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[Image ID] Tweet from me It's been about 25 years since #Xena gave Gabrielle that speech about the pebble being thrown into the pond and I just used most of it explain my views on how trauma can change us forever to my therapist.

The things that stick with you.

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Xena: See how calm the surface of the water is. That was me once. And then [throws the rock in] the water ripples and churns. That's what I became.

Gabrielle: But if we sit here long enough it will go back to being still again. You'll go back to being calm.

Xena: But the stone's still under there. It's now a part of the lake. It might look as it did before but it's forever changed.

I mean that's not what happened like right after that conversation but a queer nerd can still dream, right?

Also, I, "an old" didn't realize this happened 27 years ago not 25. Because apparently I still think it's 2020.

Excuse me, while I have some existential dread about that.

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someone explain the jewish holidays to me like i'm 5 years old

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like there’s this whole thing in this book about how your brain grows stronger and healthier by practicing responding to stress in healthy ways,

because if a stressor is predictable and you feel a sense of control over it, you habituate and stop reacting to it,

but if it’s random and unpredictable you have the opposite response and become sensitized, so your reaction actually gets more and more extreme.

(if you hear a loud noise at predictable intervals you’ll soon stop noticing or reacting, but if you hear it at random intervals you’ll become sensitive to it and anxious.)

so one way to help people who have adverse reactions to reminders of trauma is to give them control over how they’re reminded of the trauma,

because it helps the brain practice responding to stress in a safe way so you can habituate to the stress response.

which is why if someone tags something for a trigger and you still choose to look,

it’s actually an act of healthy resistance against your reaction to that trigger (because it teaches your brain to habituate),

but encountering something triggering in a random and unpredictable way actually increases your stress response and makes you more sensitive to the trigger.

so people who are against trigger warnings because “you have to learn to cope” are actually taking away your tools for learning to cope,

because encountering stressors in a way that further strips you of control over your trauma is never, ever helpful.

it’s a lot of stuff i kind of knew but integrated and explained with more context and science

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Christmas in Las Vegas, December 1979

Two Xmas trees on Plaza Hotel. Fremont Street closed for roadwork in Fall ‘79, and the city kept it closed for the rest of the year in an early trial period to turn this stretch into a pedestrian zone. When the road reopened on New Year’s Day, the traffic was one-way. 

Orbit Inn (Fremont & 7th) seen in the distance of the last photo. Photographer focusing on signs, leaving the smiling friend in a blur. Kodachrome, VLV. 

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my English prof teaching abt cover letters today and me trying not to bring up the luke skywalker cover letter post:

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The Squishing of the Squash!

This is an annual event where growers of giant pumpkins give their pumpkins to the Oregon Zoo.  The elephants get to play with them, squish them, and then eat them.

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The original pride flag and the sewing machine it was sewn on

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QUEENNNNWIGSTAN

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I know here on tumblr.org many of you are not that into the sportsball, but I know you love righteous drama and pettiness, and oof, do we have some for you over in football land.

So Hungary, as you may’ve heard, has put out some anti-LGBT legislation that would ban the depiction or promotion of homosexuality to people under 18. It’s not quite law yet but it’s just got to get through their president Viktor Orban who is, unfortunately, a shit.

Meanwhile, football, no the other kind of football- the one with the round ball, is currently having a big European tournament. Euro 2020. Yeah, they didn’t rename it. Doesn’t matter. Germany were due to play Hungary last night in Munich and they asked the governing body of the tournament for permission to light up the stadium in a rainbow. Like this:

But they said no. Specifically, they said no while dressed in a rainbow pfp and claiming that the rainbow isn’t a political symbol:

And Germany, bless them, looked at that and said, ooh bitch it’s on now.

Munich city hall got out the banners

Here are the fans going to the match

The German captain Manuel Neuer in his rainbow armband (which UEFA had previously made noises about disciplining him for, because they’re bastards all around)

A brief selection of the many stadiums across Germany that lit up in solidarity

And last but not least this absolute madlad who ran onto the pitch during Hungary’s anthem

Viktor Orban stayed at home and sulked, and Hungary got knocked out of the tournament.

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“i grew out of my dinosaur phase” shut up. your dinosaur phase isn’t something you “grow out” of. real adults know that dinosaurs are cool as fuck.

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This is the strangest intersection of my interests I have ever experienced

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"they're only saying that to upset you" yes that is what I find so upsetting

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“One of the best feelings is finding someone who really gets you. A person who lets you be vulnerable and honest. The kind of person who encourages you to push past your flaws because they accept you as you are. Someone who never tells you that you’re too much of this and too little of that. Because to them you’re just enough of everything they love.”

— Sylvester McNutt (via thoughtkick)

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