#research/opinion article

[birdbutbetter]

Have you ever felt a pit in your stomach that you can't seem to get rid of?

I wrote an article about it.

#world events #social media #mental health #mental health awareness #article #research/opinion article #the pit in your stomach #tiktok #medium

[pandemic-info]

Can’t Think, Can’t Remember: More Americans Say They’re in a Cognitive Fog. Adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s are driving the trend. Researchers point to long Covid as a major cause.

Via the New York Times, November 2023

Comment:

Yes this is serious guys. I'm in my thirties and got (serious, pretty much couchbound) Long Covid after getting infected once.The brain fog was debilitating, and I still am not sure it completely went away, though I'd say after an entire year it has cleared up 95%. People, you don't want this. I've spoken to many friends and acquaintances who tell me they feel as if their memories don't work like they used to. None of them said to have long covid. [meaning: that they know of]

via

#covid #long covid #article #research #data #young and healthy #brain fog #brain damage #fw 2023 #winter 2023-24 #commentary/opinion #reddit

[adhdandcomics]

adding to my tags because i’ve been thinkin a lot about the post i just reblogged and have more thoughts:

i’ll be real, the more i saw ‘hey adhd influencers are so annoying’ the more i worried that i was unconsciously contributing to the spreading reputation of adhd folks as annoying and over-pathologizing every symptom they experience

and then i realized. i am not a goddam influencer or life coach or representative. obviously i have some obligation as someone who cares about myself and the people that like my comics to not spread harmful ideology or blatant misinformation but i never intended myself to be a “’increase your productivity!!’ blog OR a ‘if you have XYZ you have adhd!’ blog. and i do this for fun, and originally started this blog bc i had a lot of internalized shame and self loathing about my adhd and thought if i could make it funny i might have less of that. let’s get real! and it worked!

i’ve obviously done this kind of thing— (hey these symptoms might be adhd!) a lot before in my life & on this blog, but there’s more to it than trying to be an “influencer” or whatever. a term that didn’t even exist when i started this blog!

i felt very isolated trying to find out if i had any mental problems & what have you originally because of large advice (etc) blogs with staunchly anti self Dx views at the time

so i overcorrected when i DID get dxed and tried to validate everyone who was like me. and of course. not the best course of action always for the ol mental health. tried to be the source of positivity and jokes that i didn’t see because the online adhd presence was near non-existent.

and anyway. i make a lot of fun of myself & the way m brain works in my comics obviously but it is not my obligation to... how do you say.... not be annoying online.

because if folks interpret MY little jokes as a strict guide to diagnosis. that’s on them, really, not me. i also believe “making adhd your entire personality” is a non-issue. so what if people find out they have it and get over excited with identifying as adhd. saying this as someone who DID do it. criticism of this gives the same vibes as people being annoyed that young queers make “being queer” their whole personality. im very obviously more than a guy with adhd, and id reckon other adhd comic artists are too. (im friends with a lot of them!) it’s fine to post about it online.

anyway. i just don’t take myself too seriously and i’m a comic artist for myself first! and you know what, i’ve been considered annoying my entire life. what do i care if a few more folks think i’m annoying. neurotypical or not

#i think the article did have some good points especially on the capitalism and marketing angle but i oft think it did venture into #being mad at individual folks who post jokes about adhd. which is literally fine thats what an opinion piece is for lol #i am just very tired of people pretending that a lot of reaction to online adhders is not in itself just an extension of the ableism #we already were facing #'adhd people are so annoying everyone does this youre pathologizing everything' ok and how exactly are you helping. #i hesitate to throw my hat in with hating on adhd tiktok because i am simply not on tiktok and have no way to back up my thoughts #that they may be annoying and oversimplifying a complex disorder on the 'drains your attention span' website. #and i think perhaps the value of each adhd resource varies widely depending on who made it and what theyre even posting. #sometimes its a joke made by a person with adhd. sometimes its sourced and cited research. sometimes its someone discussing their personal #experiences in depth. sometimes its someone talking completely out of their ass. sometimes its THINLY veiled ableism. #its up to the individual to research and determine the value of the memes and resources you seek #anyway. perhaps these points are tough to clarify on sites like insta and twitter. bless. #text #adhd #im punk now #oh and yeah i also agree lots of folks do not talk about the unsavory parts of adhd but rather the funnies and the sillies. but that is #once again a larger capitalism and marketing and ableism problem #r we not talking about them because we are actively trying to infantalize this disorder or is it because we collectively experience a lot #of internalized ableism and hesitate to talk about our worst symptoms for fear of the backlash #weve always gotten about them 🤔🤔🤔 #much to consider #if youve read this far sorry for tangent number 56 about this. but also start being more unapologetic about your disorders. fuck it! #<3

[turtletoria]

I was debating just ignoring this message because it's stupid and inconsiderate as hell but im just going to use this as an opportunity to talk to you all about this, especially if you also think this way since i dont think this is even an uncommon line of thought (as ghoulish as it sounds 5 months into this genocide. where have these people been???).

I believe that if you see injustice you should try to do something, anything, about it, especially something so harrowing and horrific as a genocide that is currently decimating said country a "world away." it is our responsibility as humans to care about other humans. and apparently millions and millions of other people agree, just from opening tumblr or instagram or twitter and seeing supportive posts and calls to action, or looking at the brave people going to rallies and protests and disrupting life as usual, seeing people come together to mass email and call representatives so that these government workers can get off their asses and do something. recently chicago has become the biggest city to call for a ceasefire. This is a really big deal.

and also if "your country" means the US, then I feel like this "territorial dispute" (what a crass and disgusting way to refer to an ethnic cleansing that goes way beyond just fighting over territory) is definitely relevant to USians, especially taxpayers. the US, the UK, Canada, the imperial powers of the West are aiding and abetting this genocide through their citizens' tax dollars. despite their frustrating and infuriating inaction, even an important institution as the ICJ has acknowledged that genocide committed by israel is plausible - its on the record now. how horrible then, that MY and millions of others' tax dollars are being taken and used against our will for something so depraved and evil as this - it's all the more reason that all these problems are connected and those in the West have a responsibility to redirect where their money goes - i and everyone else that lives and works and pays taxes in the West have a stake in this and an even bigger moral imperative to do something, anything. moreover these imperial powers, most notably the US, have a history of colonization and subjugation of the global south, often using military power not for the benefit of their citizens but more so for consolidating and maintaining global hegemony - just look at the korean war, the vietnam war, CIA involvement in cuba, etc. etc. etc.

and in this way the US' problems, like anon's mention of enslaved labor, are interconnected with Palestinian liberation -> Palestine is a country struggling for statehood against a colonial power. Land back for Palestinians translates to Land Back for Native Americans and indigenous peoples. A common slogan that I saw in posters was "Nobody is free until we are all free." And this is true! Also it's possible to care about multiple things at once, by the way! just a thought! you don't have to give up everything just because you can't solve or do everything! i get it, it can be overwhelming since it seems the world is ending everyday everywhere. but you have to take a breath and do what you think is right. and sometimes that means focusing your energy on things that are pressing and important, and would make the biggest impact (that one is able to make) for helping people in the here and now. its not "handwringing," it's a reminder of our responsibility to humanity.

#ask #anon #also to the other anon 1) im not doing that and 2) use your critical thinking skills i believe in you <3 sorry this isnt helpful but the- #thing you sent me asking me to review (??) just looks like typical internet bullshit just look up a news article from al-jazeera or - #research the history and purpose of unrwa yourself. learn to differentiate from stupid shit and stuff that is more worth your time- #instead of asking an artist (and also a non-palestinian for the record) for their useless opinion. #look into trusted sources like the news site al-jazeera or palestinians in gaza who are- #documenting and sharing for the world like @wizard_bisan1 (instagram) or motaz azaiza- #dont rely on youtubers who dont seem to be personally involved and also just looking into the comments seem to be islamophobic as all hell- #so uh. not a good look for the integrity of that video as a trustworthy source. use critical thinking ok

[officialgleamstar]

As someone who has studied cave paintings for my senior thesis, that “cave paintings were animations” post annoys me so bad. Not because it’s untrue, there are definitely archeologists that have put forward this theory and believe in it (mostly Marc Azéma), and there is no real way to prove any cave painting theory is true. We simply cannot prove anything definitely, only make speculation. But it makes me mad because I just think Azéma and Florent Rivère are wrong and should feel bad for being wrong. Go back to your flip animation disc, Azéma, I think you were right on that one

#mine #I get so steamed about this for no reason. I am not an archeologist I can’t prove anything #I just have opinions from a lot of research about French cave paintings #and NONE of those articles mentioned YOU Azéma!!! #YOU ARE BEING POINTEDLY IGNORED AT THE LUNCH TABLE #sorry okay I’m normal now

[mossy-covered-bones]

…im starting to think that this might be more than just a “passing interest” in architecture

#like bestie i am looking up architectural styles and comparing their defining traits #researching the history of architecture in certain countries/regions to determine what traits are best suited to which climate #i get really judgey abt other peoples roofs and stare at the passing buildings while im driving to try and figure out the architectural #influences and how i would do the roof to make it suck less #i have Opinions on Roofing #am i starting to suspect i dont have only adhd? yeah maybe #i just. really REALLY like reading wikipedia articles on architecture #for what reason? oh haha no reason. dont worry abt it #sev rambles

[thismoleculeisacomedian]

It's really depressing that the statement "you need to at least know the basics of a hugely complex issue/subject in order to have an opinion about said topic that is even remotely worth listening to (and no, Facebook posts and TikTok videos do not count as an education)" is so controversial these days.

#there was this rule my high school teachers had for any research essay #2 books - 4 peer-reviewed articles - 6 news articles from reputable sources - 12 sources total #and that's still what i feel like i need to have to even begin to have an opinion on almost anything #sigh #i have too many followers anyway.

[starlooove]

What material gain do we have an LGBT community? Do you ask trans peopel what they materially gain from exclude cis people? Do you wonder why we have gay spaces?

It is BECAUSE of the current politcial landscape we should stop catering to our oppressors. Because a cishet person who happenst o ont feel sexual attraction demanding lgbt space, resources, support is in fact an oppressor.

Who is the real bitch here? The cishet making demands of those they oppress or the oppressed?

I said it in the tags last time but comparison answers don’t do much here because the question I’ve been asking is specifcally about ace/aro ppl in relation to the community. I wanna know what exactly excluding those specific people provides for the community. What resources, space, and support are they taking? I want to know the real negative impact they specifically cause that makes this amount of vitriol valid to you. Does it matter if you can’t even answer that without making comparisons to other members of the community? Is it that serious if you can’t provide physical issues they’re causing that’s not a vague “they’re taking resources.”

And not to be mean but if you’re the same anon you’re still very clearly the bitch here like between you getting that mad and a hypothetical “resource thief” I think the answer is lowk obvious

#i do have an opinion on the whole the community is everyone who’s not cishet thing #like Idk maybe I’m stuck in the past but I think the history #especially outside of the US #when it comes to exclusion involving kink race body shape etc. #i think that’s what’s made me jaded to exclusionary shit #like imo if it’s not physically targeting people irl I don’t think it’s deep enough to be this pressed #i was really ready to like form an opinion and I’m gonna research it regardless #but this interaction specifically just feels like ‘no kink at proud’ ‘no more trenders’ ‘neopronouns ruin everything’ #like i need to know why it’s that deep #matter of fact I don’t care what ur fighting against I wanna know what ur fighting for #how does the exclusions of ace or aro ppl uplift the community #oh and i was searching shit up and that post about ‘we don’t wanna see how much people hate us’ came up and I think if this person is too #pussy to come off anon imma just put my opinion in a post instead of a direct response #like that post was about trans women but also if I were in the position of what we were talking about I wouldn’t wanna see all that either #so like sorry anon u prolly lost ur feature 💔 #but yeah back to that thing I AM gonna research on this I wanna see if I can find like. essays or articles or smth as opposed to posts #and i always love reading on queer history so i wanna see if i can find shit from the past #but like i don’t think this person is gonna convince me sorry u wasted ur time anon #but the language and rhetoric u use is way to kalvin garrah esque for me imma just go find what I wanna find somewhere else 💀 #i feel like I don’t know enough about convos across different labels since I’m personally unlabeled #like It was those notes that made me realize I have no idea what’s going on and I can excuse ignorance but I can’t excuse willful ignorance #so Imma hit them books 💀 #if anyones got anything useful tentatively asking for it #but actually after this I think imma hold off on community response or whatever I got it #OH and to make it clear those questions up there are not at all rhetorical or sarcastic that’s shit I genuinely ask myself all the time #like that’s genuinely what I want an answer to adress #but beggars can’t be choosers and all that #except I literally Can the internet is at my fingertips #i am not fixing those typos

[ahalliance]

the more academic reading i do on lgbt stuff the more ridiculous this weird asexuality tumblr discourse was a few years ago (as well as lgbt discourse as a whole of course). like the term asexuality pops up in stuff from the 90s and no doubt stretches back at least somewhat further . why is public discourse just always behind on everything, if we’re gonna fight about stupid shit can we at least it make it current

#same thing as me reading through some gay liberation manifesto from the 70s and seeing the term bisexual pop up #i had immediate flashbacks to that one fucking news article cover from the 2000s. ‘bisexuality: a new sexuality emerges’ #or whatever it was #like bro ur at least 30 years late #god i hate how much shitty news outlets mould public opinions DO UR OWN RESEARCH #jay rambles

[daigu]

Also read my tags on this but y'all realize that "The empty brain" (Your brain does not process information, retrieve knowledge or store memories. In short: your brain is not a computer) (the most popular psych article on aeon) is written by a right-wing man who is a populist research(!) psychologist whose research won't show up anywhere unless you specifically go on his website and access articles where his cv is linked. The evidence he shows on his essay is not based on any systematically conducted study but something he has "experimented" with one (1) intern. Lot of balls to try to dismiss information processing theory with one essay, no one (no more) asserts that your brain works like a computer, the theory just uses computer analogies to explain the conceptual workings of the brain.

#Sure he's graduated from harvard and has beheld many prestigious academic titles... He also has a podcast with joe rogan tho #I'm researching further by the way this is just a heads up. He has published on nature and such and his articles are peer reviewed. #the essay is also just what it says. an essay. not a substitute for a peer reviewed academic article. if he had substantial evidence > #he could have scientifically demonstrated it. that is just a non #non-foundational* opinion piece. I will look if he has written and published an academic article about this but I'm highly skeptical #Robert epstein btw if you want to look further

[mhizzberry]

I just wanted to share this article about Palestine's right to revolt and why it is important that we support it. It also has sources embedded in the text that debunk misinformation about them and Hamas. I implore everyone to read it and spread this information around.

Edit [12/25/23 3:19 PM GMT+]: I should also emphasize that the article is an opinion piece, so I also encourage you to also do further research to come to your own critical conclusions.

As a whole, the article still explores why Palestinians resist. As someone whose entire history was build on resisting against oppressors (I'm Filipino), I can understand and empathize where they are coming from. This is one way that I wish to express my solidarity.

#Free Palestine #Palestine #Free Gaza #Ceasefire Now #social issues

[ouchiemyspine]

my opinion on the situation in israel/palestine:

- I'm 16 years old, live in Poland and have never met an Israeli or Palestinian. I have not done any extensive research and all my information about it stems from social media.

- My opinion on this is as valuable as the dirt under my shoes.

thank you

#i/p #not disability related #but yeah actually #hope as few people get hurt as possible #thats it #because i dont have any personal experience #or academic knowledge #and i have only seen info from dubious and biased sources #my opinion is unimportant #and i shouldnt be posting about things like i know anything because i saw like #5 posts on my dash #that would just be immoral of me to do #israel/palestine #i/p conflict #btw extensive research is not reading a few news articles #this post might be nonsense but you get the general idea

[rubysevens]

another cringefail rte moment this morning

#tell me how one of the top articles is a guy being like ‘israelis dont like us :( and they know about irish history #here are the opinions of random people who approached us on the street #unedited and without fact checking #literally just the journalist publishing ppls opinions bc they yelled at him on the street #no research just vibes #‘​ooohhh people somewhere dont like usssss noooo goddd what will we do’ for a whole article #‘they have irish pubs but dont like that we want them to obey international lawwww’ #grow a spine. ❤️. #be quiet b

[ursie]

Brennan’s statement on Palestine :

[ ID: Statement from Brennan Lee Mulligan, on Instagram. It consists of three black squares with plain white text. The text reads as follows:

"I'm calling on my government officials to immediately demand a ceasefire and de-escalation in Gaza.

I applaud anyone and everyone calling for peace, with the understanding that real peace only exists if it deeply and honestly accounts for and fully ends violence in all its forms. Real peace addresses and corrects wrong-doing in the past and guards against it in the future. It goes hand in hand with justice and requires truth, restoration, reconciliation, reparation.

Peace cannot co-exist with collective punishment, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement. It cannot co-exist with blockades, embargoes, or with 2.2 million people, half of which are children, trapped with no hope of escape or political recourse. it cannot co-exist with murdered journalists, bombed hospitals, or years of protesters being shot and killed at the border. it cannot co-exist with illegal settlements, segregated roads, and the silent, imperial chill that settles over the gaps in the violence - the unspoken geopolitical consensus that a group of people need to unflinchingly accept permanent subjugation and occupation.

My hear breaks for every Israeli person who lost loved ones during the attacks of October 7th. It breaks for every Ukrainian person who has lost their loved ones. It breaks for every Congolese person who has lost their loved ones. I do not speak on behalf of Palestinians now because some lives are worth more than others. I speak on their behalf because I, and all Americans, have a responsibility to pressure our government because we are responsible for this. Some have said that this situation is complicated. The Unites States government clearly disagrees. It has definitively, categorically, militarily chosen a side, and I do not agree with that decision.

In wiring this, I have been wrestling with what I am sure many people like me wrestle with: There is a powerful narrative surrounding violence in the Middle East that asserts and ever-moving goalpost of self-education and study in order to even be qualified to have an opinion. As someone with a love of research, I have at times in my life fallen into the trap that I am not educated enough clever enough, or aware enough to have a worthwhile perspective, and that three more articles and two more lectures and one more book will do the trick. Unfortunately, democracy doesn't work that way - we, the citizens of any democracy, cannot possibly be experts on every aspect of the policies of our governments, and yet if we do not constantly weigh in an make our voices heard, the entire experiment falls apart. Not only do people constantly doubt themselves and the things they can see with their own two eyes, but old shortcuts for political action can fall apart as well: This specific issue exists along a raw, charged and unique faultline in American Politics. Nobody I grew up with has ever challenged me on my support for abortion rights, LGBT rights, Black Lives Matter, anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, none of it. The people in my country who would despise me for those positions are, for all intents and purposes, strangers to me. But there are people who I've broken bread with and shared honest affection with who will see the words I've written here and incorrectly conclude that I do not wish for the security, dignity and happiness of them and their loved ones, and that breaks my fucking heart. Full-throatedly condemning the actions of the Israeli government while battling rampant anti-semitism at home is an urgent moral necessity, and doing so is made unnecessarily challenging for the average person to navigate by the pointed obfuscations of cynical opportunists, bigots, and demagogues on all sides of the political spectrum who see some advantage in sowing that incredibly dangerous confusion.

So, I'm calling my representatives. I'm having hard conversations with friends and family. I'm here, talking to you. I should have done it sooner. If you're Israeli and hurt by this statement, know that I want freedom, dignity, security and peace for you, and that every ounce of my political awareness believes whole-heartedly that the actions of your government are not only destroying innocent lives, but doing so to the detriment of you and your loved ones' safety. If you're American and feel lost and confused - I understand and empathize. This, the whole country, only works when we get involved. I am constantly haunted by the specter that maybe I missed some crucial piece of information on this, or any, important world event. I'll just have to make my peace with that self-doubt and trust my gut by going with Jewish Voice for Peace, Amnesty International, the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, etc. And if you're Palestinian and reading this: I unreservedly support your right to life, to freedom, to happiness and human flourishing, to full enfranchisement and equal rights, to opportunity, prosperity and abundance, to the restoration of stolen property and land, and to a Free Palestine." End ID ]

#if anyone wants to do the id I will love you forever btw #brennan lee mulligan #d20 #dropout #free palestine #dimension 20 #I babble

[wild-at-mind]

Left-leaning internet is so weird because I think the big backlashes against people in these spaces all come down to not wanting to be told what to do or be by someone else. I seriously don’t think there would have been anywhere near the backlash against A/na M/ardoll working for Lockheed Martin if AM wasn’t a very contentious twitter account that was always telling other people how they should think and feel about media (disclaimer- I’ve only read AM’s essay on Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but it was the most baffling, pointless, Cinemasins-esque nitpicky essay I’ve ever read, that seemed to take issue with the entire concepts of magic and fantasy...? I do not know why it was written and I’m actually a little insulted that someone recommended it to me thinking I would like it). A lot of left-space personalities do this and it’s very difficult for people to publicly critique and disagree with their work because it’s the internet- every criticism is blown out of proportion and every disagreement becomes a referendum on who the person is as a whole even if it wasn’t meant to be. So criticism is visibly pushed back on and attacked so people avoid doing it, and you end up with a load of people just quietly seething and waiting for something bad to come out about someone they don’t like so they can attack. I don’t think AM ever said ‘thou shalt not work at the US’s biggest arms manufacturer’ but everyone attacked him in the (probably entirely true) assumption that he would absolutely attack and condemn someone else for working there. But if AM hadn’t ever done anything online, no one would care about the Lockheed Martin thing, would they? I think we all have lists of jobs that we would never do because we don’t think they are ethical, but everyone’s is different and at the end of the day, we understand that we all need to make money somehow to survive in this world. If we met someone in a normal setting who did one of these jobs we wouldn’t immediately start berating them. It’s just the internet making everything weird. The idea that someone might be a hypocrite is so powerful as a means to criticise them. I just found out that apparently a very common youtuber sponser company does union busting and people are upset about it. I watch loads of non-political youtubers who have been sponsered by this company and haven’t seen them ever be criticised, but one youtuber who has criticised similar things takes a sponsership from them? Massive backlash. You might think it makes sense but honestly I don’t agree- if you think something is bad to provoke massive backlash, then it’s bad whoever is doing it. You could either try and get massive backlash to happen to all youtubers who take this sponser, or you could concede that a youtuber being sponsored by something doesn’t mean the company’s unethical behaviour (that literally all companies do some of somewhere) is that youtuber’s fault or responsibility, and have a proportionate reaction. Otherwise you are putting a much higher burden of ethics on the shoulders of anyone who is vaguely leftist, and what could be more offputting for the idea of becoming politically aware than that?

#politics #leftism #btw i think becoming a content creator of any kind based on your ethics and beliefs is a terrible idea #because the internet is awful and you would be immediately putting your blood in the water #also quite honestly a lot of leftish youtube especially is just really bad #i went through a phase of watching this type of content but kept noticing times when their only research was undersourced articles #or they literally read a wikipedia page #and it was impossible to tell if they had their own opinions on the subject at all #i understand that it's risky to share them with the interent how it is but being an opionless leftish content creator is just as bad #so either way you're fucked

[pandemic-info]

I’m a Covid researcher – and I have long Covid. That’s why I have to be part of the fight against it | Stephanie Longet | The Guardian

#covid #long covid #article #commentary/opinion #researcher #the guardian