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catboyantichrist · 3 years ago

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Hi there! Can you please do relationship headcanons of a gender neutral MC with autism and ADHD dating the seven brothers? I’d love to see more positive writing of a neurodivergent MC and how each of the brothers would love and respect them regardless of their disabilities. Feel free to do this if you want to. If not, that’s ok! Have a great day! 😁👍🌷🌹🌺🌸🌼🌻🌷🌹🌻🌼🌸🌺

This ask literally made me squeal- my neurodivergent ass is gonna have way too much fun with this- LMAO Just a warning, I'm basing this mainly off of my personal experiences (I have ADHD and am possibly getting tested for atypical autism in the future.). Ill try to be as broad as possible but I'd just like to give a heads up.

Just know that if you don't relate to this post or something in it, that doesn't mean you aren't valid! Everyone experiences neurodivergencey differently ^^

☆The Brothers Dating A GN!MC With Autism & ADHD☆

Day-to-day life has always been a struggle. As it feels like no human truly understands why you function the way you do. From bosses, to teachers, to neurotypical friends. Life can feel draining and like a chore when you're living in a world that doesn't function the way you do.

Then your world literally changes. You're in the devildom now. Most people would be terrified that they're living in a house full of demons. But you weren't. You felt like you finally belonged, and eventually you finally found love. Something that people assumed you'd never be able to find. Well jokes on them because your lover treats you with so much respect and kindness, and of course you do the same. This is some of what your lover does that just makes your heart spin:

Lucifer:

-Much to your dismay, before Lucifer started to get to know you he was similar to the humans you've encountered in the past. This doesn't last long though as one of the brothers (most likely Leviathan or Mammon) try to explain. He begins to go a bit easier on you, and also falls for you.

-When you guys start dating, he makes it his goal to help make your day-to-day life easier. Dare I say, he takes pride in it. (Hahahah aren't I funny?)

-He notices how you need a schedule to function, but how much you hate schedules. So with your permission, he makes a loose schedule and follows it WITH you. It simultaneously helps you function more than usual, and it helps Lucifer take breaks when he needs to.

-You two begin to do everything together, as doing stuff together and holding each other accountable is a lot easier than doing it alone

-If someone ever dares to make a rude comment about you Lucifer will um... "take care of them".

-If you ever get overstimulated from the environment you're in, Lucifer keeps his office wide open as a quiet place for you. He keeps a weighted blanket, some headphones and any stim toys you usually use in a corner of his office. If you're not comfortable with them out in the open he'll keep them in a special box somewhere in his office that others can't get into.

Mammon:

-Executive Dysfunction gang! The both of you are relieved that you understand each other and some dumbass wont just go "jUsT gEt Up aNd dO iT!"

-If you guys are struggling with it at different times, you'll try to help each other do small tasks that require very limited effort so that one of you don't get overwhelmed and stressed out. If its a particularly difficult day, you'll just stay there to support the other if they want that.

-If both of you are struggling that day, you do nothing ✨together✨ and just vibe with each others company.

-This man brings you shiny things. They don't even have to be worth anything, they're just shiny. You proceed to do the same. You two now have a designated spot for shiny things you bring each other. If you have an interest in art, you and him will probably end up using the shiny objects as art projects.

-A LOT of impulse shopping. You guys enable each other. Although you quickly realize that you impulse shop for each other. Every second day you end up bringing each other gifts and laughing about it after.

Leviathan:

-Y'know that arm thing two neurodivergent people do when they find out that the other person is neurodivergent? Yeah you two did that. And still continue to do that. It's your greeting now.

-You two spend tons of time either cuddling and talking about your special interests together, or both of you are pacing around Levi's room talking about your special interests together.

-And if you end up having the same special interest?? Oh man the serotonin you two both get just being AROUND each other.

-If you have a hard time around tons of people (in general or just at certain times) he's more than willing to share his room with you and for you two to do online school together. I mean hey, doing school by yourself online is difficult. (Even if it's more comfortable for you both)

-Will he get you a matching pair of noise cancelling headphones if you have auditory sensory issues, or if you just like the pressure on your head. (I don't know if that's a neurodivergent thing but I will wear my headphones just so that I feel some sort of pressure on my head)

-You both communicate what you need, and whether you need alone time or not. Making sure not to trigger any form of rejection sensitivity dysphoria for eachother.

Satan:

-If you were one of those neurodivergent kids that spent all of their time in the library, going through books like wildfire in middle school, get ready for that to be reignited.

-You two will read together all the time, and if you're having a day where you're more fidgety and don't wanna stay still, Satan is more than happy reading to you while you pace around.

-Satan has a natural curiosity, and loves to learn about anything that he doesn't already know about. So if you have a special interest about your own neurodivergency, he is more than happy to listen to you ramble about your life experiences and symptoms.

-Honestly, it doesn't even have to be about neurodivergency, Satan is happy to listen and learn about anything you're interested currently.

-If you aren't big on physical affection from humans or, well... humanoid people, that's perfectly fine! That's what animals are for! He'll take you to a cat cafe and will enjoy spending time with the animals with you.

-Similar to Lucifer, if anyone makes a comment about the way you act, they wont live to see another day. Unlike Lucifer, the demons who say these comments don't even finish their sentence. They're dead before MC blinks.

Asmodeus:

-When Asmodeus finds out that you have sensory issues that affect what you wear, he decides to hand-make clothes with fabrics of your choice. He has no issue with you prioritizing comfort over appearance, but if you want to put effort into your appearance and texture is stopping you, he's more than happy to design some stuff for you.

-Asmodeus has always been a touchy person, but if you aren't comfortable with that he'd never force you to cuddle. If you are interested in physical affection one of his favourite things to do is put makeup on your face, or just touch your face.

-Speaking of which, if you ever impulsively cut your hair whether it be from breakdown, normal impulsivity, or sensory issues with your hair being longer. He'll always help you cut your hair. He wants to make sure that once you cut it, you wont regret it the next day.

-Depending on whether you like going outside or not (or if its depending on the day) he's more than happy to take you to the fall! He'll make sure you're always comfortable and if you need the attention diverted from you if you need a break!

-If you don't like going outside, Asmo will dedicate certain nights for just you two to hang out. He can always energy match you. Hyperactive? Oh he's right there with you bouncing of the walls. Calmer? He doesn't mind just vibing with you. Comfort? Oh you've come to the right guy.

-Asmodeus is very emotionally intelligent, it may have originally been for the wrong purposes (charming others) but now he can use it to help you work through issues with socializing with others, past traumas from other people, he'll always do his best to support you as long as you'd do the same for him!

Beelzebub:

-Beel is always well meaning, but whether you're neurodivergent or neurotypical, communication is key with him. So, if you're unintentionally blunt to neurotypical people, that's exactly what Beel needs and wants. He knows you don't mean it out of harm, you're just trying to state your boundaries.

-Do you need a weighted blanket? This man will become the weighted blanket. He wants to make sure you're comfortable at all times!

-If you have trouble eating, Beel is here to help. If you take meds for ADHD and they make you lose your appetite, or just general forgetfulness, he'll remind you to have at least some sort of small snack throughout the day. Nothing too filling, just enough so that you aren't running on zero food throughout the day.

-All the go-to and comfort foods that you had in the human world? Beel would make it his MISSION to get them, and TONS of it too. It's the only food in the house he wont eat because he knows how important it is to you. He will tear up a bit if you offer to share though.

-If you're in a hyperactive mood, or anxious, Beel will convince you to do some light exercise with him to help calm you down

Belphegor:

-If you have trouble sleeping, Belphie will definitely try and help. Ranging from cuddling, aroma therapy, getting Beel to do exercise with you. To more magical means (if you're comfortable with it) like sleeping powder.

-If you just have a different internal clock than the average person, that's fine too! It may be permanent but that's okay- Belphie will sleep at any time with you.

-Isn't generally a social person so if you're not that big of a fan of social interaction you don't have to worry. Belphie would even do online school with you!

-He would let you use his pillows and blankets to stim if that's something you're interested in. He'd also listen to you ramble about your interests while doing so! As long as you don't mind him talking about the stars afterwards.

-Definitely the most blunt out of his brothers, so communication wouldn't be an issue between you two. If his bluntness is a bit too harsh for you he'll try to tone it down a bit, but it would probably just end up as him trying to explain the reasoning behind the bluntness and how it's not out of harm.

#neurodivergent!MC obey me #obey me #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me shall we date #obey me x reader

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beauvibaby · 4 years ago

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be here - t.seguin

a/n: here we go, another pcos fic, bringing light to the subject of it, this whole thing is heavily heavily inspired by my experience of it so far, symptoms, diagnosis etc. thank you guys for all the love on these! 💖 going to start planning another one soon

“Tyler?” You asked sheepishly, a wavering tone in your voice, everything was coming to a head, you couldn’t ignore your body any longer, you had to go see a doctor, a different doctor, the last one brushed your words away. He looked up from his phone, “what’s wrong baby?” He could see the tears in your eyes, he threw his phone to the side, opening his arms for you. “Hey.” He mumbled, trying to figure out why you climbed into his lap and started crying, “Y/N, what is it?” He forced your head up so he could meet your eyes, you’d been together for a long time, you lived together, he knew the issues you were having but he didn’t understand the magnitude of them, how would he? He’s not a woman, he doesn’t know how your body should truly be working. “I can’t do this anymore, I need to go to a doctor.” You cried, it was stressing you out, which would most likely only be exasperating whatever issue you had. “What?” He tilted his head to the side, rubbing his thumbs across your cheeks to catch the tears. “This.” You groaned dramatically motioning to your lower half, he couldn’t help but laugh softly despite your tears, you pouted at him. “Tyler it’s not funny.” You snapped, but laughed at your childish explanation. “I know, it’s not, definitely not, but I’m a big boy you could say you have to go to the gynecologist.” He teased, smiling when you smiled. “I’m scared about what they’ll say.” You whispered, picking at your nails, “did you want me to go with you?” He questioned, making your head snap up. “Yes, please.” You answered instantly, pulling him in for a quick kiss. “Did you think I wouldn’t go with you?” He asked, faking hurt, but his eyes told you he was only joking. “I knew you would, but I didn’t want to ask.” You admitted, laughing softly at your handling of this. “You can ask me anything, don’t start keeping things from me now.” He muttered, tugging you down to lean against his chest. “Love you.” You whispered, chastely kissing his jaw from your spot resting on him. “Love you, babe.” He responded, leaving a lingering kiss to your forehead.

****

The day of your appointment was finally here, to say you were nervous was an understatement, and you could tell Tyler was silently anxious as well, probably feeding off of your nerves. But he also had zero clue what to expect, he knew nothing about this stuff. “Hey, calm down.” Tyler gripped your hand, watching the way you were bouncing your leg as you rode the elevator up, “I’m trying.” You complained, squeezing his hand as the doors opened, you stepped out, pulling him along behind you. Tyler stayed silently glued to your side, listening as you checked in with the receptionist, not missing the way you sighed softly when she handed you a giant clipboard of new patient paperwork. He followed you to a seat in the waiting room like a lost puppy, “I hate this.” You muttered, starting to scribble down all your info, he chuckled from beside you, resting a reassuring hand on your knee. Occasionally he would read a question over your shoulder and make a face, silently being confused by why that even related to this.

“Date of last period?” The question made you ponder, you eventually had to go and check your phone, shocked to see how long it really had been. You wrote the date down, frowning at the fact that it had been four months, the irregularities shocking you. Tyler saw the way you froze, and glanced down at the paper, he sighed softly kissing your cheek. “It’s gonna be fine.” He assured you, looking around at how many pregnant women were here, “wait, you’re not-“ “oh, no, I’m not don’t worry.” You cut him off with a laugh, you knew they would do a test anyways, but you went through quite a few of your own already, the problem with the irregular periods, you often got worried by the what if’s. Not that you’d be sad if you were pregnant, you’ve always wanted kids, it’s just not the right time.

Finally you finished the paper work and turned it in, sitting back down beside Tyler and waiting for your name to be called. “So, like, what are they going to do?” He questioned, sheepishly, pink tint running up his neck. You shrugged, “depends, she might do an exam, she might just send me for an ultrasound.” You sighed, thinking of the last time you went to a gynecologist, you were young, only seventeen, it was terrible, the doctor brushed aside everything you were saying. Tyler nodded, pursing his lips together, “ok.” He shrugged, all he knew was he was going to be beside you the whole time. “Y/N Y/L/N.�� They called, you stood up quickly, Tyler following behind you. “How’re you?” The nurse asked, “good, thanks.” You answered, Tyler smiled softly. “First we’ll get your weight, and then I’ll show you where the bathroom is so you can leave a sample.” She explained, you handed Tyler your bag, and kicked your sandals off, stepping onto the scale, you’d gained some weight, you always had an issue controlling it, but Tyler on many occasions, would assure you that it didn’t matter and you always looked beautiful to him. He knew it bothered you, but he would always do anything he could to assure you it didn’t matter, all that mattered was that you were healthy, which you were, your weight never posed an issue for you in that sense. “Write your name on the cup, and leave it in the metal cabinet when you’re done.” She smiled, pointing to the bathroom, Tyler awkwardly stayed standing next to her, shifting on his feet as you trudged to the bathroom. She laughed softly at him, “you men never handle these places well.” She teased softly, you couldn’t help but laugh as you shut the bathroom door. Tyler let out a breathy laugh in response, if they continued speaking after that you couldn’t hear them from inside the bathroom.

You sat up on the exam table, Tyler sitting in the seat beside it, the nurse looked over the paper, but still asked, “what brings you in today?” God how you hated that question, why make you fill out the paper work if they were going to ask you again anyways. “I had a cyst a few years back, I’d been going to a doctor but she wasn’t really doing much, so I kind of just stoped going.” You admitted. “My periods are also really irregular.” You added, watching as she scribbled it down for you. Tyler’s eyes bounced between her and you, “are you sexually active?” She asked, her back turned to you, so she didn’t see the small smirk Tyler shot you. “Yes.” You answered, shooting your boyfriend a glare. “Sorry.” He mouthed, sinking into the chair. “Alright, the doctor will be in shortly.” And with that she was gone, leaving you to jokingly glare at Tyler. “Such a perv.” You teased him, he rolled his eyes, “that was a stupid question.” He retorted, “she’s just doing her job.” You sighed, shifting on the table, nerves rushing through you, thankfully though, the doctor appeared in no time at all.

You explained to her everything that you’ve been going through. She asked some questions, and nodded everytime you answered. “I want to send you for an ultrasound to check for any cysts, but I’m going to say you most likely have pcos.” She told you, and your heart dropped for a moment, you’d heard so much about it, and you knew it wasn’t the end of the world, but you knew it wasn’t entirely treatable, and you knew when the day came that you and Tyler were ready to expand your family, it wouldn’t be easy. “What does that mean?” Tyler spoke up, leaning forward as he listened intently, had you not also been wanting to hear everything she said, you’d have taken a moment to stare at him in awe of how concerned he was. “Polycystic ovarian syndrome, basically, every month when you have your cycle, the ovaries get little cysts on them, that’s normal, but they’re supposed to go away every month with your period. Now sometimes they’ll stick around for another month, get slightly larger and then go, but because of the irregularities you’re having, they’re most likely continuing to get larger. The ultrasound will confirm that, as for treatment, the only thing really I can recommend is birth control to stabilize your periods.” She explained, looking back and forth between you and Tyler. You’d never started birth control when you were younger, you hadn’t really been with anyone long enough to be concerned about it until you met Tyler, and then it never really became an issue for you two, you were always careful, and with how irregular you were you knew the chances of getting pregnant were slim. “Okay.” Is all you could say, “let’s do that then.” You added, looking to Tyler who only nodded, he wasn’t going to tell you what to do and what not to do.

Luckily though they were able to squeeze you in for an ultrasound right now, so they whisked you off, Tyler was more than welcome to go with you, and you tried cautioning him against it. But he refused to listen and went with you, turning pale when he saw the ultrasound wand. You laughed softly when he rested his head in his hands, not wanting to watch when they did it. “I told you to stay outside.” You chastised him, knowing this would make him queasy, he may be a tough guy on the ice, but off the ice he was easily startled. “Shush, I’m trying to be supportive.” He mumbled, grabbing your hand when you winced slightly, a frown covering his face, “that hurt?” The radiologist questioned, “tender.” You answered, squeezing his hand harder when she turned the wand. She made a knowing sound, continuing with a soft apology. When she finished and removed the wand, Tyler made the horrible mistake of looking up before she cleaned it. He went wide eyed and turned to look at you when he saw a small bit of blood on the top of it. You giggled as you sat up, keeping the paper over your lap until she left so you could get redressed. “I’m sorry that it hurt you.” He muttered, handing you your pants. You shrugged it off, “it’s alright bub.” You kissed him quickly, buttoning up your pants, stepping out of the room, once again him following you slowly.

***

What felt like an eternity later, you were looking up as the doctor walked back in, and you were so grateful to have Tyler by your side, holding your hand as she started off, “your uterus looks great, so does your left ovary, but on the right ovary you have two simple cysts, they’re exactly what they sound like, they’re the normal cysts you get but they’ve just grown. One of them is about 4 centimeters,” she paused, making a circle with her fingers, you nodded, “and then the other one is 8 centimeters.” She widened her finger and you inhaled sharply. She nodded slowly, a soft reassuring smile on her face, “since we’re going to start the birth control, I want you to come back in six weeks for a follow up, and if it hasn’t started going down in size, we’re going to want to think about possibly doing a surgery.” You gasped softly at her words, she handed you a tissue as your eyes welled up. “It’s alright, it’s very common, it would be laparoscopic.” She explained, glancing to Tyler who had slid his chair closer to you, “but of course, I have to tell you there’s always the chance that when we go in there, something could go wrong or it is worse than we initially thought, there’s a chance we would have to remove the whole ovary.” You started tuning her out as she went onto the whole spiel she had to give about how you would still be able to have kids but it would be harder.

“Y/N.” Tyler spoke softly, snapping you from your thoughts, “I’ll see you in six weeks alright? Don’t worry about it.” The doctor assured you, stepping out of the room. Tyler went to speak but you shook your head, “I just want to schedule my appointment, and leave.” You knew if you spoke anymore you’d lose it, and it was stupid really, because these were all what if’s, but it was so easy to think worst case scenario.

You sat in the car, and all it took was Tyler grabbing your hand for you to lose it, in the parking lot of your doctors office as you thought of everything that could go wrong, instead of everything that could go right. “Baby, it’s okay.” He mumbled, doing his best to comfort you over the center console, you nodded as you cried. “I know, I just want to know, I hate waiting.” You mumbled, sniffling when you leaned back, “get over here.” He gasped teasingly, pulling you in for a kiss, holding your face in his hands, not letting you go until you started to laugh against him. “That’s much better.” He grinned, seeing the cheeky smile on your face. “It’s going to be alright, no matter what happens. I’ll be there with you.” He assured you, “but practice starts in a couple of weeks.” You whispered, keeping your eyes locked on his, practice was starting to kick into high gear soon. “I’ll figure it out, don’t worry about that, you need me here, I’ll be here.”

taglist: @softstarkey @thathockeygirl @mtkachuk @literarycharleton @wtfkie

#Tyler seguin #Tyler seguin imagine #Tyler Seguin imagines #imagine #imagines #nhl dallas stars #Dallas Stars writing #pcos #pcos sucks

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ajokeformur-ray · 4 years ago

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Hello love,

You say that anyone can vent to you? Somehow you seem like someone who might understand me or at least wouldn't judge me, so I'll try to put my thoughts into words - a great challenge for me. It's not like I'm openly judged by others, at least not anymore, but it's like I feel that they have something to say. Sometimes I have this heavy feeling which I cannot really describe - it's like I can't breath right, like there is a weight constricting my air lungs. After a lot of time, I've found some type of escape for it; music. I love music with my whole heart and when I put it on it's like I remember how to breathe again. But still, I'm so tired of this feeling. I don't want to think the whole time, to feel everything so much, to feel this alone. I have very little family and no friends, never really had. I totally understand why I have no friends, it's probably better this way. I have way too much problems for anyone to bear. I'm totally broken. For example, I have a very low self-esteem, a sun allergy and I'm totally poor and I suffer from my autism, depression and social anxiety and, because that isn't enough, I have a very bright and active mind with thoughts and opinions that very little people do understad, let alone share, and I'm always wearing black. As you can see, I'm a very complex and paradox person. I would love to talk with someone for hours, to share my thoughts, fears, dreams and anything in-between, but I'm nearly unable to talk with someone face to face (the things I have in mind and want to share are just not coming out of my mouth the right way I want them to and it always makes me look like a complete idiot). I'm so nervous around others that it's hard for me to concentrate and I'm constantly stumbling while I walk, which annoys me greatly - there's not even an ounce of elegance in me. I have absolutely no idea how to interact with people, just the thought of trying to decently introduce myself scares me endlessly. My self esteem is so low that I mostly think that I'm just not worthy of love, that there is nothing lovable about me - only problems - that the effort that is needed to build a friendship or even more isn't worth the effort. I can never do something with anyone, because I never have money for these kind of activities. I've lost all of my (fake) friends and any possible friend nowdays in the summer when everyone goes out and experiences something while I have to stay inside the whole time. I have such a big heart and a very kind soul, open and accepting for anything and anyone (no matter who they are, where they come from, what they have done, what they believe in and anything else you can think of), but nobody knows that because I'm hardly speaking around others. I'm normally a very potitive human, who sees beauty and goodness in everyone. I especially love animals! If I could, I would adopt them all and show them the love and passion they deserve. I'm also neither intelligent, beautiful or funny, just boring, lazy and complicated with a darkness that most people cannot accept. But please don't understand me wrong! Even though I have all this negative traits, I wouldn't even think about changing myself for anyone, NEVER. I know that I'm not a person people enjoy or like to be around, but I know that I probably have a heart more kind and open than any of theirs. I just fear that I'll always be alone. That there will never be someone with whom I can share my thoughts, with whom I can listen to the calming rain, with whom I can play my favourite music and movies, who is there to hug and cuddle with me, who understands the gibberish that comes out of my mouth, someone who understands how hard it can be for me to maintain contact, who's not annoyed when I didn't get a joke or social que, who somehow breaks my walls down and accepts and loves me for who I am- the darkness and the light.

I have so, so, so, SO much more to say and vent about, but I think this message is long enough with enough self-centered thoughts and I really don't want to bother or burden you with even more! Each of my named problems I could describe even more detailed and I'm sure I have forgotten half the things I wanted to write when I started this message and more things I haven't thought about.

Oh, my love.💜

I read your vent over multiple times and my heart is bleeding for you. I don’t know if you’re looking for a response, but even so I’m going to respond to everything one paragraph at a time and it’s up to you if you want to read it or not ksksksk. I took the liberty of breaking it all up into chunks so that I could respond to everything properly. I hope that that’s okay!💙

Anyone can vent to me, yes! Even if I all I can do is to listen to the person and to validate them and their feelings, that’s better than people sitting with unexpressed feelings. I’m always here for people as much as I’m able to be; Chuckletown’s important to me asdfghjkl.🥺💗

Also, if you would like for this post to be deleted then please let me know and it’ll be done without question.

----

It's not like I'm openly judged by others, at least not anymore, but it's like I feel that they have something to say. Sometimes I have this heavy feeling which I cannot really describe - it's like I can't breath right, like there is a weight constricting my air lungs. After a lot of time, I've found some type of escape for it; music. I love music with my whole heart and when I put it on it's like I remember how to breathe again. But still, I'm so tired of this feeling. I don't want to think the whole time, to feel everything so much, to feel this alone. I have very little family and no friends, never really had. I totally understand why I have no friends, it's probably better this way. I have way too much problems for anyone to bear. I'm totally broken.

I’m so proud of you, not only for putting your thoughts into words, but also for venting to me! Anonymous or not, it’s incredibly brave to open up, especially to the degree that you have. I hope that something here offers you some kind of comfort, darling!💗 I’m so sorry that sometimes you have an indescribable weight in your chest sometimes; I can definitely relate to and empathise with you. It’s a sickly feeling and I’ve never really figured out a way for me to battle it, when I experience it. I usually just endure it, and you’ve done amazingly to find something which helps you to breathe again! Music is a wonderful way to cope with it, because it says that which words can’t and it’s definitely one of the healthiest ways to deal with this feeling, which I know is a common symptom of anxiety and/or depression. I’m so sorry that you’ve suffered so deeply for so long, darling.😔 No one deserves to feel this way. Take it all even a day at a time, my love, and keep your favourite songs close by. I can relate to how you feel, and my heart’s bleeding for you. Everything you’re feeling is valid and I hope that in time you find the inner peace and closure which you deserve. I’m so sorry that you feel so alone, darling; everyone deserves to have connections, friends and family who care about them. If you’re a hug person, I would like to send you many digital hugs!🤗🤗🤗 If you’re not a hug person, then I would like to send you respectable head nods or any other form of acceptable affection omg nonnie you don’t deserve any of this.😭

Oh, honey. You are worthy of and deserving of friends and of the things which you most want in your life and I dearly hope that those things and people find you soon. A problem shared is a problem halved and I’m sending you so much love and strength. I want you to know that I am always here for you; you can stay anonymous and chat to me like this, or you can DM me or I can give you my Discord if you would rather. I am here for you, if you would like for me to be. I’m worried about you and I’m thinking of you and I’m so sorry that it took me just under a day to respond to this.😔I wanted to give you proper fleshed out responses to every paragraph.💝

For example, I have a very low self-esteem, a sun allergy and I'm totally poor and I suffer from my autism, depression and social anxiety and, because that isn't enough, I have a very bright and active mind with thoughts and opinions that very little people do understad, let alone share, and I'm always wearing black. As you can see, I'm a very complex and paradox person. I would love to talk with someone for hours, to share my thoughts, fears, dreams and anything in-between, but I'm nearly unable to talk with someone face to face (the things I have in mind and want to share are just not coming out of my mouth the right way I want them to and it always makes me look like a complete idiot). I'm so nervous around others that it's hard for me to concentrate and I'm constantly stumbling while I walk, which annoys me greatly - there's not even an ounce of elegance in me. I have absolutely no idea how to interact with people, just the thought of trying to decently introduce myself scares me endlessly.

I’m so sorry that you have such low self-esteem. I can definitely relate to and empathise with you; I’ve never been especially confident or fond of myself, so I understand. You suffer so deeply and you are incredibly strong to be able to get through everything which you think, feel and experience. My heart is *bleeding* for you but I’m also very proud of you. You are definitely a complex person and I’m sure that you have many interesting thoughts and opinions (which I would love to hear if you’re comfortable with sharing them!). You deserve to be heard and to have all of those long and deep conversations and I’m so sorry that talking face-to-face makes it difficult to articulate yourself.😔 I experience the same trouble in face-to-face interactions and I truly sound like an idiot sometimes when I try to speak. I’m not, and my thoughts are usually quite long-winded, but it just doesn’t translate well between my brain and my mouth. I understand, darling, and I’m so sorry that you can’t necessarily have verbal conversations. Being who you are will always be enough for the right people; you are a thousand times enough. I’m so sorry that you have so many fears, angel. You deserve so much more than all of this.💛

My self esteem is so low that I mostly think that I'm just not worthy of love, that there is nothing lovable about me - only problems - that the effort that is needed to build a friendship or even more isn't worth the effort. I can never do something with anyone, because I never have money for these kind of activities. I've lost all of my (fake) friends and any possible friend nowdays in the summer when everyone goes out and experiences something while I have to stay inside the whole time. I have such a big heart and a very kind soul, open and accepting for anything and anyone (no matter who they are, where they come from, what they have done, what they believe in and anything else you can think of), but nobody knows that because I'm hardly speaking around others. I'm normally a very potitive human, who sees beauty and goodness in everyone. I especially love animals! If I could, I would adopt them all and show them the love and passion they deserve.

Just as you are, you are worthy and deserving of love. There is nothing you could ever say or do which would change that face. You exist and that means that you are worthy and I’m so sorry that your self-esteem is so low.😔 You are not your problems; they do not define you and you deserve so much more than your mind is telling you, though of course you are valid in every way!💖 I’m so sorry that you’re unable to do activities with friends or others in the summer; I have no irl friends either so I definitely understand how isolating and/or disheartening this experience can be. You’re such a beautiful soul and you deserve everything you want! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise (including you, though I know it’s easier said than believed!) 💚 You truly are incredible and I’m so, so proud of you. I’m in awe of your strength and I’m sending lots of love your way! As I said, darling, if you would like to be friends then please know that you are more than welcome to reach out to me (or I can reach out to you if you would prefer - just let me know somehow). You are always enough, and you matter, angel. You matter and you are worthy of friendship and of love.

I'm also neither intelligent, beautiful or funny, just boring, lazy and complicated with a darkness that most people cannot accept. But please don't understand me wrong! Even though I have all this negative traits, I wouldn't even think about changing myself for anyone, NEVER. I know that I'm not a person people enjoy or like to be around, but I know that I probably have a heart more kind and open than any of theirs. I just fear that I'll always be alone. That there will never be someone with whom I can share my thoughts, with whom I can listen to the calming rain, with whom I can play my favourite music and movies, who is there to hug and cuddle with me, who understands the gibberish that comes out of my mouth, someone who understands how hard it can be for me to maintain contact, who's not annoyed when I didn't get a joke or social que, who somehow breaks my walls down and accepts and loves me for who I am- the darkness and the light.

Oh, darling.😔 Honey, you are all of those good things and I’m so sorry that you believe the opposite, though once again you are so valid and I completely understand. My heart’s breaking for you.😔 YES WE STAN!!!! I’m so proud of you for not compromising upon yourself or who you are for anyone. That is wisdom and strength and bravery - you are more than you know!🥰 Nonnie, I’m so so proud of you!!!! I’m so sorry that you fear you’ll always be alone. Life is bigger, madder and stranger than you know and I just know that this isn’t it for you. There’s more out there for you and your time will come, I absolutely promise! Already, by venting to me, you have taken a massive first step and I can only hope that bigger and better finds you soon! I sincerely hope that you find this person to do all of these wonderful things with you! Very young, I had to learn to be my own best friend so I never really experience loneliness; I’ve learned to be happy with being alone in my room all the time, and it was never ideal but it was something I had to learn. I’ve been a solitary one for a long time, but I know that for other people it isn’t necessarily possible to learn to be content with one’s own company, and I dearly hope that you can find this person soon! You deserve everything you need and want and you are worthy of and deserving of love and friendship!💙💙💙💙 The darkness and the light can and do co-exist and I am truly so proud of you for being so tender-hearted and wise and I want you to know that you are extremely valid and always enough.

My love, you can absolutely vent to me some more if you would like to! You deserve a space in which to do so and I’ll listen to you if you would like to talk to me - you are not a bother or a burden and I really... I won’t say I enjoyed answering this ask, because that’s the wrong sentiment, but I certainly was willing to put in the effort. I care about you, nonnie, and I want you to know that I’m here for you if you would like for me to be!🧡 You deserve so much more than all of this and my heart is breaking for you. I’m so, so proud of you for reaching out to me, and I’m sending you love, strength and everything good in the world - you deserve it all and more!😊💛

#nonnie

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amusewithaview · 7 years ago

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Sorry if this is super personal, but you've mentioned in a few posts that you got a late adhd diagnosis and I've been wondering if I should maybe look into getting one? maybe? So if you don't mind, how did you make that happen? Did you self-diagnose or did you go see someone or something else? (sorry again if you don't want to answer just tell me so)

Brief (hah!) explanation of how my late diagnosis went down: I was in grad school, having a rather horrible time for a variety of reasons (anxiety! crippling depression! suicidal ideation!) and one of my professors pulled me aside and asked for a meeting with me. She was the one who said that I presented a lot of symptoms that she, in her experience teaching, associated with young adults with ADHD. She strongly recommended that I get tested so I could work with disability services and see if there was anything they could do for me. I was doing poorly in her class and she thought that it might help. In her words, I would fall in and out of the discussion groups. I would present a neat idea, then as the others were discussing it, I would tune out entirely an move onto a new idea, or carry that first idea several steps further, and then break back into discussion with an unrelated or only tangentially related contribution. She pointed out other things too, but this was years ago at this point and I can’t remember her exact wording. Suffice to say that she blew my mind.

I had never considered that I might have ADHD before, and nobody else had either because I’m very intelligent and rarely need things explained to me more than once. I did well in school because I’ve always been an excellent test taker. My undergrad advisor looked at my transcripts (high ACT, average grades) and said, “You got bored in school a lot, didn’t you.” I hyperfocus like mad while reading, and I was reading constantly as a kid, so it never occurred to anyone that I might have focus issues.

What would you get out of a diagnosis? Genuinely ask yourself that before running off to get tested, because testing might be expensive. I lucked out in that I was attending a university that had a lot of programs for students, one of which included a full battery of IQ/psychological tests. It was a teaching program, so psych grad students did the actual testing themselves while we were all monitored through a mirrored wall by the professionals. Even with the extra discounts, it was still something like 150 bucks for the full report. I paid fifty just to get the official ADHD diagnosis sent to my doctor/the school administration, but I didn’t shell out the other 100 for the actual IQ test results (sort of wish I had, in hindsight).

The testing was a mixture of them asking me a variety of questions about myself, my habits, my decision-making processes, and an IQ test, and a standard battery re “are you crazy? lets find out!” The former included fun questions like “are you a perfectionist?” the middley bit was standard IQ stuff like spacial awareness, pattern recognition, etc., and the final bit included “do you hear voices? do they tell you to hurt yourself and/or others?” The test took place over the course of a few hours on one day, then they presented the results to you two weeks later.

The single funny part of the process was that technically speaking, since it was a teaching program, we (the people being tested) were only supposed to interact with the students while the actualfacts doctor observed. In my case, he came out during my presentation to help explain my diagnosis because I was the most textbook case of perfectionism he’d ever seen***. He actually quoted me things I’d said in the initial interview verbatim because of how amazingly textbook my perfectionism was (he took copious notes). He said to me that if I took one thing away from the meeting, what he hoped I’d take was that I was an extremely intelligent person who was ridiculously hard on herself and needed to cut herself a lot of slack.

For me, getting a diagnosis was worth it because it meant I could get certain accommodations from professors, I could freely discuss medication and such with my doctor, and honestly it gave me a shitload of peace of mind. A lot of things about myself that I had always considered character flaws were suddenly explicable (if not always necessarily excusable) by this weird brain quirk that was outside of my control. Even if you don’t go the medication route, knowing that you have ADHD to contend with can be useful because there are coping mechanisms specific to ADHD out there and… yeah. So, what would you get out of a diagnosis? Consider that before getting tested.

If you (or anyone else) has follow up questions, reblog and I’ll try my best to answer. I can only speak to my personal experiences though.

***The exchange apparently went like this:

Interviewer: Would you consider yourself a perfectionist?Me: *immediately* No.Interviewer: All right.Me: Nothing I do is ever perfect, so, definitely not a perfectionist.*crickets chirp*

#something clever in cleveland #ADHD impulsive #actually adhd #adhd diagnosis #actually perfectionist #i'm not on meds right now #i've never been on meds just for adhd #my old antidepressants had an off-label use of adhd assistance and they were AMAZING #i am seriously considering going on meds #but i needed to wait for my insurance to kick in first #it has kicked in as of sept 1 soooo #further updates as events warrant (gotta find me a gp)

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preventsuicideco · 5 years ago

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Diasporic & Disabled: Interview with a Queer Black USian Woman on the "Strong Black Woman" Stereotype, Misogynoir, & Mental Illness Stigma in the Black Community

This interview was originally published on May 9, 2018 on one of ⁂ hai shuixian’s other projects, ANTIHEROINE.co, a TQBIPOC-centred online magazine.

///

Diasporic & Disabled is an interview series on what it's like to be a disabled/mentally ill, especially queer or trans, person of colour in the diaspora.

I started this project because I have a deep personal hunger to see and spread more stories about disabled and mentally ill, especially queer and/or trans, people of colour. Ever since I was diagnosed with a mental illness several years ago, I went out on a search to find memoirs of people with mental illnesses like me, only to discover that the most popular ones about my diagnosis were all written by upper middle class cisgendered heterosexual white women, and that I could not relate to them at all.

[ trigger warning: suicide for the next paragraph ]

I know that personally, stigma around mental illness, disability, and going to therapy from both my Shanghainese Chinese biological family and my Asian-USian friends growing up prevented me from seeking help earlier. (I have been severely symptomatic since I was 7 years old, which is unsurprising given that I suffered severe abuse from a very young age.) Very early on, I heavily internalised the idea that it was a "white" thing to seek help; it was a "white" thing to go to therapy, and it was a "white" thing to give care and empathy to someone with disabilities and/or mental illnesses. My profound feelings of shame around being disabled and mentally ill actually played a large factor in why I attempted suicide for many years—I was suicidal about being suicidal.

[ / end trigger warning ]

One of my life missions is to help eradicate the ableism and stigma that we all internalise, especially the stigma that prevents us people of colour from seeking the help that we need. I hope that this interview series will help do just that.

Disabled/mentally ill people of colour, you're not alone. #DiasporicAndDisabled

Our first interview is with A, who requested to be anonymous.

A is a 27-year-old Black, cisgendered, able-bodied bisexual/queer woman who was born and raised in the U.S. and suffers from depression.

How long have you had symptoms of mental illness?

I have had symptoms of depression since childhood, since I was around five years old.

Have you sought professional help for your depression?

I've never taken medication because there's a particularly strong influence of religion in which I grew up where mental illness and health in general isn't talked about or taken seriously, and you're told to "just pray about it" and you'll be cured. The stigma affected me in how I've never sought professional help beyond school counseling.

Tell me more about the influence of religion where you grew up. How has it affected your mental health and how you seek help?

I grew up in a semi-strict religious household. Whenever I was sad or had questions, my mom would tell me to turn to God for answers. No matter how much I prayed, I never felt better. I was told and believed for a long time that my depression was just a spiritual battle I had to overcome, instead of something that had a medical basis that I could seek help for. I didn't talk about my depression with my family until I was well into adulthood.

When I would explain the reasons for my depression, my family wouldn't understand, and would say that it didn't make sense and I had no true reason to be depressed. I internalized this message and never sought real professional help except for talking to free counselors in high school, college, and at a place for troubled youth in my city called Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Although these seemed to help somewhat, for years I struggled with these emotions and feelings completely on my own, except when I confided in close friends.

I feel this so much. I have similar stories, though not the same. I meditated every day, did yoga every day, read tonnes of Buddhist books, and also prayed every day for years, and it never made my depression better, which made me feel even more hopeless.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

What was your experience with the counsellors in high school and college like?

My experience with the counselors in high school and college was very positive. They were always very kind and compassionate and let me speak about whatever was bothering me in my life. They allowed me to express myself and get to the heart of the matter, and they helped me delve deeper in order to figure out resolutions to situations in my life. I learned a lot about myself and was able to find healthier coping mechanisms instead of spiraling deeper into depression and self-loathing.

That's good, I'm glad it helped you.

Do your family and friends know about your mental illness? How did they respond to it?

My family was pretty dismissive in the beginning and as far as they're concerned, I'm a very happy individual who has gotten over depression.

Growing up, my family wasn't really supportive about mental health in general. We talked about our feelings sometimes, but we never put a name to certain mental health issues.

My friends have been much more supportive and validated my struggles. However, it was hard when I was very deep in my depression for people to understand what I was going through. A few people said that it just sounded like I was "occasionally sad" and not truly depressed, because I didn't feel like I needed medication to regulate my mood.

How did your friends' reactions make you feel?

It made me feel really alone and invalidated, like I was making up what I was going through. For a long time, I tried to hide and bury my feelings/emotions so as not to bother or bring down my more positive friends. It's funny, because now people look at me as the positive, sunny, optimistic friend, when before I was very dark, and it was difficult for me to see the "bright side" of things that people kept telling me to look at.

Do you feel like there is a specific stigma in the Black community that prevents people from seeking help for their mental illnesses?

I definitely feel like there's a huge stigma in the Black community when it concerns mental health. We're supposed to remain strong, especially if we are Christian/religious, and turn to God to solve our problems—and we're not supposed to talk about our struggles with other people, and especially not with doctors.

It's really damaging, because so many Black people are dealing with severe mental illness and are told not to seek counsel or help because it's "all in their heads" and that they just need to be "strong enough to withstand life's tests." Especially when it comes to marginalized genders, there's a specific stereotype of the "strong Black woman," where we're never supposed to need or even ask for help with anything and we should bear all our burdens alone. This harms everyone, and it has a lasting effect, especially on children, because damaged/traumatized children become adults who are still struggling with these issues.

Do you want to talk more about the "strong Black woman" stereotype?

It's really hard for me to talk about it because there are so many facets and nuances to it. It affects us in everything, from family, friendships, and romantic relationships, to the workplace, and even in our interactions with complete strangers. Having to put on a brave face and pretend that everything is okay all the time is exhausting. We always have to pretend we're okay, because showing weakness is pretty much impossible; we put on a mask to survive, and showing any little chip in the armor or cracks in the mask can be our downfall.

We aren't allowed the grace to simply exist and be human, as flawed as the next person.

How do you feel like this destructive stereotype affects Black women's mental health?

It affects us in that we don't seek help when we need it, and even when we do get help, we often don't have the proper resources or right people helping us. The intersection of misogyny and anti-Black racism against Black women is called misogynoir, which means we face both simultaneously.

So oftentimes, even in mental healthcare, misogynoir prevents many Black women from getting the assistance we require, because either the healthcare "professionals" have inherent biases that they let affect how they treat and talk to us, or they'll say we don't even need help, because we're supposed to be stronger, mentally and physically.

I've been fortunate to have had counselors who treat me with respect and dignity, but I know that my experience is the exception, not the norm. I've considered becoming a social worker or psychologist/therapist in the past, but I don't think I can handle the emotional stress that comes with it, despite being a very empathetic and compassionate person who actively listens to others who are going through difficult situations.

Thank you so much for being here with us, A. Any last words?

The most important thing that I've learned and that I want other people to know is that you do not have to suffer alone and in silence.

Your life is important and you matter,

no matter what you've previously used as coping mechanisms, or how many people do not support you or have let you down.

Your voice, opinions, thoughts, and feelings are just as profound and needed as anyone else's.

No matter where you are in your current battle or struggle, you are valid.

Thank you again, A.

///

This interview was conducted by ⁂ hai shuixian.

If you enjoyed this post, please share and support our work!

Follow @ANTIHEROINEco on Twitter.

#mental illness #depression #actually depressed #actually mentally ill #misogynoir #anti-Blackness #racism #ableism #interview #ANTIHEROINE #ANTIHEROINE.co #sexism #misogyny #mental illness stigma #Black women #mental health #Black community #diasporicanddisabled #diasporic and disabled

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ellenlucasonlinedatingblog · 5 years ago

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Porn Ed: What Happens When Porn Replaces Sex Education?

Adolescents today have greater access to a wider range of pornography than any previous generation. So how is it affecting them?

This question is the crux of a new episode of Lisa Ling’s CNN series This is Life titled “Porn Ed,” which premieres September 29. Ling wanted to better understand how accessibility to porn is changing the way adolescents and young adults think about sex and approach relationships.

Episode still from Lisa Ling’s “This is Life.” Image courtesy of CNN.

I had a chance to preview the episode and sit down with Ling to discuss it. While there’s much that we agree on, including the idea that porn is not an effective substitute for sex education, there are some aspects of the episode that I worry could potentially leave viewers with the wrong impression of how porn impacts people, especially the idea that it is “addictive.” The show focuses on people’s personal opinions about and experiences with porn and doesn’t explore the science—in fact, no researchers or doctors are interviewed on screen during the episode. So while it’s certainly a thought-provoking show, there were some missed opportunities for a data-driven discussion.

Below is a lightly edited transcript of my conversation with Ling that focuses on the areas where we agree, but also the areas where science and medicine diverge from some of the things claimed by those who were interviewed in the episode.

Justin Lehmiller: In this episode, you interview people who see porn as a source of danger and problems, but you also talk to people like Cindy Gallop who see potential value in adult videos that are capturing real-life sex. When you put those different conversations together, what's your take on whether porn itself is inherently good or bad, or is it neutral?

Lisa Ling: Our episode really isn't a condemnation of porn. I do think that for some people, there may be value to porn. And I would never begrudge sex workers because I actually think that there are sex workers out there who are performing a real service. My big concern is just the abundance of material that's out there—some of which is really extreme—and how easy kids can access it. You know, when you talk about what Cindy's trying to do with her website, Make Love Not Porn, they are defiant about the fact that they are not porn. They are providing people with an experience of what real sex should look like. It's not always clean and it's sometimes messy. It's sometimes funny. It sometimes doesn't really work very well. And I do think that there is value in that. I do think that we should be exposed to how beautiful and meaningful sex can be. It's part of who we are, right?

But at the same time, I do think that it's incumbent on parents to start having those conversations with kids sooner. I think that kids need to understand that sex is part of who we are, that it can be just a pleasurable experience, that communication is really essential, and that what they are accessing is not reality. It's entertainment for adults. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that kids are never aware of.

That's one of the reasons why we feature Tasha Reign, the adult film star, because she is on a mission to communicate to people that, before cameras even roll, they have a negotiation about consent and about what the men and women are willing to do. I think if we had a better sense of the fact that this is all artificial in many ways—it’s entertainment—kids may not think that's reality.

Justin Lehmiller: You and I are on the same page that porn should not be used to replace sex education. And you've already talked a bit about the different ways that parents need to start approaching sex education with their kids. But I'm curious as to the role of schools in all of this. What do you think schools need to be doing differently when it comes to sex ed, specifically as it relates to porn?

Lisa Ling. Photo courtesy of CNN.

Lisa Ling: I think it's ultimately a parent's responsibility, but we have to recognize that there are some parents who aren't able to have those kinds of conversations, don't want to have those conversations, may not have time to have those kinds of conversations…so we need to start having those conversations in schools. In California, for example, where I'm from, there is a very comprehensive sexual education curriculum. When I sat through one of the classes, I was even uneasy because I wasn't used to having those kinds of conversations. But for the kids, it was just sort of like they didn't even blink. They're learning that this is a natural part of who we are and that there shouldn't be any shame or humor around it—that it's meant to be enjoyed and pleasurable, but we have to make sure that we are safe at the same time.

Justin Lehmiller: I think you're absolutely right that kids do want to have these discussions, but it's usually the parents who don't feel comfortable initiating them. So where are they going to get that information? I think schools provide one potential avenue for that through, say, porn literacy programs.

Lisa Ling: I thought it was pretty impressive that in Boston public schools they have this sex ed curriculum that includes porn literacy. You know, some parents might go, "Why are my kids learning about porn in school?" Well, because your kids are probably watching porn in their bedrooms with the phone that you gave them. The moment your kid gets a phone or gets a mobile device, you got to start thinking about how to broach the subject with them because they've probably already seen things that they don't understand that they think depict real sex.

Justin Lehmiller: Something I noticed in watching your episode is that you interviewed a lot of people, but you didn't have any scientific or medical experts in the area of porn. I'm just curious—was there a reason or rationale behind not having one of them on to discuss it?

Lisa Ling: Our show is very much an experiential one and we have found that by immersing ourselves amongst people who are going through these things, I think we get a better sense of and we're more relatable to viewers who may be experiencing similar things. And if they do feel somehow like they connect with the information that we're giving them or the people that we're profiling, then they can seek out that more professional or clinical information.

Like Alex Rhodes who started the NoFap website. He's not a clinician or a therapist but he has half a million people on his website who say that they are suffering from pornography addiction. And pornography addiction hasn't even been classified as an addiction. But because he's experienced, he knows what has worked for him and what hasn't and it's become this forum for people to share exactly those things.

Justin Lehmiller: I'm glad that you brought up those points—that porn “addiction” is not a recognized medical or psychological diagnosis and that Alex Rhodes is not a clinician, but he is offering services sort of treating this as an addiction. This is one of those areas where when you look at the research, it’s not at all definitive in saying that porn is addictive, and so I worry a little that in highlighting what Rhodes is doing and the big following he has, that people might walk away thinking that it is an addiction when the actual medical community is not there based on the research.

When you look at a lot of the data in this area, what we often see is that porn is more the symptom rather the cause of a lot of the issues people are experiencing. For example, they might have generalized sexual anxiety or moral conflicts, and those might really be the underlying cause. So to put this in the form of a question, what's your take on the idea that we might be scapegoating porn because it's an easy target rather than dealing with the underlying issues that might be driving people to porn in the first place?

Lisa Ling: You know, I am also not a clinician or a therapist, but if you talk to any pediatrician or you talk to a lot of parents, the moment their kids become exposed to pornography and how easily it's accessible, whether they have underlying issues or not, it can cloud a young person's judgment about what real sex is supposed to be like. And, you know, studies have shown that young people are having less sex than ever before. And one has to ask, "Well, what's the reason for that?" Well, it's probably because they can experience the extremes using their mobile devices. They don't have to go through the anxiety of asking a girl out or dealing with rejection when they have everything that they need and more in their pocket, accessible at all times.

So for me to boldly assert that it's an addiction, that's not something that we do in our episode. But there's a reason why NoFap, that website, has a half a million people that are desperate. They're coming to this website desperate for help from what they believe is an addiction.

Justin Lehmiller: I get that they're perceiving porn as the cause of their problems, but it might not actually be the problem for them. So by going to these websites and resources that are not based in science and data, they might not actually be getting the help that they need to really deal with those issues.

[Sidebar: Research suggests that porn access probably isn’t why young adults today are having less sex. Read my take on this idea here.]

Lisa Ling: That's true. That's certainly true. And you know, I think NoFap, is very clear or it asserts that it's not a medically sanctioned website. But what it is is people sharing what has been working for them. I think one of the reasons why it hasn't been deemed a certified, bonafide addiction is because it's harder to get information about how to stop. Right? And so people have had to resort to seeking out information on their own and seeking support from people who are going through the same thing.

I mean, our second episode is about benzodiazepines—and these are some of the most widely prescribed medications on the planet, right? And doctors, in many cases, do not know how to taper people off of benzos. So what are people doing? They're going to these non-medically sanctioned websites and getting information and learning these very meticulous taper methods that are saving their lives. None of them are medically sanctioned.

So if it's working for people, and people are finding themselves in such a desperate situation, that they're seeking out help and guidance from people they don't even know because they're not being offered the right kind of information from doctors, I mean, that's kind of where we are with pornography. And also, let's say you do believe you have an addiction and your insurance doesn't pay for therapy. How are you ever going to get medical help when your insurance doesn't cover it? You're going to seek it out online amongst people who are dealing with the same things.

Justin Lehmiller: I think we're in agreement that we want people to be able to get help and to know that the help is going to work. But there's also a really big impediment for us to having the accurate medical knowledge we need about pornography, which is that there's really no federal funding available for people who want to do research on porn. And so there is sort of this roadblock if we want a design interventions or treatments or, you know, just really study porn. This is why I think our knowledge base is so limited and why a lot of these non-scientific, non-medical platforms are taking off. It's, in part, because they're filling this void that is not currently being addressed because there just isn't the funding to do the research we need.

Lisa Ling: There's the funding we need to do the research. And most of our insurance will not pay for the therapeutic services that people might need to even figure out what may have spurred someone to seek out porn.

Justin Lehmiller: I think that's a great point, that access to care is another big part of the issue that leads people to seek out these informal, non-medical platforms. With greater access to care, we could ensure that more people get the help they truly need, rather than feeling like their only option is to seek out information online that isn’t based in scientific research.

Now, given all of the people out there claiming that porn is “addictive” and fundamentally damaging, some are calling for bans on pornography and restrictions on porn access. Do you think that bans and restrictions are the answer to these problems or do you think it's really more about improving sex education and sexual communication?

Lisa Ling: I think that we could ameliorate a good part of it by educating kids about what sex is really like and what it's supposed to be like. I think that having those open conversations would do a lot for the issue—do a lot to alleviate some of the concerns. Porn is the only exposure some kids may be getting to sex. It's inevitable that would skew your perception, you know? So I think opening up the dialogue would at least get us one step closer to having a more sort of normal perception of what sex is and what relationships should be.

Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology ? Click here for previous articles or follow the blog on Facebook (facebook.com/psychologyofsex), Twitter (@JustinLehmiller), or Reddit (reddit.com/r/psychologyofsex) to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTube and Instagram.

Image Source: CNN

You Might Also Like:

What Counts as “Pornography?” It Depends Who You Ask

The Truth About How Porn Affects Us

How Is Porn Use Linked To Relationship Satisfaction? It’s Complicated

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potsiespoons · 7 years ago

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Hey! So I was diagnosed with ME/CFS seven years ago, but recently I've discovered POTS- and that seems to really fit more with my symptoms and I know the two overlap alot. So my main symptoms that seem different to others with ME is that it's mainly my legs that always cause me pain, like just minimal walking or standing for too long just causes a lot of pain and it gets hard to keep upright on them, also I get really bad migraines which I find get worse after standing too long or exercising (1)

And I struggle with heart palpitations- terribly badly after exercise (even after a tiny amount of exercise I feel so nauseous and shakey, have rapid heart palpitations and just generally really sick) and I also have a lot of stomach problems- I’ve been rushed into a&e many times with abdominal pain but nothing’s ever come of it? And after reading your comics about eating and pain etc i could really relate to it. So I guess I’m just asking do these things sound similar to what you experience with your POTS? Because if not maybe I just have a weird version of ME? I was also wondering if there’s treatment for POTS you’re undergoing? Because for my ME the doctors kind of went- your tired, that sucks and have never done anything to help, so I was wondering if enquiring about a diagnosis of POTS would be worth it if it meant proper treatment for the pain and symptoms. thank you so much for your help and sorry for sending so many messages and kind of bombarding you :’) (3/3)

Hey, @finnivkodair! I actually don’t have to deal with much pain–when I stand/walk for too long, my knees start to feel sort of weird (maybe like they’re getting weak?), but I’m not sure that I would describe what I feel as pain. I deal with a lot of dizziness/lightheadedness, and occasional headaches (which sometimes turn into migraines)–though I’m not sure how much of the headaches are caused by my condition or the fact that I have my head down so often working on art and stuff. I have heart palpitations a lot–they’re a pretty regular occurrence in my experience with POTS, as is shakiness (which I know, for me, is usually caused by an excess of adrenaline). And while POTS can theoretically cause gastrointestinal issues such as pain or nausea, my really intense stomach pain was actually caused by a different condition called Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS), which you can find a comic about here.

POTS has lots of variations, which is one of the reasons why it’s so hard to diagnose. So even though our symptoms don’t totally match up, you could still have POTS. If you’d like to have a clearer picture of whether or not POTS might be what you’re dealing with, you can do a “poor man’s tilt table test,” the protocol for which can be found here. POTS is diagnosed with a tilt table test, but you can do this version at home (or in a doctor’s office) just to see if your numbers match typical POTS criteria.

Currently I’m not on any prescribed treatments for POTS. I’m taking some supplements and staying as active as I can, but I’ve tried all the POTS medications and infusions and physical therapy and none of those things have actually helped my symptoms. (Honestly it makes me wonder if POTS is my real problem or if there’s something else going on we haven’t found yet…funny how bodies make you think, isn’t it?) There’s no magic pill for POTS, so you kind of have to experiment with different things to find what works for you. If you want more info on different ways POTS is treated, you can click the “POTS Survival Guide” link up at the top of my blog–that series goes through things like medications and the Levine Protocol and general lifestyle changes.

All in all, I feel like this has probably come off sounding a bit discouraging–but I certainly don’t want you to feel discouraged! POTS comes in all shapes and sizes, so just because my symptoms aren’t an exact copy of yours doesn’t mean you don’t have POTS. If POTS sounds like it fits your symptoms, then definitely try the poor man’s tilt table test, and definitely bring it up with your doctor! Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Good luck with everything, and I hope you do find some answers that lead to a treatment that helps your symptoms!

#asks #finnivkodair

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feed-our-souls-too · 6 years ago

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Art, Film, Faith (part 2)

This is post 2 of 3 from a friend and fellow artist (find her Instagram here). She took a class on faith and film and we both found that the journalling and conversations that resulted from it were thought-provoking and, as such, worth sharing here. ~Julie (The Hopeful Raincoat)

Entry 3

In the class, there has been a lot of commentary about having discretion and understanding the perspective from which we view movies, but not very much about being a ‘glutton’, or the risks that might lead to it. In Through a Screen Darkly, Overstreet comments about a time when he was employed at a video store and had viewing access to a wide variety of films. “I wasn’t thinking about whether my intake of mediocrity and cinematic junk food was doing any damage or dulling my intellect,” then later, “I might have become an addict, hooked on something unhealthy that would slowly corrode my imagination.” This made me think about one of my concerns with striving to find what was underneath a movie to discover meaning, intention, and spots of light in a dark world. I feel like there is a point when the excitement to find these things might lead to shoving them into the narrative in order to justify watching the movie – a symptom of addiction.

The book implies being an addict is mindlessly watching movies for superficially interesting content. However, for Christians well aware of the standard their peers want them to hold to – whatever is pure – their symptom of addiction might be to shove in whatever is pure without much consideration. When I discovered comics in the Seattle Public Library, I ate them up, because I loved and knew the characters from the movies but had never had access to comics before. (It was probably a similar situation to working in a video store – unlimited access all of a sudden.) For the most part, I watched out for content that is corrupting and harmful, but if I could find just one little thing that related to a moral, or a ‘Christian’ value, I probably read it at face value, and was inconsiderate of any other impact it might have had on my thinking.

In the film Wings of Desire, the angel Damiel sees Marion take off her acrobat uniform and then gently touches her neck. An argument is made in the reading that says this is not intended to be a ‘celebration of lust,’ but a moment of admiration for physical beauty. There is merit to this, as Damiel may primarily see her as a creation of God with a unique experience, Marion is a ‘fine sculpture’. I sometimes worry that these kinds of arguments are a mere justification to watch the film without regard for the potential of negative implications. In the case of Wings of Desire, if the argument had stopped at, “It only showed her back,” that may be a sign of addiction because that is an excuse. It is a minor justification using face value without any thought about the significance of the moment.

LATER EDIT: Christians must have personal discretion for everything that they interact with, we must be critical thinkers. We must not be flippant, positively or negatively, with the content we interact with, whether it is the latest adaptation of a Steven King novel or the most innocent children’s television.

Entry 4

I am still not satisfied with my questions from the last journal entry – when does film become just another piece of entertainment with a ‘fulfilling’ excuse? In Braveheart, fans might excuse the long, drawn-out battles because it is retaliation against oppression. The main character’s violent actions in The Patriot were justified for a similar reason. I remember my brother was pretty excited about the patriot’s original commitment to nonviolence. It might be because avoiding war is not the big picture most Americans think about when reflecting on the American Revolution, so this plot feels like a unique twist, which is a strategy that writers use for building viewer interest. However, I wouldn’t say we watched the entire movie just because the patriot wanted to avoid war in the first twenty minutes.

In the discussion of heroes and characters viewers admire (chapter five of Through a Screen Darkly), The Lord of the Rings was given credit for being a “meaningful mythology of longsuffering, sacrifice, and hope.” I totally agree. But I tend to be skeptic about the next sentence. “Somehow, Tolkien’s “Catholic work” resonated with viewers who flinch at the word religion.” Did it? I’m not sure – I do not really know people’s minds when they watch movies. What kind of response was it? What did they ‘resonate’ with? What is resonance anyway, does it come on a scale from one to ten? Does seven qualify as ‘adequate resonance to be considered a moving experience’ and therefore acceptable content? The success of The Lord of the Rings might demonstrate that the series is an exceptional work of art, meaning that it was ‘moving’ for the majority of those exposed to it. However, the films are not without the mindless entertainment of intense action that draws theater crowds in droves for other movies. The craftsmanship of the film is top notch, a fantasy world brought to life with outstanding realism, truly a spectacle to see. How can we be sure when art has moved beyond that?

Something that comes to mind is conversations with random people. Is it not the small, unexpected conversations with random people that have exponential value? It is highly unrealistic, perhaps outright false, to expect that sharing God’s love with those around us will bring in “results” every single time, or even ninety percent, eighty percent, fifty percent. Why should I expect that standard from art, even if it is exceptional? In light of this, I was actually a little bit comforted that even Gladiator, with a similar surface value as Braveheart and The Patriot, has some sort of undercurrent value that can be read into, and apparently people occasionally see that. But alas - another question surfaces - is the risk of becoming numbed to violence and caught up in the frenzy worth a sliver of a chance to experience something meaningful? If the film challenges itself in regard to violence, acknowledging the moral conflict and implications as in Munich or Unforgiven, (films that were discussed in Through a Screen Darkly, but I have not seen them) perhaps yes.

Entry 5

One of the lines from Through a Screen Darkly in a chapter on humor and comedy that stood out to me was, “It takes humility to accept such a public critique.” This was in the context of laughing at the mistakes that humans make, including the mistakes we make ourselves. It made me think about learning to take jabs – basically my dad telling me to tough it up when my older brother name called. The resolving family policy ended up being if you can’t take it, don’t give it. Our inter-sibling relationship now looks dangerously similar to Ruffnut and Tuffnut from How to Train Your Dragon (the ‘nut’ relationship is much more refined in the Netflix series), and I love it. My little brother and I in particular are willing to take the brunt of a joke just to generate a good laugh. I think that I had that mindset even for political jokes when I first came to Seattle from Montana, laughing along to jabs about Republicans that my classmates, professors, and even church leaders made. It’s a joke, it’s supposed to be funny, I can see why they think it is, I was willing to accept that. However, I think I stopped chuckling when I realized there was no reciprocal (which is also true of my hometown…) and it was not going to stop. Ever.

Receiving a joke from film is different than in-person interactions, whether it is about Christian beliefs and/or hypocrisy, or something else I relate to. It is a lot harder to be humble when there is distance between viewer and director (a growing problem in our media-directed world), and it is easy for a viewer to think that a director is trying to be degrading. Generally, I trust that people willing to make jokes about me to my face do so out of good humor. I am not sure if I can say the same about filmmakers, I do not know them. After some consideration, even if I do not find the jokes humorous, it can still be an opportunity for reflection on why the director thought it would be funny, which could be revealing in itself. If humor is acknowledging an err (a concept that Overstreet develops in his book, and a definition of humor I find to be very accurate), then there might be an err the viewer has not recognized.

The other portion of this reading that I was troubled with was the contrast of fools in real life and film. It seems like a narrative tactic to give a character who behaves against common unspoken (maybe even spoken) rule, opportunity to reveal something great. People do not expect this in real life, so it a surprising twist in a story and adds contrast. A fool in a story can be crafted and designed. But what about the Parry’s (Parry is a character from a film Overstreet mentions, I do not recall what movie he is from, only that he is homeless and seemingly a lunatic) that might cross our paths while we are visiting the downtown cinema? People usually avoid them. There are a lot of different issues in this situation (such as personal safety), but I find it ironic that people let fools inform us in film, but not on the street. Human interactions are supposed to be more effective than electronic ones.

#god and art #faith and film #through a screen darkly #book #article #external post #contributor post #art faith film part 2 #part 2 #film #art faith film

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sage-nebula · 8 years ago

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why did you write all these sad/bittersweet post flare arc fics they are hurting me. why did you kill valiant dragon son in one of them and made everyone cry in that one and also that raw and too real fic of recovery time alan and ash/tr having a pseudo-parental bond that others might not quite understand if they knew fic and quasi-immortal sons fic and and and hglhsalh I AM IN PAIN

Eheheheheh.

The one where Alan dies that you’re referring to is “And Heroes Never,” right? The one that follows Ash’s perspective? That one came about as a bit of pre-Flare arc speculation—or, well, actually, it might have been written just as the Flare arc was kicking off. Essentially what happened was, I was thinking about how Sycamore and Lysandre are friends in the games, and it’s implied that Lysandre dies at the end, and Sycamore has to deal with the emotional fallout from that. And I was thinking about the possibility of Alan dying during the Flare crisis in the anime (in a heroic sacrifice kind of way), and how that would be even worse for Sycamore because in that case he wouldn’t have to deal with the emotional grief of losing a friend, but rather, would have to deal with the emotional grief of losing his son. I made a post about that, and then my friend Ry replied to that post with “I’M NOT LISTENING,” which of course led to me being a cheeky little shit and replying with this bullet fic here. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about how Ash would feel about all of that, which led to “And Heroes Never.” (I also wanted to deconstruct how Ash was written in the XY&Z series a bit, what with everyone viewing him as a hero and, at least in the case of Serena at one point, actually growing upset with him when he didn’t act the part, so there was some of that in there, too.)

So tl;dr: It was pre-Flare arc speculation (on what could have been an extremely Pyrrhic victory for the heroes), and also my natural tendency to veer toward angst. :D

All of the raw recovery fics are a bit of … well, it’s both my desire for this sort of thing to be portrayed realistically and not swept under the rug (I’m still mad at how Alan was handled after XYZ044, haha—I refuse to accept any of the episodes after that one as canon for him, I’m pulling a pure Nick Fury “I recognize the council has made a decision” re: that ending), and also a bit of personal experience. I won’t get into all the gritty details, but suffice it to say that I recognize that Alan has complex-post traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) as a result of the abuse he suffered because I also have C-PTSD, and thus recognize the symptoms he exhibits in canon (like, they actually did a good job with that, I was so glad and impressed). I look at him, and so often my reaction is, “Same, man.” So I explore that, because sometimes it helps me vent my own feelings to explore it through a character that I can really relate to because of it, and also because it’s realistic, and also because it’s very nice for me to explore a situation where, even if I couldn’t have the kind of support that Sycamore gives him, at least he can have that support, at least things will go better for him.

And that’s getting a bit too personal and risks you feeling uncomfortable, but yeah! That’s why those ones exist! And they almost certainly will not be the last of their kind. :)

I REALLY LOVE ASH’S RELATIONSHIP WITH TEAM ROCKET, TOO, FDSJAFKDSAFDSA. Not to like, caps scream at you, but Ash’s relationship with the TRio is honestly one of my favorites and I want to do more with them, too. I mean, let’s be real here: Team Rocket are the only humans who have followed him to literally every single region. Every single one! None of Ash’s actual human companions can claim that. Hell, the only one of his pokémon who can is Pikachu. Jessie and James (and Meowth) have seen him through everything. They’ve been there since Day 2 of his journey and have never left. And I really do feel that, throughout the show, we’ve seen them go from enemies to frienemies, where they really do all care about each other even if they still fight sometimes. Jessie and James are like his big siblings, honestly. Yes, they bully him sometimes, but then, Ash has also sent them blasting off more times than can be counted and, depending on the day, someitmes bullies them right back. Like, we all know he doesn’t actually take them very seriously. So I definitely wanted to write a fic exploring it, because I love love love their relationship. It’s honest to goodness one of my faves. Ash is a twerp, but he is THEIR twerp (or, as Bulbapedia put it, “Ash is the One True Twerp; all other twerps exist in relation to him”), and they wouldn’t have it any other way. ♥

And oooh, the Immortality AU! Well, it’s funny you bring that up, actually … though I can’t say why for now. That’ll become clear eventually. :)

Anyway, heheheh, sorry for causing you such pain. But thank you, as always, for reading and sending me such a fantastic message! And sorry it took me a while to reply. I, um, accidentally took a nap earlier (like, I was awake one minute, but I was sitting on my couch and kind of dozed off and the next thing I knew three hours had passed … >_>;; ), so that, uh, happened. But yes, thank you for sending me this lovely message, and for reading my fics. ♥ I really appreciate it!!

#em-exceeds-change-zearu #and if you're interested in Alan sustaining fatal wounds might i interest you in To Devour the Sun?#that's a multi-chapter WIP but although it starts off fun and happy #the angst is not too far behind

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the-dyslexic-blogger · 4 years ago

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who I copd wif dislexiya.

So I know the title is spelt wrong some of my awful humour hehe. But here you go my experience with having learning difficulties and how it affected me, My mental health and my work.

So as you know I am dyslexic, it took me a lot of courage to make some blogs due to anxiety over spelling. I have an official diagnosis of dyslexia dyspraxia and Dyscalculia. Isn't it funny how all of those are spelt strangely hard for a dyslexic to wright and spell right? Haha yes, it sucks. In fact, I am probably only getting this right because of autocorrect love it. But fun fact I was never officially diagnosed in January of 2020 so all 20 years if my life no one has really supported me in this I knew I struggled with it a lot. No one at my school helped me with it whatsoever. I remember always being told to 'try harder' or 'you're not trying'. I always thought I was lazy or stupid back in primary school my handwriting was awful that was a big problem in my home life my parents and grandparents always told me off for this I a a lot of shit for it I couldn't help it my dyspraxia meant it took me longer to write less like a doctor I still do wright as bad as a doctor probably worse I don't know if a doctor could even read it, I can't half the time. One of the earliest memory's with writing, and handwritten stuff is in year 2 I had homework and my mum and dad kept making me re wright stuff over and over and over again until I got it right it really had a massive effect on my self-esteem and confidence I cried a lot I got it right in the end, But my family I didn't understand I am very surprised that my primary School never picked up on my dyslexic and other issues they didn't help me the only thing they ever did was move me down to year 4 when I was in year 6 for maths cuz I was shit Secondary wasn't much better they only gave me a year or two of English support which did help but not much I was told by them I might be dyslexic but wasn't diagnosed with it which is another very stupid thing. They should have how they didn't pick up on my dyspraxia and Dyscalculia I don't know probably cuz my school was shit and didn't actually care about the students within it well the learning support I got for a few years was amazing she was the most lovely tutor I had it was sad when she left, and I had no further assistance this had a massive effect on me being in the bottom set for every lesson I hated it I was with all the kids who bullied me all the kids who rather sit there take the piss out of anyone who was different and bully them rather than learning. Being dyslexic I needed to concentrate on things, and I only ever wanted to do well in school of course because I wanted to learn this was wrong and that's why I got bullied so much the whole bottom set used to make me feel like shit my mate at the time was in the top set and would go on and on about the grades (because I'm a dinosaur I used a,b and c grading, in fact, one of the last years to use the normal system) and id be getting shit grades, I wasn't getting help for my learning problems. Also I asked her for help with the bullying, and she said she didn't want to get involved not even to talk to her about it, that was an excellent friend so glad we don't talk anymore(Bitch.)

I had little confidence in myself at this point in the year I wasn't smart like my friends, it took me longer to do stuff, so I'm stupid that's what I I always assumed my parents were constantly having a go at me for not doing well in anything I wasn't doing well in sports or academically due to my difficulties, it was tough for me to fit in no one understood.

You know what I used to and still kinda annoys me I feel shit for admitting it when people moan about getting like A's and Cs because I could never get up to that standard and people would complain if they got a c, it would hurt me because I couldn't do it. Once I was sat with my friends, they as on about maths saying how there annoyed they got a high c grade. There was I sat there still with no math GCSE with in fact a shitty f thinking oh wow lucky you got a c.

But that sucked anyways got off-topic so back on topic now sorry about that I don't even remember what I was talking about. #dyslexic moment or it could be my dementia is kicking in. (This part was written by a drunk dino, but I'm keeping it in because why the fuck not.)

The first year of college wasn't too bad it was games design on the computer so didn't actually I have to do much with words. The college didn't know about my disability probably thought I was stupid like I did I still do believe this. Yet, afte the proper diagnosis of my disability, it was better I accept it a lot more than before. Nevertheless, the college was rough until the end where they were like" oh yeah by the way you will never get far without your maths there is no point you being on this course, So we decided to be shitheads and waste a year, oh. Here you go have more trauma and depression byeeeee" so long story short (you've heard this many many times sorry.)

I moved and did software engineering in another college(For 2 years) they also didn't realise I was dyslexic. This was still having a massive effect on my mental state, I was 18 and id be told all my life I was lazy and wasn't trying hard enough, so it would make me feel bad. I realised I mentioned my Dyslexia a lot and mot my other ones but oh well.

Towards the end of my college this tutor, I had come up to me. I said he'd read my assignment it was good. Still, he asked in the most delightful way possible if I was dyslexic as his daughter has it. My written work was much like hers. He got me some help. Sadly this was around the time my mental state got unbearable to attend anymore, so I do still thank that

guy.

Coming to university is something I never thought id do I I always thought my maths work was too shit. I wasn't very confident in getting into uni, but oh well that was me being all negative and having a fuck ton of shit wrong with me. Once I got into this university, I was happy first thing I did in the week was getting a full-on diagnostic of my learning difficulties. As I was fed up of living under the shadows of your not good enough or stuff like this and you're not trying. Also fun fact I have a mental health mentor for my depression and she used to claim that I was lazy and wasn't dyslexic so that was a lot of fun yay... So September I got a appoint for January the wait then I had that and was fully diagnosed with Dyslexia dyspraxia and Dyscalculia. Also doing musical theatre really helped me with my dyspraxia. I never told anyone I was there, but it helped me a lot with my coordination.

For those who don't know what these are you probably know dyslexia but the other two maybe I'm assuming okay (digs hole deeper) imma shut and explain before I dig more of a hole.

Anyways for Dyslexia the definition is "Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Also called reading disability, Dyslexia affects areas of the brain that process language."

Dyscuaulia on google is explained as "Dyscalculia is a math learning disability that impairs an individual's ability to represent and process numerical magnitude in a typical way. Dyscalculia is sometimes called "number dyslexia" or "math dyslexia." Dyspraxoca is on google is explained as" Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia, is a condition affecting physical coordination. It causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily.

Of course, this is only what google says each person is different and with different symptoms and mild or bad. For example, the guy who interviewed (is it an interview probably not but oh well ) said he was very surprised that no one had picked up on it as my Dyslexia was very bad so was the rest he was very annoyed at all of my schools and colleges so am I if they would have picked upon it I wouldn't have struggled so much and wouldn't be so hard on myself with the fact that I can't write or read. It was a rough upbringing with my parents are always putting pressure on me to achieve when I simply can't do it.

I can't read well or write well it was a very very rough system I still haven't fully accept myself I still don't ask anyone to read my blogs proofread because I don't feel comfortable to do so, I would like to, but they have more important things to do rather than read through

my shitty ass writing.

So there you go another blog that's way longer than it should be. Still, these blogs take a lot of effort it goes from word to grammer.ly to word so it can read it to me then back into Grammarly its a long process but here is the blog about me. There are a lot of famous people with these difficulties a lot more than you realise google it it's interesting and made me feel less alone it's more common than you think my therapist is dyslexic its awesome meeting fellow dyslexics or Dyscalculia or dyspraxias.

I also added some links below for helpful resources for dyslexia dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

Dyslexia

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia/living-with/

https://www.nessy.com/uk/teachers/essential-teaching-tips-dyslexia/

dyspraxia

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia-in-adults/

https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/dyspraxia-adults/

dyscalculia

https://www.readandspell.com/dyscalculia-in-adults

https://safespot.org.uk/safespotopedia/dyslexia-dyscalculia/

Love Dino the Dyslexic

Blogger xx

#blogs #mental health #dyscalculia #dyslexa #dyspraxic

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forlovedogs11 · 5 years ago

Link

Over 90 days ago, I embarked upon a journey with my dogs. I started looking into fresh dog food options that would not only improve the health of my dogs, but also their quality of life. If you’ve seen my original 30-Day Challenge or the follow-up 60-day update, you know that the transformation has been amazing. Here we are over 3 months later, and I can’t imagine feeding my dogs any other food. The changes have been that significant.

Meet My Pack

A little over 5 years ago, my family and I rescued Scout and Sandy. They’d been rescued by a local shelter from what was described as “horrible, puppy mill-like conditions.” The rescue said they were mostly Golden Retriever, but you know how that goes. Who knows what’s in the mix? It didn’t really matter. We were ready to add a fur baby to our pack. What we ended up with was 2 furballs. What can I say? I’m a sucker for dogs. And don’t get me started on those cute, squishy little faces.

Fortunately, they seemed to be in relatively good health, and as they’ve grown, we’ve only had small issues arise. Scout has suffered from chronic, what I call, hot spots between his rear legs, and they’ve both had issues with ear infections. We thought it was because of the fact that they were always in our pool. We treated it with cleaner and antibiotics drops, but it always seems to flare back up at some point. As Sandy got older, she started gaining more weight (I can relate), but she was still pretty active.

We just always treated the symptoms and never gave much thought to the cause. It wasn’t until about 6 months ago that a friend mentioned the issues we were seeing could be due to the food that they were eating. That’s when my journey down the Rabbit Hole started. I Googled everything – top dog food, best food for dogs, healthy dog diet, what’s the best food for my dog and the list goes on.

Research is kind of my thing. I read blog posts about people making fresh food for their dogs – rice and chicken seemed to be pretty popular. There were all sorts of suggestions. And then I started reading about fresh dog food that could be delivered to my home.

Now, I know a lot of people have the opinion that “if you don’t have time for a dog then you shouldn’t have one.” I agree with that – to a point. Between work, my kids’ school & their sports and just trying to keep my own sanity, I don’t have time to cook fresh food for my dogs. If you do – kudos to you. Don’t get me wrong…daily walks, ball throwing sessions and snuggle time is a big part of my schedule. But cooking food for my pups just isn’t a possibility.

What’s in a Title?

Of all the companies I researched, NomNomNow was the only one with a veterinary nutritionist that specifically formulated the recipes for dogs and cats. Dr. Justin Shmalberg, the man behind the recipes, is a leader in veterinary nutrition, so you can be rest assured that he knows what he’s talking about.

So why is this so important? I had to dig a little to see just what a veterinary nutritionist is and does, but I quickly learned that it’s kind of like the world of doctors. There are general practitioners, which are great. However, if you have a heart problem, you want a specialist. You want a cardiologist, someone who specializes in the heart.

“Do you want some generic veterinarian stamp of approval or a high quality, human grade ingredient dog food developed by a veterinary nutritionist?”

Veterinary nutritionists are specialists. They’ve gone through all of the required schooling to be a veterinarian, but they also continue their education and focus on nutritional health. That sealed the deal for me. If I was going to making the investment in my dogs’ well being, it was going to be with a company that would provide my pups with the best possible nutrition and highest quality food ingredients.

NomNomNow Fresh Food Delivers

I’m not just talking about fresh dog food delivered right to your door. What I’m talking about, in my opinion, is the best food for your pup. Could you do it better yourself? I don’t think so. Every NomNomNow recipe features only the best ingredients – so good that even you could eat it. How do I know? Well, that’s a funny story. See Day 72 below for more on that.

To maintain a healthy, nutritional balance, NomNomNow offers 4 main food recipes in pre-portioned packages:

Heartland Beef Mash

Porkalicious Potluck

Tasty Turkey Fare

Chicken Chow-Wow

Day 65 – Ongoing Support from NomNomNow

After my last vet visit, I knew Sandy needed to lose a few more pounds to be in the perfect healthy range, so working with the experts at NomNomNow, a plan was developed to achieve this goal. This was truly comforting to me because I always knew she was carrying a few extra pounds, but I never really considered the health ramifications. Of course, we all know it’s not good to be overweight. It increases the potential for bone & joint issues and a myriad of other health issues. And let’s talk about decreased activity levels because of lack of energy. It’s a vicious cycle really. So addressing her weight now, while she’s still younger, will help to make a huge difference now and throughout her life.

Day 70

It’s only been a little over a week since I last noted the progress my dogs are making, but everyday I am reminded (usually by my dogs and their crazy, puppy-like behavior) how much different they are. They continue to run around and play like they��re 1-year old puppies. They even seem more playful together. Time they would have normally spent just laying around on the floor, they opt for playing and rolling around with each other.

Day 72

So, I may have eaten dog food today. Okay, I did. And it was good. I couldn’t help myself. I had just pulled my dogs’ food from the refrigerator and was prepping it for them by adding a little hot water. This warms up the food a little and makes a nice gravy. So long story short…it looked and smelled delicious. I was hungry and a little curious. So I pulled an extra bag. I opted for the Chicken Chow-Wow. I’m not going to lie. I’ve been eyeing it every time I opened a bag for Scout. I’m not ashamed. This wasn’t like some crazy college dare. I figured in the name of science, I’d give it a go. I opened up the bag, added a little water and heated it up for a few minutes. Two words. DEE-LISH. I’m not saying I’m going to make this a habit, but maybe next time I’ll add a little hot sauce. Don’t judge!

Day 80

About 6 months ago, I purchased one of those robot vacuums to help combat all of the dog hair. No matter what I did, it seemed like there were always hairballs floating around like tumbleweeds on the set of some spaghetti western. Today, my daughter made a really interesting comment. She noted how there seemed to be less dog hair lately. It got me thinking about it. She was right. There really had been less hair lately. I know healthier coats are a benefit of a healthy doggy diet, but I never considered this as being one of the bonuses. While I’m not a scientist and can’t definitively say it’s the food, I can say that after over 5 years of living with the hairy beasts (that I love dearly), there is less shedding. Healthy coat = less shedding? Makes sense to me.

Day 82

These dogs are relentless. Every time I go in the kitchen and make a sound that even sounds like I am opening their NomNomNow food, they are all over me. Who knew healthy food could lead to an addiction? At least it’s a good one. All kidding aside, these two still absolutely love their food. I switch up the recipes every now and then, but it doesn’t matter. They sit patiently until I place the bowls down and then it’s like one of those hot dog eating contests. They literally devour it. Bowls licked clean. Based on my Day 72 experience, I get it.

Day 85

If I had known what a difference a change in diet would have made for my pups, I would have started them on NomNomNow when they were puppies. Fortunately, they’re still young (well, maybe middle-aged?), but it’s never too late. The impact I’ve seen on this one simple change has made a world of difference. I have a bag of their old kibble in the garage I keep for emergencies, but I couldn’t imagine ever feeding them that again. One word comes to mind – revolt. They would look at me as if I were some strange creature from another planet. And I couldn’t blame them.

Day 90

Yesterday, Scout, Sandy and I made a trip to their favorite place, the vet’s office. It was time to have a professional give me objective results. I know what I see, but I really wanted to hear from my vet what he thought about how the dogs were doing. Great news! If this were a test, they would have scored an A+! Their weights are in the perfect healthy range. There skin is tip-top. Ears looked great. My vet even commented on how the dogs just seemed younger. That’s subjective, I know, but I couldn’t agree more. This journey has been such a blessing for all of us. I am truly thankful that I decided to take the time and really dig into fresh food for my pups.

Make the Fresh Choice!

If I had known the benefits of NomNomNow fresh dog food, I would have made this change a long time ago. It wasn’t easy researching all the options and possibilities, but I know I made the best decision for my dogs. If you’re even considering making a change to your dog’s diet, now is a great time. NomNomNow has an amazing offer for 50% off your first order. It’s a great deal and a great opportunity for you to give it a try for your dog. I know for my dogs it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

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ana-motion-nua-ba2a · 6 years ago

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A response to Jekyll’s summary of the case

I might be about to get too personal for a record of things that will hopefully eventually earn me a degree. But it's 3am, and I've just finished reading Jekyll and Hyde in one sitting, and the last pages of Jekyll’s testament almost brought me to tears - because of how much they resonated with me. I feel like that needs to be recorded, as it's doubtless going to influence my take on the writing task.

I don't have an official diagnosis, but I've been informed by multiple medical professionals that I fit the description of/display symptoms of OCD. Which means I get intrusive thoughts, and am compelled to perform either physical or mental rituals to try and dispel them. These can be commonplace, like the idea that all door handles carry germs, so I should open them with my sleeve; or that I need to wash my hands after tying my shoelaces, because who knows what they might have picked up last time I was walking outside.

They can also be deeply, profoundly distressing, and hinge on subjects of serious moral weight, they may even relate to criminal acts. With those kinds of thoughts, what tends to result is a mental ‘spiral’: desperately trying to convince yourself that the thoughts are untrue, that they are simply a result of doubt and overactive imagination, rather than something you would honestly contemplate - while at the same time, the thoughts grow stronger and become more insistent that you have no way of knowing any of this. Sometimes there might be more concrete rituals, such as trying to purge the thoughts by thinking of something else, or examining relevant memories and personal response to those memories. In my case too, one I've experienced was a warped version of a calming breathing exercise, where I'd be frantically counting up and down from seven as I gasped for air.

Because I've had experience with those kinds of intrusive thoughts. For almost two years, starting from the end of my first year of A-levels, one particular fear seized me by the throat. It wouldn't let go until I mustered the courage to Google the term ‘intrusive thoughts’ - terrified, until that point, that if I did so, I'd find nothing familiar, and have to cope with the fact that my thoughts weren't intrusive, and were purely myself.

Luckily, I recognised myself in the description I found. But up until then, I had been suffering, more than I think the average eighteen-year-old ever expects to suffer, and definitely from something that would never even have occurred to my friends. Suffering, in fact, in a way I was surprised and almost scared to recognise in Dr. Jekyll’s story.

I will never discuss the nature of my intrusive thoughts publicly, but I know the exact, fleeting mental image that first triggered them. I could recognise, and still remember, each time I unwittingly came across new information related to them - information which the thoughts dutifully took on board and used to mutate and grow into something yet more multifaceted and harder to suppress. (Suppressing intrusive OCD thoughts is never a good idea, but at the time I didn't know that OCD was what I had). I always had a sense that these thoughts weren't exactly my own - it was like I had some strange entity following me around, just a little behind and to the side of me, constantly whispering in my ear “But what if…?” no matter how much I argued. Even seeing Jekyll refer to Hyde as a he, not an I, trying to distance himself, has disturbed me, as that's a case of someone much more involved in bad things than he wants to admit - which is exactly what I always feared that I was.

And just like Jekyll trying to hold Hyde at bay, the thoughts got harder and harder to suppress. I turned to social media, to fandom content and my favourite creative media, desperately searching for distractions. I still haven't completely shaken the habit of being up practically all night on my phone, trying to find something funny or mentally engaging enough to pull me out of the thoughts for a brief moment; even though it's no longer necessary, it's almost like a survival instinct, like some phantom anxiety still lingers. Like Jekyll, I feared falling asleep - or more accurately, I feared the stretch between lying down to sleep and actually drifting off, being trapped in a dark room with nothing but the Thoughts going round in my head. That was another function of being on my phone: to distract me until I was too exhausted to think before sleeping.

Just as Jekyll found, the efficacy of these kinds of patch-cures grew less and less. Just like Jekyll, I isolated myself, told nobody about what I was going through because I knew I could never explain it. Not knowing any alternative for what the Thoughts could be besides my own thoughts and my own nature, I didn't know how to explain the little voice at my side or the increasing helplessness effectively, and feared that it would simply sound like a confession.

I feared being the monster that my Thoughts insisted I was - ‘the horror of being Hyde’ - but my fear also embodied Hyde’s selfish obsession with never being discovered, knowing that if the truth of my thoughts came to light, I'd be condemned, and basically unable to pursue a normal life. And I hated myself for being concerned about that, because if I truly was so monstrous, I didn't deserve the things I feared losing. I'd have moments of irrational terror that people could read my thoughts, and I'd broadcast litanies insisting to any such hypothetical person that I didn't want this, that I knew I shouldn't still want good things and a normal life if this was me, but that I was clinging to every scrap of evidence that suggested it might not be.

Even the ‘shudder’ that precludes the transformation resonates. As my Thoughts got worse and more all-consuming, they'd be accompanied by full-body tremors and chattering teeth, which I can only assume was an extreme physical response to the fear I constantly felt. I took to wearing socks to bed to trick myself into feeling warm, otherwise I'd be up all night wracked with shivers.

‘The powers of Hyde seemed to have grown with the sickliness of Jekyll’. The more I fell into depression and terror, the harder it was to fight back against my intrusive thoughts. It was ‘closer than a wife’, even in a startlingly literal sense - I couldn't get rid of it, and although I am still with my girlfriend of the time, I didn't feel able to articulate any of it to her or my family; indeed, I felt as though just by associating with them, I was polluting their lives, and owed them my isolation. My own ‘love of life’ and reluctance to give it up when it was barely a quarter over became an abhorrent thing, a selfish thing that I didn't deserve to cling to, inherently tied to the Thoughts.

And the ‘callousness of soul’ brought on by ‘habit’ - that's where I reacted most viscerally. The thoughts I had really were monstrous, but the longer they went on, the more normal they seemed, and the more they felt like an inextricable part of me - separate, yes, but with no way to be removed. I would have moments where I'd almost come to terms with them, which in itself would plunge me back into the spiral worse than ever, filled with a conviction that I'd almost actually become what they embodied.

And I did, in the end, before I gathered that last push of strength to save myself, feel as though the only acceptable option was to kill myself, and take my Hyde down with me.

#narrative strategies

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type2diabetestreatments-blog · 8 years ago

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Logan Merwin: The T1 Boy Behind the 'Fueled By Insulin' Race Truck

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/logan-merwin-the-t1-boy-behind-the-fueled-by-insulin-race-truck/

Logan Merwin: The T1 Boy Behind the 'Fueled By Insulin' Race Truck

Since he was just a toddler, 10-year-old Logan Merwin in Connecticut has had a love for cars that's evolved from playing with Hot Wheels toy cars to big dreams of monster truck racing when he grows up. Given that he's been living with type 1 since just 17 months old so it's all he's ever known, Logan is channeling his passion into making a difference through diabetes awareness and advocacy.

Quite literally, Logan is "Fueled By Insulin" and is the inspiration behind a very cool diabetes-themed racing truck dubbed "New England's First Type 1 Awareness Racing Truck." He's made the New England news recently, with truck driver and team owner Tony Lafo Racing and their sponsor American Sign Motorsports taking Logan's story to heart and creating the Fueled By Insulin campaign to support the beloved Children With Diabetes organization. Longtime racer Lafo is taking this cool diabetes-themed #82 Ford F-150 Pro-Truck to races all around the New England, most recently on April 29 and this coming weekend on May 7.

Very cool, and it happens to coincide with the month of May, when America revs up its engines to mark NASCAR racing season. Coincidentally, but unconnected to Logan's story, the JDRF has a new initiative on that front: T1D, Motorcraft, and Me, that makes this an especially timely of story to share.

Today, we're thrilled to share an interview with Logan's devoted D-Mom Samantha, all about the awesome stuff they've got going on these days.

Talking Insulin and Trucks with D-Mom Samantha Merwin

DM) Hi Samantha, of course we're going to ask you to start by sharing Logan’s diagnosis story...

SM) Logan was diagnosed July 11, 2008, and is now 10 years old, and next summer we’re planning great things for his 10-year dia-versary in 2018.

As a baby, he was always playful with us, energetic and ready to start his day. He had his 15-month pediatrician check and had been sick right afterwards for days. He recovered, but a couple of weeks later at 16 months we noticed that he was eating less and drinking more. He was filling diapers constantly and withdrawn. Over the course of a couple more weeks he stopped eating anything but small snacks. We still thought it was one of those kid’s phases but grew more anxious when we were at a birthday party and he wouldn't play or connect with the kids; he just kept drinking and hanging around us. We called the pediatricians office 3 days later because when he started sleeping several hours later every morning, we knew something was wrong -- as he was always like he is now, jumps up ready to start his day. We asked for an appointment later that week but thankfully they recognized the symptoms and called us back to come in that same night. They were literally waiting for us, whisked us in, pricked his finger and sent us to the children’s hospital. We caught it early as he wasn't in DKA yet, his blood sugar was in the higher 500's so we didn't have to get admitted.

What a scary transition to have to make...

Yes, we went back and forth for a few days getting educated on what we would now have to do to keep him alive. Those first three months were a rough road until we put him on a pump. He hated the shots and it was mentally draining on all of us to do them.

Anyone else in the family with diabetes?

No one else in my family has it, but my husband’s brother was diagnosed with type 1 when he was in college, in his early 20's.

Did that create a special bond between Logan and his uncle, and how is your brother-in-law doing these days with his T1D?

I wish they lived closer so we could have free, safe babysitting! We have no relatives within close geography here. When they see each other during our annual visits to Chicago, they definitely have their own conversations about type 1 and they definitely do test together.

Well, it seems you're creating an extended online family with your blogging. Can you share the story behind the Elbow Bump Kid blog?

Logan was trying to think of a catchy fundraising name or slogan when he started fundraising for CWD in 2016, and he decided on elbowbumpchallenge, which turned into elbowbumpkid -- since he bumped the most elbows EVER at the FFL events! Pretty funny, but he's known for it in school as well. They usually shake hands when entering the classroom and Logan has been elbow bumping instead every year. Here's our very first blog post, about the origin of the elbow bump.

We understand Logan's also a runner, doing 5K and 10K events. How did he get started with that?

Logan wouldn't play team sports until second grade and his favorite part of soccer, etc., was always the running. We had a running club at school that year and he loved it. That started his love for running. I wish we had more time in the day to have him practice more; we rarely have time for more than a mile after school.

Does diabetes get in the way when he’s running?

Well, since he was diagnosed as a baby, he has never known a life outside of T1D.

His diabetes does slow him down with running occasionally but mostly it's the combo of the asthma. We really have to prep well for both diseases or it's disastrous, as we have experienced! He did a great job in the Disney 5K running for JDRF in January, and he's looking forward to practicing to run the 5K for JDRF and the 10K for Children With Diabetes in January 2018.

And how did he first develop such a love for cars and racing?

He’s always been into cars in some form, he used to sleep with a Hot Wheel in his hand when he was 2 -- it was a little gold car. When we lost power during Hurricane Sandy for days, we piled Hot Wheels outside our house and let him race them down our walkway. He was into monster trucks and classic cars for a while as well. While the Hot Wheels phase died down for a bit, it came back in full force over the past year. For a school project last year, he pulled the town tax records on cars listed registered in town, then sat in center of town recording cars that drove by to see if it matched with town records.

He also decided last year that he was saving to buy a Lamborghini when he's 18, so as he gets money he goes to the bank (with whatever he doesn't spend) and deposits it. He's pretty dedicated to that. We ran into a dealer when we were in London and he was able to get a pic or two up close!

That’s too funny! Any plans to go into racing when he gets older?

Since he was around 4, Logan decided he was going to be a monster truck driver on the weekends when he grows up. His main job will be running the hotel he plans on building and working at his bank. Or as a coin inspector for one of the federal mints. He can't decide... then again, he’s 10. But it's always something involved with cars on the weekends. Who knows with this kid, anything is possible!

Anyone particular in the racing or running communities who's been an inspiration to Logan?

When Logan was little, my friend Jen sent him a video of NASCAR driver Ryan Reed, who we had never heard of prior to that. He has looked up to him since as a role model. He also met IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball at Friends For Life in 2016 so he has multiple role models that he follows related to racing cars. On running, he recently met Diathlete Gavin Griffiths while we were on spring break in London and has enjoyed following him on social media and reading his stories.

We are really lucky as he has had opportunities through FFL and otherwise to meet amazing role models in sports and life. He really feels like he can do anything and won't be limited when he grows up thanks to these experiences.

Let’s talk about race-truck driver Tony Lafo and the fundraising support…

I'm sure you listened to Stacey Simms' Diabetes Connections podcast, and what I said there is true about how we met Tony Lafo, driver and owner of Fueled By Insulin – it really was that simple!

He was a mystery donor to Logan's random JDRF campaign pushes over the years, as I always post them in our town Facebook group once a year when I want to make a goal. We didn't have an email or address for him until this year when for some reason the website had his email listed, so I could send a personal thank you. A few weeks later, I had posted a fundraiser Logan was doing at a local supermarket and Tony reached out to us to discuss the race truck partnership.

We brought it to Jeff (Hitchcock) and Laura (Billetdeaux) of CWD, and here we are, days from the first race on April 29. He's SUCH a nice guy and his whole crew has been so nice to Logan. He's been stopping down most Tuesdays and either playing Hot Wheels with at least one of them or sweeping their floors while they work on the truck. He doesn't know any other type 1's other than Logan, and he would prefer to help somebody local than send off a check somewhere. When he's not racing he's a full-time Fire Service Volunteer.

How cool! What’s the fundraising commitment?

Tony Lafo Racing, LLC, will help raise awareness by featuring the CWD logo on the #82 Ford F-150 Pro-Truck, as well as the Hauler and T-shirts and will donate 10% of race winnings to Logan's fundraising efforts during 2017 -- with a minimum pledge of $1,000.

What kind of challenges are you facing as Logan trains?

Logan isn't out of school until mid-June so his running right now is a running club on Thursdays and whatever we can do on weekends. We plan to do a practice 5K each month starting in May to gear up for January, slow and steady at first. My biggest challenge is figuring out the minimum I have to carry with me, his supplies weighed me down a lot. When we practice locally, I usually just toss the bag down somewhere but having it on me the whole time was a lot of weight (EpiPens, inhaler, smarties, juice, Dexcom, meter, and so on). We have been concentrating on the fundraising part right now, planning events to fundraise to meet his goals.

What else does this amazing kid have planned?

He will definitely take his advocacy to the next level, sooner rather than later. Right now he's focused on fundraising and raising awareness for type 1 where he can. I suspect in future years, he will be involved with advocating to ensure everyone has access to basic supplies. We have had a lot of conversations, once he realized that not everyone can afford insulin or a Dexcom. It's an ongoing conversation and if I felt there was a good opportunity for him to get involved in a couple of years, I'd present it to him and let him decide. We always make him feel comfortable that no matter what happens, he will have access to his Dexcom and insulin, but he's aware of the challenges and concerned for others. He's a very active kid and can't imagine not having his Dexcom to help manage his care.

Your family seems very supportive of so many different D-Community orgs. Can you tell us about those connections?

We have been touched by so many nonprofits over the almost 9 years with type 1. We have a love for JDRF and do the run every year; Logan loves the pen pal program from Beyond Type 1, and I love their ongoing constant articles and communication. I really feel like they have connected the larger diabetes community.

Regarding the CWD Friends for Life conference, I knew about the event for years but didn't sign up until 2015 as we were starting to experience our 7-year itch. I was looking for something different to help rejuvenate us and not free-fall into burnout. CWD does a great job with these events, bringing children and families together in a safe environment where they bond and have fun while learning. As parents there are a ton of sessions for us on everything you can imagine from learning about new technology to support groups. So we both loved it our first year. Logan even had a bunch of people sing happy dia-versary to him on his 7-year date. When returning to the event in 2016, Logan was inspired to write a speech to ask other kids to help CWD and bring awareness to the need for fundraising for the event. He loves being around "his people," especially the teenagers and young adults with T1D. He's inspired by them and can't wait to help at a CWD event when he's older like them!

And you're involved with the #WeAreNotWaiting movement too, right?

Yes, there are so many other nonprofits we adore and I hate leaving anyone out, like Nightscout Foundation, where we have access for the nurse at school to view Logan's blood sugars when he's there to help keep him safe. While we have to narrow our financial/fundraising focus to make an impact, we will support the organizations that help Logan and other T1 kids wherever we can, whenever we can. Logan always says that while JDRF funds for a cure, so many other nonprofits like CWD help kids in their lives every day until there's a cure. So we focus on both aspects -- fundraising for a cure and helping kids live full and healthy lives with the disease.

Thanks so much for sharing your family's story, Samantha! Can't wait to see what the future has in store for Logan, and we'll definitely be on lookout for that cool race truck!

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

#Diabetes Mellitus

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