Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/.
Here are some links that might of interest or value:
- “Why I’m becoming a digital minimalist in 2024” https://charlierewilding.substack.com/p/why-im-becoming-a-digital-minimalist and “why I’m becoming a digital minimalist in 2024” https://youtu.be/h6EYFzeYFZY?si=lHt-frmwozI7B2Y
I have also found social media overwhelming at times, as well a drain on my energy and time, but I have also always been wary of too much tech, and ditched most social media earlier this year (as I wrote about ... several times, so I won’t bother chasing a link). When I graduated from Uni and started working in central Qld, I only wound up with a phone (landline - mobile phones were still a few decades off) because the company I worked for wanted to be able to contact me after hours (I used pay phones to ring my parents), I refused to have a TV (until I missed Star Wars one week) - being quit happy with my cassette-radio player and a bunch of books, and I also put my mattress on the floor (partly for better support of my back, partly because it felt more comfortable, partly for the associations it evoked). I got pressured into joining facebook, but as soon as I got to the section where I had to enter a whole stack of irrelevant personal information and make a statement that they were correct, I stopped (suggestions at the time were to enter the correct details and change them immediately afterwards, but that would have been breaking my word [or lying, to be blunt], so I refused to do that).
These days, there are things mentioned in the video that I have automatically been doing anyway - such as weekly texts to some people. Some things I don’t do - for instance, I never wear headphones in public because I want to maintain my situational awareness (hypervigilance because of past assaults).
There are also sustainability (emissions) aspects to consider. However, I am also minimising my physical footprint for a few reasons - including ease of being able to move house, which is likely at some stage in my life (the steep driveway here is becoming more problematic), and making it easier for my executor when I die
- “The Future of Paganism | John Beckett” https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2023/12/the-future-of-paganism.html As usual, a very thoughtful and thought-provoking article
- this week’s “afterlife report” by the Zammits (see here for zoom meeting opportunities): https://www.victorzammit.com/December15th2023/
- my recent posts on my political blog:
- From the news on: politics & democracy, and international affairs, the war in West Asia, human rights, the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats, and society;
- “Changing the world” https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2023/12/changing-world.html, which was originally going to be on this blog, commencing with:
I even did a free online course about it, which you can find here (with one thing and another, the current book version of that course and the dowsing course is now sitting at around 180,000 words ... oops. Interestingly, the 81 lessons in the “Magickal Battle of World” course and the 27 lessons in the dowsing course add up to 108, which is a number of some significance in Buddhism and other Asian religions [and apparently is the toll free emergency number in India - see here {I came across the number initially as the number of beads on a Tibetan Buddhist mala aka rosary}] ).
- “The problems of not being a “team player” [Note: Content Warning - discusses prejudice and abuse, and links to videos discussing self harm and suicide. Reader discretion is advised]” https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-problems-of-not-being-team-player.html, which also was originally going to be on this blog
- “A test for stress management techniques” https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-test-for-stress-management-techniques.html
- from YouTube:
- This time of year is often problematic for many reasons - including traffic accidents, abusive social events, and interrupted self care. For that reasons, I am going to include a few links on end of year matters (which are likely to be mostly from YouTube, which is why I have put the here):
- “STOP Forcing Autistic Kids to Like Christmas | Autism TikToks” https://youtu.be/g28cC-nYhYA?si=PzBtsvNJJkASQbdJ The alleged “mother” who was bitter about the festivities not being what she wanted is (a) completely and utterly unfit to be a parent - she reminds me of those alleged “parents” who would rather children were dead than LGBTQIASB+ (b) lying, as those behaviours would have been present BEFORE the diagnosis
- “Autism & Holidays: An Autistic Survival Guide for the Holiday Season [5 Step Plan]” https://youtu.be/RbxwMDrEkuU?si=dosKcTA8mJ-O8nxK Good, sound suggestions - with more to come from that channel next week
- “This is a Cult (and I'm tired of pretending it's not)” https://youtu.be/b2gg4_4GIEg?si=6764M3i2e98kHG1a Begins with a content warning that it is about cults and suicide. At 2:35: “As for language in this video, I will be using the word cult, but not as a pejorative to other or blame victims. Instead I’ll be using it for the opposite reason - to illustrate how anybody can become a victim and it’s never the victim’s fault.” The video includes examples of multiple suicides at businesses (at 14:19) and a mass threatened suicide of 150 people unless working conditions improved. What these two companies were said (starting at 16:10) to “have in common is the absolute disregard for humans in the face of profit.” Has a very powerful conclusion from around 17:19.
- “It's Fine To Turn Off Comments [Long Shorts]” https://youtu.be/9XGddBEfjjA?si=J01CYDO3TllvL49g I absolutely agree with this - and it has been my philosophy on my blogs, which is also because I didn't have the time and energy to moderate comments - which, long before recent court cases, was, in my opinion, obvious
- “Lies you’re told about being child-free” https://youtu.be/hlK79_k48o8?si=NWIgPCxJh8e0HDnk This is another excellent, insightful video from one of my favourite channels. She includes excellent issues, and proposes responses to busybody bigots
- on neurodivergence:
- on autistic children with challenging behaviours: “As communication skills get better the aggression usually fades away!” https://youtube.com/shorts/Ov3AmFb5FQU?si=YLOUf7zL9okAx6ti
- from Purple Ella:
- “Five Ways To Support Autistic People| Purple Ella” https://youtu.be/tQ7Nku_pFXc?si=LeGE83TQZ1zuN77O - from I’m Autistic, Now What?:
- “Autistic Influencer BULLIED off Social Media” https://youtu.be/Jv0EW2CJws0?si=L-p4g63LmFH-DBiV One of the things I have often thought is that stimming is an outlet - an expression of joy or a relief of stress, so the “self stimulatory” description always seems weird. In any case, the behaviour shown is unacceptable, and shows deep, crippling character flaws in those who engage in it - including toxic masculinity (and variants and/or toxicity in other areas) and PFD - from Autistamatic:
- “Autism & Society Explained: Prejudice Wears Many Faces” https://youtu.be/G81iZyRaAZg?si=khcOu_47RvmqomYH
- from Neurodivergent Doctor:
- “Autism's Most Important Chemical” https://youtu.be/PBeW64O3iH4?si=eZGUCGSv647DyJkq - from other channels:
- “3 Most Misunderstood Autism Traits 1” https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QgEQJlhAdD4
- “Autism & being honest” https://youtube.com/shorts/9TEN-Aq0xUg?si=SONt12qxG1Qs8vJ8 This a call for basic consideration
- “My Blanket Fort Bed” https://youtu.be/KTYogALxbEM?si=44R4jS0UyD3_oGlB As a teenager, I would listen to short wave radio ... now, my equivalent of the blanket fort is a nest - and I was interested to hear of the character sleeping on a mattress on the floor, which I used to do, and wrote about for one of the other posts here
- from Medium and similar:
- “Portfolio careers are the future of work. For better, or worse” https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/porfolio-careers-are-the-future-of-work-for-better-or-worse-3bb5adaf8b16
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Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk. 
