One of the exercises my therapist had me do when I first started seeing her was to create a mental sanctuary of sorts where I could go within my mind when the physical spaces around me don't feel safe. Through a guided meditation, we associated a word with that feeling. Now, I can say that word to myself, close my eyes, and go to that place in my mind. What about you? Where do you feel most safe?
Every other Saturday we will post links relevant to survivors. Please feel free to discuss these links in the comments, or post more links! Trigger warnings appreciated, and self-promotion welcome. Blanket trigger warning for all of these posts. […]
Maybe one barrier to identifying positive coping skills is that when people ask "how do you cope?" in general, without specifying any kind of situation or feeling that we're coping with, it doesn't paint a concrete enough picture in our minds for the things that we do in different situations to become clear. So I think it may be helpful instead to have a specific situation or feeling in mind that you're trying to cope with, and write down ways that help you deal with just that particular case. What are the coping skills you use when...? - You feel depressed, sad, or lonely? - You feel angry, resentful, or frustrated? - You feel anxious or panicked? - You feel dissociated or have a flashback?
This series is about the way ace survivors are used as rhetorical devices in ace communities. I will be directly quoting ace bloggers, deconstructing their statements, and pointing out how they are using ace survivors as rhetorical devices. I’ve been very deliberate in who I quote; I decided from the start that I would only quote bloggers who have repeatedly made the same sort of problematic statements about ace survivors, operating off the assumption that while someone might easily say something clueless about ace survivors once accidentally, if there’s a pattern to it, there is probably an underlying belief structure that needs to be addressed.
A resource for those who: Need to come out to their therapists about asexuality, but aren’t up for fielding 101 questions Want their doctors to understand asexuality to avoid misdiagnosis, bad assumptions, or awkward questions Simply want to do activism to promote better understanding of asexuality and competent treatment of [...]
Metaphors can be incredibly useful tools for explaining trauma and understanding our feelings. Art is frequently symbolic, and it can be easier to express feelings generated by trauma when they are encoded in a symbolic way. So this week, let's think about these symbols and metaphors that help us deal with trauma (and everything related to trauma). What is your favorite metaphor or analogy for trauma?
The only reason they found out that I have hypothyroidism at all is because I decided to try some medication for PTSD, so they screened me for it. PTSD shares some of the same symptoms—poor memory and concentration, depression, and fatigue (from PTSD affecting the quality of sleep). Some of my other symptoms could have been explained by other factors, too. So I think it went undiagnosed for a long time.
In our most recent Recommended Reading post, there was a link that really upset some of our readers. I’d like to extend a heartfelt apology to anyone who felt hurt or retraumatized by its inclusion. The fault is mine alone. I’m sorry. I want to make this a better, safer [...]
Every other Saturday we will post links relevant to survivors. Please feel free to discuss these links in the comments, or post more links! Trigger warnings appreciated, and self-promotion welcome. Blanket trigger warning for all of these posts.
Fiction can sometimes provide us with escape, and a way of processing things that we otherwise might not feel able to release. Sometimes characters remind us of ourselves, allow us to feel less alone, or inspire us to keep going in spite of everything stacked against them. So this week, let's talk about those characters that touch us, that strengthen us, that come along to remind us of something we needed to hear at just the right time. What fictional character has helped you on your healing journey, and how so?
