DID is part of neurodiversity and is one of the most misunderstood diagnoses. It is important to learn why the current media representation is harmful and how you can help stop the spread of misinformation.
Recently we are rewatching Babylon 5. It is a 90s science fiction television series created by J. Michael Straczynski. In an episode titled “The Corp is Mother. The Corp is Father” we get a glimpse into the inner workings of the Psy Corps. The Psy Corp is an organization for telepaths that is laced with negativity throughout the show. …
How reacting with fight, flight and fawn can impact your ability to say no
W e all know the feeling of shame. It is a feeling that makes us want to hide, run away or fight back. Shame can be crippling and it has been found to negatively affect cognitive abilities as well as physical health such as heart rate and blood pressure levels. …
Understanding the impact of being autistic and experience the symptoms of trauma at work.
The intersectionality of autism and trauma has an impact on what coping skills work for you. Autistic anxiety may be a huge barrier to your success. Adding in post-traumatic stress disorder complicates how you will cope with panic attacks and other intrusive thoughts. Many autistics have experience social trauma or being taken advantage of because of being autistic. Autism makes you the target for toxic people because of the stigma attached to saying the words “I am autistic”. …
A list of things that indicate you’re getting close to burnout and how you can avoid it.
It’s hard to tell when you’re starting to get overworked and on the path to burnout. If you start feeling tired more often, have trouble sleeping at night, or find it harder to focus on work tasks, these are all signs that your mental health is declining. These feelings can be brought about by a number of factors including lack of sleep and poor eating habits but if left untreated, they could lead to serious physical health problems. …
A creative nonfiction telling of a childhood friends' death.
Writing is a process of imagination, creativity, and execution. However, being neurodivergent can help or sometimes hinder the creative flow. As autistic adults that are also a DID system, we struggle with writers’ block. Writing prompts are a great way to break the procrastination and rediscover your imagination. The writing prompts are from Reedsy and we will be using a different one each week and writing from a neurodiverse perspective. We will include essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry if the prompt fits. …
A poem about the impact of trauma on the self-perception of beauty.
A world sees the birds and trees.
They say it is pretty.
A semi-truck barrels toward the forests and hits the tree.
There is left a dent in its wake.
Is it no longer beautiful?
The hole in the tree gets visitors.
Worms and termites galore!
Burrowing deeper into the trunk.
This leaves the tree’s core exposed to the world. Will it rot?
The tree becomes sick and knows time is short.
The core begins to die.
The tree withers slowly.
The tree dies to never grow again.
A tree…
The issue with modern eugenics and disability
When you decide to have a child you take every precaution to ensure they are born healthy. The term healthy springs to mind, the hope of no health issues or pregnancy complications. However, there is another word that sometimes pops up in the discussion of disability: eugenics. It is likened to treating a fetus as a computer. You review the operating system code and if you find something missing or problematic you remove it. This approach may be fine when dealing with your technological devices, but is it right or wrong to edit a child.
A brief explanation of eugenics
The best methods for relaxation, grounding, and medication that we recommend as autistic neurodivergent adults.
Mindfulness is a popular topic in the mental health world. But what does it mean to be mindful as an autistic adult? It can seem like mindfulness and meditation are at times tailored to neurotypical people, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many different ways that the neurodiverse community can practice mindfulness, including exercises and affirmation. Here are the top four practices we use for mindfulness as an autistic and neurodivergent adult.
Tip #1: Grounding techniques are a great way to…
A poem about the aftermath of trauma and living with Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Darkness ascends swirling and cold,
The air chokes you;
You cannot breathe, but you try.
Your gasps for breath left unrealized.
This is the way feels to be alone,
To have your mind splintered.
The pain you endure body and soul,
Your mind cannot bear it.
It twists and turns into shapes of pain,
Leaving emptiness in its wake.
You awaken and gaze into a mirror;
But you do not recognize yourself standing,
Staring, lingering wanting to understand.
You do not have time to make it better.
Life must go on.
An overwhelming sense of anxiety,
You are unfettered;
You walk this…
Our year of hell in middle school left a lasting impression, but one boy made the experience worth it.
The white brick building seemed docile from the front as we sat in the parked car. We remembered feeling anxious and unsure about this first day at a new school. We were thirteen years old with physical disabilities that we knew would get us bullied. Our rolling backpack crackled on the cement and we pushed the automatic door opener to receive the rushed smell of gym socks and moist dirt. Welcome to hell, we thought as we garnered stares in the hallway. All the other kids looked normal and we didn’t fit the mold. Our legs were covered in metallic…
