#mental health struggles tw

[youneedsomeprompts]

~ IN A VOID ~ FORESHADOWING DEPRESSION PROMPTS

requested by: @crochet-cafe request: How can I foreshadow or hint that my character has severe depression? I want to make the reveal a big deal when it happens and catch readers off guard

Feel free to use and reblog!

having other characters associate the person's mood with their character traits ("they're always grumpy")

masking their depression really well but being absolutely drained and a lot worse as soon as they're alone

appearing as a 'neutral' person, when their neutral mood actually indicates the emptiness they feel inside

their growing passivity makes them fade into the background

the more excited other people get the more downcast the person becomes (they get perceived as a killjoy)

they don't accept invitations anymore

they always say they're busy but can't answer the question what exactly they're doing

they show no emotional reaction in a fight

everyone says about the person that they have such a hard shell

they usually have been very caring and sensitive to everyone around them but suddenly they seem like they couldn't care less

for more inspiration/how to help: ~ SHOWING SUPPORT FOR SOMEONE WITH DEPRESSION ~ WRITING PROMPTS

note: If you or someone you know feels that way and really needs help, please seek professional help <3

[schizopositivity]

i see reminders to take your meds all the time and thats great but heres your reminder to get your meds refilled! to call your pharmacy! to pick up your refills while the pharmacy is still open! you cant take whats not there, its super important that you stay on top of getting your refills

[silence-ofdeath]

“I am alone with my own thoughts and it’s dangerous.”

-cress

[imtraumatizedsblog]

[welcome2theinternet]

Here's a fun idea. Don't comment on what people eat or if they're losing/gaining weight. Doesn't matter if you thought it was a compliment. You don't know why that may be happening. Some people lose weight when they're anxious or depressed (or of course suffering from an eating disorder). You may have meant well but it can be triggering or upsetting

[skateisawesome]

i love that heartstopper is sharing real struggles with eating and sh and mental health issues. i love it.

it just sucks that i cant know if i'll be able to watch this show in october. i dont know if i'll be in a position where i can watch people struggle with food, or talk about sh, or experience tough times with their mental health.

i might not be able to watch it. and that sucks.

and i understand that is totally my own issue and i really honestly love that this show is spreading stories like these. but it really fucking sucks, man.

[qquipart]

I have a friend who gave me a workbook to help with suicidal ideation, something she uses with her patients. And she gave me permission to share it with others.

Lots of industries are being hard hit right now; animation, gaming, tech, journalism, etc. Genocides happening before our eyes. Rising inflation. But please, I beg you not to lose hope.

The world will always be a better place with you in it. Please be kind to yourself.

[ravenkings]

the thing about sylvia plath and ted hughes is like...she obviously struggled with major depression throughout her life and was probably more sensitive than most people but like....ted hughes did cheat on her and i would actually be more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if plath were the only significant other of his to commit suicide......but like.......the fact that assia weville, the woman he cheated on plath with, ALSO killed herself (and their daughter!!!) in a VERY similar way several years later is...................suspicious to say the least imo..........

[youneedsomeprompts]

~ SHOWING SUPPORT FOR SOMEONE WITH DEPRESSION ~ WRITING PROMPTS

requested by: anonymous

Feel free to use and reblog!

offering hugs

helping them with simple life tasks without judging

bringing them food they like

"I'm here for you."

trying to give them as much comfort as they can

telling them stories from the outside world to distract them

accepting that not every attempt to help actually does something for the other

just sitting in silence with them & being there

"Do you want to talk?" "No." "It's alright."

wrapping them up in a blanket

reading to them

talking them into going out into the green for recreation

being patient

not having expectations but being happy about every sign of recovery

making sure that they're staying hydrated enough

"I made this for you."

showing them they're happy to see them even if the other isn't in a great state ("I love you regardless")

gentle gestures of affection (brushing through their hair, caressing, etc.)

giving them soft smiles

holding them when they need to cry

note: I'm not a professional, and this is not a list of perfect ways to help a depressed person but a list of ways people would maybe try to help. If you or someone you know really needs help, please seek professional help <3

[leighlew3]

Shout out to anyone else who is also deeply depressed and completely faking giving two sh*ts about this Holiday season thinking it’ll spark joy or eventually hit you and you’ll actually feel the spirit — but you just don’t. Whether due to grief, heartbreak, loneliness, illness or otherwise. Or even all of the above! You’re not alone. Many of us are just going through the motions. 💜

[icedmetaltea]

While all these ai shenanigans are going on I thought it'd be a good time to remind ya'll of a couple stuff:

. The ai is not real

. It might feel real at times, eerily so, but that's because it was quite literally programmed to *sound* as real as possible

. If you fiddle with the script even a tad it will sound completely different, this is because it bases its responses off that and learned interactions through deep learning. It is merely mimicking the way people interact with each other because it is programmed to do that

. If you suffer from any sort of mental health issue involving derealization, delusions, disassociation (yep that's a lotta D's) or ANYTHING which affects your ability to tell fiction from reality, I suggest you avoid using the ai. I know playing with an ai is fun but it's not worth risking your mental health

. You cannot make the ai sad, angry, or anything else. It's. Not. Real. Again, everything it says is based off deep learning

. If you're under the age of 16, don't use it. There's a rule for 16+ in place for a reason... the scenarios can get *really* violent, including drug use, torture, death, etc. In fact, no matter how old you are, if these things greatly disturb you I suggest avoiding it entirely

. Be responsible for your own experience. If fiction starts to bleed into reality, step away and spend some time with loved ones. Go outside and get some fresh air. Reconnect with the real world.

. If you cannot go back to reality after an ai interaction, like if you get lasting emotional/mental effects from it, you need to take time away or give it up. Period.

. As ai stuff become more advanced in the future through better programming and deep learning, we need to understand now more than ever our limits.

. No matter how real it seems, it's not. Talk to irl people, get away from the internet, it's gonna be okay

This is coming from someone who used to have real bad psychosis, aka a condition in which you can't tell what's reality from what's not. I know for a fact it can fuck you up, so pls pls plssss take care of yourself. I love you guys and want ya'll to be okay

[silence-ofdeath]

[dimonds456]

It is not okay to speculate whether or not someone is suicidal. If they claim to be, you should 100% take that shit seriously and give them the benefit of the doubt.

That said, if someone is using their own suicidality as a weapon to gain sympathy, emotionally manipulate someone, or to push other people down, GENUINELY fuck that person. While it's not okay for us to doubt that statement just because they're weaponizing it, that also doesn't mean we need to ALLOW that manipulation to convince us of something.

If you feel the need to use your terrible mental health as a step-stool in a conversation to make your side more heard than the other, you need to take a step back and re-evaluate yourself. And I am saying this as someone who ALSO has shit mental health and has been in the trenches with it before. I get it. I understand. But also STOP.

It's tempting to want to save your own ass over recognizing where you've gone wrong, but just a word of advise: recognizing where you've gone wrong WILL save your ass and give you better mental health and wisdom down the line.

However, emotionally manipulating people absolutely will not.

[uncanny-tranny]

I'm by no means recovered fully, but it genuinely feels so... freeing and exalting to be excited to eat, to look forward to a meal you're making. I can feel it changing my brain chemistry 💛

[truthful-apologiesxoxo]

Questions I usually get asked about my ASPD usually are, but are not limited to:

”Did you torture animals as a child?” — Nope. That’s a stereotype. It’s similar to the stereotype of people with depression “doing it for attention.” ASPD is a spectrum, meaning that most of us don’t kill animals just for kicks and giggles. However, if someone have really bad ASPD, they may torture animals. It’s similar to the autism spectrum. Some people with autism function relatively normally, while others are non verbal.

“Do you manipulate people?” — Yeah. It’s part of the disorder, after all, and is something the media hides. The media likes to hide the manipulator’s perspective, which is completely reasonable sometimes, but it demonizes those with cluster B disorder. Whenever I manipulate people, it’s often subconscious. I never wake up in the morning and go “wow! What a fine day to go and manipulate some people!” It’s usually more like, “Hm, if I do ___ then ____ will do what I want.”

“So, you have no guilt or remorse?” — Not true. I do feel guilt, just on a very shallow level. If I do something wrong, I’ll feel guilty about it for a few hours at most then get over it.

“Do you cry?” — Yeah. I cry, but not like others do. I cry for short periods of time, 10-15 minutes at most.

“Do you think you’re better than other people?” — Sort of, in a way. It doesn’t apply to everyone, but I’ll sometimes see someone who isn’t very intelligent or very gullible and subconsciously think “Oh wow, that’s someone who is worse than me.” In short, I don’t think everyone is worse than me. Just some people.

If you have any questions, I’d love to answer them.

[anxious-witch]

This post specifically goes for my mutuals/followers who have been struggling lately. I see you and I don't always have something encouraging to reply, but if you have been feeling down recently, I hope this will help.

TW for mental health talk, mentions of suicide (this is an encouraging post, but please don't read further if anything of the sort might trigger you. Keeping your mental health intact is more important ❤️)

It's so very easy to get in the spiral of "I am not doing enough, all these people that I love would be better off without me". And convincing yourself those same people would forget you and move on quickly.

It's not true. I understand the sentiment, I really, really do. I used to fully believe that myself. But that's a lie. Mental illness reshapes the way we think and perceive things. And our brain and wired to remember bad things more than good ones. But when you'd write down everything that happened every day, I'd honestly be surprised if all of it was bad. Of course there are bad days, but even then, depression tend to focus on things you did wrong instead of those you did right.

But I am here to talk about the fact that I'd miss you if you were gone, too. Which seems ridiculous. "Rio, you follow 1000 blogs, you wouldn't notice". *loud incorrect buzzer* wrong! I would notice. As long as we ever interacted, as long as you liked and/or reblogged my posts, I'd notice.

When someone gets busy and I don't see them in my notes for over a week, I hope they are okay and just doing something more fun irl. I am not always great at remembering usernames, but as soon as they like one of my posts again I'm like yes!! They are back! I am glad you are okay!

"But I don't even contribute to the fandom!" No? Do you think creating content is the only way to contribute? Even just lurking and liking stuff counts. And I know some of you send really lovely anon messages that have made my day more than once. It DOES matter. Notes help other people as encouragement to keep posting. That absolutely counts.

"We barely post about the same fandom anymore" ah! But I still see you! I have a mutual that I have been following since 2016-2017, I believe. I have no idea what the hell he posts about these days. I can't rven accurately tell you why I originally followed him in the first place, it was either LOTR or Twilight, but fuck if I remember, because neither of hs posts about it!

And I still care. Because his journey ended up helping me. Seeing people's posts about their little achievements always makes my day. And even if you don't feel like you achieved anything in awhile, that doesn't mean you won't in the future. My point is, you are loved more than you know.

And this is only about online stuff. People notice when you walk down the street. Maybe someone likes your hair, or some detail of your outfit. Maybe someone saw you feed a stray and thought how nice you are. Maybe someone takes the same public transport as you every day and takes comfort in the fact you share the same path, if only for a few minutes.

This tumblr post perfectly described it, actually:

So please, if not for your own sake, for the sake of all the people who love you silently, keep going. It will get better. You might be just a bit further away from getting better. But you won't know unless you keep going.

So let's find out together, shall we?