Showing posts with label mental health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mental health. Show all posts

Wednesday 7 April 2021

Month in Review(s) - March 2021


(Warning: this post briefly discusses family ill health, mental health problems, and Covid 19)



So, dearest nerdlets: March!

March was better for me personally as Nan's health, although still exceptionally fragile, has been a little better and more stable. Hopefully it'll stay that way and/or keep improving.



'March - Mawrth' with pink background and flowers

Sunday 4 April 2021

Nerd Church - How Bloggers Always Have Ideas ...Sort Of


(Warning: this post briefly discusses the day-to-day affects of Depression/Anxiety)


Some of you might think this blogpost topic (i.e., blogging ideas) is a bit of a cheat – which, honestly? It kind of is.

But… that’s kind of the point? I guess?



'How Bloggers Always Have Ideas ...Sort Of' with a mindmap on a chalkboard, with a lightbulb in the middle



No matter how long you’ve been blogging, you’ll have moments when you just don’t know what to blog about.

Either because your brain is producing nothing but white noise in answer to your increasingly frantic requests for blogging material...

...or because you can’t seem to string your ethereal ideas together into something readable, or at the very least coherent.


Sunday 28 March 2021

Nerd Church - Outside of The Norm

(Warning: this post references Covid 19/Coronavirus, and Depression/Anxiety)



'Outside of the Norm' written in funky writing on a multi-coloured tile-patterned background



"How old are you then?" the adult asks; she's jolly, I do not appreciate forced jolliness. It's inauthentic.

"Six," I say... only it comes out 'thickth' because I've lost some of my baby teeth, and I have a decent gap between my front teeth anyway.

"Thickth," the adult responds, laughing.

I really do not approve of this mocking.


Sunday 7 March 2021

Nerd Church - Covid 19: Years From Now, How Will We Explain?

(Warning: as you can probably tell, this post is about Coronavirus/Covid 19. 

It also references: anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theories, general 2020-ness, mental health problems, Trump, discrimination, ableism, systemic racism, and other systemic discrimination)




"My grandparents lived through the First World War and the Spanish Flu and all that," my mam said, "it's weird - they never talked about it much."


"Well," I said, "imagine explaining 2020, and the pandemic, to someone who's not even born yet. How could you even begin to make them understand?"




'Covid 19: Years From Now, How Will We Explain?' with artsy blue background



If a child asked, decades from now, 'what happened in 2020 and 2021? How did so many people die of Covid?' - what would you answer?

Where would we start? With the fires and the floods and World War Three trending at the beginning of 2020? 

Or would we just jump straight into the Lockdowns, the social distancing, masks, Covid testing, the race for a vaccine...?


Wednesday 3 March 2021

Month In Review(s) - February 2021

 

(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19 and mental health problems)



We are two months into 2021. Just two months.

I have nearly lost my Nan twice so far in 2021.



'February - Chwefror, with desk, scattered hearts, and notebook with pencil


Covid (which she had in January) has been so damaging to her health... it's awful. 

If you're one of the people who thinks it's not that bad, or it's a hoax, or it somehow doesn't apply to you, then you can fuck off.

And yes, it kills me to write swear words without *s, but I'm leaving it in.


Friday 26 February 2021

Friday Fics Fix - I Am Utter Trash and Do Not Care To Hide It


'...“But when he doesn’t show up for pancakes it's good practice to make sure he hasn’t fallen down a manhole or something,”

Klaus resists the urge to hiss.'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape


You know I love novel (or novella) length fanfiction.

The beautiful dedication that it takes to write a piece like this always makes me smile.

Friday 19 February 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Keep Calm and Carry On

* = commission link



'The massive box of 64 crayons calls to me, every one of them waiting to be picked and pressed to a page. (I could have gone for the box of 120, but that seemed like too much.)'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



This week's fic is from a fandom that is super-popular, but also not especially well-known outside its core fanbase.

 ...which is why I'm going to do a very brief explanation of Carry On* aka the Simon Snowverse just so's we're all on the same page.

(I realise that a lot of die-hard fans are probably screaming that how could anyone not know about Simon Snow?! But we do not gatekeep here at Dora Reads, dearest nerdlets.)


(Fandom notes:

gatekeeping - also a non-fandom term, when used in fandom this typically takes the form of 'you're not a real fan of [insert fandom or genre or author, etc.] unless you've [insert arbitrary benchmark]')


Sunday 7 February 2021

Nerd Church - Depression Is...

(Warning: as you can probably tell, this post is about Depression. It also includes brief references to ableism, suicidal thoughts, suicidality, and passive suicidality.)


Disclaimer time!

I am not a mental health or medical professional.

I am someone with personal experience of Depression and Anxiety, and this post is based on my own experiences only. 

Mental health problems are intensely personal and therefore have a range of complex, varied, and valid experiences.



If you need help - PLEASE seek help. Getting in touch with a doctor or other help is scary, but so totally worth it - YOU are worth it. Please take care.

If you're in the UK or ROI, you can talk to The Samaritans about anything at any time. Check out their contact details here.

If you're not in the UK or ROI, you can check out this list of international suicide helplines.



Depression Is...


Friday 5 February 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Metaphorical Dirt Angels

 

'Klaus also had a tattoo on his arm of an umbrella inside of a circle. That image was the symbol of the Umbrella Academy, a group that had caused a whole lot of dissension among the Avengers.'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape


Thursday 4 February 2021

Comics Wrap-Up - Got Called An Alien For Bein' Myself

 

'Comics Wrap-Up' with lined-notebook-style background and speech bubbles containing heart symbols

It's Thursday, it's February, let's get some comics-y, superhero-y goodness!

This week's is unintentionally super-queer (ha, super 😎) and is once again all in the 'Other Stuff' category (#BlameLoki).


Sunday 24 January 2021

Nerd Church - What's Behind the Covid Arts and Crafts Boom?

(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, especially Depression and Anxiety, and the Covid 19/Coronavirus pandemic)


I've always been an artsy, craftsy, sort of person.

I'm one of these people who can never name their hobbies when asked, but actually has somehow accumulated so many hobbies that she can't physically fit them all in to her timetable.

(Part of the solution to that is to make some of your hobbies into your employment, but that brings its own challenges.)

And most of those hobbies are creative in some way.

So yeah, I'm a big fan of the arts and crafts!



'What's Behind The Covid Arts and Crafts Boom?' with yarn and knitting needles in the background


Friday 22 January 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Slightly-Stabby Protectiveness

 

'Klaus had been… animate when describing each of his siblings.'

 

'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape


OK, OK - I know, OK? I know.

...I rec'd an Umbrella Academy fic last week. I know.

I usually try to leave at least one week in between rec'ing fics from the same fandom (no, really, I do.)


Friday 15 January 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Haunting Metaphors (...and I'm Blaming the Coffee)

 (Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, as well as referencing abuse by parents.)



'Klaus blinked slowly, then nodded. “Yeah, what can I say? Some people just can’t accept that they’re f**king DEAD!”'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




Now that I've finally finished watching Series 2 of The Umbrella Academy, it is of course time for some TUA fanfiction!

I'm Umbrella Academy trash, and proud of it! 😂😎

Monday 4 January 2021

The Bookish Diversity Link List 2021

 

Your resource for all things bookish diversity is back!


Considering 2020 was... 2020, I reckon I did quite well, really.

Still, that's all the more reason to strive to include more links to fabulous resources in this year's list! 

Especially considering that we can't lose the momentum gained in 2020 around racial issues, and we must protect the equality and representation of other identities!

And if all that sounded intimidating, then there's really no need for it to be - this is about books, and finding books which reflect the wonderful diversity of humanity on this weird little planet.


'The Bookish Diversity Link List' with punk-star background



Wednesday 30 December 2020

Seriously Reducing My Goodreads Challenge Goal Because 2020

(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, specifically Depression and Anxiety, and references Covid and the dumpster fire of 2020)



'Seriously Reducing My Goodreads Challenge Goal Because 2020' against a background of decorative shelved books that I would very much like to own


For those unaware: there is a website called Goodreads. It's like social media for books, basically. 

(Before you ask, my Goodreads account is private.)

And every year it encourages people to set a target number of books to read that year - the Goodreads (GR) challenge.

(It would be cynical to point out that Goodreads is owned by Amazon, and therefore may have a monetary incentive for encouraging people to consume vast quantities of book. 

Corporations can create unintended social benefits - in this case encouraging literacy - despite what their motives may or may not be.)

Monday 7 December 2020

Month in Review(s) - November 2020

 

(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, Covid 19/Coronavirus, and Transphobia)


November saw some rays of sunshine breaking through the end of 2020.

Biden won.

Hope of a Covid vaccine became more real.


'November - Tachwedd' with jazzy patterned background


As for me, well, I've had some ups-and-downs.

News of local people dying of and/or being ill with Covid. A firebreak Lockdown. The continued anti-Welsh sentiment in the press...



And then there's the Amazon Associate issue *sigh* 

I can't go into it, because I've appealed the decision, but after some problems in November, I lost my UK Associateship in the first few days of December. That's all I can really say for now. 

But it had me super stressy for a bit 😣 still kinda stressy now tbh.

Damn Anxiety always blows this kind of sh** out of proportion.


Update, 8th December:


Please DO NOT use my links to purchase from Amazon UK - my Associate account for the UK was unfairly closed, and Amazon UK will no longer pay me for any purchases made with them.

I will slowly be removing the UK links from 1000+ posts, but it's gonna take a while.

Friday 27 November 2020

Friday Fics Fix - My Stand-Out Fics of 2020

 

It's December in a matter of days, which means that Friday Fics Fix will be going on its annual Christmas holiday.

...So what better opportunity to look back on the fics that've really stood out to me in 2020?

(Don't answer that. It's rhetorical. I'm gonna do it anyway. 😎)



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



2020 has been 2020.

So, I've totally been reading a butt-tonne of fanfiction as self-care. 

Because fanfiction is excellent for all the self-care purposes - whether you need deep and angsty, or sweet and fluffy, or you want to fulfil some very um, specific, tastes: fanfiction has it all!

(I don't judge. But if I never read another pumpkin sex fic, it'll be too soon. And yes, it happened again in October - how do they keep finding me?!)