Able and Disabled

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Anxiety, Stress, Mental Health Hey! I hope you've been well. Honestly, I've been finding the last couple of weeks very challenging; physically and emotionally. To anyone who has spent time with me recently this will not be a surprise. This first term has been tough and it has knocked me and it has tired me, and it is only now that I've started to show myself my kind of compassion that I have needed. Today I thought that I'd talk a little about my recent experiences with burnout, stress and mental health as an autistic person with mental health and physical health challenges, partially for awareness and partially to let anyone who is having a difficult time right now know that they are not alone and that it is okay to struggle. I have always been one to push myself and expect myself to be capable of doing more and more; in short I have never been very good at showing kindness to myself. I have always been heavily critical of myself and have always...

Hey All! Hope everyone is well! Just yesterday I stumbled across a Facebook memory from this time last year during #BFRBWeek, and it really got me thinking about progress and how we define progress. At that point in time I had no eyebrows and a small bald patch in the centre of my hairline. I was pulling everyday and losing considerable amounts of hair. Now I have eyebrows, my hairline is slowly become full again and I have my urges far more under control. But, do I still have trichotillomania? Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly happy with and proud of how far I have come, but that doesn't mean that the 'progress' doesn't terrify me! The word 'progress' comes with pressure. You don't really want to say you've beaten something like trichotillomania because it just makes it 100x more heartbreaking and scary if you do relapse. It's that pressure to be 'cured' first time, to do recovery perfectly. However, this is very rarely our actualise...

Hey Everyone! I have always been a restless person. As a child I found it especially difficult to stay still, and now I am able to recognise much of my fidgety behaviour as stimming. Particular methods of stimming or particular movements that I have been able to recognise seem to be heightened when I am especially under or over stimulated. When I am bored or there is little going on I have always tended to bite my nails, chew on my clothes or bounce my legs. When I am excited or anxious I jump, skip, flap my hands and also bounce my legs. I find such movements soothing and also balancing when the situation is either too much or too little. While such behaviour was not recognised as stimming when I was child I am now able to reflect and recognise it as such. Particular examples that spring to mind include chewing on my school uniform and hair, bouncing around and swinging my arms. Of course, as this description would suggest, stimming behaviour can be performed using only what a perso...

TW: Trichotillomania, Hair Loss, Anxiety Hello All! As it does for many, this period marks the beginning of exam season for me. I don't really talk about trichotillomania as a separate or independent, partially due to the fashion in which I was diagnosed and partially because for me personally my trich is closely related to my anxiety disorder. Trichotillomania is an incredibly complex and misunderstood condition. Translated as 'hair madness' is normally seen as quite manic or purposeful behaviour. For me sometimes it is. Sometimes when I am particularly stressed or overwhelmed I have a need to pull and it can seem quite aggressive. However, the majority of the time my trich is just me sitting at my desk with my hand in my hair (p.s. sorry but also not sorry if you ever sit next to me in the library and the table ends up covered in hair). For me playing with my hair has always been a comfort, as a child I would constantly be chewing on or fiddling with my hair. When I...