moonlitaqua

Today marks the 26th anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre, in Montreal, Canada. A cowardly, misogynic act which left 14 promising women dead, simply because they were women:

Twenty-five-year-old Marc Lépine, armed with a Mini-14 rifle and a hunting knife, shot 28 people, killing 14 women, before committing suicide. He began his attack by entering a classroom at the university, where he separated the male and female students. After claiming that he was “fighting feminism” and calling the women “a bunch of feminists,” he shot all nine women in the room, killing six. He then moved through corridors, the cafeteria, and another classroom, specifically targeting women to shoot. Overall, he killed fourteen women and injured ten other women and four men in just under 20 minutes before turning the gun on himself.[1][2] His suicide note claimed political motives and blamed feminists for ruining his life. The note included a list of 19 Quebec women whom Lépine considered to be feminists and apparently wished to kill.[3]

After this despicable act, Canada adopted gun control measures. Since gun control measures were adopted there has not been another mass shooting killing more than 10 people in Canada. Since École Polytechnique there has only been 9 massacres in Canada; 9 in 26 years.

Please remember these women.

“Revenge is not a good thing, it’s better to forget.”

Take a break: Don’t overwork yourself, you deserve a decent anxiety-free break from everything that’s stressing you out. 

Reward yourself: If you did something good, if you ordered your own food, if you talked to a stranger or asked them about something, if you did your best and got a good grade…etc. Reward yourself, buy a present, get a massage, sleep more, eat that one plate you’ve been wishing to eat for a long time..etc.

Surround yourself with supportive positive people: You don’t need anyone else to feed you with these negative energy, you’re overwhelmed by your own! no matter what anyone says, the people around you affect you with their vibes even a little.

Don’t starve yourself: When one is so anxious, they may forget to eat or they just don’t feel like eating, therefore can get a low blood sugar levels, which is very unhealthy and it could lead to further complications. So, a healthy balanced diet can help a lot with anxiety. The digestion system is one of the first parts that get affected by anxiety. That’s why, people with anxiety/panic disorder often complain about digestion problems. Let alone, you have unhealthy diet and anxiety!

Do one of your favorite things: Everyone has some favorite activities they enjoy doing (unless you’re apathetic or anhedonic), paint, make videos, listen to your favorite band, make designs, exercise, cook..etc. 

Talk to someone: you know you can just come here and talk it all out, because sometimes it feels better to talk to someone who doesn’t know you personally. However, if you have that one person who understands, cares, and listens to you; talk to them, you’ll feel better once all these thoughts are out.

Hold a pillow: or a teddy bear! hold it, cry if you feel like it, comfort your own self. Tell yourself everything’s okay. Trust me, as complicated as our minds are, they can be tricked with a smile, a word. See, when you tell your mind there’s something bad and scary going to happen, it’ll believe you and you’ll start to panic, so why not tell it some positive things, like something wonderful is going to happen today. You’re going to find yourself acting differently.

Hug someone: Many people have problems with hugs; but I find it comforting even hugging a classmate when we hear some good news. Hug your parent, hug your sibling, hug your friend, hug your lover. Hugs are great!

Help someone: Helping people means helping yourself, means you’ll feel better about yourself, means your self-esteem is going to be better or higher.

Watch funny videos: if you have a favorite comedian, sitcom, Youtube video. Go on, watch it, a good laugh will be of benefit.