Yeah, I didn’t think German was anything special until a few years ago when I attended a German language group just for fun, on a whim. There was a native speaker there that I spoke to, and unexpectedly I just… I don’t even know.

Anyhow, we ended up dating for a while.

Still have a weakness for the German language.

Yeah, it wasn’t great. They didn’t believe in birth control and did very much believe that if they had another child, it was God’s will & He would provide.

We’re all pretty fucked up mentally. Don’t love that part.

Aye. Understanding it doesn’t make them easier to get along with.

My da has unprocessed trauma yet refuses to address it, saying that his mental illness is cured because of Jesus. And if I was a good Christian, I would be cured, too.

Like… my dude: a big part of my mental illnesses stem from my upbringing with you, but okay.

I don’t argue anymore. You can’t logic them out of something they didn’t logic themselves into.

My father is too far gone and considered an “intellectual” man. My mom thinks she’s “not that smart” (cool, thanks da), but she’s become so much more open and accepting as she’s gotten older and has shifted a lot of her views to be more progressive. Maybe because she realizes that my father, despite being very intelligent, is also an absolute moron who wrecks all his relationships. They’re still together, though.

Therapy can help you cope with the situation, yeah.

My siblings are almost fully split on our views on religion and stuff.

Youngest to oldest: pastor, party girl, anxious wreck withdrawn from society, ex-military, brow-beaten family man, severe mental-illness-ridden mother, literal cult member, golden child/took over family business, ex-Rainbow gathering stereotype, and depressed IT guy who loves drugs, dogs, and the outdoors.

Things get better when you get far away from parents like this. Seriously.

I know that folks have & will continue to do the “I don’t dream of working”–thing, but I’ll answer sincerely.

If I could do it in a way that could sustain me, I’d love to be able to design & make my own line of stuffed toys! I kind of do that right now, but it’s not something I can do full-time and still survive.

I’d also love to do bearded dragon rescues/fostering/specialized veterinary care. I’m definitely not able to handle the schooling required to do any vet stuff, though. But I’ve done rescues/foster work in the past before I just couldn’t handle the costs anymore.

You were probably the coolest person there. 😎

But seriously, I hope you had fun.

Depression is also a condition that can cause this. Get a full health screening before you go fully looking into a diagnosis, but definitely keep it in mind if, physically, things turn up normal.

Also keep in mind that depression & anxiety can be comorbid with ADHD, which can often lead to frustrating misdiagnosis and being put onto medications that may not work quote right (if you choose to go that route). Hell, I’ve been told that “[you] don’t have ADHD – it’s trauma! PTSD!” As if the constant invalidatation of my condition wasn’t one of the reasons in part that led to my mistreatment and development of PTSD.

I hope that you are able to get answers soon and have things improve!

I’m glad you were open to learning, though!

I have a very progressive siblings who is very pro-mental health and all that, but she never fails to mention how “those meds are so bad for you!” Yeah. I mean… I guess. The alternative is me being unable to care for myself. But whatever.

“Try exercising!”

Cool, I’d do that if my brain didn’t confine me to my bed for 18 hours without meds.

People just. don’t. get it. And they need to acknowledge that they don’t. It’s fine!! Just don’t try to act like we’re on the same level playing field. We’re not!

Pardon me, what?

Yeah, my painful acne lasted far into adulthood. Found out it was 100% hormonal and finally got on something to treat it.

There’s a lot of things that can cause acne.

ADHD advice from non-ADHD-havers has always been infuriating.

It’s like yelling at a drowning person with no arms to “swim better!”