#support groups for people with depression

[cinnamonest]

I assume this is because I criticized Kamala Harris in my last post.

I want to address this because it's important to me and frustrations currently consuming my life, and I'm very emotionally unwell right now. I want to share my experiences and make a point I feel is important at this time.

Once again, this is very unfitting of the smut fanfiction blog and will be deleted later, even though I'm sure this is a huge follower-losing post, but whatever.

Forgive me for rambling so much, but I encourage you and people who think like this to read in entirety.

I realize things are tense right now in the US.

Part of the reason for my inactivity the past while (besides multiple hospitalizations) is that I'm glued to my screen every night now because I'm very scared. I've been spending all my time researching, watching videos from economists, etc.

(Preemptively, sources for everything I'm about to say: the FEMA Privacy Act Statement itself, the official CPB database, Helene People Finder, United States Council of Foreign Relations, Samaritan's Purse, NYC.gov, Starlink, Politico, ABC, CNBC, georgia.gov, nc.gov, tn.gov, my own life)

The US is an extremely high-tension, polarized political climate, largely due to the bipartisan system.

However, no one should be immune from criticism.

All politicians should be criticized when they do harm. I am allowed to criticize her, and I will.

Criticizing one candidate is not the same thing as endorsing/supporting their opposition.

3,000+ Appalachians are missing. The current death toll makes this the deadliest single event in the US since 1862. A higher death toll than Hurricane Katrina, a higher death toll than the events of 9/11/2001, a higher death toll than any mass shooting.

However, it is largely going completely ignored, and mainstream news media has barely acknowledged it, in part due to elections, but largely because the people who live in Appalachia are poor, rural people. And the harsh reality is that poor people's lives are not treated with the same value as people of higher classes.

FEMA continues to do nothing, and the feds are now threatening to take children away from homeless parents... yet they blocked donations of trailers and campers from nearby areas that would help those people to, you know, not be homeless. A kind group of Amish have come down from Pennsylvania to build shelters, and FEMA may tear them down too since they don't have "permits."

Harris had the opportunity to do something, and has the authority to order FEMA agents to act differently, but she chose to exploit the situation for publicity, then leave and otherwise ignore them. She then went on to pay Beyonce $10,000,000 to speak for 5 minutes.

That deserves to be criticized.

Her campaign continues to claim a good economy and job market, when inflation and cost of living has peaked, and just this month, their policies actually have officially led to one of the worst employment outcomes the United States has seen since the Great Depression, disproportionately affecting low-income workers.

That deserves to be criticized.

She has a bad track record during her time in the judicial system for the way her actions harshly affected underprivileged people, especially Jamal Trulove, who was terribly wronged.

That deserves to be criticized.

Furthermore, the reason FEMA/the government does not have money for Appalachia is for a few reasons, all of which were ordered, facilitated or allowed by the current administration:

1) we've sent over $100 BILLION to the IDF so they can keep blowing up hospitals and kindergartens,

2) we sent $175 BILLION to Zelensky so he can keep sending young men into violent deaths even if its against their will,

3) we just sent $100+ million to Lebanon even after the hurricane crisis, meaning the federal government explicitly chose to prioritize foreign aid over its own people,

4) money was taken directly from FEMA reserves for crises like ours, and used as part of a whopping $150,000,000,000 spent on mass migration — including free flights, a $20 million welcome center with a free-use "game room" with dozens of Xboxes plus free food/lodging, and in NY, an average of $1400 prepaid debit card per individual each month.

Meanwhile, Appalachians get a one-time $750 per family, and if you have insurance to cover anything, it's a LOAN you have to pay back (many "fact-checkers" are claiming this is false when its literally in the FEMA eligibility statement). Many of the independent line workers FEMA hired for repairs are reporting they have not been paid AT ALL since starting.

In other words, the money that was specifically reserved for saving lives in times of crisis was spent on video games and free money handouts.

That, holy hell, deserves to be criticized.

Secondly, I want to address the message itself.

I realize that a lot of the american tumblr userbase is 1) people young enough that they're still partially financially dependent on parents and/or 2) are, like most of the US statistically, earning middle-class incomes, and live in fairly population-dense environments.

Most people outside the US, on the other hand, are getting their perceptions of life, politics, etc in the US from the posts/narratives of people within the aforementioned groups, popular culture, and their own local media, so their perspective is often quite limited, to no fault of their own. I'm sure my perspective of life in other countries is also very limited.

Most of you live in places other than where I live, and live very different lives from mine. As humans, we are naturally prone to subconsciously assuming the lives of others are not too different from our own, and do not naturally stop to consider how various factors might affect people's lives and decisions.

We are social beings, prone to adopting the beliefs of others who have the same experiences and thereby the same limited perspectives as us, especially in ideologically homogenous environments.

However, I have just as much of a voice as anyone else.

My hope is that I can use my words and experience to foster empathy for one another between different people in a very polarized climate at a very tense time.

I'm originally from a fairly rural community of about 8,000 people, largely low-income, low-education, evangelical blue-collar workers and farmers, in the Bible Belt.

It is well-known that this demographic overwhelmingly voted for Trump. I don't deny that. I visit home a lot, I see the yard signs everywhere, flags hanging from pickup trucks and farm fenceposts, lots of red hats.

There is a reason for that.

The administration of the past four years has utterly destroyed many rural, low-income communities.

It caused a huge spike in job layoffs, leading to homelessness, drug abuse, hunger and poverty for many already low-income people, and for select communities, violent crime.

I'm fortunate enough to have had parents better off than most of the community, but I'm self-sufficient now, and I am in the bottom 20% of incomes in the US, even with a degree. I could write endless paragraphs on how hard it is to get by, but to summarize for the sake of shortening — it's very, very rough.

Everything has become drastically more expensive, very rapidly over the course of a few years. Groceries are 3x their 2021 prices. I had to get a guarantor for a one-bedroom apartment.

Many rural families resort to drastic measures to get by. Small farmers are being financially strangled out of their way of life.

The actions of the Biden-Harris administration is the reason a huge portion of my extended family was laid off and now face total destitution, as there are simply no jobs left available.

The Biden-Harris border and crime policies are responsible for the brutal rape of a significant number of women and girls in this geographic region. Statistically, these rapes have quadrupled compared to the previous administration.

A woman was raped and stabbed to death about a mile from where I live.

Our nearby neighbor, a cow farmer back home, was attacked on his own property.

I have personally faced multiple instances of sexual harassment and aggression, some of which were very frightening. I know other girls nearby experienced the same or worse.

Alcoholism and hard drugs due to the spike in unemployment and poverty has ruined many lives, and help is often hard to access in rural regions.

A woman my mom was acquainted with ended her own life in 2023 because her children were taken from her due to her drug addiction and poverty. People I played with on the church playground as kids are now unemployed heroin addicts.

I've watched my mom driven to tears after realizing how drastically her income tax increased, and how little she has left after them despite working around the clock.

All of these can be traced back to the policies and actions of the current administration, and the current Harris-Walz platform's proposals will drastically increase it all — largely voted for by people who live in economic situations and locations as such that they are fairly unaffected by these consequences, so they may not understand how it affects these people.

I could write endless paragraphs of all the people I know who have been at best negatively affected, at worst utterly ruined, by the current administration.

Since I have the unique background of understanding these people whilst having more liberal values as an individual, with a broad range of people I interact with now, I have tried to have discussions on this over the last year or so, in real life and virtually. I believed that raising awareness would make people on the left-leaning side empathize with them, and inspire dialogue to work to implement ways to account for the concerns and needs of the rural poor, and incorporate that into their existing proposals.

I was incorrect. I've been very polite and respectful in how I address others in these discussions. In the vast majority of interactions, I was not given the same in return.

A few were receptive, which I appreciate, but in most of my experiences, the same group that is known for encouraging empathy, apparently doesn't apply that philosophy to people they dislike — no matter how I presented it, they immediately rushed to demonize, censor, humiliate, shame and gaslight me, and expressed callous apathy at best, if not active contempt, for my people.

They say "that doesn't happen," and I think they genuinely believe that due to limited perspective — but the reality is that they're simply in a position of privilege as such that it isn't happening to them.

Similarly, what you have to understand is that from the perspective of many rural people in red areas, their experience is that more privileged people inflicted this suffering on them by voting for it, then silence and shame them for speaking out about it.

Likewise, they also have a limited perspective — for them, the issue I see is that they adamantly believe the "other side" is already well-aware of the effects their choices have on others. I don't think this is true, I think many on the other end are unaware of these issues.

This dual lack of understanding creates mutual resentment and bitterness, which fuels tension.

I will say that trying to explain how girls in my community were assaulted or my own harassment, only to have it spammed with replies along the lines of "don't care" or "deserved" or calling me a liar, seeing posts mocking or wishing harm on people like my family accumulate tens of thousands of likes, having people I care about referred to as "trailer trash," passive-aggressive statements implying I'm too unattractive for a man to harass — this, along with other distasteful actions I've seen, has pushed me away from the left as a community, and I don't think that's unreasonable.

Similarly, labeling people you know nothing about as bad people, without making any effort to understand their circumstances or what they actually believe and why, will drive people away and make them resentful.

My community is multiracial, women are highly valued in southern culture for various reasons, and they themselves are marginalized and underprivileged. They're kind people who have been good to me.

I haven't really met any people who are hateful, nor is hate the reason for their votes — they're all voting as they do because they are scared, exhausted, grieving and desperate. A lot of people in the area never voted before, but are now registering to vote in droves because they feel their backs are against the wall, so to speak.

Moreover, Orange Man himself redirected $14 million dollars to Appalachia, continues to raise awareness for them in speeches, and Musk, who is associated with him, has a team working to help Appalachians. He's also the only noteworthy figure that has acknowledged certain issues affecting them.

They realize that the situation in Appalachia could just as easily be them in the future, that they'd be given the same treatment.

This has resulted in a lot of rural poor people feeling that he cares more for their lives, compared to Biden/Harris who more or less neglected them. Which, considering that, is a fairly reasonable conclusion on their end.

Finally, it is true that blue voters tend to be in favor of abolishing or ruining crucial aspects of our way of life that, I say this politely, they do not fully understand, while the people here want to preserve their way of life.

So, while I have more liberal values that differ from most people back home, I don't believe they are bad people. They are reacting very reasonably to the circumstances they're in.

All I ask of others is to consider, no matter where you are or what beliefs you align with, and no matter what happens tomorrow, that the "other side" to your own may not be the evil people you have been led to believe they are, but are humans whose lives are simply different from yours, and they are acting in accordance to their experiences, circumstances, and fears.

The growing trend of demonizing political opposition with no attempt at empathy, only creates more pain in the world. I hope this has helped to foster better understanding, and that people can be kind to one another.

That is all I wanted to say.

[read-marx-and-lenin]

Fascism is a militant counter-revolutionary movement that emerges to oppose genuine revolutionary threats to capitalism through co-opting popular discontent and redirecting the energy into fervent nationalism. Trump certainly seems like the kind of person who would enjoy being a leader of such a movement, but you don't create one through rhetoric alone. The US has backed countless fascist groups abroad, but since the political situation domestically has always been one of bipartisan support for capitalism and imperialism with genuine revolutionary movements remaining on the fringes at best, there's never been a need for the bourgeoisie to upset the status quo. The closest we got was the Business Plot back in the 30s, during the Great Depression and its many social and political upheavals. People may have complaints about the economy now, but we are not living through another Great Depression just yet.

The goals of fascism are not extraordinarily different from the goals of imperialism, mind you. The US has never needed to be fascist in order to commit countless atrocities both domestically and abroad. Fascism was inspired at least partially by US colonialism and imperialism. Hitler's Lebensraum and eastern expansion were directly emulating Manifest Destiny, and Japan's imperial expansion emulated both the UK and the US. There has been no shortage of terrible things that the status quo of bourgeois imperialism has supported, and trying to draw a clear line between "normal" imperialism and fascism is an exercise in futility.

Trump does not need to suspend or eliminate liberal democracy in order to achieve his goals. He does not need to ban the Democratic Party because the Democratic Party is not fundamentally opposed to the goals of the Republican Party and will not offer up militant resistance to anything Trump does. The Republican Party is not operating under the assumption that there is a major class divide in the US that needs to be mediated. The white settler proletariat is still by and large in lockstep with the white settler bourgeoisie, and this will continue to be the case so long as imperial spoils keep pouring into the imperial core.

As I said in the original post, the break with all this that will create the opportunity for fascism is the same event that will create the opportunity for socialism. It is important for us to be prepared and organized and educated so we can recognize what is happening and hopefully strangle fascism in its cradle. The Black Hundreds in Russia were disorganized and fragmented when the Bolsheviks came into power, and few remember them today. The socialists and communists were disorganized and fragmented in Italy and Germany, and even though Mussolini was killed by communist partisans, the communists were utterly defeated in Italy and it was only through the help of the Soviets that German communism could even survive in East Germany.

Without an ideological commitment to opposing and dismantling capitalism and imperialism, a political movement cannot attack fascism at its root. Without a commitment to understanding how capitalism and imperialism have been successfully opposed in the past, a political movement cannot succeed in opposing them in the future. Without organizational discipline and the support of the people, a political movement cannot gain the momentum necessary to oppose anything.

Trump is not a fascist and the US is not going to turn into a fascist dictatorship in the next four years. However, the foundations of fascism have already been laid and exist in any bourgeois democracy. It is important for us to be active and organizing regardless of whether or not fascism is just around the corner, because the material conditions that can lead to fascism are the same ones that can lead to socialist revolution. If we do not put in the work to build our own strength now, if we do not actively support and educate our fellow workers and community members, then we will be overrun once fascism actually arrives.

If you aren't part of a socialist organization yet, then join one. If you don't have one near you, then start one. If you're already part of one, then make sure not to squander what will likely be a surge of momentum for the left. Remember that theory guides practice, but practice refines theory.

[igetthedisneybox]

Extended Encanto Family Trees

I made families for Alma, Pedro, Augustín, Félix, and Mariano from some background characters and concept art. Based on @hannahhook7744's version, here

Pedro's Family:

These are Pedro's parents, Josefa "Mariposa" Madrigal, and Jorge Bravo.

Mariposa was nicknamed for her lighthearted attitude, colorful hair, and graceful body language. She was also incredibly free-spirited, and wanted to walk her own path. She believed heavily in magic and miracles, as well as the belief that good things happen to good people.

Jorge was a bit of a coward, who disliked conflict. He was also incredibly superstitious, and spent the rest of his life as a paranoid shut-in after Pedro's birth.

Jorge was a handy man, who specialized in construction work, while Mariposa was an orphan, who worked for the church that raised her. Pedro was born out of wedlock, which was a huge no-no back then. Mariposa and Jorge were both freshly adults, and spent a passionate night together, which resulted in Pedro. Jorge fled not only Mariposa, but the whole village when he found out that she was pregnant.

Due to the circumstances of his conception, and to avoid tarnishing her reputation, Mariposa raised Pedro in the church with the help of the nuns, in secret. The story was that Pedro was an orphan, and Mariposa was helping to take care of him.

Despite this, Mariposa loved Pedro unconditionally, and imparted an important belief onto him: Love is magic, which is how the Miracle happens later: from love.

She ends up dying when Pedro is just thirteen years old, from an unspecified illness.

Luckily, at that time, Pedro had learned enough skills to support himself, and his "aunts" the nuns, helped him along as well, until he met Alma, when he was nineteen.

Jorge lived a lot longer, only dying a few years before Mirabel was born, from a heart attack. He fled to the city, and spent the rest of his life as a shut in, never leaving his house, for fear that he would be crushed for his sins.

Pepa gets both her looks, and her name from her Abuela (Pepa is a short form of Josefa).

Alma's Family:

Alma's family is rather large, so I split it up into four parts. First are her parents, Avila Romero and Hernando Cadenza, her twin brother, Raimi, and Raimi's wife, Rosa Peña.

Avila and Hernando had lived in the village their entire lives, and had been planning to get married even when they were children. They both were very traditional, and raised Raimi and Alma to be so as well. They were extremely strict and no-nonsense, especially to Alma, because as a girl, she would be expected to behave differently than Raimi.

Despite this strictness, the twins never felt unloved or unwanted. Hernando had a soft spot for Alma especially, and would let her get away with "un-ladylike" things when Avila was out.

(Side tangent: This is partially why Alma acts the way she does in the film. She always just assumed her family knew she loved them, even when she was being awful to them, because she knew her own parents loved her when they were being strict/unfair. She really needed to learn to communicate her love to her family better, since her behavior towards them was far more egregious than her own parents' was.)

Hernando died when Alma and Raimi were sixteen, when he got into an altercation with a man who would eventually become one of the raiders later on.

Avila died only a few months later, from "a broken heart", really just a bout of depression leading to her dying of malnutrition from not eating.

After their parent's deaths, the twins needed to earn a living for themselves. Raimi joined a group of men traveling to the city for work, where he met Rosa Peña and her family (who I will get back to,) and started working at their inn, sending the majority of his earnings back home to Alma.

Alma meanwhile, did domestic jobs around the village as supplemental income, and at age eighteen, met and fell for Pedro, getting married and having the triplets when she was nineteen.

Raimi and Alma sent each other letters religiously for three years after their separation, but they started to drift apart as they grew their own families, which is why Alma never tried to contact the city after the Encanto was born. She figured Raimi would be better off without her.

The last letter Raimi ever got from his sister was the announcement of her pregnancy. Then, he heard about the attack on the village, and the thousands of people who went missing, including his twin and her husband.

He mourned, but had to move on, for the sake of his wife and sons.

Alma's family part two, mainly focusing on Raimi and the Peñas.

So, the Peña family has a bit of an issue: they're cursed with luck. Both good, and bad.

There are two Peña children born each generation. One is blessed with extreme good luck, and the other, extreme bad luck.

Rosa, Raimi's wife, is the good luck child. She's had fifteen near death experiences, but has always come out unscathed. Her baby brother Benito on the other hand...he's the bad luck one. Nothing ever goes right for this poor guy. (more on him later)

Rosa and Raimi married when he was eighteen and she was twenty, and their son, Erasmo, was born soon after. Erasmo is the good luck child, and is jovial, kind, and kinda quirky.

Five years later, Enrique, their second son, was born. He's the bad luck child, and is shy, withdrawn, and...still quirky, honestly. He and Bruno get along very well when they meet.

Erasmo fell in love with and married resident daredevil Carolina "fuck gender norms" De La Cruz (no relation to Coco), and they had their own kids, Matteo (good luck) and Yésica (bad luck).

Matteo grew up completely spoiled and somehow ended up as kind of a dick. Yésica on the other hand is kind, but stern. She knows accidents can happen to even the luckiest, and takes every day with optimistic caution.

Matteo met and married Reina Estrada, the spoiled heiress of a dress making company getting big quick. Their marige is strained by arguments and disagreements, because of how similar they were.

They had three daughters: Inés, the good luck child, and Juno and Julia, bad luck twins. Because they're twins, the bad luck is shared between them, so Juno and Julia don't feel the affects of it too bad.

Inés is the perfect golden child. She is beautiful, spoiled, and a typical "mean girl." She's incredibly jelous of the Madrigals and their gifts.

Juno and Julia are troublemakers, even outside of their inherit bad luck. They enjoy causing mischief, and so get along with the younger Madrigal cousins.

Benito meanwhile, never married or had any children, until he found an abandonded baby on the roof of the inn one day. He named her Faustina, and hoped that she would inherit the good luck gene. She did not, but she also doesn't really care? She's cheerful, despite her bad luck, and always looks on the sunny side.

Augustín's Family:

Here are Augustín's parents, Valentína Huerta and Wilmar Rojas.

Valentína is soft and sweet, and loves her family very much. (Mirabel is her favorite, don't @ her.) She finds strength in kindness and understanding, and takes forgiveness very seriously.

Wilmar on the other hand is a brick wall. He's fast and hard in his decisions, and it's near impossible to change his mind. He's opinionated, and while he loves and protects his family fiercely, he can be offputting at times. (He's basically your average republican grandpa)

Valentína and Wilmar came to the village from the city on the day of the attack. They barely stepped foot in the village before it was being evacuated.

At first, not a lot of people from the village trusted them, but Wilmar proved their worth by helping make all of the houses for the villagers.

Wilmar's passion was sport hunting, and so he has many dead stuffed creatures on display in his home, which were brought to life many years later by his granddaughter, Zoe.

Félix's Family:

These are Félix's parents, Maura Montoya and Fernando Castillo, and his much younger brother, Gabriel.

Maura is from the Caribbean, and is a calm and patient woman (she has to be, with sons like the ones she has), but isn't afraid to stand up for her own morals and desires.

Fernando is an upstanding guy, who is prone to turn everything into a joke. He has a taste for the finer things in life, and has a small jewelry collection.

Fernando lived in the village his whole life, and Maura moved in a few years before the raid. They got married and had Félix two years before.

Gabriel was born almost sixteen years after Félix, and is very curious about everything. He likes to push the limits of the rules (and Maura's patience) just for fun, and wants to adventure outside of the Encanto.

Mariano's Family:

In a tweet, Jarred Bush said that Mariano was meant to have a large family, and each member was to be a foil of a Madrigal cousin (except Mirabel, who would be represented by a goat). I took that idea and ran with it.

I named his mother Abigaíl. She and her husband were among the Encanto's founders, and thought they couldn't have children, which is why Abigaíl is so much older than the triplets, who have children of a similar age. Mariano's father wasn't the best man, and emotionally--then physically--abused Abigaíl and her nieces and nephews. Once she got pregnant and found the courage to leave him, he was imprisioned for the crime of abuse, before he took his own life.

Abigaíl is also responsible for her brother's children. Her brother and his wife both died climbing the mountains, trying to leave the Encanto. Her nieces are Isidora, Débora, and Lucía. Her nephews are Camino and Angelino. Camino is also married to a woman named Marcela.

Isidora is the opposite of Isabela: level headed, traditional, romantic, basically Isa's "señorita perfecta" persona, but as an actual person.

Débora is the opposite of Dolores: loud, opinionated, unromantic, stubborn, unobservant, etc etc.

Lucía is the opposite of Luisa: lazy, uncaring, selfish, vain, etc etc.

Camino is the opposite of Camilo: serious, hardworking, stern, etc etc.

Angelino is the opposite of Antonio: older, kind of mean, scared of animals, etc etc.

Marcela is also there. She and Camino have twins, Adelmo and Adela, who like to play in Pepa's clouds.

[kattvez]

Heil Trump! 100 years on repeat.

This might make you pause and think, "No way—that could NEVER happen again!" But let’s look more closely, because the similarities are alarmingly real. Germany didn’t turn into Nazi Germany overnight; it was a slow descent, almost imperceptible at first. You may have heard the analogy of a frog in a pot of water, where the temperature rises so gradually that the frog doesn’t realize it’s being boiled alive until it’s too late. That’s what happened in Nazi Germany—and it’s what we risk today in the United States if we don’t pay attention to the warning signs.

In the early 1930s, many Germans, including Jewish citizens, dismissed Hitler as a passing phenomenon. They thought he was just a fringe figure—a "spook" who would fade away. They believed his extremist views wouldn’t gain traction. But Hitler’s appeal grew as he presented himself as a charismatic leader promising to restore Germany’s glory. His message was simple: make Germany great again. Sound familiar?

With the world reeling from the Great Depression, Hitler gained widespread support through his protectionist economic policies, offering a vision of economic relief and national revival. Many Germans, desperate for stability, ignored the darker, insidious rhetoric that came with his promises. Today, millions of Americans, feeling left behind by globalization and the rise of the tech economy, similarly turn to promises of economic revival and national pride. Like in 1930s Germany, the allure of quick fixes to complex problems can make people overlook the dangerous ideologies lurking beneath the surface.

One of Hitler’s key strategies was to undermine core democratic institutions, eroding public trust in Germany’s legal and political framework. We’re seeing echoes of this in Donald Trump’s actions. As both a candidate and a former president, Trump has repeatedly undermined the credibility of institutions when they don’t align with his interests—the courts, the electoral process, even the certification of an election. His rhetoric suggests that any institution not serving his goals is suspect, creating a divide in the public’s trust in these democratic systems.

A hallmark of Trump’s approach has been his relentless attack on the media, branding it as “fake news” whenever it criticizes him or his policies. The Nazis used a similar tactic, calling independent journalists the “Lügenpresse,” or "lying press." In both cases, this tactic seeks to sow doubt about any information that challenges the leader’s narrative. By discrediting the media, both Hitler and Trump attempt to shape reality to fit their own agendas, isolating their followers from independent sources of truth.

Scapegoating minorities has also been a disturbing common thread. Hitler blamed Jewish people for Germany's economic problems, stirring up public resentment against them as the "internal enemies" of the nation. Trump has similarly focused on specific groups, notably undocumented immigrants, portraying them as the root of America's economic and social issues. He has created a crisis around illegal immigration, expanding the role of ICE to target this group, often painting them as threats to safety, jobs, and stability. Today, similar tactics are being used against transgender individuals, who represent a tiny fraction of the population but have become a focal point of political and social resentment. Trump's rhetoric fuels these hostilities, using marginalized communities as scapegoats to rally support and divert attention from more complex issues.

Furthermore, Hitler relied on affiliated militias like the SA and SS to intimidate opponents and enforce Nazi ideology. Trump, while not formally organizing militias, has encouraged self-recruiting groups and militias, famously asking them to “stand by” during moments of tension, as seen during the January 6th Capitol riot. His cozy relationships with authoritarian leaders, like Putin, echo the alliances between Hitler and Mussolini, reinforcing the dangerous allure of authoritarianism.

The situation today may even be more dangerous because of technology. In the past, hateful rhetoric and propaganda required physical presence at rallies or the reading of pamphlets. Now, hateful content—whether anti-Semitic, anti-trans, or racist—finds its way to people’s screens, reaching millions in an instant. Algorithms amplify divisive content, pushing more extreme narratives into the mainstream, often without individuals even seeking it out.

It’s easy to believe that “it could never happen here,” but history shows that democracy is fragile, and small shifts in public sentiment, unchecked power, and targeted scapegoating can lead to devastating consequences. The parallels between Germany’s descent into Nazism and aspects of today’s political culture are a reminder of the importance of vigilance, empathy, and a commitment to protecting democratic values before it’s too late.

[charmwasjess]

My tiny mountain town is a blue dot swallowed up in a sea of red. Our statistically-irrelevant town went for Harris. The larger counties around us all went for Trump. Here’s what this election looked like in the southeastern Appalachian on the front lines of that cultural divide: 

Outright unprosecuted voter intimidation: in the few blocks walk from my house to downtown, I can see a prop skeleton dressed as a Harris supporter hanging from a noose, and Harris yard signs slashed with a knife, others just ripped down to the cardboard.

Gerrymandering - years ago, these little-known poorer districts were redrawn around population centers in ways that give likely Republican strongholds more weight, particularly in rural areas like mine. Republican lawmakers literally have opened prisons in rural counties in my state to artificially inflate population numbers with people who can’t vote due to their felon status to tip the scales.  

Of course, the Electoral college, where US votes are decided by weight of a state’s respective collective population and importance rather than just the counted individuals votes

I’m not making excuses. I echo the rest of the world’s collective disgust and horror about the outcome. I am literally sick with my country. People will die because of this. People who don’t live here, people who didn’t get a choice or stake in the US elections, and who probably wish they’d never heard of the place. And people in my own community. 

Yet it is so easy to picture this election as the ultimate triumph of laziness and inattention, particularly in “ignorant hillbilly” places like where I live, which generally go for Trump without any fight - at least not one that shows up on an election night map. But the Republican right has been working for decades to put the legal, economic, and societal pressures that lead to this in place here. 

We fought hard. Grassroots campaigners, our organizers of LGBTQIA+ groups, leaders in our communities who showed up despite the fact that it put a target on their backs if shit went bad. Teachers fighting Republican-led mandates of ignorance and racism to choke out any thinking that might interfere with their political goals for their ideal voter base. Librarians who get death threats for having kid’s books dealing with gender or queerness in the public libraries. 

These are not imagined examples, these are things that happen to real people I know in my tiny blue community. And the violent, right-wing party, the party that promised to make this second Trump term one of revenge and retribution, knows who those people are too. 

The Charlottesville “Ignite the Right” attack happened in my backyard. I had friends on that street when a self-described neo nazi drove into a crowd and killed Heather Heyer and injured 35 others. Trump was president when it happened; he called the alt-right who invaded Charlottesville with guns and armor and torches that day “good people.” 

I have no faith in my party now. It feels like we’re still trying to play a game we lost years ago, while the other side is busy winning a new game, one where they get to make up all the rules. 

I realize that there are greater global trends at play - incumbents being ousted, a swing to the right, post-pandemic economic scrambles - larger issues than the difficulties of voter suppression in my rural American communities. I'm not in a great mindset to consider them this week. I've been politically active since I was old enough to vote, and it feels like we always build so much momentum and then slam facefirst into this fucking invisible wall.

Honestly? I’m so tired and depressed and anxious, I feel like I can barely function right now. At the same time, I’m disgusted by my own despair and whining. What gives me the right to stop trying now, when so many people across the globe are facing the same anger and exhaustion? When so many people are in more active danger, with less options than I have?

Anyway, I wanted to write something out about the election, maybe just to let go of the words and get them out of me. I'm a queer politically active liberal in a Republican-dominated rural space. Next week, I'll read all the posts about hard work and hope and building support networks. This week, I just need a fucking minute on the floor.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

Dr Aspa Paltoglou hears from physician Dr David Joffe about what’s needed from our discipline; from Janina Bradshaw about what Psychotherapists can do; and from occupational therapist Kirsty Stanley.

Iam a psychologist – a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University – and I have felt a bit useless in the last five years. From where I stand, I can see overwhelming evidence that Covid-19 has terrible and long-term consequences for people's health, and I have questioned whether Psychology is the specialism holding the key to dealing with Covid-19.

Many times I have wished I was a virologist, or an engineer that could help clean indoor air, or somebody that could develop vaccines against Covid-19, so that I could contribute to the eradication of Covid-19 and successful interventions for Long Covid. Or maybe a politician, so that I can pass laws for issues such as universal masking in healthcare and other public settings, clean indoor air in all public spaces, more research grants on Covid-19 vaccines and for Long Covid interventions.

I have written for The Psychologist about my personal approach to continuing pandemic precautions, and the support I have received in this. But there's another side to that – the Covid misinformation and minimisation I have seen. The idea that Covid poses no greater risk to the large majority of the population than the flu, which is simply not true. The overemphasis on the negative impacts of lockdowns, over the fact that there were 'no good options' at the time and without such measures many more would have died. Sometimes there is no mention of the possibility that Covid-19 infections could be responsible for cognitive deficits and decline in the population. Some people continue to suggest that Long Covid is primarily a psychological disease. The notion that ME (which has considerable overlap with Long Covid) can be treated by graded exercise and CBT has contributed to deterioration and death of patients – have we learned nothing?

And here's the thing: from what I have seen, Psychologists themselves have not been immune to this minimising of Covid, or the sharing of misinformation. With that in mind, I was keen to seek out broader conversations around the edges of our discipline, to ask other professionals how Psychology can support themto deliver effective care to Long Covid patients.

First, I contacted Dr David Joffe, a physician, researcher and Vice-Chair of the World Health Network Long Covid Working Group.

Thanks for your time, David. Can we start with one area where you think psychological help is important for Long Covid sufferers?

Yes. There are several examples of cognitive and emotional impairments associated with Covid-19 infections and Long Covid. We already know that the fronto-temporal injury mediated by hypoperfusion – decreased blood flow through an organ – will considerably affect mood. The incident rate of post-infectious depression is considerable. There are also several ways repeated in which Covid infections can lead to cognitive impairments and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. Similarly, Yunhe Wang and colleagues noted in Naturethis year that 'compared with contemporary controls, infected participants had higher subsequent risks of incident mental health at 1 year, including psychotic, mood, anxiety, alcohol use and sleep disorders, and prescriptions for antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers and opioids.'

The incidence of PTSD as a consequence of prolonged Intensive Care exposure and a life-threatening illness are also vital to consider. That can sometimes manifest as 'survivor guilt'. Furthermore, injury to the hippocampus and amygdala have been clearly established and are linked to PTSD.

There is also clear evidence of Dopa Senescence with rising cases of REM sleep Behaviour Disorder and an increase speed of neurodegenerative processes following infection. The integrative role of dopamine and serotonin imbalance are clearly another marker of this process.

What is Dopa Senescence?

Yang and colleagues recently demonstrated direct Dopamine cell aging and death. The usual pathways of cellular recovery are damaged. The virus causes direct cell death, but also prevents the usual cascade of enzymatic repair from being activated… hence the term senescence. This is what we are so worried about. I have 20+ Long Covid patients with laboratory-confirmed REM sleep Behaviour Disorder. The average age is about 40. It's primarily a condition we used to see in older men with a high rate of Parkinson's or Lewy Body Dementia. Will they be the same? Time will tell.

Which psychological therapies could be relevant, and why?

We need psychotherapists and other psychological practitioners to treat phobias and PTSD. Many Long-Covid sufferers have significant issues with phobia related to the risks of repeated infections in a world devoid of mitigation. It's essential we get supportive psychological therapy, from CBT to strategies to improve impulse control and reduced socialisation.

Addressing the phobias could help them continue taking effective Covid-19 precautions, such as wearing well-fitted respirators, without any unwanted psychological distress.

What else would be helpful?

Therapies such as Dream Rehearsal Therapy and other non-pharmacological treatments have been used for a long time, and are known to be very effective in treating some psychological disorders such as PTSD in parallel with pharmacotherapy. We need Neuropsychologists to measure cognitive challenges and suggest therapies.

In terms of research, as a Sleep Physician with expertise in neurocognitive dysfunction and driving in OSA, there's a critical role of Neuropsychologists for both primary and secondary evaluation of metrics, such as short-term memory, attention, concentration, visuospatial agnosia and apraxia. Repeated measures following a therapeutic intervention, or merely as a guide to rate of progression will be critical. At this point, there is little data to determine the risk and rate of progression in those with prior normal function. We just don't know.

Are there also emerging concerns as the virus changes?

Yes – with the Omicron variant, the evidence for greater neurotropism (i.e. the ability of a virus to invade the nervous system) has been realised. And there is a growing concern of rising ADHD as a consequence of direct putamen injury. This will have considerable implications for those practising in Educational and Child Psychology.

Last but not least, the toll on partners who are now carers, and kids who have disabled parents, should not be underestimated. Couples Counselling and Supportive Family Counselling should be considered crucial. These roles have been underestimated and severely underfunded. I have mentioned the damage to kids. They are not protected against Long Covid. As an Adult Physician, I am not positioned to advise in this regard, but they have been poorly treated in general.

Would you also have an overall message for our readers?

Yes. Although we need the input of Psychologists, please do not psychologise ME/CFS or Long Covid. The Psychology community needs to understand that this is a direct organic, neurological condition, with a plethora of complex outcomes, including severe consequences for autonomy and quality of life. The presence of depression, dementia, and PSTD are clearly evident from the vast body of literature.

The ME/CSF community have long railed against the 'Psychologising' of their conditions. The evidence for interventions such as Graded Exercise and CBT in isolation have been questioned and debunked. That community were right to warn us of potential missteps being repeated for a condition with vastly more neurological sequelae, and immense disability.

It is crucial that issues around plans for Rehabilitation and 'Return to Work' strategies appreciate that the vast majority of Long Covid patients will never achieve anything close to their prior function. Mental and physical pacing, reducing workload, and supporting people to manage these tasks can be helpful strategies. But there needs to be a recognition that these patients will likely not return to baseline.

Clinicians cannot manage the psychological damage alone. Psychologists must be properly educated and informed to realise the consequences. Let's see the back of those that consider this a malingering condition, or one that will improve with 'a bit of CBT'.

Thank you Dr Joffe for your insightful comments… I think they will empower practitioners and researchers to focus their efforts in the right direction. Long Covid is a physiological condition with some psychological and neurological consequences; Psychologists can help address these consequences, but we should not expect psychological therapies to be anywhere near sufficient to treat Long Covid.

There is still a lot we don't know about Long Covid. We need to learn, fast, and get this right as Psychologists.

Next, I approached Psychotherapist Janina Bradshaw. Here's what she had to say.

Long Covid or Post-Covid condition is a complex and multi-faceted syndrome, with over 200 symptoms listed under this broad umbrella term. The latest figures from ONS suggest at least two million people in the UK may have this condition. This includes over 100,000 children and young people. It is a massive and growing problem.

Many with the condition feel neglected and overlooked by the medical establishment – research is under-funded and there are no known cures (although there are some treatments and therapeutics in trial).

There is a danger that Long-Covid (LC) could be psychologised, in a similar way to CFS/ME – which is also a complex condition which for many years has been viewed as being of largely psychological aetiology. It has sometimes seemed that with a very complex condition that we don't know much about, if medicine doesn't have the answer, it must be the patient that is 'at fault'. We might see this as medical gaslighting. Given that government and the medical establishment's response to Covid can appear to be to downplay the ongoing impact, many with LC may be left feeling disenfranchised, rejected or even harmed.

I do want to emphasise that although there is some overlap in symptoms between CFS/ME and LC (particularly Fatigue, and Post Exertional Malaise [PEM]), LC is a much more heterogeneous condition than CFS/ME. Many with new onset health conditions (which includes but not limited to Diabetes, Heart Conditions such as POTS and pericarditis, Cognitive Decline and 'brain fog', other autoimmune conditions, plus the re-activation of viruses such as EBV) may not even realise that these new onset conditions are as a result of their previous Covid infections. At present, the medical establishment are not fully making these links either, despite there being many studies which point to Covid as a precipitating factor.

If you were a previously relatively health and active person, it may be assumed that this loss of health status is a major issue to adapt to. At present, we do not know if people will ever resume their previous functioning. It is the role of therapists to assist people with their process of coming to terms with this.

As a therapist, I want to stress that LC has a clear physiological basis, requiring medical input and much more research to begin to address the physical basis of this condition. However, I do think that therapy practitioners have a role in assisting LC patients in coming to terms with the grief and anger they may be feeling as a result not only of developing LC, but also due to the lack of an adequate response to the pandemic which has resulted in lack of appropriate treatments. Given that health and social care workers, teachers and others who work on the 'frontline' are over-represented in the LC population, as well as people from more deprived economic backgrounds and those from ethnic minorities and women, therapists have a role in offering a listening ear. It's about allowing expression of the grief and anger, and also acknowledging and supporting people to find their voice in the face of such systemic injustice.

Another issue I think is important to reflect on as psychotherapists is this: why are so many people so willing to accept the continuing immense impact the Covid is having on the population? My impression is that grief and trauma from the start of the pandemic, coupled with the inadequate and deceitful conduct of government, plus a lack of public health messaging, has left many people so unable to face this ongoing reality that they are heavily in denial. They are unable to grasp the very real harms that repeat Covid infections are having on them and their children. There is probably also a lot of guilt that people will have to face if they realise how their actions are contributing to this ongoing harm.

Repeated Covid infections increase the chance of developing Long Covid, so prevention should always be an important part of our strategy to deal with Long Covid. Psychotherapists could help and empower individuals to use protection such as masking and help them deal with the psychological conflicts of being one of the few to still being Covid cautious in a world that seems willing to ignore Covid-19.

From my part, I will do everything I can to help people with Long Covid. I believe psychotherapy can have a positive effect in the lives of the people that suffer from this debilitating illness.

I thank David and Janina for their thoughtful input.

Finally we spoke to Kirsty Stanley, an Independent Occupational Therapist and Health Lead at the charity Long Covid Kids, about the issues she is seeing.

Understanding the wide ranging co-morbidities that can occur following COVID-19 infection is essential for appropriate diagnosis and management. Children and young people (CYP) can display similar Long Covid symptoms to adults, but they are far less likely to be offered medications for Long Covid's common co-morbidities such as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS), instead only being offered self management options. Additionally CYP can develop Paediatric Acute Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, an equally misunderstood neuro-inflammation condition, that can initiate tics, emotional regression and hallucinations, which can respond to antibiotic treatment. Many families feel forced to seek expensive support from private practitioners. Gastrointestinal symptoms are also extremely common and can present as disordered eating but may be mistaken for eating disorders.

Post Exertional Malaise (PEM), also known as Post Exertional Symptom Exacerbation (PESE), can be a particularly troubling symptom for the CYP, their parents or caregivers and professionals to understand. The delayed onset of symptom exacerbation following physical, cognitive and emotional exertion can make it seem like CYP are functioning well. The subsequent inability to attend school due to these severe symptoms then sees some families at risk of fines or, in growing numbers of cases, referred to social care for neglect, or fabricated and induced illness claims. Whilst professionals should always be alert to the possibility of abuse, it should also be recognised that the negative and long lasting impact on families of false claims is immeasurable.

Where adults may find equipment, aids and adaptation readily provided, children have regularly been told to avoid using wheelchairs due to the risk of 'deconditioning'. We need to recognise that without vital mobility aids many can become stuck at home, or indeed in bed, unable to engage in daily life. CYP talk about the loss in friendships, as peers move on with their lives whilst they struggle to engage with activities where they need to pace or plan energy. Finding community with other disabled peers can be useful for identity – identifying as disabled is not something that should be labelled as negative.

The impact of medical gaslighting can not be underestimated. The very real risk of psychologising Long Covid is that CYP end up masking symptoms of anxiety, depression, self harm and suicidal ideation. Psychologists need to support around re-building trust with healthcare professionals, to ensure that the disbelief young people have experienced in their formative years does not continue into health inequalities in future.

Occupational Therapists are among the professionals well-placed to consider people holistically. Whilst we inevitably wait for large scale biomedical research, drug and treatment trials, we should not underestimate the positive impact that addressing the person's social environment can have. Evidence from ME/CFS demonstrates that where CYP are appropriately supported to rest and pace during their early illness they do have a significant likelihood of recovery (for multiple reasons this is sadly less likely for adults). Education for parents, caregivers, and those working in schools and colleges, can better facilitate a supportive environment where CYP are not pushed beyond their energy limitation, but facilitated to succeed within it.

Psychologists and Occupational Therapists can be advocates for the CYP voice to be heard. Together we should campaign for clean air, particularly within educational establishments, because the risk of Long Covid rises with repeated Covid-19 infections.

[saileshjain]

EduPsych: Most Reliable Depression Support Groups Online

EduPsych depression support group paves the way to share our struggle with depression which is a key step in the recovery process.

[bipolarblogss]

The worst support group peers I know are those who come with something to say for their feedback and give it no matter what is said.

[perfectlyimper4ect]

Join my site for custom art work or join because you want to help me grow a business. Or join me for shits and gigs. Join me to watch me crash and burn. Just please be my friend and come check out my forum so we can get something cool rolling around here lol

I have Astrology, Art, mental health, life tips, comedy and soon to have a supportive community. I hope to show other peoples artwork on there. The artist receiving full credit.

[fuckinmemesman]

oh my god i want to strangle this man

[nerozane]

My mum who just fled the Vietnam war and arrived late 70s when Malcom Frazer was PM was given the option to study at uni for free (she didnt because of filial piety which is why I fucking hate it culturally) as a refugee and had decent grades. Even when my sperm donor who struggled with school and was a south Viet conscript had vet support + refugee support if he wanted to pursue education (he didn't because he was a cunt + undiagnosed ADHD and addiction issues).

Now, if you're a refugee, you literally need to cough up your own money for that. And have a support network to boot, esp if you bring your family and children/dependents with you. Since those programs my parents had access to have their funding slashed by a fuckton.

Me, their spawn several generations later and born in this country? Had to cough up only $23k for student loans (not incl. inflation since HECS loans index not via interest but via inflation), and I graduated at over a decade ago. And I've been looking to go back to uni again for a career change and that amount is for a year and a half of the degree I was planning (not to mention the hardship scholarship I can qualify for has not scaled up for inflation since I was in uni either). And I did a double degree that wasn't in medicine for that $22k over ten years ago.

So yeah. I have an axe to grind with those politicians who got free education but then scrapped it for votes and to fatten the checks of their rich besties.

[corisbrainrot]

anyways. In a alternate reality where aaron is allowed Rest I feel like he would’ve eventually gone to a culinary school. Let the boy cook

[fierysword]

I found a group called Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous and the steps include making a moral inventory of yourself, admitting wrongdoings, making a list of everyone we've harmed, and continuing to take personal inventory 😭😭😭 yeah I pretty much already did that (except it was more like constant mental cycling instead of making a list) and it sent me spiraling into severe depression

and "continuing to take personal inventory" for my OCD has been to walk on eggshells and question even minor and harmless things

[im-a-freaking-joy]

Im really tempted to follow the therian tag on youtube just so I can comment on these poor kids's videos something kind and let them know that if they arent hurting anybody they can do whatever they want forever

[g8d]

i tried so hard to be kind and sweet and all of these things that are supposed to be good? and valued? but im alone again and i dont think ill ever not be

[justheretobreakthings]

Dude this is late but I was going through old tumblr notifs of your posts and… are you okay…?

To be honest as of late I've kinda been Going Through It, in terms of mental health stuff. Partly loneliness (mainly from living by myself in a new city), partly financial stress, partly frustration from lack of motivation and inspiration, partly just difficulty finding things to enjoy.

Last night it was hitting me harder than usual, but the good news is I'm feeling a bit better today. I appreciate you taking the time to message. Knowing that people out there care about my wellbeing is a comfort.