That’s good to hear, it definitely feels like my presentation does differ exactly like that- depends on the mood/day/circumstance.

That’s fair- I am slowly building a healthier way to be more aware of when I’m in either side of talking, but it is reassuring to see other peoples experiences as well

Not officially, but I’m diagnosed ADHD and for now, self-diagnosed autistic

I managed to finally save up enough money to put myself on a waitlist to get called to setup an appointment to start my autism assessment in several months from now, so…yay?

So much yes

Is it weird that I kinda have both?

I got diagnosed with ADHD at 25 , and I’ve been like 90% quiet most of my adult life. However I recall every now and then when a memory hits, I used to be suuuper energetic, talkative and all over the place overall as a kid.

Since my family thought that getting me mental help = being put into an asylum for life, I never got assessed and was instead chastised/shamed into not talking (and in parallel the regular kids would mock and tease in the school system) so I’ve sorta just got quiet which just got me more inwardly chaotic

Ahhh, this hits right in the soul!

I usually try to reply within the same week, otherwise I feel that shame spiral HARD

Don’t worry, they have BRAND NEW PACKAGING to try and distract you while a few (or dozen) grams get shaved off the total weight posted

Simply Divine!

In my experience, all the places that I’ve been to that aren’t cash-only accept Interac (or just debit), both large and small businesses that sometimes don’t have the Interac sticker. It could be my luck, but I’ve yet to find one that has a card terminal and doesn’t do Interac.

Speed bumps are definitely a no-go on Parkside. The emergency services (at least Toronto Fire) takes issue with speed bumps slowing down response times, and the TTC is also a big opponent to speed bumps being put up on their bus routes which the 80 Queensway operates down it.

There was a plan in the works to narrow the street to 2-3 lanes which would force traffic to slow down, especially if the lanes are narrower too, with bike lanes also coming in. It’s too bad the changes are dead since the Supreme Mayor of Toronto made legislative changes that effectively killed the major changes to the street

There’s also the access to help which if there is a lot of intense and specialized help needed, tends to come at a cost in both monetary and time aspects. Some people that need the most help can be the least likely to be able to afford those therapy sessions (even at a sliding scale) and in my experience looking for help, the availability of those specialists are limited to like a 10-5, weekday schedule too.

I’m not trying to excuse the attitude, but the serious, intensive help isn’t quite something you can get by from using a “budget”-oriented therapy service or from student therapists, and depending on the severity of the problem, some may require a minimum of weekly visits or visiting multiple times a week.

In my case of finding a trauma-informed therapist, it would cost me well over $1k/month to deal with my issues. So I just keep my mouth shut and try to leave out talking about my problems to my friends until I can afford to start my sessions.

I feel this so much. I just want to have a few consecutive months off in a row and then I’ll be good to go for the rest of the year

Thank you kindly- things are slowly getting better for me, and very soon I’ll be able to afford to get help from qualified professionals.

I’m just going one day at a time, which is all that matters to me

As someone who’s trying to figure out how to recover from some pretty bad burnout while avoiding becoming homeless in the process, I appreciate this.

I have been loud in my first few pride months, but im slowly figuring out how I can “fix” my cup and fill it for me before I start pouring back out again.

My biggest struggle is overcoming my shame tbh It’s a big mental block for me on most days, but I’m glad to see this art out here

This is too real for me lol

My struggle is that I’ve sorta fallen out of my current friends group since I’ve found myself increasingly contradicting myself in order to make myself “fit in”

I’ve since been learning to be myself more and have at least 2 friends I keep in touch, but oof do I struggle to stay in regular contact.

Then there’s my desire to make friends that share similar interests and the motivation to go through with socializing is just not there 😅

I’ve held an interview with one of my former school bullies from highschool for a position under my team. I only had a suspicion when I came across the resume, but I just knew it was him when I saw his face on cam.

It was nice seeing him fumble over the curveball technical questions that I threw at him, and told HR that he wasn’t only a poor fit, but not to even send a follow up response l either.

I feel that in my soul as someone that has gone undiagnosed as a child but somehow everyone else picked up on it

I’m in a similar boat, I’m kinda hopeful now that I have enough money saved up to see someone, hopefully I’ll get some validation and a possible explanation on what’s “wrong” and maybe ideas on how I can right myself without sacrificing myself at the same time

Just gotta swap lead poisoning drinking water with checks notes Lead poisoning in drinking water, the air in the form of emissions and microplastics!

(I know lead was dropped from most gasoline in the 90s, but the effects linger. Also in some places there’s exemptions where small planes can use leaded gas to this day)