• Podcasts,  Sapphic Skywalkers

    Sapphic Skywalkers: Rewind: Star Wars on the Spectrum

    Lynn talks about her experience with being autistic and how Star Wars has helped with her journey. Next week’s episode is all about Shmi Skywalker and how older female characters in Star Wars typically get push to the sideline.

    You can find the podcast on Twitter @SapphicSkywalk and you can email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on the Not Saf for Work podcasting network feed and website where you can also check out some other cool shows!

  • Podcasts,  The Intergalactic Express

    Intergalactic Express 03: Death & Grief in Edith Finch and That Dragon, Cancer

    In a continuation of their lighthearted topics, your intergalactic crew look at death, grief, and loss in games, specifically Ryan and Amy Green’s That Dragon, Cancer and Giant Sparrrow’s What Remains of Edith Finch. Content warning for discussions of suicide and depression.

    Follow The Intergalactic Express on Twitter and subscribe via iTunes or your fave podcast app!

  • Blog,  Blogging,  Chronic Illness & Neurological Disorders,  Personal Posts

    Medication Can Be Good, Actually

    Content warning: suicide, depression, death.

    What a fuckin’ shocker.

    Before I get into this, I want to make it clear that I am not a medical professional in any way. This is just my (very) personal experience. Got it?

    Good.

    I was raised in an environment that was negative about modern medicine. I was made to skip school so I wouldn’t get vaccinated, my pleas for a diagnosis of asthma fell upon deaf ears, and I imagine discussion about medication for mental illness was so far off the table it might as well have been flying into the sun. As a pretty sick kid, I was always told that I should eat more spinach, or do yoga, or shine yellow light on myself, or follow what-fucking-ever the new-age health mags were saying.

    And because I was young, I wanted to believe my parents when they said these things would help. Then I looked at my friends, who went to doctors and hospitals and had prescribed medication for their bad flus and infections and other ailments, and I got that strange sense you get as a kid, when you start to think, Why is my family so different? 

  • Blog,  Blogging,  Chronic Illness & Neurological Disorders,  Personal Posts

    Forget it All

    Brief warning: this is a very deeply personal post.

    There’s a certain sense of betrayal that comes of learning your brain and your body aren’t working as they should. You go on for a long time assuming that your issues aren’t any kind of disorder, they’re just you not trying hard enough. Why would you think otherwise? Why would anyone think otherwise, when there’s nothing visible to show that’s not the truth?

    I spent my entire childhood and early adulthood floundering, struggling against an invisible mental block that held me back while my peers leapt ahead. I’ve always been ditzy, forgetful, and easily distracted, finding myself unable to handle what should be easy tasks. For a long time I fought against my own body, trying to reach a potential everyone told me I had, but I couldn’t actually see.

    And then, early this year, I was given an answer in the form of a diagnosis. A clear, definable name for a disorder that has plagued me for over twenty years:

    Turns out I have ADHD.

  • Blog,  Blogging,  Books,  Diversity & Media Criticism,  Films,  Week of The Hunger Games

    Start With What You Know Is True: Mental Health in The Hunger Games

    In the real world, mental illnesses affect millions of people, and yet there’s often a silence surrounding the issues, brought on by social stigmas and a lack of education on mental health. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety and panic disorders are prevalent within The Hunger Games, experienced by Katniss Everdeen and those around her. The trilogy highlights just how much trauma can affect people, especially the young adults and children manipulated by those much older.

    While the novels are far more adept at portraying the characters’ understanding of and struggles with their respective illnesses, the films do make an effort. The opening scene of Catching Fire, where Katniss hallucinates another tribute from the Games while hunting with Gale, visually captures the nightmares of the arena that plague Katniss, setting up the audience’s understanding of her mental state following the 74th Hunger Games. The majority of Katniss’ interior struggles, however, are found within the pages of the books.

  • Blog,  Chronic Illness & Neurological Disorders,  Personal Posts

    Mental Health Awareness Week: IT’S IMPORTANT

    Apparently I’ve basically missed Mental Health Awareness Week, which is something I wish I’d heard about earlier because it’s something I feel very positive about. It’s been a while since I’ve written much, so now feels as good as any a time to talk a little bit about mental illness and how it’s affected me.

    You’re probably asking, how many more personal posts do I have in me? And I’d reply with a winky face, because I could talk about myself for yonks.