#informed consent

“55 mg caffeine” right there on the front label.

I should not be half way through a beverage only to ACCIDENTALLY see on the very bottom of the back label UNDER the ingredients that it has as much caffeine as a bottle of Mountain Dew or a Coke. Yes, technically it does say there’s caffeine on the front, but it’s hidden way at the bottom and NOT easily distinguished.

IT’S FUCKING COCONUT WATER.

So yeah. Warning, the Bai coconut drink “Molokai Coconut” has caffeine in it. How the bottle looks vs. how it SHOULD look.

this allows them to make sure you genuinely are giving informed consent, because you are not just agreeing, but explaining your understanding of what you're doing, and your reason for doing it.

I would like this to be a model applied to everything.

for people who don't already know what healthcare they want or how it works, there needs to be a process where they can learn all that information. every effort should be made to bridge communication barriers and allow the patient to meaningfully gain knowledge about their body and options.

then once the person can understand their options enough to explain what they want and why, they should receive the care that they request.

Yes, you read that right, nobody told me or my parents (who as my legal next-of-kin were heavily involved and of course had to sign a bunch of consent stuff while I was unconscious) that they had straight up taken out my appendix during one of their surgeries, or other significant medical events that occured.

Now, I am very privileged in that I am not only literate, but I am medically literate. I work in healthcare and both my parents have achieved doctoral levels of higher education, as well as having multiple medical doctors in my extended family who I can call on if I have any questions. Since my stay was so long, I have a lot of notes, which are very dense and riddled with typos and abbreviations. But I am lucky in that I know how to read them and have resources in place to help me if I don't. But so many people don't, and it infuriates me.

So many people out there don't even know their own medical history because so many doctors and nurses do not communicate things to their patients properly. And that is dangerous! It's important to know your medical history so that you know your risk factors, especially in case another emergency occurs. I understand that healthcare workers by and large are overworked and understaffed but I think it should be a bare minimum that a patient is properly briefed about what procedures were done to them and what diagnoses they have before they are discharged.

It's not illegal for me (yet) since I'm an adult.

Trans Healthcare is completely banned for minors in Missouri. Medicare is no longer allowed to cover trans healthcare (including hormone therapy) for minors and adults. Even changing your gender marker requires "proof of gender reassignment".

I'm an adult so I can still get HRT. I went to an informed consent clinic near me to skip all the bullshit. I lucked out that it's also a low income health clinic and they have an on-site pharmacy. I just get my T from there for like $15 tops.

The body donation industry is unregulated. There was a whole series of articles about it. They use deliberately misleading language in their contracts so that most people have no idea that their loved one's body may be sold to the military. It's really messed up.

Note: This piece carries a soft hypnotic undertone. If you’re prone to slipping into trance, anchor yourself before you read. ✦ ᛉ ᚨ ᚷ ᛟ ✦

One of the recurring tropes — and one of the trickiest — is corruption, often paired with mindwash.

And what is corruption, exactly? Basically, it’s when your thoughts shift — 180 degrees. Maybe 270. Perhaps even full circle.

Imagine you dislike visual hypnosis, spirals make you uneasy. Then the hypnotist guides you into trance with their favorite method. Conditioning might be slow… or it might be intense — and suddenly, spirals don’t bother you anymore. After a few sessions — or even the same day, if pushed — you find yourself drawn to them, almost addicted.

That’s corruption. That’s the internal change. And here, we wade into murky waters.

Hypnotists have been reported for this — some have been shunned, even boycotted online. Why? Because corruption walks a thin line between safe, sane, and consensual — as BDSM would put it.

There are stories online: people manipulated in vulnerable states. Erotic narratives using hypnosis and corruption to push boundaries. Manga and fiction portraying innocent minds turning vulgar — or degraded. And the list goes on.

To those exploring mental reprogramming — even out of curiosity — a warning: tread carefully. Do you know why hypnosis has a bad reputation, beyond a few rogue practitioners? Because of things like Project MK Ultra.

It’s easy to Google — and it always comes up first.

For those unfamiliar, or needing a reminder: MK Ultra was a CIA program during the Cold War. They experimented on humans without consent, seeking techniques for mind control and psychological torture. Hypnosis and drugs were among their tools. We only learned years later, when the archives were declassified.

Your mind is a sanctuary. You always have agency. And remember — the line between play, pleasure, and psychic harm is always present.

Some call it transformation. Others call it loss. It depends on who holds the pendulum.