Me: yeah so I just don’t have the energy to get up and make myself a sandwich or wait for something to cook so I just. Don’t
Her: why don’t you just eat the sandwich components without putting them together
Me:
Her: you can just eat a handful of cheese and some sandwich meat. You don’t have to make a sandwich.
Me:
Me: what
Therapists finding loopholes for mental illness things is one of my favorite things about dealing with mental illness because it really helps me understand that just because a reaction is Common doesn’t mean it’s Right. Does doing dishes stress you out a lot? Buy paper plates. Do your obsessive thoughts make you worry about leaving your curling iron on so you drive home from work to check? Just put the curling iron in your purse and bring it to work with you while we work on tackling where this worry comes from. Symptom management doesn’t have to look like drudgery.
i used to go days without showering because seeing my body was so upsetting that i would end up spiraling and then i realized i could simply turn the lights out. it took some getting used to but i’ve been showering with the lights off for years and it’s now one of my favorite parts of my day.
do whatever you want nothing is real and there’s no need to inflict unnecessary suffering on yourself just to try to seem “normal”
I love this post
Hmmm
These kinds of loopholes make life so. Much. Better.
One of my favorite stories is this lady had extremely bad OCD. Every day she’d be late to work because she was convinced that her hair dryer was going to burn down the house so would always have to turn around and check it. Multiple times a day even. A bunch of doctors tied to “fix” her of that fear, until one day she got a doctor that suggested she bring the hair dryer with her. Other doctors were annoyed, saying that wasn’t a the correct way to help, but she gave it a go. When she had that fear, she’d look over and see the hair dryer unplugged in the seat next to her and was able to carry on. I think it’s such a perfect example of actually helping someone instead of forcing them into a neurotypical standard.
That story helped me stop repeatedly checking if my front door was locked. Instead of checking that the door was locked over and over I would check my security system app. If it’s on it will alert me if the front door opens.
“…actually helping someone instead of forcing them into a neurotypical standard” should be added to the Hippocratic Oath.
Started reading about the door and I thought they were gonna say they took the door with them
Pretty simple and straight forward. It doesn’t matter if it’s tagged as a ship you dislike or you’re 10 chapters in, if you don’t like it or it disturbs you too much, stop. The back button is your friend.
Rule 2, Properly Tag
If your fic contains anything possibly triggering or squicky, tag it. If your fic is an AU, tag it. If your fic is about a ship, tag it. Vice versa, do not overtag or improperly tag. If your fic is based around Stucky, don’t tag Stony.
Rule 3, Filters are your friend
If the app or website has an option to filter tags, use it. If you need to download an extension, download it. If someone has missed an important tag, you can politely message them requesting to add it.
Rule 4, Don’t harass people for shipping your NoTp
We all have that one ship we absolutely positively hate with every fibre of our being. And chances are, someone hates your Otp with the same ferocity. Don’t harass people over shipping your NoTp.
Rule 5, Do your research
If you’re writing a fic and a plot point or character is introduced you’re not sure how to write, research it! Google is your friend! There are also blogs dedicated to assisting people with certain topics such as @writingwithcolor
Rule 6, Your kink is not my kink, and that’s okay
Chances are, someone gets off to something you hate. And, that’s okay! We all have different and varying tastes!
Rule 7, Feedback keeps content creators creating
Likes, comments, reblogs, and recomendations keep your fanfic writers writing. Where would writers be if no one read their works? Where would artists be if no one bought their art?
Rule 8, If you want it, write it
It’s bound to happen to everyone, you just can’t find a specific fic for a specific ship or it’s that one rare pair no one appreciates like you do. What do you do in this situation? You write it yourself! It may not be the best-written or most poetic or maybe it’s just a pure crackfic, but that’s okay!
Rule 9, Fanon is not Canon
Likewise, headcanons are not canon. And if someone has a different headcanon, that’s okay! Sure, we may ignore canon for fics but headcanons and fanfiction and fanart are not canon!
Rule 10, Fiction is not reality
And the most important of all, fiction is not reality. Writing abuse fics does not mean you support abuse in real life. Writing suicidal characters does not mean the writer is suicidal. Writing glorified murder fics does not mean the writer supports murder in real life.
If you have more positive rules, feel free to add! These are just 10 little rules I find to be very important for a happy healthy fandom. Remember, fandoms are supposed to be for fun! You write that shameless self-insert Mary Sue OC, you write that rarepair smut, you write that 250k slow burn Coffee Shop AU! You make fandom as fun as you want it to be!
And Sometimes a Potato 