#tales from the dsm

[tales-from-syscord]

One time we got fake claimed for identifying with the term P-DID as an American-based system???? [For context, PDID is Partial DID, essentially OSDDID w/o switches or switches are VERY rare. it is in the ICD-11, not the DSM-V-(TR)]

Like, sorry for using the term that is most accurate to us??

?? Do they think that like.. disorders that are in the ICD-11 but not the DSM-V just.. don't exist in America or something?

...??

[asurrogateblog]

🫠

[steveyockey]

Clinicians spoke of the postoperative transsexual not as a person returned to health but a patient in hospice care. “It is understood in medical ethics that if a disease cannot be cured an attempt should be made to improve the stress and inconvenience of the patient”: this was Christine [Jorgensen]’s endocrinologist and psychotherapist, publishing jointly on “surgical transvestism” one year after her first operation in 1952. They held the tolerant liberal stance. For Bob Stoller, who had psychoanalytic training, this liberal ambivalence became even more pronounced: “if there were any psychiatric treatment that was even partly useful, it would probably be better than this disquieting ‘psychosurgery.’” “The general rule that applies to the treatment of the transsexual is that no matter what one does – including nothing – it will be wrong.”

Without general, repeatable, scientific pathways to health, conversion therapists entertained brief hope by gossiping specific, increasingly outlandish successes in transsexual cure. Bob praised one ex-transvestite for ceasing his dress-up after a psychotic break, brought on by his 1960s housewife granting his wish to be sodomized with a homemade strap-on. A 1977 paper from University of Tennessee med school recounts a psychiatric exorcism, where “22 evil spirits” fled a previously transsexual body, causing its newly grown breasts to disappear. These tall tales, singular, unverifiable, and downright folkloric, were final manifestations of our doctors’ despair.

The pessimistic view of transness as an end-stage cancer of the soul rapidly prevailed, entering the DSM as “Transsexualism” in 1980. This was my own, outdated diagnosis listed on my first clinical outtake form from 2018.

Hormones and surgery were palliative; cure was impossible; the only route left was prevention. In acquiescence to the incorrigibility of trans adulthood, a hip, groovy, post-Stonewall set of sexologists developed a new series of forward-thinking longitudinal studies in search of what they termed “the pretranssexual child.” Psychoanalysis had, after all, not only refined clinical homosexuality to a transgender disorder, but a disorder originating in family life.

Leah Tigers, “Little Miss Dysphoria: An Essay about Transgender Women and Madness”(2023)

[alpacahat67]

Idia Shroud is Autistic-Coded; Here's Why

Hello! Happy Autism Awareness Month! In celebration, I will be posting a wholeeee load of autistic traits I have found in Idia. This is coming from a person who, while undiagnosed, is most likely autistic.

If you have any additions, please tell me in whatever way is most convenient (comments, reblogs, asks, dms... whatever.) This list will likely be evergrowing as more events, vignettes, and story content are added to TWST. Some of these may be a stretch but ya know.

This is organized by trait for your (and my) convenience. Begins under cut!

*Warning, I am not a medical professional. I'm just autistic and for a while got fixated on autism itself. Which is why I call myself autistic... I've been researching this shit for many years lol

We'll be starting with DSM-5 requirements in order to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Then, we will move to common experiences (things that most autistic people experience, but aren't a tell-tale sign that you're autistic and aren't a requirement for a professional diagnosis.) Finally will be disorders that Idia shows symptoms of that tend to co-occur with ASD.

Numbered list will explain the traits Idia demonstrates. At the end, the diagnostic criteria specified will be stated in parentheses and quotation marks.

A) Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts...

Generally, Idia is seen to have trouble communicating with his peers if not behind a screen or while interacting with something he enjoys (such as talking about anime or playing a board game.) ("Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation...")

Idia's way of expressing emotion is difficult to pin down. He will go from speaking very quietly (and stuttering usually) in a near-monotone voice with an "emotionless" expression to talking loudly, quickly, and with a HUGE smile on his face. We don't quite get to see how he responds to nonverbal communication or how he portrays it himself (probably because it doesn't come up, or because of live2d restrictions), but we do learn that he hates eye contact I believe in his Birthday Boy vignette when he claims to hate having to laugh and make eye contact with normies (masking right there buddy go to a doctor) ("Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.")

This is where it could kinda get stretchy, partially because I for the life of me am having trouble understanding A.3. BUT. Idia is often very blunt, to the point where he's straight up rude, especially in situations where that kind of attitude is... not very helpful. See the Phantom Bride event when he chastises the boys coming to rescue him for looking disheveled after fighting for their lives, which makes them not want to rescue him despite his life being on the line (I think Ace even goes off on him for this lol.) Furthermore, the only people amongst his peers that he will indulge are Azul, Ortho and (unknowingly, and only online) Lilia. The rest he has zero interest in, whether he despises or is scared of them. They're all normies. Finally, it's shown that throughout his life he has had very little if not zero friends in real life aside from Ortho. To be fair, I don't think there were many kids his age back home lol. ("Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.")

Part one of an autism diagnosis down! Idia shows persistent deficits in each social and communication area specified through A.1-A.3. In order to be diagnosed, you also much show two out of four of restricted, repetitive behaviors specified through B.1-B.4 below.

B) Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history...

Due to live2d restrictions, we never exactly get to see Idia physically stim. (Well, I'd argue we get to see Floyd physically stim with his constant swaying back and forth, but not like they can flap their hands or anything.) This one's a stretch, but his form of verbal stimming could be the little sound effects he makes at times, mostly in book 6 actually. Specifically, his "DA DA DA DAAAAA" after explaining the plot of Star Rogue to the overblot victims in Styx as well as his "BOOM BADA BOOM BOOM BOOM! HAH!" after finishing Ortho in the flashback sequence. Other than that, the only other ideas I'd have for repetitive movements or sounds are headcanons. I don't know if I'd count this one. ("Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech")

This is another one I don't think we ever see in-game. I don't know... the things I could consider part of this criteria would better fit as sensory things~! Again I'm an Idia connoisseur but if you know anything about this please tell me I will update this one. ("Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior")

Idia is shown to have MULTIPLE very strong interests. Whether this might be a special interest or hyperfixation... it's hard to tell, but I can sure guess. The longest-running interest we see him show to have, originating from way back when Ortho was still alive, is Star Rogue. Because he seems to know nearly everything about the game and has also maintained the interest for a long time, I would consider this a special interest (along with engineering and technomancy, which he's said to have excelled in since a young age.) Idia does talk about certain specific animes and other games he enjoys, but not to the degree of Star Rogue (yes that's my basis here), so I don't know if that's a special interest or just a hyperfixation. It's the same situation with idol groups, particularly Premo (or Fates on the Edge). This isn't even it. That man is fandom trash and I love him. ("Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus")

Idia is shown on multiple occasions to have sensory issues. To the point where, similarly to his strong interests, I don't know if I know half of it. During the Phantom Bride event and his Union Birthday vignette, Idia complains about his neck feeling cold due to his hair being brushed behind his hair (PB) or up in a ponytail (UB). He also complains about his Phantom Bride suit AND his Birthday Boy suit being "stuffy", but that one could also be a stretch. In the Harveston event, Idia says that he only eats his apples canned or peeled, which I'd chop up to sensory issues once again. (Although, that one could also be under B.2) Idia constantly has his headphones around his neck to listen to music. A bit of a stretch, but they're also noise canceling, so there's a chance he uses them to avoid overstimulation. Finally, Idia states that he doesn't like fish because it's smelly and slimy. I get that Idia raw fish is texture hell. As far as I know, there's no point in which Idia under-reacts to sensory input (e.g. pain) or becomes very invested in it (like staring at a moving wheel.) ("Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment")

And there we have it. Autism diagnosis. Idia demonstrates persistent deficits in all three sections under A and at least two sections under B. BUT WAIT! We still have C-E!

C) Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life).

Really, the only point in which we see Idia demonstrate autistic traits in early life is his interest in Star Rogue. This is probably just because of how the storyline is. We actually don't know very much about Idia OR Ortho when they were young. However I would argue that Idia does mask because of the multiple times where he immediately just gets upset prior to talking to someone (something he probably hides during conversation). And ofc that one time he complains about talking to normies in his Birthday Boy vignette (? it could've be a voice line.)

D) Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.

Idia's symptoms in fact significantly impair his life. I think that alone is obvious enough. We see it every time that man's on screen.

E) These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) or global developmental delay...

Symptoms that Idia experiences could very well be explained by other mental disorders such as social anxiety, but these are not intellectual disabilities. Explaining away ASD for Idia falls into a trap many autistic people do in real life with medical professionals who just can't believe that their patient is autistic for one reason or another; these people will sometimes receive a dozen different diagnoses that all could be better explained by autism spectrum disorder. That's not very cool. Therefore, this does not apply.

Specifically, Idia would likely have ASD co-morbid with social anxiety and most likely clinical depression. (I HAVE done some minor research into Idia and bipolar disorder, but that's a situation for another day and far more of a stretch than ASD ever could be.)

DSM-5 requirements cleared! Next stage, common experiences.

This is another thing I will need help for because it's not like there's scholarly articles on "things a lot of autistic people experience but it's definitely not something a doctor will ask you about." So please share. This is the list that will never stop growing.

Abnormal posture (Crewel gets onto Idia for not standing up straight, he often is portrayed sitting in chairs with his knees to his chest, and he's seen doing "dino hands" or "T-Rex arms" in battle mode on occasion.)

Target of bullying (Many autistic people, especially autistic girls, tend to be bullied more often than their allistic peers. While not always to his face, people do tend to talk bad about Idia behind his back, Ortho even has a 'Don't Talk Shit About My Brother' beam for the bullies lol.)

More tone + social stuff... (Things that the DSM-5 thing didn't quite fit. In book 6 he jokes about torturing the overblots and when everyone's like 'dude wtf' he's like 'what it was a joke dumbass.' Could be written off as just an odd sense of humor, or it could be difficulty reading the room lol.)

A love for lists and organization. (When Idia speaks autonomously in your guest room, he mentions having things exactly where you need them and how it's 'convenience'. He also seems to have a knack for practicality. It's not too much of a stretch to say it ties into a need for organization.) (Idia has every NRC student organized into multiple tier lists on the R-SSR rating system like the in-game cards based on certain factors, such as most social.)

Easily startled. (Self-explanatory. HieEh.)

Preference for connection through interests. (Another reason why he is disconnected from those around him, aside from the whole trauma thing, and calls most other people "normies." They don't "get" his interests, so he has no interest in being friends with them.)

Difficulty with processing time. (Remember when he had apparently been working on Ortho's uhhh starsender gear? For like 12 hours straight?"

Relaxes through interacting with interests (In the vignette I referenced in 7, when Ortho tells him to take a break, he decides to play Star Rogue. Ortho meant to sleep.)

Putting off needs until one can not longer ignore them. (Idia often gets so engrossed in what he's doing that he forgets to do basic self-care tasks like eating.)

Infodumping. (Shown a lot in book 6. Namely with his like 2-3 minute long rant about Star Rogue. The rest, such as him rambling on and on about Styx, seems to be used so the audience knows what the HELL is happening. He does go on rants outside of this book tho.)

Gifted kid (Yeah he was called a "boy genius.")

This is not a complete list by any means, I could go on for DAYS.

On the topic of co-occurring disorders, the two most obvious disorders Idia clearly is dealing with are social anxiety and depression. Both of which are often co-morbid with ASD.

While social anxiety and ASD have a lot of overlap, they aren't the same thing, but often autism can contribute to the development of social anxiety through masking and the general difficulties in socializing that come with autism. Allistic people tend to react negatively in response to an autistic person doing something that the allistic person deems unorthodox. This reaction can often cause a lot of internal turmoil for the autistic person due to rejection-sensitive dysphoria. Furthermore, masking requires a high level of awareness of one's environment as well as the judgment of others. Thus, social anxiety can often develop.

While I don't know how exactly autism might affect depression as it does social anxiety, I do know that depression is VERY common in autistic adults. 5 in 10 adults with ASD have depression, and living in a world built for those who are neurotypical is hard for anyone who is neurodivergent, which definitely does not help. And it sure as hell has to make it worse for Idia of all people.

Additions made by others (tysm!): @hey-haven mentions in a reblog Idia's low empathy towards other people. I recommend heading over to their blog to check out what they said because they do make an amazing point and it's probably far better than anything I could explain (lol). But to paraphrase, they cite specifically Idia making fun of his classmates who just fought for their lives to rescue him during the Phantom Bride event and his attitude towards the overblot victims and their reactions to being essentially kidnapped during book 6, in which he seems to not really "get" why they're so upset. Generally, when it surrounds emotions that aren't his own, he's pretty oblivious. They also bring up his little "whee-hee-hee" laugh! It brings up an observation I've seen of autistic people (seemingly) laughing at "random" or generally inappropriate times because we tend to express laughter in a voiced manner (like laughing out loud because you find something genuinely funny) rather than an unvoiced manner (like the little exhale you do at a funny photo on your phone). Idia laughs a lot, I don't know if it's realistic to connect it to autism or if it's better explained by him just being a weird guy (which I love about him don't get me wrong lol.) Although the study about this was with specifically autistic and non-autistic children though... it's food for thought I guess.

And with that, my essay comes to a close. Again, happy Autism Awareness Month! Share some of your favorite autistic, canon or otherwise, characters and boost autistic creators! And remember to not support Autism Speaks :)

Thank you for listening.

-Alpaca (autistic Idia Shroud enthusiast)

P.S. this post is so long that it's making my PC lag LMAOOOO

[thehypotensivegrad]

The Adviser (23/45) | Bechloe Mafia AU

In the Shadows of Obscurity - Chapter Preview (Read the rest at ao3)

It's been a busy past few days for everyone in the tower. Flo's head was spinning with all the new information.

One was who their real enemy was. Charles Walters, Jr. or rather, the person who they believed to be Chicago Walp. Someone who had walked the halls of the tower a few times over the last couple of months, either with Chloe, as her intern, on official business back when they were both still with DSM, and by himself, as Chloe's friend, when he was visiting Chloe after she had gone.

He had always been so cordial and nice. Discovering who he really was felt like a betrayal for everyone in the tower, maybe except Beca and Aubrey. Lilly didn't seem to care either way.

Two was the discovery about Beca being a… what was the term again?... mafia lawyer – Flo decided to stick with that term – something they found out when she got back with Aubrey and Chloe who managed to sort things out. How? They wouldn't say, but Beca made no attempt to deny it was the truth. Who knew mafia lawyers could be so cunning and dashing? So kindhearted too? The rest of the tenants had started spewing out their own ideas about what she could be doing in the tower, the most popular opinion was that she was hiding from someone, but Amy seems insistent that she had personal reasons to be there.

Third was, of course, the rumored hold in the tower. No one had forgotten about that. Since the truth about Beca had come out, the tenants thought it would be best if they told her so that Beca, with all her underworld connection, can help them. They even offered her a share of the hidden treasure. Beca scoffed at the idea but Lilly managed to convince her. She promised she would look into it and came back three days later saying that it seemed to be nothing but a myth. She said she tracked down Norman and he doesn't seem to recall the story he told the tenants, so perhaps, it was just nothing but a made-up tale he gave them in exchange for some food.

Four was the current plan to out Chicago. Beca had gathered all the tenants in Denise's dance studio and, together with Chloe and Aubrey, brought everyone up to speed with their fight against Babel. They had offered to help, after all, because they all wanted to fight hard for their home and show they shouldn't be trifled with, no matter how rich and powerful their opponent was.

The major focus of the meeting was how they could get Chicago to come out and admit who he was. It was the only way to bring him to justice, after all. Charles Walters, Jr. was behind everything, and so Charles Walters, Jr. had to be found guilty by the court of law and imprisoned for his crimes. He might use Theo as a patsy if he isn't brought to light.

How will they do it?

Beca seemed to already have a plan set in motion. It started as soon as she found out who he was, when Beca broke into his home and attacked him, promising she would eventually get him.

It seemed to do the trick in scaring Chicago, as Beca's intel indicated that he was currently staying in one of their vacation houses out of state. He was currently hiding away in coastal North Carolina, Wilmington to be exact.

"So, what does that mean? What's the plan exactly? Do we attack him there? Give him a scare? I can google up ways of effectively torturing someone…" Denise then said.

"Um, no, no we're not gonna do something that extreme," Beca then said, dialing down the situation. Aubrey shot Denise a disapproving look but Chloe seemed to consider it.

"If we need extra help, my Uncle Mauricio…." Flo then volunteered before Beca stopped her with a raise of a hand. She shook her head.

"I just need a few of you," Beca then said. "Lilly's coming with, but how about you Cynthia Rose? Ashley? Jessica? And Benji? I need a hand with somethings. We'll be going on a road trip."

"Count us in!" Jessica and Ashley chorused.

"Sure thing," Beca replied.

"How about me?" Jesse then asked, eagerly volunteering his services.

"Someone needs to run the restaurant while I'm gone," Cynthia Rose then responded.

"And we need capable hands to stay here while we're gone, just in case they plan another attack," Chloe added.

"It's also the reason why we decided that Bumper, Donald, and Uni stay behind," Aubrey pointed out, nodding towards the three new additions to their group staying at the back of the room.

"You can count on us!" the three reformed Trebles then chorused.

"Alright, sounds good and all, but what exactly do you have in mind, Beca?" Stacie asked, a fair question Flo thought. It doesn't seem like Chicago would give up his advantage quite easily.

Beca smirked. "People like him, they have dreams of grandeur and excellence. He doesn't really care about anything else, other than getting what he wants, even when he stays in the shadows. Even when people never find out that the success he wants Babel to have, it was all because of him. But that comes with a price… We'll make Chicago come out of the shadows and step into the light, by using the one thing a man like him fears."

"And what would that be?" Flo found herself asking out loud.

Beca gave a knowing smile.

"Fading into obscurity," Beca then replied. "His ego would never be able to accept that."

[btwimkindagay]

About me

Thanks @littledreamling for the tag

Nickname: Usually Breezy! My first name is a place name, so some of my friends call me by other place names (but more commonly acquaintances who think they are funnier than they are 🙄)

Sign: Sagittarius sun, Taurus moon, Aquarius rising. I hope that doesn't give away all my secrets

Height: 5'7 or 170cm!

Last thing I googled: "Wilfred Owen Letter to Wife poem". It's actually called "The Letter"

Song stuck in my head: I don't have one at the moment which I'm grateful for because I have a headache which feels like someone is trying to lobotomise me through my left eye. (I've taken some painkillers so I'm just being dramatic until they kick in)

Followers: 138! Thanks to everyone for politely waiting out the Goncharov phase

Amount of sleep: I regularly get 9-10 hours of sleep because otherwise I feel so bad 😥 I am envious of people who need less because for me 8 hours and 4 hours feel the same 🤢

Dream job: probably also a professor, like Crow! I'd love to be able to do research on things I'm interested in (it's always gay nuns, but recently it's also polygyny within medieval Jewish communities), and chat with colleagues about theirs, and write articles, and make lots of powerpoint presentations (I love them because I can even script in my jokes), and see what the younger generation are interested in when it comes to history! However, as we have established I am a very tired person, so I'm not sure how well I would cope with the expectation of out of hours work.

Wearing: Blue silk pyjama bottoms decorated with little white vines and flowers, brown walking socks, and a long fluffy hooded! dressing gown which I would probably call maroon or burgundy. Don't judge me for this (or do, I deserve it).  For the more wattpad experience we can also say that I have thrown my long brown hair into a messy bun.

Books/movies that summarise me: I could ask my friends, or I could just insert a picture of the DSM-V here because that's what they'll all send me

Favourite song: I don't have favourite anythings to be honest, but my most played song this year (at a whopping 22 times) was Zitti e Buoni by Måneskin. Lyric-wise I'm still obsessed with Tongues & Teeth by The Crane Wives, specifically "I know that you mean so well, but I am not a vessel for your good intent".

Favourite instrument: I've played clarinet, recorder, guitar, and keyboard, none of which I had any talent for 😂

Aesthetic: I've been told so many things about how I dress so I'll try to keep it brief. I own an eclectic collection of dresses (probably 60+) and tend to favour colourful patterns for daily wear and single colour grecian-style drapes for formal events. I likewise own lot of colourful patterned tops (described by my friends as "pretty", "flattering", "interesting", and "like you took it from your mum's wardrobe" (she gave it to me)) which I wear with jeans. That said, I can most commonly be found in my "grandad" looks of a men's shirt open over a vest or buttoned to the bare minimum of decency, or one of my two favourite golf jumpers (one grey, one beige).

Favourite authors: I don't have favourite authors of books (though I definitely do for fanfiction), but I do want to read more Margaret Atwood because I've only read The Handmaid's Tale and that one quote from The Robber Bride that lives rent free in my head.

Random fun fact: I managed to get super glue in my mouth when I was decorating a christmas bauble with watch parts last night! Very on brand, I'm notoriously clumsy. I also only managed to super glue two of my fingers together, so that is a new record

Tagging @bidet-and-legolas @a-liittle-bit-of-both and anyone who fancies it!

[sethd8]

/// Luminous Echoes: A Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Tale

In the dim-lit sanctum of pixels, where reality blurs into abstraction, we encounter the enigmatic light beings. Their presence defies the mundane; they are emissaries from realms unseen. Here, in 777 words, we unravel their story:

/// The Arrival The room, bathed in cool hues, cradles these spectral guests. Their forms—ethereal, fluid—meld with the fabric of existence. Are they remnants of forgotten dreams or cosmic wanderers drawn by curiosity?

/// Quantum Choreography Imagine them pirouetting across the monitors. Their trails—stardust spun by celestial looms—tell tales of quantum leaps. They dance Schrödinger's waltz, existing both as particles and waves. Uncertainty weaves their steps.

/// Threshold Guardians These light beings stand sentinel. Guardians of imagination, they beckon us to peer beyond the veil. What lies in the interstices of reality? Parallel dimensions? Alternate versions of ourselves? Their glow hints at answers.

/// Pixel Whispers Pixels, once mere data points, now pulse with life. The blue light—their language—transcends screens. They murmur secrets: equations etched in light, love letters to the cosmos. We strain to decipher their syntax.

/// The Viewer's Pact As witnesses, we forge a pact. We become interpreters, co-authors of their narrative. Emotions stir—awe, wonder, trepidation. Are they benevolent guides or cosmic tricksters? Our gaze shapes their purpose.

/// In this pixelated reverie, we honor the light beings. They remind us: reality is but a canvas, awaiting our brushstrokes.

/// Feel free to linger, explore, or add your own strokes to this cosmic tableau.

+ O|E|C ::...

+ OBSERVE | EXPLORE | CREATE ::....

+ DR PLEASE DSM THIS FOR ME ::....

[teethcore]

I'm not sure if you're still looking for the handsome NPD dude's source you reblogged a couple days ago, but he's from Tales from the DSM-5. Obviously problematic media and caused some drama when it existed.

oml thank you i personally love problems and drama so you've most certainly introduced me to my next internet rabbit hole, can't wait to learn abt it

[vorareromantic]

hey im a 17yo she/her n i kinda feel like i maybe autistic but im not sure, can u give a few telltale signs which may help? (ik a diagnosis from a professional is better but it isnt exactly an option for me rn)

hey!!

so first and foremost, autism presents differently for everybody. connecting with other autistic people can be very helpful, but you don't have access to a professional diagnosis then i would also recommend doing your own research with medical articles, the dsm, etc. and try to avoid getting information off of places such as tiktok and instagram. i'm drawing a lot from my own experiences here because that's what i know, but i just think it's important to note that my experiences are not going to be the exact same as another autistic person you may talk to about this, nor will that person's experience be the exact same as the next one.

so for me, the biggest tell-tale sign was a lack of social awareness. as a kid, i had a hard time connecting to my peers in a way that they deemed fit. i would often speak too loudly, be disruptive, and say whatever was on my mind without realizing if it was oversharing or upsetting to people. however, this can also manifest as being too shy, not speaking enough, etc. unfortunately, your peers will often pick out from a young age that there is something different about you. on a similar note, i also have a very hard time carrying conversations with other people. if i have to, still to this day, i tend to overshare or talk about things that are not socially acceptable (a big recent topic has been cannibalism). that or i'll just go quiet, i tend to not say anything if i don't see anything that i feel needs to be said unless i am extremely desperate for human connection (which, contrary to stereotypes, can happen and often does for me. i just have a hard time relaying it). i also tend to share experiences about my own life when people are talking as a way to relate to them, which is not inherently an autistic trait, but it is very common for autistic people to do.

a more well-known sign of autism is a lack of eye contact, but it can also manifest as any other form of inappropriate eye contact ratio such as too much eye contact or focusing so much on maintaining an eye contact to looking away ratio that you can't focus on what's being said.

sensory issues are also very common. for me personally this manifests in scratchy fabrics, loud noises, wet or sharp noises, and food. however, autism can also encompass a reduced sensation of pain or temperature. those things are also not mutually exclusive, i have a reduced sensation of temperature and also severe sensory issues.

many autistic people have an aversion to physical touch, but that's not always the case.

stimming is another one, a common known stim is hand flapping, but any repetitive self-soothing movement or sound can be a stim. pulling examples from my own experiences, i often tap my wrists together, rock back and forth, twirl my hair, tap my arm, tap my wrists to my legs, laryngeal whistling, etc.

a low social battery is another thing, if you seem to get worn out in social situations before your peers do, etc. i know i can typically only be around most people irl for two hours at a time before i start getting overwhelmed. for me personally when i get overwhelmed it's an instant switch. i stop masking, my voice drops an octave, i can't look up at people, i stim more, it causes my entire body to feel exhausted and sometimes takes days to recover from.

not every autistic person experiences this, but i have speech loss episodes when i get too overwhelmed. which is pretty much that i can't speak no matter how hard i try to. sometimes i can write/text instead, sometimes i can't even form what i want to say in my head enough to do that. it depends on the situation.

having a hard time switching between tasks can also be a sign of autism, as a kid i would often need buffer time between going from reading to math, etc.

another thing can be fixated interests, not to say that anyone with intense interests is autistic but for me i have always formed almost parasocial?? attachments to fictional characters and would need to have the character involved in absolutely everything that i did in order to do it. a common misconception is that a special interest has to be something like science or trains, but it can be literally anything as long as it takes up an abnormal portion of your life. personally, my fixations can last several months to several years and can frequently negatively impact my life and make me late to events/work/class, make me lose friends from talking about it too much, etc.

obviously this is not an extensive list of autistic traits or my own experiences with autism, and i would definitely recommend further research. and even if you're not able to pursue a diagnosis at this time, if you're able to talk to a doctor during an appointment to see if they think you exhibit any signs or to get more insight as to what it may look like then you should consider doing so.

if you have any questions or want to talk about specifically why you think you might have autism, feel free to send me a dm :)

[mood2you]

There is a 20 item checklist that accompanies the DSM for antisocial personality disorder. 2 of the items have to do with socioeconomics: borrowing money all the time and never paying it back, and not having good long term goals. 3 or 4 you could get a doctors note about ADHD for: funny guy personality, impulsive, I don't remember the rest. The notes on the checklist say "behavioral issues in childhood" can only get a max score of 2 if child social services take you away from your family. I don't know if antisocial is environmental or genetic or both, but I think it's crazy you can get separated, I guess because you're acting out that much. Like I always figured the parents get taken away from the child. I just don't think it's smart to take a child away from their parents like that. Okay it's genetic. I was going to imply you could get this PD from being abused, since people complain that punishment and shame don't work on antisocial people, it seemed like a set of armor that developed after it was needed. Anyways, I think everyone should have a stable homelife.

Of course there are 2 different checks for sexual promiscuity and can't-keep-a-man, which is common today frankly. There is shallow affect and a check for whether punishment works on the person. Like I said before, the author says antisocial personality disorder makes you impervious to depression due to imprisonments, and so probably any other punishment. You could probably commit any abuses you want on someone with antisocial personality disorder and they wouldn't even care and also, as a psychopath they 100% deserve it. So that's good if you like retribution.

The average USA/CAN man scores 4/40, which seems low but of course getting that test means the dosant is looking for someone with antisocial personality, not looking for a disasociative ADHD playboy. Whatever the doctor says, goes, especially when you have a separate checklist from the DSM.

The examples in the book were presidential assassins, using biographies, the author armchair diagnosed the Garfield guy with it, but not the Lincoln guy, who had strong moral reasons for what he did (racism) but people were wondering if, as an actor, he was only being histrionic. Another check is lack of remorse, which the Garfield guy had in saying he didn't kill Garfield, but that it was the doctors. Which is true if you've heard the harrowing tale of Garfield's doctors trying to surgerize him.

We all know about the American Psycho, a character who fits in perfectly in capitalism, but I'm serious a few of these checks are not that bad. My book is about the 77% of north americans with antisocial PD who are in jail. I know some antisocial people commit murder and such. But everyone else is probably not as bad as everyone says.

[saint-starflicker]

I wrote about Peter Simmonds' psychological complex around his father—Not in a Freudian way that he was attracted to Jason because of reminding him of Peter's father (I think not! ew), but rather that societal expectations and stigma about "broken homes" are what motivated Peter to do something that audience members might not think makes any sense. Peter knows that homophobia exists, so why does he say "So we'll tell my mother?" the very next song afterwards? It's because Peter wants a family of his own that is not "broken" like he has internalized a divorce situation to be. That father complex is so strong that the urge to quell that psychological injury bypasses Peter's better judgement that homophobia exists in 1999 USAmerican Catholic school actually. He wants to introduce his boyfriend to his mother so that he can have a united family.

"Daddy issues" is probably not in the DSM, but Peter Simmonds's reasoning (and unconscious/subconscious ulterior motives) are wildly unreasonable given the facts of his circumstances, aren't they? Freudian theory is worse than cheugy, but I think the "father abandonment complex" absolutely applies. A messy, traumatic divorce has driven this boy low-key crazy.

While I have proposed religiosity-related paracosms and "mental stimming" as a possible headcanon of Peter Simmonds being autistic, as well as special interests in theater, fairy tales, and Bible study...I am leaning more towards perhaps subclinical schizoaffective disorder.

Schizoaffective symptoms would include hallucinations such as earlier versions of "Best Kept Secret" in which Peter claims that the stars are talking to him; delusions such as Peter believes that his dreams are prophetic and that cannabis hallucination—or a hallucination from his own brain, the cannabis was a coincidence—was a divine vision; and disorganized thoughts and speech as we find in "See Me" and whatever was going on in "Ever After" (nobody talks like that, those Ever After lyrics. What high schooler says "slew"?)

This will not interfere with Peter's life, however, because of his cultural context. If everybody around him believes that his dreams could be holy visions, then it's not a delusion nor is it a disorder because it is not counteractive to his culture...is what I keep reading in the DSM-V, like "check if it's cultural first" "it might be cultural" "if it's acceptable conduct in that patient's culture and it doesn't upset the patient because of that cultural acceptance then it's not pathologizable" that's the sentiment I keep getting.

Officially, the age of miracles is over, but you can't really stop Catholic laypersons from thinking that anything weird they're experiencing has a supernatural explanation for it.

My headcanon about this... mysteriously undiagnosed whatever hallucinations-having "space cadet" (as in constantly spacing out, fantasizing, maladaptive daydreaming) Peter Simmonds is that he likes music—pop songs, church songs, show tunes, whatever. He likes songs! That's not the neurodiversity part, not necessarily.

I headcanon that when Peter gets songs stuck in his head "for no reason", that he thinks it's his personal guardian angel talking to him through the lyrics of that pop song. That's his intrusive thought and delusion, that it's definitely his personal guardian angel and that it definitely means something meaningful and significant.

Jason knows about it because they live together, and he doesn't believe it but he doesn't think that Peter is "dangerously, criminally insane" for believing in some brain-jukebox guardian angel either and constantly trying to decipher those "angelic messages". That's just Peter being Peter, weird and a little crazy but Jason loves him.

Hello! Long time no post!

Im no longer the teenager who started this account, writing headcanons about how neurodiverse I thought so many musical theatre characters to be - I’m now the young adult writing her thesis for a masters degree in theatre directing on this exact subject!

And this, dear tumblr, is where you come in….

I wanna include as many tumblr posts about MT character neurodiversity headcanons as I possibly can, so please reblog this with your own headcanons, reply with links to previous posts where you talk about your headcanons, anything! Let’s get some academics reading these things.

Love and light to you all (and as always, protect Jason and Nadia McConnell) ✨

[frenziedslashers]

AHHH NO THATS SO STRESSFUL i’m glad it worked out! i’ve been dying to play bl3 and tiny tina’s wonderland but i need to wait until my semester ends so i don’t get too distracted and bomb my last few finals lmao but i have been on my usual presequel and 2 grind woooo it’s so fun replaying them and meeting all the fav characters again 🥹 i swear whenever i see janey or mordecai i am a puddle

-🦅

LITERALLY ME- I had to wait to start the new games until I was close To don with the semester so I didn't just forget the world around me exists and forget to study LMAO.

But ong, that's me with Mordie, Scooter(in a comfort way since I see myself in him a LOT lmao), Krieg, and Rhys. I have been on such a bad Rhys kick lately, he just makes me giggle and kick my feet like a school girl with how awkward he is. Like me too bestie.

Oh, I also did my final presentation for Abnormal Psychology over Borderlands characters! We had to select a character or characters from our favorite movie or tv show and diagnose it with something we learned this semester from the DSM-5, but I was bad in my bl2 grind so I asked my professor if I could do it over borderlands and she said yeah! Everyone was either a little over 7 minutes (our time limit) or below it, but not me. I spent 15 minutes telling the class about all of the borderlands characters I chose and what they had wrong with them. I even gave each character a cool slide and told some facts about blowing because GOD I love her and Mordecai. My professor LOVED it and said that mine was her favorite since I chose something that I obviously was interested in and from now on she is allowing people to choose video games for their presentations. I just love these games so much lmao

What's funny is I only did the presentation of BL2 characters, and I even told her it could have been a lot longer. So now she's gonna look into the game and maybe play it herself lmaooo

I plan on continuing the pre-sequel tonight once it finishes redownloading. It should be about done, if not I'm continuing tales so I can see Rhys make a fool of himself becuase... Me too.

[phantomtutor]

Learning about a disorder that you not familiar with can help you to understand the range of disorders that are present in modern day society. It can also give you an idea of the various ways in which psychological disorders affect others. Note: If you are already familiar with these disorders, you can either choose one to research and learn more about OR you can choose a different disorder. Choose from one on this site: Symptoms & Treatments of Mental Disorders (Links to an external site.)  To receive full credit, remember to also write three posts in the discussion: one original and two responses to other students. Provide scholarly, cited responses where applicable. Do not use Wikipedia. Use the library or reputable source to support your posts. Most mental health professionals use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). This manual is designed to help ensure accurate and consistent diagnoses based on observational symptoms. Classifying psychological disorders is useful in assisting therapists in developing treatment plans. Choose one from below and characterize the distinguishing features of each of the following DSM-5 diagnostic categories: Anxiety disorders Somatoform disorders Mood disorders Obsessive-compulsive disorders Dissociative disorders Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders Personality disorders You can find the DSM-5 diagnostic categories in your webtext, p. 5.5, or by visiting psychiatry.org (Links to an external site.)  and searching the term “DSM-5.” ORDER THIS PAPER NOW. 100% CUSTOM PAPER CategoriesPsychology homework help Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Post navigation Previous PostPrevious Fairy Tale AnalysisNext PostNext 3-2-1 Journal entry on Prenatal Development- Lifespan Psychology

[its-simpbur]

THIS MAN! he is a bitch but he is loved, he is gay and homophobic at the same time and his favourite song is touch-tone telephone, he likes lemon demon and the trampstamps, he has a trampstamps fanpage, he has 3 weed smoking boyfriends and yes they smoke weed, they all smoke weed before they kiss (they are his boyfriends), he is very gender

[flimflops]

About @ Tales from the DSM

Dpd looks like a normal person yes yes cool cool

Avpd? Wellll body language is pretty accurate over all, i was very prone to avoiding eye contact and fidgeting

And then OCPD ,

[cryst4l-c4v3]

tales from the dsm is ableist

tales from the dsm is ableist

tales from the dsm is ableist

tales from the dsm is ableist

tales from the dsm is ableist

tales from the dsm is ableist

tales from the dsm is ableist

tales from the dsm is ableist

tales from the dsm is ableist

screenshots for proof ⬇️ tw: mention of addiction and planning suicide

notice how 2 of these characters are brown

notice how only 2 characters are brown AND there are jokes about being racist

notice the jokes about addiction and suicide

also one of the artist draw nazi country human porn. so,,, yeah

here’s the proof btw

so yeah. tales of dsm is bad. like really bad. and clearly has some history of romanticizing serious issues.

that along with the insensitivity and lack of diversity (and honestly the tactlessness to do something like this in the first place).