Here To Help

There are so many awesome things about you that deserve more room to breathe and flourish than double binding will allow. 

Your validity is not determined by how flat you are.

Your worth is not measured in the circumference of your chest.

You deserve to breathe. You deserve belly laughs, and the ability for your lungs to expand enough to sing really bad karaoke or blow out birthday candles or take your dog for a walk. You deserve oxygen, and unbroken ribs, and unpunctured lungs. You deserve to live like the bad ass you are, and you can’t if you can’t breathe (I know this from experience!). 

By double binding you are restricting the glory of who you are and all you can be to this idea that validity, joy, and worth are only for guys with flat chests. It’s a lie. You don’t need a flat chest to be valid. You don’t need a flat chest to own your truth and be true to it. The idea is a lie. You don’t deserve its consequences (physical and emotional). The truth of your validity and awesomeness is so much better, so please bind safely and keep breathing into the bad ass that is you.

No flat chest is worth a flatline.

Thankfully, I stopped double binding before breaking any ribs, despite doing it for a quite a long time, but I know that double binding has damaged me INSIDE.

I used to double bind almost daily because of dysphoria and it got to the point, I really did need to have a break. I couldn’t bind at all and thankfully, at this time I was going through mental health issues so I didn’t leave my house in need of having to wear my binder, but I was in pain; my back, my chest, my ribs, everything hurt. I remember for about 2 weeks I stayed in bed but I remember even lying down would kill me. I’ve never been to a doctor about it, but I have eventually healed.

However, even now, my back, chest and ribs can still hurt if I bind for about 1-2 hours. My body really can’t take it any more and there will also be times that even without binding, it will play up.

Just because you’re not using an ace bandage, or tape, does NOT mean that double binding with a chest binder, a small sports bra, a small binder or a mixture of both is safe and won’t harm you, because it’s far from safe.

Bind safely, one binder is enough and remember that chests are not 100% flat.

You really need to listen if you are doing this because I know that if I saw a message like this sooner, I probably would have stopped.

Your rib cage isn’t really a system of bones the way any other bone is. Its not anchored to other bones through joint systems. Its connected by a series of elastic cartilage segments or fused to your sternum or spine.

This elasticity is great for your lungs because it means your ribs can expand so you can take deeper breaths, but it also means your ribs are extremely vulnerable to warping under continual pressure.

What is it? It’s the name given to that non-specific “sick” feeling many people experience during a convention, or shortly after it ends.

What causes it? Con plague can be caused by one/any combination of the things listed below:

Dehydration

Too many snack foods/not enough real food

Lack of sleep

Too much alcohol

Coming into contact with a person who is sick

Overheating

Wearing an uncomfortable costume for too long

There are more causes of Con Plague, but these are the top contributors.

What are some symptoms? Since Con Plague can be caused by many things, there is no one set of symptoms. Some common ailments include:

A headache that doesn’t go away

Feeling overly tired/exhausted

Nausea

Body aches

Cold-like symptoms (runny nose, cough, sore throat)

Red, dry eyes

Fever

How do I avoid Con Plague? Thankfully, most of the symptoms of Con Plague are easily avoidable by doing simple tasks such as washing your hands, or remembering to drink enough water. Here are some other tips:

Eat real food at least once- A side-salad at Burger King, or a yogurt parfait at McDonald’s are better than trying to survive an entire weekend on Pocky and shrimp chips.

Sleep- No, seriously, sleep. Three hours a night won’t eat up too much of your time at the con, and you’ll feel so much better if you do.

Balance alcohol with water- Not just a con tip, but a drinking tip in general. For every alcoholic beverage you have, drink a glass of water with it.

#DragonCon #protips

12) One safety pin and one length of ribbon – zip your back zippers up all by yourself!

Summer cons are here. Take care of yourself and others! Drink plenty of water and juice to stay hydrated, along with eating juicy fruits and vegetables like watermelon and cucumbers. Stay cool!

Never get blisters or chafe at a con again.

@actuallyadhd

[Image Descriptions:

All slides have a light blue background, and the text is written in blue rectangles with rounded corners.

Slide 1: The title is in white text inside a dark blue circle that is centred in the slide.

Sensory Overload And how to cope

Slide 2: The header is in a dark blue rectangle and white text, and the body is in a pale blue rectangle and black text.

Sensory overload has been found to be associated with disorders such as:

Fibromyalgia (FM)

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Autistic spectrum disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Synesthesia

Slide 3: The text is in three pale blue rectangles that go horizontally across the slide. All use black text. The last rectangle has four smaller dark blue rectangles with white text inside it for the four points. The text is centred in all of the rectangles.

Sensory overload occurs when one (or more) of the body’s senses experiences over-stimulation from the environment.

Basically it feels like everything is happening at once, and is happening too fast for you to keep up with.

Sensory overload can result from the overstimulation of any of the senses.

Hearing: Loud noise or sound from multiple sources, such as several people talking at once.

Sight: Bright lights, strobe lights, or environments with lots of movement such as crowds or frequent scene changes on TV.

Smell and Taste: Strong aromas or spicy foods.

Touch: Tactile sensations such as being touched by another person or the feel of cloth on skin.

Slide 4: A heading in two light blue rectangles with black text, followed by a table with a dark blue first row that has white text, and then alternating pale blue and white rows with black text. (The table is not really a table, it is just a four-column list.)

Obviously, everyone reacts in differently to sensory overload.

Some behavioural examples are:

Irritability — “Shutting down” — Covers eyes around bright lights — Difficulty concentrating Angry outbursts — Refuses to interact and participate — Covers ears to close out sounds or voices — Jumping from task to task without completing Overexcitement — Low energy levels — Difficulty speaking — Compains about noises not effecting others High energy levels — Sleepiness/fatigue — poor eye contact — Overly sensitive to sounds/lights/touch Fidgeting and restlessness — Avoids touching/being touched — Muscle tension — Difficulty with social interactions

Slide 5: The header is in a dark blue box with pointy corners and white text. The body is in a pale blue box with pointy corners and black text.

There are two different methods to prevent sensory overload: avoidance and setting limits:

Create a more quiet and orderly environment - keeping the noise to a minimum and reducing the sense of clutter.

Rest before big events.

Focus your attention and energy on one thing at a time.

Restrict time spent on various activities.

Select settings to avoid crowds and noise.

One may also limit interactions with specific people to help prevent sensory overload.

Slide 6: This looks the same as the last slide except the text in the header is black.

It is important in situations of sensory overload to calm oneself and return to a normal level.

Remove yourself from the situation.

Deep pressure against the skin combined with proprioceptive input that stimulates the receptors in the joints and ligaments often calms the nervous system.

Reducing sensory input such as eliminating distressing sounds and lowering the lights can help.

Calming, focusing music works for some.

Take an extended rest if a quick break doesn’t relieve the problem.

Slide 7: Four light blue rectangles with rounded corners, stacked one above the other, with black text.

What if someone you know is experiencing sensory overload?

Recognize the onset of overload. If they appear to have lost abilities that they usually have, such as forgetting how to speak, this is often a sign of severe overload.

Reduce the noise level. If they are in a noisy area, offer to guide them somewhere more quiet. Give time to process questions and respond, because overload tends to slow processing. If you can control the noise level, for example by turning off music, do so.

Do not touch or crowd them. Many people in SO are hypersensitive to touch - being touched or thinking they are about to be touched can worsen the overload. If they are seated or are a small child, get down to their level instead of looming above them.

Slide 8: Similar to previous slide, only with three rectangles instead of four.

Don’t talk more than necessary. Ask if you need to in order to help, but don’t try to say something reassuring or get them talking about something else. Speech is sensory input, and can worsen overload.

If they have a jacket, they may want to put it on and put the hood up. This helps to reduce stimulation, and many people find the weight of a jacket comforting. If their jacket is not within reach, ask them if they want you to bring it. A heavy blanket can also help in a similar way.

Don’t react to aggression. Don’t take it personally. It is rare for someone who is overloaded to cause serious harm, because they don’t want to hurt you, just get out of the situation. Aggression often occurs because you tried to touched/restrained/blocked their escape.

Slide 9: Similar to previous slide, only with two rectangles instead of three.

When they have calmed down, be aware that they will often be tired and more susceptible to overload for quite awhile afterwards. It can take hours or days to fully recover from an episode of sensory overload. If you can, try to reduce stress occurring later on as well.

If they start self-injuring, you should usually not try to stop them. Restraint is likely to make their overload worse. Only intervene if they are doing something that could cause serious injury, such as hard biting or banging their head. It’s a lot better to deal with self-injury indirectly by lowering overload.

Slide 10: The header is in a dark blue rectangle with white text, and the other text is in a row of five dark blue circles with white text. The text is centred in all shapes.

To summarise - Remember the 5 R’s

Recognise The symptoms of overload

Remove Yourself from the situation

Reduce the stimulus causing the overload

Relax Your body and calm yourself down

Summer cons are here. Take care of yourself and others! Drink plenty of water and juice to stay hydrated, along with eating juicy fruits and vegetables like watermelon and cucumbers. Stay cool!

Cosplay Medic Corps Con Survival Guide — Hot and Cold Weath Convention Tips

Nobody like super hot or super cold cons. Cosplayers are like Goldilocks that way–we like temperatures just right. Unfortunately, Mother Nature likes weather in the extreme more than she likes comfortable weather , so cosplayers often have to make do.

Here are some tips to help keep yourself enjoying your convention no matter what the weather!

…and I figured it was a good time to cover one thing that I see happening sometimes in the cosplay/costuming/maker/photo scenes. 

Kids (and adults)- one big tip to remember- if you’re scheduling something outside of a convention space, whether it’s a photoshoot, commissioning custom gear of some kind from a maker, or anything else like that where you’re going to someone’s private studio, home, or anything else, please, please remember- IT IS PERFECTLY ALL RIGHT TO BRING A FRIEND, S/O, OR OTHER EXTRA BODY WITH YOU. 

Cosplay Medic Corps will active on the Katsucon floor between 4pm and 10pm on both Friday and Saturday of the con.