Helpful Poppy

A blog for people with mental illness, chronic illness and disabilities. Featuring educational and positive posts to provide encouragement and support. Feel free to send me an ask or message, but please be aware that I don’t reblog fundraising posts as a rule.

[gentleaffirmations]

[berryautistic]

disabled queers i love you

[berryautistic]

it's okay to be frustrated with your mobility aids btw.

we talk about mobility aids as if they're these amazing, flawless pieces of equipment, but in reality, they can be hard to use, hard to maintain, sometimes bulky or weirdly designed, sometimes uncomfortable (even if helpful), sometimes don't fit your personal style, physical spaces are often not designed for them, etc.

they are also amazing pieces of equipment. they are tools of freedom, they improve a lot of disabled peoples' quality of life, and they're often worth the frustration. but they are still frustrating.

and it's okay to be frustrated when you use them. even if you've used them for a long time. they're frustrating.

[phleb0tomist]

if you need full time care i love you. if you need part time care i love you. if it’s not safe for you to be unsupervised i love you. if it’s not safe for you to cook i love you. if you can’t dress yourself i love you. if you can’t toilet without help i love you. if you have uncontrollable behaviours unless someone is looking after you i love you. if someone else has to maintain your medical devices i love you. if you rely on informal or unpaid care from family or friends i love you. if you rely on formal care from professionals i love you. if you live in a group home, institution, or supported living i love you. if you’re embarrassed to admit you have carers i love you. if you talk about your carers with pride i love you.

if you need care i love you.

[gentleaffirmations]

Even if you were a difficult child, you didn't deserve to be hurt.

[gentleaffirmations]

I hope this message reaches all the neurodiverse and disabled people who were made to feel like their abuse was justified because they had "behaviors".

While this message is true for every child, you are who I had in mind when I wrote it.

[kosmogrl]

[selfcarereminder]

you have survived 100% of your hard days. that is a genuinely perfect record and i think you should sit with that for a minute

[wholeheartedsuggestions]

free yourself. accept liking and doing “cringy” things if they’re things you like.

[openmindpsych]

if you have schizophrenia or any other schizospec disorder i hope you have a good day

[daily-reminders-that-ur-enough]

Your best is not the same as your 100%. It's okay to give as much as you CAN not as much as is humanly possible. Giving 100% all the time just leads to burn out.

[artbylittlebug]

[slfcare]

reasons people might be looking at you in public (that aren’t negative)

they like what you’re wearing.

you look like someone they know.

they recognize a piece of clothing or accessory you’re wearing.

they think you’re beautiful or attractive.

they’re not actually looking at you; they’re completely zoned out.

they're bored and people-watching.

they recognize you from somewhere.

they’re hesitating to ask you something or give you a compliment.

they’ve seen you in that same place before.

you caught their eye.

you look like how they imagined a fictional character to look.

you’re actively reminding them of something completely unrelated and they’re thinking about it.

they’re admiring one of your visual qualities (smile, stance, hairstyle).

[talkethtothehandeth]

It’s really irritating to me whenever I see videos of other severely disabled people saying it’s hard to wash their hair because of their illnesses and people suggest “just” cutting it off. As if hair isn’t a huge part of peoples’ identity a lot of times, if not self expression. And the misconception that shorter hair means it won’t be as bad for someone with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis is just incomprehensible to me.

If they’re not suggesting something, believing it’s a one size fits all solution (bed hair washing set ups, shampoo caps) their solution is to just… get rid of a part of our identity to suddenly “make it easier”. Long hair isn’t the issue when every movement and sensory input is punishing. Making it easier isn’t always the point. Sometimes the point is just sharing “this is what I go through because of my disability, something you might not think of if you’re not disabled/don’t have my disability”. It’s no different than any other person showing a day in their life or how they care for their hair. It’s just not conventional for you to see people still struggle with all the added help.

Why would your first suggestion be to remove another part of myself? Why would a positive resolve to you be for my friends and people like me to change more of who we are just because we are simply sharing something that will affect us regardless of the length of hair we have? We will always struggle with personal care tasks/ADLs but that doesn’t mean we’re looking to make it the easiest way if it means losing more and more of ourselves. Sometimes even with a struggle it is the easiest without giving up the final fight with something. Respect that.

[talkethto-thehandeth]

AHAH found my post before my blog was nuked. I’m never shutting up. I was made to haunt to the internet.

I wanted to also say that even if it is more work, you’re allowed to want to keep that effort as long as possible. You’re allowed to want to be “extra” in your care. You’re allowed to want to feel dolled up and pretty. You don’t have to give in to people telling you to either thin or cut your hair if YOU don’t want to. You are allowed to have it as you are, even if you have rapunzel length hair and it technically “WOULD” be easier, you’re not wrong for wanting to keep that part of yourself.

MUAH.

[spacedadsupport]

15/05/2026 Jean-Luc Picard @SpaceDadSupport Incoming Transmission…

The things you imagine that you cannot do well enough are the same things that other people do poorly all the time without concern. Do things. Get things done. You need not be perfect at most things.

[wetheurban]

A calming truth: Not everything you planted this month was meant to bloom this month. Keep going. Trust your process.

[akindplace]

their brutality does not erase the good you do, even if you wish you could do so much more to help others. their violence doesn’t take away from your compassion, their unkindness doesn’t negate your gentleness and your efforts are not in vain. it is better to try and make things a little better than it is to never try at all. even if what you can do seems to be smaller in scale, it can still help others, it can still change a few things. and the fact that you have a heart that breaks every time you learn of something tragic happening in this world makes more humane than they’ll ever be.

[akindplace]

you are still capable of doing good, even if you can’t change the whole world, and it’s a heavy burden to take on yourself to wish that you could do so on your own. just remember that it is enough to do whatever you can to help and that their cruelty cannot annul any good you put out into the world

[akindplace]

if i let them make me feel defeated and bitter, they win. so i will keep myself soft, maybe even softer, and try and try and try to make things better for anyone i can help

[empathwitchliv]

don't be afraid to:

🦋 love on your friends

🌿 hydrate

🦋 take up space

🌿 rest