If you see any memes saying “There are more than two genders #DropTheB” floating around, it’s a false flag operation from /pol/, and it’s meant to start outrage and infighting within the community.
I don’t usually soap-box, but I’m going to for a hot sec since this has been on my mind:
Cults are getting better branding, prettier leaders, hipper-sounding cosmologies, and wider reaches due to social media. They’re not all deity-focused. Thoughtful, intelligent people can get sucked into them. Just…stay safe out there, guys. Do your research, look at all your options, and trust your gut, not your guru.
I’m glad this is resonating with people.
I do want to emphasize, again, that cults (and toxic groups with cult-like attributes, I’m using this term pretty loosely) don’t usually look like what you’d expect. A lot of toxic and dangerous religious movements are tiny and you won’t find much about them via Google. Cultish non-religious movements are the same way.
Start-ups, multi-level marketing companies, activist groups, fan groups, political groups, and internet gurus who run retreats can all be cult-like and dangerous. Tune your BS detector, ask family, friends, and experts for advice.
Here are some warning signs:
Pressure – pressure to make quick decisions, to give (or pledge) considerable amounts of money, to move in with a group, to abandon family or cut off friends. Elevated Leaders – anyone claiming special insight, special powers, or that they aren’t human. Demanding special treatment (compared to other followers). Misuse of funds or money collecting at the top. physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse. Lack of accountability or oversight. Isolation – encouraging (or requiring) members to cut off family relationships, friendships with those outside of the group, leaving jobs, moving to isolated areas, taking away communication methods. Strong “us-vs-them” mentality. Vilification of ex-members. Love-bombing. Altered states of consciousness – long work hours, sleep deprivation, lack of access to adequate food or water. Otherwise unproblematic activities like meditation/prayer/chanting, but done for hours. Discouraging doubt – discouraging or punishing doubt and critical thinking.
The recent storm has everyone running… er… slithering… for higher ground.
My dad calls me from outside saying to grab my hook, there’s a snake. My mom laughs as I toss my snake hook and tongs at my dad to grab a hold of the snake, shrugging it off as I casually mention “oh it’s just a little kingsnake”
Absolutely flawless smol friend.
omg you are so good I love this thank you for sharing helpful snek frien and helping helpful snek frien
LockPickingLawyer, a
recreational lock picker, was sent a fingerprint padlock for review. He
emailed the manufacture to let them know that he’d discovered a
security vulnerability: “Upon examining the lock, I found that if you
remove the three screws, the lock falls apart. The shackle can be opened
and relocked without the owner’s fingerprint or knowledge.”
The manufacturer replied: “the lock is invincible to the people who do not have a screwdriver.”
I have watched the Lock Picking Lawyer’s videos on YouTube. They are oddly satisfying and disturbing all at the same time. As a police officer friend of mine once said, locks only keep honest people out …
I literally have a 20-head screwdriver within arm’s reach, and like, six of them are torx (I just checked) and 4 are hex
I mean I don’t carry it with me but it’s next to my computer for some reason.
Heck, you could probably use a regular phillips screwdriver and some patience to get that open. I’ve unscrewed torx screws with a flathead screwdriver, too. If you have one that’s the right size, you can carefully sorta snag it and turn it.
suicidal people deserve a space to talk about their suicidal feelings without risking hospitalization/institutionalization or being accused of being manipulative or attention seeking
It’s a therapist. The word you’re looking for is a therapist.
wrong
The second a therapist thinks you’re even slightly suicidal (ie. Whenever you even say the word suicide) they “pink slip” you, which means you get sent to a mental hospital against your will.
I think about suicide almost every day, but it doesn’t always mean I’m gonna go kill myself.
I just want to say, as someone who has taken courses in ethics and regulations regarding psychology and therapy and has worked at a counseling center for more than five years, THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE. The only time a therapist or other healthcare provider is required to report suicidal or homicidal ideation is if there is a specific plan. I am deeply sorry to anyone who has ever experienced a therapist who acted otherwise. To the person above, I am not sure what your experience has been, but I promise you it is not a typical one, at least not in the area where I live (California). I have never heard of a “pink slip”, and I’ve worked with therapists for 5+ years.
Going to a therapist changed my life. I was able to open up and say “I think about suicide almost every day”, and for the first time in my life someone said “You don’t have to live like this.” She didn’t have me hospitalized, she didn’t raise any alarms. She gently asked me if I had a specific plan, and when I said no, she said “We are going to help you get better.”
YOUR THERAPIST ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT HAVE YOU HOSPITALIZED AT THE MERE MENTION OF SUICIDAL IDEATION.
If you say, “I’m going to kill myself tonight by overdose,” then yes, they are required by law to have you hospitalized. Otherwise it is THEIR JOB to help you process your feelings and find a way to help you function and feel better.
I cannot be more emphatic about this. Therapists, by and large, are here to help, not to hospitalize. If you have health insurance, contact them today to find out about your mental health coverage. Go to your general care doctor and tell them how you’re feeling so that they can refer you to the right person. If you don’t have health insurance, find a resource for a free/reduced fee clinic near you. Marriage and Family Therapist Interns are a great option, as they often see clients on a sliding fee scale. PLEASE GET HELP.
LISTEN TO ME: YOU CANNOT LEGALLY BE HOSPITALIZED AGAINST YOUR WILL FOR SUICIDAL IDEATION. FEAR OF HOSPITALIZATION SHOULD NOT STOP YOU FROM SEEKING HELP.
I understand that many people have hospital related trauma, and I understand, and sympathize. Talk to me. Send me a message. I will be happy to find you further information on laws and regulations in your area, referrals to other counseling centers, or even just listen to what you have to say.
I couldn’t in good conscience scroll past this without saying something. As someone who struggled with depression for much longer than I should have because of fear of seeking treatment, I want to encourage everyone, experiencing any degree of mental illness to get help. I will do anything I can to support those of you going through something like this. I’m here for you.
I literally talk to my therapist about suicidal ideation all the time and all she’s ever done is have me clarify that I wasn’t planning on acting on it. I’m tired of tumblr discouraging people from trusting mental health professionals.
I’ve seen so many people distrust mental health professionals because of one or two bad experiences. PLEASE research and know your rights when you go into a therapy session.
They should only hospitalize you if you are an active threat to others or have a plan of action to end your life.
The only time mine ever brought up hospitalization was after my worst breakdown and major relapse into self harm with serious suicidal ideation, and even then because I didn’t have a plan and wasn’t a danger to other people it was discussed but not forced. I chose to because I wanted to get better.
A decent therapist won’t force you, because healing like that takes time and can’t be rushed.
Never trust a psychiatrist who dismisses your trauma history as irrelevant to your current mental health.
“We’re not here to discuss [your abusive relationships or the bullying you went through in school]; we’re here to figure out why you’re so frequently absent from work.” – direct quote from my first therapist, re: the depression, anxiety and disordered sleeping that led to the crash-and-burn of my first career
As a therapist: FUCK YES. If they’re not taking you seriously and letting you contribute to setting goals for your work together, fire them. And if you have trauma and they’re not well-versed in complex PTSD, ask them to refer you to someone who is.
Conversely: if you personally DO NOT WANT to engage with this particular therp re: the rest of it but DO want to focus on specific aspects of the Now, and they insist you must Delve Into The Past?
Also fire them.
They are not an Authority who is Fixing You. They are a contributing specialist you are consulting for the sake of managing your own mental health.
i saw this post earlier about therapists and it reminded me of my old therapist paul, who in my opinion is one of the greatest men alive and who did not put up with my bullshit for even one second
anyway i go in to see paul one week in the summer of 2016, and i’m doing my usual bullshit which consists of me talking shit about myself, and paul is staring at me, and then he cuts me off and says that he’s got a new tool for helping people recognize when they’re using negative language, and gets up and goes over to his desk
and i’m like alright hit me with that sweet sweet self-help article my man, because i’m a linguistic learner and whenever paul’s like here i have a tool for you to use it’s pretty much always an article or a book or something
paul opens a drawer, takes something out, and turns back around. i stare.
i say, paul.
is that a nerf gun.
yeah, says paul.
i say, are you gonna shoot me with a nerf gun in this professional setting.
he happily informs me that that’s really up to me, isn’t it. and sits back down. and gestures, like, go ahead, what were you saying?
and i squint suspiciously and start back up about how i’m having too much anxiety to leave the house to run errands, like it was a miracle to even get here, like i’ve forgone getting groceries for the past week and that’s so stupid, what a stupid issue, i’m an idiot, how could i–
a foam dart hits me in the leg.
i go, hey! because my therapist just shot me in the leg. paul blinks at me placidly and raises an eyebrow. i squint again.
i say, slowly, it’s– not a stupid issue, i’m not stupid, but it’s frustrating me and i don’t want it to be a problem i’m having.
no dart this time. okay. sweet.
so the rest of the hour passes with me intermittently getting nailed with tiny foam darts and then swearing and then fixing my language and, wouldn’t you know it, i start liking myself a little more by the end of the session, which is mildly infuriating because paul can tell and he’s very smug about it
anyway i leave his office and the lady having the next appointment walks in and i hear what’s all over the floor? and paul very seriously says cognitive behavioral therapy tools.
If I go into clinical work I am stealing this idea.
BettSplendens Tumblr Evac 