writing-prompt-s:
Valhalla does not discriminate against the kind of fight you lost. Did you lose the battle with cancer? Maybe you died in a fist fight. Even facing addiction. After taking a deep drink from his flagon, Odin slams his cup down and asks for the glorious tale of your demise!
Oh my god, this is beautiful.
A small child enters Valhalla. The battle they lost was âhiding from an alcoholic father.â Odin sees the flinch when he slams the cup and refrains from doing it again. He hears the childâs pain; no glorious battle this, but one of fear and wretched survival.
He invites the child to sit with him, offers the choicest mead and instructs his men to bring a sword and shield, a bow and arrow, of the very best materials and appropriate size. âHere,â he says, âyou will find no man who dares to harm you. But so you will know your own strength, and be happy all your days in Valhalla, I will teach you to use these weapons.â
The sad day comes when another child enters the hall. Odin does not slam his cup; he simply beams with pride as the first child approaches the newcomer, and holds out her bow and quiver, and says ânobody here will hurt you. Everyone will be so proud you did your best, and Iâll teach you to use these, so you always know how strong you are.â
ââââ
A young man enters the hall. He hesitates when Odin asks his story, but at long last, it ekes out: skinheads after the Pride parade. His partner got into a building and called for help. The police took a little longer than perhaps they really needed to, and two of those selfsame skinheads are in the hospital now with broken bones that need setting, but six against one is no fair match. The fear in his face is obvious: here, among men large enough to break him in two, will he face an eternity of torment for the man he left behind?
Odin rumbles with anger. Curses the low worms who brought this man to his table, and regales him with tales of Loki so to show him his own welcome. âA day will come, my friend, when you seek to be reunited, and so you shall,â Odin tells him. âTo request the aid of your comrades in battle is no shameful thing.â
âââ-
A woman in pink sits near the head of the table. Sheâs very nearly skin and bones, and has no hair. This will not last; health returns in Valhalla, and joy, and light, and merrymaking. But now her soul remembers the battle of her life, and it must heal.
Odin asks.
And asks again.
And the words pour out like poisoned water, things she couldnât tell her husband or children. The pain of chemotherapy. The agony of a mastectomy, the pain still deeper of âwe found a tumor in your lymph nodes. Iâm so sorry.â And at last, the tortured question: what is left of her?
Odin raises his flagon high. âWhat is left of you, fair warrior queen, is a spirit bright as fire; a will as strong as any forged iron; a life as great as any sea. Your battle was hard-fought, and lost in the glory only such furor can bring, and now the pain and fight are behind you.â
In the months to come, she becomes a scop of the hallâno demotion, but simple choice. She tells the stories of the great healers, Agnes and Tanya, who fought alongside her and thousands of others, who turn from no battle in the belief that one day, one day, the war may be won; the warriors Jessie and Mabel and Jeri and Monique, still battling on; the queens and soldiers and great women of yore.
The day comes when she calls a familiar name, and another small, scarred woman, eyes sunken and dark, limbs frail, curly black hair shaved close to her head, looks up and sees her across the hall. Odin descends from his throne, a tall and foaming goblet in his hands, and stuns the hall entire into silence as he kneels before the newcomer and holds up the goblet between her small dark hands and bids her to drink.
âAll-Father!â the feasting multitudes cry. âWhat brings great Odin, Spear-Shaker, Ancient One, Wand-Bearer, Teacher of Gods, to his knees for this lone waif?â
He waves them off with a hand.
âThis woman, LaTeesha, Destroyer of Cancer, from whom the great tumors fly in fear, has fought that greatest battle,â he says, his voice rolling across the hall. âShe has fought not another body, but her own; traded blows not with other limbs but with her own flesh; has allowed herself to be pierced with needles and scored with knives, taken poison into her very veins to defeat this enemy, and at long last it is time for her to put her weapons down. Do you think for a moment this fight is less glorious for being in silence, her deeds the less for having been aided by others who provided her weapons? She has a place in this great hall; indeed, the highest place.â
And the children perform feats of archery for the entertainment of all, and the women sing as the young man who still awaits his beloved plays a luteâwhich, after all, is not so different from the guitar he once used to break a manâs face in that great final fight.
Valhalla is a place of joy, of glory, of great feasting and merrymaking.
And it is a place for the soul and mind to heal.
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I decided to create a masterpost that would help you with what you are struggling with. Hopefully any of the links below will help you!
Reminder; Youâre going to be okay. What you are going through will pass, just remember to breathe.Â
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Distractions;
Here are some distractions to help keep your mind occupied so you arenât too focused on your thoughts.Â
-Draw something
-This website translates the time into colours.
-Create your own galaxy.
-Play flowing.
-Make a 3D line travel where ever you like.Â
-Listen to music.
-Calm.
-Ocean mood, do nothing for two minutes.
Sleep issues;Â
- 8 hour sleep music.
-Rainy mood.Â
-Meditation.
-Coping with nightmares.
-How to cope with nightmares, 11 steps.
-Calm
-Foods that can affect your sleeping, both positive and negatively.Â
 Uncomfortable with silence;Â
-Rainy mood.
-10 hours of rain and thunder.
-3 hours of rain and thunder.
-Human heartbeat.
-Rainforest.
-Sound of rain on a tin roof.
-Autumn wind.
-Rain on a tent
-Traffic in the rain.
-Soft traffic.Â
-Fan.
-Train.
-Simply noise.
-My noise.
-Rainy cafe.
Anxiety;Â
-How to stop worrying.Â
-Tips to manage anxiety and stress.
-The 10 best ever anxiety management techniques.Â
-Self-help strategies for anxiety.Â
-Helping a friend with anxiety.Â
-All about worrying.
-8 myths about anxiety.Â
Sad, angry and depressed/depression;Â
-âIâm always sadâ
-Feeling sad.
-Going through trauma.
-âIâm always angryâ.
-Anger management.Â
-All about anger.
-National helplines and websites.
-Self-help strategies for depression.
-Dealing with depression at work.
-Dealing with depression at school.
Isolation and loneliness;Â
-Pets and mental health.
-All about loneliness.Â
-âI feel so aloneâ
-10 more ideas to help with loneliness.Â
-How to deal with loneliness.
 Self-harm;
-Alternatives to self-harm and distraction techniques.
-146 things to do besides self-harm.
-More alternatives to self-harm.
-Self-harm alternatives.
-How to take care of self-harm wounds/injuries.
-Getting rid of scars. Â
Addiction;Â
-How to help a friend with a drug addiction.
-What is addiction?
-All about alcohol and addiction.
-The facts about drug addiction.
 Eating disorders;Â
-Helping a friend with an eating disorder.
-Eating disorder treatments.Â
-Support services for eating disorders.Â
-Self-help tips with eating disorders.
-Eating disorder recovery.Â
-Recovering from an eating disorder.Â
-100+ reasons to recover.Â
-Understanding and managing eating disorders.Â
 Dealing with self-hatred; Â
-3 ways to ease self-loathing.Â
-How to turn self-hatred into self-compassion.
-Self-hatred resources.
-10 step plan to deal with self-hate.Â
 Suicidal;Â
-International suicide hotlines (1)  (2)
-Preventing suicide.Â
-Reasons to stay alive.
-Dealing with suicidal thoughts and feelings.
-Coping with suicidal ideation. Â
 Schizophrenia;
-All about schizophrenia. Â
-Helping a person with schizophrenia. Â
-Understanding and dealing with schizophrenia. Â
-Delusions and hallucinations. Â
OCD;
-Managing your OCD at home.Â
-Overcoming OCD.
-How to cope with OCD.Â
-Strategies for dealing with the anxious moments.Â
Borderline personality disorder;Â
-Helping someone with BPD.Â
-All about personality disorders.
-Treatment for BPD.
Abuse;Â
-Healthy relationships VS abusive relationships.Â
-Emotional abuse
-Overcoming sexual abuse.Â
-Hotlines services.Â
-5 ways to escape an abusive relationship.Â
-Domestic violence support.Â
-Signs of an abusive relationship.Â
-What do to if youâre in an abusive relationship.Â
-Surviving abuse.Â
-What you can do if youâre sexual harassed.Â
-Sexual assault support.
-What to do if youâve been sexually assaulted or abused.Â
 Bullying;
-How to stand up against bullying.
-How to protect yourself when it comes to cyber bullying.
-How to help stop people bullying you.Â
 Loss and grief;Â
-How to cope with a suicide of a loved one.
-Grieving for a stranger.Â
-Common reactions to death.Â
-Working through grief.
(Other loss and grief)
-Moving away from friends and family.Â
-Coping with a breakup.
 Getting help;Â
-Seeking help early.Â
-All about psychological treatments.Â
-Types of help.
-All about age and confidentiality.Â
Things you need to remember;Â
- Donât stress about being fixed because youâre not broken.
-Remember to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Tell yourself that youâre proud of yourself, even if youâre not.Â
- This is temporary. You wonât always feel like this.Â
-You are not alone.Â
-You are enough.Â
-You are important.Â
-You are worth it.Â
-You are strong.Â
-You are not a failure,Â
-Good people exist.Â
-Reaching out shows strength.Â
-Breathe.Â
-Donât listen to the thoughts that are not helping you.Â
-Give yourself credit.Â
-Donât be ashamed of your emotions, for the good or bad ones.Â
-Treat yourself the same way as you would treat a good friend.Â
-Focus on the things you can change.Â
-Let go of toxic people.Â
-You donât need to hide, youâre allowed to feel the way you do.Â
-Try not to beat yourself up.Â
-Something is always happening, you donât want to miss out on whatâs going to happen next.Â
-You are not a bother.
-Your existence is more than your appearance.Â
-You are smart.Â
-You are loved.Â
-You are wanted.Â
-You are needed.Â
-Better days are coming.Â
-Just because your past is dark, doesnât mean your future isnât bright.Â
-You have more potential than you think.Â
- Your value doesnât decrease based on someoneâs inability to see your worth.
Please remember to look after yourself and know that you are more than worth it and you deserve to be happy. Keep smiling butterflies x
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