i don't know if u can tell from my blog or not but i have multiple mental illnesses
having a personality disorder is not what makes someone abusive or neglectful. your abuser having a personality disorder is correlation, not causation. condemning all people who have the same pd is sanist, ableist and stigmatizing. it doesn't change what happened to you (and even if it did, making someone suffer as proxy in revenge for the actions of another person is wrong) all it does is make you feel superior to people who are also struggling and are high risk for negative outcomes.
Therianthropy vs. Lycanthropy
Okay, I think it's time that I made a short explanation of therianthropy and how it contrasts to clinical lycanthropy, so here it is.
What is therianthropy?
Therianthropy is when a person identifies as a nonhuman animal. They feel they are that animal on the inside, and that their 'true self' is said animal. However, they do not mean physically.
What is clinical lycanthropy?
Clinical lycanthropy at its core is a delusion that one is physically a wolf, is transforming into a wolf, can transform into a wolf, or has transformed into a wolf. In the case of zoanthropy, it can be other animals as well. It is most often found within psychotic or delusional disorders. It is classified as a DMS or delusional misidentification syndrome.
One will literally believe that their body is biologically somehow that of a nonhuman animal or can change to be such. They will look at it factually, not hypothetically. Some examples might be their internal organs have turned into those of said animal, their bones are shifting inside their body to form animal anatomy, or their DNA or blood is that of said animal, not a human.
As always, if anyone has any questions, feel free to send them in via an ask to my blog.
i see alot of these posts about being disgusted or neutral about your intrusive thoughts, or about your impulses, and they say "you dont actually WANT to do these things! so youre a good person!" and im here to say its okay to want to do bad things. its okay to want to do something horrible. that still doesnt mean youve done it. that still doesnt mean you dont have self control. you can want to do things and still decide not to do them- and thats a skill that shows strength.
Anonymous asked:
What are the concrete differences between schizoid lack of enjoyement for close relationships and schizotypal "acute discomfort in close relationships"?
STPD = social anxiety SZPD = no anxiety, just don't enjoy/want it
discomfort in STPD is about social anxiety that doesn’t fade as you get to know the person(s). a person with STPD may (or may not) desire friendships, but will still feel uncomfortable in them. the anxiety is usually part of paranoid ideation.
the DSM says:
“Individuals with schizotypal personality disorder experience interpersonal relatedness as problematic and are uncomfortable relating to other people. Although they may express unhappiness about their lack of relationships, their behavior suggests a decreased desire for intimate contacts. As a result, they usually have no or few close friends or confidants other than a first-degree relative. They are anxious in social situations, particularly those involving unfamiliar people. They will interact with other individuals when they have to but prefer to keep to themselves because they feel that they are different and just do not “fit in.” Their social anxiety does not easily abate, even when they spend more time in the setting or become more familiar with the other people, because their anxiety tends to be associated with suspiciousness regarding others’ motivations. For example, when attending a dinner party, the individual with schizotypal personality disorder will not become more relaxed as time goes on, but rather may become increasingly tense and suspicious.”
discomfort in SZPD is about lack of desire for friendships. relationships just don’t do it for them, though there may be exceptions.
the DSM says:
“Individuals with schizoid personality disorder appear to lack a desire for intimacy, seem indifferent to opportunities to develop close relationships, and do not seem to derive much satisfaction from being part of a family or other social group. They prefer spending time by themselves, rather than being with other people. They often appear to be socially isolated or “loners” and almost always choose solitary activities or hobbies that do not include interaction with others.”
some posts on SZPD relationships:
- “do you [a schizoid person] have friends?”
- all-or-nothing thinking in schizoid relationships
- interest and intimacy in schizoid/schizotaxic relationships
- fading relationship bonds
- “can you have friends but not really care about them?“
some posts on STPD relationships:
- “can you have STPD and still have friends?”
- “is it actually possible for a person with STPD to have close friends?”
- magical thinking & schizotypal relationships
also check out my interpersonal relationships in PDs tag
I have many criticisms of mainstream mental health awareness, but one main one is the exclusive focus on MDD and GAD and how these are treated as the only mental illnesses and the only cause of s*icidality.
Because the symptoms of MDD and GAD are relatable to a less severe degree to the mentally healthy majority, they're the only ones that get attention. And even then, they're so focusing on trying to push a "they're not crazy, they're normal like you and me!" message that they don't get into how severe these disorders are. Everyone can relate to being a little down, and feeling a bit on edge, but being so depressed you want to never move again and rot in your bed? Being so anxious you actually think you're about to go into cardiac arrest? Telling about those cases would break the image of "normalcy" they're trying to push, so they just don't. And thus, people don't get how serious these disorders are. Hell, they aren't usually even called by their proper names, just "depression" and "anxiety", because people with them are normal like you and me, right? They don't have disorders.
But the other side of this is that no other disorder is humanized, because they don't have features relatable to the mentally healthy majority. People with MDD/GAD are "normal", just a little sad/anxious, but people with ASPD? Sociopaths. People with OCD? Neurotic. Bipolar disorder? Psychos. Those are crazy people, not normal like us.
It pisses me off, because not only does it keep other illnesses demonized, but also it's deadly because thr mainstream s*icide awareness is only based around MDD, whereas signs and treatment for other disorder's s*icidality is vastly different, but gets no attention.
Mental health awareness does not end with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.
ADHD and being your own zookeeper
So, I was diagnosed with mixed ADHD in my late 20′s. It’s been a couple years since then and I was recently lamenting to a close friend about the difficult process of working out alternative methods of doing things once you’ve (finally) realized the standard ways don’t work.
With that in mind I thought I would just volunteer some advice I have gathered over the last couple years of attempting to be my own zookeeper.
This will mainly be with an ADHD focus since that’s me but hopefully it will be helpful to lots of ND people.
to start, you’ve probably heard of inviting people over to force yourself to clean. This is…. a method. And it works! until it doesn’t (ie burnout). Basically this is a way to trigger a stress response in yourself that forces motivation. You can do this. I have done this. But I would say this is an absolute last resort and not something you should ever be doing on a regular basis. It is not the healthy way to go about this. So here are my tips on hopefully maintaining your life without needing to resort to this stressful method.
(also I know this is long ADHD peeps, I’m sorry I’m just longwinded it can’t be helped.)
So, to get started
Some say that "special interest" isn't a good term, and that Autistics should just be considered to have interests like anyone else. I vehemently disagree with this. The term isn't just cutesy and patronizing. The term is true. When you have a special interest or special interests, these become part of you. They often can't be separated, and especially not by force or social pressure without causing severe and everlasting distress and trauma. Even if special interests do shift in the sense of changing with new encounters and being more fluid, it's still fundamentally a brain difference that deeply affects our internal perception of identity and we can't be forced to change, and we would feel empty without a special interest and we need to feel connected to it on a deeper level than just really liking something. We need to understand it on an emotional level, assimilate it into us, merge with it. These special interests are so intense as to often be completely immersive and Autistics hyperfocus on them. And while most pathologize this in an educational setting, considering these interests to be too "restricted" where the Autistic individual can't learn anything else, this is just proof that Autistics are different and that standard environments are profoundly lacking and cognitive performance tests and IQ tests can't be applied to us with accuracy. But Autistics can learn more broadly. We do it all the time, but it has to be through our special interests. Our special interests are a gateway, a window into learning so many other things that we can connect back to those main special interests. This requires time and patience in education, and most often a one on one learning experience. Though there are those who can't learn in education regardless. It's just not who they are and they don't take to it. There is no connection with the approach or the setting. Many of us like this are considered intellectually disabled, but that's only because our brains are meant to be specialized. Specialized for our special interests. There are so many skills that we have that are often completely overlooked by outsiders such as professionals just because they don't fit into boxes and standards and align with milestones. And yes, my interests are special to me, so special in fact that I am extremely defensive about them and to abuse me for them is to cut my very soul.
schizophrenia is not just experiencing positive symptoms (hallucinations and delusions). a lot of schizophrenics are neurodivergent in other ways. this focus on the positive symptoms is a villainious way to gatekeep us from neurodivergent spaces because our positive symptoms are typically portrayed as "scary".
our negative symptoms (flat effect, being withdrawn, avolition and anhedonia) are skewed to portray us as "evil" because we're not "emotive" or "caring" enough. schizospec disorders make everyday activities so hard. basic hygiene isn't a habit, we have little to no motivation to do basic things, the lack of happiness and pleasure can turn into severe depression for some of us and that's why depressive and bipolar schizoaffectives exist. people don't grasp the fact that schizophrenia is a disability.
i've personally experienced a lot of cruelty from other neurodivergent people because there is little to no education on schizospec disorders even within neurodivergent spaces. we're seen as inherently morally reprehensible for our disorder and people are so casually ableist to us. i'm not able to speak up for myself in these spaces because i feel like there is no where else i can go. neurotypicals are cruel to schizophrenics but so are other neurodivergent people. people need to have more care and love for schizophrenics.
yes that includes schizophrenics with little to no empathy, schizophrenics of color, trans schizophrenics, gay schizophrenics, schizophrenic systems, autistic schizophrenics, schizophrenics with adhd, fat schizophrenics, poor schizophrenics, homeless schizophrenics, schizophrenic sex workers, schizophrenics who've experienced abuse, schizophrenics with ocd, schizophrenics with ptsd/cptsd, schizophrenic children and teens, elderly schizophrenics, schizophrenics who are also physically disabled, all schizophrenics.
all schizophrenics deserve love.
intrusive thoughts are so funny. your brain is like "imagine how fucked up it would be if you pushed that stranger in front of a car lol" and you're like yeah. that would be fucked up. i'm not gonna do that though. and your brain is like "ok. just to make sure i'm gonna make you think of it in graphic detail over and over for the next five minutes just so that you really understand how fucked up it would be." thanks i guess.
So annoying how people will see systems with multiple psychiatric disorders as proof of malingering even though it's more common for people with OSDDID to have a lot of disorders than not. Research papers show people with DID have on average 5-6+ axis-I disorders alone, but people will still shit on systems with large amounts of diagnoses and be like "Omg they're collecting mental illnesses like pokemon cards what a faker!!" I'm getting real sick of ignorant ass fakeclaimers not doing 2 seconds of research.
Autistics and Task Switching ♾️
hello here’s a really good resource explaining task switching for autistic ppl and how hard/painful it can be !!
my partner was having a hard time understanding why i get so upset when we’re hanging out (but doing different things) and he interrupts what i’m doing to show me something on his phone. i was having a hard time explaining my emotions/feelings to him until i came upon this article!
Vote even if you're NT as long as you get sensory overloads!
the 'having a fun little daydream world as a child' to "i rely so much upon escapism to escape from the monotony of life that days seem to pass too quickly and sometimes i don't feel real" pipeline
Something that bothers me when it comes to discussions about Autism is the idea that being diagnosed = getting support and vice versa.
When I first got diagnosed, all the therapy I got that was geared towards my autistic traits didn't help me. Not even once. My psychologist just kept trying to make me more social and extroverted. In other words, she was trying to make me neurotypical.
When I went to therapy, the professionals saw me as a walking diagnosis, not as a person. They assumed I had problems I didn't have, and ignored the problems I had; all because they didn't fit the idea they had of what an autistic person could experience.
Did I struggle with school? No, you need more challenges. Did I want to be alone? No, you need to learn social skills. Was I too apathetic? No, you are hiding all of your emotions.
The best therapies I got were the ones where they didn't diagnose me as autistic. They simply saw me as a human being with issues that weren't dictated by a DSM diagnosis.
The stereotyping, the ableism, the way they tried to turn me into a neurotypical person... it's just harmful. I prefer for to be misdiagnosed or being told I'm unique or whatever, than letting them diagnose me and pathologize my own neurodivergent traits.
(Tw for ableism, aspergers, etc.)
I want to talk about aspie supremacists, and accidental aspie supremacy.
First, what does Aspie supremacy mean? It is the belief that autistics with "aspergers" (a bad term for multiple reasons. I've talked about it before.) or those who are considered "high functioning" have a "superior form of autism" and should have more authority or influence within the community. This leads to the marginalization and silencing of high support needs autistics. The concept of "Aspie supremacy" perpetuates an ableist hierarchy that undermines the principles of inclusivity, intersectionality, and solidarity within the disability community.
Aspie supremacists, whether consciously or unconsciously, perpetuate ableism by marginalizing those with high support needs. They speak over us, disregard our experiences, and promote harmful stereotypes that undermine our value and contributions. This behavior is not only hurtful but goes against the core principles of neurodiversity and inclusivity, and I am tired of seeing it so frequently accepted.
Even if it isnt labeled as aspie supremacy, it is still harmful. One of the biggest challenges lies in the unlabelled nature of this supremacy. It often operates covertly, disguised as a preference for certain autistic traits or as a focus on specific experiences within the spectrum. By prioritizing these aspects without acknowledging the diverse range of needs and experiences, we inadvertently silence and exclude people like me.
Unlabeled aspie supremacy is extremely prevalent in both online and in person neurodivergent spaces, usually taking form as a lack of mention, education, and understanding of high support needs autistics. YES, only ever talking about level one autistics and ignoring the struggles and ideas of high support needs autistics IS aspie supremacy, whether purposeful or not. If you are only listening to and reading from low support needs autistics with no attempt to listen to higher support needs autists, you are contributing to the problem.
If this is something you are doing accidentally, I want you to please think about why it is you don't make an attempt to listen higher support needs autistics, and acknowledge your mistake. You should then try to fix this, and begin listening to our experiences, and spreading them through reblogs or similar means.
Begging people to realize anxiety treatments do not work for OCD. They function very differently, and what helps GAD when applied to OCD will become a compulsion and make the whole obsessive-compulsive cycle more intense and more frequent.
I'm tired of people with anxiety giving me advice when I talk about my OCD, but not backing down when I tell them it won't work for me and will make it worse. They start saying stuff like "oh but I've dealt with anxiety! this works for me!"
Yes, Susan, you've dealt with anxiety, not OCD. They are different. We don't have the same disorder, we don't have the same treatment needs.
Honestly this whole "OCD is an anxiety disorder" misconception and the amount of people mislabeling OCD symptoms as anxiety has done a number on people, because now they think they're the same thing. They're not. Treating OCD as anxiety makes it worse. How long is it gonna take people to realize that?
My will to live dies a little every time I see that kind of psychology dominated by cis white "empath" women where they "don't believe" in diagnosis, think that mindfulness, journaling and yoga solve everything, always spout those cringey recovery quotes, and blame anything and everything on "the narcissists in our lives"