Is it an ADHD thing to not realize you're in pain or not be able to recognize the source of pain? I just spent 6 hours feeling awful because I had a really bad headache, but couldnt figure out what was wrong until my mom asked be why i was being so grumpy. Also, i just wanted to thank you for the way you actually talk about your experiences with ADHD and Autism and being Nonbinary. Also the cursed stuff is cool too.
self-regulation tends to be more difficult when you have adhd/autism. it’s good to get in the habit of pausing for a few minutes and consciously making an assessment:
what is my biggest current source of pain/discomfort? how can I change that? should i take a pain reliever?
am i hungry? how’s my blood sugar? when did i last eat
how’s my general level of anxiety/overstimulation?
how’s the noise level? could i benefit from wearing earplugs?
am i too warm/cold? should i put on/take off a layer?
am i thirsty? are my lips dry? could i use water/chapstick?
if i could do one thing to make myself more comfortable in the next hour, what would it be?
try setting a timer and doing this every 2 hours or so. soon it gets to be automatic (i still set timers sometimes when i know my day is going to be busy). on a related note, it’s good to carry around a ‘self-regulation grab bag’ (mine has painkillers, granola bars, ear plugs, water, chapstick, lotion, etc)
what advice would you give to a 19 year old?
just bc you find someone hot or funny doesn’t mean you should immediately date them, just because someone gives you attention doesn’t mean they’re the right person for you, being 19 is not “old” and you should embrace it rather than dread it, work out now so your future self can thank u later, use your planner, network w your professors because you’ll never know when you’ll need their connections in the future, stop fucking comparing, everyone’s secretly struggling, no one is worth putting on a pedestal, decentralize dating in general tbh, having a crush is fine but don’t obsess, interrogate yourself on what you truly want, explore new things (stop sticking so religiously to your comfort zone), nothing on your phone is that deep, have a plan for the future (it’s okay if it changes), put effort into friendships but don’t chase people, put yourself out there because it really does amount to something, decentralize luxury brands bc that shit is overrated as fuck, journal more, experiment w fashion and perfume and your general style, having social media is ok but spend less time on your phone in general, not everyone will like you and that is okay, you won’t like everyone and that is okay, don’t take people’s reactions so personally, don’t take yourself so seriously, invest in therapy
seeing straight men be disgusted by booktok smut recommenders has actually radicalized me to the side of booktok smut recommenders. girls your taste may be atrocious but i will never disparage you for exposing mainstream discourse to the concept of soaking through your underwear. spent my whole life listening to men talk about penises it’s about time they get jumpscared by women talking about pussy in crude detail on social media. go forth and goon my warriors
Alright alright alright I did the thing. Feel free to send me a character with a number and a letter. (Ships are ok too!)
bring may flowers
some cats don't like to be touched and that's fine. that's their perogative and I respect it
I wanted to make this post since a couple of months ago. As proper summer is coming, Song and Tang style might make a come back in another couple of months.
Since joining Tumblr, I’ve met a lot of young queer people. Look, I’m a bisexual man in a gay relationship, and I’m approaching 30. I was still a kid when Matthew Shepard’s story was being covered on the news. I remember thinking, “I better keep my mouth shut about these feelings I’m having.”
And then I met Dominic when I was 12, and people could see how in love we were. And we got the shit beat out of us. The year I met him, some kids in the grade above me held me down against the bleachers in our gym and stomped on my hand until my fingers broke. Instead of sending me to the nurse, the teacher sent me to the assistant principal to explain the situation. She asked why the kids had beat me up. I said, “They were calling me gay.”
Her response was, “Well, are you?”
My, “I don’t know,” earned a call to my parents, and I was outed. Efforts were made to keep me from seeing Dom. Throughout high school, Dom’s stepmother intensified these efforts. He slept in the basement of the house. Although he was an incredibly talented student, he was prohibited from participating in any extracurriculars. He suffered a lot of physical abuse during those years.
The day he turned 18, he packed up everything he had and walked to my house, and we’ve lived together ever since. Things are better, but they’re not perfect. I’ve had trucks pull up next to me at stoplights and, seeing the pride sticker on my car, through old drinks and garbage into my window. I no longer speak to my dad’s side of the family. I haven’t been to see them for Christmas or Thanksgiving in years. One of my uncles had cornered me at Thanksgiving when I was 17 and said, “I’m not going to judge you, but I’d be happy to break your neck so God can do the judging a little sooner.”
I joined a support group for trans and intersex people. When I joined, 40 people attended regularly. Within the year, the group was half the size it had been. Some couldn’t make it anymore, because they were staying at the shelter, where their stay hinged on them agreeing to instead to attend homophobic sermons. Some were put in correctional therapy. Five of them died. Three of those, I didn’t know, but I knew Alex, the 19 year old who was fag-dragged in Kentucky and died a day later in the hospital, and I knew Stephanie, who went home to Alabama to care for her mom in hospice and was beaten to death with a baseball bat by her mom’s boyfriend.
Tumblr is not reality. The dynamic here does not reflect the dynamic out there. Here’s the part where I finally make a point, and it might be extremely unpopular - but guys, value your allies. Value each other. We are met with enough hate in our daily lives to enter an online safe-space and meet more hate from our own, over petty things. Don’t go after one another over every little thing you find problematic.
Learn to see nuance. Maybe the word “queer” bothers you, and you see a gay man using it as an umbrella term. Maybe someone called a trans man a trans woman because they’re confused about terminology, but the post where they did it was voicing support for the trans community. Maybe someone is just asking a question, wanting to learn more. Stop. Attacking. These. People.
Allies are being driven away. Members of our own community are being ostracized. Others are feeling nervous and estranged, and it’s largely because of places like Tumblr, where the social justice movement is quickly becoming violent and radical. I am begging you, stop nitpicking “problematic” things and start directing your efforts to create real change. When it comes to comes to your allies, forget the “social justice warrior” mentality and put down your torch. Educate calmly. Be respectful. Be understanding. Be forgiving. And I’m certainly not saying that your anger doesn’t have a good place - when you are met with bigots on the street, congress members who want to pass hateful laws, violent protesters, abusive parents, prejudiced teachers, that is when you need to be a warrior. That’s when it counts. In the real world. When you have the opportunity to protect people from real harm. Attacking your would-be allies via anonymous asks is just going to lose us ground in the long run. And we don’t have time for that, not when trans women of color are being murdered every day, not when states are still fighting against marriage equality, not when there are politicians in office who believe that trans people are possessed by demons, not when we’ve just lost 50 brothers and sisters to one gunman, not when the media won’t even admit that the attack was homophobic.
Please step back. Look at the big picture. Look at where we are, globally. Don’t just log on to your safe space and attack your allies over small missteps. That’s like washing the dishes in a house that’s on fire, kids. Let’s fight on the battlefield, and when we come home to each other, let’s just focus on bandaging up our wounds so we can go out and win the war.