#sam and mental health

[5ftboy]

"I've been afraid all of my life. And you guys are really, really kind. There's no part of you that'll feel like you're just dragging me around?" "[We're] all going to do stuff the others don't like from time to time... But that's what best friends are for. We'll work through whatever we have to."

[chaos-and-sparkles]

Delightful comments I found on a YouTube compilation that make me giggle

[copperbadge]

I was diagnosed with depression when I was seventeen, the "this will probably keep happening your whole life" kind of depression, but aside from some really rough moments in my mid-twenties I coped pretty well; by the time I was living in Chicago I could see a depressive episode coming and I had techniques to ensure I got through -- kept going to work, kept making and eating food, kept myself and my home clean.

By the time I went in for my ADHD assessment I hadn't had an episode in a couple of years, and when I had they weren't particularly severe. So when I got the ADHD diagnosis and started studying what that meant, it seemed evident to me that what I'd been experiencing wasn't depression but rather exhaustion from unrecognized burnout. Which was a good thing -- it meant that with medication it probably wouldn't happen much or if it did it would be very mild.

But it turns out that clinical depression and ADHD can coexist! All discovery is useful, but this one was a real pain in the ass.

For the last couple of weeks I haven't had a ton of energy for doing anything, in a way that I recognize from previous episodes. The coping mechanisms did kick in; I pulled way back on chores and hobbies, focused on keeping caught-up with my job, made sure I was doing the minimum level of cleaning and didn't worry too much that I wasn't doing more. Looked after the cats, made time and saved energy for socializing. Didn't have much energy for longform writing but I had enough focus to work on short stories, so I messed around with those.

I'm okay in the specific way where I'm not a harm to myself or others and perfectly competent to run my own life, I'm just not real happy about any of it.

The longer I go managing my mental health and the ADHD, the more important the "show jumper" metaphor I came up with has become for me. Because yeah, firing on all cylinders and with Adderall I can basically do any task I aim myself at -- but with depression, even with the medication, it pulls backwards into "Okay, well, I guess put the horse over the jumps it'll take, not the ones you want it to take."

But I've been maintaining decently and this morning it turned out I wanted to cook a bunch of food, so even though what I really need to be doing is mopping the floor and vacuuming the rugs, I'll take "cooking enough pizza sauce to drown a small animal while boiling some pasta" and "making a nice loaf of beer bread". And hopefully the burst of energy means it's resolving itself, and the floors will get done sometime this week when I don't have to be baking bread or making pasta salad.

I'm very carefully saving my second daily Adderall dose until I'm ready to do the massive stack of dishes the cooking led to. Gonna take this horse over the goddamn dishes jump whether it likes it or not.

[partiallypearl]

i was reduced to nothing but my shell, while trying to find someone who would love the exterior

[unstabledragonsposts]

“I am dumb and everyone hates me, and it’s your fault for falling for it.”

what if i just die

[nicksversion]

⚠️!PSA FOR EVERYONE!⚠️

I know we are all terrified, upset, and angry right now but DON’T PANIC YET! They are recounting the votes on Friday November 8th. The electoral college isn’t done voting and the true results could take till as late as December. We also have till January 19th to come up with a plan. Now with that being said below I have tips on how to get through this if things take a turn for the worst.

How to survive the next four years:

1. Stay alive:

As much as you will be feeling, validly so, keep going. It’s okay to grieve and feel what you need to but they want you to give up/be stagnant. Live out of spite if you have to but don’t let them win.

Inclusivetherapists.com/crisis gives you resources to call if you are struggling and you don’t have to be in crisis to reach out. Police are not involved with the hotlines and won’t be notified.

2. Play dumb:

You now know nothing about anyone.

For example:

Your friend who’s trans or a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, you have no idea. Same goes for your neurodivergent friends.

Your immigrant friend, they were born here

3. Stay strapped:

Get firearm training, purchase a firearm, and take self defense classes. It’s better to be prepared to fight than be blindsided by it. Additionally, don’t let your guard down in public ever and stay inside as much as humanly possible.

4. Hold your tongue:

Be careful what you say/ post. You never know who’s listening with malicious intent. Don’t talk about anything that doesn’t align with the MAGA point of view and if you are asked about it you tell them you don’t talk about politics.

5. Remember the dress code:

You want to dress as conformative and conservative as possible. I know it will suck but if you are dressed any other way you make yourself a target. Look up how to do your makeup to pass as fem/mas if you need to.

Additional information and tips:

Everything will not fall apart overnight, these things take time but you should still be prepared for it.

Propaganda will be everywhere, make sure you are getting your information from reliable sources.

They will be doing everything possible to change your beliefs to align with them, DO NOT FALL FOR IT!

Do your own research about how Hitler came to power and went through with the genocide. If you know the signs, you can help deinfluence the lies that will be spread (safely of course)

If you are planning to participate in the 4b movement be prepared for violent reactions. Men will not react well to not getting their way so make sure you can protect yourself if things go south.

Plan b has a shelf life of four years when stored in a cool dry place. It is purchasable on Amazon for less than $10 when you search levonorgestrel pill (it’s the name of what’s in plan b)

If you’re looking for doctors to give you long term birth control look up Reddit child free doctors list (it’s a list of international doctors who will let you have it and is updated by patients)

Delete your period tracking apps and use a physical calendar to track them. The government has access to them.

Freethepill.org gives you a bunch of resources to get the pill, if you are able stock up as you see fit.

If you have children in school, buy books that teach about evolution, black history, and all other things America has done to other countries.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTF3444aD/ - recommendations of places to go to get out of the US

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTF3VPUQc/ - how to get a passport

Project 2025 seeks to ban porn so start saving your favorite books/fanfics on external hardrives.

I will update this post as I research more ways to get through this. It is important that you take time for yourself and make sure you’re okay before trying to help others. Stay safe, stay alert, and stay informed. I wish you all the best.

[leifygreeens]

Practicing again ✍🏻

[bromcommie]

I need someone to write a fic or draw fanart based on that one anthony mackie hot ones interview story where he talks about how he once (while on set!) towed a giant primordial-like fish monster out of the swamps of louisiana with a truck while the PA was losing her shit next to him. but it’s sam and bucky

it could be so good too. like sure bucky’s seen his fair share of weird shit in his several lifetimes but he’s a city boy through and through at the same time and I’m pretty sure for all their battle readiness training the soviets and/or hydra didn’t prepare him for the fucking. alligator gar. try and tell me he wouldn’t bitch and moan and freak the fuck out over all kinds of critters that are native to louisiana I dare you. meanwhile sam's just laughing his ass off like 'oooh I'm from the mean streets of BROOKLYN oooh they call me a GHOST. stop screaming you baby it's FINE. look the teeth on this one ain't even all that bad'

[gaypeople]

had a full body reaction to this

[grippysockedtoebeans]

Maybe giving into the rage dean Winchester style would fix me?

[samthehypotheticaldad]

I’ve reached the point where TMA is a comfort series, adding to the list of “comfort series that make it abundantly clear that I have trauma and am mentally ill”.

[propertyofsamcollins]

Guys, what if I told you I had a headcannon that Darlin and Sam move out of Dahlia and live their lives happily in Washington in a house that was left to Darlin' after a family member that they were close to passed away and they have a little garden and they adopt a baby and and and

[swabsandcream]

Hang in There, Stranger

Sam Winchester x GN! Reader

Summary: Y/N has been having a really hard time mentally as of late, trying desperately to shield their emotions from the people around them. That is, until they were approached by a handsome stranger who just so happens to be an emotional empath.

Warnings: Swearing

'Damn, it's too beautiful out here for it to be this cold. The sun is shining down on me, yet I don't feel the slightest bit of warmth. I don't even know what I'm doing out here anyway. I'm just tired. Tired of everything and everybody.'

Y/N's thoughts were overwhelmingly loud this afternoon as they sat back onto a cold wooden bench posted on the side of a walkway in the middle of a practically empty park. Across from them was an open field where most people would be having their picnics or playing some kind of sport, but around this time of year, you'd be lucky to spot a dog walker occupying the landscape. Y/N found themselves staring off into the field, trying to find a sense of peace in the midst of the internal battle they were quietly facing.

It had only been a few minutes since they had been sitting there without a single person in sight, until they heard footsteps coming from the right side of the path. Without moving their head, they took their eyes off the field and looked to the right to see a man approaching the bench. With the intention to watch him pass by, Y/N became alarmed once the man stopped walking once he made it in front of the bench. They immediately shifted their entire body in his direction, unaware of his intentions.

“Hey there, I’m sorry I don’t mean to bother you, but could you help me?” The man spoke gently, assuming he wanted to appear to be friendly.

“Help you with what?” Y/N’s tone came off more aggressive than they intended, but they were suspicious of the tall man in front of them.

“I know this might sound crazy, but I’ve been walking around this city for the past three hours trying to find a cheap place to stay. Do you know where I can find a motel around here?”

Y/N would usually be standoff-ish when it came to strangers, but he appeared to be telling the truth based on the ware and tare of his sneakers. Observing him further, they noticed he had on a bookbag over his large jacket. They decided to lend the man their assistance, feeling sympathetic with the assumption that he is homeless.

“Yeah, there’s one a few miles up the road, but it’s really cold out here man. You should definitely take bus if you don’t have a car, but that’ll be another thirty minute walk to get to the bus stop.” Y/N’s information prompted a sigh mixed of relief and exhaustion from the man.

He proceeded to sit down on the bench, leaving a small space between himself and the kind stranger. He extended his long arms and legs in a big stretch, as Y/N kept their eyes on him. He was young, like in his early twenties. Not hard on the eyes either. This made Y/N's curiosity get the best of them.

"I'm sorry, but I just have to ask." Y/N started, grabbing the young man's attention.

"You look so young, I can't help but wonder how you ended up being homeless." The young man paused for a moment, then let out a small chuckle. Y/N reassured him that they weren't trying to offend him.

"No...well I guess I am homeless." He threw his hands up and slammed them down in defeat. "My brother and I travel around a lot, or at least we did up until this morning. We fight a lot, but this time was different. I just feel like I don't want to have anything to do with him anymore."

Y/N wasn't expecting that response, now feeling bad for asking in the first place. But there was also a sense of familiarity with the way they were feeling at the moment.

"Sounds like you're feeling the way I feel right now. Except it's just with everything and everybody. I'm not happy with my life and I wish I could just get a do-over, but you only get one life right? Wish I could just get over it and stop letting it drag me down." Y/N let out a deep breath, feeling relief without worrying about the fact that they were venting to a total stranger. He just sat there and listened attentively, smiling and nodding in agreeance.

"Listen, you got to do what's best for you, no matter what. Life's too short and unpredictable to settle for things that don't make you happy. It won't be easy, but if you want your life to change you have to do the work necessary to make that happen. Understand?" The insightful stranger's words nearly brought tears to Y/N's eyes. The park was the last place they expected to get some life advice at. They thanked the stranger, wiping their eyes in the process.

The man then stood up from the bench, twisting his body side to side in a stretch and wigging his legs. He took small steps until he was in front of Y/N, extending his hand in front of them.

"It was nice talking to you stranger, name's Sam by the way." Y/N grabbed Sam's hand, giving him a warm smile as they shook hands.

"I'm Y/N. Nice to meet you Sam."

"Likewise. Well, I better get going now but remember what I said. Hang in there stranger, everything will be alright." Sam said, giving one last smile before he took off in the direction of the bus stop.

Y/N, still on that bench, sat there and reflected on the conversation once more. Sam's words were just what they needed to hear at that moment. Moments later, Y/N stood up from the bench and wasted no time heading back home. They had some life changing decisions to make all of a sudden.

[copperbadge]

Therapist knows I'm a writer and one of her occasional suggestions is to write about stuff I'm trying to untangle, whether that's in the Shivadhverse or elsewhere. I was trying to do that earlier in the week without much success which is why I was like PLEASE I JUST WANT TO FINISH SOMETHING and ended up writing The Olive Harvest 2023. It's not about the stuff we were talking about but at least I wrote SOMETHING.

But I'm now working on the PowerPoint for this coming week and I did want to at least discuss the Struggle. So I think you all should know that what I'm doing today is screencapping your nice comments on The Olive Harvest, anonymizing them, and putting them into a slide like a tag cloud, as a way of demonstrating what writing does for my mental health.

Discourse around commenting on AO3 is always fast and furious but I want you all to know that if you aren't comfortable commenting I totally get it, but if you do comment you are materially contributing to the mental health of a middle aged cat dad in Chicago.

[ghostsandfools]

The psychology behind Lumini

Would Lunar and Gemini be a healthy couple? I don't fucking know, I've never read or consumed anything to do with psychology in my life, I have no idea what the fuck I'm talking about here, I genuinely don't know shit about mental health, BUT I'M GONNA TRY ANYWAYS! So if my takes here suck then sorry.

Lunar:

Lunar idolizes Gemini WAY too much. And that's absolutely going to set their relationship back. It's good to admire your romantic partner, but you need to realize they aren't perfect. YOU aren't perfect, so if you view your partner as a perfect person, you're going to end up feeling like you'll never be enough for them.

You have to realize that you and your partner both have flaws, and recognize that you can work through them together as a team. Gemini, despite how much I love them, has flaws. Lunar is going to have to realize that eventually, but I don't think that'll completely get rid of the issue.

Lunar is just a guy. He got thrown into all this star power stuff randomly. and Gemini is his TEACHER. It's okay, because they're both adults so it's not creepy, but even then, you should never EVER be in a relationship with your boss/educator. Gemini's job is to make sure he's progressing steadily with his star power abilities. And since the astrals are so impatient, they kinda have to hurry him along with his learning. Having your partner teaching you something is stressful, because you want to impress them and do well for their sake. It's even worse because for Lunar and Gemini, it's not "I have a hobby i think you'd enjoy, how about I teach you?" For them it's "You NEED to learn this quickly and without struggling or else my brother is going to fucking KILL YOU." Star power is a life or death thing. Lunar having feelings for Gemini is definitely going to make learning harder for him, not because he'll be distracted by them instead of learning. but because Star power is his entire life purpose now and if he doesn't learn how to control it, the consequences could be very grave for him.

On top of that, he doesn't know Gemini very well. Which is fine, people get crushes of course, but they'll need to take things slow with each other if they want to get to know each other better and work through their other issues.

Gemini:

Gemini needs to be more understanding of Lunar's emotions. It's clear that they care for Lunar, but they're very tough on him, and I don't think they understand the mental effects of that.

Gemini feels things differently than any regular earthling. Their feelings are clearly more rooted in logic. They can feel angry and sad and happy, but it's different than how we would. For example, when they rejected Lunar, they gave him a logical explanation as to why they didn't want to pursue a relationship with him, then didn't understand why he was so sad. They thought explaining it logically would help him feel better, but that's not how feelings work. Sometimes people feel sad or happy or scared or angry for no reason, and that's okay. You don't have to justify your feelings or have a logical reason behind them for them to be valid, but I don't think Gemini understands that, and that's okay, but it's something they'll need to work on. Right now, they seem to think Lunar is immature or over emotional, but that's not true. He's been through a lot, and they really need to begin to understand that.

Now. The elephant in the room. When Lunar killed Eclipse, Gemini got pretty mad at him. Which is reasonable, he did kill a guy. I don't really think either of them were in the wrong in that situation though. I've seen some people say Gemini was downright abusive in their reaction, and I've seen some people say that they should've been harder on Lunar, but I wanna see things from both of their points of view. When Lunar saw Eclipse, he was scared. Seeing an abuser again is terrifying, I don't know what I would've done in his shoes. With the way Lunar's mind works, he could've just lost control of himself, he could've regressed from the stress of the situation and not known what to do, and with the way Eclipse was taunting and threatening him, it makes sense that he'd have a violent reaction. It doesn't justify what he did, but it does explain it. Gemini had every right to lash out at him though, because they trusted him and they spent a lot of time training him so he wouldn't do something like that again and he still did. And maybe, for the first time in a while, maybe they couldn't control their emotions either. Maybe they let their anger get the better of them.

Now, I think it actually shows how strong they are, because they were able to recover from what happened. Lunar apologized for what he did, and they've started to rekindle their friendship and build up trust again, and that's good! Because it shows that they can have arguments and still get over it. I've just got one issue with how their arc is going. I wish Gemini apologized too. I know Lunar did kill a man, but they really, REALLY hurt him. I wish they said sorry. But generally speaking, I'm glad that they're becoming friends again.

Another thing about Gemini is their upbringing. They don't talk about the other astrals very much, and I wonder what their life has been like so far. The other astrals seem more like coworkers to them than siblings, and I wonder if anyone other than Lunar has shown them affection before. Did Aries ever play games with them? Did Libra ever comfort them when they were feeling sad? Did Taurus ever show them how to use their powers? Or did they have to learn everything on their own? Sadly, we don't know. But based on how they talk about the other astrals, I'd wager not. And if that's the case, being in a relationship might be a challenge for them. They don't know how to respond to affection, they don't know HOW to be in a relationship. And in all fairness, neither does Lunar. They would be each other's first lovers, which is even more stressful, because neither of them know what the hell they're doing. If they want their relationship to last, they'd have to be perseverant as HELL.

Anyways. I just spent 45 minutes writing that....

Again, I'm not a psychologist! I'm just some random person! I have never studied mental health in my LIFE! Not to mention, I was gaslit A LOT as a kid. I have some pretty sucky parents, so I don't know what a healthy relationship really looks like either! That being said, if I said anything so unbelievably, ungodly incorrect, please correct me! I need to learn more about mental health so maybe then I can ALSO start feeling better.

I have been shipping Lumini since the episode where they went to Paris together, and I was NOT expecting the shows to actually explore the possibility further. I would LOVE for them to get together in canon, because they both need some love and affection. I think it's good that they have these flaws, because they can grow together and progress as characters, and I'm glad they aren't just some cookie cutter automatically healthy no issues whatsoever relationship. I really do hope things end up working out for them.

[live-laugh-legolas]

I was reading this post by @just-a-little-cellist and I was inspired to do something similar but with the fellowship

I’ve done a few more specific mental health hc’s but this is just their general relationship with mental health as opposed to how they handle others with something specific if that makes sense

Also I’m not trying to diagnose any characters; you shouldn’t make assumptions about others, these are just my hcs for some version of the characters, whether canon or not, we will never know

The Fellowship and mental health

Aragorn:

-He is very knowledgeable about different mental health disorders

-Very quick to pick up on it

-I don’t imagine him having any personal experience with any of it though

-I could imagine him having ADHD as a kid and although it doesn’t just go away he has learned to mask it incredibly well

-He has mixed thoughts on medication; he’s not against it but he personally won’t take anything

Legolas:

-I think elves are a split bunch

-Their knowledge of mental health is scattered

-Elves are not shy with feelings but I don’t imagine them having many problems when not in a time of grief

-And I think Legolas was especially sheltered from any mental health discussions

-Maybe the woodland elves are less open to the idea since I think Elrond knows everything about mental disorders

-A cultural difference I suppose

-He loves learning though so he will ask lots of questions

Gimli:

-Dwarves are not strangers to troubled mental health

-They are openly emotional and expressive

-But they don’t put names to it; the idea of disorders is not in their nature

-Like they will openly discuss having trouble but don’t tell them they have depression or something

Boromir:

-I could totally see him having anxiety that he’s learned to suppress because his father is a dickhead

-He knows about the more common disorders and is very supportive

-He doesn’t always understand and sometimes he accidentally comes across as dismissive

-I’ve mentioned before that I kinda picture him to be similar to Arthur from BBC’s Merlin (but when he learns to be a bit nicer lol)

-He’s trying his best; he needs a little patience to learn is all

Frodo:

-He reads a lot so I don’t think he’s any stranger

-I think PTSD from the events in LOTR is the first time personally experiencing neurodivergence though

-Bilbo’s definitely got a pinch of something but I couldn’t tell you what

-So he doesn’t really question anyone; he’s kinda like “well, if I meet someone quirkier than my uncle it will be a wondrous day”

Sam:

-I think he’s pretty naive to mental disorders

-Not because he doesn’t want to learn; but he just doesn’t know better

-He may be a bit judgmental at first

-Like I could imagine him making a comment like “what’s up with them?” kind of thing

-But he truly doesn’t mean to be offensive

-He doesn’t branch out much from the people and things he knows so anything new is strange

-But he will be so supportive and will never live down his own regret for saying something even slightly offensive

Merry:

-He knows every disorder, every sign and symptom, and everything to actually have the disorder

-Like this guy has read every version of the DSM

-He finds it fascinating how people’s brains work so differently

-He totally thinks he can diagnose people though; which isn’t great Merry

Pippin:

-Literally doesn’t care

-And I mean he doesn’t judge and it doesn’t change how he thinks of someone

-It’s just kinda like “yeah they do that sometimes; it’s part of their charm”

-Will stim with someone absentmindedly; he is just inherently a copy cat

Gandalf:

-Obviously he knows all the shit and doesn’t discriminate against anyone

-Violently protective if someone makes an inconsiderate, presumptuous, or offensive comment

-Gives kind advice if someone is struggling; but he won’t be overbearing or draw a lot of attention to it

-Ik for some people it is part of their identity and he respects that, but he isn’t going to make jokes or anything (like example: a majority of my friends, which isn’t a lot tbh, are autistic and I joke with them that clearly I have ✨a type✨)

———————————————————————

I personally have my own struggles and experience with my own mental health but I am not the most educated despite this. I know my own diagnoses pretty well but it’s only a small amount compared to the vast number of different disorders.

If anything in here is written in a way that is offensive please let me know; I try my best but it’s entirely possible I am blinded to certain things

Anyway love everyone and I hope you all are doing well :)