[izukuwus]

Still reeling from the realization that bullet journaling was essentially created to be a disability aid and got legit fuckin gentrified

[izukuwus]

Like I'm at work and don't have the time to properly organize my thoughts atm but like.

-bullet journalling was invented by a man with a learning disability (99% sure it was ADHD but his website now just says learning disability so I can't be 100%) as a system for organizing his life/way to work WITH his learning disability

-the general concept is bullet point the important things you need to do and use a simple system of symbols to mark whether it's done, rescheduled, cancelled, etc. with very little fanfare, keeping it all in one notebook so you know where to easily find the information at a glance

-people pick it up and it starts getting popular

-bullet journaling becomes an aesthetic movement largely populated by white neurotypicals

-bullet journaling has turned into creating an extremely pretty notebook that has some function, but largely depends on complicated decoration and aesthetic function that takes more time to set up than is tenable for the people it was created for

-new entries to bullet journaling feel pressure to shop at particular stores, use particular brands, purchase lots of stationery purely for its aesthetic value, and prioritize the artistry of the pages rather than the information being stored on them

-people who would massively benefit from the original system can only really find information on it from members of the aesthetic movement. There is now a barrier to entry for ppl with ADHD and other similar conditions, as bullet journaling now requires a focus and motivation to start that these same people often lack or struggle to maintain consistently

-bullet journaling is no longer a disability aid and has become an aesthetic movement largely for middle class white neurotypicals, pushing out the people who the system was created for to begin with

[bibookmerm]

This is the original guide from the person who made bullet journalling. Super simple. Not at all high maintenance.

It was eye-opening to rewatch this after getting used to bullet journal meaning "work of highly decorative art you might journal in if it doesn't detract from the decoration" everywhere online.

[headspace-hotel]

most damaging idea of the 21st century: the conviction of vast numbers of people that human history will end within our lifetimes

climate change represents world-altering tragedy if unchecked, but not even in the worst-case scenario does it mean “literally everyone dies”

yet so many people have jumped already to “it’s over, the world is going to end, we can do nothing about it” and are just paralyzingly cynical. How do I explain that the power to imagine a future is essential for creating it

[headspace-hotel]

you know the thing where trauma can cause you to just. not expect to live much longer so when you get to 30 you don’t know what to do because you thought you’d be dead by 25

That is happening to all of us right now on a society-wide scale

[headspace-hotel]

A lot of people are like. REALLY angry at me for suggesting that “be depressed and do nothing” isn’t necessarily the only response to climate change.

this, this, this, this, this, this, and like, 700 other sources will tell you that most of the effects of climate change will be reversible even if we pass the ‘threshold’ of a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in global temperature

BUT. Even if the worst happens, it will be important to be doing things other than wallowing in misery???

I’m not trying to be callous but for people living today it’s wildly unlikely for the results to be “literally immediate death.”

People will get displaced from their homes by rising sea levels. We have like, years, probably decades, before that happens. It seems so fucked up to decide that we should do nothing, because we’ve already decided they’re going to die anyway????

If a bunch of us are going to die, why not die trying to help each other? Why not try to make sure fewer people die? Why not do something that might reduce someone’s suffering or give them food or clean water or a place to sleep?

I don’t know how to explain to you that people need socks during the apocalypse

[elodieunderglass]

I keep recommending “The Great Derangement” by Amitav Ghosh because it is a very unflinching look at how culpable we are - not for having families, or forgetting to use the right spoons - but for consistently choosing the luxurious delusions of apocalypses. People can lovingly envision a thousand apocalypses, lavishly decorated by the pop culture we’ve gobbled down; but the reverse is not true, and we lack the imagination that is quite literally needed for the future. To the point where planning for the future is actively undermined by people at all levels, stating that it’s unrealistic. We are at a turning point of human history where people are watching each other knock holes in a shared lifeboat, because “everyone knows that lifeboats are predestined to sink.”

It’s considered unrealistic to imagine the prosperous and equitable future of the next generation, because it doesn’t match pop culture. We have actively given up our responsibilities of stewardship - literally the purpose of human existence - because Hollywood made it look hard. We are forgoing our natural bonds and our collective power because we agreed that our neighbours will probably turn on us, and when we look at the self-fulfilling prophecies and natural consequences of our behavior (pandemic, natural disasters) we claim it’s evidence that we can’t improve, instead of addressing the poor behavior.

Ghosh argues that one of the most radical and revolutionary things that we can do (and in the West, the foremost ETHICAL thing to do) is to task ourselves with reprogramming our imaginations to something functional. In this scenario, everyone can participate in the work; writers can literally take readers by the hand and heal them, people can lead and teach each other on social media, unions can include it in discussions, parents can teach their children, children can teach their parents, and everyone can correct each other. Oh, and people who like boycotts and clout can start a movement demanding more imagination in media. I agree with this, and it has underpinned my work and activism ever since.

[awbrainno]

the guy who changed “multiple personality disorder” to “dissociative identity disorder” in the 90s didnt do it because of a better understanding of the disorder or the “science” (there is none). he openly admits that he did it because he doesnt believe that multiplicity exists, he thinks that all systems are fakes, and his hands were tied even as the chair of the DSM committee so changing the definition was the “next best thing” to striking MPD from the DSM entirely.

they dont know anything. do you hear me? do you get it? they make these DSM decisions arbitrarily, based on the opinions of whichever wealthy, privileged, neurotypical white male shrinks happen to be on the committee at the time. the DSM is not a tome filled with Absolute Truth. its FINE if your identity is based on being a Trauma Holder or a Protector or a Traumagenic DID System, thats FINE, but we have to remember, we have to really internalize this: they Do Not Believe In Us. they dont know shit. there is no scientific proof that early childhood trauma is the only way to be multiple, or that the DID/OSDD definitions actually mean anything at all. they were written in an attempt to discredit any multiples who were easier targets, in an effort to get rid of us, in order for one guy to be able to say “i dont believe they exist AT ALL but fine, fine, if anyone at all really IS a special snowflake system then its SUPER RARE and can only happen this One Specific Way because i said so Science”

brains and experiences are weird and we dont know hardly anything about them, about ourselves. be kind to one another. be kind. your experiences are not universal. endogenic systems have EXACTLY as much Scientific Evidence of their existence as DID systems: none at all. dont let some musty old ableist prick define someone else out of existence just to make yourself feel more valid.

[ablednt]

Also it’s so wild to me how much some of y'all cling to psychiatry as some ally to “real” systems.

Back when MPD was a label used systems diagnosed with it were denied treatment if they interacted with anyone else with MPD because psychs were so scared of them advocating for themselves. This also included if they were part of support groups for abuse and trauma survivors that let systems be themselves and talk abt members like real people, cause it was more important to isolate systems from important healing resources rather than letting them make other plural friends and gain allies.

Onno Van Der Hart lost his license for physical abuse. The entire structutal theory of dissociation was made up by him specifically for the excuse to abuse his patients. “You’re broken and not real people and only I can cure you” is the entire fucking point of that theory. It’s inherently eugenics and abusive as hell and y'all don’t fucking care praising an actual proven abuser i guess

Even dissociative specialists often know jack shit about systemhood because they Don’t Study From Systems they study a bunch of shit neurotypical white men made up but sure I’ll trust them with my mental health and autonomy/s

[pervocracy]

observations from urgent care

- People who exercise a lot get knee injuries from overdoing it

- People who only exercise occasionally get knee injuries from being unprepared for the exertion

- People who don’t exercise get knee injuries from being out of shape

- Maybe knees just suck

[bequilles]

it me

[nentuaby]

In knees’ defense, the original plan called for four main leg joints to work together. It’s not THEIR fault the foreleg team fucked off to Hollywood to be elbows!

[drpathetique]

I can’t believe how y'all forget the true victim in this - the lower back never asked to be involved in this conflict

[lunetta-suzie-jewel]

observations from massage therapy:

STRETCH

For the love of God and fuck,

STRETCH

And I don’t mean for five minutes before you do “real” exercise. I mean stretching is real exercise, and if you do no other form of exercise, you have to stretch if you want to avoid otherwise avoidable pain.

Bring up youtube, type in “flexibility for beginners,” and pick a video. Don’t worry if you can’t keep pace or aren’t as flexible as the instructor. It’s not about being impressive, it’s about preventative care.

Other things you can do to help:

Stay warm. Soft tissue has a nifty little characteristic called thixotrophy which, aside from being a sweet band name, means they go from a more solid state to a more liquid state under heat and pressure. It’s why massage works at all. This will help keep soft tissue looser and more elastic, which will improve your range of motion. I sleep with heating pads every night and soak in a hot bath once a week and lmty it HELPS.

Drink water. Hydrated muscles are less likely to form adhesions (when individual strands of tissue dry out, get sticky, and basically glue themselves together) which will prevent pain as well as improve ROM. Water will also help flush dislodged scar tissue and metabolic waste out of your body when you pee, which is what you want…that shit aches and/or itches when it settles.

If you can, sleep on your back. (Ignore this if you have sleep-associated breathing problems like apnea or snoring…consult with a doctor about that btw.) Put cushioning under your knees until your lower back feels comfortable, and put cushioning under your neck if it’s not already supported by your pillow. It’s ok if you can’t back-sleep the whole night immediately; just keep trying and you’ll train yourself eventually.

If you MUST sleep on your side, use that neck cushion I mentioned, and put the leg cushioning between your thighs (from knee to pelvis); this takes pressure off the lower back.

If you sleep on your stomach, put that cushioning beneath your pelvis and ankles. Idk what you can do to help your neck aside from attach a face cradle to your mattress tho :\

Get massage regularly, or a reasonable facsimile thereof if that’s not feasible. Soak as much as you can of yourself (whether it’s just your feet or your entire body) in hot water. Use self-massage tools that you pick up in stores. Lay on your stomach and let the cat knead your butt.

CBD oil does nothing for some people and works magic on other people. Experiment on your own discretion and in accordance with your local law.

Get therapy. Emotions have a physiological component (hormones, etc) and they will lodge themselves in soft tissue and cause pain if your emotions are not properly addressed. (One time I was massaging a woman’s arm, and she asked me if it was normal that she was experiencing all her hatred of her ex-husband come bubbling up suddenly. It’s not “normal” but it’s totally possible/expectable.)

Anything you can do to keep your soft tissue warm, loose, and elastic is good. Remember, you don’t want highly-defined muscle tissue if you’re not actively using that muscle…highly defined muscle in resting state mean you’re probably dehydrated, holding tension, and set up for injury. It’s okay if you work out a lot and have “shape” to your body, but you shouldn’t have dramatic curves and edges when you’re just vibin, y'know?

To sum: to do yourself a solid, you must stay liquid ✌🏻

[theriversdaughter]

As a trained massage therapist, this is all correct. Including the part where sometimes knees just suck, which is why I’m a trained but no longer practicing massage therapist.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

The more I talk about recycling with people the more I realise just how many people recycle backwards.

[a-really-weird-cat]

Hey OP what the fuck are you talking about?

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

What I mean is, when a lot of people plan to recycle, they look at stopping products from ending up in landfill. This is a completely pointless thing to worry about. Some materials do require special handling to dispose of safely (batteries, fragile plastics, etc.), but if your goal is a general ‘how do I repurpose this so it doesn’t end up in landfill?’, that solves absolutely nothing.

We aren’t lacking in landfill space. The shirt in the back of your closet that you never ever wear is exactly as bad for the environment in the back of your closet as it is in landfill; storing it is just delaying the point in time at which it’ll start to break down. If I buy something in a plastic bottle, and then repurpose that plastic bottle into a garden pot or something… that garden pot is still gonna go to landfill eventually. I haven’t saved anything. The plastic was landfill as soon as it was manufactured. That shirt was landfill (unless you choose to burn it, which isn’t environmentally any better) the moment the fabric was produced.

The critical point when it comes to making a difference with recycling isn’t before stuff hits landfill; it’s before the stuff is produced in the first place. “Reduce, reuse, recycle” only works because ‘reuse’ and ‘recycle’ are strategies to feed into ‘reduce’. Recycling glass bottles or aluminium cans is useful only because it reduces the amount of new glass and aluminium being produced (note: most of the plastic bottles you recycle go straight to landfill in other countries). Recycling fabric is useful only if it prevents the purchase of new fabric, and thus on a large scale, the production of new fabric.

For example, let’s say my pants are threadbare beyond repair, and I cut them up for dusters. Important question: do I use dusters? Do I need this many dusters? Is this, in short, an act that is stopping me from buying dusters made from newly manufactured material? If it’s not, then it’s not doing anything at all to help the environment. That same amount of fabric is still going to landfill. (That’s not a reason not to do it, it just doesn’t help the environment at all.)

Another example: I tend to cut up old clothes and pick up fabric that’s going to be thrown out a lot, to make bags and wall hangings and rugs and things. I recycle a LOT of fabric. Is this helping the environment? For some people doing this, it probably is, because they’re making stuff they’d otherwise buy. But for me, it’s doing nothing whatsoever for the environment. If I wasn’t making cushions and wall hangings, I wouldn’t be buying any. I just wouldn’t own any cushions or wall hangings. They’re fun to make, they brighten the place up, but they don’t affect my consumption (and therefore the incentive for cushions and wall hanging to be produced) at all; I’m buying zero of those things either way. Is this recycling? Yes. Does it have any effect whatsoever on helping the environment? No. It’s just delaying the amount of time before that exact same fabric ends becomes rubbish.

Same is true of the aformentioned plastic bottles into garden pots. That plastic is going into landfill whether you recycle it first or not. The question is, did repurposing it stop you from having to buy plastic garden pots? Will the cumulative effect of people doing this lower the amount of plastic garden pots being produced? Will that lower the amount of plastic being produced?

Stopping things from reaching landfill is largely an irrelevant and pointless practice. Recycling is only environmentally useful when it affects the future production of materials. Repurposing materials is often fun and practical regardless (I love repurposing materials), but it’s not automatically environmentally useful just because you’re reusing something.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#This is one of the reasons I am OBSESSED with green building materials#because so many of them are actually not that green at all#and the concept of recycled building materials is so over used while being under examined#and BOY DO THEY HATE IT WHEN YOU POINT OUT THAT THEIR GREEN PRODUCT IS NOT REALLY THAT GREEN#omg it makes them so mad#them being architects or company reps etc 

Still fuming over that “vegan leather made from cacti!” thing that turned out to be almost entirely plastic with like, a bit of cactus in there.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

This is mostly true except the assertion that “We aren’t lacking in landfill space”, which I must disagree with, because we are. Every landfill means another habitat dug up, more hydrology altered, and unless they’re properly constructed, a LOT of extremely harmful compounds entering the surrounding ecosystems via leachate. And it’s a particular problem if you live somewhere with a smaller landmass (e.g. UK, Iceland, Aotearoa, the Philippines, etc) - we are absolutely running out of landfill space, and anything that slows their filling IS a good thing.

But yes, it’s absolutely true that the behemoth in the room is our consumption patterns, and a lot of the green movement is just capitalism in a new colour. If we don’t stop making all the stuff we’re making, the planet dies. It really is that simple.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

That’s a good point. For context I am Australian.

[scarlet-rosepetals]

Friendly reminder that capitalism mangled “reduce reuse recycle” into just “recycle” for a reason. Corporations don’t want to reduce consumption at all so they’ll gladly sell you the lie that if you recycle hard enough you’ll save the environment. No amount of recycling will save shit if we do not reduce and reuse (and obliterate the capitalist system forcing us all into perpetual overconsumption)

[revretch]

How a female-only line of salamanders 'steals' genes from unsuspecting males

What the heck is kleptogenesis? Read on.

So I just discovered that there's a kind of salamander that takes entire genomes from males of different species and mixes them up however it pleases. I can't even say it's a "species" because a single individual can have the entire genomes from four different species knocking around in it, so scientists just refer to the "unisexual" members of the genus (because they're all female).

We don't even know what salamander they're originally descended from, because at some point they threw that genome out. Only the mitochondrial DNA are the same in this fucking ship of Theseus of an amphibian. Please keep in mind that it's commonly accepted that the whole purpose of an organism is to propagate its DNA. This salamander said NOPE.

This doesn't make sense. This isn't how species is supposed to work for any organism, let alone an animal. What even is this salamander????

[followthebluebell]

This isn’t even like a specific SPECIES of salamander.  This is the entire genus of ambystoma and is exactly why axolotls are illegal in California.  The entire genus is sort of... cross-fertile, in a sense, where virtually any of them can hybridize via gene theft.   We don’t want our native California tiger salamanders’ sexy sexy genes to get stolen and to have hybrids mucking about in our ecosystem. 

[revretch]

Oh my god

[revretch]

Oh yeah, and this isn't a kind of animal with internal mating--the male just drops packets of sperm. So the female literally just picks them up at her leisure.

[loumandliker]

trying to figure out how to explain to people that “sometimes people who otherwise firmly identify as one identity can have sex with or otherwise involve themselves with someone of the gender they’re not attracted to because it’s fun or because they’re trying shit out and it doesn’t really necessarily mean anything” doesn’t mean “YOU must do that”

[loumandliker]

the statement “gay men/women can and sometimes do have sex with women/men not because they’re secretly attracted to women/men but because there’s an infinite amount of reasons for why someone isn’t a gold star gay” is not the same as asking for YOU to just “give women/men a try” like people exist that are not you. that’s the whole point. you’re not the main character of the universe and understanding that people exist as complex creatures with internal motivations and identities is actually important and reacting to literally any statement that conflicts with your experiences by screaming and crying about not relating is just extremely embarrassing

[loumandliker]

there’s a lesbian on tiktok who made a 10 second joke video about hooking up with a guy to make sure she’s not attracted to men and the response to it has been fucking insane like people are telling her she’s the reason straight men assault lesbians, that she’s not actually a lesbian, that she’s biphobic for not just calling herself bi… she had sex with a guy and came out of it more firm in her knowledge that she DOESNT like men but No just the act of willingly having sex w one is enough to automatically demote her into some kind of a homophobic traitor LARPing as a lesbian. this is the reason people talk about these experiences as things that happen. because when a real person talks about those experiences you all harass them into deleting their social media accounts over it

[loumandliker]

like i know several gay men who had sex with women just to see what it was like. they’re still gay. they have no interest in dating women, they aren’t sexually attracted to them. they, by existing, are not forcing YOU to do that. they are literally out there just living their lives as gay people and yet people will victimize themselves over some complete strangers having sex that they don’t want them to have. literally who careeeeeeessssss

[eroticcannibal]

Honestly amazes me how detached from reality online discourse about lgbt+ and queer sex lives is

Like, sex is no more significant to me than any other social activity, like having a cuppa with someone or sending them a fuckin meme. I'm not going to base my identity off who I fuck any more than im gonna base it off who I'm sending a fuckin meme to! Other people treating sex as something Deep and Meaningful and Significant To Their Identity (which is fine) has absolutely no impact on me so why should identify how they would?

And im not even that much of an outlier for that. This used to be seen as normal in our communities. What the fuck happened.

[perylenegreen-deactivated202202]

where did all you western anti-work ‘socialists’ come from anyway. you want the ‘to each according to their need’ and forgot the ‘from each according to their ability’. “I do not dream of labour” ok, but you do dream of living well. so what you really want is someone else to labour for you, which makes you indistinguishable from any bourgeois capitalist you claim to despise. the consumerist-oriented ‘fully automated luxury space communism’ bullshit has truly rotted people’s brains. you want all the trappings of excess but you want the brunt of creation of that excess to be on someone else. well congratulations, you already live in an imperialist society. you have that. someone else is already harvesting your vegetables, sewing your clothes, mining the cobalt for your electronics. all you want is more, easier access to those things.

I get it on some level, especially as someone who has worked alienating, minimum wage jobs in which I have absolutely no stake other than the necessity of getting money to pay rent. but it’s not the work. it’s the capitalism. I do not dream of labouring to the benefit of a boss who steals my own time from me, or to pay for the militarism of my government, or even to contribute to a hypothetical pension for a hypothetical retirement. but I do dream, intensely, of labour: labour that won’t kill me, and contributes meaningfully to a society I am proud of; a society not driven by profit for a few, that exists to meet the needs of everyone around me. we do not live in that society. but if we want to make it, labour will exist, and not just menial physical labour but an extraordinary amount of mental and social labour, almost none of which will ever be replaced by automation, and that is not a bad thing.

[dilililidi-deactivated20211120]

[uisxelveti]

My pride and joy ♡

[liyazaki]

Lil Nas X - THAT’S WHAT I WANT

[doctorwookie]

[source tweets]

[earhartsease]

[ID: set of 9 tweets by @the_tweedy:

I want to push back on this term “Invisible Disabilities “ because so much of the time it is actually just a nondisabled person’s failure to “perceive” someone’s disability. It is just poor body-mind literacy coupled with the assumption that nondisability is the norm.

If you go into every situation assuming a person is nondisabled AND you don’t have the disability competence to notice the many subtle ways we inhabit and signal our disabilities, of course you’ll miss most of us.

Failure to perceive disability and pick up on disability culture cues does not render disability “invisible”.

Spend enough time with crip folk and you notice how often a person sits or leans, how someone holds or adjusts their body, how pain can sound almost like an accent, how energy or attention ebbs, how mood flows, how communication varies, etc.

You develop better bodymind literacy.

You start to clue into terms like spoons and fatigue. You start to notice nonmedical aids and supports that serve a medical purpose. You start to appreciate a certain way of communicating about bodyminds and needs, a certain way of framing care and delivering mutual aid. }

In short, you start to perceive these so-called “invisible disabilities”; they’re not invisible anymore. It no longer surprises you that 20-25% of the population is disabled because you notice it everywhere.

And speaking of disability being everywhere: if we just start to assume disability until we learn otherwise, then no disability is “invisible” because disability can “look like” anything and anyone.

To clarify: use whatever term you identity with! My beef with “invisibility” isn’t the term but what it implies; it privileges the perceptions of nondisabled people who have poor bodymind literacy and who start from a premise that will be false at least 1/4 of the time.

Oh gosh and my disability! #EDS is frequently referred to as “invisible” unless a person is using a mobility aid or braces, but EDSers can often spot one another a MILE away!!! Just because you don’t know what you’re looking at doesn’t make it invisible.

ID ends]

[theegosystem-deactivated2024012]

"Narcs can gain supply by doing nice things. But it's not genuine! They only do it because it makes them feel like a good person when they know they aren't. Don't fall for it when a narc gives you a compliment! Just leave them on read, don't say thank you!"

"Empaths, when you're feeling down you should go do something nice for someone! Feeling the warmth they feel when you see them smile will definitely cheer you up. If they leave you on read or don't say thank you, then they're a narc using you for supply."

:( sweetie, you just described the same thing :(

[eroticcannibal]

I think its very telling when people see "a need to be the Best to such a ridiculous degree that it becomes a disorder", they assume that must mean those people are bad.

Is that was "best" is to you? Are your ideals really so wrapped up in harm that you cannot imagine a way of living that is good for you, that does not hurt others?

Cus I'm just here like "if I give my kid one of my special birthday rubicon mango and talk to them about that history of cheating in Minecraft video they were watching earlier they will think I'm the best dad ever". The fuck are you non-narcs fucking doing?

[eroticcannibal]

I would-and almost have in the past-give so much of myself to others just so that they view me as miraculous that it kills me

And you would declare me incapable of good, you would point to every life I've touched and claim I have ruined them, your only evidence being that I wanted to play the saviour a little too much? That I get more personal fulfillment out of it than you do? And I'm the bad guy?

[scarlettjane22]

Horsephotos

[kaijutegu]

STUFF NOBODY EVER TOLD YOU ABOUT TEETH (and how to take care of them if you are poor and/or depressed)

Contrary to what the US health industry would have you believe, your teeth are NOT luxury face bones. You need them. Healthy teeth are a cornerstone of good health in general for a lot of reasons. You can’t eat well without them. You need them to speak. And tooth bias is real.

This makes me very sad because I love teeth. I am not a dentist. I’m a biological anthropologist whose expertise is oral disease and the evolutionary anatomy of teeth. My dad’s an oral surgeon and I worked in his office from the tender and illegal age of 8 to the ripe old age of 18, which is when I went to college. At 12, I was assisting with the disposal of biowaste, aka packaging up the teeth to send them to dental schools. I live, breathe, sleep, and occasionally eat teeth. I found a human incisor on my floor this morning and wasn’t even surprised. I study how teeth go bad partly so that I can help living people protect the teeth they’ve got. It’s my goal with this post to teach you about a couple of different types of procedures and oral injuries, as well as what you can do to help keep your teeth functional. So in this post, what I am going to do is outline a few common things that can go wrong with your teeth, how they happen, and how to catch them before they get bad. A lot of the advice in this post is for people who maybe can’t get to the dentist for a cleaning and checkup every six months. This post is also gonna be LONG AS HELL and there is going to be a separate post called “luxury face bone hacks for the busy/broke/b’mentally ill” or something like that, so like. If you don’t like super long posts, just hit this one with a like and actually read through that one.

First, let’s talk about dental anatomy.

What Are Teeth?

Teeth are extremely cool. They’re these amazing little packages of dentin pulp, protected by enamel, nestled into the jaw like truffles in a box of chocolates, held in place with a teeny tiny ligament. They’re gorgeous– enamel is a beautiful substance, translucent and opalescent. Teeth are also extremely weird when you think about them. You have these weird not-bone things emerging from holes in your jawbones. They’re snapped into place with a biological bunjy cord and you can actually SPRAIN THEM if you put too much pressure on them.

Here are some important things to know about teeth!

First, the nerves in your teeth were never meant to be exposed to the air. They only process stimulus one way: pain. This means that when you get a cavity or do anything else that exposes the nerve, it is going to hurt like a bitch.

Your teeth may come loose! Usually they stay put and go back to normal in a day or two. Don’t panic. This is usually the result of you spraining your dental ligament that holds the tooth in place.

Root canals suck but they can prevent dental abscesses. Dental abscesses can kill you. If they spread and get into your sinuses, they can cross the blood/brain barrier and you will die. This doesn’t happen much any more, but in rare cases… it can.

The phrase “like pulling teeth” is a misnomer. Pulling teeth is extremely easy if you know what you’re doing. Extractions are usually a very simple procedure. What’s complicated is things like root canals and setting up implants, which, in the case of implants is the literal opposite of pulling teeth.

Pregnancy will fuck up your teeth because a.) the fetus is leaching your vital essence and other nutrients and b.) your hormones are telling a lot of ligaments in your body to loosen up to get ready to give birth. Sometimes wires get crossed and other ligaments at non-mobile joints get the loosen up message, too. Just be sure to keep up your dental hygiene regimen during pregnancy and you’ll be fine.

Your gum tissue isn’t just weird wet skin. It’s a mucous membrane that protects the mouth. It can get diseased and inflamed, so pay attention to it! Also, there’s a lot of blood vessels so if you poke yourself with something, you’ll bleed like a stuck pig for a minute. The kind of bleeding you should be worried about is prolonged bleeding, where you see blood welling up around your teeth for no apparent reason.

Now that you’ve been equipped with some fun facts, lets talk about diseases and procedures.

Braces: if you’re reading this, you probably don’t need them

First: Pediatric orthodontia is largely a scam. People who put standard braces on their child before that child has lost all of their baby teeth are stupid and causing their child needless pain because those teeth are going to fall out anyways and the alignment of the adult teeth was decided long, long ago. The kids who NEED orthodontic intervention are kids with bad crossbites/underbites/overbites. This requires specialized headgear most of the time and is more intense than the standard braces because they are made to solve a much bigger problem. The standard bracket-and-wire braces? Don’t put those on a child. They won’t help. Also, your kid doesn’t have their third molars yet, and those are the molars most likely to come in twisted anyways.

As an adult, you may want braces for cosmetic reasons or for comfort reasons. This is a CHOICE that is YOURS TO MAKE. If your dentist suggests you need braces, ask why. You don’t have to get them. Now,If you have certain kinds of dental overlap- like, your lateral incisors have been pushed behind your frontals- then yeah, you should get braces. But is it the end of the world if you don’t get braces? No.

Wisdom tooth removal: you might not need it

The human jaw is in a state of evolutionary mismatch right now. Basically, our last molar, the third molar, doesn’t come in until we’re an adult. Unfortunately, thanks to ten thousand years of agriculture, give or take a few millennia, we have much more gracile jaws than our ancestors. There’s not always enough room for it. Now, this isn’t true for everyone, because no two skulls are identical and all, but sometimes there is a condition where you really should get those suckers out. If they are impacted, or coming in sideways, they can push your other teeth out of alignment and cause jaw issues down the line. If they come up straight, don’t worry about it.

Cavities: you need to get these taken care of

Cavities are a pain in the ass and are honestly the main reason you should go to the dentist for checkups, so that they can take the x-ray of your mouth and see how any potential trouble zones are progressing. You should call a dentist and seek help if you notice pain that persists over three days, as that’s an indicator of something more serious than just a sprain.

Tooth Grinding: this is a problem

If you grind your teeth, your dentist may recommend a night guard. Actually listen to them about this. Grinding your teeth can cause major jaw alignment problems that are a pain to fix, so just bite the silicone and suck it up. Also maybe talk to a therapist if you can, because grinding can be a result of stress/anxiety.

Whitening your teeth: bad idea

First off, your teeth ain’t supposed to be white. Enamel is not white. Enamel is translucent and pearlescent, so its actual color is very hard to pin down. Your teeth are naturally going to look more ivory-colored over time. That’s just part of being human and having teeth. Embrace it. You are a badass omnivore with thirty-two gorgeous enamel teeth. They weren’t put in your mouth to look pretty, they were put in your mouth to feed you.

Second: Whitening your teeth weakens your enamel. Once your enamel’s gone, it ain’t coming back, baby. There are some gentler whitening methods, like whitening toothpaste, but these are only going to give you about one to two shades worth of improvement. If you have extremely stained teeth and you want to whiten them, make sure you talk to your dentist about all the risks. Unfortunately, there is no truly safe and effective home-style (read: not a million gotdang dollars) remedy for whitening teeth.

There are a few that are kicking around, but seriously, some of them are dangerous. Do NOT rub wood ash on your teeth. That’s lye. Don’t put that in your mouth. Do NOT use actual bleach, hair dye developer, or non-dental peroxide gel. They are poisonous. DO NOT PUT ACETONE ON YOUR TEETH i have seen this exactly once and the person came into my dad’s office with chemical burns on their gums and lips. I do NOT want to see this again.

It is a misconception that brushing your teeth keeps them looking white. Brushing your teeth removes plaque and biofilm, but those buildups don’t actually stain the enamel itself. Instead, really the only way to keep your teeth looking light is to pay attention to what you’re putting in your mouth. If you’re a tobacco user, vape! Tar is a major staining agent. Coffee’s also a major stainer, and the big trick there is to put a little milk in it. See, enamel staining doesn’t come from the color of the food. It comes from chemical properties. Acidic foods stain because acid damages enamel. Food with high levels of tannins, like coffee or tea, stain because the tannins change the PH of the mouth. So what you should do to avoid staining is balance your mouth PH by eating something basic after eating something acidic. Add a lil milk to your coffee or tea to weaken its acidity just a bit. Swish with water afterwards to help clear the acid. Don’t eat lemons or any other acidic food after drinking coffee. Why would you want to eat lemons after drinking coffee, anyways? Seems like a weird flavor combo to me.

And while we’re on the subject…

MOUTH CHEMISTRY

What’s in your mouth? Your teeth, your gums, your tongue, your spit… yeah, your spit. Saliva’s important. It’s probably THE most important thing in protecting your teeth because salivary production constantly washes the teeth, clearing off as much bad bacteria as possible. If you have an issue with saliva production, you should drink as much water as you can throughout the day, and get a bottle of dry mouth tabs for nighttime. Or daytime, if they don’t bother you. This is really important because dry mouth is a major side effect for a lot of drugs, like anti-depressants. This is actually a huge part of my research- the population I study used a natural painkiller, but in the end its use caused them more pain because the way it works, it decreases the efficacy of the salivary glands. They stop making sufficient saliva, the teeth dry out, the mouth PH changes, and the bacteria that destroy enamel go buckwild. If you can’t make your own spit, store bought is fine. Water for the day, tabs for the night.

Now, you might think that ok, acid isn’t great, let’s eat more basic foods to balance that out. You can, but it… isn’t great. Your saliva is naturally acidic for a reason, and if you neutralize it completely, that ALSO messes with your teeth. You should be drinking plain water as much as possible.

Seltzer and Soda

Some people think seltzer may hurt your teeth, but it really won’t… unless it’s citrus-flavored. Reason: citrus seltzer uses citric acid as a flavoring agent, and that messes with your teeth. So if you want to drink citrus seltzer, drink it with a meal or with food. Don’t sip it slow over the day.

Soda, on the other hand is a goddamn nightmare. The acid’s kind of a problem but the sugar… dear god the sugar. So. your teeth are covered in a bacterial biofilm. Some of these bacteria excrete acid, and that’s what gives you cavities. This is another part of my research- looking at how cavity prevalence changes as sweetening agents and sugar availability changes. As different carbohydrates enter the diet, populations’ disease responses change. I know more about this than probably anybody else in the world, and here is what I know: the best thing you can do for your teeth is stop drinking American soda.

It’s the corn, you guys. The chemical compounds in corn make the cavity-causing bacteria kick into overdrive. Sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup create the perfect environment for these dudes to excrete out a storm. Sugary beverages in general promote cavities, but NOTHING does it like sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or any other corn byproduct. Try to limit your soda and juice consumption and if you can, make sure that when you do have them, you’re getting some food,too.

Other Acids

Ok this next part is going to deal with eating disorders. I’m going to be talking about some of the side effects of bulimia, what they can do to your teeth, and how you can take care of them. Eating disorders are serious business and I hope if you need this section you are in supportive recovery and have the love and support and resources you need. If you don’t want to read about what this can do to your teeth, scroll real quick until you seen the big green text.

If your teeth are in frequent contact with stomach acid, acid etching can be a real problem. Your enamel is tough but stomach acid is gnarly, and your gums don’t have that same protection. If you find yourself vomiting frequently, for whatever reason, try to swish water around in your mouth afterwards to help clean it out. I know that’s not the thing that’s likely on your mind after that, but a lot of what we’re doing here is damage control. I’m not here to judge you in the slightest. I’m just here to help you with your teeth.

Do not brush your teeth immediately after vomiting. The enamel is weaker, and you can cause even more damage by brushing too hard. Wait for at least an hour until after you’ve rinsed your mouth to avoid spreading the acid around.

You can also add some (1-2 tsp) baking soda to the water you rinse with, if you feel ok with doing that. It will taste gross and salty but it will help neutralize the acid. You just rinse with this, you don’t swallow.

ok that part is over

TOOTH HACKS

This is the funnest part, I get to tell you good ways to take care of your teeth that require very few spoons and very little money!

Brush ‘em twice a day. Once when you get up to clear out whatever happened the night before, and once before you fall asleep. You can brush more but you don’t have to. Use a soft-bristled brush and whatever toothpaste you like. If you hate mint, kid toothpaste that tastes like bubblegum or berries is totally fine!

Don’t want to get out of bed? totally fine. Use a finger toothbrush! these are designed for babies which is actually great because they are SUPER soft. If you have sensitive gums, these are going to be really helpful.

Don’t have access to a finger toothbrush? honest to god you can just dip your finger in water (though a mix of water and baking soda or water and salt is better) and brush your teeth with just your finger. The point of this isn’t to freshen your breath or anything, it’s just to get the biofilm off of your teeth and protect them.

Floss. This gets the biofilm out from between your teeth and promotes good gum health. Don’t just run it between the teeth- you need to floss below the gumline a little bit to help clean out plaque.

If you don’t have the spoons to do your whole mouth, floss between your molars if you can.

There’s lots of products that are great for people who can’t go through the whole flossing routine. Pre-threaded flossers are ideal because they’re designed for minimal effort and maximum gain. These are also killer for people with physical disabilities that affect hand dexterity.

If flossing hurts because you have sensitive gums, a water flosser can really help. This is more expensive but will last a very long time.

You can also get topical numbing gel that you can smear on your gums when flossing. Just be careful that you’re not flossing too hard because you can’t feel it. This brand is kind of expensive but it has a nice minty flavor. If you have a dollar and a way to get there, I saw Orajel at Dollar Tree yesterday… when I was buying a bunch of those pre-threaded flossers to throw in my car. I oughta do a Dollar Tree field trip to show you like, what products are available at the absolute cheapest in the US. Dollar Tree has a LOT of good dental options.

There’s a tiktok that says you can use a strand of hair to floss. This is a bad idea. A single strand of hair is likely to break and can cut into your gums. If you want to use hair as floss, you need to use a couple of strands twisted together. Go slow and gentle if you’re using hair. Obviously actual floss is better but this isn’t “perfect dental tips for perfect people,” this is “life sucks but your teeth don’t gotta.”

If you can’t floss or can’t brush, gargle. Put two tsp of baking soda in a glass of warm water. Swish it around, spit it out. If you can do that, you’ve helped clear out biofilm and bacterial waste.

Prioritize your teeth. You only get two sets and you lose the first one by the time you’re twelve. If you can only do one hygiene thing today, make it be your teeth.

Eat some pineapple. Bromelain, which is only found in pineapple, is super good at protecting enamel.

That’s… all I got for you now. Take care of your teeth!

[thebookworm0001]

[inneedofdonuts]

His energy is unmatched

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I had no idea Snubby J was still active! His whole thing is he makes instruments - “pipe” organs - out of PVC pipes cut to length. Here’s the video that went viral back in 2010/11: