Your art's not shitty, it's really cute! Also, keep in mind that slurs only hurt if you let them. It's actually not impossible to immunize yourself against things that upset you/cause panic attacks/etc., I know that from both firsthand experience and the entire field of cognitive behavioral therapy. It's literally impossible to make a public forum on the internet into a safe space, the best you can do is not react. Trolls now know what upsets you, and will do that as soon as you reactivate anons
I don’t necessarily agree that words only have power “if you let them” bc it sort of takes away the history and impact of words (and intentions to harm from the speaker) and shifts the responsibility to the listener? idk I can only agree with that so much; its just never really sit well with me.
I totally get what you’re saying, and I do agree to some degree. My understanding of behavioral theory is introductory at best (took a class last semester on both cognition and behaviorism and I’m trying to study them some more on my own, fun fact! if this is your field or something sorry if i butcher it!) but the idea of desensitizing yourself to certain stimuli/situations is habituation. something shocking happens that causes you to [usually involuntarily] react; the reaction eventually fades the more regularly it happens. But if stimuli are unexpected, it can be that much harder to stop reacting to it. Warnings are good for this, especially if we have control over the exposure or are aware of it. Assholes coming into someone’s inbox to say rude things are always unexpected, making it harder to get used to. and everyone is different so the schedules required will differ from person to person, there’s no universal way to desensitize yourself, although I’m very glad that you were able to do so. I have a few situations that I try to desensitize myself to as well, with varying degrees of success
anyway I also want to point out that im not interested in making the internet/public forum a safe place (as nice as that would be lmao) - just my own blog. my blog may be public but that doesn’t make it a public forum where people can say whatever they want to me. I want people to know what behaviors I do and do not tolerate from anyone viewing my art, trolls or not, so that my followers know where i stand and they can be comfortable following me or can leave - same for my main blog as well, where im a lot more outspoken than on an art blog.
Thank you giving me a chance to dip into psychology a bit!