A Friend Is Telling Me Trump May Be Winning But Like

UNCLE GEORGE IS FUCKING PISSED

So this happens. Particularly zoning out, and it seems more intense now that I've been on medication. Sustaining concentration on anything is difficult.

I tend to crochet to keep myself grounded. But even then, I'll become enamored with the texture or my progress and I'll stop and dissociate. Even writing this reblog was more difficult than it should have been.

Are You Dissociating?

Dissociating is one of the most common responses to abuse and trauma. It involves feeling numb, detached or unreal and (while it happens to everyone once in a while) is experienced more frequently and severely in survivors. Dissociating people vary widely in symptoms and may experience any or all of the things from the following list.

You may be dissociating if you:

find yourself staring at one spot, not thinking anything

feel completely numb

feel like you’re not really in your body, like you’re watching yourself in a movie.

feel suddenly lightheaded or dizzy

lose the plot of the show or conversation you were focused on

feel as if you’re not quite real, like you’re in a dream

feel like you’re floating 

suddenly feel like you’re not a part of the world around you

feel detached and far away from other people, who may seem mechanical or unreal to you

are very startled when someone/something gets your attention

completely forget what you were thinking just a moment ago

suddenly cover your face or react as if you’re about to be hurt for no reason

can’t remember important information about yourself, like your age or where you live

find yourself rocking back and forth

become very focused on a small or trivial object or event

find that voices, sounds or writing seem far away and you sometimes have trouble understanding them.

feel as if you’ve just experienced a flashback (perhaps rapidly) but you can’t remember anything about it.

perceive your body as foreign or not belonging to you

(likes and reblogs always taken as support)

okay but it’s so important to do little things for yourself that help you feel comfortable in therapy. like for some people thats bringing stuffed animals or blankets or their journal, but for me it’s spending the first five minutes showing my psychologist cool rocks ive found/bought since i last saw her. it helps me relax and gives my hands something to do throughout the session. theres no such thing as a “stupid comfort item/habit.” sometimes you gotta start your therapy talkin about what happened on your favorite tv show. sometimes u gotta show your therapist pictures of your pet or ask for a pic of theirs. it’s okay.

being comfortable in therapy is the first step towards significant progress.

dude where’s my

ability to experience pleasure in the things that give me a reason to live

Who made you this way? And do they still matter?

Don’t let someone who is no longer in your life affect you (via isaacwrites)

Focus on what you can control. Like my raspberry pi and it's sense HAT.

Today is World AIDS Day, and we’ve still got a lot of work to do. 

A stat that gets me every time: “If current diagnosis rates continue, 1 in 6 gay and bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime, including 1 in 2 black/African American gay and bisexual men, 1 in 4 Hispanic/Latino gay and bisexual men, and 1 in 11 white gay and bisexual men.”

One of the most important things you can do is get tested and know your status; here’s a tool that can help you find a nearby testing site. Note that the option for selecting your gender isn’t quite right, but the wealth of testing locations in their database is still helpful. 

If you’re in a donating mood, you can also support the work of some organizations doing excellent things for those affected by HIV/AIDS, including GMHC, AIDS United, Planned Parenthood, Lambda Legal and amfAR. (And please add your favorites; there are so many!)

We’ve been fighting this fight for upwards of 30 years. We’re not stopping now.