Tag: Mental Health
The Girls Who Survived
Ohio’s residential treatment centers left them with trauma and questions. The friendships forged inside helped them heal and find answers.
when you don't understand the world around you
this is something i've been struggling with immensely for a long while but it keeps intensifying. i just do not understand how people wake up everyday and just...go on with their day without much thought to it?
How I'm Using a Notebook to Lower My Stress Level
Maybe it could work for you too.
Having hobbies outside of work helps fill my creative well
Also a handy of way of clearing my head when I'm work-stressed
Why Did an Illinois Prison Fail to Stop 70 Fires?
Three key takeaways from our investigation of the epidemic of fires at the Joliet Treatment Center.
#oneaday Day 792: A goal, complete
Well, I've done it. I've finally gone and played through all three of Quintet's "Heaven and Earth" games on Super NES: Soul Blazer, Illusion of Time and Terranigma. (I've also played through The Granstream Saga twice in my life, as well as Actraiser once, as both of those games can be argued to be tangentially...
Appreciate where you are. You may be luckier than you think.
A comic especially for fellow writers and illustrators out there.
LLMs are bad decision helpers
I want to preface this by saying I am not anti-AI/LLM, especially in the way it has manifested on social media. In fact, I'm highly critical of the movement due to how abusive the movement has gotten (especially on Bluesky and the FOSS community) and dismissive to information that contradicts their claims, and I do...
REVIEW: Sufjan Stevens' Carrie and Lowell, Ten Years Later
Ten years after its release, I revisit Sufjan Stevens' Carrie and Lowell, an album about his late mother's mental illness, abandonment, and grief, that's held up a clear, honest mirror to my own life. I trace how Stevens' songwriting about Carrie evolved from anger on Michigan and Illinois to unconditional forgiveness, dig into the many alternate versions of 'Fourth of July,' and reproduce my very first attempt at music criticism: a Carrie and Lowell review I wrote as a teenager back in 2015.
Illinois Lawmakers Decry Prison’s ‘Gut-Wrenching,’ ‘Heartbreaking’ Conditions
After The Marshall Project found scores of fires set by men at a Joliet prison, legislators want improved fire safety and mental health treatment.
The Joy Of DJing With Old Music
You might have noticed it, but for much of 2025 I took a bit of a mental health break from DJing. There was just too much shit going on in my life and I felt like setting everything up in my smaller-than-a-prison-cell bedroom, even if it’s just to play a set for myself without livestreaming...
#oneaday Day 779: Celebrating a small victory
One of the things I always try and remember is that, from a mental health perspective, it can be valuable to celebrate the small victories, however inconsequential you think they might seem to others, or however minor they might feel in comparison to some of the things they are dealing with. Successfully overcoming something is...
One Year of Being Diagnosed with ADHD
So, it's been one year since I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I've learned a lot about myself in this past year, and how to deal with some of the issues that stem from the ADHD. While they haven't all been resolved, I'm happy to say I'm in a better frame of mind than I...
#oneaday Day 778: That feeling you should be doing something
I'm having one of those days where my brain feels restless, where it feels like I "should" be doing something, but as far as I am aware, I have no commitments this weekend whatsoever, so I should just be taking the time to relax, enjoy myself and mentally prepare for the week ahead. (There's nothing...
A Prison on Fire
Designed to help people with serious mental illness, Joliet Treatment Center repeatedly failed to prevent or respond to fires, despite two deaths.
An ideological split in the Linux desktop (LLMs)
So, Linus Torvalds has come out and said that LLMs are just a tool, and that Linux is not considered to be an anti-AI project. This has caused anti-AI people to crash out on social media, down to making very embarrassing conspiracies about Linus Torvalds being "compromised" when really he seems to be a no-bullshit...
Software decision paralysis
I have a major problem with making decisions and sticking to things. ADHD people tend to suffer from decision paralysis, where an overwhelm of information gets you locked up and stressed. I also get a lot of "what if" questions coming in, worrying about the future, over things I simply do not need to worry...
#oneaday Day 770: Motivation: the Sergeant-Major vs the kind voice
At therapy today, we were talking a bit about motivation, and how I feel like I've been struggling with it a bit of late -- particularly when it comes to things like diet and exercise. One conclusion that I think we came to was that I am much more likely to be motivated to do...
when nothing is working out
i've tried to be as positive as i can about things but sometimes it is just so overwhelming when nothing is working out for you and you feel like your life has absolutely no meaning!
social isolation sucks ;w;
this post isn't going to be anything other than just getting some things off my chest in an attempt to try to help me feel less crappy!
#oneaday Day 746: Decompression
I know I said I'd write about something else on here, but after the late-night update on the situation, I feel inclined to bring this little saga to something of a "close" in a more conclusive manner. We are exhausted and emotional, but delighted beyond belief to have our precious Oliver back at home with...
struggling socially (｡•́ ̫ •̀｡)
hi friends - today imma be yapping about how i'm doing socially atm because i feel like it's a lot and i don't know where else to yap/vent about it tbh!
#oneaday Day 744: Trying to maintain hope
I am trying so hard to hang onto hope that we will find Oliver, or that he will just wander back in one day as if nothing happened, but with him being gone for three weeks from today, it is getting tougher and tougher to maintain that hope -- and it's all the harder seeing...
#oneaday Day 743: Talk therapy
I've alluded to it a bit recently, but I thought I'd talk specifically about it today. For the last little while, I have been attending talk therapy. I have been meaning to do this for a long time, because there are lots of people I know and trust who have made use of it, but...
On another maintainer leave, but longer
A quick update on taking another maintainer leave from being the BDFL at Recap Time Squad. Also if you're at Hack Club Slack and you're asking why my name pops out in #community-logs in the form of a permaban, please have a read.
#oneaday Day 741: The bubble
The thing people who have been fortunate enough to have never been afflicted with debilitating depression don't always understand is that the whole experience is more than just being "a bit sad", and thus it's not something you can just "snap out of" or "cheer up" from. (To be clear, those scare quotes are purely...
#oneaday Day 740: Exhaustion
I am absolutely exhausted. We stayed up late last night to go on another night-time look for Oliver, and once again found absolutely no sign of him whatsoever. At this point I really am at a loss as to what I can possibly do. I bought bright head-mounted torches and an infra-red heat-sensing camera in...
Slowing Down
Slooooooow.
#oneaday Day 739: Occupying yourself while your life is on hold
If you're anything like me, when you encounter a period of great uncertainty or emotional turmoil in your life, it can feel like your brain has pressed a big old "pause" button, making it near-impossible to even contemplate going about your life as normal. Your job feels like the least important thing in the world,...
#oneaday Day 737: Returning to reality
We go home tomorrow, which is going to be somewhat bittersweet, as I'm sure you can imagine. There has been absolutely no sign of Oliver over the course of the last week, no contact from anyone who has seen him, no sightings reported on social media and -- perhaps thankfully? -- no reports that he...
#oneaday Day 735: Many distractions
We have both been feeling pretty upset today -- like, breaking down in tears upset -- so, during moments of clarity, we attempted to get out a bit and actually do some things rather than spending the entire day miserable. We actually ended up having a rather busy day as a result. This began with...
#oneaday Day 733: Distractions
Today we went to the swimming pool, the central attraction of most Center Parcs sites. We had a good time having a little swim in the nice warm outdoor "Sprudel pool" and sitting stewing in the outdoor jacuzzi for a bit. For the rest of the day, we've been trying to relax as best we...
#oneaday Day 732: Quiet contemplation is not always ideal
Today was our visit to the "Aqua Sana" spa here at Center Parcs, and before the events of last week happened, we were both greatly looking forward to having a day of relaxation and pampering. We did manage that for the most part, but we also found that when you get into a situation where...
They Spent Years in Solitary Confinement in Mississippi Despite Suicide Risk
For decades, MDOC has regularly held incarcerated people in solitary confinement for weeks, months — and in some cases — years at a time.
#oneaday Day 731: Temporary escape
Well, we did what we said we were going to do: we got away from it all. Part of me still wants to be at home waiting with open arms for Oliver to return, but it's been a week. At this point I don't know if he's more or less likely to make it home...
They Asked for Help. Instead, They Died in Solitary.
An investigation found there were at least 47 suicides in solitary confinement in Mississippi, where cries for mental health care were met with isolation and punishment.
#oneaday Day 730: Having to draw a line
I have posted more than 30 more flyers about Oliver today. Andie's mum went out calling for him last night. We have put out adverts on social media, informed the microchip company, informed our local vets, informed local cat charities. We have spent several nights staying up waiting, placing stinky pants, litter trays, favourite food...
#oneaday Day 729: The struggle for your emotions to be heard
One of the things I find difficult and, at times, frustrating to deal with, perhaps particularly as a person with an autistic spectrum condition, is properly conveying the emotions that I am feeling and the depth of those emotions. Our recent anguish over Oliver's disappearance is a prime example of this. I am feeling intense...
#oneaday Day 728: Giving yourself permission to smile
The thing about a grieving process -- whether it is a result of tangible loss or, as in our situation, simply not knowing what has happened -- is that it can very quickly and easily become all-consuming. It can take over your entire life; your entire mind; your entire heart; your entire soul. Photo by...