#release mental adolescence

[infinitysisters]

“𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡-𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 "𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲."

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 "𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦" 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚����𝐨𝐮𝐭.”

— 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐦é 𝐒𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐱

[catharsistine]

The scene in the Barbie trailer when Barbie is skating around with Ken and asks "Why is everyone staring at me?"

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE AN ADOLESCENT GIRL.

Living in Barbieland (childhood girlhood) but then suddenly you're all grown up in the real world subject to scrutiny and sexualisation (the guy slapping Barbie's ass) and feeling like existing is a crime?

Being forced by adult men into a box (which leads to the not like other girls syndrome) and exploring the 'real world' (being forced to grow up too quickly) while fighting the realisation that maybe the world sucks and being a woman is so difficult while hoping with all your heart that it's not always going to be this way.

Losing touch with the very things that made you happy because they're considered immature and girly? (The group of teens that said they hadn't played with Barbies since they were five.)

Older women telling you that you have to learn the truth about the world and that you can never have your old life back (Kate Mckinnon's Barbie) despite it being the only thing you yearn for, but also older women being a bright spot and support (the old woman on the bench) in the endless slough of life.

And this is just the trailer!!! I'm so excited for this movie I can't breathe, Greta Gerwig the woman that you are 😭

[haich-slash-cee]

In obscure fandom news, I found that this torrenting site (link) has Season 2 of Invisible Man (2000). With 3 seeders. The fandom keeps going...

[the-guilty-writer]

Aaron x daughter!reader where she is struggling with her mental health and has a crying breakdown in the middle of the night and he gets up from bed to comfort her?

My controversial opinion is that Hotch would be the best BAU parent for mental health struggles ❤

(Note that this is probably medically inaccurate, but I was too lazy to look it up)

Aaron Hotchner x daughter!reader

It wasn't unusual for teenagers to struggle with mental health - this was a fact that Aaron Hotchner knew simply from studying behavior for so many years. The stages of brain development and the hormones impacted the mental state of many adolescents. The phase of life led to a more stereotypical phase of emotional ups and downs. He hoped that you'd be one of the many kids that grew out of such intense struggles as you got older.

Many parents would see that as an excuse not to validate the experiences, but he knew better. The idea that one might grow out of struggles was no reason to neglect them in the present.

It's why he didn't hesitate to get out of bed in the middle of the night when he heard you sobbing in your bedroom. He stroked your hair and hugged you tight, not caring that it would leave tear stains on his shirt.

The words he spoke were calm, validating, soothing. He kept his demeanor soft and steady, anchoring you to earth with his presence. Some nights you simply needed a good cry - a way to release all the energy that had built up inside - and he was always there to comfort you however you needed.

When your body grew tired and the tears stopped flowing, he stayed with you. He tucked you into bed, just as he had when you were a little girl, making sure the blankets kept you warm and safe for the night ahead.

In the case you got cold or felt unsafe, he made sure you knew he was only a call away.

[youngirlfrom]

THE WICKED DIE ALONE

ɞ Someone like Y/N Kent has to find her true self, not just with the strength of a hero, but by walking the fine line between the light and darkness within. Because at the end of the day the wicked die alone. And for Y/N to die alone means all of humanity dies with her.

| Richard Grayson x Fem!Reader | chapter 2

Warnings: bl!!d, k!lling, mental health, slightly jason todd x reader, smut, english is not my first language.

Chapter 2 | Chapter 1 , Chapter 3

Even as a child, I felt that my power was not something ordinary. When I was scared, excited, or saw something bad in my dreams, the purple energy surrounding me would often erupt uncontrollably. This power would sometimes lift the objects around me into the air, and sometimes it would turn into a wave of energy that even my father could barely suppress. This was only the surface of the powers growing within me, and as I grew older I found these powers becoming more complex and intense.

The first serious incident happened when I was six years old. It was the time of the big hurricane that hit Smallville.

I was just watching out the window when my grandmother warned me not to go out. The sky was black as coal and the wind bent the trees. I could hear farm animals screaming. My heart was beating too fast to fit into a small cage in my chest. Purple energy surrounded me as I clenched my hands into tight fists.

And then… the hurricane changed direction.

Did I do it voluntarily? No. But I released my energy in panic, and it changed even nature's direction.

What happened next was scary. The tornado headed out of Smallville. But it didn't stop there. It moved further away, to a larger town. I didn't even realize what I had done until it was shown on the news the next day. Although no one was injured with the help of the heroes, hundreds of people were left homeless.

“Did I do this?” I asked my father.

He held me in his arms, ruffled my hair, and gave me an evasive answer.

I was only six years old. But that night, I learned that my power could not only be a gift, but also a curse.

As I approached adolescence, my powers became more intense and complex. Now I not only had purple energy shields, but I could also influence the thoughts and emotions of the people around me. I could change the atmosphere in a room, often without even realizing it.

This situation caused problems, especially at school. One day, my own emotions spiraled out of control when I heard my friend yelling angrily. A wave of energy exploded in the classroom and books and pencils flew into the air. When such situations occurred in the laboratory, the results were even more annoying.

"Dad, why am I doing this? Why am I scaring people?"

I had so many incidents like this that I stopped counting. This was just the surface of the power growing within me.

And as always, my father would hold me in his arms and speak in a soft voice. "Y/N, these powers are a part of you and it can take time to control them. Everyone makes mistakes. I understand, these powers scare you, but you can control them. I know that. Just breathe and feel them. Don't be afraid to accept your powers as a part of you."

And he was right, When I turned 15, I was finally starting to take control of my powers. I was on patrol in Metropolis with my father and Kara. I was saving people and protecting the city. As I realized how great my powers were, I learned to channel them better. But the real problem started when I turned 17.

I was having dreams.

At first it was ordinary things. I saw a man fall on the bridge. The next day I learned on the news that the same bridge had collapsed.

Then I saw worse things.

I could see past and future events. One night I was watching children die in the middle of World War II, the next night I was seeing an assassination plot planned against a random politician.

When I turned 18, I started having other people's worst nightmares. While Bruce Wayne's parents were being murdered, I stood at the corner of the street like a ghost, watching the whole event. And I couldn't do anything.

One day "Sometimes writing is the best way to sort through the confusion you're feeling," Lois said to me and gave me a notebook. Since then, I have been writing down even the smallest dream I had.

And tonight I was a spectator who came to watch the acrobats at the circus. I knew exactly where I was. I knew exactly what would happen.

But I couldn't stop it.

So, as I sat in my seat, I waited patiently for the Flying Graysons' show to begin. Amidst the applause, they stretched out their hands. They smiled. And then… the acid-soaked ropes broke.

I was there and couldn't do anything.

As screams flew through the air, the small figure next to the blood-covered couple broke all my stamina. As soon as I got up from where I was sitting, I started running.

I stood in front of him as all the pain of the little body left behind filled my mind. His face was laced with shock, but that didn't mean there weren't any tears flowing. Even though I reached out to wipe the tears from his ocean blue eyes, my hand passed over his face as if it were just air.

"Y/N?"

I started to shake. "Dick?" This time, although I tried to touch his shoulder while muttering, he passed through me as if I were a spirit while he was being carried away from the scene.

"Wake up!"

"Dick!" I shouted this time.

"Y/N, wake up!" As I woke up screaming, this time the blue eyes looking at me belonged to my father, not Dick. It was like I wandered into the spirit world. As I took deep breaths, my father adjusted my pillow and encouraged me to sit up a little straighter.

"Are you okay?"

I took the a glass of water he offered me. My throat was in knots. "Just a dream, just like any other."

"What did you see?" I raised my eyebrows when he asked. It almost made me laugh when he asked me what I saw, as if I hadn't screamed Dick's name.

"I know." he smiled. The notebook Lois gave me was sitting next to my bed. My father looked at it but didn't say anything.

For a while we both did nothing but sit in silence. And finally I couldn't stand it and got out of bed. I didn't want to sleep any more tonight. I was still in my pajamas, but thanks to the wave of purple energy surrounding me, I was now in my costume.

"Y/N." My father warned. He didn't like me patrolling alone, but I wasn't a 15-year-old kid anymore. I was 22 years old and had gone on dozens of missions alone. While Superman was away, I prevented many events in Metropolis and saved hundreds of people.

"I need this. I'll be fine, you don't have to worry." I said and after looking at his worried face for the last time, I jumped out of the window and disappeared into the lights of the city.

I needed to see someone.

English is not my first language! So please do not hesitate to politely point out if I make a mistake.

Next chapter we're really getting started. Please feel free to express your thoughts!

I love you all, see you next chapter 🩵🩵🩵

[probablyasocialecologist]

While maintaining that “for some, the best outcome will be transition,” it nevertheless effectively recommended that the N.H.S. abandon the guidelines embraced by major mainstream medical associations and restrict the use of medications that have been offered for decades to adolescents across the globe with vanishingly few negative side effects or regrets. The reason, the report says, is that these treatments are insufficiently supported by reliable, long-term evidence. Then, remarkably, the report recommends treatments — psychological treatment and medications for depression and anxiety — that have even less proof behind them in helping children (or adults) with gender dysphoria, though they may help with other mental health issues, and many children with dysphoria already get these treatments. And for all its insistence of evidence, the report is peppered with mere speculation about the potential causes of gender dysphoria: pornography and the phenomenon of social contagion are invoked, with zero credible evidence to support them. It is a strange document. Social conservatives welcomed the report. But it has also been heralded in some liberal quarters in Britain, where even the Labour Party has supported its conclusions, and around the world as a model of open-minded rationalism, of well-intentioned — progressive, even — unbiased scientific inquiry attempting to provide information in young people’s best interests. This, they declare, is what following the science and the evidence looks like. But is it? In an effort to evaluate the Cass report’s findings and recommendations, I spent the months since it was released poring over the document, researching the history of transgender medicine and interviewing experts in gender-affirming care as well as epidemiologists and research scientists about the role of scientific evidence in determining care standards. What I have come to realize is that this report, for all its claims of impartiality, is fundamentally a subjective, political document.

[...]

A great deal of the media coverage of gender-affirming care in the West has painted a picture of huge numbers of children, some of them suffering from profound mental illness, rushed into medical transition, practically force-fed puberty blockers and hormones, then fast-tracked to surgery once they turned 18, based on unproven treatment and perhaps bogus science. But the report itself not only fails to show any evidence of significant regret among patients or other forms of harm; its own data also contradicts the notion of rushed transition. Of the more than 3,300 medical records examined as part of the review, about a quarter of children and adolescents were referred to an endocrinologist, which suggests a significant screening process. Indeed, on average, patients had more than a half dozen consultations before being referred. If anything, the evidence suggests a lack of care bordering on neglect, which is not surprising considering that millions of people are on waiting lists for treatment of all kinds by Britain’s crumbling health system. One of the most common pieces of feedback was that young people lingered on waiting lists, sometimes for years. A number of participants in focus groups convened for the purpose of the report said they felt that they had to “prove” to clinicians that they were transgender.

[...]

At one point the report posits that because a child has never had the experience of growing up in their assigned sex, they would have no way to know whether they might regret transition. “They may have had a different outcome without medical intervention and would not have needed to take lifelong hormones,” the report says, referring to children assigned female at birth. It is hard to know what to make of a statement like that. A person gets only one life; waiting to see how it works out isn’t really an option. To a queer woman like me, this is an ominous echo of something many of us have heard many times in our lives: Maybe you just haven’t met the right man yet. The wish — whether expressed by a parent, a teacher, a therapist or a suitor — is a wish for a child not to be queer. It is hard to find a satisfying explanation for these kinds of conjectures and conclusions in the report other than this one: Many people find transgender people at best unsettling and possibly deluded or mentally ill, or at worst immoral and unnatural. They appear to believe it would be better not to be trans. As much as Cass’s report insists that all lives — trans lives, cis lives, nonbinary lives — have equal value, taken in full it seems to have a clear, paramount goal: making living life in the sex you are assigned at birth as attractive and likely as possible. Whether Cass wants to acknowledge it or not, that is a value judgment: It is better to learn to live with your assigned sex than try to change it. If this is what Cass personally believes is right, fair enough. It can charitably be called a cultural, political or religious belief. But it is not a medical or scientific judgment.

13 Aug 2024 | Link

[maaarine]

Afghan women in mental health crisis over bleak future (Yogita Limaye, BBC News, June 05 2023)

""We have a pandemic of suicidal thoughts in Afghanistan. The situation is the worst ever, and the world rarely thinks or talks about it," says psychologist Dr Amal.

"When you read the news, you read about the hunger crisis, but no-one talks about mental health. It's like people are being slowly poisoned. Day by day, they're losing hope." (…)

It's extremely hard to get people to talk about suicide, but six families have agreed to tell us their stories.

Nadir is one of them. He tells us his daughter took her own life on the first day of the new school term in March this year.

"Until that day, she had believed that schools would eventually reopen for girls. She had been sure of it. But when that didn't happen, she couldn't cope and took her own life," he says.

"She loved school. She was smart, thoughtful and wanted to study and serve our country. When they closed schools, she became extremely distressed and would cry a lot." (…)

The father of a woman in her early twenties told us what he believes was the reason behind his daughter's suicide.

"She wanted to become a doctor. When schools were closed, she was distressed and upset," he says.

"But it was after she wasn't allowed to sit for the university entrance exam, that's when she lost all hope. It's an unbearable loss," he adds, then pauses abruptly and begins to cry.

The other stories we hear are similar - girls and young women unable to cope with their lives, and futures coming to a grinding halt. (…)

A study done in Herat province by the Afghanistan Centre for Epidemiological Studies, released in March this year, has shown that two-thirds of Afghan adolescents reported symptoms of depression."

[jasonswh0rre]

The Psychological Analysis of Jason Todd

I am a psych major, and my professor is allowing us to make an analysis of any character of our choice, so I figured who better to write then Jason Todd. This was very fun to write and I very much enjoyed rewatching Batman: Arkham Knight. Please enjoy. ☁️ Warning(s): Trigger Warning for Trauma, Mental Health Content, Violence, Graphic Imagery, Spoiler(s)☁️ Word Count: 2.6k ☁️: Authors Note: I am working on fanfics, more headcanons for Arkham Jason, unfortunately I am busy with classes, assignments and deadlines. I will try to be punctual but it may take time. Thank you for your understanding.

Introduction 

Jason Todd is the secondary villain in Batman: Arkham Knight, which has the same moniker. He is the second Robin and Bruce Wayne's adoptive son.

Jason Peter Todd was born in the slums of Gotham City to two drug-addicted parents, who would eventually try to settle a debt they had by giving Jason away when he was a baby. Jason received no parental figure to help guide him, leading him to petty crimes such as theft to nourish his survival. Jason is a character who takes what he needs if it means prolonging his survival; his lack of a parental figure leads him to an identity crisis between longing for a parental figure and convincing himself he is better off without one. When the simple truth is that every human needs a mother and a father, we respond positively to a nurturing environment, and through early adolescence, our brains crave the structure needed to build us into well-rounded adults. 

At fifteen, Jason inadvertently met Batman while committing robbery when Batman was fighting Gotham's notorious supervillain, The Joker. Believing Batman is in trouble, Jason jumps between pushing the hero from harm's way. Despite life's misfortunes, Jason possesses a remarkable code of morality enough to want to save someone. Jason, attempting to rid Joker of his breath, aims a pistol at the clown and, before firing, is knocked out of his hands by Batman's batarang. Unfortunately for him, Joker would leave Jason with a cryptic message, one for the young man to head.

Jason would later be apprehended and taken into custody in the back of a police car by Batman after Batman retrieved his gun and stolen money. However, rather than being charged, Jason receives a blessing through a Wayne Industries project that helped troubled teens; through the program, Jason was able to turn his life around. All attract the man who helped Jason find a new purpose: Bruce Wayne. Months after being released, Batman appeared in Jason's dorm, again offering Jason another opportunity. 

2nd Robin and Kidnapping

Taking Jason in as his ward as well as dubbing him Robin after Dick Grayson, Jason sought justice and enjoyed being a hero. Like the previous Robin, he showed a keen aptitude for it; unlike his predecessor, he possessed a fiery temper and willingness for more lethal force. While Jason's temper is directed towards the criminals that harm the innocents, Batman views this as inexcusable, fearing the day that Jason will kill instead of reprimanding. 

In the most twisted sense of irony, Jason's morality inevitably becomes his downfall. The Joker has blown up a school with kindergarteners; this leads to Jason's resolve that Joker needs to die. Knowing that Bruce would try to stop him, Jason abandons his comms and tracker so he can kill Joker. However, it is a trap, and Joker ambushes Jason. Jason was kept in a wheelchair, bonded by barbed wire that kept Jason leaning hunched over in excruciating pain. Throughout his pain, Jason's mind remained still; he was confident that Batman would find him; his sheer will at the beginning of his torture is, with all honesty, remarkable as Joker has been known for his mental abuse and mind games he plays with his victims including his sidekick, Harley Quinn. 

In the six months of his torture, Jason's unwavering mental resolve was slowly crippling as Joker had wanted; throughout the game, Jason's voice mixed with crippling fear and small doubts about Batman coming. The Joker feeds into his doubts by showing him a photo of Batman with his replacement, Tim Drake. This leaves Jason troubled as he slowly loses hope for Batman. 

The last act of Jason's torture involved a video sent to Batman via The Joker of Jason, who has undergone all his brainwashing; in the video, Jason is sitting down in a chair; he is not chained, barbed, handcuffed, or kept sitting still in any way by all means Jason could easily walk away. This is a significant and crucial part of Jason's torture as it symbolizes just how much mental anguish and emotional exhaustion Jason went through to the point that he no longer had a yearning for freedom—making him downright timid and submissive towards Joker enough to out Batman's identity when asked by the latter. This results in Joker shooting Jason point-blank in the chest, as Joker "never could stand a tattletale." However, this was only a ploy to make Batman believe Jason is genuinely dead.

On the contrary, Jason was kept alive for another year, endeavoring more torture, mistreatment, and malnourishment. Harley Quinn did the final touches of Jason's emotional and mental brainwashing; a former psychiatrist who manipulated Jason into believing that Batman was the cause of his anguish and his pain was his doing; she did this long enough, even punishing Jason by waterboarding him and electrocuting him when he refused to say Batman, indicating he still had some level of awareness of who was torturing him. 

However, once Harley could get Jason to say Batman's name, Jason was drugged and beaten by two prisoners dressed like Batman; he was given a gun by The Joker and was ordered to kill them. Jason's resolve and humanity were a cord, still entrenched in him before Harley convinced him further, snapping his humanity and getting him to shoot the two dressed-up prisoners dead.

During the riots of Arkham Asylum, The Joker paid mercenary Deathstroke to keep Jason there and shoot him if he escaped. However, Jason convinces Deathstroke that Joker will not keep his promise and that if he helps, Jason will triple whatever Joker plans to pay. Accepting the offer, Deathstroke assists Jason in escaping, stealing a helicopter, and flying to Wayne Industries. Jason steals millions of dollars from his former guardian. Ironically, crossing paths with Tim Drake, who assumes Todd to be Deathstroke's sidekick, when Jason's ankle is caught between Tim's grappling hook, Jason cuts the cord, allowing Tim to fall when suggested by Deathstroke that killing Robin would bode well for them with the Dark Knight. Jason Coldy says that if he dies in a fall like that, Batman needs to pick his sidekicks better. 

Jason's psyche has been torn and scattered, leaving him a hollowed carving with a mocking J branding etched onto his face, from birth his eyes were already met with darkness, born to parents who never showed him recognition, let alone love, and through the Wayne Industries Project and his adoption by Bruce his eyes were wide, and remarkably hopeful, to be free of the weight of Gotham's misfortunes finally; those eyes that looked with gleam forced shut until he saw nothing but blackness.

Arkham Knight's Birth

Jason adopts a new persona built on the pain and suffering in the wake of his escape from Joker. He feels betrayed by the one person he only had in the world and wants vengeance. Jason works alongside Scarecrow, one of Batman's enemies. The two begin a plan on Halloween to take Gotham and Batman's legacy along with it. Jason gathers all Batman's enemies to join, assembling a militia with Deathstroke. While working with each other, Scarecrow "tests" his fear toxin on the young man, sending him on a psychological spiral. One of his more apparent fears is the Joker, who can be found near, in the background, or standing right in front of him laughing and mocking him, but beyond the clown prince of crime's appearance, Jason also sees his replacement, Tim Drake, and "fights" him.

The fight has Jason severely outnumbered in the beginning, with Tim succeeding, even using his staff to choke Jason, forcing him to the ground as the Jokers around him laugh. Further into the fear toxin, Jason appears in front of Wayne Manor, where he throws down his helmet and says the following: "Someplace warm, someplace safe, someplace where I'm needed, someplace where I'm loved," Joker once again appears in front of him laughing and mocking him on whether he even deserves it, this is Jason's internal struggle in a manifested form of the person who caused him harm, of the person who convinced him from the start that he was alone and would not be saved. Jason is mischaracterized as always being angry or standoffish, but anger has more truth than any lie detector can scoop. Jason feels this anger is not just because of some personality trait; anger is his cry out, and he's shouting to be seen and loved. This is most likely due to being tortured at 15 or so, which, despite the fact that at the time of Arkham Knight, he was in his early 20s, his mental age was regressed to the age when he was captured. This makes Jason appear at first glance as someone emotional, cocky, and arrogant. He values safety and love; he doesn't want to be on his guard 24/7, but he's grown up in an environment where letting your guard down gets you killed. He follows Joker into Wayne Manor, where he sees Bruce; suddenly, several versions of Batman appear in the room. They beat him and told him they never wanted a partner or even a son. This is a conflict that has always waged war in Jason's mind. Jason's biological father attempted to give him up and then belittled him when he explained that Jason's worth was so low that he couldn't even leave him; he has low self-esteem that he internalizes into rage in the way that he fights to prove his strength. 

This is why Jason has a strong attachment to Bruce/Batman it maybe due to an underlying desire to seek his approval especially by the time when he adopts him. Bruce gives him everything he could ask for and anything he could think of, and Batman gives him a purpose. Ironically, this is still the case despite Bruce himself having an avoidant attachment style. 

Conclusion and Diagnosis

Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" exhibits a complex interplay of psychological factors that align with the diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). One prominent feature of BPD is emotional dysregulation, characterized by intense and rapidly shifting emotions. Jason displays various emotions throughout the game, from anger and hostility to vulnerability and despair. His reactions often appear exaggerated or disproportionate to the situation, indicating difficulty regulating his emotional responses.

Furthermore, Jason's sense of identity is notably unstable, which is another hallmark feature of BPD. Having grown up in a dysfunctional environment with absent parents, Jason lacks a stable sense of self and struggles to define his identity. This is evident in his adoption of various personas, including Robin, the Arkham Knight, and, later, the Red Hood. His shifting identities reflect a profound inner conflict and a desperate search for validation and purpose. Jason's interpersonal relationships also reflect the interpersonal instability characteristic of BPD. He forms intense and unstable attachments to figures such as Batman, vacillating between admiration and resentment. His interactions with other characters are marked by rapid shifts in perception, alternating between idealization and devaluation. For example, while Jason initially idolizes Batman as a mentor and father figure, his feelings of betrayal and abandonment lead to resentment and hostility towards him.

Moreover, Jason exhibits self-destructive behaviors as a coping mechanism for his emotional pain, another hallmark of BPD. He engages in reckless actions, disregarding his safety to seek vengeance against those he perceives as enemies. His confrontations with adversaries are often fueled by a desire for self-assertion and control, masking more profound feelings of emptiness and despair.

Underlying Jason's behaviors is a pervasive fear of abandonment, stemming from his traumatic upbringing and experiences of betrayal. This fear drives his desperate attempts to maintain connections with others, even as he pushes them away with his volatile and unpredictable behavior. Jason's fear of abandonment manifests in his interactions with Batman and the Bat family, where he oscillates between seeking their approval and rejecting their authority.

Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" embodies many of the core features of Borderline Personality Disorder, including emotional dysregulation, identity disturbance, interpersonal instability, self-destructive behaviors, and a fear of abandonment. By analyzing his actions, relationships, and psychological struggles within the context of the game's narrative, it becomes apparent that Jason's character aligns closely with the diagnostic criteria for BPD, providing a compelling framework for understanding his complex and multifaceted personality.

Besides indicating various symptoms of BPD, I would also consider diagnosing Jason with Complex Post post-traumatic stress Disorder (C-PTSD). Given Jason's background of severe trauma, including childhood abuse, neglect, and prolonged torture at the hands of the Joker, it's worth considering Complex PTSD. C-PTSD typically develops in response to chronic trauma and is characterized by symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, disturbed self-concept, difficulties in relationships, and a persistent sense of threat. I would include diagnosing Jason with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Jason's experiences of profound loss, trauma, and betrayal may contribute to symptoms of depression, such as feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and a loss of interest in activities. His struggles with emotional regulation and chronic feelings of emptiness could also align with depressive symptoms. Following my diagnosis, I am also inclined to believe he suffers from attachment disorders; given Jason's tumultuous upbringing and experiences and a multitude of parental figures involving neglect and abandonment, it's possible that he may have developed attachment-related difficulties. This could manifest in insecure attachment styles, fear of abandonment, and challenges in forming and maintaining healthy relationships. 

Furthermore, I would consider Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD): While Jason displays empathy and compassion at times, his willingness to engage in morally questionable or violent behavior, as well as his disregard for societal norms and rules, may align with some features of ASPD. However, his capacity for genuine care and loyalty makes this disorder out of sorts with his character.

Lastly, Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED): PTED is a proposed diagnostic category characterized by intense feelings of injustice, betrayal, and embitterment following a traumatic event or series of events. Jason's experiences of betrayal and abandonment, particularly by Batman and the Joker, may resonate with the symptoms of PTED. 

In conclusion, the character of Jason Todd in "Batman: Arkham Knight" presents a compelling portrayal of psychological complexity shaped by a tumultuous history of trauma, betrayal, and profound loss. Through a comprehensive analysis of his experiences and behaviors throughout the game, it becomes evident that Jason embodies many psychological struggles, warranting consideration for various diagnostic possibilities. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) emerges as a primary candidate, given Jason's emotional volatility, identity disturbances, and interpersonal difficulties. His tumultuous relationships, intense fear of abandonment, and self-destructive tendencies align closely with the diagnostic criteria for BPD. Furthermore, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) offers another lens through which to understand Jason's psychological profile, considering his history of chronic trauma and its pervasive impact on his functioning.

Additionally, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) may contribute to Jason's experiences of profound despair, hopelessness, and emotional emptiness. His struggles with attachment-related difficulties suggest the possibility of underlying attachment disorders stemming from his early experiences of neglect and abandonment.

While Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED) offer alternative perspectives, they may not fully capture the complexity of Jason's character, given his capacity for empathy and genuine care, despite his propensity for morally questionable behavior.

In essence, Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" is a poignant exploration of the human psyche's intricacies, illustrating the profound impact of trauma on identity, relationships, and emotional well-being. By delving into his psychological struggles within the context of the game's narrative, we gain valuable insights into the complexities of mental health and the enduring resilience of the human spirit.

[frndly-nbh-enbee]

so i’m probably late to the party because the movie was just released here, but i really loved “i saw the tv glow” and thought it would be fun to write down some of the buffy coded stuff in it. so there’s the obvious “female lead supernatural teen drama with a monster of the week format that deals with adolescence and destiny etc etc etc” stuff but here’s a list of some of the other similarities/references i spotted:

List of Buffy References/Similarities I Found in “I Saw the TV Glow”

♡the opening credits of “the pink opaque” uses the same font as buffy

♡doublelunch = a reference to “doublemeat palace”

♡amber benson cameo (duh!)

♡a character named “tara” (bonus points because maddie/tara is a lesbian)

♡”the pink opaque” is cancelled at season 5 and buffy was meant to end at the 5th season

♡buffy season 6 starts with buffy having to claw herself out of her own grave after being brought back from the afterlife and (presumably) season 6 of “the pink opaque” would begin with isabel & tara also doing the same - we know maddie/tara does this obviously, but it’s left ambitious whether owen/isabel will but it’s implied that season 6 can’t properly start til owen/isabel does…

♡having actual irl musicians perform at a club just reminded me of when irl bands performed at “the bronze” (and also like in “p3” in “charmed” and other shows of that era) …not so much a reference but i thought that was neat

♡so “snail mail” did a cover of “tonight, tonight” for the film and on the cover of the single she’s holding a buffy style scythe

♡the plot kinda reminded me of “normal again” where due to demonic stuff buffy starts to believe her sunnydale life was just fantasy/delusion and that she’s just a regular girl in a mental institution in la

[hisfavkayla]

Patient my dear || pt. 1 Jonathan Crane🎀

Summary : your crane’s special patient and he treats you like his princess!

Authors note : enjoy my little psychos

Warnings : fluff, age gap (18 and 35 ) , mental illness, sweetheart!crane , mentions of self harm, that’s all <:💕

It all started when I was 14–shortly after my mom died tragically, I began to experience signs of schizophrenia and insanity!

I would try to hurt myself and others, and even bit our maid’s left pinky off! I was truly psychotic. My widowed father didn’t know how to handle loosing his wife and me going crazy, so he helped me get accepted into Arkham— which wasn’t that hard!

Anyways—when I got there I met Dr. Jonathan Crane, who I grew fond of very early and he grew fond of me too. At first he felt like another father figure to me and he even cured me ( well I think so but I’m still here) It wasn’t until I was 16 when I started to think that he had a soft spot for me.

Who knows? Maybe he does !

~~~

I look up at the clock on my room’s wall, Crane was on the way to see me . He usually would bring me a little snack and us go on a little walk since I have “special privileges “ but that doesn’t mean I can get out of here.

I look down at my am, the bruise from my iv sticking out like a sore thumb. I hated getting my blood drawn, but Dr. Crane made it better. While he would draw my blood, he would rub my head making the headaches feel normal.

Clash!

I heard a door swing open opening to my hallway. I was on the left wing of the asylum— the calm side of the building, where not so violent patients stayed.

Beep! Beep! Bloop!

I whipped around to face Dr. Crane coming in my room carrying a small bag of chocolate cookies and a clipboard. “ Here Y/n“ he grinned as he tossed me the cookies and scooted up a chair to my bed ,” How is your day going?”

I opened the cookies and bit down on one , the chocolate leaving a stain on the corner of my mouth, “ Good , I painted a picture today”, I blushed wiping away the chocolate.

Jonathan looked at me fully focused with his head titled . His stormy blue , deep set eyes made me want to melt away in a sea of dreams. His soft— but sharp high cheekbones reminded me of a porslin doll. He was an Angel.

“Would you like to see it?” I asked, he nodded . I pulled the paper out of a little brown drawer and handed it to Crane. He looked over it , scanning his hand over the victorian landscape.

“Atta girl”, he pats the back of my white pj top lightly, “ This is truly beautiful y/n , just like you “

I blush so hard, I could see the heat radiating off my cheeks, “ Thanks “, I returned the painting to the drawer, “ So why’d you come by ?”

He clears his throat and schisms through his clipboard, “ To deliver some terrific news for you “, he grins taking off his glasses and pushing my hair behind my ear , “ Your free Y/n , your completely cured and can be released anytime you please “

Tears weld up in my eyes from the overwhelming news. I’m overjoyed but at the same time , a hasty thought pops in my brain, “ But Jonathan— I don't know how to live for myself . I’ve spend all my developing adolescent years in here . What do I do?!”

I gag on my warm tears as they fall from my eyes down to my lips . I knew nothing of the world and the way it worked. I was hopeless …

Jonathan wrapped his arms around me , cradling my limp self like a newborn, “ It’s ok Y/n … you can stay with me if you like “ his ocean eyes stair in my soul as I shake my head , “ I would love to Crane”

[infinitysisters]

“The first thing to notice is that the student in the video pretends to be asking for the teacher's opinion but is in fact probing to find out if his teacher has the right opinion. That is, he's trying to find out if his teacher is part of "the people" or an "enemy of the people."

Bc of the power dynamic (the student is alone, particularly), he's unlikely to be able to initiate a struggle session, though he could deliver "criticism," in line with Mao Zedong Thought by accusing his teacher of being out of step with "the people's standpoint" on the issue.

His opener, though, where he pretends to be interested in the teacher's take or opinion is actually a test as to whether or not criticism needs to be delivered for having a wrong opinion. In other settings, it's the basis for shunning and even outright struggle sessions.

Struggle sessions were a form of psychosocial torture used by Maoist activists to humiliate and shame people who had the wrong opinions, trying to force them into conformity or into a process of thought reform ("ideological remolding"). Alternatively, it would just destroy them.

It's crucial to understand that this video opens with the student probing to find grounds to initiate criticism and struggle against the teacher. Had this gone differently, it's possible the teacher would face MANY students going after him later bringing vicious criticism.

You will find that with Maoist activism, the style is often to seem to probe what you think as a justification to rain opprobrium (struggle) down on you if you don't think what they want. It's very Hundred Flowers: let people speak so you can crush ideological enemies.

The Hundred Flowers Campaign (baihua qifang) was a time in the late 1950s when Mao encouraged free speech against his regime for a while then rounded up everyone who outed themselves as an "enemy" and sent them to be reeducated or die in the countryside (gulag).

The next thing to notice from the video is that the student hasn't formed his opinion about JK Rowling on the basis of any facts. It's what other people are saying. He's in the "outer circle" of the cult, like most people. He's locked in socially and emotionally ONLY.

You can tell this is the case for three reasons:

1) He presents it as such, lacking any substantive evidence;

2) He doesn't actually agree with the people's standpoint perfectly himself but defers to it;

3) He cannot articulate (intellectualize) WHY she's "transphobic."

If he were intellectually committed in addition to socially and emotionally locked ("inner school" of the cult), he would have been able to spout off any number of BS rationalizations for how Rowling is "transphobic" by stating the reality of sex. He can't, though.

This is important to recognize when it happens because people in the "outer school" of a cult are the most rescuable, as we see by the end of the video. They believe it because their social and emotional identities depend on it (so, hijacked psychosocial valuation schema).

A psychosocial valuation schema, by the way, is a method by which people evaluate themselves as good people (psycho-) or good members of a community (social). It's a fascinating subject, but Maoist "unity" through criticism and struggle (peer pressure) hijacks it, as seen here.

In short, the student is perceiving that if he has the wrong opinion about Rowling, he'll be a bad "community member" (ally), which means he's probably a bad person, worthy of shame, guilt, and exclusion, demanding he "do better." This dynamic is crucial to the cult brainwashing.

The teacher skillfully picks apart that this "outer school" cult member student doesn't know why he believes what he believes and forces him to think for himself, breaking him free from the Maoist psychosocial valuation schema for the duration of the exercise.

The next thing to observe is that the student later confesses to the fact that he personally sees nothing wrong with the statement but can see how others would find it problematic. That is, the psycho- part is breaking away from the -social part of the evaluation schema.

What he's expressing there is actually that he has adopted "the people's standpoint," as Mao called it. Wokes would call it "positionality" or "the standpoint of the oppressed" (yes, for those who know, "standpoint epistemology"). He knows he's supposed to see the world that way.

Psychologically for the student, this is the most dangerous and most important moment, and kudos to the teacher for effecting the deprogramming well. The reason is because the Maoist brainwashing program of "self-criticism" depends on the psycho- and -social being out of step.

The guilt and shame cycles in Maoist brainwashing, together with "leniency" or "love bombing" when people uphold the "people's standpoint" and criticism and struggle when they don't, are most powerful when the psycho- and -social parts disagree, not when they align.

The dynamic is to make the target feel like they're the only person who doubts "the people's standpoint." The student, in the wrong setting, would immediately feel alienated, alone, and ashamed that he knows "the people's standpoint" but secretly disagrees with it. This is key.

Maoism as a psychosocial brainwashing phenomenon requires "milieu control," such that the social group around you all publicly seems to perfectly hold to "the people's standpoint" so that each person believes they're the only one who thinks it's probably bogus.

In that state, you will "self-criticize" because you think something must be wrong with you. Indoctrination is external criticism. Conversion is self-criticism. Now note Robin DiAngelo saying "antiracism" is a lifelong commitment to self-reflection, self-critique, and activism.

In the end, the teacher breaks through, and the students sees not just that he was relying on "the people's standpoint" (psychosocial valuation) instead of his own critical thinking, and the teacher gives him space to feel accepting of "feeling like an idiot." That's very good.

In the Maoist environment, so with Woke teachers, the "people's standpoint" is pushed from the top, the interrogated "student" is urged to confess his sinful private doubts with increasing sincerity, and the social environment reinforces it all (to avoid their own struggle).

After breaking people down psychosocially this way and getting them to half-adopt and fully profess "the people's standpoint," the process enters another phase, xuexi, which means "study." That is, "outer school" cultists are pushed to become "inner school" cultists.

The point of "study" is to lead psychosocially locked people into intellectual rationalization, where the student would have been able to rattle off a litany of robotic-sounding theory (thought-terminating cliches and rationalizations) for how Rowling IS "transphobic."

That not only keeps them hermetically sealed (iykyk) in the cult, making deprogramming FAR harder and rarer, it also creates a demonstration for "outer school" members who can be convinced that their beliefs have intellectual foundations they just don't understand yet.”

- James Lindsay

[redavexat]

In case you missed any of the text, all of it is written here:

Medical transition works

80% of individuals reported significant improvement in dysphoria

78% of individuals reported significant improvements in psychological symptoms

72% of individuals reported significant improvement in sexual function

positive results across the board, even in 15- year follow ups

Source for all above: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19473181/

"Wellbeing was similar to or better than same-age young adults from the general population" source for the above:

Quality of life increases dramatically with 'gender affirming treatment

source for the above: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6224813/

Long term follow-ups: https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(15)32422-X/fulltext

The above link shows as unsafe when you open it, it'll give you a message before sending you to the page. I'm not familiar enough with how websites work to confirm whether proceeding past that point is safe, click past the pop-up message at your own risk. I did, and the article IS there.

social transition works

"Shown to correlate with improved psychological functioning"

Source for above: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X1630146X

levels of depression and anxiety which closesly match levels reported by cisgender children

Source for above: https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567%2816%2931941-4/fulltext

puberty blockers are safe and reversible

Hormone blockers are the only treatment used on adolescents that are completely reversible.

Source for above: https://assets2.hrc.org/files/documents/SupportingCaringforTransChildren.pdf

"Current evidence Does not support an adverse impact of gender- affirming hormone therapy on cognitive performance"

"Our results suggest that there are no detrimental effects of GNRHA on EF"

source for above: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453020301402?via%3Dihub

"Relieves stress for trans adolescents"

"is reversible"

Source for above: https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/102/11/3869/4157558

"Poorer psychological well-being before treatment"

Source for above: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X20300276

"Behavioural and emotional problems and depressive symptoms decreased"

source for above: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609515336171

Hormone blockers are not new: "Since the mid 1990s..." and "The Royal college of psychiatrists, in 1998..."

source for above: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2020.1747768

Many more studies: This screen of the video is far too small and compressed for me to read most of these links. If anyone knows of a higher quality version, thatd be great.

Puberty blockers aren't harmful to bone density: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/842073

Puberty blockers don't cause osteoporosis or sterility: https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/84/12/4583/2864749 Transphobia is real [personal side note, this comment isn't in the video: Does this really need a source to begin with?]: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/eu-lgbt-survey-results-at-a-glance_en.pdf

46% felt discriminated against or harrassed within the past year for being trans

29% felt discriminated against when it came to looking for employment

70% hid being trans during schooling before becoming 18 years old

55% had an incident of violence within the past year in part or whole because of them being trans

The ~40-50% Suicide rate is fake It's the attempt rate: https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/resources/NTDS_Report.pdf

The suicide rate is undocument and doesn't exist.

Discrimination is harmful

The attempt rate rises for people who: Lost a job due to bias (55%) were harrassed/ Bullied in school (51%) Had low household income were the victim of physical assault (61%) were the victim of sexual assault (64%)

Same source as above for attempt rate

Other factors include: gender-based victimisation discrimination bullying violence being rejected by the family, friends, and community harrassmentby intimate partner, family members, police and public discrimination and ill treatment at health-care system

source for above: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5178031/

[Another illegible "Many more studies" screen]

Social/ familial support helps:

[Top link doesn't work]

[next is too illegible]

It can decrease the likelihood of a suicide attempt 57% -> 4%

Chosen name/ pronoun use does the same:

https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(18)30085-5/abstract 71% drop in severe depression 34% drop suicidal ideation 65% drop in suicide attempts

Gender and sex aren't the same These institutions and organisations would like to disagree with you: American Psychological association American medical association American psychoanalytic association Human rights campaign american academy of pediatrics american college of osteopathic pediatricians royal college of psychiatrists United Nations United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) American academy of child and adolescent psychiatry American academy of dermatology American academy of family physicians American academy of Nursing American academy of physician assistants American college health association American college of nurse-midwives American college of obstetricians and gynecologists American college of Physicians American counselling association American heart association American medical association American medical student association American nurses association American osteopathic association American psychiatric assocation American Psychological association American public health association American society of plastic surgeons Endocrine society GLMA National association of nurse practitioners in women's health national assocation of social workers National commission on correctional health care pediatric endocrine society society for adolescent health and medicine world medical association world professional association for transgender health world health organisation (WHO) Stanford medical American pediatrician association National institutes of health Canadian institute of health research scientific american

[turquoise-vase]

Brigitte And Ginger were destined to go their separate ways, according to Karen Walton, the mastermind behind the story.

So recently I came across an interview with Karen Walton where she reflects on what Ginger Snaps' general idea was and, more importantly, her opinion on the Fitzgerald sisters' relationship:

"To my mind Ginger Snaps is a film about a relationship that kind of destructs. It is not so much a film about suicide as about the choices we make at a very tender age when we are not always equipped or as equipped to make these choices as we think we are. With those alienated parents and the alienated world around you, and you in your imaginary bubble with your best friend who may happen to be your sibling; or the people who support your aspirations of being different and being unique. To me the film is about a relationship that ends partly because someone gets bitten by a werewolf but also because it was bound to end. Someone once asked me if Brigitte and Ginger would still be together if the werewolf never showed up and I would have to say no. It might have taken longer but Ginger as an individual was on a very different path or quest and she was not honoring their pact. They were not destined to be together forever. That was a rationalization for the two of them being so different and uncomfortable with where they were living. As I said there are 180 turning points for adolescents and one of them is to say goodbye to the people who were making possible the worst ideas about yourself or less productive ideas you had about yourself. When the film starts, Brigitte would not be able to survive without Ginger. They have a suicide pact which grows from their mentality of a longstanding arrangement to survive something together but in the story of the movie that relationship itself becomes the number one threat to their existence. All that is a part of growing up and releasing yourself from some contracts that should not be upheld. Brigitte had to say goodbye to Ginger, but I’m sure she would not have chosen these terms. Neither one of them had a choice in that department. So again the film to me is not about suicide, that conscious choice of taking a life, but about who invites victimization and who says “F this” I’m getting out of here."

[virescent-v]

Hello! As someone who struggled with a SH Addiction…as wild as it sounds. I was wondering if you could do Reader(Sh Addiciton) is clean but had urges again and is struggling to fight them with Emily helping them? It would help me as someone whose struggling rn lol

Siren Call

A/N: Hi lovie, I tried my best with this. I have struggled with depression since my teenage years, and suicide ideations throughout that time. To be transparent, I've never dealt with self-harm. I hope I managed to capture those feelings for you and do this justice.

To anyone reading this: Check the trigger warnings. Protect yourself. Please reach out if you're struggling. You're not alone and the world is better with you in it. <3

SAMHSA's National Hotline: 1-800-662- 4357, or text your zip code to 435748 for help near you.

Warnings: Mentions of self-harm/cutting, mentions of razors. It's not very graphic imo, but again, protect yourself if these are not things you feel okay reading.

Word Count: 1.4k

It was a rollercoaster of emotion flowing through you. Ups and downs and turns that you could hardly keep up with. Numbness, but at the same time, a devastating whirlwind of thought. You weren’t sure how you could feel so empty but so full of emotion at one time, but you were. 

The depression was not new, a thing carried along with you every day from your adolescence, like a shadow or a tumor. Always there, sometimes bothersome, sometimes silent, and just waiting for a moment to shatter any progress you’ve made.  

Everyone you’ve talked to has dealt with their mental health differently; therapy, medications, denial. And, sometimes, those did work for you. You met with your therapist once a week (less, if you couldn’t afford it), you were on your third antidepressant, and you tried so hard to ignore how your mind betrayed you. 

The one thing that was consistent, that always helped with the emotions coursing through you, was physically releasing them. 

The first time you cut yourself, you were sixteen. You’d only learned about it from the darker corners of the internet, a place you shouldn’t have been. Too young, too impressionable. But, the first slice of the razor against the skin of your thigh felt good. As the skin tore apart from itself, as the blood oozed from the wound, all of your negative feelings went too. 

With each drop of blood, you felt the freedom from doubt, worry, anger, sadness. Each cut brought a feeling of euphoria, the dopamine replacing all of the emotions that were burying you. 

It was a habit that continued throughout your teenage years, and even early twenties. When the destructive thoughts got too much, the razor was there to bring color back into your life. But, as you got older, you got smarter, more diligent in the way those terrible thoughts would creep into your mind, suffocating the joy from you. You learned better coping mechanisms, learned how to manage the craving of the sharpness of a blade against your fragile skin. 

But still, the release would call to you, a siren of a dreadful sea you did not want to be a voyager on. 

On such nights, when the waves of despair rocked you too roughly, your girlfriend Emily was usually there to distract you, a life preserver to stop you from drowning. 

Unfortunately, Emily wasn’t always there. Her job was demanding, important, much more important than your broken brain. Which made tonight, a particularly rough night, hard for you. 

Everything seemed to be weighing down on you, going wrong, unavoidable mishap after mishap. The shadows seemed to wrap themselves around your brain, spindly fingers digging their claws in with no sign of letting go.

The siren call beckoned, a melodious tune that pulled you in, easing the racing thoughts in your mind. 

You stood in front of your bathroom mirror, the reflection in front of you hardly recognizable. Your skin pallor, dry, dark under your eyes. You licked around your chapped lips, feeling the fuzziness of your unbrushed teeth. Your clothes hung off of your body, loose from multiple days of wear. Unkempt hair, a tangled mess atop your head. You looked as rough as you felt, the lack of sleep and self-care exacerbating your inner turmoil. 

Taking a shaky breath, you looked down at your hands, the newly purchased razor blade sitting in the box. Pretty, new, waiting for use. You imagined the shine of the blade against your skin, how the silver would contrast the uneven, blotchy shade of you. How the deep red hemoglobin would look, how it would bring color back to you. 

The call got louder. 

As you were about to tear open the box, a single word, a single thought, broke through the haze of your mind. 

Emily. 

The cacophony of noise halted. You knew that she wouldn’t be disappointed. She’s the only one who ever really understood this habit, this… addiction. Understood how the silence and the noise bantered back and forth in a way that was sensory overload, how sometimes the only way to get it to stop was to cut. To feel something else. 

While she wouldn’t be disappointed, you could imagine the look on her face, how her eyes would hold all of her thoughts. She’d get you through it, she always has, but sometimes her looks haunted you more than your own thoughts did. 

Instead, you picked up the phone. 

It rang twice; she never sent you to voicemail unless she absolutely could not answer. 

“Baby?” She whispered. You’d woken her up. “Everything okay?” 

You tried to talk. The air was trapped in your lungs, the only noise escaping you a hollow breath, a crushed whimper. 

You could hear Emily sit up in bed, the click of a lamp. “Love? Answer me.” Her voice was more alert, commanding, an edge of fear. 

You swallowed hard. Your breath coming quicker, everything threatening to rush out of you. “Em,” another shaky whimper, a plea. 

“Take a breath for me, sweetheart. You’re okay. I’m right here.” You could hear the rustling of clothes being pulled on. 

The box in your hands rattled as it fumbled onto the bathroom sink, your trembling hands unable to hold it. Another thing you couldn’t do your mind hissed at you. 

“I can’t - can’t ma-make it s-stop.” You forced the words out, stumbling them into each breath you inhaled. 

“I’m coming, baby. Stay on the phone with me. You’re okay.” A car door slammed, the engine roaring to life. A siren. 

“Listen to me. I’ll be right there. Listen to my voice.” Emily continued to talk, walking you through the case she was working on. How the weather was. Her favorite movie. Nonsensical ramblings to keep you focused on her. You’d grunt occasionally in response, a way to ensure her you were still listening, still there. 

Your vision tunneled, black around the edges, as your grip on the sink tightened. You could feel the rush of blood through your body in your ears, your limbs starting to tingle as the  numbness started. 

You weren’t sure how much time had passed before you heard the front door slam, hasty footsteps through the hallway. A hand covering yours. 

Emily turned your body towards hers, her hands cupping your cheeks, trying to bring your eyes to hers. 

You felt paralyzed, stuck in a mud so thick and deep you couldn’t move. You tried to focus on Emily’s voice, the rubbing of her thumbs across your cheekbones. You tried to blink, tried to get your eyes to focus. 

Noticing that she wasn’t getting through to you, Emily wrapped you in the tightest hug she could, squeezing you as hard as her arms could handle. A way to help calm down your overactive nervous system, as if she was trying to transfer your energy to her. 

Eventually the shaking calmed down, the pins and needles in your limbs still pushing and pulling, beating to the accelerated pace of your heart. You were finally able to look at Emily, her eyes shining in worry, but also protectiveness. A lighthouse in a stormy sea. 

She tucked your hair behind your ear, checking over your body for signs of harm. Finding none, seeing the unopened box on the counter, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Let's go lay down, love.” 

She all but dragged you to bed, shoving you under the covers before turning off the overhead light. She walked back into the bathroom, presumably to get rid of the box of razors. 

Your eyes remained closed the entire time, listening to her fiddle around with things in your bedroom, the sound of her jeans hitting the carpeted floor before she joined you in bed. Her strong, warm arms wrapped around you, pulling you close to her, your head on her chest. 

Her hands traversed your body, as if taking note of each inch of your scarred, but intact skin. She paid extra attention to your previous cuts, the scars healed and raised and pink, a testament of your ability to withstand. Each line a reminder that you made it. That while the emotion swelled over you, overtook you, that you came out on the other side stronger. 

“Sleep, love. I’ll be here. We can talk about it in the morning.” 

All at once, exhaustion engulfed you. You settled more into Emily, breathing in her perfume, realizing at once that she was your saving grace, your protector. You were capable of overcoming anything with her at your side. 

Slowly, as you started to drift off to sleep, the blacks and grays of the shadows disappeared, replaced by a kaleidoscope of colors. Emily’s steady heart lulled you into a sense of comfort. In her arms, the noises and silence settled, the siren call faded into a calming ebb and flow of waves. What was once a tumultuous, dark and violent sea became a mellow, sparkling tide. With Emily, you were home and you were safe from the shadows that haunted you.

[nobite02]

Dean and Metallica

Dean was born in 1979, which puts him in Generation X. Even though he is technically at the tail end of this generation (generations are not decided by birth years; I will die on this hill), his personal experience would have been more typical of the middle of the generation. It's generally accepted that music taste develops in adolescence and early adulthood, around 12-25.

Many of the bands we see as Dean's favorites were at the peak of their popularity in the mid-70s to early 80's. This would include Led Zepplin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Kansas, Lenard Skynard, and Blue Oyster Cult, which are all of the classic rock variety. Still, there is also Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Def Leppard, which are more hard rock moving into metal categories. All of these bands have their most popular albums, which come out from anywhere between 1974 and 1984, which would make Dean around 6 years old. Suggesting that these are the bands that John may have listened to.

However, Metallic is also one of Dean's favorite bands. Metallica was formed in 1981, and their first 5 albums were extremely popular from 1883 to 1991. The black album, or their self-titled, came out in 1991, meaning Dean would have been 12, right around the time people developed their music tastes.

We don't see Dean enjoying much of the popular Gen X music, such as any of the prominent grunge bands: Nirvana , Peral Jam, or Alice In Chains . Alt-rock, such as Weezer, Green Day, REM, and Rage Against the Machine. Other metal bands popular in the 90s include Mega Death, Pantera, Slayer, and Anthrax. We see evidence of glam metal through the fake names they use and bands like Warrant, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, and Poison, but it's minor.

Metallica is well known for popularizing the thrash metal genre, which began to develop in the early 80's. Many elements that categorized the genre come from punk and hard rock of the late 70's and 80's. Eventually, moving into more of a hard rock style with the black album and later albums. Many of their influences include classic and hard rock bands of the 70s, all of which have been mentioned. All to say that Metallica was new in the 80s and "underground" and would have been popular among teens rather than adults who liked rock.

John, an enjoyer of typical "classic" rock, would have likely found Metallica too fast and chaotic. Dean, being 12 when The Black album came out, would have likely found it on his own (though other kids or just listening to the radio) and began developing an interest in Metallica. John and Dean likely would have fought about it due to John not liking it, the pushback of normal adolescents' developmental stage, and the sense of self-development.

Enter Sandman and Some Kind of Monster are referenced/played in the show. Enter Sandman is the top track from Metallica and was released in 1991 on the black album. Some Kind of Monster is from their 2003 album St. Anger.

This was a lot to say that Metallica sticks WAY out from many of the other bands Deans enjoys. To me, it appears something HE chose to listen to vs. what John listened to. Metalica's lyrics often address addiction, war with anti-war statements, religion, and mental health.

I suggest listening to Dean's favorite Led Zeppelin song, "Ramble On," against any Metallica song. Some of the top ones are "Enter Sandman," "Master of Puppets," "Some Kind of Monster," and "One."

Most of this is pulled from my head, from what I know from my parents, my history of rock and roll class I took 4 years ago, and some minor googling. PLZ share any other thoughts you all have. I'd love to hear them!

[probablyasocialecologist]

The 388-page report featured 32 recommendations on how transgender care should be conducted within NHS England. It incorrectly claims that there is “no good evidence” supporting transgender care and calls for restrictions on trans care for individuals under the age of 18, although it does not advocate for an outright ban. The report endorses the idea that being transgender may be caused by anxiety, depression, and OCD issues, despite the American Psychological Association, the largest psychological association in the world, rebutting this as lacking evidence. It also claims that transgender individuals can be “influenced” into being trans, a nod to the discredited theory of social contagion and rapid onset gender dysphoria, rejected by over 60 mental health organizations. Lastly, it seemingly endorses restrictions on transgender people under the age of 25, stating that they should not be allowed to progress into adult care clinics. To support these recommendations, the report was released alongside “reviews” of the evidence surrounding transgender care, using these reviews to assert that there is "no good evidence" for gender-affirming care. A closer inspection of the reviews released alongside the Cass report reveals that 101 out of 103 studies on gender-affirming care were dismissed for not being of "sufficiently high quality," based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale—a subjective scale criticized for its flaws and potential unreliability due to a high risk of bias. This critique is particularly significant given the contentious political nature of the subject and connections between reviewers, Cass, and anti-trans organizations.

[...]

Immediately after the release of the Cass Review, experts in transgender healthcare from around the world voiced their opposition to its findings. Dr. Portia Predny, Vice President of the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health, criticized the findings and recommendations as “at odds with the current evidence base, expert consensus, and the majority of clinical guidelines worldwide.” Similarly, a statement from the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa condemned the review, noting, “The Review commissioned several systematic reviews into gender-affirming care by the University of York, but appears to have ignored a significant number of studies demonstrating the benefits of gender-affirming care. In one review, 101 out of 103 studies were dismissed.” It is important to note that gender affirming care saves lives, and there is plenty of evidence to show for it. Numerous studies have demonstrated that gender-affirming care significantly reduces suicidality, with some showing a decrease in suicidality by up to 73%. A review compiled by Cornell University, which compiled over 50 journal articles on the topic, shows the efficacy of transgender care. These findings were echoed recently in an article published by the Journal of Adolescent Health, which found that puberty blockers dramatically lowered depression and anxiety. All of these studies and more have led to The Lancet, a medical journal with international acclaim, to publish a letter stating that gender affirming care is lifesaving preventative care. The largest and most influential medical organizations support trans care. A recent and historic policy resolution passed overwhelmingly by the American Psychological Association, the largest psychological organization in the world, states that gender affirming care is a medical necessity and that being trans is not “caused” by things like autism and PTSD.