#ending the epidemic.

[morningmantra]

Navigating Life with HIV: A Journey of Resilience and Hope

Navigating Life with HIV: A Journey of Resilience and Hope

Understanding HIV and AIDS HIV, or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system, the body’s defense against infections. Over time, HIV can weaken the immune system to the point where it’s unable to fight off infections and diseases. This weakens the overall health and increases the risk of developing serious infections and illnesses. AIDS, or Acquired…

[aangular]

I kinda hate when people act like Aang is this naive kid who doesn’t know what’s going on or what he’s doing, especially at the beginning of the series.

For example, in “The Southern Air Temple, " he shows Sokka and Katara around, acting excited and playing around. Do you think that he doesn’t know what’s going on? Do you think that Aang, someone who grew up in that temple doesn’t know what is supposed to look like?

In his timeline, he had been gone for at most one week. Do you really believe that he would think it is normal that the place that was filled with people a few days ago is now completely empty Do you think that he would find it normal that the entire place is run down and poorly kept?

I’m just confused. Since episode one, the narrative has made it obvious that Aang has avoidant coping mechanisms, where he outright ignores what’s happening around him because he cannot deal with it. It’s an integral aspect of his character (since it’s the reason he ran away after finding out he was the avatar, which quite literally sets off the plot). I get it if people don’t necessarily like that aspect of his personality (wrong opinion, btw), but understanding that it’s there and how it affects how he interacts with the world is important to getting ATLA.

Yes, he did know what the being avatar meant to an extent, and he knew he had to learn the three elements, but the reason he didn’t go to the North Pole straight away was because he didn’t want to. He wanted to put it off for as long as possible, going on adventures and “eventually getting to the NP”.

There was literally a 2 part episode (The Winter Solstice) to tell us that Aang couldn’t just mess around that entire season because it introduced a time limit to defeat the Fire Lord. Ever since then, the gaang pretty much beelined for the NP, plus some detours, but that’s the magic of worldbuilding.

I would talk about his reluctance to learn waterbending from Pakku, but that’s a different post altogether.

Obviously, he didn’t understand what it was like growing up in the middle of a war (because he didn’t). Still, no one understood what losing their entire people and being the last of their kind was. And no one calls other characters naive or stupid for their constant insensitivity throughout the series…

The bottom line is that he knew; he always knew. It was just easier to pretend he didn’t.

[reasonsforhope]

"For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S.

"This is exciting," said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute On Drug Abuse [NIDA], the federal laboratory charged with studying addiction. "This looks real. This looks very, very real."

National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6 percent. That's a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages.

Some researchers believe the data will show an even larger decline in drug deaths when federal surveys are updated to reflect improvements being seen at the state level, especially in the eastern U.S.

"In the states that have the most rapid data collection systems, we’re seeing declines of twenty percent, thirty percent," said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, an expert on street drugs at the University of North Carolina.

According to Dasgupta's analysis, which has sparked discussion among addiction and drug policy experts, the drop in state-level mortality numbers corresponds with similar steep declines in emergency room visits linked to overdoses.

Dasgupta was one of the first researchers to detect the trend. He believes the national decline in street drug deaths is now at least 15 percent and could mean as many as 20,000 fewer fatalities per year.

"Today, I have so much hope"

After years of wrenching drug deaths that seemed all but unstoppable, some researchers, front-line addiction workers, members of law enforcement, and people using street drugs voiced caution about the apparent trend.

Roughly 100,000 deaths are still occurring per year. Street drug cocktails including fentanyl, methamphetamines, xylazine and other synthetic chemicals are more poisonous than ever.

"I think we have to be careful when we get optimistic and see a slight drop in overdose deaths," said Dan Salter, who heads a federal drug interdiction program in the Atlanta-Carolinas region. "The last thing we want to do is spike the ball."

But most public health experts and some people living with addiction told NPR they believe catastrophic increases in drug deaths, which began in 2019, have ended, at least for now. Many said a widespread, meaningful shift appears underway.

"Some of us have learned to deal with the overdoses a lot better," said Kevin Donaldson, who uses fentanyl and xylazine on the street in Burlington, Vermont.

According to Donaldson, many people using fentanyl now carry naloxone, a medication that reverses most opioid overdoses. He said his friends also use street drugs with others nearby, ready to offer aid and support when overdoses occur.

He believes these changes - a response to the increasingly toxic street drug supply - mean more people like himself are surviving.

"For a while we were hearing about [drug deaths] every other day. When was the last one we heard about? Maybe two weeks ago? That's pretty few and far between," he said.

His experience is reflected in data from the Vermont Department of Health, which shows a 22 percent decline in drug deaths in 2024.

"The trends are definitely positive," said Dr. Keith Humphreys, a nationally respected drug policy researcher at Stanford University. "This is going to be the best year we've had since all of this started."

"A year ago when overdose deaths continued to rise, I was really struggling with hope," said Brad Finegood, who directs the overdose crisis response in Seattle.

Deaths in King County, Washington, linked to all drugs have dropped by 15 percent in the first half of 2024. Fatal overdoses caused by street fentanyl have dropped by 20 percent.

"Today, I have so much hope," Finegood said.

-via NPR, September 18, 2024. Article continues below with an exploration of the whys (mostly unknown) and some absolutely fucking incredible statistics.

Why the sudden and hopeful shift? Most experts say it's a mystery

While many people offered theories about why the drop in deaths is happening at unprecedented speed, most experts agreed that the data doesn't yet provide clear answers.

Some pointed to rapid improvements in the availability and affordability of medical treatments for fentanyl addiction. "Expansion of naloxone and medications for opioid use disorder — these strategies worked," said Dr. Volkow at NIDA.

"We've almost tripled the amount of naloxone out in the community," said Finegood. He noted that one survey in the Seattle area found 85 percent of high-risk drug users now carry the overdose-reversal medication.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, the White House drug czar, said the drop in drug deaths shows a path forward.

"This is the largest decrease on record and the fifth consecutive month of recorded decreases," he said.

Gupta called for more funding for addiction treatment and healthcare services, especially in Black and Native American communities where overdose deaths remain catastrophically high.

"There is no way we're going to beat this epidemic by not focusing on communities that are often marginalized, underserved and communities of color," Gupta said.

"Overdose deaths in Ohio are down 31 percent"

Indeed, in many states in the eastern and central U.S. where improvements are largest, the sudden drop in drug deaths stunned some observers who lived through the darkest days of the fentanyl overdose crisis.

"This year overdose deaths [in Ohio] are down 31 percent," said Dennis Couchon, a harm reduction activist. "The deaths were just plummeting. The data has never moved like this."

"While the mortality data for 2024 is incomplete and subject to change, Ohio is now in the ninth consecutive month of a historic and unexpected drop in overdose deaths," said the organization Harm Reduction Ohio in a statement.

Missouri is seeing a similar trend that appears to be accelerating. After dropping by 10 percent last year, preliminary data shows drug deaths in the state have now fallen roughly 34 percent in the second quarter of 2024.

"It absolutely seems things are going in the right direction, and it's something we should feel pleased about," said Dr. Rachel Winograd, director of addiction science at the University of Missouri St. Louis, who also noted that drug deaths remain too high.

"It feels wonderful and great," said Dr. Mark Levine, head of the Vermont Health Department. "We need encouraging data like this and it will help sustain all of us who are actively involved in trying to have an impact here."

Levine, too, said there's still "plenty of work left to do."" ...

Dasgupta, the researcher at the University of North Carolina, agreed more needs to be done to help people in addiction recover when they're ready.

But he said keeping more people alive is a crucial first step that seemed impossible only a year ago.

"A fifteen or twenty percent [drop in deaths] is a really big number, an enormous impact," he said, calling for more research to determine how to keep the trend going.

"If interventions are what's driving this decline, then let's double down on those interventions."

-article via NPR, September 18, 2024

[mia-does-nonsense]

Mashle Memes, Devil's Quintuplets Edition

(Oh, geez, this was long overdue...)

Divine Visionary memes coming soon!

1 2 3 4 5 6

[joeyclaire]

i’ll believe adhd is real when someone who isn’t bisexual has it

[boopsloop363]

Boop! I disagree about the cities; since they lack the natural habitat (too much concrete, cars, noises, no wildlife, no forest / desert / beach), they always attract people who haven't really bonded with their family so they try to get that comfort from being in a large group. And since the majority of people don't even own their homes in the city, they do not invest time and effort into decorating it. Whereas, in the rural areas, people know each other, they own their homes and make them pretty, and they stay longer in one place. Wishing you a good Fourth Advent! 💌

I've had a really rough week, I'm working on the weekend as well and Monday we're going to the sludge basement again so it'll be nothing but nonstop fun fun fun for me, anon. You make good points but that wasn't always the case. Lots of tight knit ethnic communities formed in these cities at one point and some continue to do so. These communities were deliberately destroyed using blockbusting shortly after desegregation to break the powerblocks a tight knit community inevitably creates. Once these people were spread to the winds and the solidarity collapsed, the cities inevitably fell into the hands of the elites who had little to worry about from the atomized individuals left within. This current situation isn't the norm by any means and it was done deliberately to reduce the political power of the average American

[shinygemstone]

Lately I've noticed a trend online where everyone is Miserable and Lonely all the time and the younger people are the meaner they get for some reason. So I kind of want to get some info I guess

(also, before you click, context: dependent means that someone else is the primary source of your livelihood. This applies to minors and young adults who don't support themselves- like, if they go to college and work a few hours a week.

Independent applies to anyone else. If your partner is the primary source of your income, pop right here. If you work more than, say, 20 hours a week and either pay rent/own your home, hop over here. Also, yes, homemakers belong here

We'll say that "miserable" means that you feel that generally, your life sucks, and there's no imminent reprieve. "Lonely" is more obvious- you feel like you can't connect with people)

If you feel neither miserable nor lonely, feel free to share life tips for how you avoid those feelings in the notes.

[megaclubdiolis]

Michinaga's costume evolution

[mlentertainment]

editing team i HEAR you reusing mice and murder music in the best possible ways and i am kissing you on the mouth about it

[sudaca-swag]

"women hating men" isnt a group problem, and will at most involve one individual woman not wanting to form a relationship of some sort with him because of a personal reason (like his values and how he treats other ppl or women), but men hating women is something that gets women murdered solely because we are women, and its a social problem based on a patriarchial system what isnt clicking about them not being equiparable?

[spookyscaryreviews]

It Comes At Night, 2017, Dir. Trey Edward Shults

Plot: paranoia and mistrust brew as two families shelter together from a highly contagious and fatal virus.

Is it Good?

Dude, yes. A24 delivers again.

Is it Fun?

Nope! It's delightful but TENSE and HEAVY. Not so much that I would struggle to rewatch it though.

Is it Scary?

Sure! Definitely more on the psychological and horrific end of the spectrum, but not shit-your-pants scary. Scary in the sense that the characters and circumstances feel very real.

Triggers and Potential Spoilers in the tags

[meowsticmarvels]

who else up thinking about the 3-4 month gap between ZTD's D-END 1/C-END and the reactors going off. it isn't rly elaborated on much but i think whatever happens there is very obviously extremely horrific and tragic the whole time. it makes me crazy to think about. there's probably timelines where sigma and phi and anyone else vital to the project didn't make it to april. more in tags. it is crazy and i need to know peoples thoughts

[caffeinatedopossum]

I love the book scythe because I also fantasize about having a world where I could just casually kill myself as stress relief

[lesbiancarat]

TWS : 1st Mini Album 'Sparkling Blue'

Track List

🫧 2024.01.22 6PM (KST)

🫧 2024.01.22 4AM (ET)

[untitledgoosegay]

i grew up with a bunch of folk CDs from people my parents either knew or went to concerts of

& at one point i was listening to one of them for the first time in a while, and i realized all at once that this song i'd known since i was a kid was about the AIDS memorial quilt

[theology101]

Something that I like to keep in the back of my head is that America is gonna have a HUGE population drop. And like, soon.

My mentor worked a lot in public health law and his wife worked for the CDC, so they both keep their fingers on the pulse of world health news. And right now, a new strain of Avian Flu had been making jumps cross species and across statelines - found in pigs and cows in Ohio, Michigan and New York.

If Avian flu becomes Humanized, and even a SMALL outbreak starts, millions of Americans will die.

COVID was 1-2% fatalities

Avian Flus average around 50.

COVID was directly transmissible, Avian Flu can survive after secondary and tertiary contact.