#peer support community

[jamesunderwater]

okay for real -- would folks actually follow it if i made a sideblog for info, resources, peer support, etc. around mental health, trauma healing, trans/queer health, & disability justice topics?

the more work i do on this stuff in my crisis/client support job the more i'm like, fuck i want to get this information out there to people as much as i can.

#mental health #therapy #healing journey #mental health support #autism #adhd #neurodiversity #complex ptsd #trauma recovery #queer community #trans #trans healthcare #peer support #accessibility #disability justice #disability #bpd #bipolar disorder #ocd

[elllteo]

Creators I love you but it's time to wake up

Among rumors about our tumblr user data being sold off to Midjourney/Generative AI, recent Extremely transphobic events (that have been ongoing) coming to a head, another extremely concerning internet censorship bill being pushed in upper levels of government, and a general air of frustration over how the site belongs to and is operated by perhaps the second stupidest CEO (second only to twitters own) of our age, I'm very done with the last few vestiges of what the old internet held for artists.

And if you're reading this, you probably are too.

I know we're tired. We are all tired. It is not always viable to pack up shop and move, again and again and again.

From tumblr to twitter to anywhere else we've ever grown up posting, things no longer work. Our audiences are kneecapped by aggressive and hostile algorithms, our reach is abysmal - if we aren't shadow-banned or silenced for one (transphobic) reason or another, we're thrust into an ever growing pit of hostility where the only thing that drives clicks is fighting and contention.

We're tired. We're so fucking tired. We aren't businesses, we aren't content mills, we cannot keep this pace that modern social media has set for us, to wring every ounce of creativity out of us to profit from and leave us rotting.

The key to staying afloat here, and I cannot stress this enough, is to stay connected to your peers.

Pack up and move as units if you must. Exodus from the sites that are killing us. Push your entire friend group of artists to move from one site to the next that promises you a kinder experience.

Art drives movements, it drives change, it is all that encompasses being human. If you take that away from the shitty places, they will be left with nothing but a cesspit of inhumanity and the people who follow you will be more incentivized than ever to move with you.

Yes, this is terrifying. There are no guarantees. There never was, and never are, and never will be.

But stay connected. Stay human.

Support each other and be willing to hold hands and jump when we all - as a group - need to jump from the flames we're all trying to convince ourselves wont kill us before rescue comes.

Rescue isn't coming, rescue will be found hand in hand with each other. I'm offering you my hand, please take it. There's always a new start, there are always helping hands reaching for you. You have to look up from the doom-scroll long enough to see and take them.

#art communities #art community #teo talks #sorry I have a Lot of opinions about posting art online I've been doing this since I was 14 and I'm 28 this year #I have watched the rise and fall of social media titans and you have to understand the ONLY thing that will keep you afloat #is keeping connected to your peers #we have to move as units and we have to stay together and we have to support each other #your following is not stability. your friendships are. #thats why you hear about networking. thats ceo talk for friendships. connections. #you have to have enough connections to build your own support web on the chance that everything goes to shit. yes its hard work. it sucks. #but it is a necessity. twitter isn't getting better. its not going back to how it was. neither is DA or tumblr. its not happening. #If you put all your eggs in one or two precarious baskets and both fall. you will be shit out of luck! thats reality #there is hope to be found but you have to be realistic and understand that you NEED to build up a presence elsewhere. even if its hard. #I want to help you if I can!!!! bluesky is a really solid twitter alternative!!! #ive heard good things about cohost as a tumblr alternative!!!! #sheezy and inkblot are both indie sites currently being developed by and for other creatives. support them! #they won't be perfect until - and UNLESS - you do! #anyways sorry I will step off my soapbox now Im just frustrated with the state of everything

[andthebeanstalk]

the average person doesn't expect you to be a perfect ethical consumer, that's not possible for the vast majority of us. but what youre saying is it's better to do nothing at all and choose the worst possible options (sweat shops, overseas shipping waste, idea/product theft, all wrapped up in SHEIN) than to put even the tiniest effort in where you can.

[they are referring to this post]

What I said was "some people are doing literally everything they can to survive and have no extra bandwidth to spend extra time and money on their purchases, and it is cruel and therefore un-punk to gatekeep punkness and add additional shame to these people's lives based on that fact."

I think it's still a good thing to try to ethically consume; I literally never said it wasn't. I had never even heard of SHEIN before. Rather, I am much more concerned about what I saw as arbitrary gatekeeping based on ability and income.

And frankly how dare you claim that I am supporting sweatshops and abuse by saying that this additional work you are demanding (in this case, presumably, vetting every clothing company you buy from) is not always possible for people. It is not a light accusation to accuse me of supporting abuse.

"How dare you say we piss on the poor", Etc. 🙄 this isn't Twitter. You are determined to enforce moral purity, but you are failing to see the nuance.

Because when I say "no extra bandwidth," I mean no extra bandwidth. This is not the "car shows it's on E but actually secretly it has a lot of gas left" situation that abled people constantly assume disabled people mean when they say they are at their limit.

This is "the car has stopped moving, and to move it I'd have to break my body pushing it." This is "at a certain point, people will hit a wall in terms of money and time and energy, and any energy spent after that comes directly out of their life force."

So the argument "okay but just spend a little more time money and energy actually" is not a valid one.

And the argument "if you are not able to do this specific task, then it means you're not doing anything else to make the world a better place" doesn't exactly impress me either. You said yourself that it is impossible to be a perfectly ethical consumer for most people.

How do you know what else people are doing to resist oppression? How many hours per week until your standards are met?What if someone works 3 jobs? Does that mean it's harder to be a good person if you're poor?? Why do you get to decide what specific avenue of bettering the world is the most morally repugnant or acceptable? What kind of proof of goodness and effort would make you satisfied enough to lay off on the shame?? Who are you helping??

Clothing is a fundamental human need, and some of us have to buy cheap fucking clothes quickly. Billionaires are buying their seventh yacht this month. The people who own fast fashion companies are abusing their workers and putting local affordable clothing stores out of business - and this applies for basically every company with price points that low because governments are failing to regulate corporations to enforce basic human rights.

I have $300 to spend on a new wardrobe as my old clothes have fallen apart or become too small. Do you have a way for me to get a new winter coat, 3 flannels, 10 shirts, 3 dress shirts, new sandals, 10 pairs of pants, 5 bras, 12 pairs of socks, and 10 pairs of underwear within that budget and also definitely 100% ethically sourced, with free returns in case it doesn't fit? Or will I simply have to use the cheap stores?

I have about an hour to spend on this per week. Many mainstream stores doesn't make clothes in my size, and I am now in *year 5* of needing an electric wheelchair and being unable to get one; plus I live up a flight of stairs, so I can't even bring my walker out with me - so thrift shopping is not gonna cover this. Should I continue to wear small and tattered clothing until I have the time, money, and energy to meet your standards?

Did you know there are more empty homes in this country than homeless people? If I decide to splurge on only 100% ethically-produced products, and I can't make rent, and I become homeless, are YOU going to be there for me?? Or are you too busy litigating the endless tiny shames of poverty in your own community?

So I ask you again, are you SURE this is where you want to direct your punk energy?

Because there are a whole lot of rich people relying on people like us punching down and to the side instead of looking up to see where the money is going.

Because energy and time, as it turns out, are limited resources. And I would never expect you to secretly have more than you claim to have.

#original #punk #hopepunk #cripplepunk #i swear to god #reading comprehension website #how dare you say we piss on the poor #jfc 'what you're saying is we should do nothing' - what I'm saying is YOU are doing nothing by enforcing this boundary #you have to give people more credit than this. i believe you want a better world too. and it would be cool if you used your energy to #instead ask 'how do i fight for the people in my community to be clothed and have the time and income to shop ethically?' #or 'how do i support activism that pushes for regulation that could control these companies?' #monitoring how poor people spend money is a supremely Republican thing to do. as is demanding clear moral purity from every scenario. #you want a better world too. you want to demand your peers do better. - fine. good. #but you need to be asking if you have remembered and included everyone's needs when making statements like this. #capitalism is all for forgetting about poor and disabled people and refusing to believe their limits. #shame is a necessary weapon in fighting greed but it IS a weapon. be so careful where you point that shit. enough shame can kill a person #and a lot of us are already defending from it from all sides. #shaming a person who is already at their limit for not doing more is an act of cruelty. think very carefully about what that means please. #i literally don't even know what SHEIN is lol i just know classism when i see it #but I've had friends whose clothes were visibly falling apart with no income and so much so shame so deep in their hearts they were dying #and if they had seen that post it would have made them even sicker and gotten them no closer to the dignity of being properly clothed #shame is a weapon and /you need to be careful!!!!/

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

hey uh. can people maybe *not* threaten to kill themselves in the tags if their fav isn't winning?

Like... even if it's a joke. Cmon guys.

#reminding everyone it's just a tumblr poll for fun 🙏 #also lighten up a lil on the hate towards the opposition #i find it much more compelling to support your girls when you aren't actively nasty towards their peers #just trying to foster a positive community here 👍

[dissentdisdain]

yesterday i found my family, a long desire finally achieved

i volunteered first, to share my recovery story

everyone clapping, cheering me on

in front of 30 people at the peer support training

usually a shy, reserved, hidden person-

i became confident and strong in front of the sketchpad with the cycles of change drawn out

i spoke loudly, I allowed myself to feel the pain of leaving the cult,

amidst the majority of others present for substance use.

no matter what our situation, we were all there for recovery.

i allowed the tears to fall when I mentioned losing everyone I loved

the energy clearly shifting to that of a somber environment

claps, silence heavy with emotion, a few acquaintances with tears in their eyes, is all I noticed when I turned back around to face them all

a man named Keith, covered in tattoos, dark and melancholic eyes, boldly stating:

"I want to thank you for sharing your story, I also got shunned at 13"

as he spoke in detail of his mother shunning him, him turning to drugs and alcohol, outwardly pondering how his life turned out due to that traumatic event that took place

me saying. "im proud of you, you know?"

a woman named Brandi saying

"You have us Dakota!, We are your family now!"

a sense of belonging overtaking me again, for the first time since 2021, when I left.

#spilled thoughts #exjw #community #peer support #recovery coach

[brewdarrymore]

Another desperate plea because I have no other options. PLEASE help me yall. I’m a queer disabled woman with a part time job that’s not making me enough to pay my rent. I’m way behind on it, can’t afford groceries, can’t afford cat food or my cats medicine. I’m constantly looking for other jobs and getting nothing. I don’t have any options available to me.

Anything helps, literally anything. My current overdue rent balance is $1,490.

Paypal: RowBelow

Cashapp: $rowlenejolene

Venmo: rowlene

Zelle works too or I can download any kind of payment app, please I’m begging. Idk what to do anymore.

#mutual aid #donate #donations #donation post #philanthropy #help #venmo #paypal #cashapp #zelle #paypigswelcome #peer support #peer to peer lending #i tried to blaze this but they won’t let me #blaze #community #cats #emergency #financial aid

[pulseincorp]

Pull out those journals

#mentalhealth #journalentry #journalprompts #writeitout #journaltopic #writingprompt #writingtopics #humpday #humpdayvibes #Wednesday #writingcommunity #depression #sad #writerscommunity

#mental health #pulseincorp #mental health medics #positive mental attitude #pulseinc #crisis help #peer support #journal topic #journal prompts #journals #journaling #writing prompt #writing tools #writers #writers on tumblr #writing #writerscommunity #writers community #writers prompt

[trans-axolotl]

I talk a lot about alternatives to psych wards because I want people to know that there are other options, that we can build this shit up so that there is the type of support that mad/mentally ill/ neurodivergent people need. and I think that for so long we are told that psych wards are the only option for care, and we believe that we either have to be incarcerated or have nothing. If we don’t start talking about alternatives, people will not know that they exist. So it is so important to me that people know this isn’t the way it should be, and that we have the capacity to build up so many other ways of caring and that many of those alternatives already exist.

at the same time, I know that shit like peer respite isn’t even available in every state. models of community care are hard to build if you’re isolated or cut off from the people in your community who could provide that support, or when resources become dependent on popularity. so we need to be able to address the reality of the situation of what actually happens when many of us are in mental distress. we need to have tools, skills, and resources to navigate this gap between the fucked up current system and what an ideal system would be. (And there are a lot of people doing this work to connect people with immediate resources, and trying to do harm reduction within the system.) I think that sometimes it can be overwhelming and isolating to see people talking about all these things when they aren’t something you can access, or you don’t have anyone irl who could be a support in that way. It is so important for us not to leave out people just by saying “oh here’s this awesome thing that is accessible to everyone!” when we know that right now, this simply isn’t the case.

#personal #anti psychiatry #mad pride #actuallydisabled #and also I do have a lot of resources. and there r a lot of stuff #that exists for if you’re having to do all this shit yourself #and you have no mental health support #and like. guides for navigating getting psych incarcerated #and do it yourself harm reduction psych drugs #and all this shit for like how do you help yourself when you don’t have community or peer respite #or a therapist or anything that you really need #antipsychiatry

[careforacacia]

UPDATE: $915 REMAINING

Please share and contribute if you can: $915 required by tomorrow, Friday February 2

The situation: Acacia has just 2 days to raise $915 so they can stay housed in the accessible home they just acquired after never having a safe or stable place to live, including being unhoused for more than a decade

Some demographics: They are multiply-neurodiverse/disabled, queer/mogai, culturally oppressed, health challenged ( immune sensitivity, mcs, high levels of toxicity, chronic burnout ), migrant, traumatized, survivor of multiple forms of systemic and interpersonal harm

HOW TO DONATE

PayPal (PREFERRED now due to instant access to funds): https://paypal.me/mxpapaya

Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/care4acacia

Include "housing" in the message.

Thank you ❤️‍🩹 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Care for Acacia is a collaborative project between vulnerable peer-in-need Acacia and peer supporter Asa'.

The aim of the project is to meet Acacia's most basic and essential needs, provide them with a baseline quality of life, create a pathway out of poverty, and build the foundations they need to generate their own income.

Acacia is very severely marginalized and extremely vulnerable. Their life has been a daily fight for survival in poverty, alone, navigating violence, in a perpetual and desperate search for safety, community and belonging.

Acacia is in great need of the care, love and support of their communities and to have their most basic and essential needs met. Let's give Acacia the care and quality of life they deserve.

Together we thrive … one act of community care at a time ❤️‍🩹

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Due to Acacia's high support needs and burnout, this blog is ran by an anonymous volunteer on Acacia's behalf.

#heal #community care #disability rights #queer #peer support #peer in need #vulnerable #accessibility #accessible housing #safe house #nonbinary #gender nonconforming #autism #autistic #actually autistic #high support needs #need help #need support #dyslexic #dyslexia #no friends #no community #decolonize #decolonisation #decoloniality #decolonialism #neurodiversity #neurodivergent #actually neurodivergent #actually neurodiverse

[mischiefmanifold]

hardcore antipsych people are something else

#and like. I'm psych critical #our current system is fucked up and needs to be changed desperately #but the solution is not to get rid of all of our resources and supports #it is very obvious to me that people who advocate for the complete abolition of the psychiatric/psychological field #do not have our best interests at heart #and are absolutely not considering the ramifications for big chunks of our community #and no “peer respites” are not a substitution for the entire psychiatric field #what the fuck is wrong with you guys

[tinkerotr]

important appointment tomorrow feeling angst feeling fear

but i found this perfect leaf today

it looks fake but

nature is real :) beaut

#my rheumatologist and i better get along or else it’ll have to do cause i can’t wait another list #ankylosing spondylitis #community #safe space #personal #peer support #proud of how prepared i am and for working with my executive dysfunction instead of cursing it always

[asmolbirb]

Bruh social work and peer support work is exhausting. I always forget this

#neko rambles #peer support #social work #it’s fulfilling and I love the people and community #but also wow!! tiring!!

[libertymoon]

Hi, my name is Alantis but you can call me Wolf.

My education & news website needs donations. We mostly educate folks on different mental illness & resources to help you, loved ones & your community. We need at least $1,168.51/mo to keep working. All donations count. LibertyMoon.org 

#donations #crowdfunding #mutualaid

#just cptsd things #mentalheathawareness #mental health #mental heath support #schizotypal #asd #autism #autism spectrum disorder #autism spectrum condition #youtube #mental health matters #peer support #peer specialist #peer2peer #community support #peace and love #heal the world #donations #mutual aid #crowdfunding #dissociative identity disorder

[barbiebiddie]

telling my parents to get a divorce every time they come to me to complain about their failing marriage

#so tired of being the bigger person when im literally the youngest in this household #from now on im being so toxic i hope they get tired of talking to me and dont ever again expect me to coach them thru their relationship #no i dont want to hear about your horrible sex life and your lack of communication i genuinely do not give one fuck #whoever normalized for parents to expect the same level of emotional support from their children as if they were peers... rot in hell #no i am not 'emotionally mature' im forced to listen to all of your complaints and i try to counsel you cause i feel irrationally guilty

[huapaiqingyuan]

i think in a way, the trio’s struggles can be framed as the past/present/future. 

taichi’s struggle is the easiest to identify. his future path is laid out for him, the path to becoming a doctor is an arduous one (we see this with how harada-sensei, despite his fervent passion for karuta, lacked the time and means to practice whilst in medical school). taichi’s time is limited. there is a looming deadline and that is why he gets frustrated as he’s “stuck”. he has to make choices that will make him happiest later, even if they upset him now. it is taichi that struggles with this question and it is him who has to think about the line “say that after you’ve spent your entire youth on it”.

arata, meanwhile, is stuck in the past. it is both a blessing and a curse to be his grandfather’s legacy. in one way, he learns karuta earlier than the rest of his peers and is trained by a living legend. in another, when people see him, they see his grandfather. the weight of their expectations are a burden to him. as he grapples over guilt and grief, he also gets left behind. out of the three, he is the last one to leave the room, clinging to not only those memories but their dynamics of days long passed.

chihaya is living in the present but she wasn’t always. like arata, she was still grasping to a child’s promise of karuta always linking the three of them together. she centred her life around karuta to maintain that bond, forming mizusawa’s karuta club in an mimicry of the one match the three played together. as she grows, she slowly leaves her past behind. it is no longer just the three of them she pictures when it came to karuta, but her team and all the people she’s met along the way. unlike taichi, whose future is set in stone, chihaya runs away from commitment. she quite literally avoids thinking about her life beyond high school. and even when she does come to a decision, they are more vague ideas than concrete, actionable plans. she wants to maintain status quo...but that’s not quite possible. everyone is bound to grow up and things will change. 

#chihayafuru #obviously they all have their own struggles with their past the present and the future #but this is how i perceive all their journeys #which is why i personally like how arata's arc concluded #despite learning karuta the earliest you can argue that his starting line is behind the rest #his progress is behind theirs by 2 years too #i say progress but what i meant is that hes looking at karuta beyond the three of them beyond his grandfather #his peers and the people around him that support him #he comes into that realisation in his third year #they all still have their struggles and their own issues still #because even if the manga ended #their story is still ongoing #and i think that's something people don't realise #your grow even past highschool guys #not everything needs to be resolved #they can still be insecure #that is human nature #just because theyre entering college doesnt mean theyre effective communicators either #have you BEEN to college #if you think oh wow why cant these people talk to one another like gee i too wonder #but thats a rant for another day #mashima taichi #wataya arata #ayase chihaya

[bellshazes]

driving to Illinois to kiss my coworker on the mouth for bringing up shifting from person centered care to community centered care after i floated that idea last week. In twenty years that will be the new mental health buzzword, I will quit the industry, or I'll have died trying to make it happen

#person centered is still v much not the. norm. #but if your operational principles are self determination for all & the essentiality of community connections #it is only the first step! peer mentorship! support not saviors! #work woes