Get [through] it together.

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Friendly reminders :)

Friendly reminder that people's sexual orientations are still valid year-round, not just during Pride Month.

Friendly reminder that someone may change how they label themselves, but this does not change who they are or make their identity any less valid.

Friendly reminder to respect and use the pronouns that an individual identifies with, not the ones that you think make sense to you.

Friendly reminder that some people may like specific labels while others may not, or don't feel like they need to label themselves in order to define who they are. This does not make anyone's identity any less valid.

Friendly reminder that someone may not know how to define their identity or aren't ready to be open about it. Their identity is still valid.

Friendly reminder to just not be a dick to people when you might not fully understand their sexual orientation or identity, or whose identity is different than yours.

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A little lake

[huffpost]

Church Holds Continuous Worship Service To Prevent Family’s Deportation

After hearing that a refugee family faced imminent deportation, a Netherlands church sprung into action ― and members have continued stepping up for over one month.

The Protestant Church The Hague, a local branch of the nationwide Protestant Church in the Netherlands (Protestantse Kerk), has taken dramatic steps to protect the Tamrazyans, an Armenian family of five asylum-seekers who have lived in the Netherlands for nine years. The government has reportedly denied the family’s asylum request and approved them for deportation ― even though there’s a law in place that allows children who have lived in the country for over five years to be eligible for a residence permit, if they also fulfill other requirements. The Tamrazyans applied for a permit under that law and were denied, according to the church.

Knowing that Dutch law prevents police officers from entering houses of worship during religious services, church members decided to hold a nonstop worship service at Bethel, a church and community center in The Hague. This meant that the Tamrazyans would be able to take shelter in the church.

The continuous worship service started on Oct. 26 at 1:30 p.m. ― and it hasn’t stopped since.

Learn more about this story here.

[humansofnewyork]

“We had a big discussion whether to raise him in Africa or move to the states.  We both grew up in Ghana.  But I got my PhD in West Virginia, so moving to America was an option.  The job opportunities would certainly be better there.  Both of us are professors, and you’d probably laugh if you knew what we got paid here.  Healthcare would be better too.  You don’t hear of people dying in America because they can’t find an open hospital bed.  But despite these things, we decided to raise our son here.  Because he’d never have to think about the color of his skin.  We never have to explain what it means to be black.  Or the rules of being black.  One day in West Virginia I got an Amber Alert on my phone.  All it said was: ‘tall black male.’  I was the only one in sight so I nearly panicked.  Then another day I was walking back to my dormitory.  I’d just finished teaching a course.  Someone drove by in a red truck, threw a hamburger at my head, and called me the ‘N Word.’  It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon.  I don’t want to explain that stuff to my child.  It’s exhausting to be conscious of your skin all the time.  You either become militant or you become defeated.  And I understand why it happens, but extremes of anything aren’t good.”   (Accra, Ghana)

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[humansofnewyork]

“I was a baby when I got married.  I was only thirteen.  I didn’t have an adolescence.  One day I’m a child going to school, and the next day I’m a mother, responsible for a home.  I cried too much.  I didn’t know the person I married.  He turned out to be a cold man.  He had zero communication or understanding.  I suffered for so long, but I endured it all so that I could raise my children well.  But every human has a ceiling, and once you hit it– it’s over.  For three years I planned my escape.  I waited until my children were older.  Then one morning I left the keys on the table, dropped my kids off at school, and headed straight for the courts.  I finally have freedom.  I’m laid back.  I’m relaxed.  I can express my opinion.  I do whatever I want.  I just finished a wonderful vacation in Egypt with my daughter.  Nobody causes me trouble anymore.  These are the best years of my life.”   (Cairo, Egypt)

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So beautiful.

The brain is an organ. Mental illnesses are illnesses of that organ. Brain scans show that there is a physical difference between a healthy brain and a sick brain. Telling someone “You’re not really sick. It’s all in your head.” is like telling someone with asthma “It’s not real, it’s all in your lungs.” The brain is an organ that can malfunction as much as any other organ.

[its-syrupp]

PLEASE READ THIS OVER AND OVER AND OVER

[tobeagenius]

The world’s most detailed scan of the brain’s internal wiring has been produced by scientists at Cardiff University.

Not only does the scan show the direction of the messaging, but also the density of the brain’s wiring. Conventional scans clearly show lesions - areas of damage - in the brain of MS patients.But this advanced scan, showing axonal density, can help explain how the lesions affect motor and cognitive pathways - which can trigger movement problems and extreme fatigue.

Prof Derek Jones, CUBRIC’s director, said it was like getting hold of the Hubble telescope when you’ve been using binoculars. “The promise for researchers is that we can start to look at structure and function together for the first time,” he said.

[dissociadid]

This could have amazing implications for mental health and memory research too!

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Lake Superior at Gooseberry Falls, MN

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Feelings like spirals

[huffpost]

How “Fury” Fueled Hannah Gadsby’s Stand-Up Revolution

Gadsby is accustomed to talking about difficult, painful topics. Her latest stand-up special “Nanette,” which hit Netflix on Tuesday, broaches subjects like the Me Too movement and the homophobia she’s encountered as a lesbian. Throughout the dynamic hour, she tumbles from deadpan jokes about how the gay pride flag is “a bit busy” to unabashedly calling out sexual abusers such as Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein and even Pablo Picasso.

Pulling back the curtain on her own self-deprecating material about sexuality, gender and violence, she proceeds to deconstruct her stand-up, issuing forceful calls to action to her comedy peers in the process. Several times, she lets her audience fall to a hush.

In “Nanette,” Gadbsy is undeniably angry, but her tone suits the times.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my 10 years prior experience [in comedy], so the show is a culmination of my skills, talent and experience. And the fury,” Gadsby said. “And it didn’t get easier, ever. Reliving trauma? Ah, I don’t think I’d recommend it.”

“If your only responsibility is to make people laugh, then get off national television,” she said. “If you’re going to spread your poison ideas just because it’s your right ― heaps of people are funny. Piss off. Those same men cry when people say ‘You’re shit,’ and then they write their whole new Netflix special about some criticism they got from people on Twitter. It’s like, no, actually, you guys need to toughen the fuck up. I’ve had people muttering rape threats from the front row, these guys don’t know what actual resilience is.”

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This was an outstanding standup. It got real.

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[larstheyeti]

[coral]

[humansofnewyork]

“I moved here from Kenya with my husband. He became very abusive when we arrived. He made sure I didn’t have any friends. If anyone came to visit me, he’d immediately say: ‘I don’t like them.’ I was scared all the time. When my mother came to visit from Africa, she could tell something was going on. A mother can always tell. She saw how he spoke to me. When she left for the airport, she seemed so worried about me. It broke my heart. So the next time he hit me, I called the police. And I’ve never looked back. I have a great new boyfriend now. The kids are happy. I’ve got a job and I’m back in school. Things are really perfect. But I beat myself up a lot. I think: ‘If I’d only left earlier, I’d have been here so long ago.’ But I did leave. I’m here now. And that’s the important thing. Sometimes I need to remember to pat myself on the back.”

(Melbourne, Australia)