Helpful Reminders + Ways To Support Abortion Seekers In The US Right Now

helpful reminders + ways to support abortion seekers in the US right now

some thoughts/reminders based on what i’ve seen on social media today:

this decision doesn’t just impact women! it impacts anyone who has a uterus! say what you mean and mean what you say, your words have weight and meaning! (glad we could clear that up)

grieving is normal. having big, messy, unwieldy feelings is normal. taking the time to recognize and sit in those emotions is important. wanting to protest is good. wanting to change things is great. being in touch enough with your emotions to recognize that you’re experiencing trauma is just as important.

everyone processes differently. my reaction may not look like your reaction, and yours might not look like the reactions of your friends/family members. many people have jobs/situations that preclude them from taking the sort of actions they’d like to in response to this/other social injustices they’ve seen recently. hold space for those people, the people sticking it out in places where they can’t speak their minds for the sake of creating a better place for those who come after them.

the people in the U.S. didn't ask for this. CNN polled americans after the draft opinion leaked in early may, and at the time 59% of respondents said that they'd support congressional legislation codifying nationwide abortion rights. I know it's easy to make fun of the U.S. by calling us a dumpster fire or saying you're glad your country didn't do this, but know that there are real people on the other side of the globe from you who are reeling from the whiplash of swiveling their gaze between children being gunned down in their schools and the supreme court attempting to delegitimize reproductive rights. it's not a joke for them, particularly not for those who fall into multiple minority communities and will now be facing the brunt of this ruling head-on in more ways than one.

for fucks sake. donate to abortion healthcare providers. not just PP (we love them too, but the smaller ones need the most help). learn how to support yourself/your friends in the event that you need to get an abortion and don’t live in a state where it’s protected. spend time/money investing in the protection of the rights of the groups that found out halfway through the morning that they have fewer rights than family members only one generation above them. grieve with them. care for them. act just as loudly as your words and posts.

Some helpful links re:putting your money where your mouth is below the cut

Links:

National Abortion Federation (the largest national, toll-free, multi-lingual Hotline for abortion referrals and financial assistance in the U.S. and Canada, providing callers with accurate information, confidential consultation, and referrals to providers of quality abortion care)

National Network of Abortion Funds (direct donation to over 90 local abortion providers, allows you to customize your donation amount + direction)

The Abortion Privacy Guide (how to safely search for abortion access from a device)

Abortion Finder (comprehensive directory of verified abortion service providers)

Repro Legal Helpline (help with specific, legal questions about an abortion experience)

Mayday Health’s Twitter Thread and Plan C (directions on how to request abortion pills for at-home abortion access)

Donations4Abortions (resource to help you find local funds to support from state to state)

Indigenous Women Rising (abortion fund for all indigenous people who are seeking abortion services)

The Brigid Alliance (national abortion fund that arranges/funds all aspects of the abortion process no matter where the person seeking the abortion is located)

I Need An A (provides personalized, up to date info on how to get an abortion)

MA Hotline (licensed healthcare providers to answer medical questions during an at home miscarriage/abortion)

Exhale Pro-Voice, Connect and Breathe (post-abortion counseling services)

Reprocare (emotional support during medical abortion process)

oh my god stop planting English ivy

Okay you know what? Schizophrenia is way too demonized and, as someone who has had it for ten freaking years, I want to dispel some myths about hallucinations.

Aka talking about hallucinations using my own personal examples because I had an actual fucking THERAPIST tell me I was the ONLY person in the world who experienced hallucinations that were not solely visual or auditory. Warning for…hallucinations obviously.

Visual hallucinations - These are hallucinations you see. I usually experience these by way of inanimate objects moving (like dolls or mannequins moving on their own, before you ask yes I do hate clothing stores). Sometimes these can be scary and sometimes they’re mundane! I’ve hallucinated monsters and I’ve hallucinated pretty birds. Hallucinations don’t always have to be scary.

Auditory hallucinations - These are hallucinations you hear. I commonly hear crying, talking, music, and video game noises. If I play a video game for too long and it has a repetitive sound in it, I WILL be hearing that sound for minimum three hours. You think the sound that plays in LoZ when you’re low on hearts is annoying? Try having to listen to it on loop when you’re not even playing the game. Like with visual hallucinations, they’re not always scary! Contrary to popular belief, they can be totally mundane. Hearing voices is not always scary either. Sometimes they just say random stuff, sometimes they give me little pep talks, most of the time they just all talk over each other at once and I’m like GUYS ONE AT A TIME PLEASE jeezy cheez-it’s.

Tactile hallucinations - These are hallucinations you feel. I hear common tactile hallucinations are feelings of bugs on you and fur but I don’t usually have these, I mostly have tactile hallucinations of being choked which is…not fun.

Olfactory hallucinations - These are hallucinations you smell. Yeah I thought of farts first too. So far I haven’t heard of that being a common hallucination though. I hear a common olfactory hallucination is burning? But I just smell wet metal. I…don’t know why.

Gustatory hallucinations - These are hallucinations you taste. I don’t know how to pronounce gustatory either. I often taste blood or metal. I hear those are pretty common gustatory hallucinations.

None of these hallucinations are inherently scary! As a child, I thought hallucinations were a super power. After living with them for over ten years, they just don’t phase me that much. Remember: you don’t have to be schizophrenic to experience hallucinations! There are many things that cause hallucinations including and not limited to trauma, PTSD, psychotic depression, etc. (sometimes even stress!)

But please please please be kind to people who hallucinate. I’ve lived with it for over ten years and (rarely) it can still be terrifying to me sometimes. People say “But there’s nothing there and you know that-“ yes I know that! But it’s still very very real to me and very terrifying! Minimizing what people experience with their hallucinations is not helpful and will only make them feel worse.

Thank you for reading!

The text reads,

“YOU WERE FRANTIC AND FOOLISH, YOU KEPT NO TRACK OF TIME, YOU RAN YOUR DELICATE BODY INTO ITS NATURAL END, YOU BURNED ALL YOUR CANDLES TO STUMPS, YOU ARE TIRED AND HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LAY DOWN, YOU HAVE EARNED THIS REPERCUSSION, THIS REWARD, THIS RECKONING, YOU FINALLY  NEED TO KNOW

HOW TO DECAY GRACEFULLY

LIE STILL (x13) ”

what if unicorns were the size of cats?

and they just… lived with us, in our homes?

TIL Sharks love heavy metal because the low-frequency vibrations are similar to the sounds made by struggling fish

via reddit.com