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As a doctor, do you have any hygiene tips you think most people could use hearing? Like things people seem to neglect or do wrong that pop up and cause problems? Thanks!

EARS. Earwax is genetically determined. Some people get dry, scant earwax and others get wet, copious earwax. The biggest mistake I see is relying on Q-tips. Every time you stimulate the inside of your ear canal it makes your ears go “oh shit, there’s a threat! I better make more protective wax!” and next thing you know you’ve managed to jam a bunch of wax you told you ears to make back up against your ear drums and you can’t hear as well. Don’t rely on Q-tips. When you’re in the shower, let warm water run in, mush it around by pushing on your tragus (the cartilage flap in front of the canal), and let it drain. Repeat. Blot dry your ears with the edge of a towel or a Kleenex or something afterwards. If you tend to get really stubborn wax, use Debrox drops once or twice a week.

And vaginas. They’re mucus membranes once you get past the labia majora! You wouldn’t soap the inside of your mouth, don’t soap your vagina! It’s a self cleaning oven and if it smells weird GO SEE A MEDICAL PROVIDER because over the counter shit probably isn’t the right answer.

Dandruff isn’t because your scalp is dry. It’s because of a microorganism called malassezia furfur. It eats scalp oils. Dandruff shampoos mostly work pretty well.

Those are the three I can think of off the top of my head. Never use Irish Spring soap! It’s so heavily fragranced it’s a contact dermatitis waiting to happen! I once had a guy develop full body itching and I was JOKING when I said “what, did you just switch to Irish Spring?” and from then until he died he was convinced I was a witch because I was RIGHT.

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stpd archetypes!

we're a system with stpd, and following the process for npd and bpd archetypes, we decided to do them for stpd too!

these are intentionally broad, and can fit more than these experiences. the ones described here are just some of the ones that can be included!

they're under the cut!

goldsian/rose gold STPD [🌹🪞] : an archetype for a pwSTPD that's associated with an odd or eccentric appearance or behaviour, perceptual illusions or hallucinations, intrusive thoughts or ruminations, psychomotor symptoms such as fidgeting, restlessness or slowness, and general manic features.

this archetype is connected to the colour rose gold, because of it being a warm colour, reflecting the psychomotor and manic symptoms, while being shimmering and metallic, symbolising perceptual illusions.

🌻

hawkian/hawk STPD [🦅🪞] : an archetype for a pwSTPD that's associated with appearing aloof, cold or distant, suspiciousness and solitude, reduced capacity for interpersonal relationships, social withdrawal, intense perceptual illusions, derealization and depersonalization, and intrusive thoughts or ruminations of an aggressive nature.

this archetype is connected to hawks, because of them being lone hunters, watching the world from the outside while never being really part of it, feeling disconnected, and fear of being aggressive because of one's intrusive thoughts or ruminations.

🌻

mirian/mirror STPD [👥🪞] : an archetype for a pwSTPD that's associated with an odd appearance or behaviour, magical thinking, intense illusions or hallucinations, depersonalization and derealization, overelaborate, vague or generally odd speech and thinking, and negative symptoms such as avolition, anhedonia, flat affect, and alogia.

this archetype is connected to mirrors, because of their quality of reflection, watching oneself and keeping one's eccentricities, while maintaining an outside perspective and feeling like having another person watching you.

🌻

silverian/silver STPD [☄️🪞] : an archetype for a pwSTPD that's associated with appearing aloof, cold or distant, intense paranoia or suspiciousness, social anxiety, negative symptoms such as avolition, anhedonia, flat affect and alogia, and general depressive or anxious features.

this archetype is connected to silver and the colour silver, because of its quality of being cold, dull and grey, but reflective, symbolising looking cold or negative on the outside, but hyperaware and paranoid on the inside.

🌻

the symbols I chose were purely based off vibes: rose for rose gold; hawk for, well, hawks; two people for mirrors; a comet for silver, because of giving off tranquility while burning up when seen up close. I chose the mirror as a symbol for stpd because of the symbolic reflection, eccentricity, and self reference.

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My tips for getting therapy for schizospectrum disorders!

I’m somebody who’s always been good with navigating finding therapists who specialize in my issues. When my friends need a therapist they come to me to scroll thru Psychologytoday for them and find someone for their niche. When I was diagnosed with schizotypal I expected the same thing to happen… but when I tried Cognitive Behavioral Therapy like most of the easily accessible sources suggested, it didn’t seem to help. After not finding any easy answers I contacted specialists and read studies, as well as digging a little further online. Here is my findings!

Psychologytoday is not great for searching for schizospectrum friendly therapists

This gagged me. I have always used psytoday to search for therapists. But not only does it not have tags for most of the therapy models I’m going to list, it doesn’t even let you search for schizophrenia (you can search psychosis but if you want schizotypy specific help that can be too broad) and doesn’t have a custom keyword search (afaik)

I had way better results using inclusivetherapists.com which let’s you do your own term search and has a schizophrenia spectrum tag! It also had tags for multiple of the therapy models below. I got my current therapist this way and it is going well so far! However, the site only services the US, Canada, and Hongkong

“The Recovery of The Self In Psychosis” was a really invaluable resource and I suggest getting your hands on it

When I was starting to feel discouraged I found this publication via the MERIT institute’s website. Which I found when searching for schizospectrum specific therapy research. It outlines a few therapy models (including MERIT) that are tailored to help psychosis. It also outlined why CBT for psychosis can be ineffective. There is a focus on patient rights and self determination that I loved. Plus the suggested pdf reader for mobile has a robot voice that will read it like an audiobook for you!

Here are the models that were suggested to me by professionals I contacted and by this publication

Psychodynamic Therapy (has an IT tag)

Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT)

Metacognitive therapy (MCT) (has a tag)

Metacognitive reflection and insight therapy (MERIT)

Narrative Enhancement Cognitive Therapy (NECT) (the more general narrative therapy does have a tag)

Psychodynamic is the easiest to find out of these and the least specifically geared towards psychosis. It is, however, customized towards the needs of the patient. MERIT and NECT are the most geared towards psychosis.

A lot of these models focus on forming a sense of self, improving relationships, and identifying emotions. A lot of them are also still experimental and/or uncommon. On the other hand, they at least aren’t all only available in America. Many professionals in the readings I saw were located in Europe or Israel, and hopefully there will be more in other countries. 

What I personally did was look for a therapist with schizophrenia spectrum experience, and then tell them about these models as something I was interested in. The pickings were slim in my area so I set it to the entire state of residence and looked for online treatment. 

Another method is to contact outpatient programs at hospitals or behavioral health centers which is where many of these therapy models are being employed. I am in contact with a “community center” that gives aid to those with severe mental illness, but I haven’t started treatment and I know it’s definitely something many of us will be hesitant about considering systemic abuse common in this kind of facility. 

What I saw outlined was that forming a safe, honest relationship with your therapist can be more important than what model is used. That will help with negative symptoms as well as helping with feeling safe in reality instead of having to retreat into delusion/fantasy/emptiness. 

 Going into my first sessions with my new therapist I made a list of things I tend to hide from therapists and sent it to her. I also got permission from her to send diary entries or emails to help me not blank out in therapy and to make sure I express myself honestly. I’m still in the beginning phases, though, so please take this just as a starting point where YMMV greatly. I’m also no professional!

Thank you for reading, I wish you luck in your journey!!! Reblogs and additions appreciated!

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you like psychotic people. reblog.

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"I could fix him" well I could be the one person he's nice to and soft with, while he remains just as unbelievably awful as ever to everyone else <3

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i feel so seen!!

(twitter thread)

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I came.

I saw.

I said something weird.

But I went on about my business.

But it was bugging me, so then I made it significantly worse by apologizing and explaining and nervous laughing.

And then I over-analyzed the situation for the next 12 years.

The end.

Only it wasn't the end, because I'll think about it later tonight at 2 am.

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I don't wanna be left alone with my thoughts, it is so dangerous and scary

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Tail! 👀✨

#nier automata #furry art

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We need to talk more about this shot😮‍💨

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The best boi

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i'd like to think that they were childhood troublemakers

#love non-plussed than just vibing while zag detonates a bomb on his person

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It's awesome when aros take typically romantic words and recontexualise them to be completely devoid of romance

#my crew and me are going to epic honeymoon this weekend #aro4aro #aro #aromantic #aro positivity

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I love villains that are the reverse of the idea that the absence of love makes you evil. Villains that love to the point of paranoia and obsession. Villains whose love for someone corrupts them. Love being used for awful, evil things. Using love to justify horrific actions. Anything that breaks down the toxic idea that people who don’t feel love are monsters and those who feel love are always pure and heroic and morally right.

#love isn’t always positive and heartwarming #loveless doesn’t mean evil #amatonormativity #loveless #aromantic #aplatonic

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i studied software which means i’ll never pay for spotify and i’ll destroy an alexa on sight

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