Everything You Can Think Of Is True

i mean, you all have a comprehension of just how drastically harry potter changed literature, yeah? like. it revitalized it. it blew the literary scene apart. the new york times had to create a separate bestseller’s list for children’s lit just because harry potter existed. harry potter changed reading.

so many people on tumblr were born in the ‘90s. when the first book came out, most of us couldn’t read. but we grew up in a world where everyone, everyone, everyone was reading harry potter, no matter how old they were; we grew up in a world where the most popular story in the entire world was a fantasy children’s book.

it’s sort of difficult to grasp, sometimes, the extent to which harry potter is not just a book. the extent to which what is basically a series of fun, interesting, and fairly good novels is such an enormous, enormous part of our lives, a cultural touchstone, a truly universal reference point, something so many people have shaped their lives around, a foundation for all of the stories we would read and watch for the rest of our lives– for so many of us, the first books we ever loved

the extent to which so many of us can’t call ourselves “fans” of harry potter, because it would like being a “fan” of, like, having lungs.

No, seriously. Before Starbucks, America was a coffee wasteland. Coffee was a thing you got at diners and drivethroughs. It was a cheap hot thing you put made palatable with tons of cream and sugar, and most people (but waning!) had a coffee machine at home.

Starbucks told us that we could like coffee. That coffee could be an enjoyable thing, that it could be a status symbol and a ritual. That there could be a place where you go for coffee, and you enjoy it.

As a coffee snob, I think Starbucks’ coffee is awful. But Starbucks is why we have better coffee. Starbucks created the market space for third wave coffee shops and artisanal roasters. They reintroduced “espresso”, “latte” and “cappuccino” to the American lexicon.

It was very much like Harry Potter. I know JK is le problematique but the books were fun, creative, and exciting, got a LOT of kids into reading in general and fantasy specifically, and gave us all some mew common cultural touchstones.

an animal that wants to feel good: time to lay in the sun

Maladaptive belief:  If I don’t do as well as others, I’m a failure. More functional belief: If I don’t do as well as others, I’m not a failure, just human.

Maladaptive belief:  If I ask for help, it’s a sign of weakness. More functional belief: If I ask for help when I need it, I’m showing good problem-solving abilities (which is a sign of strength).

Maladaptive belief:  If I fail at work/school, I’m a failure as a person. More functional belief: If I fail at work/school, it’s not a reflection of my whole self. (My whole self includes how I am as a friend, daughter, sister, relative, citizen, and community member, and my qualities of kindness, sensitivity to others, helpfulness, etc.) Also, failure is not a permanent condition.

Maladaptive belief:  I should be able to excel at everything I try. More functional belief: I shouldn’t be able to excel at something unless I am gifted in that area (and am willing and able to devote considerable time and effort toward it at the expense of other things.

Maladaptive belief:  I should always work hard and do my best. More functional belief: I should put in a reasonable amount of effort much of the time.

Maladaptive belief:  If I don’t live up to my potential, I have failed. More functional belief: If I do less than my best, I have succeeded perhaps 70%, 80%, or 90%; not 0%.

Of all the mental disorders out there, none is taken less seriously than ADHD. Lots of people believe that it’s made up. Some people believe that ADHD is nothing more than bad parenting. And plenty of people believe that it’s an excuse to medicate otherwise normal children. But here’s the thing: ADHD is a very real disorder, and it profoundly affects the lives of those who have it.  Let’s look at some facts about people with ADHD: - 35% of teens with ADHD will not complete high school - that’s double the dropout rate of average teens.

- 30% of kids with ADHD will fail a year of school, or be required to repeat a grade.

- 45% of kids with ADHD get suspended from school at some point.

- Only 5% of teens with ADHD will earn a college degree, compared to 28% of the general population.

- Only 0.06% of people with ADHD will earn a graduate degree, compared to 5.4% of the general population.

- They have four times as many car accidents as the general population.

- They are 4 to 9 times more likely to go to prison.

- They are 11 times more likely to be unemployed.

- 61% will be fired at some point, compared to 43% of the average population.

- They earn, on average, $2 less per hour than their non-ADHD counterparts.

- They run a significantly higher lifetime risk of depression, anxiety, and antisocial disorders than people without ADHD. ADHD is not a made-up disorder; it is a very real thing that has a profound effect on the lives of people who have it. 

So what other myths about ADHD are floating around? - Contrary to popular belief, ADHD is under-diagnosed. While there is some evidence to suggest that little boys are being over-diagnosed with it, girls are being grossly under-diagnosed. Teachers and parents’ are quick to recognize the disorder in boys; girls with ADHD, on the other hand, are dismissed as ‘ditsy’ or ‘spacey’, preventing them from getting the help they need. Doctors estimate that ADHD occurs equally in boys and girls, but boys are six times more likely to be diagnosed and treated.

- ADHD is not a childhood disorder. Studies have found that anywhere from 30% to a whopping 80% of childhood cases of ADHD continue on into adulthood, affecting sufferers for the rest of their lives. Even when cases don’t continue, the education gaps created in early years can affect a person long into adulthood.

- ADHD is not caused by diet. The vast majority of cases of ADHD are genetic. Other major causes include prenatal exposure to alcohol, and traumatic brain injuries. No cases are caused by food dyes, or excessive consumption of sugar.

- ADHD is not a “short attention span”. People with ADHD do not lack attention spans, they lack the ability to regulate their attention. When people with ADHD discover an activity that highly interests them, they can focus on it single-mindedly for hours, ignoring all other activities, much like you’d see in autism. 

If you haven’t seen