Friday Fics Fix - Digging For Victory

Hello 2019! We got fanfiction, we got Bucky Bear, let's get down to it!

'Theoretically, she knew he must go other places sometimes, but it didn't seem to happen often, and from his overall air of nervousness, he seemed to be uncomfortable with it too.'

One of my favourite things on this planet is fanfiction which uses self-care and general mental-health recovery as its focus.

When the character involved just so happens to be my Bucky-bear, aka Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, it's like icing on the cake.

(In related news, I'm hungry and would very much like some cake, with or without icing.)

Friday Fics Fix - Am I More Than You Bargained For, Yeah?

'She comes back with a hiker’s backpack, out of which she pulls a pair of jersey shorts, black leggings, a red bandana and a bunch of colorful string bracelets.

"Jesus," Sam says, looking it over. "Is there some naked hippie grad student knocked out somewhere in the hotel right now?"

"None of these items will be traced back to us," Natasha says soothingly, which doesn't answer his question.'

Oh man, this fic! This fic is EVERYTHING.

Honestly, the dedication it takes to write over 500 pages of the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes, prioritising self-care and dealing with seventy years worth of trauma is freaking amazing!

Nerd Church - That Feeling When... Why Labelling Emotions Is Healthy (Ft. #Science)

(Warning: this post discusses mental health stigma, and grief.)



In the UK, there's a TV programme live on Sunday mornings sometimes called Sunday Morning Live.

(I know, right? How did they come up with that name?!)

It's a sort-of chat show with a moral/social/ethical/semi-religious basis.

It can be decent. It can be awful.

Largely I only watch it because before 1pm on a Sunday I don't exist beyond zombie coffee-drinker; my anger at the more extreme guests tends to help me wake up while the rest of the programme is still happily sleepy.

Anywho, last week, they were asking whether there's a mental health crisis in the UK.

Now, you can argue statistics and definitions on that one until you're blue in the face and unable to look at another decimal point or percentage sign for a good long time...

...but we can all agree that good mental health is... well... good.

Nerd Church - Appreciate Yourself

I'm goddamn tired.

You ever feel like you work your a** off, and there's just... no pay-off?

I kind of feel like that. And I kind of don't.

I'm the world's harshest critic when it comes to myself.

I have to work very hard to stop myself from working too hard.

(I know, my life is a walking contradiction.)

Because my default, when things are stressful, is to work even harder.

Which... is not a good plan.

Nerd Church - Work/Life/Blog/Whatever-Balance Is Hard! (Especially When You Have Cats)

Do you ever feel like there's just too much sh** going on?

Like, you got your work or school stuff, then you got your life/personal stuff, then you might have some other stuff to do with hobbies or passion projects or... welp, blogging!

Nerd Church - Self-Care Is Vitally Important In Hot Weather

...of course, Self-Care is vitally important generally, but you get what I mean.





If you're in the middle of a heatwave like we are in the UK, then your Self-Care game needs to be sharp.

Nerd Church - The Basics of Self-Care

(Warning: this post includes frank discussions of a variety of mental health problems, including references to suicidal thoughts, and self-harm.)




May is Mental Health Month in the US, and 14th-20th May is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK.

You've probably heard, at some point in the course of your internetage, the phrase 'self-care.'

Hopefully, what you've heard has been positive. Unfortunately, you may have heard others mocking people who practice self-care, or calling it selfish.

Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is vital for everyone.

Just as everyone has both mental and physical health, though not necessarily mental or physical health *problems,* likewise everyone can (and should) practice self-care as a way of keeping yourself as happy and healthy as possible.




Disclaimer time: I am not a medical or mental health professional. I'm a blogger with personal experiences of mental health problems - OK? OK