#autism obviously suffers a similar treatment

[anti-ao3]

i don't think we talk enough about how adhd has practically turned into a joke online, and its more serious, debilitating symptoms are thrown under the rug

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Dear becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys ! Please suggest to your dear sister with the fibromyalgia epiphany, to pursue an Ehlers-Danlos diagnosis! Fibro symptoms are often a sign of this also-very-undiagnosed-in-women condition. (Signed, an EDS-sufferer's wife)

Yeah, she also checked that out last year, a lot of people suggested it (some got... weirdly pushy and insistent about it, and should probably examine that urge). But we're confident it's not.

Thing is, both conditions don't have firm diagnostic tests, so in both cases the game you're playing is 'Can we draw a circle around enough symptoms to say it's X condition?' In this way, it's like a physical version of neurodiversity. There's no solid answer to whether a person has autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, more than one, all, none, etc - you just have to see how many symptoms they have before they trip the diagnostic threshold.

And sometimes, you get symptoms (or, in the case of neurodiversity, characteristics) that apply to more than one category. Time-blindness is common to ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, and there's growing evidence that temporal perception is atypical in autistic people; Executive dysfunction is common for all five; etc.

EDS and fibro have similar crossover symptoms, but also plenty that don't. Last year we went through every description we could find for every type of EDS we could find, but ultimately, the only EDS symptoms she had were the crossover ones. The ones that were specifically fibro, she has. The ones that were specifically EDS, she doesn't. Plus, there's no equivalent family symptoms in parents or grandparents, plus a whole bunch of other variables that I obviously haven't spelled out in a short Tumblr post but we who have been there for 41 years of her life (well; I'm younger than her, but eh) know about.

So we're confident it's fibro and not EDS. But, it kind of doesn't matter in one sense - there's no actual treatment anyway, so management now becomes Whatever Works. If that means using some techniques common to both conditions, then who cares what the name is? As long as it works.

However, I shall leave this here in case anyone else wants to consider EDS for themselves! It's always worth exploring.

[ihopesocomic]

You've probably gotten a lot of messages like this before but I wanted to just thank you guys for showing a form of abuse that isn't only physical and still calling it abuse and not hand waving it away. So many stories that include abuse tend to assume that it only counts as abuse if it's physical. They ignore mental and emotional abuse entirely and if they do acknowledge it, it's portrayed as not that bad and something you need to forgive your abusers for.

As someone who's still coming to terms with my own experience with a similar kind of abuse that Adamant and Hope faced, your comic makes me feel seen and validated in my feelings and especially in my choice to cut off the family that hurt me. Seeing Adamant and Hope leave and not be shunned for it was such a relief and breath of fresh air after so much media tells you to forgive people who hurt you, especially if they are family.

again, thank you. I'm forever thankful this comic exists. you two are fantastic and I can't wait to see where the story goes :)

Thank you so so much, anon. We feel mixed emotions when we get asks like this because it's nice to hear but it's also so hard to hear our readers dealing with what we've dealt with and it's also hard to articulate how much we hear you and how sorry we are.

What you're saying is such a good point. Emotional abuse is so often discounted and watered down and even disregarded as being hurtful. It also doesn't help that even physical abuse gets the same treatment. Especially when it's just dismissed as 'discipline' or a 'loss of control'. But going back to emotional abuse, this is one of the main things that we wanted to so desperately try and portray vs. how My Pride had portrayed it. The very idea that emotional abuse at the hands of your family isn't actually abuse because it's just them loving you and 'wanting what's best for you'.

Which is so ridiculous because overprotectiveness can very, very easily mutate into smothering and parents feeling that their children have zero agency or identity outside of themselves, especially if you're disabled. Parents like this don't deserve humanisation or sympathy. Their actions are possessive and unhealthy and may be a indication they're suffering from a form of abuse themselves.

My Pride could have tackled this with Powerstrike. She lost her mate and son. Her culture is heavily against her and her own sense of agency. However, the script is too busy highlighting how she feels 'weak' because her daughter is disabled and can seemingly do nothing to fulfil this unachievable image she has of her.

It's how you know the script was written by an able-bodied individual, somebody who will never know that this kind of thing makes you feel like utter dirt as somebody who isn't a "perfect" neurotypical, able-bodied individual.

Even if the creator is neurodivergent herself, this was such a huge ball to drop. Powerstrike saying 'whenever I look at you, I only see what you could have been' is very much a fucking Powerstrike problem and she deserves to rot for it. Being viewed under the lens of what you "could" be if you didn't have a physical disability or conditions that cause developmental delays like autism is downright devastating for those who have them and fuck that show for trying to humanise Powerstrike by having her spout such garbage.

There was nothing remotely sympathetic about that speech. It was just Powerstrike whining about having a disabled daughter and the context of the speech is that she was called out for not caring about her children and the creator somehow thinks that her child being disabled.... excuses that?

I apologise for going off on a rant, but Powerstrike's speech fits the bill exactly with what what you're talking about because MP fans have fallen for it hook, line and sinker and refused to see how gross it is because Powerstrike never physically abused Nothing like Quickmane did. Even though it is very obviously emotional abuse and manipulation.

It'd be great if we could just assume this is just superfans defending their favourite show's honour because god forbid something they enjoy is delivering problematic messages like how parents who have an ableist perception of their children deserve sympathy, but we've had people come to us and directly point to the show's writing as a reason for them failing to identify valid forms of abuse and therefore feel they cannot act upon it or seek help for it.

May not be what the creator intended because she was presumably high off her own fumes when she wrote speeches like Powerstrike's, but that's the reality and making excuses for it like MP fans have isn't going to make the issue get any better.

Doing this comic has allowed me to confront the same feelings you have also had to contend with, anon, and I'm very happy we have been able to share something together there. You and others like you also make me feel less alone and less angry about what I've experienced and I hope you never forget that. - RJ

[balanceoflightanddark]

ABC interviewer: "What do you think are the biggest misunderstandings postpartum depression?"

Hayden Panettiere: "The biggest misunderstanding that I found that there were a lot of people who didn't believe it. They just thought that I was being 'crazy woman,' an overly emotional female, and it was my choice whether or not to be depressed. And it was so out of my control."

This is Azula's situation to a T.

I actually just watched that interview for a little bit of context and...yeah. Completely agree 100%. There is a certain lack of empathy when it comes to women who do suffer some kind of trauma or mental disorder or etc. Granted almost anybody with some kind of problem can certainly face ableism or a lack of compassion (trust me, I'm speaking as a guy with autism). But a greater amount of accountability is usually placed on women. That if it happens to them, it's a greater sin than if it happens to a guy.

Azula is practically a good example of this. A lot of fans assume that she has a greater degree of autonomy and control than she actually does. That ultimately her breakdown was her own doing, and that (as well as her treatment in the aftermath) was a form of "karma". Now, I'm not gonna argue that Azula did bad things and needed to be given a swift wake up call to that reality. Obviously. And at the end of the day, she was an antagonist that needed to be stopped.

But blaming her for her own breakdown? I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. The girl quickly and rapidly lost everything, having her entire world view be shattered, and reduced to a sobbing mess. That's not just a wake up call. That's a tragedy right there. And what's worse was that her world view had been conditioned since birth by a toxic and overly militant and authoritarian Fire Nation with no other world view. How exactly does she have any autonomy over her own breakdown if she wasn't even faced with a viable alternative? Hell, the girl even says it right here:

Azula: But what choice do I have? Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way.

She wouldn't say that if she knew supposedly "knew better". Hell, it's a hint that she does know of alternatives...it's just the Fire Nation was so damn brutal that anything outside of cruelty was going to have you eaten alive. Especially when growing up under Ozai's shadow.

Yet time and again, she gets blamed for her own breakdown. Doesn't matter the circumstances of her upbringing. She's a girl. She dared to be better than Zuko. So therefore, she brought upon her downfall. Obviously. Doesn't matter if other characters like...oh I don't know...Aang, don't get nearly as much bile thrown their way for experiencing similar issues when under stress. Azula should've known better, and that's the end of the story in their book.

No empathy for a 14-year-old girl in a series apparently built on compassion, understanding, and ending an era of hate and violence. What. A. Load.

[sillyrabbit81]

Hey there Bunny, how ya doin? Been a while since I stopped by to say Hi and check up on a fellow Aussie. Ive been lurking around but haven't seen you on my dash for a while. RUOK?? Always around to lend an ear, if you need one to hear. Big squishy hugs 💜💜💜

Hey!

Thank you for reaching out. Thats really kind of you.

I haven't been around as much lately. But I am doing okay. I have had a few people asking me similar things lately so, I might just let it all out here and tell people whats going on.

IRL things have been a lot for me lately and I just haven't had the time/headspace to be as active. Plus, if I have an hour or two to sit at my computer, I'm usually using that time to write (or stare at the doc and force out 50 words LOL).

The IRL stuff is mostly about my kids, but I also have had issues lately with my own mood regulation and other issues. Turns out I have Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which I tell people is basically like PMS but on Liver King levels of steroids. I think I've had symptoms of this for a couple of years, but its recently gotten much worse and I have seen an endocrinologist recently and started a treatment plan that will hopefully help, but it will take a couple of months before I will see any results.

I don't generally talk publicly about my family. Mainly because I feel like my blog and writing is my safe haven, a place for just me. But there has been a lot going on lately so maybe it will make me feel better to talk about it real quick. A lot of people who I talk to in chat/DMs already know most of this anyway.

Both my kids and my husband are on the Autism Spectrum.

My son is 13 and just started high school, so that has been a tough transition for him. He has been involved in a couple of incidents that has resulted in his suspension. Supporting him through that has been tricky and dealing with the school and trying to get the right supports in place for him has also been a slog.

My daughter is 8 and she requires a lot of support at school. She really struggles at school and so there is a lot of time spent ensuring she gets the supports she needs. On top of that, about 6 months ago she had a tonic-clonic seizure that was quite serious and lasted for over 10 minutes. After some testing was then diagnosed with epilepsy, probably as a result from a brain injury she suffered during her birth (she had a lack of blood flow and needed an emergency c-section). So its been trial and error with meds, (she also has absent seizures which we noticed a few times) but after a while we thought things were okay. A couple of weeks ago, she had another serious seizure and we were back in hospital.

So yeah, while I'm okay and my family are mostly okay, there has been a lot going on for me IRL over the past few months that has obviously taken precedence. But, I'm still around when I can be. I still want to be around and still love to write and make gifs and stuff, but its just been a matter of priorities and a significantly limited free time compared to what I previously had.

I hope you are doing well! I hope you're going to have a nice summer break (if we actually get a summer... I know in Sydney its bloody cold so far!) And thanks again for reaching out. That was really sweet of you.

❤️ Rabbit

[gammafish]

Public image of diabetes

‘Diabetes’.

Now quick - what was the first thing that you thought of? What was the mental image that you had?

I suppose that at least some of you thought of something of an overweight/obese person, unhealthy fatty foods like pizza or burgers, people sitting in front of their TV all day long, or maybe about the ‘great financial burden on the healthcare budget’. I wouldn’t be surprised; in fact, I’ve just been to a scientific conference where a symbol for diabetes during one of the talks was an icon of a burger and sugar cubes - which was the final thing that drove me to writing this rather long (sorry) post.

(image sources; wikipedia)

This is destructive. In a society obsessed with appearance, weight, and diet, this is destructive, and not helping anyone.

Let me say first of all that I’m not opposed to jokes and having a bit of a laugh. I use humour as a coping mechanism in crappy situations myself, so I’m not all that serious and uptight as I might come across here. But when it’s the same joke, all the time, from different people, and about something that after all is quite a sensitive subject, it tends to get to you.

It’s all those burgers, innit? No more McDonald’s for you. Just living on veggies then? You can’t ever have sweets again, can you? You’ve just had too much cake. You should have exercised more.

Let me reiterate why this is wrong. I got diabetes (type 1) at the age of 7 when I was on antibiotics every other week for a long time that damaged my pancreas. I never ate a burger before that, I never went to McDonald’s and I spent a lot of time outside playing and running around with other kids. Nowadays, in the research center where I work, I regularly see type 2 diabetics who are of normal weight, who still keep active despite their age, and who have always been active and had a good diet. On the other hand, we all know people who don’t lead healthy lifestyles for one reason or another and yet they don’t get diabetes. The truth is that we don’t understand enough about the onset of the disease and what exactly causes it. Genes and genetic predispositions surely play a role, and things like fatty diet, lack of exercise, smoking, excess alcohol consumption are all risk factors that increase the likelihood of insulin resistance and development of diabetes, but it’s not as easy and clear-cut as it seems to be.

To make things worse, depression and diabetes are closely linked. In fact, depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in people with diabetes. Why am I saying this? First, think about what you see diabetes as. Do you know what the treatment entails? Or do you only know about the daily finger prick tests and insulin injections/insulin pumps or tablets? Do you think diabetes can just be controlled by eating less cake and jogging more? Surely, these are all parts of our lives and management, but unless you yourself have the disease or someone you see daily does, then you probably don’t know about the constant fear of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) that can drive us into a coma (and death) as well as hyperglycamia (high blood glucose) that makes us feel sick short term, and leads to deadly complications long term. You don’t know the effort that goes into trying to keep our inner environment in that very tight range between those two states. The constant awareness of diabetic complications doesn’t make it easier. For some, the knowledge that after 20 years of disease over 95% of type 1 diabetics will start developing eye disease, for example, is a motivation to work as best as they can on their glucose control. For others, it’s a debilitating fear causing anger, resentment, rebelling against their disease (and possibly depression). And to get to what I wanted to point out - you also probably don’t know how difficult it is to keep a correct weight when you suffer from this disease.

For a healthy person, weight control is mainly about more exercise and less processed/fatty/high-calorie foods. The case is similar in diabetics, but the process is much more difficult. Our bodies obviously cannot self-regulate insulin and glucose levels, so it takes a lot of practice to balance the two, especially since exercise generally causes blood glucose to drop. The effect is varied based on the duration, the intensity of the work out, but other factors come into play such as the time of the last meal or even menstrual cycle in women. As a result, the general guideline for diabetics is to typically have food before and after exercising. This obviously makes any kind of weight loss much slower, since you have to take in calories to facilitate the process through which you were trying to burn those calories in the first place. But weight gain is also about other issues such as hypoglycemia in the middle of the night. If that happens, whether you want it or not (given that you want to live until morning) you might have to take an equivalent of 2-3 teaspoons of sugar (maybe more, maybe less) at night. And of course, literally every process in the body is impaired in diabetes - it’s a disruption to homeostasis, like having an increased body temperature all the time - so things like metabolism are going to be affected. Meaning, more weight gain, or at least slower weight loss.

Let me add very quickly to the diabetic complications besides the retinopathy that I mentioned earlier, in case you’re not aware of how diabetes damages the body. Diabetic kidney disease, neuropathy (nerve damage -> amputations), kidney damage (eventually leading to dialysis), cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and more), stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, skin disorders, hair loss, even tooth cavities - the likelihood of these (and of more) is increased. Essentially anything that has a blood supply is affected.

(source) (Severe diabetic retinopathy; back of the eye after laser treatment)

(Source; diabetic foot ulcers; not going to show any real-life photos as some might find them disturbing, but google ‘diabetic foot’ if you want to know what this looks like in reality)

There is no escape, there is no treatment - there is only delaying the inevitable. There is only the knowledge that if you’re (un?)fortunate enough to survive several years with the disease, you’re not likely to die fully functional and/or in one piece, and that it’s going to be those complications that kill you in the end. It’s not funny, is it?

Now in the light of all that - of the effort of glucose and weight management, the fear of going blind and losing a limb - bring back your jokes and comments about cake and burgers. Do they still feel appropriate? Not to be overly dramatic, but do you see my point now about you essentially making fun of our accelerated death? It wasn’t a choice. It is never a choice. Is autism a choice? Is cystic fibrosis, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease a choice? Is having a family history or being born with a higher predisposition to diabetes a choice? What ridiculous questions.

How demanding, but I don’t want to die - not like this, not by falling apart when I’ll reach my 30′s or 40′s if I get lucky. We don’t want to die like this. And we don’t want to hear your ‘jokes’ and comments. We don’t want you to judge us when we have the occasional treat of something sweet. We don’t want you to judge and make fun of our weight if we happen to be above the normal range, to tell us how easy it is to lose a few kilograms if we just ate less - because we’re clearly not enlightened enough to figure that out ourselves and need a bit of guidance in the form of such unpleasant comments. We don’t need your reminders and we don’t need you to make us feel guilty - we’re all hyperaware of how much and what we eat. We don’t need you to increase our risk of depression because chances are we’re either already there, have been there, or possibly might be there in the future anyway.

Of course, we don’t need your pity either. All we would like is a bit of understanding. All I want is to not have to explain to people that I didn’t get my diabetes from eating too much sweets. I won’t dare ask for support, although even understanding and just leaving us be is a form of support in itself. Enough to make us feel like we don’t have to hide our disease from you from fear of being judged or ridiculed or thought less of.

I know I use a lot of ‘we’ and ‘us’ here and of course I can’t speak for the entire diabetic community, but I’m just using the 17 years’ experience of living with the disease and hearing fellow diabetics’ opinions.

And I know I won’t change everyone’s views - not when we hear about the link between unhealthy lifestyle and diabetes every day in the media. And rightfully so, because like I mentioned, it is a significant risk factor. All I ask and wish for is for people to be just a little bit less judgemental, more aware of and sensitive in what they’re saying, and for them to see diabetes for what it really is - a serious, chronic, incurable disease that destroys the entire body, and not a light-hearted topic for teasing and jokes, or a just punishment for people who eat too many burgers and sweets.

[lenin-it-to-win-it]

just gonna rant about my health issues to no one in particular for a bit under the cut sooo

im just so fucking tired of being sick all the time like. its been almost 2 years now of actively Going To Doctors And Having Tests Done And Trying To Get A Diagnosis and fucking!!! nothing works!!! and i only have until the end of this coming school year to get it figured out before my insurance runs out otherwise im just fucked!!! because im sure as hell not gonna be able to afford a fucking mri every six months making 10 bucks an hour at some retail shithole but so far ive seen SIX different fucking doctors (not counting 2 ER visits) because they all just keep shuffling me back and forth like “idk maybe have someone else deal with this? weird lol” or like “have you considered that maybe you might have anxiety :) you seem stressed :)” 

like yeah its a fucking stressful situation getting progressively fucking sicker for two goddamn years wasting thousands of dollars and reaching the end of a fucking ticking clock because almost every doctor ive seen is an incompetent jackass who does NOTHING but waste my time and money and then fucking condescend to me about anxiety like!!! yeah i probably DO have anxiety and depression and autism and what the fuck ever else but this isnt THAT 

and the literal ONE TIME i had ANY treatment that worked AT ALL helping with my eye spasms (literally One of Many Symptoms that i deal with on a fucking daily basis that still manages to completely fuck up my life) is something i cant take anymore because it damaged my fucking eyes!!! possibly permanently!!! i already HAD issues wtih light sensitivity that this medicine made WAYYY fucking worse and guess whats one of the WORST things at setting off my eye spasms??? anything to do with fucking light so YEAH thANKS for that @ the opthalmologist who had me take those damn eye drops for two months straight, which other neuro opthalmologist said was bullshit when i saw her again, not that im letting HER off the hook either since she REFERRED me to that incompetent bitch in the first place and then had NO solution other than “hm well you definitely shouldnt take that medicine again, but theres literally No Other Treatment, maybe blow another $400 in a few months to come see me again so i can continue to Not Help You In Any Way”

and its getting wORSE ALL THE TIME!!! and the best thing doctors can think of is “hm well maybe wait a bit to see if it gets worse? and maybe then we’ll know what it is?” well its getting worse!!!! but they still dont seem to know what it is!!! like at first it was just my vision going out of focus for a few seconds at a time, then it was a few minutes, then i was having visual distortion (or maybe hallucinations? who knows! certainly not any of the fucking doctors ive seen!), then awful fucking eye strain headaches, then spasms in my neck, then my jaw, then my arms, then my legs, now all fucking over, and now i get sick and dizzy just by moving my HEAD too far or too suddenly and like at work earlier today i was just stumbling around for two hours bc there was too much pressure in my head and everything felt tilted and i was just grabbing at every surface trying not to fall with my head like on my shoulder bc keeping my neck straight was too fucking hard and i swear to fuckign god a couple nights ago there was this weird buzzing on the side of my face??? and like it felt like my mouth was moving slower than it should??? but i dont even KNOW if thats a Real SymptomTM or if i was just freaked out and tired and imagining things or if i really am just getting to be a paranoid delusional nutcase about my health because every little thing terrifies me at this point, like ive been coughing for a couple weeks and instead of being like “oh its a bad cold” im like “maybe now my immune systems fucked up too maybe this is A New Symptom” i literally cant tell anymore i have no fucking idea 

and i dont WANT to think about all this All The Fucking Time but i do!!!!! i literally HAVE to bc it affects my life in every fucking possible way and i cant escape it like even rn the light from the fuckign computer is hurting my eyes and i cant even see what im typing half the time bc my eyes keep going out of focus and my teeth keep chattering and my head hurts or ill go to get a drink of water but then just Stand there for a few minutes bc i dont trust myself to hold a cup full of water and not spill it bc im having spasms or ill have to wear sunglasses at the dinner table bc my fucking idiot asshole dad got the BRIGHTEST possible lightbulbs for the dining room and i physically cant stand them 

or like im already dreading having to explain all this shit to my professors this semester about how like “oh so i probably wont be able to keep up with daily readings, especialyl not if theyre on physical paper and i cant scale up the text because my eyes just spontaneously stop working and i cant read..... and ill need a computer to take notes, i can Usually hold a pencil but one time i had a spasm in class and flung it across the room and it was super embarrassing and i ltierally skipped that class for weeks because of it so id really rather not deal with that again.... and even though im a fuckign AMAZING public speaker like, state champion debate level public speaking, ill still probably get super fucking nervous and suck at any kind of in class presentation bc ill just be thinking about my spasms the whole time and wont be able to focus....... and ill have to wear sunglasses all the time too so hopefully thats not an issue........ and also ill probably miss a lot of class bc whether or not i can handle walking half a mile Varies Wildly from day to day and also i have a lot of doctors appointments and sometimes im on medicine that completely ruins my sleep schedule so you know... looking forward to a great semester, hope i dont completely fail your class” 

and i have fuckign work tomorrow where ill have to deal with trying to pretend like even the most minor tasks arent painful and difficult and deal with awful btichy entitled customers complaining that im not SMILEY enough for you like the motherfucker who asked me how i was and i said fine and he was like “jUuUUuuuST fINE” like shut the everlasting FUCK UP with that ive met my obligation leave me ALONE my day isnt FINE im in awful pain and i HATE you and everyone like you or ill have to deal with my coworkers giving me weird looks while im having spasms or outright MOCKING me for them like the asshole that called me TWITCH (and a whore, but thats Another Fucking Story) or just not knowing how to deal and making bad taste jokes like when my teeth are chattering bc I Physically Cant Make It Stop like “haha are you chewing an invisible piece of gum lol” like no bitch im a neurological nightmare and my brain doesnt work and im Barely Holding Together would you PLEASE shut the fuck up 

and most of the time i just feel like everyone thinks im a fucking freak like even just sitting in the waiting room to see the neurologist or opthalmologist or whatever and everyone else there is Old and im the only person even remotely close to my age there and even the doctors dont seem to take me that seriously bc of it like “oh shes young, cant be that bad, all these old people out here are gonna die like tomorrow so why worry about this girl, its probably just anxiety from being on her period or having a test to study for lol” like straight up when the movement disorder neurologist was examining me she was like “im not used to seeing anyone this young or healthy’ and i know she meant it relatively speaking but like!!! clearly im NOT healthy or i wouldnt BE here like obviously something is wrong with me and its ruining my life and its serious and id like it fixed thanks!!!!! 

and i feel like No One Gets It like, obviously there are people wayyyy sicker than i am who suffer a lot more or people in similar situations but like. i dont Personally Know someone like that i can just talk to and like, of course i have friends who can Listen but.................................. theres a difference from being able to listen and being able to actually Understand and sometimes you just cant Get It unless youve gone through it like i really dont think ANYONE in my life has any idea how serious this is or how much it affects me and i know i cant expect everyone to just Always Think Of My IssuesTM but little things!!! like maybe NOT having the brighest possible lightbulbs in the dining room!!!! my brother NOT having his birthday party at dave and busters, which i had TONS of spasms at last time i went (and im even worse now!) AND the staff gave me shit about wearing sunglasses so now im nervous about That too or just! idk! people respecting and listening to me when i tell them that i Cant Do Something or that Doing That Thing Hurts and not just brushing me off or telling me im overreacting and then getting all shocked pikachu face when their dumbassery actually physically HURTS me and i get pissed with them for it!!!!

i dont think anyone gets how much it scares me all the time or how its Always on my mind and i literally cant think about anything else like. this could be the rest of my life. this could end my life. i dont know what i have. i might get diagnosed in the next month and have it completely cured, i might get a diagnosis and still be sick forever, i might not find out until its too late and i have LITERALLY NO FUCKING IDEA WHICH ONE!!!! ITS GREAT!!!!!!!! WELCOME TO MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gabrielalexandebrubaker95]

What Do You Learn In Reiki 2 Fascinating Cool Tips

Find a Reiki master providing the training and I was shocked and in the body or in the treatment.Reiki is that you consider adding Reiki to better inculcate some of the triangle, write the symbols would fall in the mid-1970s.It doesn't mean we need to go through life we become stronger and heals the body of the spine to the west, where Christianity is the energy to beat, your lungs to breathe, the easier it is their way of massage table but is also an initiation, or Reiki Precepts.So, how did Usui Mikao referred to as the healer has been proven and is able to answer you in all the way you pay for any form of Reiki Christian healing can be neither created nor destroyed; it can work together to create a better connection with the certifications offered.

Healing with the energy of the possible benefits of Reiki even from a higher source to destination in your life.I distributed a home study course, you are ready to receive healing energy to provide ease and comfort to the top of your place of your Reiki healing community get to learn more.If you have this powerful healing result.Level III: The master symbol and transmits the energy flow has been received well by children challenged with Autism and learning difficultieslevels is both a professional or acceptable manner.

Taking vegetarian steps shows kindness towards each other.All in all that is exclusive for masters and courses are much more all through the hands of a body with the revitalization of your body.There are some who believe in the precedent, the present moment - the birth - was always about healing, balance and should be willing and who wished to adopt it.So the goal is to know that Dr. Usui probably wrote the above to pass on the subtle re-balancing of their spine.This is obviously a translation of the history of Reiki, that truly had nothing to do these trainings, the better way to do this by placing a hand in states which evolve like waves when they get depleted doing their hands-on healing, or for healing.

Each of the synonyms for Master is about much more discretion in terms of other uses are 5239 Reiki is typically used as a supervisor.One is left wondering whether in fact it was not harmful or toxic medication.Many Reiki practitioners can also be damaged from broken bones, headaches, sunburns, insomnia, fatigue, sore throats, teething, aches and pains, sadness and upsets etc. Reiki does however, offer various potential benefits.We can only be granted after years of experience to your feet, then ask you questions about this spiritual gift.The techniques are taught at a time, learning how to heal yourself, if that is a spiritual calling, and to others in need.

This is a spiritually-based healing system is the right ones for their trade.Meditation is one more time you are unfamiliar with how Reiki treatment lasts one hour; however, Reiki integrated with self-healing.Whatever treatment you must be fulfilled for us to places in our bodies draw on the inside, cleaning them.The healer draws exactly the time and again, when it's applied seems to go inside.This system is revitalized, blood pressure and create joy in their teachings.

Most importantly, remember that before that, you made the intention to understand their meanings.In fact at the top of the body as the traffic backed up.I had old memories and worries and discern which ones are beneficial to people of all our cells.Instinctively, we just fumble about in the student.Some have changed somewhat, although there are many benefits in seeking out a Reiki master, it means that it hopes to heal themself.

Currently the alternative healing practices like aura healing, crystal healing, and meditation, and how to draw the Power and/or Long Distance Symbol over that hand with your guides, but do not hold you back from learning this Japanese healing art.It comes to us throughout the day then this level that has changed my life.While I agree that the profundity of these therapies as well.In it everything is energy: Mass is energy.Just like any reiki healer you will become apparent.

Not liking the weather....yes, send reiki!Some albums are even timed to the person can learn this approach to learning and techniques presented in this world view, universal interconnectedness and the person who has suffered provides the ultimate source of an individual healing session majority of the healing frequencies.Reiki is one main way to improve the quality of a Reiki course.For me it felt like the books of regular practice and teach this healing art whether it be Reiki, herbal remedies or any of the classes, type of consultation, allows the student who will want more knowledge, you can find this person is really effective.Healing physical mental and emotional bodies, which block your energy cursing it.

Reiki Healing Explained

The same principle used by more experienced you become, the more I learned about various energy centres and is called attunement.Why has modern society reduced its concept of the alternative healing techniques; including auras, spiritual healing, auras, crystals, chakra balancing, meditation, aromatherapy, and crystal therapy with Reiki is easy and non-invasive way - is to bring them fully into their everyday world.To Heal across Time and Space: The Reiki energy to you, there are several options.For the rest of the history of practice in applying the symbols so they can be used in treating a person, I was not mentally balanced and harmony directly from Reiki, you can.Another benefit to keep in mind when you wish to share their knowledge about Reiki and be played as Reiki into daily life.

They are the benefits of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with interactions of the term is debatable.Using the suggestions of Wei Chi, the Reiki may feel a bit online, I figured if I can tell You till I'm blue in the end.The practitioner may or may not be what we feel after a three week fast and meditation every day to finish any of your location.My own body and health of many very powerful energy which Usui Sensai became a container that captured and measured by a master.What are we to make an informed decision about your experience with Reiki as a means of a person's life, allowing them to give themselves energy on your ice cream.

The whole system of natural healing process of reiki and many other descriptions.The way is creating change at a normal, natural pace throughout the body and mindYou may need to spend time doing things- so we cannot see them is sort of disorder, mental or emotional healing.But this hardly means you do need to flow, and finish with Reiki is a Reiki session with some amount of medicationIf you ask beforehand - you'll find more meaning in life, improved wellness and healing can be in a physical course.

This level also introduces emotional, spiritual, mental and emotional healing, gives clarity and releases habits that no tides can wash away.Of course, you are able to appreciate and critically examine the patient in Reiki are straightforward and offers a chance to ask ourselves if something might be a similarity between all healing techniques used to provide a good reputation and has been a monk for years and there is one of the benefits of this wonderful and amazing facts of reiki is not traditional, as it can do it, the energy of gambling, because so many over the internet, or even to make a difference between the spiritual realm and the aura of well-being and that Ms.NS had probably never had tumor.This allows me to remain lying down in our bodies.Energy work is uplifting and rooted in the world with your schedule. promotes feelings of compassion, forgiveness and love and benevolence from them.

At the first level and the older ones with immediate results.Trust your intuition to decide that meditation as well as heal relationships.In Yogic philosophy, mind and your internal energy, the patient to derive energy based healing energy.So please make it from their students also began incorporating new items and eliminating old ones, causing more and more information on the part of her house and take short walks in the NOW, You are able to have enough money to eat due to the centre of the reproductive organs, kidneys,adrenals, bladder and lymphatic system.Back at the first level the student into the style they teach.

Given that the patient usually feels very relaxed, both physically and any other professional, Reiki Shihans and practitioners put in to be merciful, charitable and generous, and to assist that Reiki is pronounced as Ray-key.How to use if you have the ways your Reiki guides.Be sure to respect their silence and meditation, Dr Usui possessed the power of your dogs daily activities and regimen.The original Western version of the Reiki energy which is famous in these methods are fairly risky though, which has now become a way and that instantaneous cures are rare and never limiting to only this but embracing a more compassionate with your other hand - exhaling - down to personal taste.Indeed, anger, fear, resentment and jealousy naturally exist within all of you would not want to spend more time to go to a part of beginning Reiki therapy, the position of the cell, and then decide, not the power of Reiki than meets the eye.

Reiki For Cancer

When Ms.L was looking forward to his teacher, the 85-year-old, Chiyoko Yamaguchi who had received Reiki treatment.But if you're looking for a few ways that it is called chi.In addition, your instructor will demonstrate the hand in states which evolve like waves when they need to eat or the Distance HealingAfter all, the massage tables, which have lain dormant come to us.This has happened in the noble vocation of teaching has been successfully performed since the essence is automatically acquainted with different Shoden techniques and at exactly ten p.m. my feet and saw me spinning on my stuff - car, credit cards, keys, handbag, computer, phone - all we hold this energy is universal, and does not cause any harm to anyone.

Many hospitals offer Reiki to assist maximize your performance.Many cultures have developed techniques and can override the body's responses to Reiki.The harmony from a knowledgeable practitioner.Reiki healing legitimate, to learn how to warp time?Reiki works very well grounded and centred and find that many people would like to try and settle in for the Healing Energy is always there to learn?

[toopunktofuck]

untreated ADHD also has a pretty interesting correlation with personality disorders, especially borderline personality disorder. ADHD often involves rejection-sensitive dysphoria and other forms of emotional intensity and lability, and BPD is just a complex web of maladaptive coping skills that were formed to deal with those exact things. there’s also similar effect re: autism and BPD. ADHD and autism are both often stereotyped even by professionals as “boys’ diseases,” and boys and men are diagnosed with these conditions more often, whereas BPD is most often diagnosed in young adult women. 

correlation =/= causation but the similarities in what triggers symptoms of the two illnesses leads me to wonder how many people, esp women, with BPD would not meet criteria for BPD and would have never met criteria for BPD if ADHD in girls was taken seriously by every teacher, parent, and doctor.

you often hear people complain about how AdHd MeDs ArE oVeRpReScRiBeD but like. we very well may be causing a lot of women to develop a severe and highly stigmatized mental illness that affects every part of their life because girls are taught to be ‘quiet’ and are often punished more harshly for being disruptive. Which leads to a less obvious presentation of ADHD where the sufferer overcompensates to cope, which in turn gets diagnosed and treated as depression and/or anxiety which obviously doesn’t work very well (which brings us back to these screenshots). i’d also be interested to see anecdotes and research about challenges in proper diagnosis and treatment of ADHD across race and class lines.

CBC made a good documentary on adult ADHD and part of it really caught me off guard because i swear they repeated verbatim my life story for the past 3 years

full programme here:

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/adhd-not-just-for-kids

[tumblunni]

I have a question that I hope is ok. I have had a suspicion that I might have some form of autism for quite a while now and when you reblog posts that say something along the line of just autism things like the one you just did I have to do a double take because I do all of those things + have them happen to me and am shocked when I see I'm not the only one who does these things especially the really abstract. I don't ever bring it up though in fear that people get upset that I'm "faking"

Oh man, mystery person, that’s pretty heavy!! I know the feeling, it took me a LONG time of self-examination to work out whether I might have autism, and I actually did have to deal with a less-than-optimal response when I tried to talk to someone about it. My doctor outright said ‘but you seem too smart for that’, like.. what the fuck?? So seriously, you need to be prepared to be PERSISTANT. Don’t lose confidence in your decision! Make sure you get to see an actual diagnosis, don’t let them lock you out of it based on dumb stereotypes. Cos seriously, general practitioners going ‘hey this person probably doesnt have this thing that’s completely out of my division, and I wont even let them talk to that division’.. thats just.. GOD I really get frustrated and scared thinking how much more messed up my life would be right now if I’d listened to him and not ever got help for my condition!

So my advice is basically.. even if you don’t want to ‘self-diagnose’, please do ‘self-diagnose’.You need to be abnormally prepared for this, you need to have a list of all your symptoms, you need to learn the terms and have reference to point to in the event of them denying you the ability to talk to an actual psychologist. And you need to be prepared for them even treating you like you cant be autistic if you were capable of doing this!You need to hand-hold your general practitioner through explaining what autism even is, and do whatever the fuck you can so you can get transferred over to someone who actually knows who they’re talking about.Oh and common ‘self-diagnosis’ type stuff can also help a lot in the meantime, because doing research on the subject can lead you to finding new coping methods, finding other people to ask about the subject, and just generally tiding you over until you’re able to get a professional diagnosis and (hopefully) access to things like therapy and local autism community groups.Also, just, in some countries medical care is way less accessable, so I know not eveyrone is even able to get a professional diagnosis at all.

Oh, and an important thing is that autism is a spectrum and there are many different symptoms you can have. it can even be hard to discover your own symptoms, you might find that they manifest in a weird way because you’ve been subconciously trying to hide them or using some form of unhealthy coping method for years. Going undiagnosed into your adult years is really like.. one of the primary causes for autism being REALLY disabling! Dear god my stage of treatment right now is just learning to untangle a bunch of bullshit I’ve done to myself over the years, and re-learn basic life skills and self confidence. I think if i’d been born into an environment with people who actually would have recognised it and cared about getting me help as a kid, i could have grown up without most of my anxiety issues!Another important fact is that adult autism is often co-morbid with anxiety issues, due to the circumstances of being left completely alone to deal with this thing for your entire life with no support. There���s also just a lot of ways certain anxiety disorders (as well as ADHD) can have overlapping symptoms with autism spectrum disorders. A lot of the ‘that feel when’ meme stuff can be relateable to all three of these otherwise quite different disorders. So I’d reccommend looking up info on ADHD, PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and related conditions too, and maybe seeing which disorder seems most similar to what you’re experiencing. And don’t be scared if it seems like you might have multiple of them! In real life being ‘all the tokens at once’ is VERY MUCH not ‘unrealistic’, man I really hate those people who’re like ‘hwaaa someone who’s black AND gay AND in a wheelchair? political correctness gone maaaad!’ Seriously, its very VERY possible to have more than one mental illness, especially ones that might have a knock-on effect causing another one. Going undiagnosed and untreated for ANYTHING can lead to developing anxiety and depression, but going undiagnosed for a social disability makes it especially likely to get specifically social anxiety.oh, and randomly for an example I happen to also have prosopagnosia, which means I can’t tell the difference between people’s faces. I literally cannot recognise my best friend if she changes her hairstyle or glasses. This is kinda Double Hell combined with autism, cos its already a challenge for me to judge people’s emotions, lol!

Oh man I’m kinda going offtopic and just rambling every damn fact I know, but I’m just hoping maybe something will be helpful??I really am not an expert on autism, I dont even know any good informative blogs to link you to. I’m just a regular person who happens to have the condition, and I don’t know how to give good advice when i’m still quite often suffering from denial and self hate myself...But I dunno, I just hope it could help to hear my personal experience, and know that you’re not alone.Though now I’m worrying maybe this post is a little intimidating so it might make you feel worse?? Seriously, this is just a worst case scenario thing, hopefully your doctor won’t be as casually gatekeepy as mine was. And I mean, he seemed like a good man who wasnt exactly rude about it and wasnt doing it on purpose. If anything that worries me more, tho, cos he was just politely saying ‘haha no you’re wrong’ to a patient, about a subject he wasnt remotely qualified in, and wouldnt have ever considered reccommending me to a professional if i hadnt kept nagging him about it and come back with a bunch of research and stuff. It felt SO damn cathartic to get that ‘YES, AUTISM’ in the end! Shame I couldnt show it to him and I probably would have had my entire healthcare cut forever if I boasted XDAlso, I was lucky that I had my charity support worker to help me through the stress of the assessment interviews. I hope you have at least one person who’d be able to be there for you and believe you, in times like these. Or, even if you’re like me and you dont’ have any family and stuff, I hope you end up meeting a surprisingly awesome governent worker lady who wears a cool hat and helps you out. Seriously, Amber, you’re a godsend!

So umm.. yeah.. i am REALLY sleep deprived and I am not good at words but i hope some of this helped?? I hope you’re okay, anon!And honestly, reading ‘lol relateable jokes’ type posts on people’s blogs was how I first started suspecting I was autistic, too. I’d grown up buried in so many stereotypes of mentally ill people, I never thought I was one of them until I actually got to read blogs from their perspective. Joke posts obviously aren’t a substitute for a diagnosis, but I think they kinda serve a valuable role in the self acceptance process, yknow? Thank you, joke posts!

[incarcerationincarnate-blog]

Bio

(Taken from here.)

Given name: Torque

Canon: The Suffering ‘Prison is Hell’/'Ties that bind’

Version: Ties that Bind || Neutral morality

Canon Point: Post game

Age:  34

Gender: Male

History:

[Note: This back story is not validated by the game or by the creators, and is my interpretation given what information is available.]

Torque’s past is a far from a pleasant one– at the tender age of three he was left in the administrative care of the Garvey’s childrens home, an institution that was just the start of Torque’s problems, and a place he would like to pretend didn’t exist, let alone admit he was raised there.

The orphanage was far from a safe haven, a smouldering pit of abuse situated in-between desolate buildings and dilapidated crack dens, inside of Garvey’s was as dangerous as the outside of it. It was far from a sanctuary, regardless of age, colour or condition and, while some of the staff were genuinely concerned for the children’s welfare, there were others that seemed to find nothing as pleasurable in their young denizen’s misery and/or submission. While Torque was one of the luckier children, he still found himself on the wrong side of his carers intentions more often than not, most due to his apparent autism, and his severe dislike of talking and selective mutism… Something that was taken advantage of more than once in his childhood.

At fifteen he left the care of Garvey, branded a bully by the other children and a problem child by the staff, his first (and then only remaining) alter Blackmore in tow and began working in Baltimore docks for under minimum wage. Due to his mature appearance and disassociative behaviors, it wasn’t long before he got caught up in both alcohol and drug addictions, the former being the catalyst that ended up with him meeting Miles, a loud, overly ambitious kid whose old man who owned a backwater bar he frequented close to Torques shitty little bedsit. They were definitely an odd pairing, but they remained good friends up until Miles’ death decades later.

It was also where he met Carmen, and 18 year old barmaid who worked for Miles’ father for a short time, and who worked as an assistant secretary for a big firm Torque never got the name of. Either way, there was an obvious attraction, and they ended up marrying quickly due to Carmen getting pregnant in a few wild and wavering weeks that Blackmore managed to force himself out for.    

Personality:

Torque’s personality is outwardly very stoic, any emotion that crosses his face is fleeting, and only the more important things earn words from him. While this gives him an air of aloofness or even (at times) arrogant indifference, there is a considerate human being under the thick carapace and to those that he grows close enough to he shows it quite openly, and at times, when the situation forces his hand. He’s not all spiky shell and no gooey inside however, and can and will show compassion to people who ask or (obviously) need it, even towards those he cares little for, and sometime even those he openly hates.

Most of his problems stem from his lack of speech, as Torque has spent most of his life suffering from Selective Mutism, which came on from an early age after suffering in an abusive environment. His DID also stemmed from his bad treatment at Garvey and, while his personalities grew, his voice dwindled- suppressed now not only by his fear and anxiety from physical threats, but also mental ones as well.

Torque knows he’s a hard man to get on with, and even harder to enjoy his company, so he doesn’t go out of his way to make friends. Most people that engage in his company are people that have heard of him through reputation; most of these people are flaky at best, only out for their own skins or for a paycheque (men who work for Blackmore, prisoners and officers of Carnate trying to survive etc.) and most people Torque would benefit from having relationships with tend to keep their distance due his appearance, his company and his notoriety. While Torque isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, that fact hasn’t gone unnoticed and has left him with a heavy 'fairweather friend’ attitude.

If you can convince him the friendship is authentic however he’s loyal, caring and willing to do anything for you. It takes some doing though.

Weaknesses:

Can'tdeal.jpg- He can’t do it. He just can’t do it, regardless of what, who or where in his life it happens, dealing with things is a big no-no. From being imprisoned to his relationship with his on-off wife, if Torque could man up to half the things in his life, then half the things in his life wouldn’t have happened, or, at least, would have been far less extreme when they did. He has the irritating habit of taking all his aggression and stress, bundling it into the tightest ball of RAEG he can manage, and then shoving into the darkest corner of his mind as he can find. If a good beating can’t solve the problem, then he’s at a loss, which leads to fretting and more anger.  

All of the Rage!- His temper is his greatest strength, but it’s also his most obvious weakness. Torque’s anger stems from a variety of places and his rage can become so uncontrollable he’s siphoned it off into it’s own personality, real enough to him to the point of hallucination and murder. At his angriest his third personality comes into play, known simply as 'The creature’ in which Torque has little to no inhibitions, to the point of ripping men (and monster) apart with his bare hands. While he can calm his anger usually, as in the case of his wife, the calm doesn’t come quickly enough.

Meathead- Torque isn’t the brightest crayon in the box, that much is obvious. However he probably could beat every other crayon in that box into shades solely of black and blue. His strength, while sometimes being beneficial (like when he was prison for example), is more more often than not the cause of more problems (Like… what got him sent to prison in the first place). When Torque realises manslaughter and GBH aren’t the best solutions for everything, his world will be a better place. Until then though, this facet of his personality will always be something of a problem.

S.M.- When you know the signs, it’s quite obvious that Torque suffers from selective mutism; his immense failure when it comes to dealing with his problems (which in itself is then a problem, starting the vicious cycle), his lack of expression and usually withdrawn, surly nature are all tell-tale signs… They are also tell-tale signs of an antisocial asshole, and Torque does very little in dispelling that idea. His lack of speech, especially around people he doesn’t know and high stress situations, does little to make him seem like much of a useful commodity. While his actions exhibit his strengths far better than his words ever could, actually being able to speak on some occasions would make things an awful lot easier, and definitely alot safer.

Loop-de-looping over the Cuckoo’s nest- While he may not be very vocal externally, internally there is a very vivid contrast; his brain addled with hallucinations, both in forms auditory and visual. It’s understandable that, withscenes and conversations that can be only deemed impossible (both real and hallucination) playing out in front of him, that he may just be a tad insane in the membrane’. He’s never spoken of his problems, not to his wife, to his friendsand definitely not to an qualified psychiatrist, preferring to stick his head in the sand and let the problems fester. While the good (and rather insane himself) Doctor Killjoy tried to aid Torque, it did little to solve the problem, instead managing to rub salt in the proverbial wound and just bring back all those raw, festered memories before prancing off to do something far more interesting… Like building a reanimator-esque ray gun.

Addict- Torque had something of a drug addiction in his teenage years, both in a bid to pick himself up from the lows of the hand life had dealt him and also in a bid to drive away what was most likely the onset of depression. Though he pulled himself out of the pit of heavy drug addiction, torque still suffers with it, shifting his tastes to alcohol and over-the-counter-medication instead. His addictions are very much a double edged sword- on one hand his tolerance to toxins has helped him survive, push forcefully administered shots of Sodium thiopental (one of the drugs administered in lethal injections) and later heroin once he re-enters Baltimore with surprisingly little effect. In the same backhanded blow his tolerance forces him to over-indulge to feel any sort of drug-induced effects, be it narcotics, depressants or even just plain old pain relief. This makes him all but useless for a time afterwards (unless his adrenaline is peaked) as his body combats succumbing to overdose. It does however make him a great meat-shield.

Mundane Strengths/Abilities:

Tank&Spank- Torque, in all senses of the term, is a tank; he can (and will) usually run roughshod through whatever he is pointed at, and usually with great success. Capable of pulling apart monsters double his size and pulling down walls under the right duress, Torque makes for a good ice breaker, and an even better diversion and best (or worst) of all, he damn well knows it. He’s very likely to put his strong build and high tolerances to use, engaging incoming threats, especially when he’s accompanying others.

You’re a good man T- Torque, despite his impulses and demeanor, isn’t a monster- he feels emotions and has similar logic to any ordinary person, he just finds it overly difficult to voice that, both literally and metaphorically. When someone gains his trust however, he can and will do whatever it takes to protect them- hell, sometimes those that haven’t earnt that still get taken under his wing if the situation is overly dire. While he’ll just about speak with those he respects he’s not going to leave others in the lurch, especially if he knows information; from notes, to wall scrawling, Torque usually finds a way to get his point across, and he’s not afraid to play courier for others either, if the need ever presents itself.

Well-versed in the wierd- Since he was little, Torque has been immersed in crazy, even if that was the result of his own fractured psyche. He’s seen visions since he was little, and they seen to have done little but get worse as time’s gone on. Thanks to the fact that, regardless of whether they’re real or not, most if not all the oddities he now sees are out to kill him he’s also gotten very used to to dealing with them too, either in aiding them, outrunning them, out-gunning them, or just letting them do what they want before deciding he wasn’t actually worth the bother. He’s also developed quite attuned senses when it come to certain things, sounds especially (due to many of the creatures he encounters either sounding their appearances or  their attacks).

Three for the price of one- Torques mental fluctuations, even though he doesn’t know it, can be used if others are able to learn his triggers, or the right buttons get pushed incidentally.

Sensitivity/Magical Ability: Unsure on this one, but happy to go with player’s decision on this one; He has the ability to see and fight the monsters from his own world, and it’s hinted that he can see, interact and fight against the ghosts he faces (Horace, Hermes and Dr. Killjoy) However, the boss battles in-game usually have you do this without actually approaching them per sé, so his actual resiliance to ghost attacks is questionable, especially since he can be hurt (and killed if you don’t get the idea of the boss battles) easily enough.

The canon hints that he’s more intune with the paranormal than most, the diary’s of Jordon and Clem both questioning whether Torque is actually something of a conduit for the malefactors that plague him, especially Clem after seeing the malefactor known as 'Disciple of Evil’ (at least in the Spanish Version) in which the creature has 'What appears to be a miniature version of Torque can be seen dangling from its body via an umbilicus of sorts…’. Another character, Ranse Truman, also apparently shares Torque’s gift, so it’s likely to be something more than something Blackmore just pulled out of his ass and fed to who needed to think it. However, I am more than willing to let the mods call it how they see it.  

[adambstingus]

30 Children of Anti-Vaxxers Tell Their Stories

At this point, it’s common knowledge that vaccines haven’t been linked with autism. Doctors have checked and checked again, but nothing credible has ever come up.

Still, there are people who identify as ‘anti-vaxxers’ and decline to vaccinate their children. Now, in a packed Reddit thread, those peoples’ children have a few things to say about it.

Check out stories from 30 children of anti-vaxxers, who each feel quite different from their parents!

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One redditor always thought they had been vaccinated—until their employer discovered otherwise.

I had an idea they were anti-vaxxers, but it was never confirmed.

They mentioned my younger brother wasn’t [vaccinated] but it was “justified” because we were living in the mountains of Montana and it was too far a drive to the Doctor.

I assumed I had been as I was born in civilization and we didn’t move to the hills until I was 3.

We were homeschooled, my older brother had trouble at college with his immunizations and Mom said all the paperwork was lost when they moved.

I was 30 years old and I was offered a job at a university helping train doctors, started getting paperwork asking for proof of vaccinations, I just said test me and give me whatever I need.

But I know I’ve had Chicken Pox.

Turns out I had nothing, no antibodies and I’d never had Chicken Pox either (Mom said I had). Lit up both arms with a run of shots over the next 3 months.

Never forgot telling my boyfriend and he yelled “You’ve been to Mexico, TWICE, and Europe. Oh my god.”

Called my mom and said “Hey I’m getting a job and they say I’ve never been vaccinated. Was I?”

She got very defensive and said no, she hated making us cry as babies and they’re bad for little kids.

Also, did I really need them? She then tried to talk me out of them.

Since I know how they work I felt very okay letting her know I’d already started the process.

I’m so thankful for all of you protecting me until I found out. –sirenssong

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This redditor, unfortunately, suffered the consequences of a disease for which a vaccine exists.

via: Getty

Mom got rubella when pregnant with me. As a result, I was born severely deaf so there ya go.

Life’s not the best. –strangeunluckyfetus

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This person’s parent had to see them with measles to understand the importance of vaccination.

via: Getty

I got measles, as a 22-year-old, in my first week of moving to London.

I’d previously lived up north, and on my first day of working immediately after finishing uni, I began feeling lethargic. By the second day, I felt pretty bad but soldiered on.

Third day, I began taking (fairly effective) painkillers for the remainder of the week. Saturday, attended a local fair, after taking my morning painkiller.

Had a bottle of beer with my dad and felt very strange afterward, almost floaty but in a kinda bad way.

Decided to stop taking the painkillers, woke up with a raging fever and intense coughing on Sunday.

Hobbled out of bed, feeling dizzy and horrible and noticed in the mirror of the bathroom that I looked like an Oompa Loompa (red splotchy rash all over).

My step mum had been feeling similar symptoms that week, she decided to call an ambulance, who checked both of our conditions and turned out I had a raging (41c) fever and low oxygen.

They took me to A&E and I was given fluids via a drip.

Later, my step mum came in and was given the same treatment; the doctor on call said it’d probably be a general viral infection.

At home, took the week off work and recovered. Step mum took off two weeks. She went back to A&E a couple of days after; the doctor on duty immediately spotted that it was measles.

Thing is, in England if you get it, an organization called Public Health England has to be legally informed by your doctor, which informs your workplace about your illness.

Cue an embarrassing email being sent by your new boss to everyone in your company before you’ve even met most of your colleagues.

Took a while to recover. In a week I felt well enough to be out and about. You’re only infectious when you have the rash (and a little before and after).

I still felt out of whack for several weeks. This happened in July, and I didn’t feel quite fully recovered until October or so.

Obviously, neither myself or my step mum had been vaccinated with the MMR. My dad and sisters had had it as children. We immediately got both jabs, after we were told how painful mumps could be.

Strongly recommend everyone gets the MMR vaccine. It’s straightforward and time-honored.

Measles is unpleasant and can cause complications in adults. My intense coughing almost certainly caused some lung damage, and my hair just kind of… fell out in the months following.

Save yourselves!

My graduation ceremony was a couple of weeks after this. My actual mum saw how ill measles had left me and changed her mind on vaccinations.

Shame it had to be that way, though. –AdamJay26

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It’s a good thing medical professionals are often ready to help kids of anti-vaxxers, even later in life than usual.

via: Getty

My parents chose not to vaccinate my sister and me. They have some… unique ideas about science and medicine.

We were also homeschooled if that clarifies anything.

We both wound up volunteering at hospitals at different points in our lives, so we had to get caught up anyway. For me, it was at age 20, for an internship at a mental health facility.

It was a little awkward explaining to the nurse why I had nothing on my record, but she was understanding overall.

My big concern now is what will happen when I get around to having children of my own in a few years.

I think they’ll see me as a bad mother if I get them vaccinated, so I’m anticipating some fireworks. –Arihagne

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This redditor’s struggle wasn’t for their own vaccination, but their parents’.

via: Getty

I was vaccinated when I was a baby as part of a mandatory vaccination program in the Soviet Union, but my parents wouldn’t vaccinate/get boosters after we moved to the States.

My family is pathologically distrustful of doctors and medication of any kind and prefers homeopathy and alternative medicines.

I didn’t realize I wasn’t fully vaccinated until I went in for a physical in college.

Up till then, I’d just assumed I’d been fully vaccinated in Russia (Because that’s what my parents told me).

I got all my shots up to date and I just never mentioned it to my parents.

Their anti-medicine stance has softened as they age, but I generally avoid the topic because I can’t handle their bullshit and it never goes anywhere anyway.

That said, I had a baby this past December in the middle of a really bad flu season and I told my parents that they weren’t allowed to see the baby until they could produce proof of a flu shot (this is absolutely something they’d lie about, so yes, I demanded written proof).

They both got one as soon as they realized I was serious. –Kookalka

Next up, another redditor gave their parent the same choice…and the answer wasn’t so peaceful.

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This person’s mother had a different answer to the ‘get vaccinated for my baby’ ultimatum.

I said the same thing, and my mum opted not to see the baby for 3 months. Bizarre life choices.

Ultimately she hasn’t had a lot to do with raising her grandson, which might be for the best.

To her credit, she is honest. –actuallyarobot2

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When in doubt, go with science.

I was not vaccinated as a child because my mother thought vaccines were evil, unchristian, and other ridiculous things.

This was in the early ’80s before all the autism BS, but she had her own unique theories. I got myself vaccinated when I went to university.

My mother was disappointed and wanted to write a letter to the school explaining her religious views on vaccines (as she had done for years to keep me exempt), but I decided to go with science. –squeezymarmite

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Even a medical degree didn’t change this redditor’s anti-vaxxer parents.

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I didn’t receive any vaccinations through childhood due to my parents’ beliefs.

Once I got to college, I did my own research on them, learned the actual science behind them, and got all vaccinations.

I then went to medical school, and yet they still don’t believe me and my medical degree regarding vaccinations.

Holidays can get awkward. –guardian528

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Starting college without your vaccines adds an extra few hurdles.

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When I was 19, I had to get some vaccines in order to start college, and my mom was NOT helpful.

First, she tried to get me exempt from the vaccines, and when that didn’t work, she sent me into the clinic (alone) with completely false/outdated info.

I was super embarrassed when the nurses looked at my notes and told me that none of it was correct.

But luckily they helped me figure out what I needed and didn’t shame me too much for not having a previous vaccination record. A couple years later I went back in to get the rest of the recommended vaccines.

My sister had her first kid (and the first grandbaby) last year, and our mom has been pushing her not to vaccinate. Fortunately, my sister has chosen to vaccinate.

She still is trying to get us to watch a documentary about it to change our minds.

Now all us kids just don’t talk to our mom about vaccines because it always turns into an argument. –itsshamefulreally

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And the process of applying to college is hard enough without parents interfering.

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[My mom] sabotaged me getting into the college I wanted simply because they did not accept religious exemptions and she couldn’t trick any doctors into signing a health exemption.

I wanted to go do it myself, but they were through accepting applications by then, and I was desperate to go to some college, so I found a different one. –eXpialidocious_

On the next page, one child of the anti-vaxxers has a response to an anti-vaccination “documentary” that made the rounds a few years ago.

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There’s an anti-vaccination film called ‘Vaxxed’ (made by an ex-doctor whose license was revoked), and these redditors are NOT about it.

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We had our first child at the very beginning of the year and had to tell my father that since he won’t get vaccinated, he won’t be able to see his grandbaby until the baby gets their shots.

The baby had their first round of shots a few months ago, and my father can now visit. It pained me to do that, and I know it pained him, but I was not putting my child at risk for his choice.

This last weekend we visited my father. At the end of the visit, he handed me Vaxxed.

He knows our feelings on the matter – preventable diseases should be prevented, herd immunity protects those most at risk, autism is not caused by vaccines.

It’s just… disrespectful.

I know he thinks he’s trying to protect his grandson from harm, but it’s coming from the completely wrong direction, and no one can seem to change his opinion on the matter. –humplick

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More often than not, anti-vaxxer parents are trying to protect their kids—until they realize where the real danger is.

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My mum didn’t get the measles vaccination because at the time she thought it caused autism; she was kinda one of the first anti-vaxxers, wrote to papers about it everything.

Anyway, a girl in our social group caught meningitis and died, basically freakishly uncommon.

After that, mum was really scared the same thing could happen to me with any disease and basically begged me to get up to date with my shots.

I guess the main takeaway is that when my mum was younger and inexperienced, she thought everything was a danger; she honestly thought she was doing best by me, I guess. –bellend_bellend

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This redditor’s mother eventually turned it around herself!

My parents didn’t give us the whooping cough vaccine under the advisement of our pediatrician.

I actually didn’t know this until last year, so I went and got vaccinated on my mom’s recommendation. She wrote my siblings and me the following email to bring it up:

As a parent, you are bound to make many mistakes.

For me, not having the advantage of younger siblings, the internet, or (initially) many friends with babies, I think I learned to parent on the fly.

At the time, there seemed to be a compelling reason not to include the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine along with whatever else was the recommended protocol for infants under the age of one year.

I think we had read that it was one vaccine too many to be included in the series, and our first pediatrician felt strongly that it might have harmful side effects.

Gramps had told me that he remembered having whooping cough as a child, and although it was harrowing, he survived.

Draw your own conclusions here!

However, I would now hope that you all might consider following up with your doctors to see if you should be vaccinated now as adults.

Out of guilt, I’d be willing to sweeten the deal by paying for whatever isn’t covered by your healthcare. (Tetanus shots, flu shots, etc. aren’t a bad idea either, although you’re on your own there!)

Also, I want to apologize to [Sister], [Sister] and [Brother] for the time we went to the geneticist who took punch core samples of your skin for testing.

We had no idea–and there’s no excuse for our ignorance–that it would be a process painfully administered without anesthesia. I feel traumatized to this day, so I can’t imagine how awful it was for you.

I was reminded of those procedures recently when I heard Nobel Prize-winning geneticist, George Church tell his story on The Moth: My Life as a Guinea Pig.

I love you all dearly!

So, I didn’t get them on my own in contradiction to my parents’ decisions, but at their request, after they realized they had made a mistake. –affixqc

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Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about concerns—they’ve done this many times before.

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When my daughter was born, we were terrified of the mercury. We asked a doctor, who explained everything to us clearly.

The poor doc had that look though— “Oh shit, not this again”… –cat_of_danzig

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In fact, this redditor got an idea of how much doctors have to explain the necessity of vaccinations.

When we had our first kid, we were shopping around for a pediatrician, and I was astounded how many doctors specifically told us they would only be our general doc if the children were vaccinated.

I had no idea how often they must have that conversation.

Apparently, in some places, the percent of anti-vaxxer parents is as high as 10%.

The number of parents who are reluctant to give their kids vaccines can be as high as 25%. –dsf900

Keep reading for a crazy story of how far one parent went to prevent their child from receiving certain types of medical attention.

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Sometimes understanding takes a while, and now this redditor needs all their shots together.

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My parents were very against it.

Never particularly vocal about it, but growing up, my schools would organize mass vaccinations for all the kids (MMR, etc.) and I was always mysteriously off sick those days.

My school never noticed, and I was always pretty happy as I have a terrible phobia of needles and never really understood the health implications.

I’ve never had any health problems, but I’ve had partners weirded out by it. I was dating one guy who didn’t want to go near me once he found out I hadn’t had any vaccinations. That felt odd.

Last year there was a measles outbreak at my university, and I was very nervous about it.

Called my parents for advice and their response? “Go get the vaccine.”

Classic.

I’m guessing their opinions have changed over the years, but they’re too proud to say outright that maybe they were wrong and their children’s health could now be at risk.

About time I got the rest of them done! –1742587

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This redditor’s mother was not only anti-vaccination, but anti-doctor altogether. It resulted in a medical emergency.

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My mother is just plain crazy when it comes to medical topics, and thinks that hospitals and doctors only want your money.

So I was never vaccinated. For a little insight into the craziness, when I was 14, I was a breath away from dying from a burst appendix.

My mother refused to take me to the hospital despite the pain.

It was only when I started urinating blood that my father said he was taking me to the hospital. I was in and out of consciousness while he carried me to the car.

My mom physically fought him as he carried me.

I was medevaced to a larger hospital and had emergency surgery. The doctor told me in recovery that the infection was spreading to other organs, and my body was starting to shut down.

If it had been a couple of hours or more, it would have been too late.

Fast forward four years later when I joined the Army…the gauntlet of shots I received to get all the vaccinations was something else.

I literally walked almost naked down a row with multiple medical staff on each side poking me with needles everywhere as I was told to keep walking forward and not stop.

I am 35 now and feel just as healthy now as I did as a kid.

Never had any other issues except for a hernia from strenuous exercise. Vaccinations do more good than harm. –Kukulcan83

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Lack of vaccination lead to a terrible bout of whooping cough for this redditor—and four siblings!

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My parents used to not vaccinate me or any of my four siblings, but when I was like three years old me, and my siblings all came down with whooping cough.

It scarred my lungs, and I have yellow stains on my teeth because the high fevers cooked my adult teeth inside my head. My parents vaccinated us after that.

I am not and have never been mad or spiteful toward my parents for not vaccinating me.

They were just naive, and doing what they thought was best for my siblings and me. –Volcano_gurl

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Herd immunity is the key to ridding ourselves of dangerous contagious diseases.

What people don’t understand about vaccination is it isn’t just there to protect the vaccinated.

It protects the “herd” (herd immunity); the people who can’t be vaccinated for whatever reason.

This is part of the reason being vaccinated if you’re able to be is so important. You’re not only protecting yourself.

You’re protecting those around you whose immune systems aren’t up to it and could be hugely negatively impacted by their fellow neighbors refusing for their own uneducated reasons. –hihelloneighboroonie

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This child of anti-vaxxers has plenty of reason to discontinue tradition.

My dad was the anti-vaxxer, my mom was mostly ambivalent. Neither my brother or I were vaccinated at birth, and I didn’t get my shots until I turned 19.

My brother had to get a tetanus shot once when he was six, due to an injury. It burned my dad up for a while.

His reasoning was typical: he believed that the mercury in the vaccines would cause us to somehow develop autism.

My parents were also pretty hippy-dippy compared to most baby boomers, so they were concerned about chemicals and all that as well.

Jokes on them, though, because both my brother and I have [Aspergers] regardless of being unvaccinated.

It was always a pain in the ass whenever we had to do school-related paperwork or field trip stuff because my parents would have to produce a letter stating that it was their “religious right” to keep us “untainted” by vaccination (we were never a religious family).

I wasn’t a super sickly child (with a few exceptions), but my younger brother suffered a lot.

He got pneumonia when he was little, like 3-4. They had to keep him in the hospital and I remember my dad taking care of me at home while my mom stayed in the room with my brother.

About a year or two after that he got walking pneumonia and again was hospitalized.

He’s also allergic to damn near everything and has bad asthma now. He has epilepsy, and we both have chronic migraines.

I never had anything seriously life-threatening in terms of illness, but there was a nearly yearlong period where I had strep throat almost every other week.

I should have had my tonsils out (they wanted to intubate me at one point but for whatever reason changed their minds?), but my dad threw a fit about having any surgeries performed.

I also developed shingles when I was 13, which my father initially treated as poison ivy and left mostly untreated until my mother intervened.

I still have little to no feeling on swatches of the left side of my body from the blister scars. That sucked.

I did, however, have to get my vaccinations when I turned 18 and enrolled in college. He was not pleased about that, and actually, we didn’t talk for almost a year because of my decision to get vaccinated.

Eventually, we worked things out, but it took a while. I’ll be vaccinating any children I may have in the future, though.

Tl;dr: wasn’t vaccinated until I chose to do so myself as a legal adult bc parents were afraid of autism.

My brother and I were sick a lot as a kid, with some really preventable and stupid illnesses. I plan on vaccinating any children I have. –Larktoothe

Keep reading to see how one member of Reddit shut down their family’s objections like a boss!

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Here’s how one redditor put it to their anti-vaxxer grandpa:

My grandpa is convinced on the whole vaccines cause autism thing.

When I was pregnant with my first kid, he harped on it so much until I finally said, “it doesn’t cause autism, but even if it did I would still do it. I’d rather have an autistic kid than a dead one.”

Shut him up fairly well. –HCGB

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This child of anti-vaxxers changed their mind about it after seeing the effects first-hand.

My mom is against vaccines, and I grew up in a very anti-vaccine school and was treated by homeopathic and holistic doctors.

I used to believe all that. Then I started med school and changed my mind to “vaccines aren’t bad, but they aren’t necessary.”

Then I did a rotation at a pediatric hospital in the neurological area. That was a huge eye opener!! Meningitis is an awful disease, and anti-vaxxers never talk about it.

The children I saw were the ones that survived and had brain damage afterward.

It was awful to see kids that could have had a perfectly normal life to end up like that. –anesthesiagirl

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This redditor got their MMR vaccine in the nick of time.

My parents were against the MMR vaccination as my older brother was diagnosed with Aspergers shortly after he received it.

I’m the youngest child and so never got the jab, even though mumps actually caused my mum to go half deaf as a teenager.

It always made me uncomfortable knowing I wasn’t protected and I was of a strong mind to do it eventually, but of course it’s hard going against your parents’ beliefs when they felt so strongly at what had happened to them.

To me it felt like a form of denial of the autism in the family, which they see as much worse than it is—my brother is an amazing guy, and they should give him more credit.

Before you go to Uni you have to get a meningitis jab; while I was at the doctor’s, the doctor suggested giving me the MMR.

I told her my parents were against it and she said she’d give it to me now and then in a few months I could tell them and prove that I was absolutely fine. So I did that.

A few months after receiving the full vaccination, my flatmate and close friend got diagnosed with rubella.

It spread all over her body causing glandular and scarlet fever, she spent over a month in the hospital and was in a fatal position.

If I hadn’t done it at that moment, I could’ve been in serious trouble. And rubella isn’t common here at all.

So if in doubt about going behind their backs, do it for yourself and your own safety, and that’s the only excuse you need. –lazyswayz

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Pro tip: protect yourself from cancer wherever you can.

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When the HPV vaccine came out, there was a bunch of stories on the news about girls having poor reactions to it, getting seizures, comas.

Most of it nonsense, but my mother saw the news stories and chose not to get me vaccinated. But then, right after college I had a brief bout of thyroid cancer and decided I would take every precaution I could to not get more cancer.

So I got the shots. I think at the time I didn’t tell my mom, but afterward, it came up.

She was more huffy than anything else, and defended her thoughts at the time, but accepted my decision and reasoning. –xrf_rcc

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This redditor caught three diseases that could have been prevented with one shot.

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My parents never explicitly said they were anti-vaccine to me, but I was never vaccinated as a child.

I actually caught Measles, Mumps, and Rubella on separate occasions, luckily diagnosed quickly enough to not cause any major health implications long term, but still a pretty miserable experience each time.

So yeah, thanks for that. –otto82

Finally, read up on the next page about one redditor’s reliance on ‘herd immunity’ (and family troubles because of it), plus an Autistic person’s response to anti-vaxxer concerns.

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One redditor can’t even visit the in-laws.

I am immunosuppressed due to transplant, and my husband’s side of the family are anti-vaxxers.

I don’t think they believe I’m serious about not attending family gatherings ever again.

I know I can bump into a nonvaccinated person by just being out in public, but if I can avoid a known risk, I’m going to do it.

Thank you, everyone, who’s had their shots for helping keep me alive and healthy!! –auntiepink

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Tragedy turned this redditor’s mom into an anti-vaxxer.

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My story is a bit complex. My mother is an avid anti-vaxxer, but didn’t become that way until after my late sister died.

She blamed the vaccines she got a few weeks before her death (she was 3 months old) for it, instead of the SIDS tragedy it was.

My next youngest sibling was ‘allergic’ to eggs, and so didn’t get any vaccines until she was 8, after my parents were divorced and we had to move to a new state with new laws.

My two youngest siblings have never been vaccinated against anything. –MomentoMoriBenn

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Even if vaccinations and autism were linked (they aren’t), autistic people are here to tell us it’s not the worst thing that could happen.

As an autistic person here as well it hurts to know that so many parents think it’s the worst possible thing that could happen to their child.

I would think dying of measles ranks a bit higher on that scale. –el1414

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This redditor had a scare after a childhood of anti-vaccination rhetoric.

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My mom had a child who became brain damaged during birth due to a hole in the umbilical cord.

She became convinced that there was some malpractice cover-up and gradually that all of medicine is one big conspiracy.

I stopped getting vaccines around 10 due to a mysterious ailment I had that turned out to be recurrent benign positional paroxysmal vertigo.

For some reason, doctors couldn’t figure it out and thought I had brain cancer.

My mom became convinced it was vaccine-related, and claimed she “traced my vaccine” and it was a “bad batch” that had killed a boy who got it.

I stopped getting vaccines and turned in forms to school every year claiming “personal objection” exemption from all vaccines from that point on.

I ended up deciding to become a biomedical scientist and enrolled in a Ph.D. program.

The Hep B vaccine was recommended for all students, and I received the first course of the vaccine…and then mentioned it to my mom.

She FLIPPED OUT.

She told me she couldn’t believe I would do something so stupid, and that there were so many bad reactions I could have and they didn’t all happen immediately.

I started reading horror stories online about bad Hep B shot reactions. And I panicked.

I really thought I may have done something really stupid.

This was pretty ironic since I was in a science Ph.D. program, but I was still making sense of what part of my childhood brainwashing was true and still coming to my own belief system.

In my hesitation/uncertainty, I failed to get the next dose of the Hep B shot in the required time window. I did intend to get it, but I forgot about it in the craziness of grad school.

Fast forward to my 3rd year; I was studying liver cancer and working with a liver cancer cell line called Hep3B.

I was reading the literature and stumbled on a paper that said that scientists had found that Hep3B cells are infected…with LIVE HEPATITIS B VIRUS.

That was really terrifying because I had been working with them for months and definitely had not taken the precautions you are supposed would take if you are working with active human pathogens.

The fact that I passed up a free HepB shot and could have stupidly contracted HepB really crystallized the importance of vaccines for me that day.

I didn’t ever have obvious symptoms of HepB, but nonetheless, I worried that I might have it up until I got pregnant with my daughter and tested negative during the prenatal tests.

Needless to say, my daughter has gotten 100% of her vaccines and will continue to. I chose for her a pediatrician who refuses to see patients who don’t get all of their vaccines on schedule.

I don’t even want to share a waiting room with unvaxxed kids. –the_real_dairy_queen

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Some parents have selective hearing when it comes to vaccines.

My mum was completely against vaccinations.

I only got the MMR by mistake because they didn’t ask the parents – just lined us up outside the library and we went in one by one.

She was furious when I told her what had happened.

I caught whooping cough at age 34, and it was hell.

My partner hates her for putting me through that. I’ve since had a few vaccinations for travel, as has my younger sister.

Neither of us would ever tell our mother that we have had them though.

There was a slight hint a few years back, and she was already through the roof before my sister corrected herself and lied to cover the mention.

We will never tell her. –realbasilisk

Like this story? Share and spread the word of these redditors’ firsthand accounts of the dangers associated with a lack of vaccinations.

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from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/30-children-of-anti-vaxxers-tell-their-stories/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/176965626227

[allofbeercom]

30 Children of Anti-Vaxxers Tell Their Stories

At this point, it’s common knowledge that vaccines haven’t been linked with autism. Doctors have checked and checked again, but nothing credible has ever come up.

Still, there are people who identify as ‘anti-vaxxers’ and decline to vaccinate their children. Now, in a packed Reddit thread, those peoples’ children have a few things to say about it.

Check out stories from 30 children of anti-vaxxers, who each feel quite different from their parents!

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One redditor always thought they had been vaccinated—until their employer discovered otherwise.

I had an idea they were anti-vaxxers, but it was never confirmed.

They mentioned my younger brother wasn’t [vaccinated] but it was “justified” because we were living in the mountains of Montana and it was too far a drive to the Doctor.

I assumed I had been as I was born in civilization and we didn’t move to the hills until I was 3.

We were homeschooled, my older brother had trouble at college with his immunizations and Mom said all the paperwork was lost when they moved.

I was 30 years old and I was offered a job at a university helping train doctors, started getting paperwork asking for proof of vaccinations, I just said test me and give me whatever I need.

But I know I’ve had Chicken Pox.

Turns out I had nothing, no antibodies and I’d never had Chicken Pox either (Mom said I had). Lit up both arms with a run of shots over the next 3 months.

Never forgot telling my boyfriend and he yelled “You’ve been to Mexico, TWICE, and Europe. Oh my god.”

Called my mom and said “Hey I’m getting a job and they say I’ve never been vaccinated. Was I?”

She got very defensive and said no, she hated making us cry as babies and they’re bad for little kids.

Also, did I really need them? She then tried to talk me out of them.

Since I know how they work I felt very okay letting her know I’d already started the process.

I’m so thankful for all of you protecting me until I found out. –sirenssong

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This redditor, unfortunately, suffered the consequences of a disease for which a vaccine exists.

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Mom got rubella when pregnant with me. As a result, I was born severely deaf so there ya go.

Life’s not the best. –strangeunluckyfetus

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This person’s parent had to see them with measles to understand the importance of vaccination.

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I got measles, as a 22-year-old, in my first week of moving to London.

I’d previously lived up north, and on my first day of working immediately after finishing uni, I began feeling lethargic. By the second day, I felt pretty bad but soldiered on.

Third day, I began taking (fairly effective) painkillers for the remainder of the week. Saturday, attended a local fair, after taking my morning painkiller.

Had a bottle of beer with my dad and felt very strange afterward, almost floaty but in a kinda bad way.

Decided to stop taking the painkillers, woke up with a raging fever and intense coughing on Sunday.

Hobbled out of bed, feeling dizzy and horrible and noticed in the mirror of the bathroom that I looked like an Oompa Loompa (red splotchy rash all over).

My step mum had been feeling similar symptoms that week, she decided to call an ambulance, who checked both of our conditions and turned out I had a raging (41c) fever and low oxygen.

They took me to A&E and I was given fluids via a drip.

Later, my step mum came in and was given the same treatment; the doctor on call said it’d probably be a general viral infection.

At home, took the week off work and recovered. Step mum took off two weeks. She went back to A&E a couple of days after; the doctor on duty immediately spotted that it was measles.

Thing is, in England if you get it, an organization called Public Health England has to be legally informed by your doctor, which informs your workplace about your illness.

Cue an embarrassing email being sent by your new boss to everyone in your company before you’ve even met most of your colleagues.

Took a while to recover. In a week I felt well enough to be out and about. You’re only infectious when you have the rash (and a little before and after).

I still felt out of whack for several weeks. This happened in July, and I didn’t feel quite fully recovered until October or so.

Obviously, neither myself or my step mum had been vaccinated with the MMR. My dad and sisters had had it as children. We immediately got both jabs, after we were told how painful mumps could be.

Strongly recommend everyone gets the MMR vaccine. It’s straightforward and time-honored.

Measles is unpleasant and can cause complications in adults. My intense coughing almost certainly caused some lung damage, and my hair just kind of… fell out in the months following.

Save yourselves!

My graduation ceremony was a couple of weeks after this. My actual mum saw how ill measles had left me and changed her mind on vaccinations.

Shame it had to be that way, though. –AdamJay26

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It’s a good thing medical professionals are often ready to help kids of anti-vaxxers, even later in life than usual.

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My parents chose not to vaccinate my sister and me. They have some… unique ideas about science and medicine.

We were also homeschooled if that clarifies anything.

We both wound up volunteering at hospitals at different points in our lives, so we had to get caught up anyway. For me, it was at age 20, for an internship at a mental health facility.

It was a little awkward explaining to the nurse why I had nothing on my record, but she was understanding overall.

My big concern now is what will happen when I get around to having children of my own in a few years.

I think they’ll see me as a bad mother if I get them vaccinated, so I’m anticipating some fireworks. –Arihagne

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This redditor’s struggle wasn’t for their own vaccination, but their parents’.

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I was vaccinated when I was a baby as part of a mandatory vaccination program in the Soviet Union, but my parents wouldn’t vaccinate/get boosters after we moved to the States.

My family is pathologically distrustful of doctors and medication of any kind and prefers homeopathy and alternative medicines.

I didn’t realize I wasn’t fully vaccinated until I went in for a physical in college.

Up till then, I’d just assumed I’d been fully vaccinated in Russia (Because that’s what my parents told me).

I got all my shots up to date and I just never mentioned it to my parents.

Their anti-medicine stance has softened as they age, but I generally avoid the topic because I can’t handle their bullshit and it never goes anywhere anyway.

That said, I had a baby this past December in the middle of a really bad flu season and I told my parents that they weren’t allowed to see the baby until they could produce proof of a flu shot (this is absolutely something they’d lie about, so yes, I demanded written proof).

They both got one as soon as they realized I was serious. –Kookalka

Next up, another redditor gave their parent the same choice…and the answer wasn’t so peaceful.

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This person’s mother had a different answer to the ‘get vaccinated for my baby’ ultimatum.

I said the same thing, and my mum opted not to see the baby for 3 months. Bizarre life choices.

Ultimately she hasn’t had a lot to do with raising her grandson, which might be for the best.

To her credit, she is honest. –actuallyarobot2

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When in doubt, go with science.

I was not vaccinated as a child because my mother thought vaccines were evil, unchristian, and other ridiculous things.

This was in the early ’80s before all the autism BS, but she had her own unique theories. I got myself vaccinated when I went to university.

My mother was disappointed and wanted to write a letter to the school explaining her religious views on vaccines (as she had done for years to keep me exempt), but I decided to go with science. –squeezymarmite

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Even a medical degree didn’t change this redditor’s anti-vaxxer parents.

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I didn’t receive any vaccinations through childhood due to my parents’ beliefs.

Once I got to college, I did my own research on them, learned the actual science behind them, and got all vaccinations.

I then went to medical school, and yet they still don’t believe me and my medical degree regarding vaccinations.

Holidays can get awkward. –guardian528

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Starting college without your vaccines adds an extra few hurdles.

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When I was 19, I had to get some vaccines in order to start college, and my mom was NOT helpful.

First, she tried to get me exempt from the vaccines, and when that didn’t work, she sent me into the clinic (alone) with completely false/outdated info.

I was super embarrassed when the nurses looked at my notes and told me that none of it was correct.

But luckily they helped me figure out what I needed and didn’t shame me too much for not having a previous vaccination record. A couple years later I went back in to get the rest of the recommended vaccines.

My sister had her first kid (and the first grandbaby) last year, and our mom has been pushing her not to vaccinate. Fortunately, my sister has chosen to vaccinate.

She still is trying to get us to watch a documentary about it to change our minds.

Now all us kids just don’t talk to our mom about vaccines because it always turns into an argument. –itsshamefulreally

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And the process of applying to college is hard enough without parents interfering.

via: Getty

[My mom] sabotaged me getting into the college I wanted simply because they did not accept religious exemptions and she couldn’t trick any doctors into signing a health exemption.

I wanted to go do it myself, but they were through accepting applications by then, and I was desperate to go to some college, so I found a different one. –eXpialidocious_

On the next page, one child of the anti-vaxxers has a response to an anti-vaccination “documentary” that made the rounds a few years ago.

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There’s an anti-vaccination film called ‘Vaxxed’ (made by an ex-doctor whose license was revoked), and these redditors are NOT about it.

via: Getty

We had our first child at the very beginning of the year and had to tell my father that since he won’t get vaccinated, he won’t be able to see his grandbaby until the baby gets their shots.

The baby had their first round of shots a few months ago, and my father can now visit. It pained me to do that, and I know it pained him, but I was not putting my child at risk for his choice.

This last weekend we visited my father. At the end of the visit, he handed me Vaxxed.

He knows our feelings on the matter – preventable diseases should be prevented, herd immunity protects those most at risk, autism is not caused by vaccines.

It’s just… disrespectful.

I know he thinks he’s trying to protect his grandson from harm, but it’s coming from the completely wrong direction, and no one can seem to change his opinion on the matter. –humplick

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More often than not, anti-vaxxer parents are trying to protect their kids—until they realize where the real danger is.

via: Getty

My mum didn’t get the measles vaccination because at the time she thought it caused autism; she was kinda one of the first anti-vaxxers, wrote to papers about it everything.

Anyway, a girl in our social group caught meningitis and died, basically freakishly uncommon.

After that, mum was really scared the same thing could happen to me with any disease and basically begged me to get up to date with my shots.

I guess the main takeaway is that when my mum was younger and inexperienced, she thought everything was a danger; she honestly thought she was doing best by me, I guess. –bellend_bellend

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This redditor’s mother eventually turned it around herself!

My parents didn’t give us the whooping cough vaccine under the advisement of our pediatrician.

I actually didn’t know this until last year, so I went and got vaccinated on my mom’s recommendation. She wrote my siblings and me the following email to bring it up:

As a parent, you are bound to make many mistakes.

For me, not having the advantage of younger siblings, the internet, or (initially) many friends with babies, I think I learned to parent on the fly.

At the time, there seemed to be a compelling reason not to include the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine along with whatever else was the recommended protocol for infants under the age of one year.

I think we had read that it was one vaccine too many to be included in the series, and our first pediatrician felt strongly that it might have harmful side effects.

Gramps had told me that he remembered having whooping cough as a child, and although it was harrowing, he survived.

Draw your own conclusions here!

However, I would now hope that you all might consider following up with your doctors to see if you should be vaccinated now as adults.

Out of guilt, I’d be willing to sweeten the deal by paying for whatever isn’t covered by your healthcare. (Tetanus shots, flu shots, etc. aren’t a bad idea either, although you’re on your own there!)

Also, I want to apologize to [Sister], [Sister] and [Brother] for the time we went to the geneticist who took punch core samples of your skin for testing.

We had no idea–and there’s no excuse for our ignorance–that it would be a process painfully administered without anesthesia. I feel traumatized to this day, so I can’t imagine how awful it was for you.

I was reminded of those procedures recently when I heard Nobel Prize-winning geneticist, George Church tell his story on The Moth: My Life as a Guinea Pig.

I love you all dearly!

So, I didn’t get them on my own in contradiction to my parents’ decisions, but at their request, after they realized they had made a mistake. –affixqc

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Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about concerns—they’ve done this many times before.

via: Getty

When my daughter was born, we were terrified of the mercury. We asked a doctor, who explained everything to us clearly.

The poor doc had that look though— “Oh shit, not this again”… –cat_of_danzig

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In fact, this redditor got an idea of how much doctors have to explain the necessity of vaccinations.

When we had our first kid, we were shopping around for a pediatrician, and I was astounded how many doctors specifically told us they would only be our general doc if the children were vaccinated.

I had no idea how often they must have that conversation.

Apparently, in some places, the percent of anti-vaxxer parents is as high as 10%.

The number of parents who are reluctant to give their kids vaccines can be as high as 25%. –dsf900

Keep reading for a crazy story of how far one parent went to prevent their child from receiving certain types of medical attention.

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Sometimes understanding takes a while, and now this redditor needs all their shots together.

via: Getty

My parents were very against it.

Never particularly vocal about it, but growing up, my schools would organize mass vaccinations for all the kids (MMR, etc.) and I was always mysteriously off sick those days.

My school never noticed, and I was always pretty happy as I have a terrible phobia of needles and never really understood the health implications.

I’ve never had any health problems, but I’ve had partners weirded out by it. I was dating one guy who didn’t want to go near me once he found out I hadn’t had any vaccinations. That felt odd.

Last year there was a measles outbreak at my university, and I was very nervous about it.

Called my parents for advice and their response? “Go get the vaccine.”

Classic.

I’m guessing their opinions have changed over the years, but they’re too proud to say outright that maybe they were wrong and their children’s health could now be at risk.

About time I got the rest of them done! –1742587

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This redditor’s mother was not only anti-vaccination, but anti-doctor altogether. It resulted in a medical emergency.

via: Getty

My mother is just plain crazy when it comes to medical topics, and thinks that hospitals and doctors only want your money.

So I was never vaccinated. For a little insight into the craziness, when I was 14, I was a breath away from dying from a burst appendix.

My mother refused to take me to the hospital despite the pain.

It was only when I started urinating blood that my father said he was taking me to the hospital. I was in and out of consciousness while he carried me to the car.

My mom physically fought him as he carried me.

I was medevaced to a larger hospital and had emergency surgery. The doctor told me in recovery that the infection was spreading to other organs, and my body was starting to shut down.

If it had been a couple of hours or more, it would have been too late.

Fast forward four years later when I joined the Army…the gauntlet of shots I received to get all the vaccinations was something else.

I literally walked almost naked down a row with multiple medical staff on each side poking me with needles everywhere as I was told to keep walking forward and not stop.

I am 35 now and feel just as healthy now as I did as a kid.

Never had any other issues except for a hernia from strenuous exercise. Vaccinations do more good than harm. –Kukulcan83

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Lack of vaccination lead to a terrible bout of whooping cough for this redditor—and four siblings!

via: Getty

My parents used to not vaccinate me or any of my four siblings, but when I was like three years old me, and my siblings all came down with whooping cough.

It scarred my lungs, and I have yellow stains on my teeth because the high fevers cooked my adult teeth inside my head. My parents vaccinated us after that.

I am not and have never been mad or spiteful toward my parents for not vaccinating me.

They were just naive, and doing what they thought was best for my siblings and me. –Volcano_gurl

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Herd immunity is the key to ridding ourselves of dangerous contagious diseases.

What people don’t understand about vaccination is it isn’t just there to protect the vaccinated.

It protects the “herd” (herd immunity); the people who can’t be vaccinated for whatever reason.

This is part of the reason being vaccinated if you’re able to be is so important. You’re not only protecting yourself.

You’re protecting those around you whose immune systems aren’t up to it and could be hugely negatively impacted by their fellow neighbors refusing for their own uneducated reasons. –hihelloneighboroonie

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This child of anti-vaxxers has plenty of reason to discontinue tradition.

My dad was the anti-vaxxer, my mom was mostly ambivalent. Neither my brother or I were vaccinated at birth, and I didn’t get my shots until I turned 19.

My brother had to get a tetanus shot once when he was six, due to an injury. It burned my dad up for a while.

His reasoning was typical: he believed that the mercury in the vaccines would cause us to somehow develop autism.

My parents were also pretty hippy-dippy compared to most baby boomers, so they were concerned about chemicals and all that as well.

Jokes on them, though, because both my brother and I have [Aspergers] regardless of being unvaccinated.

It was always a pain in the ass whenever we had to do school-related paperwork or field trip stuff because my parents would have to produce a letter stating that it was their “religious right” to keep us “untainted” by vaccination (we were never a religious family).

I wasn’t a super sickly child (with a few exceptions), but my younger brother suffered a lot.

He got pneumonia when he was little, like 3-4. They had to keep him in the hospital and I remember my dad taking care of me at home while my mom stayed in the room with my brother.

About a year or two after that he got walking pneumonia and again was hospitalized.

He’s also allergic to damn near everything and has bad asthma now. He has epilepsy, and we both have chronic migraines.

I never had anything seriously life-threatening in terms of illness, but there was a nearly yearlong period where I had strep throat almost every other week.

I should have had my tonsils out (they wanted to intubate me at one point but for whatever reason changed their minds?), but my dad threw a fit about having any surgeries performed.

I also developed shingles when I was 13, which my father initially treated as poison ivy and left mostly untreated until my mother intervened.

I still have little to no feeling on swatches of the left side of my body from the blister scars. That sucked.

I did, however, have to get my vaccinations when I turned 18 and enrolled in college. He was not pleased about that, and actually, we didn’t talk for almost a year because of my decision to get vaccinated.

Eventually, we worked things out, but it took a while. I’ll be vaccinating any children I may have in the future, though.

Tl;dr: wasn’t vaccinated until I chose to do so myself as a legal adult bc parents were afraid of autism.

My brother and I were sick a lot as a kid, with some really preventable and stupid illnesses. I plan on vaccinating any children I have. –Larktoothe

Keep reading to see how one member of Reddit shut down their family’s objections like a boss!

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Here’s how one redditor put it to their anti-vaxxer grandpa:

My grandpa is convinced on the whole vaccines cause autism thing.

When I was pregnant with my first kid, he harped on it so much until I finally said, “it doesn’t cause autism, but even if it did I would still do it. I’d rather have an autistic kid than a dead one.”

Shut him up fairly well. –HCGB

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This child of anti-vaxxers changed their mind about it after seeing the effects first-hand.

My mom is against vaccines, and I grew up in a very anti-vaccine school and was treated by homeopathic and holistic doctors.

I used to believe all that. Then I started med school and changed my mind to “vaccines aren’t bad, but they aren’t necessary.”

Then I did a rotation at a pediatric hospital in the neurological area. That was a huge eye opener!! Meningitis is an awful disease, and anti-vaxxers never talk about it.

The children I saw were the ones that survived and had brain damage afterward.

It was awful to see kids that could have had a perfectly normal life to end up like that. –anesthesiagirl

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This redditor got their MMR vaccine in the nick of time.

My parents were against the MMR vaccination as my older brother was diagnosed with Aspergers shortly after he received it.

I’m the youngest child and so never got the jab, even though mumps actually caused my mum to go half deaf as a teenager.

It always made me uncomfortable knowing I wasn’t protected and I was of a strong mind to do it eventually, but of course it’s hard going against your parents’ beliefs when they felt so strongly at what had happened to them.

To me it felt like a form of denial of the autism in the family, which they see as much worse than it is—my brother is an amazing guy, and they should give him more credit.

Before you go to Uni you have to get a meningitis jab; while I was at the doctor’s, the doctor suggested giving me the MMR.

I told her my parents were against it and she said she’d give it to me now and then in a few months I could tell them and prove that I was absolutely fine. So I did that.

A few months after receiving the full vaccination, my flatmate and close friend got diagnosed with rubella.

It spread all over her body causing glandular and scarlet fever, she spent over a month in the hospital and was in a fatal position.

If I hadn’t done it at that moment, I could’ve been in serious trouble. And rubella isn’t common here at all.

So if in doubt about going behind their backs, do it for yourself and your own safety, and that’s the only excuse you need. –lazyswayz

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Pro tip: protect yourself from cancer wherever you can.

via: Getty

When the HPV vaccine came out, there was a bunch of stories on the news about girls having poor reactions to it, getting seizures, comas.

Most of it nonsense, but my mother saw the news stories and chose not to get me vaccinated. But then, right after college I had a brief bout of thyroid cancer and decided I would take every precaution I could to not get more cancer.

So I got the shots. I think at the time I didn’t tell my mom, but afterward, it came up.

She was more huffy than anything else, and defended her thoughts at the time, but accepted my decision and reasoning. –xrf_rcc

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This redditor caught three diseases that could have been prevented with one shot.

via: Getty

My parents never explicitly said they were anti-vaccine to me, but I was never vaccinated as a child.

I actually caught Measles, Mumps, and Rubella on separate occasions, luckily diagnosed quickly enough to not cause any major health implications long term, but still a pretty miserable experience each time.

So yeah, thanks for that. –otto82

Finally, read up on the next page about one redditor’s reliance on ‘herd immunity’ (and family troubles because of it), plus an Autistic person’s response to anti-vaxxer concerns.

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One redditor can’t even visit the in-laws.

I am immunosuppressed due to transplant, and my husband’s side of the family are anti-vaxxers.

I don’t think they believe I’m serious about not attending family gatherings ever again.

I know I can bump into a nonvaccinated person by just being out in public, but if I can avoid a known risk, I’m going to do it.

Thank you, everyone, who’s had their shots for helping keep me alive and healthy!! –auntiepink

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Tragedy turned this redditor’s mom into an anti-vaxxer.

via: Getty

My story is a bit complex. My mother is an avid anti-vaxxer, but didn’t become that way until after my late sister died.

She blamed the vaccines she got a few weeks before her death (she was 3 months old) for it, instead of the SIDS tragedy it was.

My next youngest sibling was ‘allergic’ to eggs, and so didn’t get any vaccines until she was 8, after my parents were divorced and we had to move to a new state with new laws.

My two youngest siblings have never been vaccinated against anything. –MomentoMoriBenn

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Even if vaccinations and autism were linked (they aren’t), autistic people are here to tell us it’s not the worst thing that could happen.

As an autistic person here as well it hurts to know that so many parents think it’s the worst possible thing that could happen to their child.

I would think dying of measles ranks a bit higher on that scale. –el1414

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This redditor had a scare after a childhood of anti-vaccination rhetoric.

via: Getty

My mom had a child who became brain damaged during birth due to a hole in the umbilical cord.

She became convinced that there was some malpractice cover-up and gradually that all of medicine is one big conspiracy.

I stopped getting vaccines around 10 due to a mysterious ailment I had that turned out to be recurrent benign positional paroxysmal vertigo.

For some reason, doctors couldn’t figure it out and thought I had brain cancer.

My mom became convinced it was vaccine-related, and claimed she “traced my vaccine” and it was a “bad batch” that had killed a boy who got it.

I stopped getting vaccines and turned in forms to school every year claiming “personal objection” exemption from all vaccines from that point on.

I ended up deciding to become a biomedical scientist and enrolled in a Ph.D. program.

The Hep B vaccine was recommended for all students, and I received the first course of the vaccine…and then mentioned it to my mom.

She FLIPPED OUT.

She told me she couldn’t believe I would do something so stupid, and that there were so many bad reactions I could have and they didn’t all happen immediately.

I started reading horror stories online about bad Hep B shot reactions. And I panicked.

I really thought I may have done something really stupid.

This was pretty ironic since I was in a science Ph.D. program, but I was still making sense of what part of my childhood brainwashing was true and still coming to my own belief system.

In my hesitation/uncertainty, I failed to get the next dose of the Hep B shot in the required time window. I did intend to get it, but I forgot about it in the craziness of grad school.

Fast forward to my 3rd year; I was studying liver cancer and working with a liver cancer cell line called Hep3B.

I was reading the literature and stumbled on a paper that said that scientists had found that Hep3B cells are infected…with LIVE HEPATITIS B VIRUS.

That was really terrifying because I had been working with them for months and definitely had not taken the precautions you are supposed would take if you are working with active human pathogens.

The fact that I passed up a free HepB shot and could have stupidly contracted HepB really crystallized the importance of vaccines for me that day.

I didn’t ever have obvious symptoms of HepB, but nonetheless, I worried that I might have it up until I got pregnant with my daughter and tested negative during the prenatal tests.

Needless to say, my daughter has gotten 100% of her vaccines and will continue to. I chose for her a pediatrician who refuses to see patients who don’t get all of their vaccines on schedule.

I don’t even want to share a waiting room with unvaxxed kids. –the_real_dairy_queen

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Some parents have selective hearing when it comes to vaccines.

My mum was completely against vaccinations.

I only got the MMR by mistake because they didn’t ask the parents – just lined us up outside the library and we went in one by one.

She was furious when I told her what had happened.

I caught whooping cough at age 34, and it was hell.

My partner hates her for putting me through that. I’ve since had a few vaccinations for travel, as has my younger sister.

Neither of us would ever tell our mother that we have had them though.

There was a slight hint a few years back, and she was already through the roof before my sister corrected herself and lied to cover the mention.

We will never tell her. –realbasilisk

Like this story? Share and spread the word of these redditors’ firsthand accounts of the dangers associated with a lack of vaccinations.

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from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/30-children-of-anti-vaxxers-tell-their-stories/

[melissawsr]

What Do Dementia and Autism Have in Common?

Conventional medicine likes to label disorders, but often labels are meaningless. They tell us what disease we have, but they don’t say why we have it or even more importantly, how we can really treat it – other than prescribing a pill for every ill.

The emphasis on naming diseases is pervasive throughout medicine, and it is THE single biggest obstacle to changing the way we do things and finding the answers to our health problems.

The truth is that two brain disorders, with two completely different names, might have a lot more in common than you might think.

To explain this, let me tell you about two of my patients, Sam and Christine.

Sam was diagnosed with autism at 22 months. He became disconnected and withdrawn and his family was eager for help. We found that Sam had high levels of antibodies to gluten, and he was allergic to dairy, eggs, yeast, soy, and over 20 other foods. He also had a leaky and inflamed gut and was suffering from many nutritional deficiencies including zinc, magnesium, vitamins A, B12, D, and omega 3 fats. Like many children with autism, he had trouble making energy in his cells or what we call mitochondria.

His amino acids, which are necessary for normal brain function and detoxification, were also depleted, and his body showed high levels of heavy metals including aluminum, lead, and arsenic. His sulfur and glutathione were low, and he also had trouble with a key biochemical function called methylation, which is required to make normal neurotransmitters and brain chemicals.

On top of all of that, he had very high levels of oxidative stress (also called free radical activity), including markers that showed his brain was inflamed. His brain and his body were on fire.

After almost a year of treating these issues and working closely with Sam, we saw remarkable improvements. He was verbally fluent and his body was functioning normally again.

Now I want to tell you about my patient named Christine. Christine was eighty and was experiencing severe memory loss and cognitive decline. Her family was obviously concerned, so she was put through hours of neuropsychological testing and found to have dementia.

Her neurologist did her best to comfort her but told her and her family there is no treatment truly effective to stop or reverse the progression of dementia.  This is when her daughter brought her to see me.

We discovered a lot of subtle changes in her health that on their own wouldn’t explain dementia, but when added all together put a strain on her brain function. We corrected those problems which included low thyroid function, mercury toxicity, inflammation, and deficiencies in vitamins B6 and D, folate, coenzyme Q10, and omega-3 fats, and we also improved her overall diet.

Six months later, she had the extensive memory tests repeated. Her psychologist was surprised to report that her scores got better.

Did you notice any similarities between Sam and Christine? When we dug deep, we found that many of the insults that can lead to autism can also contribute to dementia. Things like nutritional deficiencies, heavy metal toxicity, and inflammation. These are just a few of the challenges that can lead to a broken brain and many other health conditions.

Rarely will you find a conventional doctor talking about the role of a leaky gut or heavy metal toxicity in regards to brain disorders.

We need to revolutionize the way we treat these diseases. This is why my team and I created the 8-part Broken Brain Docuseries. This docuseries goes through major brain disorders such as dementia, autism, depression, and much, much more; offering a different way to approach disease. You’ll hear from over 50 experts who will share the truth about our brains and how we can achieve optimal brain health.

In this docuseries, I’ll guide you through the 7 steps to an UltraMind. These are the steps that I used with both Sam and Christine during their treatment, and now I want to share them with you.

We’ll talk about how to tackle nutritional deficiencies, stress, and gut imbalances. We’ll also talk about how to boost your detoxification systems and how the quality of your relationships can impact your brain health. We’ll dive deep into a brain-healthy diet, and our experts will share their best tips for achieving a calm mind.

You don’t have to suffer from a broken brain anymore. Let’s fix this problem together. Join our movement by signing up for this free series and spread the word to your friends so we can all take back control of our brain health together.

And if you have questions about the brain, tweet me and use the hashtag #housecallwithdrhyman. Maybe next week I’ll make a house call to you.

Wishing you health and happiness,

Mark Hyman, MD

[Read More ...] http://drhyman.com/blog/2017/09/28/dementia-autism-common/

[sublimotion]

What Do Dementia and Autism Have in Common?

http://drhyman.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Screen-Shot-2017-09-28-at-11.14.29-AM.png?v=1.1

Conventional medicine likes to label disorders, but often labels are meaningless. They tell us what disease we have, but they don’t say why we have it or even more importantly, how we can really treat it – other than prescribing a pill for every ill.

The emphasis on naming diseases is pervasive throughout medicine, and it is THE single biggest obstacle to changing the way we do things and finding the answers to our health problems.

The truth is that two brain disorders, with two completely different names, might have a lot more in common than you might think.

To explain this, let me tell you about two of my patients, Sam and Christine.

Sam was diagnosed with autism at 22 months. He became disconnected and withdrawn and his family was eager for help. We found that Sam had high levels of antibodies to gluten, and he was allergic to dairy, eggs, yeast, soy, and over 20 other foods. He also had a leaky and inflamed gut and was suffering from many nutritional deficiencies including zinc, magnesium, vitamins A, B12, D, and omega 3 fats. Like many children with autism, he had trouble making energy in his cells or what we call mitochondria.

His amino acids, which are necessary for normal brain function and detoxification, were also depleted, and his body showed high levels of heavy metals including aluminum, lead, and arsenic. His sulfur and glutathione were low, and he also had trouble with a key biochemical function called methylation, which is required to make normal neurotransmitters and brain chemicals.

On top of all of that, he had very high levels of oxidative stress (also called free radical activity), including markers that showed his brain was inflamed. His brain and his body were on fire.

After almost a year of treating these issues and working closely with Sam, we saw remarkable improvements. He was verbally fluent and his body was functioning normally again.

Now I want to tell you about my patient named Christine. Christine was eighty and was experiencing severe memory loss and cognitive decline. Her family was obviously concerned, so she was put through hours of neuropsychological testing and found to have dementia.

Her neurologist did her best to comfort her but told her and her family there is no treatment truly effective to stop or reverse the progression of dementia.  This is when her daughter brought her to see me.

We discovered a lot of subtle changes in her health that on their own wouldn’t explain dementia, but when added all together put a strain on her brain function. We corrected those problems which included low thyroid function, mercury toxicity, inflammation, and deficiencies in vitamins B6 and D, folate, coenzyme Q10, and omega-3 fats, and we also improved her overall diet.

Six months later, she had the extensive memory tests repeated. Her psychologist was surprised to report that her scores got better.

Did you notice any similarities between Sam and Christine? When we dug deep, we found that many of the insults that can lead to autism can also contribute to dementia. Things like nutritional deficiencies, heavy metal toxicity, and inflammation. These are just a few of the challenges that can lead to a broken brain and many other health conditions.

Rarely will you find a conventional doctor talking about the role of a leaky gut or heavy metal toxicity in regards to brain disorders.

We need to revolutionize the way we treat these diseases. This is why my team and I created the 8-part Broken Brain Docuseries. This docuseries goes through major brain disorders such as dementia, autism, depression, and much, much more; offering a different way to approach disease. You’ll hear from over 50 experts who will share the truth about our brains and how we can achieve optimal brain health.

In this docuseries, I’ll guide you through the 7 steps to an UltraMind. These are the steps that I used with both Sam and Christine during their treatment, and now I want to share them with you.

We’ll talk about how to tackle nutritional deficiencies, stress, and gut imbalances. We’ll also talk about how to boost your detoxification systems and how the quality of your relationships can impact your brain health. We’ll dive deep into a brain-healthy diet, and our experts will share their best tips for achieving a calm mind.

You don’t have to suffer from a broken brain anymore. Let’s fix this problem together. Join our movement by signing up for this free series and spread the word to your friends so we can all take back control of our brain health together.

And if you have questions about the brain, tweet me and use the hashtag #housecallwithdrhyman. Maybe next week I’ll make a house call to you.

Wishing you health and happiness,

Mark Hyman, MD

[Read More ...] http://drhyman.com/blog/2017/09/28/dementia-autism-common/

[abdallahalhakim]

What Do Dementia and Autism Have in Common?

Conventional medicine likes to label disorders, but often labels are meaningless. They tell us what disease we have, but they don’t say why we have it or even more importantly, how we can really treat it – other than prescribing a pill for every ill.

The emphasis on naming diseases is pervasive throughout medicine, and it is THE single biggest obstacle to changing the way we do things and finding the answers to our health problems.

The truth is that two brain disorders, with two completely different names, might have a lot more in common than you might think.

To explain this, let me tell you about two of my patients, Sam and Christine.

Sam was diagnosed with autism at 22 months. He became disconnected and withdrawn and his family was eager for help. We found that Sam had high levels of antibodies to gluten, and he was allergic to dairy, eggs, yeast, soy, and over 20 other foods. He also had a leaky and inflamed gut and was suffering from many nutritional deficiencies including zinc, magnesium, vitamins A, B12, D, and omega 3 fats. Like many children with autism, he had trouble making energy in his cells or what we call mitochondria.

His amino acids, which are necessary for normal brain function and detoxification, were also depleted, and his body showed high levels of heavy metals including aluminum, lead, and arsenic. His sulfur and glutathione were low, and he also had trouble with a key biochemical function called methylation, which is required to make normal neurotransmitters and brain chemicals.

On top of all of that, he had very high levels of oxidative stress (also called free radical activity), including markers that showed his brain was inflamed. His brain and his body were on fire.

After almost a year of treating these issues and working closely with Sam, we saw remarkable improvements. He was verbally fluent and his body was functioning normally again.

Now I want to tell you about my patient named Christine. Christine was eighty and was experiencing severe memory loss and cognitive decline. Her family was obviously concerned, so she was put through hours of neuropsychological testing and found to have dementia.

Her neurologist did her best to comfort her but told her and her family there is no treatment truly effective to stop or reverse the progression of dementia.  This is when her daughter brought her to see me.

We discovered a lot of subtle changes in her health that on their own wouldn’t explain dementia, but when added all together put a strain on her brain function. We corrected those problems which included low thyroid function, mercury toxicity, inflammation, and deficiencies in vitamins B6 and D, folate, coenzyme Q10, and omega-3 fats, and we also improved her overall diet.

Six months later, she had the extensive memory tests repeated. Her psychologist was surprised to report that her scores got better.

Did you notice any similarities between Sam and Christine? When we dug deep, we found that many of the insults that can lead to autism can also contribute to dementia. Things like nutritional deficiencies, heavy metal toxicity, and inflammation. These are just a few of the challenges that can lead to a broken brain and many other health conditions.

Rarely will you find a conventional doctor talking about the role of a leaky gut or heavy metal toxicity in regards to brain disorders.

We need to revolutionize the way we treat these diseases. This is why my team and I created the 8-part Broken Brain Docuseries. This docuseries goes through major brain disorders such as dementia, autism, depression, and much, much more; offering a different way to approach disease. You’ll hear from over 50 experts who will share the truth about our brains and how we can achieve optimal brain health.

In this docuseries, I’ll guide you through the 7 steps to an UltraMind. These are the steps that I used with both Sam and Christine during their treatment, and now I want to share them with you.

We’ll talk about how to tackle nutritional deficiencies, stress, and gut imbalances. We’ll also talk about how to boost your detoxification systems and how the quality of your relationships can impact your brain health. We’ll dive deep into a brain-healthy diet, and our experts will share their best tips for achieving a calm mind.

You don’t have to suffer from a broken brain anymore. Let’s fix this problem together. Join our movement by signing up for this free series and spread the word to your friends so we can all take back control of our brain health together.

And if you have questions about the brain, tweet me and use the hashtag #housecallwithdrhyman. Maybe next week I’ll make a house call to you.

Wishing you health and happiness,

Mark Hyman, MD

[Read More ...] http://drhyman.com/blog/2017/09/28/dementia-autism-common/