going thru phone pics and found this thing that was tacked up next to the toaster at my old job, if anyone needs some light toast eating reading material

Would anyone be kind enough to transcribe this or link to a text version?

Everything Is AWFUL and I’m Not Okay: Questions to Ask Before Giving Up on Yourself

Are you hydrated? 

If not, have a glass of water. Dehydration can mimic or increase feelings associated with anxiety and a well hydrated brain functions optimally. Avoid excess caffeine. 

Have you eaten in the past three hours? 

Don’t be a victim of hanger! Get some food–something with protein, not just simple carbs or high-fat. Nuts, hummus, and veggies are great options to feed your studying brain. Keep healthy snacks within reach to avoid mindlessly chowing down on sweets. 

Have you stretched your legs in the past day? 

If not, do so right now. If you don’t have the energy or time for a run or a trip to the gym, just walk around the block or building. Even minimal exercise preps the mind for learning so that you can focus better and recall things easier, plus it’s good to get a change of scenery. 

Have you said something nice to someone in the past day? 

Do so, whether online or in person. Make it genuine! We bet your study partner would appreciate a compliment. 

Have you moved your body to music in the past day?

If not, jog for the length of a song at your favorite tempo, or just dance around your bedroom for the length of an upbeat song (singing along is a bonus) 

Have you cuddled a living being in the past two days?

If not, do so. Don’t be afraid to ask for hugs from friends of friends’ pets. Most of them will enjoy the cuddles too; you’re not imposing. 

Have you started or changed any medications in the past couple of weeks, including skipped doses or a change in generic prescription brand? 

That may be screwing with your head. Give things a few days, then talk to your doctor if it doesn’t settle down. 

If daytime: are you dressed? 

If no, put on clean clothes that aren’t PJs. Give yourself permission to wear something special, whether it’s a funny t-shirt or a pretty dress. 

If nighttime: are you sleepy and fatigued but resisting going to sleep? 

Put on PJs, make yourself cozy in bed with a teddy bear and the sound of falling rain, and close your eyes for fifteen minutes while focusing on breathing deeper with every breath- no electronic screens allowed! Adequate sleep is a necessity for stress management. 

Do you feel ineffective? 

Pause right now and get something small completed, whether it’s responding to an email, loading the dishwasher, or tidying up your room. Good job!

Do you feel unattractive? 

Take a darn selfie. Your friends will remind you how great you look. You are always insta-worthy. 

Do you feel paralyzed by indecision?

Give yourself ten minutes to sit back and figure out a game plan for the day. If a particular decision or problem is still being a roadblock, simply set it aside for now, and pick something else that seems doable. Right now, the important part is to break through that stasis, even if it means doing something trivial. 

Have you over-exerted yourself lately–physically, emotionally, socially, or intellectually? 

That can take a toll that lingers for days. Give yourself a break in that area, whether it’s physical rest, taking some time alone, or relaxing with some silly entertainment for a little. Time spent refreshing yourself is never time “wasted!” 

Have you waited a week? 

Sometimes or perception of life is skewed, and we can’t even tell that we’re not thinking clearly, and there’s no obvious external cause. It happens. Keep yourself going for a full week, whatever it takes, and see if you still feel the same way then. 

You’ve made it this far; and you will make it through. You are stronger than you think.

Because someone might need this today

You have survived 100% of your worst days.

This too shall pass.

“frugal” eating recipes be like

oh its SO EASY, just buy this fifty dollar item for forty-nine dollars off with a coupon that you can’t find and don’t have time to cut out at a store that doesn’t have outlets in rural areas and then you can fill in the rest with odds and ends that are SURELY already taking up space in your kitchen that you totally somehow forgot about! [photo of a table full of perfectly arranged meats and fresh vegetables] this little family secret is SO easy and delicious just looking at it will make you gain ten pounds ;) so make sure pace yourself! this right here should be enough to stock your fridge for the next ten months at LEAST so you don’t have to worry about the hassle of mealtime again for awhile!

you know what website actually has my motherfucking back? myfridgefood, put all three (3) things in ur cabinets into their site & even if it’s some stupid shit like “bread cheese and pickles“ they’ll still throw at least half a dozen Depression Meals™ your way

For my followers! 

-FemaleWarrior, She/They 

Also try Jack Monroe’s Cooking on a Book Strap. Basically austerity meals Jack made for themselves and their young child when they were living on benefits, everything works out at pence a meal. Sidenote: Jack Monroe is a fantastic queer person and activist and you check them out regardless.   

https://cookingonabootstrap.com/

Budget Bytes -

recipes broken down by cost per recipe and per serving, meal plans, meal prep, tips on stocking a pantry and how to freeze food

Definitely saving the fridge food one because I am a cooking minimalist with typically low executive function capacity

oh so when vampires have heightened sensory awareness it’s cool, but when I have it it’s ‘autism’

How to Finish

I drew this poster for Jon Acuff and his FINISH book tour. Big thanks to Jon for this collaboration, his book has some great ideas about how to complete creative and life goals.

Love this, but reblogging it specifically for “Get rid of secret rules.” That’s one of the most amazing illustrations—and points—I’ve ever seen.

so important especially for perfectionists who procrastinate and never finish, or even start because they set such high standards for themselves.

Or for finding the motivation to start or finish a task with executive dysfunction

PSA Regarding Hateful Anons

Tumblr recently made it a requirement for you to be logged in to send asks anonymously. If you receive a hateful ask, don’t publish it - report it to Tumblr. It can be traced back to the user that sent it and with enough reports that person’s account will be suspended.

Share to raise awareness but also to make the clowns who think this behaviour is acceptable think twice before acting brave behind the guise of invisibility.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but if the phrase "self care" doesn't resonate with you, try calling it "system maintenance" and see if that clicks.

Reblogging to add amazing tags from @meta-theory

#this both makes things more fun and also is a really good analogy#because there are four types of system maintenance and that makes the term much more exact than the nebulous ''self-care''#and therefore much more helpful to those of us who uhhh struggle with nebulosity#for anyone curious the four types are:#1. corrective (to fix current problems)#2. preventative (to avoid future problems)#3. adaptative (to re-adjust to any changes)#4. perfective (to work towards a better system)#I really like this idea I'm gonna make a checklist

Autistic Lifehack: Hearing Problems

If someone says something that you only partially understand:

DON’T ask for clarification with a generic “What?” or “I’m sorry?” (In my experience, people will repeat the phrase the exact same way without helping you to understand).

Example: Them: “Hey, do you like pahganabasa?” Autistic Person: “What?” Them: “Do you like pahganabasa?” Autistic Person: “I’m sorry, what?” Them (annoyed): “Do you like pahganabasa?”

Instead, DO repeat the part that you did understand, and substitute a “What?” for the unintelligable part.

Example: Them: “Hey, do you like pahganabasa?” Autistic Person: “Do I like what?” Them: “Pineapple pizza?” Autistic Person: (Understands the words!)

I’ve also had successes with “I’m sorry, I only heard the first half of that sentence,” or actually verbalizing my interpretation of the part I heard incorrectly as a question: “Pahgana… basa?”.

Sometimes that makes the speaker think that they might be mumbling, or verbalizing in a way that makes them difficult to understand (because there are times it’s really not your brain–it’s their mouth).

This is also a lifesaver if you have Auditory Processing Disorder. It stopped the amount of annoyed sighs because ppl thought I was deliberately ignoring them or them saying the same thing but louder (which does not help when volume isn’t the problem)

Have you ever donated blood?

longtime US donor, trying and failing not to spend ALL day responding to ppl's comments on here so I'm writing up some thoughts in a reblog

giving blood if you are able is always important but over the years of the pandemic it's gotten so much more important, our blood reserves have plummeted, I recently read my local blood services was only able to fill one in three hospital orders for needed blood.

the first question on the questionnaire in the US is "Are you feeling well and healthy today?" so if you are in poor health, if you have a chronic condition or you just feel shitty because you didn't get enough sleep, you got a bit of a cold coming on, whatever, don't feel bad about not donating.

If you have a surgery scheduled in the next month, even if you feel great, don't donate; save your blood reserves for your own healing.

If you are terrified of needles and faint when you have to give a sample at the lab, don't donate, and don't feel bad about not donating.

But if you want to donate and have been turned away in the past, here's a few things to know:

--the amount of iron they test for is slightly higher than normal/average for healthy AFAB people. If you have been told you were just under or borderline, take an iron supplement a couple days before you donate. Heck, they recommend regular donors take an iron supplement regularly anyway.

--because there's such a desperate need for blood, things that used to life or year long deferrals are now much shorter. The deferral for using intravenous drugs not prescribed by a doctor is 3 months (ie if it's been 3 months since you've done that, you can donate blood). The deferral for piercings is 3 months. The deferral for tattoos, in unregulated states, is 3 months. (In many states tattoo parlors are legally regulated/licensed and there is no deferral for tattoos.) The deferral for sex with men who have sex with men is 3 months (and yes it's bullshit but it's no longer *life.*)

--the list of drugs that prevent blood donation is actually pretty short. if you're worried about psych meds like antidepressants, mood stabilizers or ADHD meds, they're not in there. In the US they ask you to read the list and affirm you don't take those, you don't have to reveal any other drugs you take for any reason--if you're well and healthy, it doesn't matter what you take to be well and healthy.

--Major blood donor services let you do the questionnaire ahead of time online as a "rapid pass" or "express pass" or something. So you can see if you meet all the criteria before you physically go to a blood drive or donation center. But also, know that not all the questions are disqualifiers. For instance if you've had a vaccine recently, they will want to doublecheck which ones--most of the common ones you have as an adult like flu, TDAP, covid RNA, do not defer you even short term! There's a couple like MMR and chicken pox that use attenuated live virus, that you have to hold 2-4 weeks for, that's why the question is in there. If there's a question on the questionnaire you're not sure about, you can call the blood donation agency's 800 number to find out if it's worth going in that day.

--Don't know where to donate? There's two major blood collection services in the US, Red Cross and Vitalant (formerly UBS). Both sites have a place right up front to put in your zip code and find drives and donor centers near you.

--Also both are currently advertising gift cards and raffles for donors, because the need for blood is that high. Want a $10 gift card for doing a good deed? Donate blood.

A series of 8 tweets on the experience of being autistic and ADHD (AuDHD) by @pot8um on twitter, image descriptions below cut.

they need to invent a food that i do not have to do any work to prepare and also is cheap and also is nutritious and also tastes good and also that doesn’t hurt my tummy

didn’t figure out i was autistic at all until my 30s. why? well in a funny twist of what some might call irony but probably isn’t: one of my main special interests since childhood… people. behavior. how folks feel vs how they behave, why they do things, what motivates them. i became a “peacemaker” type as a kid because i could observe an argument between two people and fairly accurately guess how each felt and was able to kind of… do some emotional translation for both of them to help them find an understanding. and BECAUSE of this, people were like “you’re wise/good with people/etc” and for years people also said “that means you’re not autistic, because autism means not being good at socializing”

but like. i’m not? i’m OKAY at socializing. but since childhood i’ve found a lot more success in just being the observer. WATCHING people, paying extremely close attention, that’s what i was good at. i learned early to never TELL people outright i was doing that, people get weird when you say you’re observant and have noticed their behavior/emotions/etc

I don’t regret this being a special interest of mine. It’s been an uphill battle since my 20s to figure out how to be a PART of all that socialization? (and i still feel like i constantly fuck it up, translating the neurotypical habits mid-conversation is much harder than observing it as an outsider and having more time to process it) But… I like that I’m an observer. I like that I can see the clear causes and effects of emotions that people have, their experiences, how it can all bleed together? I like it. I’m glad my childhood brain decided to latch onto the concept of People and humanity in general. It can get frustrating sometimes feeling like the only one in a group of people trying to be considerate of what the others are going through but… I still wouldn’t give that up. I’m glad I’m weird about humans. They’re pretty great actually.

#autisming your way out of autism#punk rock my guy 

this tag jfiedowsgji lol

PMDD is so common for uterus-having ADHDers and literally no one tells you this. You just wake up one day a complete stranger to yourself, unable to sleep, in unspeakable pain and you think you’ve lost your mind. Then you notice the pattern. My GYN told me “you have the neuro type for it” and I had no clue what she was talking about. Turns out this is what she meant. Sharing for anyone who might otherwise wish they’d been warned in advance this was a thing.

There’s also increased likelihood of severe postpartum and menopausal symptoms with ADHD, apparently. So that’s fun.

Well, shit, that explains a LOT about all the women in my family and our experiences with both menstruation and pregnancy. 

Ya’ll read this thread ! It’s not something I have actively thought about but I think they make a great point here.

This definitely applies to people who have been emotional abused too.

Reasons why I curate a collection of weird friends that don't care if I'm weird. People that I don't care about? They don't know me. They don't have to like what I do. They can eyeroll if they want to and move on with their lives. Or at least, so I keep convincing myself to bully the bullying thoughts. Obviously still be considerate of other people though.

I generally try to be an authentic person, so I didn't think that masking was a thing I really did, but I just realized that in a new situation, especially a new work situation, you probably could call what I do masking because at first I'm very conscious of trying to gauge the environment and make sure I'm following all the rules and so outwardly, the nerves make me come off as much more reserved. Still second guessing like "wait, is this what masking is?" 🤯

adhd is the disorder where the “don’t want to get in the shower and don’t want to get out of the shower” feeling applies to every single thing you do at all times

A bit of trivia:  A lot of people don’t understand what it means to “Count sheep” to sleep. In reality it’s an Insomnia treatment method where you pick a random topic where there might be several examples that fit the criteria “Disney witches” for example or “Films that feature Dracula as a character.”  It can be anything at all.  "Movies with Danny Elfman musical scores.“  You don’t Google the answer.  You lay there and try to think of things that fit the topic you chose and count them. That’s how you really “Count Sheep.”  

Pretty much, yes.

@feeling-kinda-sad-ngl​

So many good tags here, including but not limited to naming every Pokemon and every song in Taylor Swift's discography on top of thinking up a storyline. I also saw a comment that said this method is designed specifically to distract the flavor of insomniac that stays up being anxious and overthinking everything, so things to keep in mind.

(I have been blessed to not have insomnia in my laundry list of ADHD symptoms, but for the rest of y'all, here ya go)

Tell me this is not the truth tho….

I'm just gonna yeet out so that I don't cry at the truth of this pie chart