The Worst Part About Having Mental Health Issues Is That You’re Seemingly Required To Have A Breakdown

One of the interesting things about getting into a long-running series late is that you tend to hear a lot of disconnected spoilers that don't really spoil anything until you get to them and say "oh, THAT's what that was about!" Or, in some cases, spoilers that you then completely misinterpret.

In my case, I went into the Vorkosigan books knowing that Miles was going to end up discovering he had a clone. I also read a thing about LMB saying she liked the throw the worst possible things at her characters...

So I assumed that this clone was going to be commissioned by Piotr, raised to replace Miles as heir: the perfect version of himself without the damage, rubbing his face in the person he was "supposed" to be.

This blog is unapologetically pro sex-workers

No matter whether they stroll or strip, do camwork or full service

Their voices are the ones I listen to on the subject

Anyone who has a problem with that, please find the unfollow button

When I was a kid, I would only eat the yolk from an egg. Didn’t matter if it was boiled, fried, poached or deviled, the yolk was all I wanted.

My reason for this was “the white makes me feel sick”/“it hurts my tummy”. And everyone did what most folk do when kids say such things, they roll their eyes and call you a fussy eater and complain to anyone who will listen about how hard your child is to feed.

They won’t eat sandwich meat, they won’t eat minced beef, they won’t eat nuts, they won’t eat tomatoes, they won’t eat pasta, they won’t eat fish or spinach, they barely eat fruits and ugh you should see the tantrum they kick up when you try to give them yogurt for a healthy snack. And get this, they will only eat the yolk from eggs. What an annoying kid, right?

So, anyway, as it turns out egg whites are high in histamine while egg yolks are not. Everything I listed up there, is actually high in histamine or is histamine releasing and as someone who just found out after 20+ years of abject misery and several near misses with anaphylaxis that they have histamine intolerance disorder/possible MCAS, I feel really fucking validated about childhood me being a fussy eater.

So uh, pro tip to parents, while there is every chance your kid genuinely is a fussy eater, please also consider that there may also be something at play going on and they’re not just doing it to personally piss you off. Whether it’s a food allergy, intolerance, sensory/texture issues or an issue as insidious and hard to detect as mine, please don’t assume your child is just being difficult for funsies. And please don’t force them to eat something they say makes them feel sick. There’s probably a valid reason, and it warrants investigation rather just assuming your kid exists to tick you off.

Getting a lot of comments about how beautiful my 1880s treadle is, and while yes it is lovely, it's fairly plain compared to some of the rarer & earlier machines out there!

This website has pictures of a whole bunch of them, which are worth clicking through if you're interested.

Whight & Mann, 1860s.

Gresham & Craven, 1870s.

Howe.

"The Alexandra", 1860s.

Smith & Starley, 1870s.

D.W.Clark, late 1850s.

JDSM Co., 1860s.

Wilcox & Gibbs. (This one is actually not super rare, there are quite a lot of them! Also it does chain stitch instead of lock stitch.)

Britannia Sewing Machine Co., c. 1870.

Britannia Sewing Machine Co., c. 1870.

Kimball & Morton, c. 1870. Apparently the front leg coverings come off, and the needle and presser foot are inside.

That's only a fraction of them, and I've still only clicked through less than half the list. That lion shaped one isn't even the only lion shaped model on there.

for every 1 minutes of work, grant yourself 100 minutes of unrewarding aimless phone time

The hard truth about autism acceptance that a lot of people don't want to hear is that autism acceptance also inherently requires acceptance of people who are just weird.

And yes, I mean Those TM people. Middle schoolers who growl and bark and naruto run in the halls. Thirtysomethings who live with their parents. Furries. Fourteen-year-olds who identify as stargender and use neopronouns. Picky eaters. Adults in fandoms. People who talk weird. People who dress weird.

Because autistic people shouldn't have to disclose a medical diagnosis to you to avoid being mocked and ostracized for stuff that, at absolute worst, is annoying. Ruthlessly deriding people for this stuff then tacking on a "oh, but it's okay if they're autistic" does absolutely nothing to help autistic people! Especially when undiagnosed autistic people exist.

Like it or not, if you want to be an ally to autistic people, you're going to have to take the L and leave eccentric, weird people alone. Even if you don't know them to be autistic. You shouldn't be looking for Acceptable Reasons to be mean to people in the first place. Being respectful should be the default.

'mental health matters!'

until you dont feel anything for anyone and have no sympathy

until you have never loved your family and hate them

until you have ruined peoples lives and ruined your own relationships

until you dont get better even with support, medication, and therapy

until you refuse therapy

until you always worsen yourself to get 'sicker' than others

until youre homicidal

until youre 'bitchy' , 'irritable' , and 'pissy'

until you have crying meltdowns over chewing sounds

until you have gender dysphoria

until you're extremely impulsive

until you cant remember anything about you and your childhood

until your room piles up with clothes, piles of unwashed laundry, bedsheets and blankets that have not been washed for months

until you have P-OCD

until you have cluster A personality disorders

until you have cluster B personality disorders

until you have cluster C personality disorders

until youre on the schizospec

until youre bipolar

until you are a system

until youre hypersexual

''mental health matters'' until you struggle with real mental illness and not 'oh i was feeling pretty stressed today'

if you struggle with any of these i love you, you are safe here

The Bird Place That Was is redeeming itself a bit more today.