could not finish watching. Please, please don't watch it if you're dealing with depression, bullying or suicidal thoughts. Please don't. By episode 2 I was just screaming at the screen. Problematic? This show invented the word problematic. The supernatural task force that's supposed to save people with suicide risk is terrible at therapy and suicide prevention. They tell the person trying to commit suicide, literally on the edge of a building about to jump, that they should do it, that they're weak, they should just jump, go ahead! Like ... what????

Mystic Pop Up Bar - Didn't capture me by episode 2. Got bored. Some say this is better than Hotel Del Luna but I don't agree.

Abyss - It's a weird tonal mix. Would have preferred if it leaned further into the absurd (go all in with the humour or don't at all), the sci-fi or the murder mystery. Instead of just revealing by episode 3 who the murderer is, quickly changing the plot into a chase after the villain, even though he's so lame. But also he is keeps killing people and it gets dark. And then we cut to the main couple being silly and cute. It's so jarring. The leads have a great dynamic and Ahn Hyo Seop knows how to differentiate his characters really well, give them their own flavour., but in the end it's just a cool premise, failed execution. Very average.

Currently watching:

The Crowned Clown - Very interesting concept and gorgeous, gorgeous visuals. Plot drags a little. Has some tonal problems and oversimplification of politics. The best part is when Yeo Jin-Goo acts with himself haha. He's such a talented actor.

The Uncanny Counter - Get's a bit melodramatic sometimes but all four main actors are insanely good.

Tale of the Nine-Tailed - The main romantic relationship needs a lot more development, but the entire show is worth watching just for Dong Wook Lee and Kim Bum as brothers.

Alchemy of Souls - 6/10 so far. Currently watching season 2/part 2. Aside from the prince, I don't particularly care for any of the characters. Unpopular opinion but the main romantic pair have no chemistry. Mu-Deok has more chemistry with Yul and the prince, and the prince has more chemistry with Jang-Uk. The lore is confusing and inconsistent: it breaks its own rules. (Two souls in one body what?? when was this established as a thing?) There's not enough foreshadowing and setting up the rules of magic in this world (the Ice Stone comes up as a deux ex mahcina big plot point in the last second). It also drags; the episodes are too long. There's a lot of saying and ultimately the show doesn't deliver. The narrative structure is straight out of a fantasy Wattpad. The set and costumes are fun and cool for a fantasy world, and the first episode was great.  

[comradekatara]

if this comes off as a really weird and pretentious ask please just delete it but since iirc you've been in this fandom since 2019 or before 2019 i need to know . how do you deal with such in bad faith takes ??? i scroll & move on & filter tags as much as i can but it's astounding how anybody from any corner of this fandom will have piss poor takes whether they support canon or fanon

lmao not a bad question at all. some background context feels necessary: i’ve been very into atla since i was a kid, and before i used this blog i talked about it (and lok, because korrasami melted my brain) a lot on my primary blogs. in november 2018 i convinced my friend to start watching atla, and she got extremely into it. we talked about atla every day for months. eventually, my friend started this blog in summer of 2019 to talk about atla and invited me to join. it was mostly a repository for our inside jokes and for me to post the fanart i had been drawing on my phone. it was really just a space for our circle of mutuals to have some laffs.

the atla fandom was very small at the time so we were really one of the only blogs actively talking about the show. by complete accident, however, some of our posts got popular, and we accrued quite a bit of a following. we didn’t really know what to do with all the attention (some of it extremely negative and unhinged at that), and it would only get worse after “the atla renaissance.” we got more followers than we knew what to do with, at which we considered just abandoning the blog. my friend did, and handed over the reins to me.

for her, atla was a recent interest that had soured after the fandom became too much to handle, but for me it was an interest that had endured since childhood, and i found that despite all the negative attention, i still really enjoyed having a space where i could unpack my feelings towards this thing that felt like such a significant cultural touchstone, feelings towards characters i had been so deeply moved by for so long, and i enjoyed making art on a consistent basis for an actively receptive audience who praised my skills as an (extremely amateur) artist.

i’ve been drawing atla characters for a very long time, long before i had this blog, but it feels like the incentive to draw for an audience is what motivated me to improve my art over the years, so that’s genuinely been a really nice thing. and i enjoy analyzing art, literature, and media, so trying to pick apart one single text (or multiple connected texts if you wanna bring in lok, the comics, and the novels) for so long is very fun for me.

however, as much as i’ve tried to avoid engaging with bad faith takes, i am nonetheless aware that there is a not insignificant contingent of the fandom who viscerally hate my guts for whatever reason. it’s definitely less prevalent in my daily life now that the fandom is less active (cannot begin to emphasize enough how much the atlassaince ruined my life), but at the time a lot of people wanted to make their hatred of this blog known, loudly. which, especially when you’re in the middle of a lockdown and you cannot leave your room for fear of possibly dying, is not a great feeling.

that’s not really what you’re asking, but since i have had to deal with “bad faith takes” in the most personal possible way, my advice would simply be to try to shut it out. i follow maybe two or three atla blogs, and they are blogs that do not interact with the larger fandom. i do not seek out what other blogs have to say, and confine my scope to my friends and responding to my inbox.

for some reason, atla does seem to be a bad opinions factory, but actively seeking out those opinions is simply not conducive to one’s mental health or a productive use of time, which is why i keep to myself and try to mind my own business. i cannot control how i am perceived, which i am viscerally reminded of every time i see someone reblog an older post from this blog that i didn’t even make (and sometimes straight up do not agree with), but i try to remind myself that this literally has no bearing on my material existence whatsoever, and bad posts aren’t real they can’t hurt you <3

[littlest-bugz]

Resolution ; A Sigh Of Relief

a [polyfrag] DID system's experience with resolution (functional multiplicity)

please do not bring syscourse to this post. this post is about our own personal healing journey and is not intended as advice or professional info

TWs: Isolation [heavy], abuse [heavy but not in depth], self harm mention [brief], suicidality mention [brief], unsure of other triggers

In Mid June of 2022, I was diagnosed with DID for the first of two times. Flashback to 2021. I had been in and out of therapy, in my teen years, but after researching my symptoms to try and find a proper care plan for my mental health, I ended up self diagnosing myself with BPD. The view I have always had on therapy and self diagnosis is that it doesn't take a real diagnosis to get the help you need, just use the resources that help you regardless, so I wasn't really hesitant to self diagnose myself [after research obvs]. After i self dx, I decided I would find a trauma informed DBT therapist, since I saw DBT mentioned often as treatment for people with BPD. After a while of researching, I found exactly that in my first therapist as a young adult. She was an amazing mental health professional tbh. She taught me skills that still have use today, and helped me grow, so so much. However, a year into therapy, she asked me to consider the possibility of having DID, and she asked me to reach out to my [potential] alters just to see what would happen. Ofc, I did exactly that. I made a dinky little journal for anyone to write in, as long as they used a sign off or different colored pen. That was when the flood gates opened, alters expressing themselves in the journal, and system awareness was achieved for the second time in our system's history.

Yes, you heard me, for the second time.

The first time system discovery starts for us actually starts sometime in October of 2016 [when I was 12-13]. It was the peak of my abuse, and because of that, I attempted to create an imaginary friend to have someone who knew me, just,,, period tbh. I wanted someone to know me down to my own memories because I was afraid of being alone, and I was tired of having my trauma further ignored and disregarded, even encouraged, by the adults in my life.

I was a deeply, deeply isolated kid, and had no one in my life i could trust or depend on until I was into my late teen years. I didn't have any real friends [and was, instead, abused by my peers], didn't have a family that actively cared about me, the church i was going to had and was abusing me profoundly, and the partner I had treated me like less than human. It was abuse coming from all angles, all facets, of my life. I could not escape the abuse no matter where I turned, so I turned inwards. I wanted someone, anyone who could understand me and listen, especially someone who knew what was happening to me for a fact and wouldn't gaslight every experience I had.

That's when I ''created'' 💙, but mind you, I didn't actually create him. He was, actually, his own whole dude before I ''created'' him, and he was NOT someone who would comfort me gently like I had wanted him to be. He was, instead, a sarcastic, blunt guy who only comforted me when things got actively tough. At that time, he had even fronted more than once to prevent stupid decisions I did, and it actually marked the first period of concerning black out amnesia. HOWEVER, through ''creating'' 💙, I got in contact with more of our system members [specifically 🎸,🧣,🌵 and 💤, who all are active members to this day, still fronting from time to time]. Our communication flourished back then, and everything was well documented, down to journal entries I had written about 💙's ''creation''. We had drawings and journals, which were all thrown away or deleted in 2019.

Speaking of, our communication with the system fell apart in 2019, shortly after the body's birthday [which is usually very traumatic for our system]. It was a complete host change brought on by the CEO of our system that ruined communication. It left that new host, 🐛. Confused, and without any memory of our life before then, 🐛 forgot everything about the system. Literally down to the name of 💙. All communication was cut, and all prior knowledge of our system was disposed of because our journals and drawings were thrown out by an alter who was heavily influenced by the CEO. CEO did not want us to know we were a system, and he had been dormant for years at that point. At least until he [somehow] got triggered and saw what was going on. 🐛 was the alter that later got in contact with everyone in 2021 and got us diagnosed the first time. Thankfully, the supposed creation of 💙 was what made communication pick up again smoothly, and we were, once again, a tightknit group of alters sharing a body. We're still like that, for the most part.

Our upbringing heavily impacted how we go about our recovery process, and how we will continue to recover. So when we entered therapy with a DID specialist, we had already radically accepted our systemhood after being diagnosed once. We have a very much 'your opinion of me doesn't matter to me' type of thinking, at least in regards to anyone other than a medical professional. Ofc, DID specialist was like 'yeah, I can tell lol' and diagnosed me shortly thereafter. After being diagnosed with DID a second time by the specialist, we were asked what path in recovery we wanted, and to think and talk about amongst ourselves. The big question every recovering system faces. Did we want to pursue final fusion or not?

Overwhelmingly for our system, we wanted to aim for resolution [aka functional multiplicity]. HOWEVER, there is nothing wrong with final fusion. A lot of people actually fear monger about it amongst the CDD community. So let me say that again: Final Fusion is NOT a bad thing and is a valid way to recover. Just because it is not our path doesn't mean it isn't someone else's. Here are two posts that give some decent info on Final Fusion: [post one] [post two]. I can find more if need be, but that isn't what this post is about. This is simply to reaffirm that final fusion is nothing to be scared of, and a 110% valid path of recovery. Our experience doesn't align with final fusion, but since I mentioned it briefly, I thought I would talk about it for a second.

Fusion moment aside, We have, since mid 2022 for sure, felt like we don't have a solid host, and we have always felt that way because of the cycle of hosts. The body holds a good number of us, that's for sure, and because of how many of us there are, we have no solid one host. There are frequent fronters, sure, but nobody is a host in the traditional, typically talked about sense. For this reason, we feel that we have no core alter [which we don't, unsurprisingly], and we found it unfair to each other that we take away our freedom to express ourselves as alters. Like yeah, we are parts of a whole, but there was never a 'core' individual. There was never an 'original'. We were pretty much destined to form DID. It is what it is, but because of that, we feel we don't have an alter from which all the others split from. I'm just a collective of parts that never even had the chance to connect to each other. Most of us feel so individual from each other because we were a highly partitionary system with no memory sharing or knowledge of each other. I honestly think if what happened in 2016 didn't happen, I would've only known my system through the 2021 diagnosis, and it would not have been as easy to pick communication back up. Things are wildly different now in regards to amnesiac barriers, but when we did find each other, we were our own people expressing ourselves through different [covert] means.

Due to feeling so separated and individualistic, Resolution was, ultimately, the best decision for our system, and since having made this decision and began recovery, our life has actually become something worth living, if that makes sense. I mean Internally and mentally. We function together as a team, and it's a great thing to witness tbh. It's taken a lot of hard work with a lot of disagreements in system, but for a life time ahead of me, it's worth it. I'm finally starting to love all of me, all of us. It's been hard, so incredibly hard, and we still don't always get along. There are still disagreements, votes that spark heated discussions, but that's just what happens when you're sharing a body with so many folks.

Of course, u see me use I/Me pronouns because we all acknowledge the body and the role it has in our collective life. When I say I, when I say me, it is the acknowledgement of the body's role in our life. The Body is the part of us that makes us whole, what we live through, and what makes us a team and family [in-sys family members at least because as a whole we don't see each other as family]. We are so incredibly grateful for the body and the collective Identity we live through. It is a sigh of relief to finally have come this far into our healing where things are finally getting better for us. I'm healing all parts of me, and I am authentically myself by being a system. We love the life we live finally. Even if we're still living with abusers, we know that once we're out of here, it's the final step to our trauma recovery and what will make us free to be ourselves.

Trauma is bound to happen again in my lifetime, re-traumatization will happen too. I'm young [for an adult at least], and, like I mentioned briefly, I'm still in an abusive situation. For this reason, we are learning to cope with day to day stress, as well as preparing our coping tool box for future traumas. At this stage in our healing, we have attained near entire co-consciousness, and have learned to share daily and important memories or notes from alter to alter, subsystem to subsystem. Sometimes its just one fronter and the CEO or the whole Crew and Co., yet CEO makes sure things get to everyone. No longer do we live our day to day confused on what's happened, what our past is and who we are, if we've eaten, taken our meds, showered, if we have an appointment ect. Now when switches happen, things are not confusing, and smooth with no sort of amnesiac barrier. Afterall, a good 97% of us are co-con in some capacity, and even then, we're able to memory share day to day memories. It's like whoever is best equipped to deal with a situation fronts.

Some of us don't want to share our trauma memories with each other entirely due to it's intensity, so we instead talk about it amongst ourselves and make peace with our trauma that way [with the help of our therapist]. It's like group therapy lol. Most of us are just content with the knowledge of not fully knowing everything, and having worked in trauma recovery for years now, our past traumas affects our day to day a lot less [any disruptions now are from the collective disorders we have and our living situation]. The peace that comes from being okay with not knowing is relieving, and the alters who hold the bulk of the trauma have started to work through their traumas.

Sharing trauma memories in our system can cause body and other kinds of flashbacks, panic and extreme distress, and can even trigger self harm and suicidality in some of our alters. Almost always, with trauma memories, its more than one alter getting triggered. I like to think of it like sculk sensors from Minecraft [minecraft moment]. When one is triggered, nearby alters in front and co-con get triggered like a wave effect, but it has a lot to due with similar types of traumas or being fragments of the same trauma. It doesn't stop it from happening. What we've done is worked on helping trauma holders cope and making them 'unstuck' in the trauma. Memory Sharing with trauma was once, and still is to an extent, dangerous for us, but the memory sharing via talking with each other, rather than give up the memories themselves, has caused us to even out and begin to work through the actual trauma, work through everything we have been through. It may sound flawed, but it works for us.

After having achieved a grasp on resolution, we've taken notice to our collective disorders and experiences, like our psychosis symptoms [from an unknown origin] and OCD. A lot of what we thought were persecutors ended up being our OCD, so things got quieter in that way. This helped us to work on those mental health problems and cultivate a further sense of peace. We also were able to start to work on other therapy methods that cater to our flavor of personality disorder. Achieving Resolution to even the degree we have has been phenomenal, and it only gets better from here once we reach full resolution.

None of this is to say resolution will or should be your path in healing, so please take what I say with a grain of salt. This is our experience with our healing journey, and nothing is the same from CDD system to CDD system. I just wanted to post and ramble about my progress because I am proud of myself and our progress!!! Obviously, I am not a representative for anyone other than myself. It's just so nice to be able to actually see my progress, see our progress. I also feel like I don't see many people talk about late stage DID recovery in any way, resolution or final fusion. Honestly, its even nice to just label our progress as being in late stage recovery. I'm glad to be me, as a system, while also dancing my way down the path of healing [lol].

Not sure if anyone is curious, but I'm always open to answering questions about my experiences with resolution as a polyfrag DID system. nothing intrusive about trauma, but I'm down to talk about the aspects of resolution and stuff. Just know I'm not a psychiatrist or other professional, and I don't speak for any other system but my own.

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

The Princess of Wales + World Mental Health Day events

2012 - The Duchess of Cambridge visited CRI Stockton Recovery Service, in Stockton-on-Tees, to meet families working with Action on Addiction’s M-PACT program, “Moving Parents and Children Together”

2015 - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Harrow College to take part in events for World Mental Health Day

2016 - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry travelled to County Hall, London, for a reception for representatives from the charities working under Heads Together

2017 - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace for World Mental Health Day

2018 - The day before World Mental Health Day, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the first Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit

2019 - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex voiced a campaign video launched by the NHS which raises awareness of an online service to help people who are struggling, Every Mind Matters

2020 - Four days before World Mental Health Day, the Duchess of Cambridge visited the University of Derby to hear how the pandemic has impacted university life and learn about the measures put in place to support student mental health

2022 - The Prince and Princess of Wales presented a special episode of "Newsbeat", where they discussed the stigmas surrounding mental health, the pressures of social media and ways to equip young people with the tools to open up about how they’re feeling with four young campaigners

2023 - The Prince and Princess of Wales hosted "Exploring our Emotional Worlds", a forum for 100 young people in Birmingham, in honour of World Mental Health Day

[fluoresensitive]

I’m aware that this is maybe loser-behavior of me to ask, but I wanted to know if you had any tips on making friends when you have a disability that leaves you mostly housebound? My mental health tanked years ago and it led to me losing all my friends because of my isolating, and I feel like I have no clue how to make any now that I can’t really leave the house. I know the internet is there, but idk I feel like I’ve had acquaintances online but they never evolved into friendships. Plus, I feel guilty that I won’t be able to go out and do things like people might expect me/want me to do. And covid fucked everything up so even if I could occasionally afford an Uber, I still don’t want to go in public and risk catching it. Any help would be appreciated, but no worries if not 💗 sending you and your fam well wishes

Honestly, would love to know how to do that as well. I'm lucky enough to have built/found a friend group since late 2019 but yeah, if anyone else has any tips and ideas?

( also there's no shame in it! We lived in a super isolated society + capitalism + individualism AND a lack of community, it's very hard out here, especially in combination with disabilities!)

[lostintime-liketearsinrain]

Welcome to my corner of the internet....

🩵I'm Jon, 33 and based in the UK

🩵Pretty introverted but once I'm comfortable with you I'm my usual chatty, friendly, weird and nerdy self.

🩵Started this blog as a fitblr about 9 years ago, lost over 6 stone but that was a few years ago now and I've packed it all back on. Realised life is about being happy as I am in the present and less about changing myself for others' opinions. Still want to lose weight and will but in my own time.

🩵I love music, movies, TV, gaming, being creative (photography, art, painting etc), DIY/home improvement, exploring, adventures, tech and more. Sucker for the horror genre and loves 90s slasher movies. Equally, I'm a sucker for romance/rom-com as I'm a hopeless romantic in my heart.

🩵All about self-love, body positivity, mental health awareness/support and just being a kind person. DNI if you are fatphobic, racist, transphobic, Anti-LGBTIQA+ or any other negative group.

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I work a 9-5 office job (😫😂) during the week and also run my own business selling art prints!

My artist name is DRAWSTAX and I started learning digital art in 2017 while going through cognitive behavioural therapy for my depression and anxiety. Started selling my art in 2019 on Etsy (here) and since I've grown and learnt new skills and sold my art to people around the globe, from USA, UK, Sweeden, Germany, Australia and many places in between. Still blows my mind! Check out the links below for my socials or @drawstax for my art Tumblr!

Instagram - Pinterest - Tiktok

Other Links - bio.site/drawstax

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DM's and asks are always open if you want to say hey but please be patient with me as being introverted I don't always reply straight away. Due to previous experiences, please no dick pics and any NSFW messages or asks, send them to my side blog @fcked-up-demon

Thanks for taking the time to read this and feel free to say hey