Vivienne's Found Family

 


So in terms of depression and anxiety, there are a number of things that I have found to be really helpful. First and foremost, a support system. I'm extremely lucky to have found a group of people who're like-minded, kind, loving, and most importantly, Safe. But I didn't always have them, My life has improved considerably since I joined BOOM, the pirate entertainment group. I already knew Slippers (his daughter introduced me to her family years prior), but I met a lot of wonderful people. Each person is so fascinating and unique! And most, if not all of us are neurodivergent in one way or another, to use a blanket term. 

Interestingly enough, most of my closest current friends, my chosen family, are people I've met within BOOM. I love them dearly. They're safe to be vulnerable with, they understand my struggles because they deal with the same or similar things, and they're all filled with so much love and nerdiness that I feel at home with each and every one of them.

Unfortunately, there are others who aren't so safe. There are plenty of people who don't understand why you're upset at something that doesn't bother them. There are people who don't listen to you and your struggles, or take you seriously. There are people who call you lazy, uncaring, and brush aside your concerns and feelings. And then, of course, there are the people who pretend mental illness isn't a thing, and avoid it like they're avoiding stepping in red hot lava. (This is the stigma that we need to dismantle.)

So, what makes people Safe? I feel like the best way to describe this is to describe the people I've adopted as mine. These people are kind. They listen. They recognize your pain and offer you hugs. They're there when you need them, but they also give you space if that's what you need. They understand and my favorite aspect of them is that they don't judge. Why? Because oftentimes, they also struggle with the same thing. They know what it's like to run out of spoons (mental/physical energy for daily tasks) or be overwhelmed by something that others consider small, or to be afraid to be authentic with others. Being yourself, allowing yourself to be weird, goofy, abnormal is freeing. It's absolutely heart-lifting to not have to pretend with people. 

Like what you want to like. Find yourself a group of people, if you don't already have one, who get you and love you for who you are. Find people who sing Into The Unknown with you at the top of their lungs as you drive into downtown Seattle, who are weird and like strange things, and know what it's like to be a writer thinking of ways to lovingly torture main characters. More on this next week, but for now, take care of yourself and see below for giveaway details! <3

💜💜💜

I'm partnering with Joanna from Lilla Rose (link at the bottom) to give away a Mental Health Awareness flexi (really cute hairclip that you can add a charm to) and 17 Lilla Bucks ($17) to get another flexi of your choice! 

Giveaway ends May 29th at midnight. Winner will be chosen May 30th, and there are three ways to enter. 
First, you'll get 1 entry if you Like Joanna's Facebook page, and 1 if you like my Facebook page. Also, 1 entry for each Share and Comment on social media posts about the giveaway.
Second, you can get 5 entries if you buy a mental health Flexi from her website.
Third, you can get 10 entries if you donate any dollar amount to one of these charities: Mental Health America (MHA) or National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Do any of these and let us know by commenting either here on this blog or our social media posts. ^_^ (Just a heads-up, any and all donations to NAMI will be matched thru May 31st, up to $75k) 

And don't forget my challenge to you lovely readers. For every purchase of a "My Story" flexi, I will donate $5 to my favorite charity, so let's see how much you can make me spend. :D


Joanna, Lilla Rose:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/UpInHair

Contact Her Directly: https://shop.ami.co/upinhair/contact?ref=share


Vivienne's Facebook:

Vivienne Aulaire, Writer | Facebook


Charities: 

Mental Health America https://mhanational.org/

National Alliance on Mental Illness https://www.nami.org/home

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vivienne, A Music Lover

Image
  I have wonderful friends and cousins. Every now and then someone sends me a song recommendation, and it turns into me becoming obsessed with an artist for a while. No-one can take the cake from Poets of the Fall for me, but Twenty One Pilots are right up there on my list. One of my favorite songs from them is Guns For Hands. The music video is a good, but simple one, and I found it rather endearing to just see the two band members of TOP with a white background and blue and red duct tape. (Watch the video, you'll see what I mean.)  But the lyrics are really what get me, the whole idea of struggling to sleep, knowing the world is sad and broken, and feeling like there's nothing to fix it. But then, realizing that if nothing else, there are little things we can do. Reach out to those we know, express yourself with art (whatever that looks like for you) and go outside and connect with people. ^_^
Read more

Food? What About Food?

Image
Food! Food and snacks and caffeine are really important. As a writer, I tend to forget to eat (I'm working on that, though), but when I'm writing, if I have a snack nearby, I eat without having to think about it. Win-win for me! So I wanted to talk about snacks for Nanowrimo. Everyone has something different they like to munch on as they write. Some people have a container of mnm's, I like to have a bowl or two of skinnypop popcorn, and some like cheese sticks or cheeseits.  There are loads of snacks to choose from, so I suggest something that isn't primarily sugar. Fruit and veggies are good, as well as things like crackers, popcorn, and nuts. Whatever you choose, make sure it's something you can keep on your desk. (So you know, maybe a bowl of popcorn instead of a massive Costco bag haha.) Another aspect of this is meal prep. If you premake meals, you'll be able to get more writing done, since you won't have to spend as much time making dinner, for example...
Read more

Mental Health Through the Holidays

Image
A lot of us neurodivergent people struggle with the holidays. As a kid, it was my favorite time of year. I had time away from school, I got presents, and I got to see my family and eat lots of yummy food. As I've grown older, the holiday sparkles have faded and grown dimmer.  There are a thousand different reasons for not enjoying the holidays, but it's not all bad. I'm excited to introduce my nephew, who's not quite 2 years old, to our favorite Christmas movies and teach him to make cookies. I want to see him get excited about presents and seeing family and trying new things.  However, the massive amount of Christmas decorations, the expectations of getting and decorating a tree, putting all the lights up and whatnot, and making sure you have gifts for pretty much everyone you know...it's a lot. It's made me feel a bit like the Grinch. Not angry at the holiday itself, but annoyed by all the decor and overt CHRISTMAS everywhere. As someone with anxiety and depre...
Read more