okay i'm gonna limit myself to 3 asks for now BUT pretty please share something about dare you to move!
ok. this one. ty for asking about this one because i am so excited about it and i have been working on it nonstop. i’ve been on a stranger things kick lately so this is (once again) a steve harrington fic.
it’s inspired by nathan and haley’s relationship from one tree hill and the title is from the song of the same name. if you’re not familiar with nathan and haley’s dynamic it’s basically jock x tutor enemies-ish to lovers 😌
i could talk about this all. day. but i don’t want to give too much away so here’s a little snippet of it:
Your hesitant gaze meets the softness of his brown eyes that are already locked on yours. Steve looks small and almost uncertain. A look you have never seen on the self proclaimed “King Steve” himself. It’s a look that traps you in. “Why me?” you question meekly. “You could just go to the tutor center and put in a request to get one.”
“But I don’t want just any tutor. I want you.” The insinuation of his words sends a strawberry tint to the tips of his ears.
Ever since Leelah Alcorn died in 2014ish, I've been terrified. Terrified of what my mind does. Tumblr is one of the v few places I have where I can ramble and vent and rant and get all the rage out. My mind is constant screaming, arguing, replaying 2015 and 2017.
Why do I bother? If I leave, a lot of people will think I'm selfish. If I stay, it'll mean so much more suffering than I can handle. I already can't deal with what I'm having to now. I just don't have it in me.
I think therapy is a great step forward, it's like trying on a pair of shoes, you might have to look around a bit until you find the right fit, but once you do you'll be happy walking in them. I haven't been to therapy in a long time but that's a whole other story 🤣 Hope I can actually get something done in this weather tbh, got a meeting on Thursday so gotta get in gear!!!
Yeah, I’ve always been very discouraged by the search process but I searched last night and found someone I think I like and that hasn’t happened before. Hopefully it’s a sign! Ohh a meeting about what can I know?? The heat is so detrimental to any effort I put out. 😅 I feel you.
Regarding this post, I'm finally getting around to maybe writing this and I was wondering if you could tell me about some grounding exercises and maybe explain the feelings and symptoms of paranoia to me
Also when are meds generally taken?
Thank you 😊
yes! so, a good grounding exercise for folks who don't experience hallucinations, but who do experience delusions:
5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can feel, 2 things you can smell, 1 think you can taste
another good one is square breathing:
in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4, repeat as necessary
y'know what? this is about to get real long, so imma just
there's also stimming! hot stims like a heating pad, cold stims like holding an ice cube, touching items near you, writing something down and focusing on the feeling and the sound of the pen on the page. that last one is something i used to do when my anxiety got so bad i'd start to feel like i was disassociating
you could also take a walk, do a puzzle, listen to music or podcasts, whatever helps you cope
one of the big things too is having a support network. it's always good to be connected to a therapist and/or psychiatrist, and maybe a case manager if you're having trouble managing your ADLs (activities of daily living), but you should also try to connect to family members and friends who can help you get grounded and talk through whatever you need to process, or even just distract you when you need it
paranoia is defined by the apa as "relating to or exhibiting extreme distrust or suspiciousness". this can be anything from not trusting the people around you to not trusting the world around you.
a paranoid delusion is a persistent and deeply-held belief that is characterized by extreme distrust or suspicion. an example could be believing that a pharmacy puts tracking technologies in antipsychotic medications. it doesn't have to be this extreme, but this is the general idea. delusions are likely to grow stronger when directly challenged, and are best dislodged through long-term therapeutic work
in the meantime, you might experience fear and anxiety, anger or frustration when you feel you're not being listened to or taken seriously, depression, irritability, your startle response might be exaggerated, a highly paranoid person might even see someone trying to help as that person trying to hurt. depending on your disorder, you might also experience negative symptoms, like apathy, anhedonia, or social withdrawal
medications can be helpful to manage symptoms like depression or anxiety. there are mood stabilizers to help with rapid mood cycling (going from hot to cold, angry to spacy or sad within hours or even minutes). there are mild sedatives that can help with persistent anger or irritability that might be due to a neurochemical imbalance
medication can't remove a paranoid delusion or 100% prevent paranoid thinking, but it can reduce the symptoms that go along with those thoughts, which can make the paranoia less severe
there are two major medication types as i understand it. (i'm not a nurse, so bear with me!)
there are pills, some of which need to be taken with food, and some of which are more effective in the morning or at night
then there are long-acting injectables, like abilify or invega. as the name suggests, these are received in vaccine form and can last 4 weeks, mayyybe longer? (again, not a nurse.)
injections and pills such as clozaril or lithium can be monitored by fasting labs (bloodwork), which usually starts off being drawn every other week, then can be drawn once a month. this is done to make sure that whatever med you are on is at a therapeutic level in your bloodstream, and isn't too high or too low. if you're in an inpatient setting, or you're connected to a community mental health center who prescribes and dispenses your meds, this can also be done to help keep you honest about taking them
what else is there?......exercise helps, or so i'm told 😜 there are other things, i'm sure, and i don't have a paranoid disorder so ik this was really heavy on the treatment side rather than the lived experience side
if you have any other questions i'm happy to try and answer them 😊 i hope this was helpful!
