#But these aren’t my usual symptoms of a panic attack

[hauntedkeys]

Hey gang should I be worried if I’m suddenly very dizzy and can’t breathe?

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids, 

I had a panic attack in my kitchen the other day. 

It was a really warm evening, I was making dinner in the kitchen and I noticed I felt a bit weird. At first I didn’t pay it much mind, I was probably just annoyed at having to stand at the hot stove in this weather, but then the thought crossed my mind “What if I falsely believe this is some harmless discomfort and I’m actually having a heart attack?” - and those of you who struggle with health anxiety as well can surely imagine it was all downhill from there. Suddenly I got dizzy and my chest hurt and I felt like I couldn’t breathe… 

And I said to myself “These are all the symptoms of my usual panic attacks, these aren’t new or unusual symptoms that require me to get medical attention right now”, so I turned off the stove and did the first aid I learned works for my panic attacks:

I went to the fridge and got an ice cube and held it in my hand, until that sensory stimulation snapped me back to reality. And when I could think clearly again, I felt safe enough to do a deep breathing exercise and go through my “Why do I feel so shitty” checklist (checking for unmet physical needs I may not be consciously aware of), and I realized I was dressed way too warmly for the weather, so I changed into something lighter - and then I went back to making dinner. My “heart attack” was just me overheating and then my anxiety attaching a wrong interpretation to that. 

That’s a pretty boring story, right? Nothing dramatic happened. But that’s exactly why I share it with you. 

When you’re young and mentally ill (or if you have been freshly diagnosed with it, at any age), a common fear is that it’ll stay. You’ll be like this forever now, you’ll never go back to normal. And so positivity often focus on recovery, on “it’ll go away one day, you just gotta be strong until then”. And maybe it will! Mental illness is a pretty vast umbrella term, some conditions under it can be cured completely. 

But I wanted to share another perspective here: even if it won’t go away, even if it indeed stays forever because it’s a chronic condition or a treatment-resistant one (or because you learn, after years of wondering why your depression and anxiety won’t go away with traditional therapy, that you’re actually autistic and need a completely different approach than a neurotypical patient (hi, it’s me)) .. it won’t feel like it did at the beginning forever, simply because it’s no longer so new. When it’s new, you have no blueprint on how to deal with it. It’s a situation you’re thrown into with no prior training - of course you feel completely lost and hopeless! 

Mental illness is a real illness and as any illness, it’ll affect your daily life - but over all those days, you learn more about it. You try things to cope with the symptoms and realize that some techniques work better for you than others. Even if you can only learn to manage it rather than cure it: you figure out how to deal with it better. You draw your blueprint. 

It’s still part of your life but it’s no longer the showstopper. It becomes just a boring story of stopping dinner to take care of your symptoms first. And that’s something to hope for, to fight for. 

With all my love, 

Your Tumblr Dad 

[wintersera]

12 — help me out (half written)

as soon as you walk out of class you were met with a shorter girl excitedly waiting with her books in her hands. she was tapping her feet really REALLY fast with a goofy ass grin plastered on her face.

“i thought you were gonna wait outside college? what are you doing outside my class?” you giggled a little, seeing her eyes light up from seeing you in front of her.

oh you thought a little.. she’s kinda cute

“OH? sorry i got a little too excited, i don’t usually have people coming around my house”

“aww that’s okay. but excited to study? i’ve never seen someone so enthusiastic about working on a project before. it’s kinda cute and funny to see how you’re so happy about this”

you noticed something, luckily she was too ecstatic to even realise because she would’ve been severely embarrassed, but by the way she jumped at your comment made your heart pang.

“so your house right?”

“yup! it’s not too far from here so we can walk there”

“perfect, my legs have been hurting from last night… god”

“what did you so last night that made them hurt that much?” tilting her head a little, just like a puppy.

“i ran around my neighbourhood like a lunatic. that wolf needs to be found- like what if it’s cold and lonely? but at the same time i’m thinking it’s good that she escaped, because imagine the mom came after me… thinking about it makes me shiver”

“oh.. ah yeah the wolf”

“you’re not gonna berate me like my friends did right?”

“no no, i find it nice that you took in an animal. seems like you really care about it”

“of course i do! poor puppy was cold and injured- i had to do something”

with that conversation flowing you both drifted out to the exit. minjeong smiling and laughing at your silly little rants about whatever came to your mind at the time.

—

she was right. for some reason her house was really really damn close to the college. the walk was actually really relaxing, you and minjeong just talking like you were old friends who were catching up with eachother until- BOOM you were at her front of her door.

“oh by the way- parents aren’t in so you can relax and do whatever BUT of course, don’t break anything”

“cool i’ll definately make myself comfortable. so… where’s you room jeongie?”

“ah- uh… haha upstairs” you made yourself reaalll comfortable in her house, walking up the stairs with no hesitation after you took of your shoes and then eventually out of minjeongs line of sight. with you outside her visions, she whipped out her phone and quickly opened the bird app.

you wondered why she took so long to come into her room, feeling a little bit perplexed by the rooms location you called out her name- “jeongie help me find your room”

“oh yeah sure. let me just-“ walking up the stairs and guiding you to where her room is “you can sit here and get ready i’ll just be getting some snacks for us”

“SNACKS?”

—

and now you were here, studying at her desk, while she looks over your shoulder with curiosity, stumbling a little while she’s standing.

“soooooo… what have you planned out?”

“eehhh nothing much actually, i’m just outlining this one thing and then we can wing it? i think?? i dont know jeongie.. do you have any ideas?”

…..

“jeongie?” her sudden silence was odd. why did she suddenly go quiet? you questioned if she even fainted, but no she didn’t. she stood there silently. her eyes darting around the rooms, hands clutching her shirt and panting heavily. was she about to have a panic attack- “jeongie are you… okay?”

“yeah… um… i feel r-really really weird and hot right now? i don’t know i feel funny… like really funny” her cheeks were flushed, bright red. she didn’t look like she had the flu so why… was she like this? you placed your palm on her forehead checking the temperature and god was she hot. there were no symptoms of her having the flu previously… strange, you thought.

“mmm… y/n… feels so weird…” she looked at you, like as if she was asking you for something. she had those begging puppy eyes that melted your heart and shattered them into tiny little fragments.

“do you need me to call someone? like a friend of yours or something or maybe even the ambulance?? like are you okay?”

“i- i dont know…” stammering as she tried her absolute best not to look you in the eye “i… i think i’ll be okay i just? i feel strange… it’ll pass…”

“uh… okay just say what you need and i’ll get it for you”

there was a prolonged silence. your mind was dropped into a silent panicked state, what could you do to help her out if she didn’t know what she was feeling? let alone your lack of knowledge of what exactly she was feeling. again, you believed she was having a sudden panic attack. i mean they do come at random occasions so that could be it right?

not even a few seconds pass by and her fingertips played with the collar of your shirt. you were still sat down of course, but with your chair swivelled around to see minjeong.

…what on earth is she doing?

“it’s weird.. i really know it is but… i can’t stop thinking about you right now…. all i can think about is you and i don’t know why”

frozen in confusion and maybe even shock, you had no idea what she was on about. she was kinda acting weird, scratch ‘kinda’, she was weird… yet strangely cute.

“what…? what do you want me to do about that information?”

“…help me out…” her breath shakey as she spoke.

a/n: ARE THEY ABOUT TO FU-

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[sickficideas]

Hello it’s me, Rui again (idk if you remember me, i left an appreciation comment a while ago)

but I have Chuuya headcanons if your interested (I’ve never wirrten headcanons out before so I’m sorry if they are bad help) I’m so embarrassed writing this

(if you end up liking them i can definitely talk to you about Akutagawa headcanons too if you want lmao)

Chuuya is nauseous for days after using corruption and dazai has to do his best at taking care of him (he sucks at it)

Having Arahabaki inside him causes him to need a lot more rest than the average person. Most of the time he tries to ignore this due to his loyalty to his work and he ends up either passing out or making himself sick for weeks because of it

Arahabaki in a small body like his makes it so that he tends to eat a lot more food than the average person due to energy being consumed faster. When he gets sick he tends to bring up a lot more.

Arahabaki loves to scream in Chuuyas head, causing him to get major migraines. Even when Dazai touches him, the nausea doesn’t usually leave

Chuuya usually ends up vomiting the second that corruption is nullified

HC (Kunikida bashing, i love Kunikida but i need chuuya to suffer so i can have Soukoku content) once chuuya ran to the agency office to get dazai to shut arahabaki up, but he ended up throwing up all over the agency floor and Kunikida yelled at him making his migraine worse, sending him into a panic attack. Dazai ran to his aid

chuuya often can’t make it to the bathroom in time because his migraine make it so that he can’t see or walk properly. Dazai usually keeps a bin nearby his bed during these times

chuuya has such a large amount of pride that he’s afraid of throwing up in fear that dazai will think he’s disgusting so he usually tries pushing him away (it doesn’t work)

arahabaki gives him the worst migraines when he’s stressed

due to past lab experiences, chuuya usually goes to sleep/passes out when he’s stressed because then he doesn’t have to deal with the pain. When he wakes up however, the pain isn’t gone

anyway that’s all i have for now. i was so embarrassed writing that honestly, but your so nice and accepting to everyone that I thought it would be okay. my headcanons aren’t great, but please tell me your thoughts on them qwq

I might make more if they end up being good enough or enjoyable qwq

sorry for bothering you ahhh

Rui!!!! Of course I remember you!!!!! Thank you for this beautiful list of headcanons these are absolutely fantastic and perfect inspiration for fics...don't be embarrassed or think these aren't great, I love them I'm so glad you took the time to write these and send them to me!!!!! Please feel free to send more in the future I'd be so happy to read them 💖💖 (and will certainly take you up on the offer for Akutagawa hehe you know I'll never turn down any content for him)

I really really love Corruption related whump for Chuuya it never fails to interest me....being sick as soon as it's switched off is so good because he has zero control over it, once he's conscious enough to understand what's happening it stresses him out even more...and the migraines !!! Chuuya is a perfect migraine candidate!!!!! I'm in love with your detail about them causing him to have trouble walking and seeing underrated symptom that's perfect for him 😭 especially since he usually carries himself very well it's super obvious to Dazai that he's struggling once his steps start to shift and he isn't picking up his feet right...catching him 😭😭😭 catching him whenever he passes out ughhhh my favorite....i just generally really love this idea of him often having zero control of when and where he throws up i know it super stresses him out ....💔💔💔💔💔💔

[ocd--culture-is]

questioning ocd culture but I don’t have or undiagnosed ocd but this is just ruining me + bothering me too much so I really hope u don’t mind me asking

Tw : s/h 

so these few months I’ve been having really violent + extreme intrusive thoughts that usually make me have a breakdown or panic attack. also I would constantly do self harm in a way to cope and to convince myself that those thoughts aren’t real at all and that I’m just faking it for attention. and then I usually feel like I’m going insane and that everything is going wrong because of me. I don’t know anymore. I think I may have ocd, but I’m scared of getting diagnosed cause I don’t want my parents to find out. Not asking for a diagnosis here but what do you think these things sound like? 

 feel like I’m overreacting. sorry. if u ever feel offended or uncomfortable, just delete this ask 

Don't worry, you're not "overreacting" in any way, these thoughts and behaviours really are frustating and hard to deal with! Neither is this offensive, you're just trying to figure out why you feel the way you do, or think or behave, ect. I don't mind things like these! So feel free to ask and or dm me on here or my main, I'll try my best to help in any way I can. Butttt I'm not a psychiatrist or anything of that sort, so don't rely too much on me

I'm really bad with long texts, so bear with me; I'm sorry if I skip over something ALSO I'M REALLY SORRY THIS IS SO LONG. I don't know how to shorten it, I'm sorry. (Hopefully you aren't like me and don't have trouble with paragraphs)

Intrusive thoughts, let's start with that, while they are very common in OCD, many disorders have it as a symptom. Also to not forget that people w/o disorders may also get them once in a while. It seems to me, you're reacting heavily to these thoughts, which means there is most definitely something more to it. I can't tell you what it might be, it could be OCD if compulsions are present as well as some of the other symptoms/criteria, but it could also be something else.

As for the sh part, it might be a temporary coping mechanism but it's not gonna help or change your thoughts in any way There's safer mechanisms out there to help, that could maybe also help with the intrusive thoughts in a way, my dms are always open to help come up with alternatives. I won't get further about that cause it's not something you really asked and I can get how frustating it sometimes is if someone goes "stop sh'ing!!! it bad" as if you do it for fun, and you probably know it's not a healthy way to cope.

Also, I've said this before in a post (?) but feeling like you're faking it for attention or for any reason does not immediately mean you are actually faking it. Your mind is just convincing you otherwise. You can't struggle with something that does not exist; if these thoughts weren't real or if you were faking them, you would not struggle with them in any way or go crazy cause of them.

[pokichusramblings]

Hi, it’s disability pride month and I would like to talk about the things I struggle with, that I believe are related to OCD and OCPD, both disorders I’ve been diagnosed with.

I believe that I am undiagnosed with autism and/or ADHD, I have a psychology appointment in august about it.

But regardless, this stuff is about the OCD/OCPD

Speaking of that, I am obsessed with symmetry. If I accidentally hit something with one hand, I have to hit the thing with the other hand. If I hear a horrid noise on one side, I have to hear an equally horrid noise on the other side. It’s awful.

I suffer from intrusive thoughts. The most disruptive of mine are the judgmental ones about other people. But I also get intrusive thoughts about me being a bad person, bad friend, bad girlfriend, etc. I get intrusive thoughts that suggest that I do bad things, like lying and stealing. I get intrusive thoughts.

I have awful imposter syndrome. I believe that I’m faking my struggles, that I’m only pretending to love my friends and family, that I clearly can’t be as good a person as people think I am, and that I (somehow) fake my creativity. All these thoughts weigh on me and I constantly feel awful. Logically, I know I’m not a bad person. But that doesn’t change the fact that I feel like a liar, a cheater, and a horrible person all around.

I make instant judgements about people that often don’t make sense. If someone talks a certain way, I subconsciously assume they’re stupid. If someone looks a certain way, I assume they’re going to be mean. I know these things aren’t true and I am nice to everyone despite these judgements, but sometimes I need to avoid certain people because I am scared that I’ll accidentally say something awful to them.

I am a perfectionist. Everything I do, everything I make, everything I say MUST be perfect. I have to be perfect. If I’m not perfect I an horrible and a failure. The worst part is that I don’t only hold myself to these standards, I subconsciously judge everything that everyone does. I only outwardly hold myself to these though, I never voice my judgements to other people unless they’re about myself.

I obsess over things. A lot. Many of my obsessions are negative, but some of them are surprisingly positive.

I physically cannot ignore things that bother me.

I have a useless order which I NEED to do things in. It’s too complicated for me to explain properly, to be honest. It involves math and can be frustrating, but unless I have an immediate deadline I cannot act outside of that order.

I have to take an even amount of steps on each surface I walk on, and take an even amount of bites of whatever I eat.

My lucky number is 6, and sometimes I have to do something either six times or a multiple of six (for example, sometimes even bites isn’t enough and the amount of bites I take MUST be a multiple of six.)

It is difficult for me to 100% focus on things, because my brain moves too fast and latches on to random things.

I struggle to manage my emotions. Often I “overreact” to stressful things because I can’t handle them.

I used to have panic attacks, but since starting my medications they have stopped completely

I still have random physical symptoms that usually came with panic attacks. Sometimes my resting heart rate spikes, or I feel like I can’t breathe for no discernable reason.

…

To end on a hopeful note, there are many tools I use that help me manage these disorders.

Of course, medications exist. I take Lexapro and Clonidine. The Lexapro helps me calm down easier and raises my “panic threshold.” The Clonidine helps lower my heart rate, helping me feel more calm.

I know the people that can help me when I get anxious, and they are quick to respond when they know I need their help.

My girlfriend and I know each other’s tells and symptoms, so they are equipped to help me when I am stressing out.

I also know that distracting me is one of the best ways to turn off “panic mode.”

I keep some sort of fidget on me at all times, and in my room and office spaces I have many easy-to-reach fidgets and stim toys.

I have taught myself how to recognize OCPD thought patterns, and if I am having so many at once I will give myself some alone time to sort them out.

If I notice myself picking at a particular spot, I will put a bandaid on it so I can’t pick at it any more.

If I have significant control over a space, I will try to make it purposefully asymmetrical so I don’t try to obsess over the impossible “perfect symmetry.”

Sometimes I will stretch to reset my thoughts and body.

I know certain breathing techniques that help a lot more than you’d think they would.

I have big, meaningful stuffed animals that I can cuddle to calm myself.

I have taught myself to tell the people I live with when I’m having an episode. Sometimes it’s hard but it makes my life significantly easier.

I remind the people I love constantly that I do love them. It helps ease my conscious, and it makes them happy. Making them happy makes me happy.

To anyone else who struggles with similar disorders or relates to the symptoms I’ve shared, know that help is available and I am proof of that. Sufferers of anxiety and/or personality disorders may never be “normal,” but they can be happy. You can make your life easier even without medication. Things will get better, but only if you make an effort on your end to try.

Love you all.

[noxexistant]

Hi I wanna know what you think all the newsies’ mental illnesses are 😤

Or as many as you can think of

oh, hell yes. bout to put my lifetime of my own brain plus everyone i’ve met through mental health exploration and treatment plus living in care with other traumatised and mentally ill kids to work. (although, obligatory disclaimer, these are just ideas and me messing around, mental health is messy and complicated especially when translating between modern understanding and how that would’ve been understood and expressed in-period. this is not me formally diagnosing these characters, more just being like ‘hey, what if’ in a more nebulous sense. and, again, mental health is messy!)

first of all, jack definitely has c-ptsd - complex post-traumatic stress disorder, caused by consistent and long-term trauma and, as the name implies, with more complicated and far-reaching symptoms than ‘standard’ ptsd. he dissociates a lot, and his visions of santa fe can border on delusion when he’s in worse states - which can sometimes border on hypomania. his self-esteem is unstable and imbalanced, and he has a lot of issues with paranoia; he believes the world is against him, that anyone will betray him, that any information learned about him will be used against him. he lies compulsively as a result, about even the most innocuous stuff. he uses anger as a cover for his emotions. he’s restless and unable to really hold grudges because he’s so desperate for bonds, but he’s also quick to back off when people get too close. he has a pretty fearful-avoidant attachment style, but feels deeply betrayed when other parties are the ones to back away from him instead of the other way around. he also probably has adhd, defined by hyperfocus and hyperfixations and inattentiveness to anything he finds dull, he’s fidgety and talks a lot and usually ends up putting his foot in his mouth and then talking even more.

david has anxiety and frequent panic attacks, and i can also see him having ocpd - obsessive compulsive personality disorder, which is entirely separate from ocd. it’s characterised by a need for perfection and severe anxiety when things aren’t perfect, holding unrealistically high expectations for himself and others, and getting very anxious/distressed when mistakes are made by himself or others. he likes things organised and structured, his perfectionism holds him back from actually doing things, he focuses on work and productivity rather than his needs or hobbies, he has trouble delegating or working with others as he can believe that he’s the only person who can do something right. he has to hold himself back from immediately re-doing tasks for others, like when one of the other newsies ties their boots sloppily or les doesn’t fold his clothes right or sarah doesn’t wash the dishes properly. he’s also autistic.

crutchie has ptsd, bouts of depression, and is all but incapable of being honest about his emotions - he’d rather keep them under wraps and all but avoid them entirely, would sooner make himself sick with them than express them openly to others. he also dissociates, which helps with avoiding emotions, though his dissociative bouts happen most commonly after ptsd triggers or flashbacks. he goes empty-eyed and unresponsive when he’s dissociating, just staring into the middle distance, and he can’t get out of bed on the worst days of his depression. he won’t eat, won’t speak, will at most just try and smile at anyone who expresses concern - tight-lipped, more of a grimace than anything.

race has adhd and episodes of hypomania. he exhibits self-destructive and self-endangering behaviours, including starting fights and generally just doing stupid stuff that could well get him and others hurt, and he absolutely cannot be talked down when he’s hypomanic. he has aggressive/violent outbursts if anyone tries, will stop talking to them - usually running away to brooklyn entirely - until he’s come down by himself, and then he’ll come back and apologise sincerely for what he might’ve said when he was “jittery”. the others are always understanding, though race still harbours a lot of shame for it. he’s terrified one day he’ll say or do something that makes spot hate him.

albert is anxious and restless and a kleptomaniac - he steals compulsively, particularly anything shiny or expensive-looking. he’s not great with relationships, tends to have little interest in other people, and can’t really read tone or social cues. i could see him having symptoms of autism or schizoid personality disorder, which have a considerable overlap in symptoms, most commonly characterised by difficulty with relationships and disinterest and “lack of humour” and preferring being alone - though quite probably not enough symptoms to be diagnosed with either (speaking in the realms of a modern au).

finch, i could totally see having schizoid personality disorder. he’s paranoid too, frequently gets the idea in his head that he’s being watched or followed, particularly since he ran away, or feels like the others are talking about him. he hoards food (as much as he can when there’s so little of it) and has a lot of sleep problems, sleeping little and light. he doesn’t really dream, but when he does they’re stress dreams or nightmares and he always wakes up with his heart pounding. he’ll spend the time until the bell rings sat up, eyes darting around the room, sure there’s something, someone, something.

specs has symptoms of ocd, most commonly rituals to ensure the safety of the other newsies. he has to wash his face just right so that everyone sells okay that day, and step over the trolley lines perfect because if he doesn’t someone‘ll get hit, touch each of the beds in a certain order to make sure everyone’s safe for the night, stuff like that. his glasses are also always spotless, and nobody can touch them.

tommy boy stammers and has social anxiety. splasher has ptsd, and frequent nightmares because of it - and an intense fear of abandonment. elmer has very little self-esteem and is loud/disruptive for attention, including making out-of-turn jokes. henry harbours nothing but guilt for his father’s death (even though it wasn’t at all his fault, it’s often just how grief manifests) and isn’t processing his grief at all, sometimes he’ll lose himself in the delusion that his father isn’t really dead and the deli is still waiting for him; he also has a lot of issues with food, including binging when food is available.

spot’s got c-ptsd and his complicated emotions tend to manifest as anger/aggression. he doesn’t know how to articulate his feelings, and usually won’t try. she’s kind of terrified by her relationship with race, because she doesn’t know why race likes her and wholly believes that he’ll suddenly stop. their sense of self-esteem is very complicated - very high in some aspects, and non-existent in others. he can struggle with depersonalisation.

and, bonus, because i’m me:

the delanceys both have c-ptsd. oscar has adhd and antisocial personality disorder. morris has bpd and autism. feel free to ask me if you wanna hear more about them, or about any other characters i didn’t mention, or even just more about a character in particular <3

[cherubispunk]

Not everyone with insomnia drinks coffee to help with their drowsiness. I don’t because it gives me anxiety and leads to panic attacks, However, what does help is drinking water. Chewing gum, fast paced music.

Other symptoms I personally get that aren’t listed above are;

- Pale skin and an increase in acne, especially around my cheeks, chest and back.

- My nails also get very brittle and break easily

- Chapped lips

- I bruise a lot more that usual if I bump into something

- Stomach cramps (not due to periods but rather anxiety)

- A tight chest feeling

- mood swings, specifically anger for no reason other than a hormonal imbalance

- dry, itchy eyes

- loss in appetite and libido too

- napping during the day (insomnia isn’t always about not sleeping at all. Often it is irregular sleep patterns)

- lack of drive and inspiration when it comes to hobbies and activities

- tinnitus and vertigo

These are all I can think at the moment, but I think it would help in terms of writing but also awareness. Of course each person has their own experience with it, this is just mine. Hope it helps, and feel free to ask questions too if you want to know more for your writing! Xx

things people do after having a nightmare that isn’t crying

struggle to catch their breath

grab onto whatever’s close enough to ground themselves in reality

become nauseous / vomit

shake uncontrollably

sweat buckets

get a headache

things people do to combat having nightmares if they occur commonly

sleep near other people so they can hear the idle sounds of them completing tasks

move to a different sleeping spot than where they had the nightmare

leave tvs / radios / phones on with noise

just not sleep (if you want to go the insomnia route)

sleep during the day in bright rooms

things people with insomnia do

first, obviously, their ability to remember things and their coordination will go out the window

its likely they’ll become irritable or overly emotional

their body will start to ache, shake, and weaken

hallucinate if it’s been long enough

it becomes incredibly easy for them to get sick (and they probably will)

add your own in reblogs/comments!

[funlovingfuzzball]

Adding some of my family’s, since almost all of my close family members get them:

Missing peripheral vision (not distorted, just gone)

Missing sections of vision (random areas that aren’t registered, while the brain fills in what it assumes to be there from what’s around it)

Tightness near the eye muscles

Seeing things that aren’t there (not quite hallucinations, just vague shapes and colors)

Confusion

Panic attacks

Uncontrollable vomiting (distinct from “vomiting” in that it’s constant with barely enough time for air and will last for hours without the good meds that are only at the er)

Complete loss of vision (as in literally everything goes black)

Loss of balance (sometimes related to dizziness but usually just its own thing)

So yeah, folks. This stuff is unpleasant. If someone you know is having a migraine, do anything you can to accommodate them. They’re both in searing pain that painkillers don’t touch because it’s mental, **and** they’re likely not in their right mind and/or unable to move without guidance. Some people even can’t be left alone during migraines if they get the worst symptoms. Do what you can, and don’t expect anything out of them, they’re extremely busy with their own struggles now.

While I have a migraine on Christmas Eve let’s talk about other aspects of migraines besides the pain that comes in waves because for me and many others the pain isn’t the worst symptom of migraines.

Migraines may include:

Feeling tired

Your brain feeling like mush

Getting a stuffy/runny nose (why many people think they get sinus headaches when really they are getting migraines)

Before a migraine, hallucinating smells

Nausea

Vomiting

Feeling tired and full of brain fog the next day

Muscle pain in your neck and back

Dull uncomfortable pressure rather than pain

Distorted vision/general sensitivity to light

Sensitivity to sound

Irritability

Scalp tenderness

Lightheadedness/dizziness

And more!

[lebenspurpur]

hi! i’m not sure if you’ve already done this or if it’d make you uncomfortable, but could i please possibly request the slashers with their s/o on their period? like how they’d act about it or what they’d do for their s/o? annnnnd maybe some nsfw if you’re okay with it? thank you so much, make sure you’re not overworking yourself and you’re taking care! ❤️

Thank you! You take care as well, get some water, a snack, grab a blanket and enjoy :)

Slashers with their s/o on their period:

Warnings: undetailed NSFW, blood duh, not proofread oof (my god I never do, do I?)

Michael Myers

SFW

Michael doesn't give a shit. This is your problem, not his.

If you're really in pain during that time of the month, he'll get more aware.

He surprisingly doesn't want you to feel pain, doesn't matter because of what.

Now he wants to stop the pain but he doesn't know how. You have to initiate any kind of physical contact.

After you show him how he might heat up a hot water bottle every now and then and worldlessly place it on your stomach.

If he's feeling soft, he'll place his big, warm hands on your belly when he hugs from behind.

He really tries to make you feel better though if you don't feel any pain, he doesn't see any reason to.

NSFW

Michael adores period sex. It adds to his natural desire for blood. In a way, it gets him hornier than normal sex.

He's probably the most unafraid slasher too. Michael loves your blood, no matter where it comes from.

Michael's pretty dangerous when it comes to sex though, so if you're in pain tell him, because he won't stop while you're at it.

He loves to go down on you. That might be disgusting to some, but to him, the taste of your blood mixed with your juices is the best thing on earth. And imagine him glancing up to you, eyes heavily lidded and chin covered in the red substance.

Vincent Sinclair

SFW

Vincent is the absolute sweetest when it comes to your special time of the month.

He knows exactly when it is since he wrote it in his calendar and on the day you start, he'll have pads or tampons ready for you.

Vincent gets Lester to go buy you snacks and he forces Bo to stop being annoying. At the end that's useless anyway, because the second Bo hears the words period, he's gone.

Vince knows how much your hormones can fuck up your emotions so he's always there to provide comfort. If you snap at him, he might feel a bit thrown off but he'll forgive you.

Need a hug? Just tell him. Vincent will be even more tender than he usually is, so careful as not to hurt you.

NSFW

Vincent isn't disgusted by period blood but he's concerned.

That being said he's skeptical about period sex because he doesn't want to cause even more pain than you're already in.

However, he doesn't say no to fingering or going down on you.

He's fine with only giving and not receiving pleasure for the time of your period. Though he'll be relieved when you offer to repay him.

If you insist on real sex, he'll do it for you but he's so much more tender and sweet and careful. Your pleasure is the only thing important to him, especially on your period.

Bo Sinclair

SFW

I am sorry but Bo flees the second he hears period.

When he thinks about it, the only things he remembers are mood swings, no sex, and blood.

Yeah, he's not the most considerate.

It takes a while to make him stay and help you through this time. Maybe after a few years of an ongoing relationship, he'll be willing to try.

The only thing he will do if you ask him to is a message.

NSFW

Bo is absolutely against sex during your period. He finds it absolutely disgusting.

However, Bo is horny and he has a high sex drive.

At the end of it, he might fuck you. After all, the blood usually eases up during the end and the other symptoms do so as well.

Sex while you're actively bleeding though? Never.

Lester Sinclair

SFW

Lester doesn't know a whole lot about periods. His mom died before she could teach him and, unlike his brother Vincent, he doesn't know anything about the human anatomy.

However, that doesn't mean he won't try to help you.

He gets advice from Bo, which he proceeds to ignore because Bo just tells him to leave. Vincent however gives him a clear explanation of how your body works and so he figures out how to help you.

Lester will make sure you're warm, with wrapped blankets around you and hot water bottles on your tummy.

Snacks will always be available and Lester will even feed you if you ask him.

Cuddles are a must. He'll gladly wrap his arms around you, Jonesy lying next to you, cuddled up next to your bodies.

NSFW

At first, he doesn't even understand that things could be different during your period.

Then it hits him that the pain might make it uncomfortable for you.

Lester is totally down to have sex as long as you're fine with it.

If not, he'll be happy to pleasure himself for the time of your period.

Baby Firefly

SFW

Baby knows how shit periods can be. She'll be so understanding and considerate, trying to be the best girlfriend she can be.

Whatever it is you wish, Baby will get it for you.

As a reward, she demands the same though.

If she's on her period, she wants you to show the same consideration she showed you.

If Otis is annoying you, she'll also gladly get him to shut up.

NSFW

Baby doesn't have a problem with period sex, after all, she has quite the experience with blood.

However, she knows how difficult it can be to be horny and in pain during your period.

She'll gladly not receive any pleasure and only go down on you if it makes you feel good.

Otis Driftwood

SFW

He doesn't know shit about periods.

Whenever Baby had her time of the month, he kind of just.. didn't care.

I can see him get high and then have a breakdown because he doesn't know why you're bleeding or how to stop it.

Even if you explain it to him, he won't get it.

He'll give you gifts because he's unsure of what else to do.

NSFW

He... has way too much experience with kinky things to be disgusted by period sex.

As I said, if he's high, the blood could trigger a panic attack.

He won't do oral though, that's not his thing.

Otis doesn't care if you feel pain, he's a sadist. Unless it's really bad, he doesn't even acknowledge it.

Billy Loomis

SFW

He doesn't know a lot about it, but he tries his best.

If you need help in any way, he'll be there for you.

Billy will whine if you make him buy pads. He'll do so anyway because he's a simp.

His advice comes from his male friends, so he'll do the classics, buy chocolates and flowers, and provide many cuddles.

If you snap at him, he'll sulk for a bit.

NSFW

He immediately thought period meant no sex. You'll have to initiate it if you're interested.

He'll push you away at first, confusedly asking about your period.

Billy isn't the biggest fan of period sex. He just doesn't quite like the idea.

His sex drive is too high to say no, so he'll fuck you anyway but he prefers it when you're not bleeding.

Stu Macher

SFW

He will be pretty clingy, trying to be the sweet boyfriend™.

He might forget about your pain over how much of a great boyfriend he is.

Stu will come back to reality when you snap at him and then he suddenly understands that periods aren't cute and wholesome at all.

He learns from that experience.

He's kind of scared now, you just don't know if it's because you're in pain or because you could snap at him again.

Stu is still supportive, he's just way more distant during that time than he used to.

NSFW

Stu also didn't even think about sex during your period.

The first time he gets horny during your period it suddenly hits him. He can't just go and ask you, can he?

It'll take him a while to openly talk about the subject.

He isn't really disgusted by your blood, he just never considered it?!

Stu prefers normal sex over period sex, that way he has less to think about.

Brahms Heelshire

SFW

His mom never told him anything about periods.

He didn't even know they exist.

The first time he sees you bleed he nearly faints from worry.

Brahms needs a lot of explaining to fully understand why your body acts the way it does.

After that, he'll be very timid but supportive with his help.

Cuddles are a daily activity anyway but now he'll be more careful, tenderly caressing your tummy as he snuggles against your skin.

He might even do a few of the chores.

Pro tip: If you act like you're actually dying from how painful it is, he'll be way more compliant.

NSFW

Sex is one of the first things he worries about, how could it not be.

He's kind of shy about the whole topic so the subject will only come up when he's super horny.

Brahms won't fuck you during this time, he'd probably forget about the blood and then panic when he spots it on his dick.

Oral is a must since Brahms' sex drive is extremely high.

In the beginning, he's against giving oral, but he's too aroused to care anymore after a while.

Thomas Hewitt

SFW

Being the queen she is, Luda already taught him a whole lot about female anatomy and periods.

The second he notices your bleeding, he's fully committed to showing all his support.

Thomas is there for you, doesn't matter what you need.

He's tough Y/N, neither your high emotionality nor blood can hurt him.

Tommy is so tender and caring, even more than he usually is.

He is the best slasher out there to care for you during your period.

NSFW

It takes him a lot of convincing to get him to have sex with you during your period.

He's not disgusted, after all, he's been through worse. He just doesn't want you to be in pain.

You need to get him really, really riled up to get him to give in to his urges instead of ignoring them.

His sexual urges feel like a burden to him, especially during your period.

He needs a lot of time and love to understand that it's just natural and nothing to be ashamed of.

Josef

SFW

Uh oh.

Feminist Josef™ shows up.

All women are queens and for the time being, he's going to treat you like one.

Home-cooked meals, warm hugs and he'll even wash your hair!

Josef is also really interested in the anatomy of your body and why and how this whole process happens.

I can see him staring at a tampon with a child-like curiosity in his eyes.

"It just... gets bigger when it's inside?! Wow..."

NSFW

He isn't concerned about sex, his sex drive is pretty low.

If you really want it, he's going to give in but he'll be extra careful.

Josef isn't disgusted by blood, he's mature enough to see it as a normal fluid your body produces.

It kind of boosts his ego, that you want him even during this time of the month.

Amanda Young

SFW

Naw, Y/N, she understands immediately.

She's a pretty busy woman but whenever she has time, her support and help are yours.

Sometimes she'll drop little gifts at your door while you're sleeping, having just come home from work.

If she has time, she'll be unnaturally clingy, cuddling up to you way more than usual.

Her temper does clash with your emotionality sometimes but she'll calm down quickly and apologize.

NSFW

She's fine with no sexual contact for the time of your period.

Amanda is not disgusted by period blood, she just knows how uncomfortable your period can get.

Some soft sex is always in if you want it as well.

She won't do very rough or kinky stuff during this time, you deserve to feel loved, supported, and comfortable.

[whumpster-fire]

His Dark Materials Thoughts: Daemons and Disability / Neurodivergence

More stupid His Dark Materials thoughts and headcanons because I still can’t get over this series.

I’m really curious how various disabilities would interact with having a daemon. I’d guess that for a lot of conditions the daemon could basically fill the role of a service animal, especially if the person had the condition from childhood so they could settle in a form that was capable of helping - e.g. daemons assuming forms with strong senses of smell to check for allergens. And this would probably be true for some neurological conditions where there’s something physically messed up in your brain.

However, I think for neurodivergency, it’s different: if the human is neurodivergent their daemon is neurodivergent as well. And while a human and daemon are “one being,” daemons still have their own personalities and emotional needs.

Using autism as an example because I’m autistic and can speculate based on my own experiences:

Autistic people are usually very close to their daemons, even by the standards of the setting, because while anyone’s daemon inherently understands them better than other people do, the gap is much, much wider for ND people. Real talk, I think I was drawn to this series and the concept of daemons so strongly because the idea of a companion I could fully trust and interact with without the constant fear of breaking some unknown and unspoken rule and who fully empathized with me was something I wanted soooo badly.

A lot more sensory information is “transmitted” between human and daemon than most people notice because the brain tends to filter it out. Autistic people’s brains aren’t as good at filtering out “junk” sensory info though, and this includes what comes through over the bond between them. You can’t actually see through your daemon’s eyes but autistic people tend to feel shared sensations more intensely and pick up on things like smells and textures that a neurotypical brain would tune out (and this works in both directions). This makes autistic people more vulnerable to sensory overload than in our world.

Sometimes only one of the pair is verbal, or at least verbal with others / much more comfortable talking to others. If it’s the human, people tend to not notice because “daemons should be seen and not heard” is kind of the norm in the setting but if the daemon is speaking for the pair most of the time it’s seen as weird. Some autistic people may also be more comfortable talking to other people’s daemons than to the humans, which isn’t technically part of the taboo but it’s pretty frowned upon.

For both tactile-seeking and tactile-defensive people, the daemon’s settled form is often determined by the need for physical affection - either because as they grow into teenagers it becomes less socially acceptable to touch other people as much as they need to, or because the only touch that feels safe for the pair is with each other. A settled form doesn’t always follow the human’s preference, but is always a form the daemon is comfortable with and likes. Daemons settling in forms their human actively hates is rare, and usually means there was already serious conflict between them with the human refusing to accept their nature - i.e. sailors’ daemons usually take seabird forms or mammals like otters or minks that can stray away from the water, settling in a dolphin form was noteworthy for a reason because it’s such a drastic act, and IMO that was probably caused by the human trying to abandon the sea entirely and fighting with his own daemon about it until she was like “Let’s see you take us away from the sea now!”

But anyway: daemons don’t just settle in forms based on symbolism or social convention if it’s going to make both them and their humans miserable and/or mess up their relationship IMO, and usually they show a preference for forms similar to their settled one in the years leading up to settling (e.g. Pantalaimon clearly liked his stoat/ferret and wildcat forms and mostly took other ones for reasons of practicality and convenience, and I said this in another post but I think he became a pine marten because it was the closest he could get to combining the two). If a pre-adolescent human and daemon are super cuddly with each other and that touch is really important to them, the daemon will probably settle in a form that’s compatible with that. It’s rare for autistic daemons to settle as something as small as a mouse where they could only be carefully pet with one or two fingers, for example, and they usually take mammalian or sometimes avian forms.

Brushing a daemon’s fur, and other techniques such as joint compression that are hard for a person to perform on their own body, can help both of the pair calm down and cope with sensory issues.

Unfortunately, given how fucked up the culture in Lyra’s world is, I shudder to imagine how they treat neurodivergent people. I can totally imagine people treating this closeness as the cause of autism and not a symptom, and treating it as a child “being socially impaired because they only interact with their daemon / let their daemon do too much for them and never learn to socialize with other people.” Aside from attempting to cure autism with Intercision, there are probably a bunch of horrible, abusive treatments passed off as “therapy,” like forcing children to do therapy sessions with their daemon trapped on the other side of an opaque, soundproof wall (doesn’t interfere with their bond if it’s within the separation limit, but keeps them from seeing / hearing / touching each other), caging the daemon, muzzling them to keep them from speaking for their human, or even not letting them sleep in the same room.

Another common problem is parents / educators treating an autistic person’s daemon like a service animal and offloading their responsibilities on them. Just expecting them to handle something like a meltdown or panic attack by themselves because “You’re part of them, you understand them!” and ignoring that the daemon also has fears and anxieties and sensory issues.

Expectation: Your autistic child’s daemon understands them better than you ever could and will be able to quickly and discretely calm them down from a meltdown / sensory overload without you needing to get involved and actually do your job as a parent.

Reality: You have two autistic children who share a soul and feel each other’s emotions and pain, and one of them likely has at least one sense that’s way more sensitive than a human’s. They can certainly be a source of comfort and support to each other, and can pick up on each other’s warning signs and remind each other to use coping strategies / get out of stressful situations and not try to “push through,” but this is a skill that takes time and maturity to learn, and it only works before the pair are completely overwhelmed. As stated above autistic people feel sensations and emotions from their daemon extra-intensely, and vice versa. A full-on meltdown or panic attack is such an overpowering flood of negative emotions that, combined with the stress of whatever caused the meltdown in the first place, usually just overwhelms both partners, especially in children. The best you can hope for is whichever one holds it together a bit longer is able to help their partner into a safe place and ask someone for help. Even if the daemon (or human) doesn’t have a meltdown their emotional battery will still be absolutely drained for probably the rest of the day.

[that-was-anticlimactic]

Yes hi, I'd love to know more about your tourettes sokka hc if you're up for it 👀 I'm starving for tourettes hcs so 👀

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!! I can talk about this SO MUCH (I will warn now, there will be some Zukka in this) okay so I guess I’ll start at the beginning...

Sokka was six when he started showing symptoms

It started with just some motor tics but everyone kind of just attributed it to this kid has a lot of energy ahhh

It became more noticeable when he kept almost killing himself with weapons because of his tics and slight carelessness

That’s one reason why he loves boomerang so much, none of the other weapons felt right to him and they would always get in the way of his tics, but he could throw boomerang and it would come back to him so he could keep throwing it and it made him feel calm

Then, Sokka started saying stuff that he didn’t mean to say, but again, everyone was just like hyper kid because it’s not like he was doing anything wrong

But they realized something was up when Sokka started yelling “FIRE NATION” without intending to and sending the whole tribe in a panic

So, Hakoda took Sokka to a nearby trustworthy Earth Kingdom village and that’s where Sokka got diagnosed with Tourette’s (and ADHD)

One of the things with Sokka is touch, like, he feels like touch is constricting and restraining sometimes. The problem is, he LOVES touch, he is a touchy person, but when someone touches him without telling him first or asking him, he doesn’t like it.

Sometimes he mentally shuts down when it happens, sometimes he tics more, the reaction depends on his anxiety levels and who touched him and when and where

The only people he gave a pass to was Kya and Katara. He didn’t even like it when Hakoda put a hand on his shoulder.

It was weird, he could feel the difference when Katara and Kya touched him compared to anyone else and he felt bad because he wanted his dad to hug him, but it felt so wrong

So, Sokka loves touch, but he likes to initiate it

So, moving forward, Sokka and Katara meet Aang, he’s the Avatar, they join and you know, there’s Aang the Avatar, Katara the Waterbender, and Sokka the guy with Tourette’s on the team

At least, that’s how they are known amongst the Fire Nation

Going undercover is so fun for Sokka, but he also has to be really conscious of what he’s doing and what he says and trying to suppress

It takes a lot out of him, but he knows he literally has to do it or he could get caught or expose them and Aang or Katara could get caught

On occasion, he has tic attacks (and for those who don’t know, they’re essentially a really bad TS day or moment where your tics are more consistent and seem to hurt more or you just have like an unending moment of tics where you just can’t stop for a little while. They are usually caused by anxiety or overstimulation or something like that, but they differ for everyone with TS)

The first time it happened in front of Aang, the sweet child panicked because he didn’t really understand what was happening and why Sokka was doing that and really what TS was

Katara is an angel, seriously. She is so sweet to Sokka when this happens and she knows exactly how to ground him and help him get through it

(Seriously, Sokka appreciates her so much. She is genuinely the one exception and anytime she wants a hug or any kind of touch she is allowed to do it)

the first time it happens in front of Toph when she joins is in Bitter Work when Sokka was in the hole

Just looking at Sokka in the whole sends my anxiety up because he literally can’t move! So like, imagine being in a hole for like five hours+ and needing to move like physically and you can feel the sensation in your body and it hurts and burns and tingles but you can’t. Sokka is not having a good time

So, Toph drags him out of the hole and is freaked out because she can’t see what’s happening and it’s scary because Sokka is making noises and hyperventilating and his heart rate is through the roof and Aang ran to get Katara and she can’t touch him because when she pulled him out of the hole he shrieked

She’s cool with it after that, she doesn’t think of him any less or anything, but it terrified her the first time because no one told her he had TS because they forgot to mention it and she couldn’t see what was happening

We all know that Sokka loves Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors with his whole entire heart and once they kicked his butt and helped him learn that sexism is bad, they were so fun to work with?? They taught him their style, obviously, but they also helped him incorporate his TS into it and how to use it to his advantage, something he had been struggling with his whole life

One of the things Sokka loved most about Yue is that she never even mentioned his sounds or movements she just let him do it without questioning him and that doesn’t happen a lot

I feel like Sokka having TS would make his time with Piandao even kore meaningful because he really struggles to keep his hands still so sword fighting does not come naturally to him

Piandao loves it though because it just makes Sokka even more clever and resourceful and he takes his time with Sokka, helping him as much as he can and never getting angry or anything when he can’t stand still

He also added more to what Sokka learned from the Kyoshi Warriors about incorporating his TS into his fighting and using it to his advantage

Not only was his sword an extension of his arm, but his TS was an extension as well

Did Toph and Aang help Sokka incorporate his tics into their scams? Yes, yes they did

Zuko joining the team was weird for Sokka because they kind of just clicked and he realized that they both have a weird thing with touch

On the balloon to Boiling Rock, Sokka is just comfortable around Zuko and his tics are like “cool yeah, have a break” and so he doesn’t tic and Zuko just “why aren’t you ticcing?”

and Sokka is ??? “Huh?”

and Zuko “You usually tic but you aren’t now. Why?”

and Sokka essentially explains that TS is weird and random and sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t, but he’s really comfortable and calm so his body is like “ye, let’s chill for now”

and Zuko is like “oh. that’s good. I kinda miss it though”

and Sokka d i e s because what?? Someone likes his tics enough to miss them? Like, they don’t annoy Zuko and he doesn’t tune them out?

and the bender goes on to explain that he likes the noises, they remind him that he is doing the right thing and that he’s here and he didn’t hurt team Avatar and they’re just comfortable / pleasing to the ear

and Sokka DIES

but then Zuko is like mmm maybe you should stay in the balloon and I’ll go to Boiling Rock and Sokka got pissed because he thinks Zuko said it because he’s a nonbender and he starts panicking and ticcing and Zuko panics and kind of just grabs his hand and Sokka... Sokka doesn’t hate it? Like, it feels nice and doesn’t agitate him?

but Zuko was like no I mean because everyone in the Fire Nation guard knows about the guy on team Avatar with TS and I don’t want you to get hurt

At one point in the prison courtyard, Sokka verbally tics really loudly about the moon and some guards hear and head to where they are so Zuko covers for him by screaming about how much he loves the moon

One of the worst moments in Sokka’s life was when Toph was falling and he grabbed her, but he wanted to tic and he knew that if he did, Toph would fall and die and he couldn’t do that, he couldn’t

(he still has nightmares about it happening)

when Sokka becomes an ambassador, some people are pissed because well 1) Watertribe 2) he’s a child 3) they suck 4) they think he’s distracting with his tics and Zuko is not here for it so he will destroy them

Like one time (after they started dating) Zuko overheard some councilors mocking Sokka’s tics and he got PISSED like so pissed and he went off and the found Sokka and hugged him because he is allowed to

oh! Sokka and Zuko’s thing is like hand-holding okay? They both kind of hate it because weird touch stuff, but it’s okay when they do it to each other?? Like, it feels right and like they’re completed and whole and it’s nice

before they start dating, they kind of do it a lot. Like, night before Zuko’s coronation, Sokka finds Zuko and he’s freaking out because what if he ends up like his dad and Sokka kind of just... grabs his hand and they sit there

Sokka is panicking because chronic pain and the cold of home makes it worse and Zuko finds him crying in the library and just... holds his hand

Zuko keeps little things on him all the time like paperclips and paper and writing utensils and things that click and buttons and stuff so if Sokka looks stressed during a meeting he can slip something under the table to him so he can play with it

Sokka also draws a lot during meetings, like, he doesn’t look at anyone throughout the whole meeting, even when he talks. He is able to focus more and pay more attention when he is doing something with his hands so he draws and doodles and sometimes takes notes

Sometimes he just writes the same word or sentence over and over again throughout the whole meeting

Sokka has sensory issues and a lot of noise stresses him out

It’s kind of the opposite of Zuko’s sensory issues? Like, Zuko doesn’t like loud noises and Sokka doesn’t like kind of static-y noises, like... when things sound muffled or muted or people are talking kind of quietly over each other

(Zuko definitely gives Sokka massages when his tics hurt a lot)

Random, but after awhile “yip yip” became a verbal tic of Sokka’s. Sometimes, he would say “you need to yip yip” and then he’d apologize to Appa and tell him that he’s yipping just fine

Toph is kind of like Zuko in how she likes Sokka’s verbal tics

She can’t see-see, but hearing his tics is nice sometimes, especially when she worries

She likes falling asleep to some of his tics

Even though Katara and Zuko are allowed to touch him whenever they want, more often than not they ask first because friendship is magic

Suki is lovely, okay? Like, just her presence is enough to make him feel better and she approaches helping him in a different way, she just talks to him and asks him questions to help him take his mind off of it

Sokka really doesn’t hate his TS, like, yeah, sometimes it pisses him off more than he can even explain, but it’s a part of him and as much as he cherishes when he can sit still, it’s wrong, it’s not him? He sits weirdly in chairs and changes his position every two minutes, he rocks his legs in his sleep, he sometimes even finds his own tics grounding...

Over time and with help from his friends, he learned to not be ashamed and that having TS didn’t make him ant less of a warrior

also, he, Toph, and Zuko are the disabled club✌🏻(and it makes them feel better sometimes in their own little way)

I have a lot more I could say but this is already pretty long, so I’ll end this sweet with Katara is amazing and Sokka’s relationship with her is wonderful and she knows how to help him with his tics in the way that Zuko does and can help center him like no one else and Sokka just loves her so much

Okay! Ah! That was kind of a lot but I hope you like them! Anyone can feel free to add more to this or lemme know if you have any ideas!

Thank you for the ask! I enjoyed writing these:)

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids, 

I want to talk about trauma triggers in this letter. I’ll use a car crash as an example of a traumatizing event. 

First of all, what is a trigger exactly? The easiest definition is that it’s something that triggers a reaction in your body related to a trauma you experienced. It could trigger flashbacks (very intense memories of the event that feel like you go through it all over again) or panic attacks, 

It can also lead to physical symptoms (like shaking, nausea or feeling like you’re choking) or make you feel like you’re frozen/unable to move. 

The painful memories are usually quite easy to imagine, even for people who don’t have any personal experience with trauma reactions: If someone has been in a car crash and that experience was traumatic to them, we can imagine that seeing a car crash on tv will bring back memories from that day. 

Most people would probably understand if the person tries to avoid movies with car crash scenes in them. After all, car crashes are a dangerous and scary thing, and if you’ve been in one, then seeing one can make your body go “I remember this, we were in danger the last time we saw something like this. We are in danger again right now!”. 

But triggers are not always that obvious - and in fact, they don’t always come with clear memories at all. The heel of your shoe could get stuck in something and suddenly you “just get irrationally upset over that”: You’re shaking, your head hurts, you feel unreal and distant from everything. Everything feels kinda blurry and scary and you just want to run away...

You may not even make the concious connection between your heel getting stuck and being unable to get out of the car wreck on your own. But your body remembers “stuck” as a warning sign. 

It’s often more difficult to explain those triggers to others - “I can’t wear high heels since the accident” just sounds illogical to others. Maybe you weren’t even wearing high heels that day. But the thought of wearing them and getting stuck somewhere again fills you with a horror you can’t explain. You just know it hasn’t been that way before the crash. 

High heels aren’t a dangerous thing, there’s nothing inherently scary about them - the human body can still connect them to danger. Panic is difficult to grasp, even for our own brain. And so it tries to create connections to more tangible things, so it can protect you and avoid danger. In that sense, there’s nothing “irrational” about it at all - of course our body will try to prevent us from ever going through something so scary agan! 

I will not go into the topic of “how to deal with triggers” here - that’s something highly individual that should to be discussed with a therapist who knows you and your unique situation. I just want to let you know that having triggers is not uncommon and you’re not weird or overly sensitive. 

These internet insults like “Snowflake who gets triggered by everything” got it wrong - you’re not weak. You went through something difficult, you survived and now your body tries to protect you. 

With all my love, 

Your Tumblr Dad 

P.S: As always: I am not a medical professional. Mental health related posts like this one are just based on my own research, my own experiences and things my therapist told me. 

[augustdreams]

Why maladaptive daydreaming (MaDD) should be classified a dissociative disorder

Contents:

Maladaptive daydreaming summary

Dissociative disorders summary

Diagnostic criteria

Conclusion

(~1100 words)

What is MaDD?

Maladaptive daydreaming (stylised as MaDD to avoid confusion between MDD (major depressive disorder)) is a disorder in which a person involuntarily daydreams, or daydreams in a way that harms their life. They do not have the ability to stop whenever they please, which is what makes it different from immersive daydreaming. It is not officially recognised by psychologists/psychiatrists as a diagnosable disorder, however online communities have come together to share their experiences with it and more research is being done each day.

Dissociative disorders:

The types of dissociative disorders formally recognised already are as followed:

Dissociative amnesia

Dissociative identity disorder

Depersonalisation-derealisation disorder

Dissociative fugue

In this "essay", I'll be going into each disorder and relating the diagnoses to maladaptive daydreaming disorder, drawing similarities and discussing differences. Before that, I'd like to explore the broader symptoms of dissociative disorders.

Here is a list of symptoms that are usually looked for when diagnosing an individual (severity will fluctuate):

Feeling disconnected from self

Problems handling emotions

Sudden/unexpected shifts in mood

Depression

Anxiety

Feeling as though the world is distorted/not real

Cognitive problems (e.g. memory, concentration, etc.)

Feeling compelled to behave in a certain way

Identity confusion

How MaDD can be linked to each of these:

When daydreaming, a lot of MaDDers will feel a disconnection from the real world, sometimes zoning out to the point that they no longer register external stimuli. Confusion regarding identity can of course be felt while daydreaming, as some MaDDers have parames, which are usually idealised versions of themselves. Not all MaDDers have these characters, however, instead daydreaming only of original and/or fictional characters. In this case, identity confusion will occur when an individual comes out of their daydreaming, adjusting to the real environment.

Symptoms like depression, anxiety, and inability to handle emotions can come across in two forms when daydreaming. The first is that an individual can be highly empathetic (due to either personality or trauma) and can experience all of their paras' feelings themselves while daydreaming. The second is when daydreams may become intrusive and hard to manage, in which case individuals may imagine highly traumatic or triggering situations that can affect their mood severely and quickly, usually causing anxiety (and even panic attacks) that can last hours.

Feeling as though the world is not real is a very self-explanatory symptom, as it is the basis of the disorder to create an alternative world. The key difference here I'd like to make is that people with MaDD recognise that the world they are in is not real. The reason I am mentioning this symptom is because we experience out paracosms as though they ARE real, feelings our paras' emotions and sometimes having our stories progress without our instruction. Cognitive problems are a HUGE issue with maladaptive daydreaming disorder (hence "maladaptive"). Maladaptive daydreaming can cause executive dysfunction and major concentration problems.

Dissociative amnesia:

Amnesia can be categorised into four forms: localised (an individual will temporarily forget the details of an event), selective (patchy or incomplete information), generalised (an individual will have trouble remembering details of their life), and systematised (very specific memory loss). I've seen posts where users express not being able to remember much of their own lives, in turn allowing their brain to remember more information about their paracosm. This would be categorised as generalised amnesia, though it isn't a universal MaDD experience to my knowledge, as I see it talked about only rarely.

Dissociative identity disorder:

This is a disorder in which two or more altars ("personalities") co-exist within a body. Lack of diagnostic criteria can lead to diagnoses like OSDD, which I won't discuss as I'm trying to keep this simple, but if you're interested in this topic, it's worth looking into! DID involves amnesia when altars aren't situated at the front (or "fronting"), meaning being in control of the body. While individuals with MaDD don't have this fronting experience, there are similar symptoms experienced by both disorders, like having people in our heads who have their own pattern of perceiving, relating to and thinking about themselves in their world; feeling detached from ourselves; sometimes having vivid flashbacks of our paras' pasts (for people with DID, these flashbacks would be memories belonging to other alters or memories that had been hidden by gatekeeper alters), especially trauma, which can induce anxiety; and mood swings brought by our paras' feelings.

Depersonalisation-derealisation disorder:

Of each of these disorders, I think depersonalisation is the most similar to MaDD. Depersonalisation includes feeling detached from one's own life and feelings. People with this disorder typically feel distant and emotionally unconnected to themselves. They can have problems with concentration and memory. They may feel 'spacey' (which definitely relates to MaDD, as our daydreams often feel like an altered state of consciousness), and they can experience time distortion (VERY popular in MaDD) e.g. not recognising how much time has passed, thinking an hour has passed when it's only been ten minutes, etc..

In severe cases, it's said that people with this disorder do not recognise themselves in mirrors. If this is considered severe, then just how bad is MaDD? I have seen people on this platform discuss being surprised seeing their face and not their parame's in mirrors. I've seen others say that they don't register that they are looking into a mirror. It's worrisome, and a reason maladaptive daydreaming should be considered more serious.

Dissociative fugue:

Also known as psychogenic fugue, this is a disorder in which an individual suddenly forgets their identity and creates a new identity and life for themselves. While MaDDers don't forget their original identity, they can temporarily be less conscious of it while daydreaming, and the ability to create new identities and characters comes very easily to us.

Conclusion:

Maladaptive daydreaming is composed of many more symptoms than just daydreaming excessively, and considering how many of these symptoms match up to that of dissociative disorders, it can be theorised that this disorder may just be able to fall into this category. However, not enough researchers are looking into maladaptive daydreaming disorder, with many still debating if it's a disorder at all. My personal judgement is that it could definitely be labeled as such, however I am in no way a professional, and I do not know enough about other's experiences with the disorder to come to a complete conclusion. I think it could be considered a subtype of depersonalisation, but I would love to hear the opinions of others. If you have your own thoughts that you are willing to share, feel free to add them to the comments/reblog.

Sources:

x, x

[moon-and-stars-appreciation]

So for the headcannons, can we have the main six with an MC who has asthma? (Courtier HC too if possible 👉👈)

I might do the courtiers sometime, but they aren’t in this one since I need to know them better-

Thank you for asking!!!

A/N

(If anything is repetitive in any way, it’s because they are all looking out for you and don’t want anything to happen!!)

Edit:

Adding this after writing like half of it- I realize a lot of this is verging on anxiety, but I have breathing problems and anxiety, so I feel like some of the symptoms are the same. (Like the triggers)

Second Edit:

I guess this counts for anxiety too, but if you want a specific anxiety one, I shall do it anyways

Asra

Has like- at least 5 inhalers placed strategically around the shop, makes sure that you both carry one at all times (individually, so you have one and he has one)

They have a mental list of what makes you comfortable and uncomfortable, and another list of signs that you are in trouble, or having trouble breathing

Knows when to lead you away from people and knows when you need space vs comfort

Faust scouts places that are safe for you to escape to when it gets bad!!

You get TEA that helps you relax

Nadia

She’s worse than asra- she has an inhaler in every room in the palace and makes sure every servant carries one

Has no problem ordering people to leave the room or to just keep a distance from you so you don’t get overwhelmed

Makes sure to notice what exerts you the most, always makes sure you have what privileges that she believes will help you the most

Always knows what to say in a conversation to free you from the painful grasp

Julian

is probably the worst person for when you have asthma tbh- (loud, dramatic, flipping dances on tables for crying out loud)

When you need to leave the crowds and such, can make a distraction to allow you to slip away

Probably freaks out when you have an attack, probably has one inhaler that he misplaces all the time in his pockets but always has it on him because he will not. Leave the house. Without it. (Thank you, Julian 😄)

Once he realizes you have it, he does his best to slow down because he wants you to be at max safety

Portia

Carries an inhaler and has one in the cottage-

Pepi has been trained when it’s safe to cuddle, and when it’s needed to cuddle

“My S/O needs space!” Back up, she protecc!

When it gets bad, she always has to be next to you. She won’t crowd you but she does have to have a hand on you at all times- holding your hand, resting on your shoulder or thigh,

She is ALWAYS running around, so you probably takes rests and breaks often, but she doesn’t mind!

Muriel

Has one inhaler on him at all times, it’s probably his most important possession, never loses or misplaces it

Is really good at hiding and such, so he knows where to lead you when you need space

Really gentle, knows not to crowd you but also stays nearby so that you can call him over to you if you need him

Probably carries you every once in a while

Lucio

Always misplaces inhalers, but don’t worry, he can buy new ones!! Has at least two of them on him at a time, so he has a backup one

Like Nadia and Portia, has no problem declaring that you need space and demanding people to give it to you

He acts like he doesn’t care that much but if it gets bad or you have an attack- panic mode: ON

Clingy.

Always checking in but trying to keep it subtle pfft “is my awesomeness taking your breath away more than usual? I’m sorry- wait no MC are you okay????!!”

[shinsorokiri]

S/o Loses Memory and Quirk

Kaminari Denki HCs

Genre: Angst

Warnings: Language, violence, mentions broken bones, a panic attack, panic attack symptoms, sad Denki

A/N: Ngl writing angst for Denki did something to my little heart. He only deserves happiness and I’m mad at myself for giving him sadness lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! I’ll be writing one like this for All Might next so keep your eyes peeled for that one!

Shinsou, Aizawa, Hawks, and Dabi

Todoroki, Bakugou, and Kirishima

Kaminari Denki | Chargebolt

You are his partner in crime

You’re the one who is always there to take care of him when he goes dumb

You’re the one who is always there to comfort him when he feels like an idiot

You’re always the one who is there for him

And he’s always the one who is there for you

It’s been that way for years

Ever since you transferred to UA your second year of high school

The two of you became fast friends

Best friends even

And his flirty nature made it so it wasn’t too long before the two of you entered a real relationship

The two of you EXUDE the most chaotic good energy that even Bakugou finds it kind of endearing

But unbeknownst to his friends

Denki can get really fucking serious when it comes to you

It lowkey shocked you the first time you saw him act like that

And it was all because you were sparring with him and you tripped over your own damn foot and face planted 

You figured he’d just point and laugh at you but he ran over and checked you EVERYWHERE to make sure you weren’t hurt

mans even SCOLDED you

YOU WERE SCOLDED BY DENKI KAMINARI

But you lowkey LOVED it because like

Wow

He does like me !!!

Of course that was in your final year at UA

The two of you are now pro-heroes at separate agencies

And boy oh boy does Denki worry about you

He can’t help it

He has seen you run into a wall because you were trying to rely on scent instead of sight “in case you get stuck in a dark room with a villain”

He worries

But he also knows you are strong

And also a hot badass who can take on anyone

Well

Almost anyone

Midoriya could probably kick your ass but that’s just because it’s Midoriya

But in all seriousness

He isn’t even patrolling today

He has the day off actually

And Denki has never baked anything before in his life

But

He knows that there’s been this mysterious villain giving your agency some trouble recently

So he wants to make you some of your favorite cookies

Or at least try to

And then have a lil movie night

He’s a clingy little shit

And he wants to destress you so

He will refuse to let go of you for the rest of the night goddamnit!

So there he is

Taking the semi-burnt but still edible cookies out of the oven

His favorite program on in the background

When suddenly

His show gets interrupted

And the hero scanner the two of you have goes off in your living room

He immediately turns his attention to the television

Stopping in the middle of the kitchen 

Still holding the cookies

When he sees live footage of you falling from a 3 story building

Onto concrete

He drops the pan

And literally sprints out of the door

He doesn’t even have shoes on

But he doesn’t give a single Fuck™

He rushes down the stairs of the apartment building the two of you live in

And gets to his car in record time

Mans be speeding to the hospital he knows you’re gonna be at

You two had a plan in place with each other and your agencies that if anything would happen to either of you

You would both go to this specific hospital so you two could know where the other was at all times

Of course he was crying while speeding

And his heart rate was way too fast for him to be functioning

But he had to get to you

He had to

And he did

He pulled into a parking spot reserved for pro-heroes and ran inside the emergency room

When he asked about you the nurse told him you were currently in surgery for some severe bone breaks

He got a nasty taste in his mouth

But he just nodded

She told him he could wait in the waiting room

And he did

He sat down in a chair

And he was trying so hard to keep it together

So 

SO

Hard

But eventually Kirishima, Mina, Sero, and even Bakugou showed up

To be fair

Mina and you did work at the same agency

So she saw everything that happened

They immediately went over to him

And he looked up at Mina

And deadass this is the first time any of them see how genuinely serious Denki can get

He asks Mina what happened

And she hesitates

But his face is dead serious

There are obviously tears leaking out of his eyes

But his stare is wildly intense

And Mina knows that if she says no he’ll just keep asking or ask someone else at the agency

So she tells him

“Well… we were patrolling, like usual, when that villain that’s been keeping us on our toes showed up. They’ve never… done anything other than rob people and knock them out so we thought hey this should be easy. Especially since (Y/n) was there. When they saw us they ran into a building and we chased after them and when we had them cornered on the roof they did this weird… sneak attack? But not really? I don’t know it was… odd, they had this like patterned fight technique and they hit (Y/n) in a few different places, and she went to use her quirk to fight back but… nothing happened… and then they hit her like at the bottom of her skull and she just… fell down unconscious. And then they… threw her… off…”

She started trailing off at the end because a sob tore through Denki’s throat

And then he started hyperventilating

Luckily Bakugou and Kirishima were there to help him out

They get panic attacks frequently, so they managed to calm him down and get him to breathe again

And they stayed with him for as long as they had to

Eventually after hours 

A doctor came out and approached Denki

“Pro Hero Chargebolt?”

He stands up very fast

He’s informed that you are out of surgery

And that the surgery went well

However they noticed something odd in your MRI results

It seemed that a portion of your brain was damaged?

But not quite 

It was still functioning

But something about it was off

And they had never seen anything like it before

It was like certain parts of your brain were blocked but everything else was fine

Upon hearing this Denki’s heart broke

And then after hearing the part of your brain that was impacted was the part that contained long term memories

His heart shattered

“We’re afraid she may have severe amnesia. We’re going to keep running tests to see just what is going on, we think it’s the quirk of that villain. A lot of the victims of their crimes have blockages in their muscle groups, but we’ve never seen a blockage in the brain from them.”

Denki is quiet

He literally doesn’t say anything

Until he whispers

“Can i see her?”

The doctor nods

And he leads him to your room

You’re still asleep 

And you’re covered in bandages and casts

It breaks his heart

His friends texted him to tell him they went home but if he needs them at any minute that they will be on their way to the hospital in ten seconds flat

He appreciates it

But right now he really just wanted to be alone with you

He just sat next to you

Holding your hand

He was even moving your pointer finger to trace the Lichtenberg Figures trailing up and down his arms

You always do it when the two of you are cuddling at night 

It helps him sleep

And reminds him that you love him regardless of his faults

And right now he just

He really needs you

This goes on for an hour before he feels you start to move

And he freezes

“(Y/n?”

You open your eyes

And squint at him

“Uh… h-hi… aren’t you that guy in my new class…?”

He stares at you

Completely deadpan

Before laughing a bit

But it isn’t a happy laugh

It’s very much a sad laugh

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“Cool, but um… how did you know my name already?… Are you crying?”

Yes

He was

He was laughing and crying at the same time

He probably looked like he was losing his mind

But he really did just lose his whole world so

It’s a prompted reaction

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

His voice was more strained this time

“Are you… are you okay?”

“Yeah, but you’re not. And I didn’t save you, and now you don’t know who I am, and I’m just… I’m so sorry, babe. I’m so sorry.”

The laughing stopped

Now he’s just sobbing

In your mind

You’d seen him a few times while touring the school

And he was always laughing and smiling

Always

So this was shocking

And you’d be lying if you said it didn’t tug on your heart strings

You instinctively reach out to grab his hand

And he grips onto it so tight

Almost like he’s afraid of letting go

“…You called me babe?”

He tries to even his breathing

But he nods

“I don’t… I don’t even know you, I-”

“You do. You do, but… you don’t. It’s… it’s complicated and I’m a literal dumbass so… I’ll call a doctor. They’ll explain.”

And that he does

And the doctor does in fact explain

And after the doctor leaves

You ask him to tell you about your relationship

And he does

He tells you even the smallest details

From the time that you painted the nail on his right hand middle finger pink because he lost a bet and he ended up liking it and buying nail polish for himself

To the time that you two told everyone you break danced all night to break in your new apartment when in reality he turned on Lover by Taylor Swift and the two of you slow danced in your living room

All of it

And he even managed to slip in the fact that you’d remember all of this after he caught the villain who did this to you

And he will catch them.