44 sunsets

My mental turmoil with other people's words, trying to find the shattered pieces of myself lost along the way...

[c-ptsdrecovery]

Informational Masterpost

Here are the links for my informational posts on abuse, Complex PTSD, and associated subjects:

Recognizing and understanding abuse:

Childhood/emotional trauma:

Signs of Childhood Emotional Neglect

Things people with CEN often say

How immature parents emotionally neglect their kids

How childhood trauma can manifest

Healthy parenting practices

Parental criticism and self-worth

What is emotional abuse?

(For more, please see @furiousgoldfish​‘s Recognizing Abuse Masterlist )

Gaslighting:

What is gaslighting?

A sign of gaslighting

More signs you are being gaslit

Gaslighting children

Signs your parents are gaslighting you

Were you born under the gaslight?

People with disabilities: what gaslighting can sound like

Unhealthy relationships:

A list of your rights as a person

Signs of unhealthy boundaries

Signs of codependent behavior

Telling good friends from bad 

 Quiz: Is your family dysfunctional? (Take this with salt)

How dysfunctional families resemble a cult

Resources for male victims of abuse 

Narcissistic abuse:

What is Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)?

All about covert narcissists

The narcissistic abuse cycle

Do narcissists believe their own lies?

Do narcissists experience shame?

What if narcissists can’t help it?

Complex PTSD

Recognizing and understanding C-PTSD

Recognizing Complex PTSD

Symptoms and diagnostic criteria of C-PTSD in children and adults

Symptoms of Complex PTSD

Developmental Trauma

Trauma and the brain

Things I didn’t realize were complex trauma symptoms

Emotional neglect in C-PTSD

Book recommendations for C-PTSD

A comic on how C-PTSD/emotional flashbacks form

Amygdala hijackings

Fight, flight, freeze, fawn: common trauma responses

More symptoms of C-PTSD and related conditions

“Fawning” and People-pleasing

Article on “fawning” and people-pleasing

People-pleasing and chronic illness

Link between abuse and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Perfectionism attacks

Why we self-isolate

Skin hunger

Creative slump?

Creative hibernation

Can’t seem to read books anymore?

Feeling hungry when you don’t actually need to eat

Forms of self-harm besides cutting

Building healthy relationships

Recognizing an unhealthy environment

How to ignore someone you live with

Coping during the holidays

Scripts for setting boundaries with your family

Boundaries

Tips for setting boundaries

Setting boundaries by moving yourself

Empath with boundaries

How to respond to a gaslighter

Unconditional love: how to give it, and know if it’s healthy

Being “Sad enough” doesn’t help: how to get other people to care that you’re upset

Upsetting yourself as a cry for help

Symptom management

Getting help

Questions to ask before giving up

Mental health pain scale

App for avoiding self-harm

Emotional Flashback Management

Finding a trauma therapist

How to know a therapist isn’t right for you

What is EMDR?

Cognitive approaches

Depressive logical mistakes

When should you listen to your instincts?

Counting your blessings

Overcoming learned helplessness and boosting optimism

Laziness does not exist

Day-tight compartments (for anxiety)

Emotional/Somatic approaches

The healthy mood spectrum

Grieving instead of rationalizing

Listening to the body

Recognizing and validating your emotions

How to feel your feelings

Mindfulness 101

Accepting your feelings

Grounding techniques

More grounding techniques

Deep-breathing resources

EFT tapping 

Self-care approaches

Self-soothing thoughts

Book recommendation: Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff 

Self-care suggestions

A beginner’s guide to intuitive eating

Nine types of rest

Relaxing music recommendations

Little things to improve your mood

Suggestions for insomnia

House-cleaning groups

Recovery

Basic stages of trauma recovery

Uncomfortable feelings that indicate you’re on the right path 

Post-traumatic growth

 Defining forgiveness (Reminder: forgiveness is always optional)

Imagining forgiveness

[fictionalgod]

MLP art by @onionpwder

[titsay]

[silliest-fckindumbboy]

Permasuicidal

Someone who identifies as being permanently suicidal, actively or passively!

Color/symbol explanation below cut!

[If this is already coined, please consider these to be alts!]

Teal & purple are the colors used for the suicide awareness ribbon! Here are a few versions of the suicide awareness ribbon that I find pretty:

Grey can symbolize things like mental illness, numbness/emptiness/apathy, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, despair.. all things that can be part of why a person may feel chronically suicidal

And, of course, the infinity sign to symbolize the permanence or foreverness of both suicide and the persistence of being permasuicidal

[blossomtreeangel]

⤷ Sexual Trauma Regressor—

For regressors who regress due (or have their regression impacted by) their sexual trauma, that being sexual assault, abuse, COCSA, being shown pornography at a young age etc. This flag is gender neutral.

This flag was inspired by the Abuse Survivor Unity flag.

⤷ Colors meanings—

Dark Purple — Domestic violence awareness and representing the courage of those who have gone/are going through sexual trauma of any kind.

Dark Blue — Child abuse awareness and wishing care and empathy for those who have gone/are going through sexual trauma of any kind.

Teal — Sexual abuse awareness (inspired by the ribbon) and representing renewal/new beginnings.

White — Violance against woman awareness (inspired by Australia’s campaign) and representing hope and healing.

Symbol — Fire Rose Unity Survivor symbol by Jacqueline Lin, representing solidarity, strength and power.

⤷ This flag and term was made by a survivor for others survivors and those still fighting, the colors have important meanings and I ask for the meaning to not be altered, although adding on to them or making your own version is allowed.

⤷ Assets—

Flag template, Colors ref

[ribbonfactory]

Awareness Ribbons: Small Symbols That Carry Powerful Meaning in Society Today

Awareness ribbonsmight be small but the message behind them is really big. A simple ribbon printed on your T-shirt or a bag can represent supportand remembrance or hope. Over the yearsAwareness ribbons , have become very important symbols for health issues and social issues. You can wear them to show support for loved ones spread awareness and honour someone's memory or simply start conversations that matter.

What are awareness ribbons?

Awareness ribbons are looped ribbons usually one on clothing or used in campaigns to represent a specific cause or message. If you are doing it for your company you can also chooseCorporate Printed Ribbons.

They are used for many purposes, such as:

Raising awareness about diseases

Supporting social causes

Honouring people affected by tragedies

Showing solidarity with communities

Promoting mental health and wellbeing

Common Awareness Ribbon Colours and Their Meanings

Pink Ribbon

The pink ribbon is one of the most recognised.

It stands for:

Breast cancer awareness

Support for survivors

Early detection campaigns

Red Ribbon

Represents:

HIV/AIDS awareness

Heart disease awareness in some campaigns

It symbolises care, love, and urgency.

Yellow Ribbon

Used for:

Military support

Hope for safe return

Suicide prevention in some areas

Yellow often symbolises hope.

Purple Ribbon

Commonly linked to:

Domestic violence awareness

Alzheimer’s awareness

Lupus awareness

Purple often represents courage and strength.

White Ribbon

Represents:

Peace

Violence prevention

The Emotional Power of a Simple Symbol

What makes awareness ribbons special is their emotional meaning.

They remind us that behind every cause are real people:

Someone fighting illness

Someone grieving loss

Someone needing help

Someone hoping to be heard

So above all you need to know that awareness ribbons are we more than just colorful loops of fabric. They are symbols of hope support and action. They help you speak about important issues support those in need and build stronger communities. Whether it's for health awareness or social justice, these ribbons have the power to connect people in meaningful ways.

[torstherapy]

[torstherapy]

[toboldlynerd]

[misterstrawberryy]

Being unhappy and disconnected from life is not how things are supposed to be. Life is hard rn, especially with the political climate. We (humans) are just animals too, who were supposed to run around outside all day with other ppl and fck next to a bonfire or something, of course it's hard, we all got zoochosis. Sadness is a part of life, but I don't think accepting it as the status quo is helpful for anyone.. life changes, ppl change, the world changes, even if you don't have the energy to try and make things better for yourself, time changes things too. It's something to look forward too at least.

I dunno if you are on any meds and all of this really isn't any of my business, I don't know you at all, but duloxetine/cymbalta genuinely might have saved my life

Either way, hope this isn't like... Crazy overreaching or what ever. I just truly wish for you, or anyone really, to be in a good place. Love you kiddo

random stranger on the internet you do not how much this means to me all this I’m saying to you may just be words but you will never understand how much I want to come across the screen and pat your back right now. I’m not on any meds but I was on therapy for a while before I got bored of it… I think all I need to do is go outside more. I don’t like relying on drugs for personal reasons but hey ho. Thanks brother I hope your life is long and healthy

[doodlesdrawingsandtrash]

Drew me some antisad duckies >xp

Hope whoever sees this has a Quakin day, evening, and night!! :V

[skin-bible]

These two mashed together is what I do every day and at work

[maripoorsa]

Weaning myself off of Duloxetine because there's no way in hell I'm waiting a month for my doctor's visit about it and it has literally given me mouth sores.

2 weeks ago I had 2 of the biggest fucking canker sores I've ever seen. The edges of them? Dotted with more tiny ones.

I dumped salt on them whenever I ate and brushed my teeth and they went away after a few days but yesterday I started getting more.

I haven't had one of these in years.

On top of that: My tongue even hurts. I'm awake at 4am right now. I'm both full of fatigue and insomnia somehow. I have dry mouth. If I stop taking it too fast because of the awful side effects I will get brain zaps, withdrawal symptoms, and potentially trigger discontinuation syndrome

And it never even helped with my depression

You should be allowed to punch your doctor in the face for prescribing you this drug, I think

[seabie]

via talkspace

i followed my taper scedule and took my last dosage of duloxetin about 2 weeks ago and uhhh have been doing pretty bad since then :( what theyre describing here as PAWS has hit me hard. physical feelings of irritabilty, intense anxiety, inabilty to focus on anything, no joy left in me, i'm not interested in anything i'm shaking having hotflashes, out of breath & close to tears all the time.

i hope this goes away soon? the anxiety feels familiar. there were definitely times in my life where that was just my normal state of being so i'm worried this aspect will stay with me

my og dose wasnt high (only 45mg when usually its betwen 60-120mg) but i was on it for almost 4 years...... i have to take better care of myself atm to help with these symtoms but it all feels so overwhelming

[lizardho]

I remember one time I was doing an ADHD evaluation with a kid who had asked to go to the bathroom like 3 times during the 30-ish minute part of the interview where we asked his mom questions, so I knew that was his go-to excuse when bored. We get started on the WISC-V after the interview and within 30 seconds of vocab starting he asks if he can go to the bathroom, and I say:

“No.”

And this kid rolls his eyes because DUH and he says “Why not?” all cranky-styles, so I said

“Because you don’t need to go to the bathroom, you’re bored and you need to move. If you need to move, tell me and I’ll let you know if we’re at a part of the test where we can pause. Like, for example, we can pause right now if you wanna race me around the building.”

And this kids face fucken LIT up. We did three laps around the outside of the building and came back in and he finished like 3 subtests and asked if he could move so we got up and tried to see how high we could jump for 3 minutes and the finished the rest of the assessment with one bathroom break. And that was all it took tbh, this kid was SO capable he just needed to move and hadn’t been allowed to do so before. I also like making people mad by pointing out that I know what they’re up to, then just giving them permission to do the thing they were sneakily trying to do in the first place. It’s like being affectionately annoying and it’s part of how I connect to others.

[bookpdf]

not being productive or relaxing but a secret third thing

[underwaterfraulein]

[tylerspangler]

Artwork Copyright © Tyler Spangler

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