ThigmaTropes

Yes! Yes that would work! That example of using a photo to stare at is actually a GREAT example of how to use things to get around this!

Like imagine if a dude said, “hey I wanna slip something in a girl’s drink, but I won’t actually assault her, I just wanna have fun watching her have no idea why, but mentally deteriorate.”

My goodness, theists are some kind of screwed up sometimes.

But don’t assume anyone who believes and experiences otherwise is stupid. Or damaged. Or dysfunctional. How do you handle a Pentecostal telling your about their Spirit encounter or someone telling you about a haunting?

I want you to think about your answer.

Because calling any of these things derogatory names? Not only is that lowkey ableist. And it’s not respecting others’ beliefs. They’re not necessarily suffering for no reason. Your beliefs about the world are valid. But to claim you know for sure what “reality” is, is super arrogant.

https://thigmatropes.tumblr.com/post/640861662147182592/some-tulpa-formers-claim-that-they-can

@jumpinjohnnyjumble

and super cool of you to call me ableist when you’re the one who wrote a whole essay that’s basically guaranteed to trigger an entire demographic! you must be really smart :)

But because I’m not presumptuous, I allow that may not be true.

If the attitude is that you are only able to be safe from demons if you cling to the side of you which people have dictated you to think, then that’s a problem.

Plenty of people are able to be safe from their self-proclaimed ‘demons’ because they find something that works for them.

Existing =/= no ability to be safe.

Why would anyone do that? Well, hopefully they wouldn’t.

Telling people that they have no ability to fend off negative entities the moment they start thinking one could be around is essentially the same thing.

Telling people that the only way they could ever be safe from anything is if they swim back to that island of disbelief when they’re drowning, instead of teaching them how to swim.

We know that humanity, since recorded history, has claimed it is dealing with negative entities. This extends into the present day, where you can go on forums in real time and read stories. Firsthand experiences, in your words. This includes people who have experienced physical pain from these encounters. Now in my own opinion, that’s psychosomatic. But in the interest of arming people with all the possible tools, the mental self-defense, these people would recommend not viewing demons as some unbeatable problem, or to be skirted at all costs, especially when this is almost guaranteed to happen to a psychotic person!!! nor spreading this mindset! But rather viewing them the way these people do: as something that simply exists- something you can ward off.

Whether shaman or saint, New Age or ancient verse, casting away demons is entirely “canon” to the human condition.

If all of these stories were merely the placebo effect ... keep in mind that the placebo effect has saved some individuals from physical, absolutely deadly diseases.

“Spontaneous remission” is a growing field of study. Anyway, back to the point.

People shouldn’t be spreading the outlook that a “belief that a demon is present” should affect someone any more than encountering a bear in the woods. Bears are scary and dangerous, sure, but their body language can also be read, and there are steps to take to ensure the highest possibility of safety. Retaining a little bit of groundedness while under threat is a thing the mind is capable of. Especially if it’s rehearsed.

But picturing warding off a demon, which is something these people practice at, sometimes daily, is, according to what people discussing the subject have told me on Tumblr at least, ironically the very last suggestion anyone here would make. Funny how running from problems is pushed instead of figuring out how to dismantle them.

Ultimately, believing or not believing in demons is up to the lucid mind, when it is out of crisis. Some people take these data points of experience and conclude that something did “really happen.” Others don’t.

But when it is in that mode, equipping it beforehand with positive tools and confidence rather than despair is the goal here. You’re free to not believe in your own experiences, because that’s your choice.

But, as I’ll say again, doctors pushing this conclusion on you, or even other psychotics insisting that they’re not real, is not their call to make!

They think they’re being helpful, when in reality ... they’re just pushing a doubly complicated narrative- that (1) demons do not exist, and you’re not allowed to think so or you’re more disordered, (thats the ableism part) and (2) the only way to deal with them is to not think about them.

Imagine if you approached any other problem in your life by “not thinking about it.” Instead of examining it or preparing for it ... does that make sense yet?

You’re free to think these things don’t exist

but

verbally beforehand treating or thinking of one slip up in the other direction as if it is a housefire, instead of a controllable loaf of bread that happens to be smoldering, seems to be hurting far more people than it’s helping.

this isn’t a matter of teaching people how to defend themselves. this is a matter of what, in one’s own personal experience, has proven to help the most. what you’re doing right now is saying “i know this is what helps you, but i’m telling you what i think should help you more”.

and this isn’t about religion. this is about mental illness. there is a distinct difference between someone with that kind of religious connection and someone with psychosis. i’m guessing you don’t have any schizophrenic friends because if you did you would see the distinction there.

using your own analogy here, what you’re doing right now is saying “people are around every corner to attack you”. in this circumstance, it doesn’t matter what you’re saying is a helpful way to go about it, because you’re actively triggering people! do you not see where the problem is here?

im guessing you didn’t read the original post, because if you did you’d know that we’ve already been saying that

• outright telling people their delusions aren’t real isn’t helpful,

• the best way to go about things is to talk people through the delusion as if it was real

They could be benefiting from treatment right now, for other aspects of their problems, if the establishment had not decided to actively malign their beliefs.

To label them as defective.

So I’ll say for a third time or so. It is not your place to decide what is real and what isn’t.

It is not a doctor’s place to decide what is real and what isn’t.

It is a doctor’s job to provide assistance to a patient, and not judgement.

Untestable claims are just that- untestable, non-provable, and not able to be dis-proved, either.

If you’re walking people through delusions involving mundane, directly observable reality- i.e., that someone is after you, or your food is poison- those things can be contested and examined beforehands when reported and remembered, or afterwards. Those that do not, cannot.

@furryhamlet dunno if this answers your ask or not. If not, feel free to send me another, or a PM.

Saying that “phew, now that’s over, and you can go back to living in reality” is still an assumption. It is perpetuating that enforced belief and treating it a “safety.”

Pretending there are no other options.

"One of the most prevalent obstacles in our ability to heal and self-actualise is when our productivity is tied to our worthiness."

I think the studyblr community especially needs to hear this. You don't have to be productive all the time, you need rest. Recovering from internalised capitalism means unpicking all the messages from family, friends, school and workplace that have reinforced the idea that you are a commodity, and that your worth is based on what you do. Your worth is inherent.

modern fashion glimbow!🌛💜

I’m sure at this point many of you have seen my numerous disclaimers about how I am not a wholly reliable source of information regarding the tag bans, but I have a bit more to say, specifically in regards to my own actions going forward.

The list (Linked here) now contains 400 banned tags, the majority of which have been given a hard block. I am not abandoning the list, but I am going to keep the inbox closed for now, for a couple of reasons.

One: I feel that I have contributed to spreading panic and stoking outrage. It was not my intention, but I have gained a platform and I would like to ensure I use it responsibly.

Two: The list has 400 phrases. I’m not saying I won’t continue adding to it, but I believe we’ve reached a point where further edits are not entirely necessary. As the list grows, the blocked tags we find become more and more niche. What we currently have is a good sample size of tags that have been blocked, which shows us the range of tags being affected.

Three: This isn’t quite as big picture, but tbh I’m… really tired. I think I mentioned my chronic illness when #spoonies got banned, but I have myasthenia gravis and my muscles are shit. I’ve been on screens way too much the past 2 days and I have just straight up overexerted my eyes, so. Yeah. I need to rest.

The ones that do exist- Bastard, Son of a Bitch, BOTH point back to women.

There’s jack-off, I guess?

(I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone assign that to a woman...)

Obviously some teens are more readily called kids than others (13 and 18 are VASTLY different due to the rate of maturation in that time, for example)

But at the same time using “man” or “woman” seems to be implying additional adult qualities that they may lack, simply because they’re in a natural transitional state.

But its really gonna be a case-by-case thing. You’ll need to take their age into account because those years a LOT of development occurs. And it keeps occurring after they’re older, of course, but it’s quite obvious during that time.

So I don’t feel you can blanket state children when you mean an older teen, because honestly they aren’t. But I agree calling them adults isn’t quite right, either. So I propose we just. Call them teens. :|

As for rape vs. Noncon, yeah, they’re the same thing basically. But this argument I get! The word rape has a lot more notable negative connotations, for, uh, obvious reasons it’s a word that just. Is bad. But, despite being the same thing, nonconsensual doesn’t always have the same weight to it in the public mind.

So you get people who think nonconsensual sex is fine but rape is bad because there’s a disconnect in severity. People at times specifically use nonconsensual to change the tone of what they’re saying to be lighter, because rape is one of those words many more people will react badly to on a gut level.

I think the solution would be to associate rape and noncon often enough the two have identical connotations, but that isn’t the case universally at present so I can see where people would rather others just be blunt and say rape instead.

It’s often a specific choice to try and downplay severity when it comes to stuff like media reporting on a white cishet male sexual predator, for example.

It’s part of picking wording carefully to spin a story by preying on the subconscious emotional reactions viewers will have based on how you present it.

But I think OP isn’t talking about situations like that?

“It would be wrong to treat a 13 year old as an adult.” Oops I guess Bar Mitzvahs a century ago and longer are “wrong.” We need to always be aware that, in human history, we’ve only very recently adopted teenage-hood as some super distinct category. And some societies still currently have Coming of Age ceremonies for 13 year olds. (some of them quite brutal or questionable, unfortunately.) I think it’s important to distinguish sexual discussions and the concept of adulthood, in general. Always be aware that your culture is not the only one.

Proshippers, MAPs/MAP supporters, and TERFS, do not like/reblog this post, and any other post of mine, and do not follow me.

She cannot stop hearing things. Things directed to Julieta; encouraging words that instantly push her to make those delicious meals, to Pepa; instantly silencing her turbulent emotions and the sad little thunderstorm above her long face, to Isabela; molding her prim future to be more perfect in the eyes of everyone(that is to say, abuela), to Luisa; a stern gaze that makes her steadfast muscles falter, just a little bit, and to Mirabel; crushing her beautiful wings just like the other day. And there’s her uncle in the depths of her beloved casita.

He can’t help seeing things. Unwanted ones, requested ones, desperate ones, the emerald sights all bring the same result–despair. The ones that whisper about him, the slanderers who constantly gloat at his stuttering words and hunched posture, he sees them all. He tries not to look at his mother’s disapproving eyes. And yet he keeps seeking for visions, visions that show better moments yet to come.

People with BPD are not inherently abusive

People with psychosis are not going to hurt you

People who are schizophrenic are not going to hurt you

People with DID are not going to hurt you

[Image ID: a screenshot of a reply from @pastelclub reading "I was severely emotionally and mentally abused - as well as blackmailed - by someone with BPD so I feel like I'm walking on eggshells on those with BPD bc I feel like the moment I do anything wrong they'll abuse me, as well." End image ID]

I want to preface this with I am deeply sorry that you went through this experience. You didn't deserve what happened to you, and you don't deserve the trauma based fear you're experiencing now. This is in no way excusing your abuse, or downplaying it.

That being said, this feeling is something you need to work on, ideally in therapy as you recover from what happened to you. As someone who was abused by people of marginalized identities as well, including someone with bpd as well, I understand that response and that fear. To further demonize people of marginalized groups is to push on that axis of oppression, and that doesn't help anyone.

Your abuser, and my abuser in that case, did not abuse because they had BPD. They abused because they chose to do so. Weather that stemmed from a refusal to work on their own problems, a lack of knowledge of what healthy relationship looked like, or an outright sadistic desire to cause harm doesn't really matter here. They made choices, those choices caused you harm. They may have weaponized their BPD against you, as abusers will often weaponized their marginalized status and use it as a sheild. That does not excuse OUR hypothetical choice to place the burden of THEIR choices on the entire marginalized group.

I say this only with kindness, and with sympathy as someone who experienced very similar; we can't allow the abuse we suffered turn us into oppressors of people who had nothing to do with our harm. It's not their fault your abuser did what they did, and not their fault your abuser may have hid behind their BPD.