#challenge negative thoughts

[livechristcentered]

Overcoming Self-Doubt

How to Silence Your Inner Critic and Build Confidence Introduction: The Battle Against Self-Doubt Have you ever wanted to try something new—start a business, change careers, or simply put yourself out there—only to hear that little voice in your head whispering:  “You’re not good enough.”  “What if you fail?”  “Who do you think you are to do this?”  That voice? That’s self-doubt—one of the…

[lifestylebuz]

The Power of Positivity: How to Cultivate a Positive Mindset and Live a Happier Life

Why is the Power of Positivity important? What is it? Positivity is the propensity to regard life and its difficulties favorably. It emphasizes the chances and opportunities they provide rather than downplaying or denying reality’s unfavorable aspects. Power of Positivity is important because it might enhance your relationships, mental and physical health, and capacity for goal achievement. Power…

[ae-cha08]

So next time you see yourself in the middle of a storm, and see no possible way out. Just think of all the things that the storm has destroyed — but here you are, still standing tall like a rooted tree.

[mrvenuspluto]

Mental gymnastics

Detailed thoughts, perfectionism at every glance, calculated and strategic moves. Are only the minimum of me. Hey, well hello! My name is Virgo, well Virgo moon to be exact. Every thought, gesture, movement, decision, outcome are planned very well with the best of my abilities. Yes i judge others, well not purposely! I just see the flaws in everything around me, even me. But i dont speak on them or expose others, like virgo ascendants who speak there minds more and point them out more than me. Im more in my head and wired mind, so i feel this way, so it could cause my brain to go hay wire if i dont speak how i feel. So it gets directed back to me. My emotions and body can take on these energies. Which is not good,But unless they get on my dark side where i save and memorize every lil thing they did or do. Well im not emotional like my water signs, so i look at it mentally and i play mind games back with you, lets see who wins! Very spitful and creative when it comes to get back. But Im my worst critic! I cant even get dressed without seeing the littlest thing ruin my outfit, WTF! What's is this on my shirt. Took hours to get dressed, days to match and coordinate ever color and style. Damn! Yes we have a nasty mouth, very good with words especially when proving a point or getting to the bottom of things. And arguments, well libra a beast at that i give it to her with her airy ass energy, but im the man when it comes to facts, evidence and practical proof. Hmmmm dont let my calm cool demeanor fool you, i seen what you did, know what you are planning! Just know im 10 steps ahead of you! I can dive into your brain, mind and thoughts, understand how you think, and what you want. Then play out every step until the outcome. Im a mastermind! I do this, this is my profession, my life and my style. My brain is controlled by fast and multiphasted mercury, which never sits still. My thoughts, ideas, fears, problems, challenges, battles play in my head 24/7!. Im probably the most or i am the top materialistic sign! Well my cuz taurus close but they move to slow, and get stuck in only what pleasures them and what they love. Im on the go, and work hard, smarter, and more proficient obtaining it. Plus i like to look good, put together dont we all? Yes i love and give my helping hands to those who need it. I can serve you, feed you, help you, be there for you, listen to you.

But when you think you using me, undermining my intelligence and time! Then im the last sign other than scorp! Smh. To use my energy kindnesses for weakness or dumbness. Yes i love to micromanage, well we can do this on other people's lifes! I guess we can see the good, bad, downfall, grey area, success and flaws in everything and everyone. Yes we can be negative nancy! Well dont come to us with your problems and expect us to solve it but not point out facts or expose the obvious. Well it may be obvious for us! We are the human scalpel, we dissect every word, idea, thought, motive, and decision. Cant sleep, brain is hardwired! What's my next move! I need to work, i need to feel useful, why cant you just keep the kitchen clean! You dont see that stain on your collar! Whats that in your teeth while you trying to kiss me!. Is she clean? Really its going rain when i decided to where my all white shoes! You really going not wash your hands and try to touch me. If i do this first, then take care of this while handing this, i will have 36 minutes to get clothes ready. Your total is $450 sir! Hold up the sign says 30% off before 5pm, its 4:59pm, still 1 min left! Give me my space! My brain is my safe haven, no people, no movement, no nothing! Brain feels like professor X. Do i really want to eat salmon tonight, idk, maybe chickepeas with salad, had that last 2 nights. Pizza! Damn i cant i know cheese fucks with my stomach! I guess i dont eat! 45 more push-ups, 300 more legs extensions yes im focusing on the worlds best body ever! No flaws or weaknesses anywhere. Im not watching that movie i already know who is the killer, what's the plot, and how it ends. Im about to do some word play, or mental math, add up everyones addresses and reduce them while driving down street. I hate being nervous or having anxiety, began to eat wrong foods, maybe not eat, brain seclusion, project every lil bad detail and create a world of hell! Stomach and nerve system shut down. Body doesn't function correctly. Can i remove my brain for 1 min to think without my brain! Smh

[prismaticpichu]

For your ask!! 🦩🩷

Ahhhhh ty, Zim!!! You got it!! 💕💖

From THIS ask game!

~

dealer's choice (choose any quote at all! or the summary / ao3 tags thing! whatever! wild card!)

Sooooo… here’s an AO3 tag I’m most likely gonna use 😂

“Zack out here practicing CBT with Seph”

[zeondraws]

Play Still Wakes The Deep I thought to myself. Wonder how to extract models I thought. Tried to replicate the sketchfab model and figure out how to add the textures to my export on my own.

I needed someones help, but I guess I learned something new. Muir was the easiest to test this with, I have to figure out the other models the coming weeks. I am not sure what I need this for. Maybe just use the models for art reference. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[kil9]

everyone agrees that the patriarchy teaches men to hide their emotions, and that this is a bad thing, so why is it that when men actually show an emotion everyone jumps to call him an abuser or manipulator or whatever :\

[telesodalite]

This is a bit random, but I've been thinking about Misfire a lot lately, and it struck me, that with his adhd, the whole implied/hc'd substance use is only sometimes considered as a form of self-medicating? And, idk, I find the concept interesting.

Like, yeah sure, within the canon implications it's just stereotypical stuff, so it can be interpreted as wholly recreational, and whatever one might call accidentally catching a high from blood you've taken from a corpse.

But like, his adhd is emphasized as an important aspect of his character, so surely it's impacted his millions of years worth of life with its symptoms? Both good and bad?

The Decepticons in idw1 are weird, in many ways lol, but in the sense that they're the faction defined by their oddballs and rejects. They're the unwanted, the belittled, the different, the oppressed, the strange, the mad. But at the same time, any deviance from their impossible and ever-changing standards is punishable and looked down upon.

It's a classic, almost frustratingly stereotypical case of a system built against oppression becoming the oppressors. But that's not the point here.

The point is that they opened their arms and offered the idea of freedom to those who felt different from the pre-war standards, who felt belittled by it, or betrayed by it, and promptly went and turned around on these people to make them feel belittled and betrayed and made different from their own new standards.

Abuse, in many forms, runs rampant within Decepticon ranks. From the very top, to the very bottom. Any deviation or perceived weakness is an open invitation for such actions. Throw in the DJD, and there's no escape from it. No way to get out, only fit in and keep your head low, or become the very thing you originally wanted to fight against and be free from.

Substance abuse is mentioned in canon enough to assume that certain amounts of it were almost expected across both Decepticon and Autobot ranks and contingents. But considering the condition of Decepticon standards and communities, it can be assumed to be a bit more rampant in their case.

So, Misfire. We don't have much context for his background and what all he's seen and done.

It's implied he did some spywork, or at least made some cross faction connections during the war with Brainstorm, which might've been a big enough deal that it caught the attention of Skids, because he's aware of Misfire of all people, knows he changed his name right at the end of the war, and considers Misfire somewhat as a nemesis, which, might I remind thee that Skids was part of a secret special operations unit, a secret special operations unit under fucking Prowl!? So uh, possible big interesting stuff that never got explained there.

(The possible spy bit keeps me up at night I swear to god, bcs wtf were all those tiny implications supposed to mean?!? I need to know all the details of that possible spy drama so bad, omg)

Then, we know he "accidentally" killed "a dozen" other cons towards the end of the war, and that he was going to be jailed for it.

So Misfire's life obviously went down the drain before the murdering a dozen fellow soldiers bit, but considering every awful and challenging factor of being a sub-par soldier in the Decepticon army/air force, what kept him from doing something like that earlier on?

More important, what got someone like him through the war? What kept him going? What kept him alive? Well uh... the same thing that kept a lot of Decepticons going I guess. Substance abuse.

Ok so where does the self-medication angle of this whole thing come in Teles?? My answer to that would be, uh, inherently ig.

Because think about it, you're just some kinda weird guy, caught in the middle of one long ass war. You're never good enough, can't achieve the one thing you've been gunning(lol) for, and are just sorta flying by the seat of your metaphorical pants through life. You're a solider, and a victim of systematic abuse because of that, and at some point, you're possibly a perpetrator of that abuse*. On top of all that, you've also got raging adhd during all this stress and trauma, and man, quieting those racing thoughts and numbing that constant buzzing itch in your body probably feels really good when you're escaping your extremely stressful situation for just a bit.

It feels better to be more detached, to be "calmer", less caught up in a hundred thoughts at once, more focused, more in control. Eventually this becomes the subconscious focus of his using to ease the stress. It "fixes" something. Makes things "right". So casual escapist substance use tumbles into substance abuse and addiction.

How this factors into his post-war life, idk, you decide ig.

I figure the scavs being broke and cut-off from others could play a part in Misfire having to wean himself off of whatever substances were most common among his ranks, but he's also probably creative enough to make stuff from whatever they pick up. Anything considered to be "hard stuff" would likely be frowned upon or policed by Krok tho, because of the whole traumatic experience with Roadbuster and his extreme brutality due to perceived Syk abuse.

But then again, the scavs are all still very much cons with vices, and 100% constant sobriety is apprently a challenge or punishment for cons and bots alike post war.

-

*(Expanding on that bit via another ramble I had lying around that i thought i'd include)

When considering Misfire's adhd, most things emphasize the hyperactivity and impulsiveness in general without also emphasizing the negative sides.

That moment where he almost punches Grimlock comes to mind a lot.

It could be viewed as just a side-effect of perpetuated Decepticon abuse, a knee-jerk reaction that may have been turned on him during the war for his mistakes, that he in turn expresses towards others "mistakes".

Something to also consider here though, is how the impulsivity of adhd can make violent reactions worse, anger and/or frustration harder to control, and harder to hold back from expressing outwardly or physically, especially if left unchecked or untreated for a long time.

But Misfire stops and takes a second to collect himself before becoming somber as he considers Grimlock's perspective.

This instinctually violent reaction is not something he wants, or likes, and judging by how much time has passed by that point in the comic, this has been something he's been working on and is still working on.

But what about while he was still an active solider? When holding back was seen as a weak or foolish response? How did the impulsivity play into it? After being treated like that himself, struck or beaten for mistakes, at what point did it snap and he found himself standing over another solider as they stared up at him with that same fear and shock and hurt he had felt. How did that affect him to know he was capable of doing that without thought?

Because, ya know, he's done bad things too...

[livechristcentered]

Overcoming Self-Doubt

How to Silence Your Inner Critic and Build Confidence Introduction: The Battle Against Self-Doubt Have you ever wanted to try something new—start a business, change careers, or simply put yourself out there—only to hear that little voice in your head whispering:  “You’re not good enough.”  “What if you fail?”  “Who do you think you are to do this?”  That voice? That’s self-doubt—one of the…

[thedreadvampy]

btw about Neil Gaiman I periodically agree with the 'Neil Gaiman is annoying' stuff bc I feel like both he and Amanda Palmer seem like people who I would go insane stuck in a room with bc we have very different ideas about art and suchlike. and I also do think that the career trajectory he's on lately is cynically redoing his greatest hits and pretending that was the dream all along when it clearly was not. which is at best meh.

having said which

as far as I can tell by far the most common complaint about Neil Gaiman is "Snow, Glass, Apples is problematic/gross/it's got incest and rape and frames the child as the aggressor"

which strikes me as a weird complaint to pull out of a 40 year body of work tbh when that short story is pretty clearly coming from a place of 'how far can I push this'. like you don't have to like the story. I don't really like the story. but it is. a horror story.

like and this is the thing with particularly 90s alt horror right? a lot of the interest is in transgression and sitting in the worst possible perspective and seeing what happens if you pull those strings. like I really like Clive Barker for example but there's a good chunk of his short stories that I'm like I'm not picking up what you're putting down Clive this seems Kinda Off. but that willingness to write some trite or Bad Message horror fiction that doesn't land is imo a side effect of being willing to try writing uncomfortable and unpleasant fiction at all. which is what horror is for, among other things, it's for creating discomfort as a form of catharsis or engagement.

like I am not a huge fan of the type of sex-horror that pops up in a lot of Gaiman's work and other contemporary horror writers - to me I don't find it upsetting or horny it just ends up feeling kind of edgy and tryhard - but I'm also a bit like. it does seem like a lot of people's beef with Neil Gaiman is that In The 90s He Was A Horror Writer

and this approach to Problematic Horror in Snow, Glass, Apples I find kind of microcosmic of how The Discourse often approaches art in this kind of 1:1 way. if you write a story which seems to line up with rape apologia it can only be because you agree with it. if you write a story about transphobia you're a transphobe. if you write a story that makes me genuinely uncomfortable you're attacking me.

but artwork, especially art like horror that's not necessarily trying to provoke enjoyment as its main response, is necessarily hit and miss. and if what you're shooting for is discomfort then whether it works, falls flat or goes too far incredibly depends on your audience. and making good art - as in art that makes its audience think, art that opens the audience up to discomfort and catharsis and sticks with them and changes them - requires the space to experiment and tbh the space to fuck up. like they aren't all going to be winners and they certainly aren't all going to work for you as a singular audience.

personally I don't see the appeal of Snow, Glass, Apples, less cause it's nasty and more cause it's hack. ooh an edgy monstrous version of a fairy tale where there's lots of rape and cannibalism? you're soooo original Neil. but like. that's fine. I don't really vibe with like 70% of Neil Gaiman stuff I've read but I still like Neil Gaiman because the stuff that works for me really works for me.

idk I think there's a lot of folk on this website who shouldn't interact with horror cause they clearly aren't interested in being horrified. that's not everyone who dislikes Snow, Glass, Apples, but it's a real undercurrent to a lot of the criticism and tbh this kinda vibe is shit for art. making standout art What Is Good also requires being ready to make art which stands out for the wrong reasons. sometimes they'll be the same art to different people.

[sugarflow]

made some shape guys :)

[spaghett-onaplate]

oh yeah i went to a uni open day and allergies decided to pummel me in a rather quiet room with over a hundred other people during a law course presentation when i had ONE tissue that had previously been a bookmark. i only sneezed four times but my right eye and nostril could NOT stop watering i gave in and used my sleeve and it got absolutely soaked in snot 😭😭

[platonic-qpr-selfshipping]

I'm having one of those "I wish I could just be part of the Astral Express crew" moments

[kirkwallsquad]

i feel like im going insane why is my family responding to me going "hey i have a massive throatache, i think something's inflamed, and speaking hurts so i can't go to brunch today" the most lukewarm "well alright if you insist" nonsense like.... not to be whiny or anything but hello have u considered sympathy ;;;;;;

[fodlansbestmom]

why does someone think it’s okay to tell me I’m something (like aggressive) when I’m not??? And then argue about it? Them saying it only made me angry and now I’m upset. Great. Thanks a lot.

It literally happened within the first hour of my shift. And my mood is gonna be bad all night.

[quatregats]

Many thoughts about the sea as a space.....

From “‘Violent and Not Quite Modern?’: Lascars and Everyday Resistance Across the Sail–Steam Divide” by Naina Manjrekar (2019) and Crossing the Bay of Bengal by Sunil Amrith (2013)