Don't Try To Cure Me
Linkspam with a side of getting too personal! The theme is Mental Health and some of the links may be triggering.
Can we treat mental illness like an illness?*
6 Mental Health Myths
Against a Hierarchy of Trauma-Based Disorders, or reminding you that there's no such thing as "mild trauma" (language is a bit clinical)
That’s just your autism talking (and other phrases that shouldn’t appear in an autism essay) (trigger warning: discussions of self-harm)
Navigating Love and Autism
Siblings of Kids With Autism aren't the same as siblings of Neurotypical Kids, no shit. There is a special kind of hate reserved in my heart for being reduced down to "Sam's Sister" and talked down to like I'm a five-year-old that doesn't get her brother's "special"; so I generally try to avoid these types of articles, but this one isn't terrible (isn't great either, it's mostly geared toward reminding parents with an autistic child that their other children exist too). And, I'll confess, some of it hit kind of close to home, and maybe that's why I don't like all those "neurotypical sibling support group!" type things. It's unnerving sometimes, y'know? Also, I guess, this link might be triggering for someone with really bad home situations related to autism.
And here's another article like that, pointing out that, oh hey, having a sibling that's agressive, doesn't understand social interaction, and takes all your parents' time to manage, is actually kind of shitty. And then you feel guilty for feeling shitty about it, because autism is not something someone can control. I used to blog about these things a lot**, don't so much any more, but there's a lot left to be said, I think. These articles are a good start.***
Living (well!) With Schizophrenia
Depression Could Affect How You See Photos Of Your Mom
Depression and Transness
* no, probably not
** "Mama Who Bore Me", an entry written while enduring an autistic tantrum; "On The Nature Of People"; Footnotes on "Merry May" referencing my hate for the phrase "get over it" and some other unhappy home things.
*** okay, no, they're a lame start, a list of a few things for some frazzled parents with a newly diagnosed kid**** to reassure them that there are things they can do to make things better for the rest of their family. This is, in my totally unprofessional opinion, a lie. There is not much you can do when someone is very, very ill. The best you can do is all grab hands and hold on tight and hope you all make it out with all the bits you had when you went in.
Except, unlike other illnesses, there is no "getting out." Mental disorders don't go away. You don't take your medicine and get better. My brother has aspergers. He will always have aspergers. My parents will always need to care for him, and when they die, it's up to me. Mental illnesses are incurable, they're chronic, and they're, I'll say it again, life consuming. Except with the added shit sundae on top that, unlike most other chronic illnesses, you're expected to get over them whenever you want to. You wouldn't tell a diabetic to just "get over" their blood sugar, but you can tell an Aspie to "get over" their social anxiety. Apparently.
**** no parent who has had a child diagnosed with autism for AGES is going to read these. When would they have the time? And if they do have the time to themselves to look at things on the internet, why would they be reading about the damage they've done to their children by an accident of genetics and siblings and shit they can't do anything about? Autism is life-consuming. You don't research these things on your time off.
Can we treat mental illness like an illness?*
6 Mental Health Myths
Against a Hierarchy of Trauma-Based Disorders, or reminding you that there's no such thing as "mild trauma" (language is a bit clinical)
That’s just your autism talking (and other phrases that shouldn’t appear in an autism essay) (trigger warning: discussions of self-harm)
Navigating Love and Autism
Siblings of Kids With Autism aren't the same as siblings of Neurotypical Kids, no shit. There is a special kind of hate reserved in my heart for being reduced down to "Sam's Sister" and talked down to like I'm a five-year-old that doesn't get her brother's "special"; so I generally try to avoid these types of articles, but this one isn't terrible (isn't great either, it's mostly geared toward reminding parents with an autistic child that their other children exist too). And, I'll confess, some of it hit kind of close to home, and maybe that's why I don't like all those "neurotypical sibling support group!" type things. It's unnerving sometimes, y'know? Also, I guess, this link might be triggering for someone with really bad home situations related to autism.
And here's another article like that, pointing out that, oh hey, having a sibling that's agressive, doesn't understand social interaction, and takes all your parents' time to manage, is actually kind of shitty. And then you feel guilty for feeling shitty about it, because autism is not something someone can control. I used to blog about these things a lot**, don't so much any more, but there's a lot left to be said, I think. These articles are a good start.***
Living (well!) With Schizophrenia
Depression Could Affect How You See Photos Of Your Mom
Depression and Transness
* no, probably not
** "Mama Who Bore Me", an entry written while enduring an autistic tantrum; "On The Nature Of People"; Footnotes on "Merry May" referencing my hate for the phrase "get over it" and some other unhappy home things.
*** okay, no, they're a lame start, a list of a few things for some frazzled parents with a newly diagnosed kid**** to reassure them that there are things they can do to make things better for the rest of their family. This is, in my totally unprofessional opinion, a lie. There is not much you can do when someone is very, very ill. The best you can do is all grab hands and hold on tight and hope you all make it out with all the bits you had when you went in.
Except, unlike other illnesses, there is no "getting out." Mental disorders don't go away. You don't take your medicine and get better. My brother has aspergers. He will always have aspergers. My parents will always need to care for him, and when they die, it's up to me. Mental illnesses are incurable, they're chronic, and they're, I'll say it again, life consuming. Except with the added shit sundae on top that, unlike most other chronic illnesses, you're expected to get over them whenever you want to. You wouldn't tell a diabetic to just "get over" their blood sugar, but you can tell an Aspie to "get over" their social anxiety. Apparently.
**** no parent who has had a child diagnosed with autism for AGES is going to read these. When would they have the time? And if they do have the time to themselves to look at things on the internet, why would they be reading about the damage they've done to their children by an accident of genetics and siblings and shit they can't do anything about? Autism is life-consuming. You don't research these things on your time off.