dollhospitaljournal

[dollhospitaljournal]

Hi darlings, I’m still fundraising for survival funds while I pursue a diagnosis (I already have 2 autoimmune diseases but have been having new symptoms). Sharing and support is much appreciated, thank you 💗💕

[dollhospitaljournal]

The second part of our fifth and final issue is now here for you in hard copy form, with all sales going toward INQUEST and Trans Survivors Switchboard and we can't wait for you to see it! 🥰

To celebrate our final issue for the forseeable future we have put together a very special roundtable titled 'Survive the Night: An Endlessly Affirming Roundtable of Advice, Advocacy, Assertions and Aspirations for Storming Through Mental Health Struggles On Our Most Hopeless of Days'. And at 78 pages long, with 105 contributors, it turned out so big and beautiful that we had to release it as its own issue in and of itself! 📖

Featuring writing, artwork and more by awesome humans such as Vanessa Willoughby, James Gaunt, Tavi Gevinson, Rudy Loewe, Dior Vargas, Cindy L. Rodriguez, Khairani Barokka, Mya Carmichael, Alaina Leary, Imade Nibokun, Hannah Rose Ewens, Stefanie Kaufman, Kailey Flyte, Simone Lia, Zeba Talkhani and countless others! Lovingly designed in full colour, this very special roundtable issue is jam packed with soothing illustrations, thoughtful writing, colourful collages and real talk. We think it is beautiful, we think it is necessary, and we hope you do too.

Plus as an extra thank you, we are throwing in a digital copy of the bumper issue of Doll Hospital Issue Five! That includes the main part of our fifth issue which is not included in this print launch. Plus a whole bunch of spotify mixes of good vibe sounds!

All orders are shipped in a timely manner from Bristol, U.K (so if you're ordering from farther afield please allow it a little extra time to reach you!)

[dollhospitaljournal]

To celebrate our final issue for the forseeable future we have put together a very special roundtable titled 'Survive the Night: An Endlessly Affirming Roundtable of Advice, Advocacy, Assertions and Aspirations for Storming Through Mental Health Struggles On Our Most Hopeless of Days'. And at 78 pages long, with 105 contributors, it turned out so big and beautiful that we had to release it as its own issue in and of itself! 📖

Featuring writing, artwork and more by awesome humans such as Vanessa Willoughby, James Gaunt, Tavi Gevinson, Rudy Loewe, Dior Vargas, Cindy L. Rodriguez, Khairani Barokka, Mya Carmichael, Alaina Leary, Imade Nibokun, Hannah Rose Ewens, Stefanie Kaufman, Kailey Flyte, Simone Lia, Zeba Talkhani and countless others! Lovingly designed in full colour, this very special roundtable issue is jam packed with soothing illustrations, thoughtful writing, colourful collages and real talk. We think it is beautiful, we think it is necessary, and we hope you do too.

Normally, all the profits from our print issues, and pay as you wish digital issues, would go straight back into making Doll Hospital Journal. You see, sales are our only income so previously any money raised went towards practical things like printing hard copies and posting out contributor's copies.

However, as this is our final issue for the forseeable future we don't have to worry about saving our pennies for our next print release. Not only is that a nice relief, I mean fundraising is stressful, it also means we can put the money we raise from this roundtable, as well as future sales of our pay as you wish digital copies, to good use with all profits going towards INQUEST UK and Trans Survivors Switchboard. 🌟

More info coming soon so watch this space! 🎊

[dollhospitaljournal]

Aggressive reminder that the reason why schizophrenia is stigmatized as a dangerous and violent disorder is heavily linked with racism and anti-blackness as it was popularized in the 60’s as a diagnosis forced on civil rights protesters who refused to accept the rampant discrimination, marginalization and racism they faced in their daily lives. If you want to fight the stigma of schizophrenia, that MUST include fighting racism and anti blackness as the reasons why white and non black schizophrenics face so much hatred today is deeply entangled with its history as a tool of racist institutions.

[dollhospitaljournal]

If you don’t have means to a therapist or mental health professional

Check out therapistaid.com. There’s worksheets there that you can download for free.

Of course it would be a lot more beneficial if you have a therapist to help you through it but not everyone has access to one.

It’s a free site where you can have free downloads of worksheets on many things.

If there’s something there that you think would be helpful, print it out and complete the worksheet on your own.

It’s hard to be accountable for yourself but at least there’s a way for you to have some insight and work on yourself.

[dollhospitaljournal]

One of the many stupid feelings humans are capable of having is the private, repulsive rage of seeing someone getting support and sympathy for a problem no one helped you with when you were having it, either because you didn’t have anyone or because it never occurred to you that you could ask for help. Suddenly the world seems to split into two – the realm that contains people like them, the connected and loved – and the realm that contains you, the miserable and the alone, who must suffer in solitude. This is sufficiently horrible that you start grasping for reasons to make this reality acceptable, and a mentally available one is that it is superior to be in the miserable solitude realm, that the problem is one that should be solved with self sufficiency and dignity. That this other person is pathetic for being aided and loved when you were not. Scorn is more palatable than confronting the notion that you could have received aid (if you had made different choices or been luckier), that you desperately wish you could have been aided but were not. Scorn is more palatable than the howling hunger for things to have been different for you. So your mind chooses scorn.

It is also a bad place to be. Human existence is full of such traps.

[dollhospitaljournal]

[dollhospitaljournal]

One thing that gets ignored a lot when it comes to mental illness is conflicting symptoms. I sleep both too much and not enough. There will be weeks or months where I’m averaging three to four hours of sleep on a weekday, but on weekends I sleep until 1 pm. Some days I don’t eat my first meal until 4 or 5 pm, while other days I comfort eat all day. All of those are symptoms of depression, and none of them invalidate each other. Manifestation of symptoms can change as a person ages, but it can also change day to do depending on other factors in a person’s life.

[dollhospitaljournal]

How does someone create an identity outside of their mental health diagnoses?

I think it’s less about creating an identity (as an active process) and more about developing an attitude of curiosity about what your life could look like, and who you could be. none of us have a fixed, unchangeable identity, and I think even people without bpd can cling to ‘identities’ that give us the illusion of permanence and constancy. but identity is much less secure than we want it to be–and maybe more scary, maybe more exciting. I’m often surprised by the things that other people see in me, and the way that challenges my self-perception. if you can avoid getting too attached to one idea of the self, you can remain open to what is always a process of re-negotiation and becoming – which for me, at least, feels like a healthier place to live than trying to locate one ‘authentic’ self amongst a constellation of moving parts.

one helpful thing might be to think less in terms of ‘who you are’ and more in terms of what’s important – the values you identify with. here are some DBT handouts: (1), (2), (3). my sense of self emerged by thinking of myself as a person whose decisions made sense according to my values. I think of my ‘self’ not as related to particular identity labels or memories or interests but in terms of the choices I make, and how they are guided by certain core principles. it’s a v future-oriented way of thinking which I think is particularly useful if you’ve had experiences that don’t quite mesh with how you see yourself now…

hope some of that is useful!

[dollhospitaljournal]

[dollhospitaljournal]

Important! Resources and information on someone who has been outed as abusive who is prominent in mh and queer circles, goes by-karina hagelin/Helen turner/Helen Karina Hagelin please look out for each other, and let people know if this person is interacting with you (I’m very thankful someone reached out to me and alerted me of this)

Links-

https://www.facebook.com/1578064413/posts/10210337195257749?sfns=mo

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A3-bO-Zt9jjC5vzSdQc0lPgYUZPmAcm1QTGDurtI0IQ/mobilebasic

[dollhospitaljournal]

troiwarren on ig, 📸: @troiwarren

[dollhospitaljournal]

way to go comrades, congrats!!!

[dollhospitaljournal]

How to Develop Resilience

1. Work on developing a positive self-image, and accepting and loving the person that is “you”.

2. Develop a network of friends whom you can trust – who’ll be there to support you, and give encouragement.

3. Work on developing a positive mind set. Be grateful, optimistic, and focus on success.

4. Believe that you can change things, and make a difference. You’re not a helpless victim; you can take some control.

5. However, don’t waste your energy on things you cannot change. Walk away from toxic people and hopeless situations.

6. Take a long term view of things, and try to maintain your perspective. We all encounter obstacles and challenges in life.

[dollhospitaljournal]

an introduction to concepts and compassion-focused exercises

[dollhospitaljournal]

[dollhospitaljournal]

sometimes you have to accept that you have done wrong in the past, and you may have hurt people without intending to

you can apologise, but remember it’s ok for them not to forgive you

sometimes an apology can never be enough, even though you truly are sorry and didn’t see or understand the pain you were causing

don’t try and gain forgiveness for selfish reasons

if they do not accept your apology, dont try again, dont bring back those memories for them

leave them be, let them live without pain

you cannot change what you did, you can only learn from it

silently promise the people you have hurt that you have changed and would never do something like that again

let them live their life in peace, and move on and live yours