Hypericum

Me: none

Doctor: okay you should take this NSAID to help with your pain

----

Me: what should I do if the pain will become unbearable to the point of making me bedridden for a week again

Doctor: you should take this anti inflammatory medicine for a week

Me: okay cool what makes you think that my pain is caused by inflammation

Doctor: well we've made an ex ray a few months ago and it was fine

Dissociation

like most of the Whump I see has whumpees who remember everything clearly and are always crying and shi.

but what abt whumpees who dissociate heavily? Whenever they were tortured or whatever they mentally checked out of the situation, their mind somewhere far away from the pain.

and this carries over to when they’ve been rescued. Say Caretaker accidentally triggers them and instead of crying their eyes glaze over, mind already somewhere far away where they can’t be hurt

1) Dissociation isn't always "staring into nothing", it's also "doing stuff without realizing that you're doing it", "being aggressive towards people that are trying to help you because you can't recognize them for a minute and they feel dangerous", "unwillimgly behaving normally while screaming and crying deep inside", "your body crying or panicking while you in your head is calm and you have no idea why that's happening", "regressing to a childlike state" and much more

2) Some physical symptoms that often go in hand with dissociation (and more uncommon ones I've experienced myself):

• Vision blurring, you can't focus your eyes

• Dizziness, feeling light headed

• Poor balance and coordination, being unable to do things precisely, dropping things

• Suddenly feeling very hot or very cold, like you're running a fever

• Feeling nauseous or vaguely uncomfortable in your stomach, loosing your appetite

• Involuntary muscle tension

• Fatigue and sleepiness

3) Some psychological symptoms they can experience:

• Forgetfulness and difficulties with concentration

• Feeling numb and hollow, drained of emotions

• Confusion and disorientation

• Getting full blown breakdowns over minor things unrelated to their trauma, but being calm and numb when faced with actual trauma triggers

• Feeling distant from their favorite things and people, feeling as though they don't matter or don't feel theirs anymore

4) Memory loss is much more complicated than you probably think! Your whumpee can remember everything about their trauma but be unable to recall events before and/or shortly after it. Your whumpee can remember specific feelings, be it physical or emotional, but not the events. Your whumpee can also remember the events, but not their feelings or thoughts. Your whumpee can remember everything vaguely, they can misremember details, the traumatic event can feel like a fever dream, this memory can be illogical and distorted. The amount of details they remember can change with time in any way

5) The intensity of their dissociation can vary. It can get better (if they are recovering) or worse (if it's getting stuck as a go to coping mechanism) with time. They can feel slightly detached and light headed all the time, but get into a complete shut down or regression when they're triggered. They can experience both dissociative episodes and full blown emotional breakdowns

They didnt survive, at least not all of them

Maybe it's their caretaker who is someone who's been through a lot but recovered

Maybe it's their friend who's been through exactly the same things with whumpee, but has opposite feelings about it, because for them being a survivor is a way to reclaim their agency. They are not a helpless victim, they are actively overcoming it, surviving out of spite, being strong despite things that are trying to break them

Crying in relief when someone is finally taking them seriously and caring for them — could be a medical professional, their partner, their friend, mentor or teacher

Being hesitant to ask for the simplest help possible that is also absolutely necessary, like getting them some water or finding a place for them to sit

Getting confused and lost when someone offers help even if they know exactly what they need

Feeling like help is undeserved, care is excessive and they are being too needy and difficult

Hiding their symptoms so their friends won't leave them because they feel like they are a useless burden

Feeling overpowering guilt and self hatred if they need to cancel some plans or say no to something their friend proposes to them

Panicking when they need help, even if people around them are kind, gentle and caring. Shaking and hyperventilating while their friends are asking them what happened, offering them some water or a hug. Having an urge to yell at people who try to care about them, because help feels unnatural and scary and getting through the illness by their own is something that is known and predictable

Plotting exactly how to seek help, exactly how far it goes, and fully manipulating social norms to get what they need. Whether or not it's actually needed. After all, getting food/that wheelchair part/help with forms just goes better when you use the Socially Acceptable Answers, right? You have to edit the truth, everyone knows that.

"Why would I use a cane/wheelchair/meds? That's for people who are actually struggling, I'm fine."

Rote phrases when the situation seems dangerous. "I'm okay." "Everything's fine." "I just need to work harder." Then at some point Whumpee asks how to identify the "polite thing people say when it hurts", in case someone else gets hurt.

Encyclopedic knowledge of how to use anything from herbs to OTC medication to physics to treat health problems. While on Medicare/Medicaid (free health care for the disabled). See a doctor? Why do they when they've got it under control? (Bonus;: no it fucking isn't, they're using such tiny doses they shouldn't actually be even getting placebo effects, but somehow have convinced themselves that it's cured if they're physically capable of walking.)

Hides any accessibility they could sneak. Checking their budget while shopping? The phone calculator is hidden from view. Can't read? The text-to-speech app is running into a nearly-invisible earbud. That pair of glasses is treated like they're made of solid gold, despite probably being very out of date and no one actually sees when Whumpee uses them.

Misdiagnosis because Whumpee mistook normal reactions for symptoms, or because of a disorder Whumpee didn't realize was atypical.

"Oh, a 10 on your scale means fainting? Is that when it hurts so much you fall asleep? I wondered why that kept happening last week, I must have set off something again..."

Any other person on the planet gets triaged with only slightly more caution than a professional, and possibly shows up in the ER already patched up. Whumpee then proceeds to text Caretaker "oh cool, my fevers never got above 100 before! Take something? Why? It's fine, it's just a fever, why bother?".

Whumpee staring at a little kid in a wheelchair who's popping wheelies and playing with doting parents, and finally mutters, "...you mean they can just do that? Just give her a chair? She didn't even get grounded for wanting one? I didn't know that HAPPENED..."