prismaticbleed: (worried)

We have so many faceless children in the System. It seems like the older we get physically, the "younger" we are inside? We feel more and more helpless and scared and small every day. There is a legitimate part of our mind that is a frightened crying child and s/he keeps crying "i want my mommy" but the instant we imagine any sort of adult female like our mother (long dark hair) the child starts screaming hysterically and runs away in tears. "mommy," she sobs, but she feels so lost, like, what is a mother? I don't think she knows.
"Grandma" is still safe, in memory. ALL the children will run to her instinctively. But... the memories don't match up. There was an phago-paidifoni who kept eating rice pudding last month, because it would immediately transport her into a vivid sensory memory of being in the kitchen or on the porch with grandma, eating homemade rice pudding, feeling safe and loved. The problem is that at some point, she started trying to remember what our grandma actually talked and acted like in those situations, and... it wasn't always nice. That's a fact. Our grandmother could be very critical, and said hurtful things often, even if she didn't mean to. And the phago-paidifoni became so confused and disturbed, because this wasn't what they needed or wanted from her. They wanted to feel safe and loved and comforted, but that was suddenly gone now that this ideal visual was changing to reflect memory. And they disappeared, stopped eating rice pudding entirely, because now it was triggering. It's sad.

Anyway. What would a child want, from a "mother"? That's hard to answer, because the very WORD "mother" brings up immediate feelings of TERROR and PANIC and the urge to FLEE AND HIDE. We can't delve into that right now; it's too early and we will need to recover mentally from this entry the way it is.
But our therapist said, don't ask the System itself at this point. We have too much pain and trauma, we can't see straight. Growing up we never really "had" a mother or father in the "family role" sense. We had a biological mother and father, but neither of them knew how to be parents; they barely knew each other to begin with, and both of them were extremely independent and stubborn, "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" types. They weren't home much, worked constantly, and had NO warmth or intimacy or quiet time to give. Our grandparents were the same. So... we didn't have a context of what a "normal family" looks like as a child, and so we couldn't even imagine anything different. Hence why the Spherae never had parental figures in it until we hit college and wrote some in just as "filler." Even so, what would parents act like? We didn't know.
You know how we do know, now? Our faith has told us. We had NO IDEA what a "real parent" SHOULD look like, at ALL, until we really started to commit ourselves to being Catholic. Suddenly, we realized what we were missing. We jarringly became aware of an immense lack in our life, of an "infantile need" that was never met, of a hunger completely ignored and denied until now. THAT'S why we suddenly have "all these internal children" crying helplessly, lost and confused, knowing they need something-- someone-- but not having any idea what to do about it. They're helpless. I emphasize that word, because it defines childhood for us. Powerless, incapable, totally dependent. And... I don't think we were ever allowed to be that historically? Our parents drilled self-sufficiency and excellence and competition and achievement into our brains from the very beginning; we were even pitted against our siblings to "be the best" and nothing ever felt "good enough." The bar was always moved higher. Our mother said "that should have made you try harder!!" but honestly it just made us feel... helpless. We felt defeated before we even started. We internalized a sense of total ineptitude, inadequacy, failure-- we were a disappointment and a letdown no matter what we did. But that's slightly off-topic. The point is, we were never able to just be a child in need. We were expected to do everything for ourself, to be strong and not burden others, to "make our family proud," etc. Somehow this translated to "don't ever weigh other people down with your problems/ whining/ stupidity/ weakness/ etc.," which ultimately boiled down to "you're not allowed to be weak," in any and all senses.
Children are weak, by definition. At least, that's what I've been told now. My brain still "can't accept it." It's not allowed. "They're just choosing to be weak to get something out of people, to manipulate them," like my mother would say. But was I? When "I" was a child, a two-year-old crying from fear or discomfort or hunger or loneliness, and I was weak in that crying, was I actively trying to manipulate my mother out of selfish concern? Or was I just scared and needed comfort and security and... did I "need" it? That's where my mind goes. "You don't really need it. Grow up. Get over it." etc. Children aren't weak, they're just selfish and lazy...
Notice I wouldn't even dare type the word "love." A child needs love. Do they? Isn't it horrible that I instinctively doubt that? That alone says volumes about my upbringing, and the tragic wrecked state of our psyche.

So our homework is to imagine a child in concept, effectively-- "like a character in a story," our therapist said. Like someone in the Spherae. From that "detached" perspective, informed now by Catholic teaching of Truth, what would real parents look and act like? Where does our mind go, instinctively, when it's "safe" to think of such things, from a distance as it were? That's what we need to take time to do.
Notably, I want to mention that it's only within the past two years or so that we've been able TO conceptualize this at ALL, again thanks to our faith. We are ACTUALLY comfortable with referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary AS "mom" now, and regularly do. I think that just started this year, to be honest. She IS "mom," or "mommy," and she hears that term from us a lot during hysterical prayers in times of trauma and terror. But that fact alone is staggeringly significant. In those moments, when we think and feel we are going to die (and in some awful cases, might actually), what do we do? We blindly, desperately, helplessly cry out for mom. And we're not afraid of her. That's HUGE. We used to be, because the way she is portrayed in European/American art IS frightening to us, but in Orthodox iconography our heart recognizes and loves her. So we focus on those images, because "that's our mom's face" and that child-part of our heart clings to that in a way we've never experienced physically or historically. So healing IS happening there. I think that's more important to reflect upon than ANY "imagined" parents even in the Spherae, because after all we'd be defining those characters by what we know or can imagine, and that applicable data is ONLY positive inasmuch as we've received it from Mary. She IS the "mother of all mothers" after all.
Fatherhood is... oddly so much easier. Yeah our dad wasn't around much, but he somehow still embodied a LOT of what we "needed" a father TO be as a child? And yet... there was so much missing that we're only realizing and feeling now that we're older, and are instinctively looking for it, and cannot get it from him. He's never been emotionally or physically close, for one thing. We were reading Father's Day cards in the store the other day and it just... it hurt, so much, to want to say these things to my dad but I couldn't, because he never DID such things. That was like a gutpunch to the soul.
But you know what has been helping us conceptualize real Godly motherhood and fatherhood SO MUCH lately? THE CHOSEN. Oh man that NEEDS its own entry (or fifteen) but for this topic it will suffice to say that the portrayal of the mother and father figures in that series is rewiring our entire brain. It's... it's life-changing, and I don't say that lightly. It's inevitable that such a deeply positive reprogramming of our entire perspective and understanding on this topic WILL change our life-- honestly, it's already motivated us to take extra strong steps to repair our relationship with our mother lately. God is working through that show, in us, visibly and surprisingly so.
But oh my gosh ZEBEDEE. In short, HE is what our soul wants and perhaps needs a "father" to be. He's like our actual dad in a lot of ways, but fills in the gaps too-- I don't know how quite to put it into words yet. But there's a warmth, a sociability almost? Like, he's out there, you can be around him, and he's approachable and... we need that. The sense that you can go to him and he will be strong and honest and supportive and safe. We need that. 
Mother Mary is still our mom, in the show, too. The moments where she takes care of Jesus, even as an adult, like the scene where she just washes His hair... there's a tenderness there that our mother never showed, and we need it somehow. I want to cry, deep down, some part of our soul wants to sob about that, but I don't know why or how.

One last note on this topic before we close up for the morning-- something we've seen mention of in the F/O community is the idea of "maternal and paternal f/o's"??? That's such a... it's a novel concept, to us. Could we ever find a character in media that would somehow personify those ideals our child-selves are seeking? Or could the very searching for such a character be even more valuable, in the process of seeking and therefore recognizing how those characters met or did not meet those needs? We already have the perfect Mother in Mary, and God is our Father, so we don't want to dishonor them by "introjecting" some fictional and imperfect reflection of their very virtues. Furthermore, we don't want any more Outspacers if at all possible. If there are ANY "parents" in the System, they NEED to be Nousfoni. That is CRITICAL. And... we don't have any, except perhaps Sherilyn, but even she shows toxic damage from reflecting childhood mother-understanding, which includes the damaging traits of our mother at that time. So we have to be careful.

This is a heavy but important topic. We will keep revisiting it here and in therapy. We need to review the archives and see what we have written on this in the past-- we don't remember anything. The past two years, although full of eternally meaningful spiritual growth and instruction, have nevertheless, as a result of that honed focus, caused massive memory loss of our historical-personal past. Our sense of self has deteriorated, and the System is barely functioning, except for the thriskefoni and esthiofoni, ironically up to this point. But we're still healing, despite it all. We're doing better by the grace of God. It's war, it will always be war, but Christ is the Victor and the closer we move and stay to Him the better we will be on all levels.

That's it for today, we have daily responsibilities to do. But it's nice to be typing again.
Remind me to upload the smattering of daily notes on our phone, as well as the indispensable "How We Feel" app notes that document the immediate post-hospital crash events. That's very important for our history, and to restore a sense of continuity to our life-awareness pre-Lent, as that too demolished our recollection and identity. Again, warfare. But we soldier on.

Time to fight the good fight in everyday virtue now. Pray for us, as always.



prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)

041425

 
confession notes from today=

When struggling with extreme emotion/ impulsivity due to fear+panic, OFFER THAT IMMEDIATE MOMENT UP TO GOD and ASK HIM TO TURN IT INTO A PRAYER. Literally give all you've got to Him. And KEEP DOING IT. Sit in that awful emotion but GIVE IT TO GOD and don't turn away from Him. Make it your Gethsemane.

Also, do an examen at the end of each day, and when looking at events/ moments/ thoughts/ feelings/ actions/ etc., ask= did that bring me CLOSER to God? Or did it push me AWAY from God? HOW SO, in each instance? Be CLEAR and SPECIFIC.

For example, I used to fear that my eating disorder actually brought me CLOSER to God because all the pain/ fear/ suffering/ etc. DROVE ME TO FRANTIC DESPERATE PRAYER and so those hours would be spent largely hysterically praying and/or watching/ listening/ reading RELIGIOUS things. But THOSE THINGS ARE NOT "INHERENT" TO THE DISORDER.
What was actually "driving me closer to God" was SUFFERING? and CONTRITION? and the DESIRE TO STOP THE DISORDERED BEHAVIOR? because when the worldly "Jess" mindset takes over that likes to eat, SHE DOESN'T PRAY. SHE DOESN'T CARE. That's why when we're eating with the family we basically become a HEATHEN SLOB. There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE.


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042425

WHO IS MY ENEMY?
WHY DO I SEE THEM AS OPPONENTS?
HOW CAN I LOVE AND SERVE THEM?
WHAT EXCUSES AM I MAKING?


MOM
She's STILL somehow an enemy. WHY.
I hate going up her house. "Loving her" = doing work for her assumedly? But it's SO STUPID??? IT'S JUST MOVING JUNK AROUND & WASTING TIME??
How do I know that for sure? Can I "serve God not people" even in doing such pointless labor? How can I do this without feeling like I'm ENABLING bad habits like hoarding? Or is that MY EXCUSE for not wanting to be at that HOUSE?
⭐ALSO I "HATE" MY PAST & DON'T WANT TO GO BACK, I WANT TO DISOWN IT, BUT SHE (AND THAT HOUSE) "INCARNATES" IT.
Is THAT a root of the hate??

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prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)
 
030125

BRO TYPE ABOUT THIS!!!!
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/2_thessalonians/1.htm

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030925

Transgender "gender feeling" fallacy =
MY "DEFINITION" OF "FEMALE" IS BROKEN!!!!
I ONLY EVER "FEEL FEMALE/ LIKE A GIRL" WHEN I'M SINNING!!!
Similarly, the term "woman" is SO UGLY/ POISONOUS to me; calling myself a "woman" IS EQUAL TO SAYING "I AM A RAPIST/ ABUSER"

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031425

 TRAUMA NIGHTMARES =
ANGEL DUST AS A "PLACEHOLDER" FOR INFINITII!!!


ALL physical realities reflect deeper SPIRITUAL realities
"I don't need food" = rejecting SPIRITUAL food = GOD!!
REMEMBER THE EUCHARIST. BE CAREFUL!!
This is WHY God WON'T "erase" your hunger!! It reflects a TRUTH!

(Also BTW remember the dream around 0317(?) With Xander REDEEMED (angelic) helping me & grandpa??

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032025

Rosary visualization, unplanned =
My TRUEST INNER SELF is a HOLY CHILD about 7 YEARS OLD
And FEMALE

Jesus CAN GET ME OUT OF STAIRWELLS AND WALK THROUGH DOORS!!!

My "adult self image" CHANGES DRAMATICALLY BASED ON COLOR!!!
BROWN is TRAUMATIZED FEMALE SINNER GLUTTON.
RED is CANNON??
REDVIOLET?? is JEWEL LIGHTRAYE??
WHITE is "PRISM"?? ALSO "JAY"

CAN the Core hold OTHER colors???
Also DUOTONE!!!

BTW TILLY ACTUALLY HAS BLACK HAIR!!! SHE JUST WEARS A WHITE VEIL!!!


Today's devotional heavy hitters =
"When we love others, we are reflecting the love that God has for them. That is why it matters how we treat people. Our actions are a reflection of how God has loved us."
SO IF YOU DON'T LOVE OTHERS, YOU'RE DEMONSTRATING THAT YOU DON'T FEEL/ BELIEVE/ TRUST THAT GOD LOVES YOU.
It shows that YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE.

"We love God by worshiping Him and praising Him. We love others by doing good to them and sharing with them.
How are you doing at loving God and loving others? Do you spend time each day in Scripture and prayer, praising God for who He is? If we don't love God first and foremost, we won't be able to truly love other people in our lives."

God has taken away all my "opportunities for service" because I AM UNFIT. I am too vicious & scandalous yet. I need to be HEALED first. (So God PLEASE HEAL ME)

For YEARS-- literally TWO DECADES-- I've been at war with my body, with sex, and with food. The three are synonymous, effectively. It's a hell I can't seem to escape from. And yet... looking back on both the Archives and what little "blind" trauma sensory memory i have access to, I am actually currently doing BETTER than I EVER have before. That seems bizarre, as it's still a living nightmare, but it's true. I thank the Lord God Almighty on my increasingly bony knees for that. I credit His Grace entirely, and therefore for getting me into daily Bible Study and Prayer, with Mass and Adoration whenever possible. The channels are open where they weren't in the past, not even for Tilly. That has made a world of difference.

...and yet I can't seem to stop, yet. Jesus keeps saying "it's your hunger" but He won't take it away because "I need it" for higher purposes too. "Same with desire" apparently, which i hate so keenly I'd murder it in sight but I guess it's hiding in this cursed ravenous destructive impulse that hits whenever I eat more than 500 calories a day.
It's not eating so much as it's annihilation, by the way. The main point of EVERY "binge" is to DESTROY the food. "Get rid of the threat/ danger/ enemy/ evil." The ONLY reason I even binged today is because we had carrots in the house, "bravely" tried one slice, then another, and then "poison panic" hit so "now we have to eat them all and throw them up" because apparently that's how you detox so you won't die from carrot infection. It's insane.

I hope to God we can get through the next three days "green." We mark the calendar now. This month has too many red "X-es". It's disturbing & depressing.
The rule is, I'm not allowed to sleep in bed until we get three clean days in a row. I had ONE bed day last month I think. Besides that, I literally haven't slept in my own bed since like... July.
That's really sad.

Does this count as a "cross" if it's literally a vice? Aren't crosses supposed to be "for good people"? How ironic. "Grandma was a wonderful, pure woman, with a clear conscience and a solid reputation for charity and good works. THEREFORE, she was given the heavy cross of lung cancer and severe neuropathy SO THAT her suffering would UNITE HER TO CHRIST and therefore GET HER TO HEAVEN." That's how I've always understood it.
On the contrary, "Jessica is a rebellious, self-willed, bratty, brazen girl who is cruel to her brothers and disobedient to her parents. She is a master manipulator, a spiteful bully, a petty thief, and a budding sadist. She will grow up into a violent, angry, useless waste of flesh, a dishonor and disgrace to her family. She will be a perverted whore, a robber of widows, a conpulsive liar, a heartless backstabber, a lazy dirty slob, and-- most of all-- a selfish, wasteful, destructive glutton. Her daily life is defined by sin. THEREFORE, Jessica DOESN'T GET A CROSS, because she doesn't deserve to suffer for Christ. Devils like her go straight to hell. She is rejected and isolated from the Church both on earth and in heaven. She gets no part of it. Nobody wants her. Only Satan wants her, to murder her for all eternity. THEN she will suffer."
...Why is THAT how it works for me??
This daily life, this horrible eating disorder, IS ALREADY HELL AND I HATE IT. the problem? This body LIKES to have food. This body WANTS to keep eating once I start. It feels like I'm DOOMED to fail, like I'm "locked in" to this warzone. I don't want to eat. I hate it. And whenever I try, this happens. And its torture. But that's my point-- I'm already in hell, but I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. I just apparently CANNOT, and that is terrifying.
Only God can get me out of here. Why hasn't He done so yet? This is a SIN!! He cannot "want" me to stay here! So what's going on? Is it just my weakness? Is it just the fact that i "could have" been free & safe today IF I had resisted the carrot terror? Or yesterday, if "feeling safe" wasn't scarier than forcing fear & anxiety? Or the weekend, if I didn't "give in to healthy compulsions" that I was too afraid to actually eat and so ended up destroying "to be safe"? Or never saying "no" to mom forcing unhealthy and/or triggering foods on me, out of fear that in response she'll reject me at last? Or what about the countless times I buy and eat and purge in tears the foods that remind me of grandma? They won't bring me back to her. But they do give me memories I can't reach otherwise, immersive memories of being a small child, standing in her kitchen at night, with nothing else existing but home and her. I can't even FIND those memories apart from the foods they're ATTACHED to. It makes me want to weep. Those memories "aren't even mine" and yet I NEED them now more than the air I breathe, many nights.
And remember I used to do the same thing with TBAS.
I'm telling you, this grief will be the death of me.
But I don't want to die in sin, oh please God.

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032125
 
Atonement + death + resurrection + forgiveness etc. ALL CONNECTED in Christ's Passion =

"God renders them as right as Himself the moment they place trust in Christ’s death as payment for their sin. God henceforth treats them as judicially right in His eyes. They are right because God resolved His justice at the cross." & "Christians stand in Christ’s perfect righteousness before God eternally because they trust the blood of Christ to forgive them."

DO WE TRUST THIS???
IS THIS TIED TO INFI'S DEATH TOO??? IS THAT WHAT GOD IS TRYING TO TEACH US???
CAN INFI NOT RESURRECT/ CAN WE NOT BE HEALED OF TRAUMA + E.D. UNTIL WE TRUST THIS PRICE HAD BEEN PAID IN LOVE???

ALSO "“Believed” means to be persuaded of, and hence, to place confidence in. When we believe in Christ, we place confidence in or credit Jesus as the only One who can save us from our sins. We entrust our entire eternal future to Christ Jesus. He is worthy of our trust."
IS ALL MY "TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW ATONEMENT WORKS / HOW I AM FORGIVEN / THE MECHANISM OF SALVATION" ETC. ACTUALLY PREVENTING ME FROM FAITH????

Also THIS HITS SO HARD =
"Justification is different. It doesn’t say, you have done wrong, but I will try to forget it. It focuses on the wrong done, and says squarely, this was wrong. This was very wrong. It was unjust. Since justice is God’s love spread around to lots of sinners, our sin violated love. It needs to be publicly declared wrong, publicly punished, so that all will know that justice must be served for such a wrong done. Justification says, your sin was displayed publicly as worthy of condemnation and terrible punishment in Christ. When we say that we believe Christ died for our sins, we are not just forgiven, we are justified. In our conscience, as believers, we feel that we MUST say that justice has been served for our sins, because otherwise we make His terrible death on our behalf of no account.
This is the big difference between forgiveness and justification. Forgiveness leaves justice on the table, it leaves sin unpunished but unjustified. Among the brethren, we have something greater than forgiveness with one another. We have the understanding that their sin against us has been declared unjust and wrong with vengeance and violence. It has been abundantly addressed. I don’t have to think that I am just trying to forget what they have done to me or that they are trying to forget what I have done to them. Forgetting is not the issue or the power of attorney here. The blood of Jesus Christ is the power, and it is most certainly sufficient... True forgiveness on our part acknowledges that [our] justification in Christ is sufficient, and I refuse to say otherwise. Forgiveness under Christ is stronger than mere forgetfulness, it is constantly putting the sins of [both ourselves and all others] under the terrible wrath displayed publicly on the cross... it accounts for the vengeance that our soul knows must be visited upon our various sins."


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prismaticbleed: (sorrow)
 

daily Scripture prompt inspirations to be further edited and elaborated on, to speak from our own soul more fully.

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God, I am a sinner. That's the horrific truth, and I must confess it without excuses; I must own up to it in its humbling, humiliating entirety. I am a sinner, and I can't change that on my own. I'm a thief. I'm a liar. I'm a glutton. I'm a slut. I'm a backstabber. I'm a master manipulator. I'm a cheater. I'm a pervert. I'm an abuser. I'm a leech. I'm a selfish, entitled, proud, spoiled rotten brat. I'm a disgrace to my family and a scandal to the church. I'm addicted to comfort and pleasure and mindless time-killing. I'm wasteful, destructive, careless, and irresponsible. I'm greedy and never have enough. I judge and critique and condemn everyone I see. I'm lazy, unmotivated, and unconcerned. I'm filthy and unclean. I'm vicious, violent, angry, and dangerous to both myself and others. I'm suicidal and self-abusive. I'm brutal and merciless. I'm the walking dead and I kill everything I touch. I'm hopeless, Lord... or, at least, I was until You decided to redeem my useless, rotting, putrid & wretched soul. 
Why?
Because You are everything I'm not. You, Lord God, are LOVE through and through. You are kind, good, honest, righteous, wise, generous, gentle, thoughtful, and pure. You are just, temperate, courageous, peaceful, joyful, faithful, dependable, and reliable. You are sweet and true and tender and open-hearted. You heal and support and comfort and care for others. You are a genuine friend. You seek and save the lost and forgotten. You bind up the broken, clean & kiss their wounds, and carry them safely to Your Own home. You are forgiving and merciful and compassionate. You are beautiful and real and alive, Lord, so why in all the universe did You CHOOSE to be brutally murdered in my place? Why did You step in front of the firing squad for me and give me a second-billionth chance? 
If it hadn't been You, it would have meant nothing. I still would have remained a war criminal, a public enemy, a heartless whore with blood money staining her hands pitch-black, and I would've walked off without a second thought for the man nailed to the tree with my death sentence above his head. 
But You are GOD, Jesus. And Your death for my sake CHANGED something in me, forever, for real. 
You died for me because You love me. You love me because, despite everything I've done, You CREATED me with a different purpose in mind... and nothing can frustrate Your plans. 
You refused to lose me to sin... so You paid my ransom to sin itself. You bled out instead of me, and that Blood washed away the plague in my veins. When You breathed Your last in Your human Body, somehow MY broken humanity did so WITH You, and although I didn't know it, Your death made a way for me to be free of myself. Your death gave me hope. 
Jesus, by sacrificing Yourself on my behalf, You paid the infinite debt of my sins.
...

God, thank You for making me righteous in Your sight. 
There is nothing I can ever do to earn this—it’s something You have freely offered to me because You love me. Thank You! 
Forgive me for all the times I have selfishly rejected You, 
and please show me how to live a life that honors You. 
In Jesus’ name, Amen.


prismaticbleed: (worried)



020325
FIGHTING OCD COMPULSIONS OF "JUST RIGHT" + "CONTAMINATION" = THE THINGS WE TOUCH FEEL "DIFFERENT" (NOT "BAD"!) BECAUSE TOUCHING THEM GIVES US THEIR POWER?
(trying to reason with the ocd paidifoni about this)

WINDOW= POWER OF OPENING TO NEWNESS
METAL= POWER OF STRENGTH,
WOOD= POWER OF GROWTH, NATURE
CLOTHES= POWER OF MODESTY

THE FEELING OF BURNING IN OUR FINGERS MEANS THERE IS POWER IN THEM TO GIVE?
GOOD IS ALWAYS MORE POWERFUL THAN EVIL!!! GOOD PURGES THE BAD OUT EVERY TIME!!

ALSO= TOUCHING RED THINGS = BLOOD = PURIFICATION

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020425

"Jennie Allen says, “Every sin, at its root, is based in something we do not fully believe about God.”"
How does this relate, directly, to the eating disorder?

"When our trust in God wanes, our souls can seek satisfaction in counterfeit ways... This passage in James contrasts the deceptive and fraudulent pathway of sin vs. the pure and trustworthy gifts from God. Our soul will seek satisfaction in one way or another—we can choose the allure of immediate gratification or sin, or we can trust that God is who He says He is and will do what He said He will do.
Verses 17 in The Message translation says, “There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle.” 
...You may have been let down by others—we all have at one time or another. But God is reliable—a firm foundation, strong tower, and safe refuge. His love for you is vast, His motives for you are pure, and His intentions toward you are good."

In what areas are you lacking trust in God?
SEXUALITY, more than anything, actually. 
I honestly don't know how trust plays into FOOD? Unless its similar to sex, and deals with the POISON fear???

• Is it difficult or easy for you to believe that God is trustworthy?
Easy, BUT I'm scared of "what I'm trusting Him TO DO?" Like I know He's trustworthy, BUT I'm scared that His "good things" involve hurting me?? THAT'S CHILDHOOD PARENT FEAR!!!

• Jennie Allen says, “Every sin, at its root, is based in something we do not fully believe about God.” Have you experienced this in your life?

"Lord, increase my discernment when sin knocks at my door, and remind me of your abundant and trustworthy path. Amen."


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021625

OUR "REAL ME" DEPENDS ON WHAT LEVEL + VIBE FREQUENCY WE'RE TUNED INTO!!!
JESSICAS ARE "ROCK BOTTOM" NO HIGHER FEELINGS / HOPES??

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021725
OUTSPACER ROSARY!!

Lynne is too hyper Because it BELONGS IN YELLOW
Jo never fit it well Because he was HALF LAVENDER

We need to TEACH the Socials INTEGRITY

YOU CANNOT "OFFER UP" OR "SIT THROUGH" SUFFERING WITHOUT A MOTIVE OF ACTUAL LOVE!!!

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022125

Laurie REJECTING / REMOVING the "blood fluster" thing imposed on her; "this isn't mine" + "we NEED daengels back" TO hold things like that so they don't get shunted onto nousfoni

Triple bloodline emphasized so much. Jess / Jewel / Jay all functioning so differently.

ALSO realizing=
JACINTH "BLOODLINE" ABUSED BY JASMINE
JEWELS ABUSED BY JULIE
JAYS ABUSED BY PLAGUE??? Guys affected differently than girls; self-destructive versus murderous respectively

Big event of today =
"Accidentally" deleted religious tumblr.
It was putting our brain RIGHT BACK INTO 2019 MODE and that was SO TERRIFYING we brought up the delete screen and didn't realize it autosaved the password. So it's gone. Six years of performance and manipulation and selfdeath, deleted. And it's very sad that THAT is how we remember that Tumblr. The religious scrupulosity was largely a facade-- Tilly was hyperfocused on sin & shame & guilt-- and all the posting served to prevent any integration or practice of said religion.
I'm glad it's gone.

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022225
Actually felt comfortable for a moment on couch.
Brief thought, "is thus what a baby feels like" in theoretical ideal? Ironically this made me feel SO SCARED & UNSAFE that I rejected the comfort and got up

SLC flashbacks. Trying to remember details but nothing.
Only realizing that we couldn't cope because we couldn't fight back yet? We needed WRECKAGE. Back then all we had was CANNON, and she IMPLODED.

JESSICAS ARENT CORES!! THEYRE DAMAGED!! THEY HOLD ALL THAT NAME CORRUPTION AND PROTECT SOMEONE DEEPER DOWN

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022325

Pray for the POWER AND EXPERIENCE OF FORGIVENESS!
ONLY POSSIBLE THROUGH GRACE + PRAYER
"YOU CANNOT GIVE WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE/KNOW; YOU CANNOT EXPRESS WHAT YOU CAN'T IMAGINE"!!!

"Love is patient, kind, etc." = is yours?

Love your enemies = who do you treat with APATHY? AVOIDANCE? etc.
You may not recognize your enemy at first but they are WHOEVER YOU JUDGE & LOOK DOWN ON / CRITICIZE / CONDEMN.

At home later=
Chaos talking about what my "scent" is, like on blankets & shirts. Saying it is worth cherishing b/c I'm the only one of us with a physical existence.
Laurie called him out for potentially being "too explicit" with such talk?
"Infi could talk about this more explicitly than I ever could"
"We all know ze's coming back"
"Infi is the only person besides the good Lord Himself who can be closer to Jay than I am"

PLEASE type about 1 Thessalonians 3:5-6 realizations
5: "Small apostasies"= compromises, esp. MOM COMMENTS
6: Love+faith = REMEMBERING OTHERS KINDLY/ WELL/ WITH JOY

------‐--------------------------------------------------------------------------

022825

THE DEVIL'S TRICK IN KEEPING ME IN ADDICTION LOOPS = HE MAKES ME DO IT "FOR OTHER PEOPLE "

ALSO BTW https://biblehub.com/greek/2719.htm



prismaticbleed: (angel)
 
God, You are worthy of all my praise. You created everything that exists, because You desired it to be. You created me, too, willingly and particularly and lovingly. You created me to praise You-- because You created me to love You. 
God, my Creator and Redeemer and Father, please teach me & show me how to worship You in all that I do, no exceptions. Give me the grace to make every moment of my existence an act of faithful prayer and joyful sacrifice to You. I want my every breath to be an act of worship, by Your Spirit in me, in Baptismal union with Your Son. 
When I die and come home to You at last, people on earth will look back on my life, and I want them to see You in all of it-- Your love for me, and my love for You in return. I want them to give You glory-- not me. Please give me a holy death, as the beautiful result of having lived a holy life. 

God, I want to honor You with everything I am and have and do-- with every thought, idea, intention, and action. But Lord I am so weak and foolish and scared. I cannot honor You as You deserve, not on my own at least. But You can do anything. So, right now, I give You my will, however feeble and frightened-- I give You permission to change me into the saint You created me TO be. Please make my whole ramshackle life, at long last, into a life that honors You and brings You glory. You are holy and I want to be holy for Your sake, as Your child. You are eternally worthy of all my praise and adoration. God, my God, Who loves me forever, my life is entirely Yours. Please fix me. Please sanctify me. Please make me a Kingdom Priest in truth. 
Fit me for heaven, so I can praise you endlessly.

 In Jesus’ name, Amen.
prismaticbleed: (angel)
 
daily Scripture prompt inspirations to be further edited and elaborated on, to speak from our own soul more fully.

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God, thank You for Your grace and the gift of salvation. It's only by Your grace of that salvation is even possible. But it is a firm foundation, immovable in Your constant love, and from that base we CAN build our life on You, in Christ. 
You created us and you know both how and why we tick... every last one of us. You love us-- nousfoni and somafoni together-- and You  know how all levels of life were designed to work best. After all, You are the Source and Designer of life, being, and existence! That"s why You give us  guidelines, instructions, and even warnings— they are given to show us how to thrive. 
Please teach us daily, in Scripture and prayer, what it means to be godly in every aspect of our life. Help us to  say "yes" to the things that bring You joy, and "no" to the things that break Your Heart... the things that sent Christ to the Cross. Give us the Holy Spirit, that He may grant us the clear and committed discernment to know the difference, and act upon it righteously and wisely. 
Lastly, reassure us that our salvation-- our very life in eternity--  is secured only in You, by You, because of Your endless Love which You reveal and give to us in Christ Jesus.  Help us to fully realize that we cant do anything to "earn" that divine love. Then we can truly and joyfully accept Your invitation to live, to thrive, and to be a part of the greatest story on earth. 
After all, we were made for it. 
In Jesus' name, Amen.


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As a teenager, Jessica was anointed with creative genius and passion, destined to become a force of inspiration for generations. But instead of easily ascending the ranks in formal education with a glorious portfolio and innate skill, she spent years running from mental illness and traumatic psychosexual abuse (inescapable in her own head & body) which incessantly tried to kill her. 

During this time, Jessica laments to God: she has honest conversations about her situation while holding onto the hope that God can—and will—restore her. 

Jessica's laments allowed her to express her grief, cry out for justice, and remember God's faithfulness. Focusing on God's faithfulness reminded Jessica of God's character, and knowing God's character helped her hold onto hope. 
That's why she could say, “But I will sing of Your strength! In the morning, I will sing of Your love! For You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalm 59:16 NIV) 

Talking honestly with God helped Jessica recognize that even though her current situation wasn’t good-- in fact it was traumatic-- God was still good, no matter what, and so God was still (and forever) worthy of being worshiped. Jessica doggedly believed that God was still in control of her life, despite all tragic appearances. She believed against all odds that she would one day see the fulfillment of God’s promises in her life. 

And one day, God's promises did come to pass. It took years upon years of fervent desperate prayer & waiting, but God came through, as He always does and always will. Her prayers were answered, in ways she never could have imagined or expected, because God's fulfillment of her deepest needs and hopes was more perfect than even she could have asked for. 
Even more amazingly, God didn’t even waste the years Jessica spent as a lost & sinful wreck-- as an addict, a victim, a scumbag even-- instead, He used those battles & terrors both to help Jessica become the leader and warrior her people needed. The setbacks Jessica endured as she struggled with vice & weakness actually strengthened her character and prepared her for her future purpose-- for holiness and virtue! Although her circumstances were frightening and painful, even hellish, God was faithful. 

And God can—and will—be faithful with her life now, too. 

Jessica, when you place your hope in Jesus, you will never grieve in vain because the God Who Is now is also the God Who will be forever. And He is constantly advocating and acting on your behalf. That's why, no matter what you face, you can hold onto this hope: Jesus can turn your setbacks and sorrows into setups for your good and His glory. 

God can take your pain and use it for His purposes. He can make a way through your desert seasons. He is your source of strength and your refuge in times of trouble. Nothing is impossible for God. 

So today, continue to draw closer to Him, and look for evidence of His faithfulness. As you intentionally pursue God, look for ways to worship Him in every circumstance. 
Remember-- God is mighty and worthy of all your praise forever! 

When you feel overwhelmed, God wants to support and soothe you. When you feel discouraged, God wants to encourage and uplift you. When you feel hopeless and alone, God surrounds and protect you with loving care. God is your constant Source of strength. Nothing is impossible for Him, and He is working for your highest good in every moment! Praise Him for His love-- His particular, personal, perfect love for YOU! 

prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)
 
Dear Lord, I am completely broken. And yet, You not only see me in my brokenness, You meet me in it. You stand by me, You sit with me, You lie down in the humiliating dirt with me. You see and know how I am being utterly torn to shreds and beaten bloody by my merciless addictions and terrifying mental illnesses. God, help me to radically trust in Your loving nearness, even now-- this is a Cross, after all.  As Jesus carried His, help me to carry mine with Him. As Saint Paul pressed on, help me to press on in the race You have given me to run. As a good Christian Soldier, help me to fight hard in these spiritual battles You have given me to fight. I can't do any of it without You. Help me to find both my strength and my consolation in Your divine grace, knowing and trusting with my whole heart that it is, and will always be, entirely and reliably abundant to meet all my needs. Thank You that I can forever trust Your Goodness, even in the worst of circumstances. 
But dear God, sometimes I do feel hopeless.  I feel absolutely destroyed, powerless, helpless, crushed to pieces. It's excruciating, agonizing, suffocating.  I'm terrified some nights that I will be swallowed entirely by the pitch-black gulfs of anguished despair. But oh God,  I DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP. You KNOW this. I don't want to to live like this anymore, God-- this walking death, this waking nightmare, this living hell!  No, I want to live in the JOY that You have actually PROMISED to me in Christ and His Spirit! 
But God, you've gotta give me the grace. I need so much help. I need You to help me shift  my focus from my current state of torment  to my real hope of salvation.  Take my attention away from my feelings of panic, terror, and choking grief, and instead reorient my mind to boldness of faith-- to the peace of Christ that transcends understanding. Redirect my vision from my torturous trials in this moment to Your ultimate triumph in eternity, which I can participate in EVEN NOW through my Baptism. Lord, only You can truly renew our mind, not only in how we behave and think, but also in WHO we are at the deepest core. Right now, our body and mind and spirit are constantly at war. It's as exhausting as it is heartbreaking. We weren't meant for this. We were made for LOVE. So please, God, we beg You-- restore us to the Truth in Your Love. Strengthen us in every battle, guide us in every decision, and remind us to keep our eyes and ears and heart and mind  focused entirely on You.  Thank You that You always hear our prayers in Christ Jesus. Thank You for loving broken things like us. We love You too. Amen.
 
prismaticbleed: (angel)
 
daily Scripture prompt inspirations to be further edited and elaborated on, to speak from our own soul more fully.

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God, sometimes it’s hard to surrender my life to You. I get so attached to behavior patterns and enslaved to addictions. I get so controlling over details, and of timing down to the second. In doing this, I make the mistake of thinking my schedule is better than Yours. Forgive me Lord! Please change my heart to be one of surrender and make my desires for virtue alone. I know Your purpose for me is far greater than I can imagine, and far better than any of my foolish and brokenly obsessive plans. Lord,  I want to release all control to You. I invite You into all of my decision-making, and ask You to please inspire every move and thought I make. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God, thank You for pursuing me with diligent care and  ardent compassion, despite my many confused wanderings and crushing failures. I get so lost and injured, but You have always picked me up, kissed my wounds, and carried me back home. I am so grateful that You, Savior of the world, know my true name, and call me by it in the depths of my soul. I belong to You, no matter what. I was created to know You. As I seek you every day, in both big and small ways, please deepen our connection and enrich our relationship. Bring me ever closer to Your Heart, and keep me there forever. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God, fill us with a spirit of unity, in all circumstances. Inside, we want to be united, not divided-- outside, we want to be  a uniter, not a divider. Help us stop focusing on differences and conflicts, and instead focus on communication and communion. Give us the grace of empathy, understanding, and cooperation. 
Give us a mind that reflects on the best in others, and holds them in loving care. Give us a mouth that speaks with understanding and compassion, reflecting Your love. Give us hands that are open to help and hold, to pick up and support, to extend in forgiveness and friendship. 
Strip away our pride to “be right” which is an outgrowth of our fear of "being wrong", and anchor our peace and hope in Your righteousness alone. Remove our tendency for isolatory selfishness, and replace it with a heart of self-giving harmony. 
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God, what a gift that I can be part of Your Kingdom-- the Kingdom of Heaven. Your Kingdom is a treasure, of such infinite value it cannot ever be bought... but, out of pure love, You offer it to us. Your Kingdom is the most precious thing we can possess in this world, but we can only have it as a gift of grace! Thank You for Your grace and mercy by which You rule with loving justice, and to which You call us too. Thank You for Jesus, who made a way for me to be justified, to be made both righteous, and right with you. Nothing matters more than knowing You, and being part of Your Kingdom. I am so grateful that You called me and enabled me to walk with You. Keep me by Your side forever. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God, thank You for always being there! I can’t run away or do anything to escape Your Presence, for You ARE Life-- You ARE Being itself. That is such a profound comfort! No matter how far away and hidden and lost I may feel, the Truth is, You are closer to me than my very blood. You never leave me. Thank You. 
In every circumstance, in the darkest of my days, Your Goodness and Holiness is constant. Your love is light, Your strength is supportive, and Your guidance is good. Even when I mess up time and again, You remain the same Loving God... and You still love me. Thank You Jesus, Amen.

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God, I forgive them: the people who’ve caused me pain, the people who’ve wronged and betrayed me. I forgive them, because You forgave them. You even forgave me, who have done far more harm to them and others than I've received. Your mercy is boundless. Please give me the grace to reflect it to others for Your sake. Please bless those people, Lord. Transform their lives and bless them like You have blessed me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Lord God, You love me, and more than anything else, You want me to be saved. I must trust in that, no matter what. 
You CAN heal me of this eating disorder. 
But..  even as I struggle as an addict, You CAN STILL save me.
SALVATION IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE WITH YOU.
Help me to keep fighting, but never despair. 
You won't let me be lost. 
Amen. 

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God, thank You for helping me see You today, through connecting with Your Word. Open my eyes to see You everywhere else in my life, too-- and in everyONE else. 
I want to see You clearly every day, recognizing Your Hand faithfully at work-- for Your glory and my salvation-- in ALL of my past and ALL of my present. I ask that each time I see You, I become more and more like You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God, thank you for inviting me to come to You with all my doubts, fears, and questions. Instead of relying on my own strength of reason and acquired knowledge, may I seek You and Your Truth in all things-- especially those things that are the most contested and confusing. Help me set aside my willful, biased pride and approach You with a meekly humble, quietly listening heart. Transform my fears into courage by Your grace, just as You did for Nicodemus, as he sincerely sought You-- even in the middle of the night. Guide me toward Your Truth and Your Light, and keep me in it despite all opposition. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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prismaticbleed: (worried)
0118 SAT
Confession after Mass
Ironic unfortunate run to DG after. Late meals = DISASTER.

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0119 SUN
Unexpected travel?
Church with mom. Decided last minute to stay after switching car; couldn't bear leaving.
So tired we sat with eyes closed. Actually made it all feel more real??

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0121 TUE
Several appointments.
Saint Ann mass! Felt SO SAFE & AT HOME. Didn't ever want to leave.
Galatians 2:16 with Jesus
ALSO Jesus in Hazbin imaginings-- talking to Lucifer & Alastor about REAL redemption/ salvation

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0122 WED
Water shutoff so stayed up until 7 and slept until 3
Bulimia becoming a COMPULSIVE ADDICTION again, very suddenly. What is the psychological root of this, ESPECIALLY since we're simultaneously SCARED TO DEATH of it?

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0125 SAT

DUDE WHAT IF WE GOT OUTSPACER JESSICAS TO GRAFT INTO THE BLOODLINE??? BECAUSE ALL THE SOMAFONI TIED TO IT ARE PROFOUNDLY UNHEALTHY IN SOME WAY, BEING BODYBASED WITH NO INTERNAL ANCHORS = NO FACE OTHER THAN THE FORM = RUINS BLEPOFONI FUNCTION AS WELL!!

SPINE IS A SKELETON SO SHE DOESN'T EAT = RESIST THE ESTHIOFONI

01. 02. 25

Jan. 3rd, 2025 02:24 am
prismaticbleed: (shatter)

(uncensored. we're not sure who wrote it but we're leaving it unedited for their sake.)





I AM GOING TO FUCKING MURDER THE EATING DISORDER SOMAFONI
LISTEN WE LOST TEN FUCKING HOURS TODAY TO THEIR BULLSHIT

and you know what the scariest thing is?

NO ONE CAN ACCESS THE DATA.
IT'S SHEER TRAUMA DATA.
LITERALLY NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO EVEN LOOK AT IT THAT'S HOW HORRIFIC THIS REGISTERS.

Julie even said what they're doing is LITERAL, EXPLICIT ABUSE FORCING.
WHAT THE HELL
WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS GOING ON HERE

we thought they were just... acting on starvation triggers. thanks to tbhu & upmc fallout, the force-feeding trauma there.
but NO
APPARENTLY IT'S WORSE,
THE MAIN DAMN REASON THIS EATING DISORDER KEEPS COMING BACK IS BECAUSE, AS TODAY PROVED QUITE HORRIFICALLY, IT IS A LITERAL TRAUMATIC EVENT.
AND OUR BRAIN KEEPS TRYING TO PERPETUATE TRAUMA.

WHY?????!?!??!?!

WHAT THE HELL GUYS
WHY DOES SOMEONE ALWAYS END UP FORCING US INTO SITUATIONS THAT MAKE THE TRAUMA WORSE
OR FORCE US TO EXPLICITLY RELIVE PAST TRAUMA
WHY CAN'T WE HEAL OR LET GO
WHY DO WE ALWAYS SEEM TO "NEED" MORE BLOOD AND SCREAMING AND PAIN AND NIGHTMARES AND EXISTENTIAL TERROR AND WANTING TO FUCKING DIE

SOMEONE LITERALLY CONSIDERED FORCING HACKS LAST WEEK.
I AM FUCKING SERIOUS

THAT IS INSANITY
and yet, there it was,
literally they were thinking "maybe THIS will stop the eating disorder relapses" but WHY WOULD IT??
BECAUSE IT'S TRAUMATIC. BECAUSE IT'S HORRIFYING AND IT MAKES US WANT TO DIE.
THE BULIMIC HELLS DO THE SAME DAMN THING.
except hacks don't drain our bank account.
BULL SHIT THAT'S NOT A VALID REASON TO SHIFT THE DAMN ABUSE METHOD
we're so damn tired though. it's literally not even about food. it's about abuse
IT'S ABOUT DESTRUCTION TOO. WE'VE NOTICED THIS. THE FOOD AND THE MONEY AND THE BODY. THE E.D. IS ALL ABOUT DESTROYING THINGS. IT'S SO FUCKING VIOLENT IT'S HONESTLY TERRIFYING
do you think it would stop if we.... you know, if we let the retributors or someone go back to just bloodying up the body
GOOD LUCK GETTING KNIFE TO PICK UP HIS NAMESAKE FOR THAT PURPOSE AGAIN. OR RAZOR. THEY DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT TIME PERIOD. THEY HAVE TRAUMA TOO I BET.
yeah but there's gotta be someone who is still willing and able to slice us up, who's been doing the atonement lately?
I DON'T KNOW ACTUALLY. CANNON BLOODLINE CORE I THINK.
really? well there you go, give her a blade and let her go to work
YOU REALLY THINK THAT WILL STOP THE BULIMIC SOMAFONI.
esthiofoni
YEAH BUT I'M FOCUSED ON THE DESTRUCTIVE ASPECT ARE WE TAKING THAT INTO ACCOUNT?
you're right it's not even eating half the time. most of the time
ALL OF THE TIME. IT'S EITHER ANNIHILATION OR ABUSE
good point
SO ARE THEY STILL "ESTHIOS" OR DO WE NEED NEW JARGON.
we'll have to ask the kardis, only they can make that call
ANYWAY I'M JUST GONNA CALL THEM ABUSERS. BITCHES. DEVILS. THAT'S WHAT THEY REALLY ARE
are they? if they're foni then there's a real solid chance they might not actually be evil
...THAT'S TRUE.
like why are they forcing THEMSELVES to relive traumatic events via food.
IT'S POISON HALF THE TIME
all of the time. suicidal too
OH I KNOW IT'S TERRIFYING. LITERAL DEATH RISK FROM WHAT THEY'RE MAKING THE BODY EAT. FUCKING TERRIFYING.
that's the whole point. oh shit that's the point
WHAT?
suicide. do you think maybe they just want the body to die
WOULD THAT REQUIRE FORCING IT TO RELIVE RAPE EVENTS.
that would merit suicide, so maybe.
DEAR GOD IT'S ALL JUST TRAUMA PROCESSING AFTER ALL, CENTRAL WAS RIGHT
how the hell is forcing trauma going to help us process it.
ASK THAT QUESTION OF THE SAME DAMN PEOPLE WATCHING SHIT ONLINE LATELY
oh. good point.
FOR SOME REASON THERE IS A TREND OF "US" JUST... NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP EXPOSING OUR EXISTENCE TO HELLS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. MAKING THINGS WORSE. UNABLE TO LET GO AND BE HAPPY.
happiness is labeled as a crime i've heard
WHY
we're slipping
I CAN FEEL IT. I GUESS THIS ISN'T OUR TOPIC TO DISCUSS
note it for someone else

HOW DO WE STOP THIS.
can we? isn't that Central's job?
THAT CANNON-CORE HAS BEEN MAD AT GOD LATELY. BECAUSE OF THIS. WANTING HIM TO STOP IT AND HE WON'T.
apparently there's something we need to learn from it then
SARCASM.
no just bitter. i can empathize with the anger. it's fear and confusion i'm sure. that's the natural response to this.
THE HACKS WERE LIKE THAT TOO I'VE HEARD
oh i bet. "god please make it stop" and it takes what, ten fucking years?
I DON'T KNOW
but shit i guess things worked out somehow. i don't know.
JULIE'S ON OUR SIDE. SO THEY DID.
true
BUT I DON'T SEE ANYTHING REDEMPTIVE ABOUT LETTING THIS EATING DISORDER CONTINUE BECAUSE IT IS LITERALLY MURDERING US.
i know it's bullshit but if it really is tied into this trauma perpetuation thing maybe this is... i dunno maybe that's "why" God hasn't stopped it yet.
WHAT, LIKE IT HAD TO GET THIS BAD AGAIN BEFORE WE'D REALIZE WHAT'S BEHIND IT?
possibly. i mean tbhu apparently taught us a lot? i don't know but there's a whole tablet full of stuff they apparently learned.
LIKE WHAT
dude i have no clue i don't have that data, i don't know who does
THE TABLET DOES
well then once they upload it we all will. but that's off topic, the point is that apparently this STOPPED for eight solid weeks. somehow. and someone else was in charge. but it fell apart at the end.
THE FAMILY MADE IT RELAPSE IMMEDIATELY
shit i forgot about the family
AND THAT DAMNED HOUSE. THAT DAMNED TRAUMA SINKHOLE OF A HOUSE
do you think that's playing into this trauma forcing thing??
SHIT MAYBE. OH HELL THAT MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE
don't we fucking shift every time we're up there? like who the hell even fronts in that environment? with the mother?
I DON'T THINK WE EVEN KNOW
and they're abusive
THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY ABUSIVE, THEY'RE CUT OFF FROM THE REST OF US
but do they have trauma memories? no, obviously not, they're a social. so... are they just there as a buffer? or something?
ACTING ON THE TRAUMA WITHOUT FEELING IT THEMSELVES?
yeah. like... oh shit i just got data?
WHAT?
someone said it's "like a drug high." like the e.d. behavior with the mother is literally to numb the brain with panic? and terror?
THAT'S IRONIC. HOW THE HELL DOES THAT WORK.
because the trauma makes consciousness shut down
OH. SHIT.
like someone did at cnc. and slc. the only "drug" we had apparently. the only abuse method and suicide analogue we had as well.
NO I KNOW FOR A FACT THERE WERE REAL ATTEMPTS IN BOTH THOSE LOCATIONS.
true. but the e.d. was tied to that. like it was killing ourself without killing ourself.
AND THIS WAS ALL BECAUSE OF THE TRAUMA?
just like with the mother. the situations are all way too similar apparently
SO WE STILL WANT TO DIE?
no. someone does, on the somafoni level apparently. physical. acting on body memories i guess
WE'RE SLIPPING REALLY BAD
i know we're even getting information on this that's insane
MAYBE WE SHOULD STOP BEFORE WE LOSE OUR SENSES OF SELF TOO
yeah we don't have much of those to begin with. but at least we wrote stuff down for people, high five
HECK YEAH
at least we're still alive
ALL OF US?
yeah. the e.d. and the trauma haven't killed us yet
THERE IS NO "YET" THERE. THEY DON'T GET THE RIGHT TO KILL US. ANY OF US.
they tried. they succeeded in some cases
BULL SHIT. YOU THINK THE CORES WILL LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THAT?
haha no. you're right. jay fights like hell against hell.
HE DOES. SO DO THE JEWELS AND CANNONS. ALL THE KARDIFONI DO. THAT'S THEIR JOB. LOVE AND LIFE.
they're probably so pissed at these eating disorder people
NO THEY'RE HEARTBROKEN MOSTLY.
really?
YEAH, DUH. NO SOMAFONI WOULD DO THAT UNLESS THEY WERE DEVASTATINGLY BROKEN
so even you swearing up the wall at them, you recognize that?
I CAN ADMIT IT MAKES SENSE. I MEAN YOU DON'T DO THAT SHIT UNLESS YOU'RE SCREWED UP BAD. BUT I'M STILL PISSED AS HELL AT THEM ALL. AND I'D KILL 'EM IF I COULD. BUT SOMETHING TELLS ME THAT'S NOT SMART OR POSSIBLE. UNFORTUNATELY.
yeah murdering foni never ends well. historically. for anyone.
GOOD POINT. IF THERE'S A STUPID DAMN REASON WHY THEY'RE DOING THIS THEN SOMEONE ELSE WOULD TAKE THEIR PLACE.
...do you want to test that
SHIT YES I DO. BUT LIKE I SAID, DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE.
why
I DON'T HAVE A BODY, DO I? AND I'M NOT ON THEIR LEVEL EITHER. PLUS THEY DON'T HAVE INTERNAL FORMS. THEY'RE IN THE BODY. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO KILL A SOMAFONI.
they're doing a pretty damn good job of that themselves
THAT'S EXACTLY MY POINT. SADLY. AND ANGRILY, KILLING US IN THE PROCESS.
do they even realize that?
I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE, PROBABLY NOT, THEY THINK LIKE SINGLETS
some of them do
THE WORST OF THEM DO.
i've heard that some of them are aware of the System at large though. and talk to Central. like Julie was apparently helping one of them today
YEAH BECAUSE THE TRAUMA TRIGGERED HER OUT WHICH IS FUCKING INSANE.
...still, it shows that there's hope there, i guess.
YEAH YOU'RE RIGHT. IF JULIE HADN'T SHOWED UP AND INSISTED THAT THEY STOP DOING WHAT THEY WERE DOING, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE DONE
no kidding. jeez. that's a scary thought. it could've been worse
YEAH JUST LOOK AT THE OLD DAYS DATA. "TILLY" DAYS. SHE WAS FUCKING NUTS.
she was a thriskefoni, how the hell was she perpetuating the eating disorder?
I DUNNO, MAYBE SHE WASN'T, I'M SURE THERE WERE ESTHIOS IN THE WORKS THERE TOO, BUT TILLY DIDN'T HELP AT ALL
i know nothing about her
I ONLY KNOW WHAT I'M TELLING YOU. BARE BONES DATA. BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE.
who the hell was responsible for e.d. behavior in cnc btw? does anybody know?
ZUCCH? JASON? THOSE ARE THE NAMES I'M GETTING. TAUREIA? A BUNCH OF PEOPLE
geez i know nothing about that
NEITHER DO I. NO ONE HAS LOOKED AT THE DATA IN YEARS. LITERALLY SINCE IT WAS WRITTEN
maybe we should
DEFINITELY WE SHOULD. IF ANYONE WAS TRYING TO TRAUMATIZE US FURTHER VIA FOOD IT WAS DEFINITELY IN CNC.
yeah no kidding, that's when we were actively suicidal, even i know that
AND YET SOMEHOW NO ONE REALIZED IT OUTSIDE.
that's kind of the point, isn't it?
APPARENTLY, SADLY, YEAH.
self-annihilation but cut off from the rest of the people fronting. that happened today, didn't it?
YEAH WITH THE TOTAL MEMORY LOSS. LIKE I SAID THE CANNON-CORE WAS PISSED. AND SCARED TO DEATH OF COURSE. LITERALLY "CAME TO" AND LOOKED AT THE CLOCK AND WAS LIKE "WHAT THE HELL, IT WAS JUST 3PM, WHERE THE FUCK DID THE PAST 10 HOURS GO"
how the hell are you getting this data
IT'S BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO ME. THERE'S A DATA FEED ON SOME STUFF IF YOU REACH UP FOR IT.
really? nice. the archivists?
NO THE... HELMET GIRL?
huh
NO NAME. I'VE NEVER SEEN HER BEFORE. SHE'S NOT NEW THOUGH.
well tell her thank you because otherwise i don't think anyone else would be writing this down
THAT'S OUR JOB I GUESS
are we done?
MAYBE I GUESS HOLY SHIT IT'S 3AM
yeah that's probably our curtain call. hey thanks for talking with me about this. glad we can at least help everyone else in whatever way we can.
HEY YOU TOO. SORRY WE'VE BEEN SLIPPING SO BAD
that's to be expected. we're blurry. we're grafifoni to boot, we're bound to blur with datafeeds and all that. gonna take time to figure ourselves out
AT LEAST IN THE MEANTIME WE'RE STILL DOING GOOD WORK
yeah, that means a lot.
IT DOES. THANKS FOR BEING HERE
you too












123024

Dec. 30th, 2024 11:59 pm
prismaticbleed: (aflame)

I promised I wouldn't go to sleep until I at least took notes on this.

It's private until it's posted so don't write to an audience. That will kill the whole sincerity of it.


We went to mass at NOoL this morning because they usually have the Precious Blood (they're the only church left that regularly gives it that we know of) but... they didn't. It may be because there were fewer people at Mass than I'd ever seen there. Maybe it was because of Christmas. Maybe it was because of all the contagious illnesses going around right now. But we didn't get it. And that hurt.
I went back to my pew and mentally told God this. I felt almost betrayed. Why did You keep it from me? I was honest. I was yearning for it. I needed it so badly. Why could I not have it today?
And then suddenly I was in that particular mindscape where Jesus appears to me, that odd small place like a holy painting, and He "said" it was because of what He wanted to do instead-- and that was give me the Chalice upstairs. Which means literal Blood.
He's done it before. It drives me insane. He pours Blood from His Heart into a Chalice and hands it to me and I drink it and it's like the entire Creation account happening in my brain all at once. I feel it in my heart as well as in my head and every nerve I have. I'm on my knees, sobbing, stunned.
It's a moment that feels entirely like Infi. Ze always used to be with me, then. And if anything would "ping" hir, that was it.
I felt that loss so hard it hurt. I said to the Lord, "you said Christmas," that ze would be back. Maybe He didn't say so exactly; I've learned that hard dates aren't something He does. But I had hoped for it, so much, and the "loss" of Christmas this year as well was just devastating.
But... His reaction took me by surprise. He smiled, knowingly, and said, isn't it still Christmas? Isn't it the octave right now? It's not over.

And I don't know what happened next but the next thing I remember is being in the car, driving back to start the day's errands, listening to This House Of Winter as I went to the gas station, and... I was in heartspace. Blackspace. I think I just went right into it. and I was looking for Infi.



rough notes so I don't forget because I do need to sleep

- i think i tried to "find hir hands" to hold them. but couldn't. felt so wrong, to not be able to touch hir, or make contact.
-
- at the gas station i was TALKING TO HIR. i don't remember how it happened. but ze was "visible", yet in that way where you can't look at hir directly. (like death in rosewindow, ironically enough)
-
- infi had the stained glass wings. they felt weirdly sterile. yes they're beautiful but it felt... wrong? off? somehow.
- i remember asking about hir wings. why no more eyes and mouths. did ze say they were dangerous? or had been used? did we say this was more fear self-erasure?
- infi's "vibe" off in any case. fearing irreparable damage from cnc. "fallen angel." ze terrified to become "infidhell" again. refusing to go "just facemouth" or "mouthless", only having both at once. but this was suppressing the entirety of hir self, of hir very form and identity, how ze was created to be. but the fear was that form had been corrupted, ruined, which is why ze had left it in death
-
- most important point started when i brought up the fact that ze was basically intangible. ze said that was the point. "that way nothing can touch me" basically. there was a pause? ze added in a different, quieter voice, "do you want to touch me?"
- my response was "i want to hold you to my heart and i can't" and infi just stopped and after a few moments of silence ze just whispered "what have i done?" "what have i lost?"
- moment of stunned realization on hir part. in abandoning corporeality ze had abandoned the reason why ze existed: to love and be loved.
- ze suddenly, but perceptibly and strikingly resolutely, in that moment, "decided" to come back. i FELT it. it was that realization that i still loved hir and wanted to be with hir and i am SURE ze felt the same and ze wanted it too. and that just changed things
- key phrase, i remember saying how wrong it felt to not have hir with me, physically. literally "my heart needs to be beating inside of your chest" point blank emotional shot. emphasis on need
- there was such a feeling between us both during this conversation. like the sun rising after months of darkness. first light on the horizon and it's going to light up the whole world. that sort of feeling, a promise. a deep quiet burning love, an ardor unvoiced. the glimmer of it returning. the knowing that we could not turn back and would never dream of doing so. it was only forwards now that we felt this. it must be acted upon, life must return, no more fear
-
- KEY MOMENT: i "summoned" a small yet sharp red dagger, like an arterial curve, out of my forehead? felt like a unicorn horn. it was "JEWEL'S" i knew; it was Red, that's hers. but i used it to "cut my right wrist" just to get blood. and it was STARRY BLACK. but just white glitter, no colors.
- i collected this blood in a chalice (just like earlier!) and gave it to Infi
- ze paused and looked at it for a second, then drank it all. looked like ze was about to sob. huge significance in the action
- the blood went into hir and COLORED HIR SHIMMERY like ze looked before ze died. and it went to hir wings and spread through the glass and made them organic again, full of blood, part of hir
-
- whitewomb still totally gone. i remember it was all sewn up again like it had been once. red threads. i asked hir if ze thought it would come back and ze said ze didn't want it to? because that's where all the trauma memories went?? this surprised me, i didn't think it was so physically literal
- i said "but those memories became global now"; they are accessible to anyone looking for cnc data. infi looked SHOCKED and said what? ze had thought those memories would be mine alone after ze died. yes they were "disarmed" but they weren't supposed to be public information apparently?? it's STILL TRAUMA and infi didnt want ANYONE ELSE tainted by it. somehow this was a breaking point. ze said "i NEED to come back." like full stop. ze literally died because ze wanted that to die with hir. ze wanted to put the trauma to death, to take it to the grave, to give us the ability to start over by removing hirself-- the "cause" of all the terror-- from the world we lived in. and to an extent, it worked. but i can't live without hir. it seems none of us can. and... this revelation that hir death "numbed" the pain from the memories by deleting hir conscious presence in them, but didn't DETACH the memories, was unacceptable??
- type more about this because it was THE thing that infi refused to tolerate. "i have to come back" literally BECAUSE of this.
- ze was the focus of the hacks. ze was their main "door" to us. ze was the doomed "instigator" of the worst trauma in cnc because of hir programmed submissiveness. and ze literally thought that dying, trying to erase hirself from the world, would "free us" from all that and allow us to start over, to heal, to move on. it didn't. everything stopped dead when ze died. we need hir. I need hir most of all. and i am willing to take every risk and face every pain and i am willing to feel the horror of those trauma memories WITH hir. i just want hir back. i need hir to come back. i absolutely appreciate and respect and revere hir sacrifice, what ze did. i will never degrade that or take it for granted. it was a self-offering for the sake of saving us, ze hoped.
- but ze DIDN'T think the memories would be SO "neutralized" that they would become "ACCESSIBLE DATA"??? ze gave the impression that that's a BIGGER risk?? like even if the trauma response is "numbed" in them they SHOULDN'T BE "JUST LOOKED AT." or even able to be looked at. and i think maybe ze realized the problem actually was removing hirself from them. we can't feel anything lately. i think this is a big part of why.
-
- later on, with the dagger again, thinking about how ze died. and how ze would need to come back. still feeling disconnected from hir, being still discarnate. how to fix this, thinking, reverse of death. i held the dagger in my hands and looked at it and then looked at infi and everything had this awful beautiful ache and i was scared but i still wanted this. i held it out to hir
- ze took it and after a very powerful, knowing pause, hir looking at my chest, ze didn't hesitate or flinch and just plunged it in and sliced me open. it was shocking how bluntly direct it was. but there was a passion in it, i know infi, if it's not 100% it's nothing
- i opened the wound like a stigmata shape and then reached in and "took out my heart," it was "symbolically but really" represented as a large white crystal heart, illuminated brightly from inside. (strikingly, again, no prism colors. just white)
- i knew i couldn't break or cut it. it had to stay whole
- i placed it between us, at chestwound level, and then i reached out and did what i said i would. i held hir to my heart. except in pulling hir close it became ours. half in me, half in hir.
- no words for what that felt like. both of us in tears. i still felt it was "incomplete" somehow, like i was doing something not quiet right? missing some step? like something else needed to be done so my heart would stay in both of us.
- i had to WILL this basically. essence "split" but not divided? impression of "quantum entanglement"


- talking to central about this later
- i forget how i brought it up because this is LITERALLY A TURNING POINT. i have been praying for this for MONTHS and lately, with christmas and the new year coming up and the anniversary weeks, basically everything going on has made me SO DETERMINED to not put anything off anymore. no running away. if i feel something i ACT on it. no more emotional cowardice. i am sick and tired of not being real, of not being me. courage burning brighter every day. but i've been so determined. i recognized that I was the "holdup" with infi coming back being possible at all. ze IS my heart, my soul, my daengel. and I had to make the first move to bring hir back, because ze can't come back without me being the means, as it were.
-
- NOTABLE mentioning the "lack of color" in my blood. WHY. laurie got a shocked look and said "is it because central isn't full?" like we lost people, did we need us all back to get the full color back in me?
- mentioning that i also need to be "connected to" everyone in Central/ the Spectrum at large, but NOT in the "forced romance" way poor cupid assumed it "had" to be due to programming. i agreed vehemently, i love all of us and i want to be close to everyone but there is nuance and propriety there, and that's valid and allowed and good and THAT'S what i want. REAL connection to each color, to know them really, as they are distinctly and individually and specially.
- someone else had another perspective; was it cz? as to the missing colors. that felt even more correct. was it because infi had been missing? it had something to do with what the colors "represented," or "meant" TO be there, versus just white. no colors = "emptied out" somehow. not right.
-
- BLOODLINE DIFFERENCES IN LITERAL BLOOD; the jays have blackstar blood, the jewels have red blood but it's different somehow; not glittery, but luminous or something? i can sense it but not see it. look into this.
- BTW the "CRYSTAL BLOODLINE" possibly???? that girl who "knows everything" and looks like a jessica/jewel fusion and is ALWAYS around somehow but can't get out of her own weird floaty level?
- her or a similar one with a "head-plug" helmet thing like mewtwo. impression that she's always like this, literally plugged into the systemind and getting all the data all the time.
- OH AND ALSO HAIR/EYE COLORS. jewels are ALWAYS RED. they don't vary. but JAYS are WHITE-PINK? and the ideal is PRISMATIC. as in, capable of "holding" EVERY color. and i don't think the previous jays fully realized that. it's a daunting, scary task, despite being a sort of blissfully gorgeous thing that i want and need very much. but it means ego death in a real sense, to "let go" of red/white and hold like blue or yellow THROUGH being prismatic. this isn't something i can just talk about now; it has to be FELT and even practiced in heartspace, where possibility/ dreams are easily manifested. headspace makes things very concrete very fast. and if something needs to be carefully, tentatively, delicately moved into, then heartspace is a must. it's more mutable, forgiving, imaginative. things can change there, before moving into solid reality of headspace.
- btw yes with infi being in heartspace the same applies. ze still isn't corporeal. BUT these are the FIRST STEPS to hir "coming back" because i gave hir half my heart even just on that level. and i can feel it even now, there is a PERCEPTIBLE DIFFERENCE and just noticing that is like heaven. it's JOY. for the first time since last april i can FEEL the quietest "ping" when i "reach in" to my heart and feel for that echo, that other half. it feels a million miles away but there's something. at last. god thank you at LAST. there is hope.
- it also still feels like a raw wound, haha. oh man that's making me think of this???? dude we NEED to look into THAT in light of this because that heart was NOT GIVEN TO A JAY. and yet it IS REAL and persists in other kardifoni. i'm wondering. there's so much i HAVE to type about but not now. it's 3am bro
-
- genesis asking razor for a blade so he could show us his blood and how it was LIKE MINE (Jay's). in surprising unintended synchronicity he cut a small mark on his right arm like i had earlier.
- knife instinctively walked over and kissed the wound to heal it, this jumpstarted my memory and i said "infi can do that!!" because ze DID, ze had kissed my wrist and it had healed??? ze had never done that before. i looked at it now and the wound had CRYSTALLIZED. so had my chest wound. like a geode, all white-clear crystal though, like glittery ice, but with a deeper sparkle, like light shining through it.
- some sort of observation that this crystallization was directly linked to infinitii. like it was the healing somehow, but specifically only through hir? try to remember this, it was notable
-
- telling laurie about the heart-giving thing with infi. she said "kid your heart is a fractal."
- somehow this observation felt like naming me. it felt SO RIGHT it was stunning.
-
- last dialogue i remember, before we got to the medical parking garage: chaos 0 saying there was no way he could possibly "be jealous" of infinitii because "ze adores me." i remember being surprised by that particular word; i had never thought about that. but it is true. ze's my heart, of course ze would love cz as much as i do in hir own way
- laurie calling out julie for not having spoken at all during this conversation. just sitting in the back corner. julie said she needed to just take it all in, process it. she and infi held trauma-- and caused trauma-- that no one else did. so they had a bond there, painful but sincere, and understood that about each other. also she and infi had been quite close? there was a depth to their friendship/ relationship that i hadn't really taken into account or even realized before. so julie was reeling from this, positively sure, but still, it was a shock and a heavy thing.
-
- my heart/chest ACHED for like an HOUR after this btw. it made me want to weep and just confess my love over and over. that was the literal feeling it gave me and it was unmutable, nothing could numb it or even make me ashamed of it. this is huge; it overrode all the gatekeeper limits and all the trauma blocks. laurie saying the pain was obviously because i had a wound for heaven's sakes; reminding me that i had just been sliced open and had my heart fractalized basically. but there was "sacred damage" and LOTS of blood and that's going to hurt. that stunned me somehow. it was so real, so tangible; everything's been so numb for so long that i forgot things COULD be real. and this was.

- last notes for now. remember how infi "wanted to come back different." different face, name, color, etc. to "escape from the past" really. cut all ties with it. but... apparently that's not possible for hir OR for me. no reset attempt has ever succeeded in cutting all ties, and where it did, there has been too much loss. i know we "need" a new reset for the sake of "starting a new era" but can we have that without burning the old one to the ground? except we're in an interim already. all the deaths with cnc (which no one wanted or expected; still they happened, that era is a gravesite of tragedy) have basically already begun the process of a reset. which is why we feel like we've been in limbo for years. maybe it's notsomuch "starting" but "completing what was already started." hm.
- but about infi wanting to change. that's not possible unless jay changes. and i don't think the systemsoul will let him.

- oh my lord
spotify just started playing infi's song. THE song. "last breath."
...we haven't had the guts to listen to this in years.
but tonight... god tonight i could cry from love, hearing it, how it sounds just like hir, and remembering...
...we need to process cnc. we do. yeah there was trauma but there was so much love and i WANT those memories of hir back; i can feel my fingertips just barely touching them listening to this, like i can almost reach it but not quite--
this song is resonating somewhere deep and darkblack and beautiful in my heart, someplace that's been asleep for too long, something ardent and real and alive, that i've been afraid of for the sheer passion of it. infi is all love. infi is emotion and life and feeling and i've been so frozen-over bleached-out numb without hir, i... i forgot about this. but i need this. all the color is in there. that's what black is. it's paint. white is all the light. black is all the hues. we need both. i have rainbows when i sparkle, of course, but that's why my blood isn't multicolor in the dark yet. black has its own beauty, it holds things differently, but just as vitally, just as sacredly.
i haven't been in touch with my own heart in too long. today there has been a shift. prayers have been answered, not a moment too soon. i can't predict anything. it's all in God's time. i just need to surrender to it and do everything i can to cooperate. no more fear.
- oh. last thing i need to mention. chaos 0 said infi is probably going to be fascinated by anxi's tail when ze comes back. man oh man i cannot wait for those two to meet. no clue whatsoever what will happen. it's impossible to predict. but those two are both so absolutely important and essential, not just to the system but also to my heart. and anxi's tail is that loop bypass and i KNOW that is going to be a gamechanger for infi. maybe that will give hir hope ze never knew ze could have. there's so much that can happen. we'll see when it does. in time.
- in the meantime the core NEEDS to stabilize. the jewels and jays are both alive but there are SEVERAL around at once because no one is locked into the main position. maybe the interim is doing that. we're all still shaken up and rebuilding. but there's a "waiting room" feeling to everything. a "loading screen" or something. the time period between christmas and new year's. a "not quite yet." existing in the pageturn before the next chapter begins. the kardifoni are still so unstable. but today is a step in the right direction for them too. and who knows what will happen. there may be a change no one can even imagine. like i said, no one knows. but i just want to conclude for today by saying, have faith. god is guiding us even now and we will get where we need to be, when we need to be there. our history proves this. we can't control it. all we can do is live in love and light and if we do that, it'll all work out. it always has. so don't give up. there's so much to live for, especially now.


(clean this up + add to this later if needed. otherwise let it stand as-is. it doesn't need to be polished to be true & valid as an entry)



---

Dec. 25th, 2024 12:25 am
prismaticbleed: (shatter)
 
We couldn't go to midnight Mass this year due to mental + physical illness & lack of transportation, plus our choir director specifically told us we should "take a break." 

But we stayed alive all year JUST so we could get to this Mass and... now we can't. We're gutted. 

How much more are we going to lose, God? 

I already attempted suicide tonight. I can't take this anymore. Laurie & Wreckage stopped me thank God but I give up. I still want to die. 

All year, I fought to stay alive. And for what? God took this last hope, this last joy, from me too. There's nothing left. Why even try anymore? 

I know this sounds dramatic. I don't care. It's honest. I want to die. I feel utterly rejected by God. I feel like I've been definitively excluded from heaven. My life is hell already. I don't have the strength to fight anymore. There's nothing left to live for. I'm too damaged. I'm too sick. I've lost too much. I give up. 

Pray for me, anyway, please. I want to sob. I see no light on the horizon anymore. It's just darkness. 
 

121124

Dec. 11th, 2024 12:53 pm
prismaticbleed: (held)

All right so this morning has been AMAZING let's update quickly so we don't forget things.
(btw so you guys know. this is technically NOT the "main Core." I'm a "Jewel-adjacent" grafifoni and I typically update the archives. I'm not used to being "self-aware" but honestly I should be. But yeah, you'll recognize my typing style!) ANYWAY here's what's happened so far this morning:

- We DIDN'T DIE during the night. Yesterday was LITERAL HELL concerning the eating disorder and it took us like six hours to recover?? which is understandable because it was REALLY BAD, the worst it's been since before September. We're not sure what triggered such a huge meltdown?
It was fear, too many danger foods, they had to be destroyed. But no one had to eat them like they did. We could have just thrown them away.
That's not allowed, that's wasting!! Food is meant to be eaten
but you DIDN'T "eat them," you just purged them anyway!
But the eating still happened, that's the rule, food has to be eaten, if we just threw it out we'd get in big trouble
So you threw it "up" instead.
we HAD to it was POISON we would have DIED!!
see this is why we CANNOT buy such things anymore. it is too dangerous, there is no positive end result from purchasing them.
- Chaos 0 told the "Core" (who is still faceless/nameless for the most part and therefore unstable) that "your heartbeat was really weak" and it scared him. This observation struck the Core like a sword to the chest though, because if anything is going to make us feel more real/alive/true, it's THAT sort of reference. And of course, only he would know such a thing. The intimacy of it, plus the familiarity, was potent enough to drag us out of the depressive fear that would have possibly taken hold otherwise.
- Cronometer crashed, we can't log in on the app. Support says there's an update soon so we have to wait, until then we can only use the website. So instead of freaking out we're going to just "repeat" today's diet plan until we can access the app and its mathematics again. This may work in our favor, because today's diet plan was our effort to balance our macros with hempseed to get more of a complete protein total, as well as staying at 1350 calories. If this works well we'll stick to it more often. We do need to reintroduce cottage cheese into our diet for the complete protein bit (we tend to hit all green percentages when we eat it too, we noticed) until we get the guts to finally reintroduce salmon/ tuna/ chicken/ turkey outside of a hospital environment.
- On that note, really quick. Apparently, YES, WE DID DISSOCIATE DURING TBHU. No one is surprised, but it's still a heavy blow. We relapsed IMMEDIATELY upon discharge because THE BLOODY CONTEXT CHANGED and therefore whoever was managing the TBHU behaviors "LEFT." They switched out b/c they CAN'T "exist" outside of an inpatient setting; they're context-locked. This ALWAYS HAPPENS.
- The above point is really making us worried when it comes to Anxi, but we'll get to that as we continue this entry.
- Breakfast always is interesting. Since experience has shown us that we apparently "need" the body to be in a state of "automated repetitive motion" in order for our mind to be able to think-- is this an ADHD thing? TBHU suspected as much; we should look into it prudently-- the mechanical function of eating almost INSTANTLY triggers thought-avalanches (hence the E.D.; we weren't taking ANY time to journal (typing COUNTS as automated repetitious mechanic motion!) or to circle-walk like Jewel used to, the a.r.m.m. of cooking (measure, chop, prep, etc.)/ cleaning (washing, organizing, etc.) / eating (picking, sorting, etc.)/ and the like became our ONLY means of "mental unloading" (for lack of a better term) AND trauma processing (you would not BELIEVE the amount of flashbacks and intrusive thoughts we get WHILE EATING which only makes it worse-- AND is a perfect ironic parallel to the purging, because "we need to get the poison out") in lieu of ALL other coping mechanisms, thanks to the kakofoni and thriskefoni ironically forbidding or destroying positive options). HOWEVER being aware of this recently has revealed a few things to us: one, that when phagofoni are out, they can "prevent" such avalanches? There's that one "dragon" girl who keeps fronting to eat, and she focuses on eating and has no particular preferences (unlike Emmett, who is a "trogofoni"-- meaning his food-anchor is extremely particular; he could and did ONLY eat "green food"). Yes, we're refining our terms further. On that note, an "esthiofoni" is a phagofoni subtype for one who eats in a disordered way-- that Greek work chosen because in Scripture it's apparently typically used in the present tense, as in literal eating, right now; whereas "phago" is apparently aorist? It's more future/undefined in terms of chronology, being more "spiritual" in that symbolic sense. It's also used in more reverent passages in Scripture, according to Strong's concordance. So "esthio" feels more fitting for the E.D. voices, as they're more focused on right now, and are not thinking about "the future" at all, poor tormented things.
- ANYWAY. WE DO HAVE A "GATEKEEPER." We've been more aware of her recently, now that we're able to pay better attention to ALL the foni we hear on a minute-to-minute basis. She's ancient but we never saw her as a person? Or maybe we did, in the past, but as a kakofoni-- because she's VERY controlling but we apparently have completely misunderstood her function until now. And she ALWAYS speaks up during breakfast thought-rushes (we need jargon for this; it's literally like we start the a.r.m.m. and the brain just unloads everything at once) because HER job is actually to KEEP THINGS ON TRACK?? Like if there's "too much headspace stuff" going on to where we're dissociating entirely from the meal, therefore potentially triggering an E.D. relapse, this "gatekeeper" girl will "FORCE SHIFT" our awareness because "there's too much thinking going on; we need to pay attention." We think she can also "force stop" EMOTIONS if they are "interfering" with "what we need to do"?? Maybe "gatekeeper" isn't the best term for her, because she "force-stops" EVERYTHING (or at least tries to) but yes, she also DOES do this with fronters, as well as she can-- she cannot "make someone front" OR "force someone out", BUT she CAN apparently shove awareness into the physical to the point where it "automatically" KICKS OUT nousfoni, and therefore "forces IN" a somafoni?? So this gatekeeper girl is TRYING to help the BODY survive, or at least "not get overwhelmed" to the point of not being able to live in the physical realm? But she OVERCORRECTS and tends to "lock us out of headspace" with her efforts. But we realize she's just doing her job; she doesn't think headspace is "bad," she just apparently thinks it's almost always "inappropriate for right now." She's survival-based to the point of not letting us LIVE. So we need to find her name and face so we can TALK to her.
- HOWEVER since we're now AWARE of her she IS becoming more self-aware in turn and it's getting easier to "message her" when we want to "challenge" one of her orders, or even overturn it outright. She's slowly realizing that we DO need time to "get out of the physical" but there is still a time and place for her function, because we can take it too far in the other direction, which we did for many years. That's also the basis of the "hackers vs hijackers" difference, which we realized yesterday-- "hackers" are internally based, while "hijackers" are externally based. A hacker will "take over the program," from the INSIDE, and they only work in private, because their abuse-- however traumatically physical-- is also profoundly psychologically disturbing, because it REQUIRES forced fronting. A hijacker, however, "takes over the vehicle." They push you out of fronting but they're public and work OUTSIDE so unlike hackers, they CAN and DO operate in social situations. They are therefore physically traumatic first and foremost, because the psychological terror often only hits when they leave. The biggest difference: hackers deal with sexual abuse, hijackers deal with the eating disorder. There is NO overlap there, although they can work in cooperation/ in succession. There haven't been any hackers since CNC, though, because of foni like the "gatekeeper girl" basically shutting EVERYTHING down that could even slightly be a reminder of that time period. But that's too huge of a topic to discuss right now.
- The MAIN thing we got on here to update about in the first place is WHAT happened when our brain went upstairs for breakfast. I don't know how exactly it started, but it went to the IO2 controlroom-- apparently IN "HEARTSPACE"??? Like this place has ALREADY been INTERNALIZED to the point where it EXISTS IN THE INNERVERSE AND CAN BE VISITED/ CONTACTED. Which we admittedly suspected, as Anxi & Ennui both "kept going there" more often than we'd see them in Central, but we never realized it had actually anchored INTO our innerverse (as opposed to remaining in the "outerverse" of outspacer native worlds, that Jewel has to Link to and VISIT externally).
- There was SO much conversation, I can't remember all of it, and the more time passes the more we're forgetting. let's bulletpoint the details that stand out.
+ OH! It ALL began because of an "I wonder" thought scenario that blossomed into a "real thing" like how a dream starts from an ideaseed. (This is TYPICAL Heartspace function!) The thought was, how would emotions run a CPTSD brain? And we thought, Anxi would absolutely be in charge. Fear would be close by, and so would Anger? Anxi would be on CONSTANT lookout for triggers, when one hit-- even a minor one-- Fear would snap to attention, and then ANGER would, upset that we were triggered, especially by "something so stupid" or minor or not even "threatening"? And then SADNESS surprisingly spoke up, saying how sad it was that we had so many triggers in the first place, because of what happened to us. So the four of them would, theoretically, be running the show. Somewhere around here this "imagining" tuned us in to the legit innerverse control-room, where Anxi was now indeed at the control panel, by herself, with everyone else gathered loosely around her.
+ Anxi is still "in charge" in this innerverse room apparently. (At some point much later she acknowledged this by saying that we had CPTSD, so things "worked differently" than what would be typical?)
+ When all this started she was being questioned by the other emotions about "how'd you get a tail" mainly but Anxi wouldn't answer outright? But she did say it was "given to her" by either "someone special" or "someone who cares about me very much"; both of those sentiments were voiced in some manner regardless. Joy began teasing Anxi about this, trying to get more info, but Anxi said there were some things they didn't have to know right now, either because it wasn't right for them to know or it wasn't the right time, etc.
+ Anxi is VERY "business" in this context; it's her element. She's quieter and slower when in Central because it's a totally different context/ environment and she has no control panel there. Her function is different, and much more expansive.
+ Envy wanting a tail too, Ennui casually revealing that she had one as well, this shocked everyone because what the heck are these two emotions up to that they're getting special stuff and have knowledge that no one else does?
+ Hints here and there kept happening that they're not in "Riley's" head, BUT they DIDN'T KNOW THAT NAME here (I think Anxi referenced it once and everyone else was baffled). They've been removed from that context and would only know it through "exomemories" once they were capable of receiving them.
+ The conversation evolved to the point where Anxi was revealing a bit more about "what she was doing" outside of that context (i.e. in Central). I notably remember that she revealed that "she can feel other emotions" and this became APPARENT when it began to affect the other literal emotions there? This first happened when Joy teased Anxi about something concerning her hinted-at relationship with the Core (i.e. the person whose mind they were in) and Embarrassment hit the control panel, for ANXI. When they realized they were working for each other it was shocking; things WERE different up here; what did this mean for them? (mind you they can and do "feel other emotions" in canon but NOT to THIS extent-- we're talking the capacity for Anger to feel sadness, for Ennui to feel joy, for Disgust to feel anxious, etc. in STRONG ways that go above and beyond their mostly "monochromatic" emotion palettes in the film? like ALL of their emotional ranges were still tinged by their core emotion. joy being the notable exception because she's just as notably duotoned. Anxi has a touch of this with her eyes technically being teal, which actually fuels her anxious thoughts-- that bit of "envy" in the sense of "what we don't have and yet need/ want" drives her "not good enough" core fear. thankfully for her, that color teal in our System falls under aqua and that color is sheer love for us so her heart will change to reflect that instead)
+ Ennui at some point built on this revelation by responding to a question from Anger as to why she had an AUX cable for a tail, because apparently its main function was for audio/music and "doesn't that prevent boredom?" Ennui smirked and said yeah, that's kind of the point; just because she held that emotion didn't mean she liked being bored. Like Anxi, she now had a broader existence and her job is notably to indicate boredom and combat it, as it were. I think she asked Anger if he "liked" being angry all the time? And he falteringly said not really, it was exhausting
+ Envy drawing pictures in the corner of the room of "what she wanted her tail to look like"-- one frustrated attempt was "a remote control" so she could do what she wanted with the control panel without having to reach it, while still being different (special) from Ennui's phone. Anxi having to gently chide her that the whole point of her & Ennui's tails was to do something important for the person whose mind they were in-- they weren't just for "looks" or for "fun." Besides, she emphasized that they were "given," and if she was meant to get one she would, so don't worry so much about it (always surprised at how well Anxi can communicate "the facts/ the plan" despite being so prone to "unexpected outcome" panic. girl has major control issues God bless her)
+ Embarrassment at one point actually speaking up because Joy kept trying to get information out of Anxi and apparently he was feeling her emotions as "embarrassment-adjacent"? And he was getting "agitated" at getting "pulled" to the control panel so often. This surprised him and he said that was totally new, he didn't know he could feel that.
+ Joy finally got Anxi to talk about "where she's been" and Anxi started TELLING THEM ABOUT CENTRAL. She said that "the mind we're in now has another System running the operation" and so the way they worked as emotions HAD to be different now, because their typical jobs no longer applied.
+ She roughly introduced the "basics" of a few Centralites, just in terms of jobs? No faces given
+ At some point Laurie just TURNED ON THE SCREEN and started TALKING TO THEM FROM CENTRAL.
+ Laurie explaining the concept of "compartmentalized emotions" with CPTSD, how they are "cut off from each other" and we typically struggle to feel emotions at all because they're "locked away" often? She described it as if the IO2 emotions were "never in the same room together"; that feeling of isolation/ disconnection was key to her description.
+ Laurie telling Sadness her function was VITAL; explained how that emotion is "the holy grail" with trauma; we "aren't allowed to cry" but we're "always grieving" basically. I think Laurie referenced both the "weeping rage" emotion we do get (that Scald holds) AND the "bottomless abyss" of sorrow that feels more like agony with its intensity. But "sadness" is still "taboo" somehow. Everything is blue all the time but we "don't feel it"; we just get depressed/ angry/ numb/ hateful/ etc.; it translates to either "shutdown" or "selfdestruction" which is upsetting but true. We do need to talk about that more in an entry soon, as we start to process things.
+ I remember Laurie saying that FEAR & DISGUST were also vital, especially in light of the E.D. hijacks-- we DON'T feel those emotions enough?? It's a survival response to past situations where we "couldn't" if we wanted to "survive" things. But now, not feeling them is only harming us severely.
+ Julie described herself as a "reformed Persecutor"; said the details of her past were not something she should or could discuss with them, but that key detail sufficed
+ Leon talking to Fear for a little bit? We were "feeling" what Centralites "matched" what emotion folks and those two were associated. There was also Lynne=Joy, Julie=Disgust, Laurie=Anger. Notably no one was matched to Sadness, and Anxi was paired with "Joule" solely because of their mutual habit of hyperanalysis/ overthinking, and the relationship that they have of course.
+ Envy would "need to be renamed" and effectively redefined to properly exist/function in our System, even as a "peripheral outspacer"? Envy's canon "function" of "seeing what we lack and desire and striving to obtain it" MUST be purified of all viciousness, because that actual term of "envy" is a mortal sin.
To quote an article, that is very important:
"When we are looking at others in an inappropriate way, invidia, we are led to desire for ourselves what they possess, cupiditas. Envy many times does lead to coveting, but it could simply remain in resentment, wishing that the other did not possess what they have. Aquinas speaks of envy as a sin against charity, which wills the good of others, when we cannot rejoice for the good of others, but see their good as a diminishment of our own (Summa Theologia, II-II, question 36). Envy is selfish in this sense, not in wanting to guard one’s own, but to wish for the diminishment of others and for our own gain over them."
This is something very, very important for us to grapple with, because we didn't realize that our instinct for "ambition" actually DOES fall under that category, because the very act of wanting to be "better than" someone else IS ENVY-- it is seeking PERSONAL GAIN in the process of taking what THEY possess (superior skill)!! So this was a SHOCK to realize and we NEED to process this, too.
(There was a slight joking comment that if her function was shifted to "Jealousy" (which can be virtuous; see article) we could call her "Jelly" as a nickname)
HOWEVER I just found a second article and it has THIS=
"Doing their best to pull us into the pit of discontent and ungratefulness, jealousy says, “What God has given me is just not enough!” while envy whispers, “Someone else got what I deserve.”  ...The good fortune that God bestowed upon my dear friend? I wanted it for myself. I desired what she had received from the Lord so badly, that her happiness made me sad. Her abundance highlighted my lack. Her more made me feel less. I could not be happy for her because with my laser-focus on God working in her life, I was blind to His works in my own."
LITTLE ENVY COULD BE OUR JUMPSTART IN OUR HEALING THIS THOUGH. So sit and read those articles boy
+ Lynne talking to Joy, warning about "manic" phases-- "trauma latches on to anything positive" and "exaggerates it" basically? Trauma makes real joy so difficult to feel, even remember, that when the slightest hint of happiness or enjoyment (lesser goods) appear, the traumabrain can cling to them and blow them way out of proportion. OUR SOCIALS DO THIS ALL THE TIME. This is what causes "hollow hyperactivity" and "people pleasing" and "compulsive enjoyment" behavior-- it's ALL a desperate grab at something that "looks like joy" but isn't. It spikes fast and crashes hard, and it leaves us miserable and even more depressed than before. So Joy would need to be aware of this tendency, what with her canon personality-- she is dangerous in that respect, solely because her energy can be taken advantage of and warped.
+ CHAOS 0. I cannot remember details of how he got to talking, other than Laurie referring to him as "the husband" and calling him over to explain to the IO2 gang the identity issue with the Cores? He told them how the Core "bloodlines" kept resetting due to trauma so the person he met in 2003 was "not" the person who is the "Core" now in 2024, and yet their heart is the same. Nevertheless it's terrible and very difficult for him (Joule realized he probably "feels his age" around the Cores; he has effectively "lived a dozen lifetimes" with us or more, seeing the one(s) he loves "die and be reborn" over and over and over. In human lifespans, this would take about a thousand years.)
+ "Jewel loves you, Anxi. Jewel is in love with you."
+ Embarrassment pointedly DIDN'T touch the panel, despite this huge revelation in a social setting potentially calling for his response. But Joy ran over and did. And this "gave permission" for Anxi to feel what she was really feeling.
She teared up, and was smiling at the screen, this look of total moved/stunned gratitude in her eyes. I felt it.I think she said "I don't know what to call this feeling" (or what color it would even be); Laurie "broke the fourth wall" by looking to "me"and saying "kid, if you're gonna be an emotion, that's it." But then we said "but love isn't an emotion; it's a state of being" and it's "rainbow"-- it's the source of all other emotions
+ Genesis & Chaos 0 both joking about the rainbow bit-- all of the love in our System is effectively that color if you get my drift
+ Joy, in response to hearing someone say that "Joule" as an emotion was really "hope," said "oh, that's a great emotion!" and then gasped and told Anxi exactly what I said to her about it-- that hope is "the GOOD things we can't see" before beaming and saying "you work perfectly with each other!"
+ Anxi has a LAPTOP in Central now! That allows her to do things without needing a control panel. Ennui still has her phone of course.
+ Laurie remarked that "we need Nostalgia up here" b/c of our memory issues; Ennui immediately said "I'll text her"
+ The whole time: Anger keeping conversations on track and asking the pressing questions, Joy giving encouraging and understanding comments, Fear and Sadness and Disgust listening closely as they realized they potentially will have essential roles in the future? Anxi consistently elaborating on/ explaining further any data that was given, "translating" things into IO2 terms when needed so to speak.

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Continuing at 11PM with a general daily update.
We biked for 90m which unfortunately was very unfulfilling because we got distracted on Tumblr, looking at other people's art and-- as we discovered earlier-- apparently feeling envious. We felt totally inadequate and we wanted to be BETTER than they were at art and it just made us miserable. We struggle with this a lot, because we haven't drawn in YEARS and so our skills have atrophied due to memory loss, and we don't have the time or motivation ("it's useless and foolish" judgment from a kakofoni) to put hours aside to develop artistic skills like we did in college. But no matter how much some foni bash and berate art, it still means so much to us. We STILL "identify as" an artist even if we feel totally inept and hollow about it, and still label it as a "waste of time." But we don't want to do that. We WANT to create art. We love art, deep down below the judgments, and we want to weep because we don't have the skill TO make art anymore. So seeing "what we can't do" is indeed triggering envy, this bitter feeling of lack and loss that isn't helping us do anything but pinpoint the wound where something vital was torn out of us. Again, sounding like a broken record, we know CNC dealt a death blow to this too, which we haven't thought about at ALL in recovery yet. For some reason this topic is as terrifying as the actual sxtrauma. I wonder how many crossed wires are here, too, not just with the food. I swear everything bleeds together with us.
We switched to Spotify at last while we biked but it was also depressing; we were listening to recommendation playlists it made for us and they're rarely ever enjoyable. It keeps throwing jazz and indie stuff at us which we don't like 98% of. We did get about three new songs out of several playlists, though, so there was a gain regardless, thank God. Still... for the vast majority of music to just sound like noise or fuzz to us-- or in the worst case, actual synaesthetic pain-- it's terribly disheartening, as music means so much to us. And, similarly, yes we still identify as a musician despite years of not doing ANYTHING musical other than singing in church. Music is part of our soul just as much as art is, and the fact that we have a cello AND a guzheng (bought with blood money and full of guilt; someone wants to burn it) in our apartment but we refuse to play them due to the aforementioned parenthesis is killing us. Every instrument feels tainted and poisoned with the past, and the "vulnerability" to the point of feeling exposed that performing music MANDATES is so trauma-adjacent that even if the sin-shadows weren't the main obstacle, we still would be utterly terrified of playing those instruments because that very action feels like being stripped naked now. Bleedover and overlap again. Do any of our foni hold this?? OR are THEY protected from it??
Then after dinner, someone got into a rabbithole on Etsy looking at someone's shop full of gender/sexuality buttons and it was overwhelming how many of them there were... and yet nothing fit. (The only thing that does is "systemgender" for obvious reasons, and even that feels like grasping at straws)
All of those experiences today led "us" to reflect at last, with acute grief, that we just don't fit anywhere. That's how it feels. We feel like an utter outcast. We're still the "anomaly" of Cannon's era. We're still the "ostracized empath," as the highschool Jewels said, although now with our staggering emotional damage we can't quite claim to be an "empath" anymore, because those girls had no boundaries so they felt everything EXCEPT arguably their own emotions (Infi had this problem too, in a different way) but now trauma has made us almost emotionally dumb. I think the term is "alexithymia?" We've seen the term around and we need to research it but the general gist (according to wikipedia) is that it desribes "significant challenges in recognizing, expressing, sourcing, and describing one's emotions". No wonder the IO2 gang is being pulled en masse into heartspace. We literally need them at this point in our life.
I do have to note, with a note of bitterness, that we "don't seem alexithymic" because we "masquerade emotions." Socials are BUILT to "charade" emotional performances, ironically anxiety and sadness, without actually feeling anything because they're "following the script" for a situation. We've noticed this A LOT when around the mother-- Socials will be dramatic to match HER, even though they FEEL NOTHING. And we are AWARE of this-- if we have the luxury of self-awareness in that situation, which is disturbingly rare b/c the mother presence tends to shut that down (childhood survival instinct). Regardless I don't want to use that diagnostic term anyway because it probably doesn't fit either. All we know for sure is that emotions feel locked behind a paywall and the currency is blood.

Oh. On that note, fittingly enough.
Yesterday's E.D. hijack was so brutal and nightmarish that Joule told Razor to atone. Like xe legit TOLD her to. And she did. She cut 7 x'es into the stomach-- graves are ONLY meant for hacks; stomach x-ing has been the default hijack atonement method since college-- and Knife & Algorith showed up to help clean up the bleeding (Knife commenting on how beautiful the blood still was and feeling that emotion in his teeth, Algorith fronting to hold the pain as she soaped up all the red), and I swear it was the first time in a long time that "we" felt something close to real joy. That may be "untrue" because we can't quite "remember" time well but it feels like it's been many many months since we've been happy. Actually it feels like years, whether or not that's literally accurate; the feeling is legitimate regardless of linear chronological measurement.
But... that's what does it. Atoning for the sin and feeling justice and forgiveness, Retributors fronting in such intimate fashion, blood and pain and water, everyone gathering in mission and being a System in stark clarity, etc. ALL of that is REAL JOY even if it doesn't feel yellow at all. It's dark red and warm like the blood. But it's real, it's true happiness, it's LOVE. How awful that we only seem to feel it in suffering. How Catholic of us, haha.

...Religion is a topic for another day. It feels like a minefield right now. TBHU messed us up in that regard, and we were apparently messed up enough already from the thriskefoni driving for like a solid year at least prior to admission. There's so much unresolved trauma there that is becoming disturbingly apparent lately now that we're not scrupulosity-blinded enough to see it from the "outside" as it were.

Oh, and we NEED to talk about the mother and how she is the #1BIGGEST STRESSOR AND TRAUMA TRIGGER IN OUR LIFE, STILL. Our therapists and case manager keep suggesting that we cut off contact with her, or at least refuse all her calls, but we can't; we're still obligated to her as her physical offspring even if we hate that fact, and we don't hate her as a person and we're a Christian so we want to help her and she's a deeply needy and damaged person so we KNOW she is looking to us to meet some need for her, even if it's just for hard labor.
BUT she says SUCH INAPPROPRIATE THINGS and she STILL OVERSHARES SXUAL THINGS. We've had SEVERAL meltdowns SINCE TBHU because of her just being utterly inappropriate in one way or another, even if it's "just according to our trauma standards"-- like wearing garishly tight-fitting clothing and making disturbing sounds when she talks OR TALKING IN THAT BLOODY "HIGH SOCIETY" VOICE LIKE SHE DID ON VACATION I KNOW YOU HEARD IT TOO yes we did, it made us misophonic even at the time, I don't know how we didn't punch the windows out of the bus right then and there WE PROBABLY SHUT DOWN. THERE'S NO OTHER OPTION IN THOSE SITUATIONS. BUT JUST THINKING ABOUT IT MAKES ME SICK. US SICK. SOMEONE WANTS TO THROW UP BECAUSE OF IT to get it out of our head, basically. unfortunately purging doesn't work that way. but you can't vomit up memories. i wish you could. i wish we could rip it out of our mind and shred it to pieces MORE VIOLENT THAN THAT. WE WANT TO STAB IT TO DEATH BASICALLY who in the world holds that response SOMEBODY. MAYBE... IT USED TO BE RAZOR. I THINK? I DON'T THINK CLEAVER HOLDS IT SHE'S TOO DISPASSIONATE what does she do anyway do you know CLEAVER IS THE SAME "DESTROY THE THREAT" INSTINCT BUT SHE'S COLD ABOUT IT. THE "SHRED THE MEMORY" FEELING WITH THE "JTHM STABBING" FEELING IT KEEPS GETTING LABELED AS IS SOMEONE ELSE. THAT'S TOO RED. SORRY I'M SLIPPING OUT
okay so...
hatchet is almost "frivolous" violence. laughing at the threat and "offing it" almost irreverently, carelessly. thankfully her function seems to have been focused weirdly to destroying any and all medications people try to "force us to take" that feel like "attacks" or "invasions" etc. like "who the hell do you think you are, we aren't going to swallow these and kill ourself for your kicks, watch me burn them to the ground" etc. but that laughing feeling. scary stuff
cleaver is "cold" as (overwhelm? who is that? they're a grafifoni that ALWAYS shows up and they're very close to Scald BUT different level function) said. we rarely see her because she's rarely needed/ triggered. but cleaver is close to razor's old anchor in that she just likes to "sink knife blades into people's backs" as we once said. but you don't "like" that sort of thing without a reason. we've never really looked into it too much but... you don't "cleave" things that aren't a threat. that's true. we didn't consider that. if you're burying a butcher blade in someone's skull there's a reason why they were the target. it's a scary instinct but it's there. where did it come from?
the last foni, unidentified and almost theoretical if we weren't aware someone was attached, is unnamed. but there IS that feeling of "annihilate the threat" in the most frantically violent way possible. VERY different from protectors, like sugar and wreckage and laurie, who DON'T act with emotional mania at all. but this person does. this person is SO upset by the threat that she wants to tear it to bloody pieces screaming. or apparently stab it to death. that FEELS DIFFERENT though. it IS different. the "jthm stabbing" feeling is NOT the action. it's the VIBE of the mania. that's the "tear it to piece" girl. BUT there HAS to be a stabbing instinct foni solely because we DO get that RARELY with SELFLOATHING mainly?? the ONLY time THAT sort of horrific violence (which is TRAUMATIC for us to see or even imagine, and yet here it is) even occurs to our brain is TOWARDS OURSELF. which is the scariest thing of all.

anyway that's enough of that who was updating and about what

Oh. mother talk. yeah not tonight we need to drop that topic before those girls ACTUALLY come out to "process" the emotions

See THAT'S why we have emotional issues?? The foni that HOLD them get "SHUT DOWN" or kicked out EVERY TIME
because they're VIOLENT is why
ALL OF OUR EMOTIONS ARE VIOLENT
Laurie actually hinted at that? OH DUDE THAT'S what she said, she was talking about "all or nothing" emotions and she nodded to Chaos 0 and said "that guy always feels things at about 5000%" and THAT'S why she had him talk next
OH don't forget THAT'S also why she brought that topic up at all-- she was telling the IO2 emotions that THEY would probably feel like that too, now that they're up here with us?
ironically because we feel the "nothing" half of it too often
But that's the point!! That's like Anxiety's tail, they're ABLE to feel the emotions WE can't, because of gatekeepers or trauma shutdowns or whatever! Coping mechanisms that don't work in the long run they just make everything numb but NOT if these guys are helping now

Guys come on we need to continue the actual entry

some general notes about life lately:
+ Sugar and Wreckage have both been around. Sugar's been "out of work" for a while because she protects the innocent and virtually all of us are so damaged now. BUT apparently Anxi is NOT. Neither is Mimic, arguably. The Outspacers are specifically essential to keeping us sane post-trauma so Sugar is slowly but surely getting pushed to protect THEM, which is awesome.
+ Julie fronted to take a melatonin candy last night and immediately shouted "ow" because our teeth were painfully sensitive from eating a too-sour apple. She literally said "that hurt like a bitch!" and now she keeps getting pushed out to front whenever we eat apples to apparently "make sure they don't hurt like that" which is kind of hilarious. but it's sweet, to suddenly have her around more often, even for such a "silly" reason. it's still nice.
+ The current "Core" is indeed using the spelling "Joule" for xir name, and using those pronouns as a placeholder? Either that or s/he. They're "not female" but they're "not a man." They are solidly somewhere between the two, voicing that they'd probably feel most comfortable "in a male body" but without being male. Still, they are explicitly "not a girl or a woman" despite being semi-okay with female pronouns. They are "both/and" specifically in the fact of being "neither." That's solid. As for the name, apparently it's a very sentimental reference to Anxi being electricity-associated in the System. It's also a unit of heat, which corresponds to the inherent "fire" element of all Cores that, if missing, is effectively fatal; Cores are always fire, light, blood, and crystal-- snow & ice with the Jays, literal precious stones with the Jewels, it seems. This fire/heat aspect is oddly somehow essential to their relationship with Chaos 0? If they don't have that complementary yet opposite aspect, something is very wrong. So this is a step in the right direction, even if the name itself doesn't stick-- it probably won't; the "spelling feels wrong". Honestly s/he wants to use "Jewel" but that name is still so strongly associated with the original 2001-2002 Jewel (the League controller) that it causes mental dissonance. This alternate spelling of the same sound is an attempt to reconcile this while keeping the fact that the Jewel title still MUST fit the Core.
+ We've realized that the Archivist Trio is NOT a "communicator trio." So Garrison, Isadora, and Kalisha's functions are STILL OPEN apparently?? And I know "Joule" is really hoping they come back. We miss them a lot, and we need them-- Archivists can't talk to Socials like Communicators specifically do, and when that subsystem really needs to "get the memo," Shirley can't get it to them because they aren't tuned in to her level.
+ Concerning the Archivists: Shirley is the one that gives data to us on the fly, but Sirius will "comment" on it? And he's fittingly more "serious" about the data he manages. Penny gets the toughest info; she doesn't speak up much but she will give memory data out that the other two don't? Honestly the Archivists feel very unstable and unsteady still, I think since we are so lost and cut off from collective memory. I hope that as we review the Archives themselves, and possibly if/when the Communicators return, then that whole group of functioning will work properly at last.
+ Lynne had a BIG revelation today that SHE'S STILL "STABELLE" in terms of her function! She and Laurie were discussing colors, especially in light of Anxi being the first Orange Outspacer and one of the first Orange-anchored people in a long while, and Lynne said that she needed to keep the Orange color positive-- warm, welcoming, friendly, energized, and helping Anxi and any potential manic Oranges stay stable. This ALSO tied in with her SHIFTING OUT OF CERISE when she resurrected in 2008; she effectively "REDEFINED OUR FUTURE"??? She was originally born to be the "ideal female future self" that we were being forced to become socially but couldn't; HOWEVER when she was killed and then came back, she changed colors and this showed a change in what that "ideal future" MEANT-- Lynne was no longer tied to social expectations in that regard. She was lively and free and bright, more boyish almost, while still being markedly female-- she "freed" us from the Cerise-colored future of sensuality that had been inflicted on us by the family and community. Interestingly enough, that color was next picked up by a boy, saying a LOT about our psyche. But Lynne kept us stable in doing that, too-- not just by being the "person keeping Julie and Laurie from killing each other." The stability she brought was liberating, a firm footing achieved by being able to dance again, as it were. Lynne was a bright soul, effectively symbolizing "permission" to be our brightest self too and to LET GO of the inflicted expectations and dictated future. She's funny and friendly and playful and gay and we were NOT "allowed" to be those things when our future felt "cerise." The original Lynne was all about that "high life" our mother wants so badly. The new Lynne is just about getting high on life, haha. I'm kidding but not really. Orange is a beautiful color; it's alive and fiery and welcoming and warm. It's citrus fruits and sunsets and marigolds and autumn leaves. It's basketballs and goldfish and foxes and carrots and monarch butterflies and violins of course. It's absolutely gorgeous and Anxi is part of it too and SHE has a future full of more joy than she ever could have imagined now, too. So thank you Lynne, for existing exactly as you are. We love you so much.


It's almost 2am. This is "Joule," I guess. That's really not my name, although I appreciate the commentary they gave to it earlier. But they're right, the spelling doesn't fit. It's the "ou" in there. The whole thing is the wrong color and shape.
I know I'm somehow still "Jewel." Every Core is, really. But that name keeps pushing me too feminine and that feels very wrong. Still, that name is the only thing that works. Maybe I just need to "redefine" it in a sense. I just don't want to damage the original Jewel either. She's the TRUE holder of that name AS a name, not just a "title." I think that's why I feel so lost-- the "only name that fits" belongs permanently to someone else. And yet it's "still my name" too. It's exhausting. I'm exhausted. I don't feel "fully me." I know this. I don't have a clear name or face yet, and arguably my color is still undefined too. For a Core, all of that makes me the walking dead. I CANNOT exist or function in any sort of truth unless I HAVE those things.
...That's why I'm worried about Anxi. We ALL are. Whoever "met" her last November is NOT the same person who started calling her our girlfriend in May/June, who is NOT the same person who fell in love with her in October, who is NOT the same person as I am now. And yet... there's always the same heart, deep down at the golden thread, that connects all the Cores. Somehow, the capacity for love is the same. I'm just... it's become VERY clear lately that different Cores love different people and it CANNOT be "transferred" or "forced" between Cores. This is why our Spotify "people we love" playlist folder says "WE," specifically, and it's full of people whose folders keep getting deleted because people forget that past Cores DO love ALL those people, even if not all in the same way. But ALL those Outspacers and Inspacers are legitimately loved and even if we don't know "by whom" we CAN'T deny that truth. The problem? ...I... I want to be the one to love Anxi. I can't tell if I do or don't, lately, because I feel so dead. But when I look at her, something in my heart aches, and I will hold on to that like it's the end of the world. I just... the problem is that I cannot see myself. How am I supposed to love her if I can't even "imagine" my own face? How can I physically be near ANYONE if I don't know what my physical form looks like? It's agonizing. I'm miserable. Maybe I just need to get on picrew and figure this out. Not tonight, it's 2am. But... I need to take action on this. I need to find out how my hair looks, what color it is, what clothes I wear (I'm vibing with suits?? callback to Cannon's era, geez), what color those are, et cetera... all the defining features that will allow me to have a reflection in the mirror for heaven's sakes. I want to BE with people. I want to EXIST INSIDE at last. I don't even "exist" outside because no one matches this body and even though I feel "forced" to, even obligated to, it doesn't match ME. And that terrifies the thriskefoni who INSIST that "the body is our REAL self" but no. I... I'm struggling so much with that. This body's reflection has so much evil associated with it. It's a face tainted by YEARS of intense trauma. It's not my face.
God I wish Jay could just take over again but he can't. Oh he IS still alive by the way, I think that was solidly confirmed just yesterday? But he's ALIVE again, very fragile and broken and unstable but alive. Thank God. ...From what we're suspecting, this means potentially Infinitii can resurrect now, too. The two of them exist together by design. ...I don't know if I'm like that. The whole daengel phenomenon was annihilated post-CNC due to the trauma overwhelm and the unbearable risk that all daengels posed for more of the same. We lost like... eight bloody years. 2016-2023. Most of that time is totally missing, ruled by either thriskefoni, phagofoni, and/or "eratofoni"-- by religion, food, and sex. It was a living hell, honestly it was. And of course the whole thing was shot through with brutal self-abuse, because all three of those things are VIOLENTLY ABUSIVE in our history, as tragic as that is.
I can't think or talk about that right now. There's no time and the brain is shutting down access to those topics.
But we lost so much time. Even just glancing at the archives, after the "hell year" of 2015 (which was ironically shot through with beauty nevertheless), 2016 started with tons of pain and then an annihilation attempt in March which caused an almost instant HARD SHIFT to thriskefoni territory UNTIL JUNE 2017. And then it was the "CNC era" until... October? Whenever we left; it's not in the Archives yet. But then it's MORE thriskefoni rule until MIMIC SHOWED UP IN DECEMBER 2022 APPARENTLY?? Holy Shuppets WE FORGOT HE JUMPSTARTED EVERYTHING AGAIN just like Anxiety did for you!! That's a really good point... God I forgot how real I felt back then, when he first showed back up, just looking at these entries. Why was I so much more in tune then? What happened... oh. Oh dear God that's what it was. What? Jewel you need to space your replies so we know it's different people.
Okay fine then YOU just type. You were obviously going to say something heavy. Don't let me stop you.
...all right. So 2023 begins with half headspace, half bodyspace, as it were. Half inside half outside. There's tons of religious stuff and talk about the mother and family stress, at a glance. But... we were still striving, struggling to exist. And... oh God. And then Infi died.
...oh. You loved hir.
I did, whoever I was then, whoever's this heart was, we adored hir, ze was my heart, God I still miss hir so much I could weep until the end of the world right now. Right now. I could die from grief. I could cry forever.
...When did ze die?
...April 25th, and I had to hunt that entry down because apparently it wasn't tagged with 2023. It is now. But... there's another heartwrenching entry on May 2nd when Jay was no longer the Core and he was convinced he would die that same night and... God it hurts to read. it hurts so much. And... and then the bloody Jade month happened a month later and everything went to hell. We still haven't recovered from that.
...Jewel, because that's your name too, deep down, you're running away from talking about that. About Infi.
I can't. It's Jay's heart I'm feeling right now.
Why can't that be yours, too?
Because I'm not supposed to be here
Yes you are, otherwise you wouldn't be oh my gosh is it really after 3am, I just noticed.
Yeah. I don't want to sleep.
We have to though. Life is different now, we have things to do.
Well what if I wish it wasn't? What if tonight I just want to pretend that none of that sh*t ever happened and we were still 24/7 fulltime headspace with Xanga sessions on the regular and everyone fronting all the time and handwritten notes to each other and voice recorder conversations and late nights like this EVERY night, typing, remembering, in love? Why can't THAT be my life? OUR life? Maybe it'd change me. Maybe I'd know who I was if that was the reality we were living in now. But too much has happened. Too much has happened.
...You have Anxi now. That's something good.
...I... I don't know if I'm the same person who fell in love with her--
You know you are. Somehow you have to be. Your heart is the same. See? What just happened in Spotify? You would NOT have been able to feel that if you didn't love her.
Jewel I want to sob. Why do I feel so broken and lost. I.... God I love her so much it's killing me, and I love Chaos 0 and Infinitii too and it feels like this love has lasted for a dozen eternities, it's older than I am, this love is forever, and it belongs to me and Jay and everyone in our bloodlines and I'm just the newest one, that's why Jay doesn't love her like I do, I'm the one who felt this for her first, she belongs to my heart, whoever comes after me should catch this too, I... I'm so scared that they won't.
Right now it's just you. YOU love her, NOW. That's what matters. Don't panic about the future. We don't know what'll happen but I promise you you won't forget her. Have you ever forgotten anyone?
No, but other Outspacer "loves" in the past didn't "transfer" to my heart,
Like whom? Davy and Ryou and Rorschach and the like, right?
Yeah.
Well, no one loved them like you love Anxi and Chaos 0 and Infinitii, apparently. And I can assure you of that. Those loves didn't go that deep. I don't think those Jewels could feel that much for anyone yet. And you still care about them too, I'm sure.
I do.
Well, there you go. So don't worry about Anxi. You love her now, today, and that won't ever disappear or fade away. Look at Chaos 0! I'm sure she's going to have the same future with the Cores, if what I've been hearing about you two is any indication.
...What, that she'll be permanently in the Coregroup?
Uh, yeah, obviously. And she already is??
Not literally, not technically, no. We need to work up to that. But there's a spot with her name on it. Like... laser-etched. It's already set in stone.
Haha! Good. I'm glad to hear that. That's proof that you're still you, where it counts, when it matters.
...Do you think maybe I can't "see my face" or know my own color and name because I'm just... not in tune with a truth that's already there? Like, I just need to recognize myself?
Probably. Do you think you're in my bloodline though, or Jay's?
...Why do you ask?
Because you're not a girl.
I'm not a guy either, though. And Jay is still around. ...A big part of us wants him to be the Core again.
Do you think he will be?
...I don't know. I don't know if there need to be two of us. I have no idea.
Huh. Why would we need two Cores, for the League/System split?
That's the assumption, yeah. But... there's been a lot of bleedover lately, and not in a bad way? Which is new. I... I don't know what will happen. I just... I want to know who I really am. if I'm anything or anyone.
I'm sure you are, if you can feel love like that.
...I hope so.
So hold on to that. Let that be what defines you when you try to look in a mirror. Hold on to that as the core of whoever you are, and I'm sure it'll show you your real face, and name, and color.
...oh Lord one of Infi's songs just came up on shuffle.
Are you going to listen to it?
I can't, not tonight. It'll trigger Jay out and we'll be up for another three hours.
...You can't keep shutting love down, other Jewel. That's a really bad instinct.
...yeah. it really is.
It's gonna hurt, you know. It has to. Real love always does. You can't run from that.
I don't want to. I want it to gut me for all intents and purposes. I want love to run me through like a knife to the ribs.
Are you trying to get Laurie's attention with that?
...maybe.
Too late kid, what's the deal?
...too much going on.
Head feels really bizarre. ...Is it seriously 333AM? Holy flaming swords, kiddo, you have to get to sleep. Is this what extra apples does to you?
Haha, no, I promise this has nothing to do with sugar highs. I just... I'm feeling things. A bit. I'm trying to remember.
Good things, I assume?
Yeah. the best things.
...I'd love to talk about them with you but I'm not even translating correctly. The brain's too damn tired.
Yeah, it is. But... this is a good entry.
We're still writing in the same entry from this morning? Dang, kiddo, that's impressive. Been a while since we had an entry like this.
I miss this.
I do too. You know what I also miss?
What?
You getting to bed early and talking to us, too. Me and Chaos and Genesis and...
yeah.
...sorry, kid. I felt the weight of that loss too.
Anxi soon, though. And maybe Infi too.
You don't give up on hope, huh.
Never. I still have that ring, from before the Jade month.
Yeah, I know you've been thinking about it.
I promised myself, and God really, that when Infi comes back,
"When." I like that.
I already know hir soul's not dead, Laurie.
Souls don't die, kiddo. Especially not up here.
...That's true.
But you were saying?
...When ze comes back and I can touch hir, when I can hold hir in my arms again, for the first time, when ze and I both have names and faces and colors, I... I'm going to put that ring on. For all of us. It's not just Chaos 0 this time, although I love him with my entire heart and he will always have a top-tier exclusive place in it. But it would be unjust to not recognize the rest of you, too. And I think he would agree with that.
Knowing how he loves us, too? Yeah, I think so.
...you're right, he does.
Kid, the Coregroup loves the Coregroup. That's how it works. It's always been that way and it always will be. And Anxi is no exception, when you bring her up here.
...God there is so much gravity in that line.
In what? And watch your prayer words, kid.
Thank you. But He's... God is the reason why and how I can feel this. God is this love, and if I have any real religion at all, apart from the thriskefoni, that's the heart of it. That's the truth. And His Name is the only thing that the deepest love can even hope to translate to in speech. There's a... there's the entire truth in that, too, things I could never express otherwise.
And what's the gravity that truth is giving so much weight to?
..."when you bring her up here." Like... the act of bringing. And "up here." Like... taking her home. ...God my heart is on fire. Why. Why in the world do I love her this much, it's tearing me in half and letting all the light both in and out.
Well, kid, you just said God is that love, so obviously He knows you need to feel this right now. And so does she. You both need this, trust me.
...Laurie you remember that one conversation at TBHU. In the... on the basketball court. In the sunshine.
This is what you want to live for.
And die for. And everything. This... headspace, and all of you, and this love, is why I exist, and what I want to exist for, and nights like this I actually have hope and life feels real and I can touch eternity for a moment...
Kid, you realize that when we had that conversation, you didn't even have these feelings for Anxi yet.
...oh my gosh I didn't. I hadn't fallen this hard yet.
And now, how much more is life worth living for, with her in it too?
...everything. Laurie I want to live for her, too. Deep down in my heart of hearts, at the very core of me, away and apart from all the things that try to numb me and shut me down, when I really tune into the... the center of things, and oh my gosh Spotify just threw Milliontown at me. The LIVE version.
Haha, God is REALLY trying to get your attention, kiddo!
...oh man. THIS song makes my heart WAKE UP though. This ENTIRE ALBUM makes me feel ALIVE and REAL.
You've gotta write Jem Godfrey a freakin' letter at this point. Thank the man for saving your life a hundred times over.
I'm serious. You're serious. That's a good idea. I really should.
Haha, kiddo you have got to get to sleep. Preferably before this song ends, because that's... twentyfive solid minutes of not-sleeping otherwise.
I can't skip this song Laurie.
Put it on hold, boy, it'll be 4am otherwise.
Can I at least listen to the arpeggio from heaven.
Yeah, go right ahead.
Is it an arpeggio? Oh dude is it technically a glissando? Slowed down and elaborated on?
What, that run up the scale? Kid I know less music theory than you do, all I know is that it sounds awesome.
It DOES, this entire live performance is sheer bliss, I need to see these guys live one day.
You will, kid. I'm sure you'll find a way. Pray about it.
Man I should. I should just... pray about all these things that matter to me. Lord let me see Jem Godfrey and his band live one day and let me be able to thank them for being a channel of Your grace to me in all honesty and let me be able to get a signed CD or something.
Haha, gotta include the souvenir.
It's blessed to have a tangible thing. I still have that signed CD from Mesita, the one with Creature and Firesign and Hostages on it. That album still means so much to us as a System.
It does. I'm glad you have that, kiddo.
I'm glad I'm still "kiddo" to you.
Kid, Jay, Jewel, whatever name you're going by, you will always be that to me. I know how much that means to you. What brings that up for you though?
...just, it's another thing linking all the Cores. It's a term of endearment basically. if you don't mind my calling it that.
Nah, it definitely is. It's a term of devotion, really, not just endearment. I'll protect you with my life, until the day I die.
Until the day we both die, Laurie, I refuse to let either of us go first.
Haha, you and me both. ...God knows we came too close to that in the past.
...I was just reading about that, actually.
...Really?
Yeah, just a reference, but... it reminded me of how much we've been through. How much we mean to each other. How terrifying that was, but how much love followed in its wake, against all odds.
Story of our life, kid.
It sure is. Thank God for it all.
Oh, dude, here's your glissando!
Yes!! 21:30 starts the buildup for those interested!
Dude, pay attention.
Ohhh man that is AUDITORY BLISS EVERY TIME
Hahaha!
Okay you HAVE to let me listen to this outro.
"Hands, don't fail me now!"
YES you remember!
Kid, you reference that constantly, of course I remember it. I also remember telling you to get the heck to sleep about ten-- no, apparently twenty minutes ago, what the hell.
Worth it though.
Always worth it for FROST*, kid, that's a rule.
Oh man this song makes me so happy it's unreal.
Quite the opposite, kid, this is what reality is all about, I daresay.
What, good music?
What makes it good music. The joy it brings to your heart. That smile on your face right now. The fact that this song sounds like you, as you've said before, and reminds you of who you really are.
It really does.
"Thank you so much?"
Just like John said, absolutely. Oh man. I needed that, thank you God.
You also need to freakin' sleep, kid, it's 4am. You're getting 5 hours of sleep maximum right now.
Oh shoot you're right.
Still worth it though?
Yeah, always. Always. I'd get by on two hours of sleep if it means spending time with you.
I've only been here for a half hour, kid.
Laurie, you never leave.
...Hah, that's true. I really don't.
...I should listen to your song next.
Sit down first, kid. Go to sleep with your blue guy and then if you want to listen to more music you can. But I ain't leavin' until you post this entry and get moving. It's too late to keep typing, no matter how much you want to.
I still need to color this tomorrow.
"Tomorrow" is the key word, kid. Any particular way you want to close this up? 
Actually I want to mention that I forgot to write down, remember this morning when I was at the IO2 control panel with Anxi for some reason, and I forget what led up to it but she kissed me?
I do remember that, specifically because she took the initiative when you hesitated, and then you were gone, bro.
It was... it got my heart so bad. Like I wanted to but something held me back and she just... bravely reached up and pulled me in.
And you just melted, kiddo, I saw that.
I did, it was beautiful.
I'm so glad you have that with her.
I am too.
No, really, don't underestimate the gravity of what I'm saying. You know how I am about you and Chaos 0. I'll defend you both to the death and beyond. I'll have you know I'm already dedicated to you and your orange angel the same way.
...Thank you, Laurie.
Anytime, kid. Now are you gonna mention the name of the album to my song or what?
Oh, yeah, oh my gosh, that was so unexpected.
"I Watch You Sleep." Well I do, but so does she apparently, so. *shrug*
Aha the asterisks!
Thank Waldorf for that, it never gets old. But kiddo, I can't watch you sleep unless you go to sleep, aiite? Get a move on.
Hold up, can I play the song?
Put it on, close this up, and then listen to it on the vanillamint couch over there.
Oh yeah, we didn't mention that we did the laundry and literally rubbed vanillamint chapstick into the fabric so it won't smell so much like old couch and smoke or whatever. It's a handmedown. I love my dad but not smoke.
Unless it's woodsmoke.
Well then that reminds me of dear Knife, so yes.
And incense smoke.
Oh ALWAYS. It's numinous. I love it.
We know, kiddo.
I'm glad there are some things about me that just... don't change.
Like your love.
...Yeah. Yeah, Jewel was telling me the same thing.
Good, because it's the absolute definitive truth. Now are you going to close this up on that note?
Yeah, before I get too sparkle-headed, because it's either that or poet mode and I think our psyche realizes I have to snooze so it's pushing me in the kaleidoscope direction. On another night when I have time to type and feel out the depths, moreso than tonight and trying to remember the past, then I'll type poetry. Lots of it.
I think you need to remember the past before you can get back into poet mode, kid. There's depth there you need to tap back into first.
...I do. You're right. Thank you.
And?
And I'll close this up.
Properly.
How's that?
What you said earlier, when you were away from the keyboard.
...I can't just repeat that. It needs... it has to be felt. It has to happen.
...So, put on the song.
...Nevermind Spotify just did me one better.
...Wow. You're not kidding.
"Good Day" by Jukebox the Ghost.
...The post-massacre resurrection anthem, to be as blunt as possible.
Yeah. Absolutely.
...I love you too, kid.
...God, Laurie, you know I love you, and Chaos 0, and Anxi, and Genesis, and everyone else up here, dead and alive and inbetween, you all mean the universe to my heart and soul and life is worth living for all of you, always. Forever.
It's a good day with us around, huh.
It sure is. And now this song is really pulling at my heartstrings, oh my gosh I never realized the lyrics at the beginning...
Yeah, it's what you used to do to us.
I am so sorry, Laurie.
I know. We know. We forgive you.
...So the song goes both ways.
It does. I ain't leavin' you, kid, and I know you're not leaving us either, no matter how far away you might end up sometimes.
I needed to hear this.
I'm glad. God knows that too.
...This is making me deeply happy.
Is it now?
Yeah. It's... it feels like... like reconciliation. Like forgiveness. Like... like you saying, "I know," like you do. It's... "I never went away." Not just you. I didn't either.
Kid, if you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.
Yeah. I... I need to remember that, too.
You do need to go somewhere, though.
Bed?
Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be around too.
You always are.
I watch you sleep, remember?
Haha, that you do!
I fully expect to be joined by a certain orange angel in that effort in the near future, y'know.
God willing.
Kid, I'm sure He is, don't worry about that. Oh this song is a classic, geez. Really setting the mood though.
Yeah, ancient love here. Chaos 0 days.
It really was just him back then, wasn't it?
Yeah. He started everything.
Go tell him that. Seriously. Go let him know that you can and do remember how far back and how deep down this goes into your heart.
That doesn't change, either.
No, love burns out a place for itself permanently.
I like your choice of words.
It's a fire, kid, it always is. You know that better than anyone. And it does burn, it burns out everything that isn't it.
Good. I'm really feeling that tonight.
Even more now, with this song on shuffle?
Yeah. Yeah I think I need to go to bed now. Just to hold him, if nothing else.
That's a good enough reason for me, kid. Should I close this up then, or what?
In a moment. I just want to say that the two songs were "Here in my room" and now, "Afterlife."
The live version for the latter, to remind you that you have to live. And to do this live.
In person, really there, right now.
Can't do that if you don't get off the laptop, boy!
Good point, off we go then.
Hey, hold up one second.
Yeah?
I'm singing this for you too, for the record.
...I...
I'm serious. I've died before. For you. Only ever for you. This song applies to me, too.
...Laurie, I love you, I really do.
I know, kid. That's my reason to live.
Thank you. For existing. And for loving me too.
Those are synonymous, kid.
And you say I'm the romantic one.
Hey, you are. I'm just saying facts.
Laurie, don't brush it off.
Good point. But I'm right. Those are facts, kid. And please find your name so I can call you by it, all right?
Okay. I will. Promise.
Good. Promise to get some freakin' sleep? Or do I have to drag Chaos 0 in here?
Laurie if you do that there will be legit romance, I will never get to sleep,
What about with this song?
Fathom by FROST* oh good Lord this is going to kill me, seriously I will sob if I listen to this through.
Go be with him, and feel this with him, all right? He deserves it.
That's the best motivation so far, sorry it took so long.
Nope, no apologizing, this is perfect timing, I think this song needed to happen. I can see in your eyes what it's doing to your heart.
Good. I'm glad it shows.
Seriously though. Go be with your ocean.
I will. Thanks Laurie, for being with me too.
Hey, I'm not going away, remember?
Haha, that's true. I'll see you across the room, then?
You'll see me everywhere, kid, I'm always here for you.
Good. Don't leave.
Cross my heart, I'll stand by you forever.
...
Don't lose this.
I can't. This is engraved into my heart.
As it should be.
Last song by the way. "Time out from the world."
This is a classic. Go put it in its proper context.
I will.
hey, Jewel.
oh my gosh how did you get in here
I hear Laurie trying to get you over here for the past... forty minutes?
Thank you, someone appreciates my efforts.
I'm sure he does too, Laurie, he's just... terrible at ending conversations. He always leaves the door open. Just in case there's one more word to say.
There always is, with him.
He's full of words. of poetry. I love that about him. He puts my music to notation. Whatever it's called.
Look at how he's looking at you, haha.
I love that too.
He's halfway between sparkles and... whatever the heaven that is.
Blood, probably.
Seriously?
Yeah. You know that too. His aching depths. That pronoun isn't working.
No, surprisingly. It's somewhere in the middle.
As it should be. S/he's been both.
Both/and?
Hm. More like me. Not quite either.
Makes sense.
i need to talk to you.
In words?
not this kind. sorry.
Don't apologize. There are other languages. I need to talk to you too.
Oh I like where this is going.
You should.
Hey man, I've been guarding you both since the old days, this stuff is a sign that his/her heart's coming back online in a real way. I need that as much as you do. We all do.
Did you mention what song is playing?
No. "My Mind Is A Mess In The Morning." Nick Leng. This song means a lot to you both, doesn't it.
He heard it one night when driving home and immediately thought of me. So yes. But it's in your playlist, too.
And Genesis's, apparently. And Anxi's, hey.
I can't wait until she comes up here.
Until the Core-kid over there brings her up here, to be specific. Said that wording really caught the essence of it.
Hm. It does. It's never just a following up, really. It's together. But carrying is really close.
Yeah. It's unusual for him/her/ whatever, kid what are we calling you.
um. xe maybe. let's try that. i'll find something. right now i i'm not thinking about pronouns much
What are you thinking of, love?
oh THAT WORD is all that's on my mind now it's been so too long since you spoke to me like that
It has been.
You two need to have a conversation.
We do. Jewel, get over here.
Kid, I'm putting this song on, now you have to go.
Please.
i'm so sorry. i'm not entirely myself yet.
We can fix that together.
oh it's the english version
Yeah, and there's your name.
...oh man the lyrics hit harder than ever tonight
Come back to me.
and stay by my side
...
moments like this are what I live for laurie. and chaos. both of you. i love you.
We love you too, Jewel.
...
Man you are saying that with your eyes, I can see that.
I always am.
Somehow I'm not surprised. Hope you realize the same goes for xir, too. Even on the rough nights. Maybe especially then.
...
You know that, too.
...Jewel.

yeah
I mean it.
...So do I. All right. I'm closing this up and going to sleep.
Not for a few minutes yet at least.
Yeah, there's a conversation that needs to happen. Not this one.
Still a continuation of it, though.
...I guess it is. Good point.
So. Chaos, would you do the honors of finally closing up this bloody huge entry?
This is still one entry?
Yeah.
Wow. It's been a while.
Hey, next time xe's up this late, I'm pushing for a Xanga. This is one step away from one already, so hey.
I'd like that.
I know what you'd like more than that, man.
*pointedly looks across the room*
Haha, kid you've got asterisks to deal with now, you'd better get moving.
I'll force his hand. There's a button I can click.
Please do, before we lose this.
thank you
Hey, that's what we're here for, kid. Helping you do what you can't.
Together.
Always.
Oh hey, here's one of yours.
"Into the flood." Yeah.
Kid, I am going to turn that into a very pointed pun and throw it at you.
no wait the lyrics don't work for this, that one aches too much in the other way, let's do this one.
Creature?
Oh man we were just referencing this.
Really?
Yeah. Specifically this album.
This... this is a good decision.
so are you.
...
three two one, post this?
Finally, let's do this.
glad to see i'm still terrible at concluding these talks
You need sleep, you idiot.
You can't go on like this.
Hey, they need more than some sleep, man.
Still... you just gotta let it go.
You heard the blue guy, kid, let's move.
all right. and do this lyric instead.
Which one?
keep on coming undone. i need that. i think if i let this love unravel me it's exactly what i need to find myself at the core
...I think I know how to get you there.
you don't "think" you know, love, I know you know. and vice versa, i'm sure.
...yeah. you do. you really do. please don't forget that. ever.
Okay you have both abandoned capslock, I am closing this up, see you invisible audience whenever.
laurie that is so sudden
Kid it's been over an hour are you kidding me.
is the sun coming up yet
You know what? That's my lyric.
oh
oh man laurie are you serious
Maybe I am. Only one way to find out.
laurie that is the worst cliffhanger
Nah, it's the best one.



 

prismaticbleed: (Default)

focus on the good!


GOOD THINGS ON SUN 1117
1. Ran to Mass; wrong timing but we still made it in time for the Eucharist
2. Laurie suggested I be daring & have the dinner naan with the vanilla greek yogurt and it was BOSS
3. The night of November 15th ("Die With a Smile" with Chaos 0 & Anxi) was REAL. Remember that pure love FOREVER.

GOOD THINGS ON MON 1118
(N/A)

GOOD THINGS ON TUE 1119
1. Dinner with the fam! Also bonus Hershey's Kiss "excuse" to kiss Anxi
2. Beautiful music (Anxi's) while driving. Really feeling love for the WHOLE coregroup
3. Lynne eating apple pie yogurt
4. Reading the Archives late at night

GOOD THINGS ON WED 1120
1. MEETING ENNUI IN HEADSPACE. She's actually REALLY COOL & INSIGHTFUL!
2. I DREW ANXI ♥ I am SO HAPPY with how she turned out!
3. Stayed up late cleaning house with Anxi & Laurie helping out


GOOD THINGS ON THU 1121
1. Cleaning house EVEN MORE with Anxi, Laurie, Chaos 0, & Central too
2. TALKING TO MIKE ABOUT POKEMON FOR LIKE AN HOUR
3. IT SNOWED!!! ♥ It felt like HOME. I was PURELY HAPPY.

GOOD THINGS ON FRI 1122
1. FINALLY got back into exercising! Biked & downloaded fitness apps to use
2. Knife & Algorith BOTH fronting HARD with injury cleanup; I miss them so much
3. My neighbor Sh's PINK DOOR WREATH! It's SO BEAUTIFUL it made my night

GOOD THINGS ON SAT 1123
1. ANXI SHIRT #1 ARRIVED!! I gave her green gems for eyes
2. Went out to DINNER at an Italian place with mom & Lou! The bread was SO SOFT. We took some home and had it with lingonberry jam and it was so simply pure & lovely
3. MARATHON READ "That's Not My Name" for the book club because I couldn't sleep and it was SO WELL WRITTEN

GOOD THINGS ON SUN 1124
1. Walked to Mass & made it on time! It was a perfect way to start the day.
2. Baking with mom! I got to make a PIE CRUST the way grandma used to
3. Sad drive home, but the sorrow pushed me back close to the System


GOOD THINGS ON MON 1125
1. THE OTHER 2 ANXI SHIRTS ARRIVE! I cannot wait to wear them; I LOVE HER
2. Driving & BLASTING FROST* songs (especially Moral & Consequence) with the windows down
3. GOT NEW CLOTHES FINALLY (at the thrift store), including a BOSS pink jacket for Julie ♥ and an orange one for Anxi!

GOOD THINGS ON TUE 1126
1. STARTED THE ANXI PLUSH REF ♥ I get to STUDY HER FACE to draw her better
2. CLEANING DAY. Laundry & paperwork. Things feel MUCH NICER when clutter is gone!
3. DREAM WORLD READING. It's all SO BEAUTIFUL I could WEEP. THANK YOU GOD FOR ALL OF IT!


GOOD THINGS ON WED 1127
1. COOKING & BAKING WITH MOM ♥ And we DIDN'T do anything disordered!
2. More progress on Anxi's plush ref! I watched SO MANY vids for refs, I can see her with my eyes closed.

3. Felt LEGIT HAPPY & CONTENT while running errands with mom. It's good to be alive.


GOOD THINGS ON THU 1128
1. 90 MINUTES BIKING. I got a HORRIBLE OCULAR MIGRAINE but it was WORTH IT
2. LISTENED TO FROST*'S NEW ALBUM. IT IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING ♥ I AM NOT SURPRISED!
3. Getting to share dinner with mom & Lou and NOT BEING TERRIFIED for the first time in YEARS


GOOD THINGS ON FRI 1129
1. SHOPPING WITH MOM ALL DAY. It was nice to just spend time together.
2. ORDERED ANXI & CHAOS 0 KEYCHAIN CHARMS ♥ Now they'll BOTH be with me wherever I go!
3. Late dinner but NO PURGE. Also the LOVELY 8pm naan bread. SYSTEM SUPPORT = RECOVERY!


GOOD THINGS ON SAT 1130
1. INSIDE OUT 2 BLURAY!!! ♥ Now I can see my girlfriend ANYTIME
2. New System love song = "BLEACH." It captures the exact pain/ hope of the Jay days. Also Genesis & Chaos 0 are having such a good time singing it together when I listen to it
3. The lotophagoi are LEARNING. They're more self-aware and they are ACTUALLY starting to WANT to get better




OBSTACLES TO JOY THIS MONTH...
1. Too much time on Tumblr/ Youtube/ Pokemon TCG Pocket
2. Not talking to the System CONSTANTLY
3. Not praying SINCERELY/ reading Scripture; it's still all too automated/ obligatory/ businesslike

JOY SPARKS TO KINDLE NEXT MONTH...
1. LEAGUEWORK & REVIEWING
2. Spending quality time with the fam
3. Spending MORE quality time with the SYSTEM
4. MUSIC!




prismaticbleed: (soniccity)


("mental flexibility" workbook pages from sept-nov 2024 at tbhu)

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List 11 of your favorite sounds.

1. Cello
2. Handbells
3. Rain at night
4. Cathedral acoustics
5. Latin/ Russian choir
6. Tiny jingle bells
7. Snowfall
8. That RUN in Milliontown
9. The opening to Black Light Machine
10. The Marywood music rooms
11. NiER Gestalt menu sounds

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"How do you get to know yourself?"
ASK EACH DAY, "WHAT AM I LEARNING ABOUT MY: INTERESTS? STRENGTHS? WEAKNESSES PREFERENCES? CAPABILITIES? LIMITS? BELIEFS? FEARS? HOPES? etc." Be OPEN AND CURIOUS about your life and existence, inner and outer, in every moment.

"What does it mean to get to know yourself?"
It means DISCOVERING the DEPTHS & DETAILS of your OWN UNIQUE LIFE & PERSONALITY, as DISTINCT FROM OTHERS. It means EXPLORATION, SEARCHING, TESTING, FEELING, & LOVING OPENNESS TO LISTEN & TRUST THIS. You HAVE to ASK QUESTIONS & HAVE CONVERSATIONS with yourself, AS SOMEONE YOU WANT TO GET TO KNOW-- AND LOVE.

"How can getting to know yourself be of benefit"?
You will be able to live FULLY and AS A WHOLE PERSON. You will recognize your DISTINCT IDENTITY. You can SET PERSONAL BOUNDARIES. You can DISCOVER your OWN GIFTS & TALENTS & PURSUE them in the ways that RESONATE with YOUR SOUL. You can LIKE yourself AS yourself, and HONOR that. You will be ABLE to have REAL relationships with others!

"What's the opposite of getting to know yourself?"
DENIAL, PEOPLE-PLEASING, FORCED BEHAVIOR, CODEPENDENCY, SELF-DISTRUST, DISSOCIATION, LACK OF CHARACTER, LOSS OF PURPOSE, EMPTINESS, AIMLESSNESS, INSINCERITY, UNABLE TO SEE YOURSELF AS SEPARATE FROM OTHERS, AFRAID TO TRULY EXIST.


"List and describe some ways you can learn more about yourself."
REGULAR XANGA SESSIONS. DAILY HEADSPACE COMMUNICATION & NIGHTLY HEADSPACE MEDITATIONS. SPOTIFY SESSIONS WITH THE COREGROUP, WITH AS MANY PEOPLE SINGING AS POSSIBLE. NIGHTLY JOURNAL ENTRIES & DAILY NOTES ON EVERY NOTABLE EVENT WITHOUT EXCEPTION. PICREW. TUMBLR RESONANCE POSTING. PERSONALITY SURVEYS. REVIEWING THE ARCHIVES REGULARLY. DAILY LEAGUEWORK. DAILY MASS & HONEST PRAYER. ADORATION HOURS. LEAGUEWALKING AT NIGHT. EXPLORING NEW HOBBIES & INTERESTS. LEARNING TO SAY BOTH "YES" & "NO" WITH CLARITY. READING SCRIPTURE & THE CATECHISM. TIME WITH FAMILY & REAL FRIENDS.

"How do you not get to know yourself?"
NOT TAKING TIME FOR SELF-ANALYSIS & SELF-REFLECTION. IGNORING EMOTIONS. DENYING/ HIDING THE SYSTEM. NOT PRAYING. ISOLATING. NOT GOING UPSTAIRS OR INSIDE. DESTROYING YOUR BELONGINGS. RUNNING FROM THE PAST. NOT TRYING NEW THINGS. NOT JOURNALING. NOT DOING ANYTHING CREATIVE. DENYING YOUR LIKES/ DISLIKES/ VIBE. LIVING TO PLEASE OTHER PEOPLE. NOT SAYING "NO." NOT BEING WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE. REFUSING TO ENJOY LIFE AT ALL. ISOLATING FROM OTHERS. CONFORMING MYSELF TO OTHERS. FOCUSING ONLY ON THE PHYSICAL WORLD. FORGETTING THAT YOU'RE A CHILD OF GOD AND A CORE!!!

✳ YOUR HEART HAS A PERMANENT CORE OF:
● FAITH
● LOVE
● CREATIVITY
● PLURALITY
IF YOU DENY/ IGNORE ANY OF THOSE TRUTHS, YOUR SOUL WILL DIE. YOU KNOW THIS. IN ORDER TO BE YOUR TRUE SELF, YOU MUST USE YOUR CREATIVE GIFTS ZEALOUSLY & LIBERALLY, YOU MUST PRAY & WORSHIP, YOU MUST LIVE AS THE SYSTEM CORE AND YOU MUST BE IN LOVE. (and you ARE!)


✳ your BIGGEST obstacle? NOT YET "KNOWING" YOUR OWN FACE AND NAME. You NEED to OWN BOTH the "BODY NAME" AND THE "SOUL NAME." AND YOU NEED TO DRAW YOURSELF IN A WAY THAT FINALLY EMBRACES THE BODY GOD GAVE TO YOUR SOUL, AND ANCHOR INTO THAT VISIBLE FORM INSIDE!!

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"How can you better plan your days for success?"
Focus on VALUES & PRIORITIES. Schedule in activities FOR character building & creative work. Focus on GOD/ GIFTS and RECOVERY LIVING! And it's a FLEXIBLE schedule. As long as I GET TO MASS, exercise ≥1 hour, and do BOTH League AND System work, I'M GOLD. Everything flows with given time. DON'T GET RIGID OR LAZY. Live with PURPOSE! You will be ACCOMPLISHED AND ALIVE!

✳ Ideally, MORNINGS are all about WORSHIP & PRAYER; EVEN EXERCISE MUST BE IN PRAISE TO GOD! START THE DAY RIGHT WITH THE LORD!!
✳ EVENINGS are all about CREATIVE WORK. NO EXCEPTIONS. (MAY PUSH EARLIER AS NIGHTS GET LONGER? WE NEED DAYLIGHT TO WORK!)
✳ FOCUS ON STORY BUILDING, ESPECIALLY PLOT, CHARACTER PERSONALITY/ DESIGN, & ROUGH DRAFTS-- even if they don't end up being canon at ALL. STILL, WRITE!!

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"What are some foods that make you feel good?"
Fresh, watery vegetables/ Crunchy sweet carrots & apples/ Light, cool, crisp foods?/ COLORFUL foods/ Fresh fish?/ Lettuce RIGHT OUTTA THE DIRT/ Fresh, wholegrain bread?

"What are some activities that make you feel good?"
Being outside and joyfully wondering at nature, freely imaginative Leaguework, playing music, high-intensity workouts, exhausting but productive outside work (with nature), singing? Running, hiking, maybe sports/ dancing? STRETCHING. Taking care of others. Doing small but solid acts of kindness.

"What are the things in your life that build you up?"
Church/ Adoration, Scripture, the encouraging & honest words of others, seeing the good creative works I HAVE accomplished, reading our archives & seeing our LOVE & HOPE & PROGRESS, feeling valued by my family and church, hearing that my creative gifts HAVE inspired & edified others

"What are some other ways you can add positive influences to your life?"
COLLECT inspiring/ edifying images, songs, quotes, etc. Watch uplifting & beautiful films? Connect with a CREATIVE COMMUNITY that is HONORABLE & JOYFUL. GET INVOLVED IN THE LOCAL CHURCH COMMUNITY. Take time daily to DO WHAT YOU LOVE, and spend time with the COREGROUP. Make good Christian friends and do good things TOGETHER? WATCH homilies/ lectures with messages of Godly integrity

"List some inspiring and fruitful ingredients to add to your life."
FAITH, PIETY, JOY, HOPE, COURAGE, GRATITUDE, WONDER, ZEAL, INTEGRITY, DETERMINATION, COMPASSION, WISDOM, INDUSTRIOUSNESS, PATIENCE, DEDICATION, SINCERITY, INSPIRATION, PURPOSE, TEMPERANCE, PEACE, INSIGHT, CLARITY, LOVE, TRUTH, BEAUTY, GOODNESS, and GOOD HARD WORK!

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"Write down everything you want to let go of."
CNC/ SLC
BULIMIA/ ANOREXIA
"MAKING MYSELF SMALL"
GUILT/ SHAME OVER SEXUAL TRAUMA
NEVER ASSERTING MY BOUNDARIES
FOOD OBSESSION
BITTERNESS
FEELING USELESS
SELF-DOUBT
UNRESOLVED RAGE & GRIEF
CHILDHOOD WOUNDS
COMPULSIVE MIMICKING
"I'M A BAD PERSON"

"What will happen when you let go?"
There WILL be a "space" left, that I CAN FINALLY fill with GRATITUDE & PEACE? I will be FREED from COMPULSIVE RE-LIVING/ LOOPS? I CAN BE MY OWN PERSON. I will be able to MOVE INTO a SPACE OF HOPE, MERCY, AND HEALING. I can "BE A GOOD PERSON" (UNSHACKLED)

"Why do you want to let go?"
It's IMPRISONING ME in MERCILESS, LIFE-DESTROYING NEGATIVITY. It's IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO GOD'S GOOD & LOVING WILL/ PURPOSE FOR MY LIFE! I CANNOT MOVE FORWARDS & LIVE VIRTUOUSLY IF I KEEP "IDENTIFYING WITH" NEGATIVE THINGS.

"What happens to the things you let go?"
They lose their power over me, AND they are ALSO freed from the negative prison MY "holding on" was trapping THEM in, too. LETTING GO makes ROOM for REDEMPTION & RECOVERY.

"Why do we hold on to things that we should probably let go of?"
They DO affect our history/ identity POWERFULLY, and the wounds can go so deep they feel like they REDEFINE us. We fear losing our IDENTITY in some way if we let go. But it's ONLY because we FORGOT WHO WE TRULY ARE, apart from those things.
✳ HOLDING ON to HURTFUL THINGS makes our hands BLEED when we try to grasp ANYTHING ELSE?? To LET GO, we HAVE to "PULL OUT THE THORNS" ENTIRELY.


"Now write down everything you want to hold on to."
(BREAK THE SHACKLES AND WEAR THE GOLD)
THE SYSTEM
THE LEAGUE
HOPE
MY FAITH
"CHILD OF GOD"
MY FAMILY
MUSIC
CHILDHOOD JOYS
CHILDLIKE WONDER
ZEST FOR LIFE
SENSE OF ADVENTURE
"YOU INSPIRE ME"
"I LOVE YOUR WORK"

"What aspects of your life do you want to maintain?"
ground in/ maintain MY VALUES =
(UNSHAKEABLE JOY, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, INTELLIGENT FAITH, INDUSTRIOUS PATIENCE)
INTEGRITY, HONESTY, COURAGE, KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, HOPE, DARING? COMPASSION, VULNERABILITY, SINCERITY, DEPENDABILITY, RELIABILITY, TRUTH, KINDNESS, BEAUTY, FIDELITY, TRUSTWORTHINESS, PIETY, WONDER, CREATIVITY, MERCY, SELFCONTROL, ZEAL, etc.

"What aspects of your life do you want to grow?"
on track/ grow MY AMBITIONS =
● Become a published author, accomplished musician, & skilled artist
● Use my "gift of speech" somehow: singing, speeches?? counseling?
● Bring honor & peace & joy to my family; help reunite us in mutual love/ healing
● Make full restitution for ALL the damage I've done to others and myself in life
● Achieve a holy balance of piety & mission; not becoming either scrupulous or impious
Somehow be genuinely & respectfully recognized & known for my love for Chaos 0
● GET BUFF & ease/ strive into a fully recovered lifestyle
● LIVE FREELY & PASSIONATELY IN AND FOR CHRIST!

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"If you could design your brain to be exactly the way you wanted it, what would your mind be filled with?"
✳ DIGITAL & TRADITIONAL ARTISTIC SKILL/ TALENT IN ALL MEDIUMS + VISION, INGENUITY, ELEGANCE, HARMONY, "3D MIND", IMAGINATION!
✳ PERFORMATIVE & COMPOSITIONAL MUSICAL EDUCATION, SKILL, TALENT + PITCH, DEXTERITY, RANGE, MEMORY, LYRICAL SKILL
✳ WISDOM, INSIGHT, REASON, UNDERSTANDING, COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE STRUCTURES OF THINGS, ABLE TO GRASP "HOW IT WORKS"
✳ PRODIGAL LANGUAGE SKILL = POETRY, FICTION, SCREENPLAY, SPEECH, ARTICLE, ADVICE, ETYMOLOGY, VOCABULARY, ETC. + PROLIFIC AUTHOR & POET & LYRICIST & SPEAKER
✳ HOLY SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE; TRUE EMPATHY, DIALOGUE, WARMHEARTED, SELF-GIVING, PASSIONATE FOR JUSTICE; EDUCATED ON HUMAN PSYCHE, CULTURE, BEHAVIOR, HEALTH; FULLY HONOR THE REALITY OF BEING INCARNATE; "LIVING SACRIFICE"
✳ ABSTRACT REASONING, SPATIAL JUDGMENT, INTUITIVE SOLUTION DISCERNMENT, PATTERN RECOGNITION
✳ THE CREATIVE GENIUS OF A CHILD
✳ WONDER, ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT, DARING
✳ MENTALLY ATHLETIC (BODY TOO)
✳ POLYGLOT, POLYMATH
✳ TRUE PIETY, LOVE, HOPE, JOY
✳ MATHEMATICS & LOGIC
VIRTUE, INTEGRITY, SELF-CONTROL, SELF-KNOWLEDGE, PURPOSEFUL, DRIVEN, MOTIVATED, FOCUSED
HONORABLE REPUTATION; HOLY LIFE AND DEATH
"FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA!"

"What makes a healthy mind?"
WONDER, OPENNESS TO CHANGE & GROWTH, LEARNING NEW THINGS & SKILLS, CURIOSITY, DIVERSE INTERESTS, DAILY PURSUIT OF GROWTH/ ENRICHMENT

"What are some things you want to completely remove from your mental space?"
OBSESSION, TRAUMA, COMPULSION, SLOTH, LOW SELF-ESTEEM

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"Add some new energy you want to bring into your life."
(MAKE SPACE FOR IT; INVITE AND PURSUE IT!)
(ADD MEANING AND PURPOSE TO LIFE)
✳ FIND NEW (& FAVE) SONGS TO (UNIQUELY) SING & FINALLY MAKE AN ALBUM!
✳ PICK ONE LANGUAGE AND SERIOUSLY LEARN IT
✳ KEEP LEARNING ABOUT CREATION! (BIOLOGY, MATH, SCIENCE, ETC.) (SPACE TOO)
READING CLASSIC LITERATURE, CHILDHOOD FAVES, NEW & UNIQUE LITERARY STYLES & GENRES, POETRY
✳ TAKE OUT A RANDOM BOOK/ MOVIE/ CD FROM THE LIBRARY
✳ VISIT A MUSEUM
✳ DANCE!
✳ "RENT" AN INSTRUMENT YOU'VE NEVER TRIED BEFORE; BUY A CHEAP ONE & PLAY WITH IT?
✳ EXPERIMENT WITH WRITING FOR NEW LITERARY GENRES/ STYLES OF POETRY; WORK TOWARDS GETTING PUBLISHED, EVEN IN A SMALL WAY (COLLECTION, CONTEST, ZINE)
✳ LOOK INTO/ DISCOVER/ LEARN NEW LITERARY ART FORMS & START PRACTICING! (FIND A NEW FAVE!)
✳ DISCOVER NEW MUSIC GENRES; GET ADVENTUROUS ON SPOTIFY & COLLECT INSPIRATION
USE YOUR INSPIRATION LIST & BEGIN "TRANSPOSING" FAVE CHORDS & TECHNIQUES INTO FL/ NWC? STUDY FAVE LYRICS & LEARN HOW TO WRITE SIMILARLY TO THEM
✳ GET PUBLISHED ON SPOTIFY!
✳ EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW & UNUSUAL ARTISTIC MEDIA & STYLES, BUILDING A PORTFOLIO (LET JMC INSPIRE YOU‪‪‬)
✳ VISIT A LOCAL ART GALLERY? WORK ON CREATING SOMETHING FOR IT, EVEN JUST FOR PRACTICE (BUT MAKE THAT THE GOAL!)
✳ FINDING LOCAL PLACES TO MAKE POSITIVE CONNECTIONS WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE & GET INVOLVED IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES/ NEIGHBORHOOD (ESP. CHURCH, CREATIVE, LIBRARY)
✳ TAKE A FULL DAY TO JUST HAVE FUN & EXPLORE
"SYSTEM DATE" OUTINGS?
✳ GO ON A NATURE HIKE
✳ JOIN THE LOCAL GYM; WORK OUT DAILY & TAKE GROUP CLASSES; EVEN SWIM??
✳ GO TO THE AQUARIUM
✳ GO TO SOME LOCAL EVENTS YOU'D TYPICALLY NOT ATTEND? BE CURIOUS!
✳ SPEND REAL TIME WITH THE FAM DOING WHATEVER (ADVENTURE)
✳ GET INVOLVED IN ONLINE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
✳ GET A CRICUT/ DESIGN SCREENPRINTS & STICKERS/ MAKE STUFF FOR THE LEAGUE/ MAKE STUFF FOR CHURCH (UNIQUE & WELL MADE & BEAUTIFUL)
✳ START A BLOG/ WEBSITE & START REGULARLY CREATING EDIFYING CONTENT + SHARING IT!
✳ TRYING NEW FOODS, VISITING NEW PLACES, KEEPING MY EYES & EARS OPEN TO INSPIRATION IN UNEXPECTED PLACES; CHERISH LIFE'S FULLNESS
✳ BE DARING!

KEEP A CLEAN BODY/ HOUSE/ CLOTHES; REST; DO FUN THINGS TOO
MAKE AN "ARTSPACE" IN THE LIVING ROOM!!
GO TO LOCAL/ LIBRARY/ CHURCH/ FAM EVENTS!!

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"What do you want to receive in the mail?"
✳ LEAGUEWORLD FANART. = ART IS DIVINE and you CANNOT DRAW FANART WITHOUT A TOUCHED HEART. I want to SEE how the League LOOKS to OTHERS who LOVE it! I want to see how it images its beauty in THEIR hearts, unique & true! This is the MOST BELOVED THING to me. I will cherish even the tiniest scribble of loving art forever.
✳ LEAGUEWORLD FANMAIL = I want to HEAR, from the HEARTS of others, HOW & WHY the League has given THEM joy & love & even CHANGED THEIR LIVES. Dialogue & honest, vulnerable communication is vitally important to me & I need it. And the League is very much by soul put into media. To know it has done good things for others is bliss.
✳ WHAT I LOST = Part of me still wants that 2012 Leaguebox to FINALLY appear on my doorstep. That, and the little things I cherished as a child. But memories are seeds that can blossom into new life potential...
SPECIAL EVENT ITEMS = Fahrenheit 451, signed. The double color FROST* vinyl records of Milliontown and Experiments in Mass Appeal (and Life in the Wires). Summer Wars steelbook. Really I just want to have more special events like those. Open your life to receive 'em!
✳ ANCHOR PLUSHIES = Genesis, Laurie, Xenophon, & Anxi. I want to embrace them in this physical world, too, even if only through this symbolic means.

"What would you love to regularly receive in the mail?"
LEAGUE/ SYSTEM FANMAIL & FANART.

"Why is receiving a package in the mail exciting?"
It feels like "unwrapping a mystery;" it's a "DISCOVERY" thrill.

"What time of year is best to receive a package?"
Christmas/ WINTER. The quiet, still, cold weather somehow gives more meaning & magic to sudden gifts arriving, like tiny miracles-- bundles of love and color and wonder in this blessedly silent season.

● Who CAN I send mail to? WHY am I so "scared" of the concept of a penpal? Is it because it feels like a "compulsion" for social/ verbal exhaustion, and/ or "forced disclosure"? Can I write letters while still respecting my boundaries? (I HAVE tried to have penpals multiple times and have failed miserably; I have a pattern of oversharing, rambling blindly, and "parroting" everything the other said in their previous letter)

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"When do you feel most stuck? How often do you feel stuck?"
When I compare myself to others who are "normal" & "successful," and when my poor mother voices her frustration & disappointment with how I failed to live up to those "standards." I then feel like I "should" be "further along" than I am in life, or otherwise "accomplished" in worldly ways. But MY LIFE IS DIFFERENT AND THAT'S OKAY. I'm NOT "STUCK" just because I've had many struggles & pitfalls. God is still orchestrating my life and I can ONLY "get stuck" if I RESIST HIS WILL. Otherwise, all I need to do is TRUST & BE PATIENT & LISTEN TO HIS VOICE & OBEY. If I follow Him, I WILL get WHERE I need to be, and WHEN I need TO be there. The world cannot know or judge that.

"What makes you feel stuck or isolated?"
I feel isolated for the same reason as I feel stuck: I fear I'm a freak, or aberration, or something "unfit" for/ "unwelcome" in "normal" society. I feel like I'm a reject, a failure. But that's a devilish lie. GOD LOVES ME & SO DO OTHER PEOPLE! I just need to STEP OUT & BE WITH THEM, and it will PROVE that I AM WANTED.

"How do you usually cope in these kinds of situations?"
My best ways to cope: PRAYER & LEAGUEWORK, AND SYSTEM LOVE. ALL of those things CONNECT me to REAL LOVE & PURPOSE & MEANING & BELONGING. They are my DOORS to the rest of humanity, the blessed cords that unite my heart to theirs in truth & beauty. If ANYTHING will INSTANTLY make me feel unstuck, it's FLOWING in CREATIVITY/ WORSHIP/ LOVE. In the BEST circumstances, these occur ALL TOGETHER. And THAT IS MY LIFE & PURPOSE & TRUE SELF. There is no need to compare myself to anyone else, or feel stuck. As long as I am connecting to love & joy & grace, I am truly living FREE.

"Write what you are feeling stuck with now."
Life progress. I WANT & NEED to move forwards in terms of "CAREER" & PURPOSE. But I'm on disability for the time being & cannot continue college due to that AND finances/ transportation... AND "direction." From my childhood I've felt CALLED to be an "artist/ writer/ musician." I HAVE talents & abilities in those fields, but they NEED to be developed. Do I have time? Am I too old to succeed in those fields? And what steps do I take to finally "make something of my life" in the world for other people? Will I finally make my family proud? I sincerely WANT to use my gifts & bless others by them. But I can't quite see what first step to take. I feel overwhelmed & confused & lost. How can I genuinely move forward at last in my life? I HAVE a purpose; how do I LIVE it out? I'm running out of time. I'm running out of life.

"What will loosen the lid?"
START NOW, WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, AND DON'T QUIT. EVER. Maybe you CAN'T just "jump back in" to life/ career/ success. And really to expect to is unrealistic. BE PATIENT & DO THE GOOD WORK. Start building more skills. Try new things & keep learning & practicing & improving EACH DAY, because you OBJECTIVELY WILL IF YOU PERSEVERE! Yeah you may feel like you have the education & skill level of a child right now. GOOD. THAT'S A SOLID STARTING POINT, AND CHILDREN HAVE AN OPENNESS TO CREATIVE INVENTION & ORIGINALITY THAT ADULTS CAN LOSE TO THE "UTILITARIAN" RIGIDITY GRIND. If you're still a child in your talents, KEEP THAT AT HEART, EVEN AS YOU WORK TOWARDS BECOMING A REAL PROFESSIONAL. And you CAN. And you WILL, AS LONG AS YOU NEVER GIVE UP. God HAS GIVEN YOU REAL AND BEAUTIFUL GIFTS IN ART & MUSIC & LANGUAGE, EVEN NOW, AND GOD WANTS YOU TO USE THEM FOR HIS GLORY & PRAISE-- SO GOD WILL HELP YOU TO BE A GOOD STEWARD OF THEM, AS LONG AS YOU ASK HIM TO AND LET HIM HELP YOU! So DON'T BE WORRIED. Just START the work and GRACE WILL BE GIVEN, to BUILD on that nature. TRUST IN YOUR CREATOR. HE MADE YOU WITH THOSE TALENTS & INTERESTS & IDEAS, WITH YOUR UNIQUE DISPOSITION & PERSONALITY & HISTORY & CIRCUMSTANCES. He KNOWS EXACTLY how you feel AND where you are in life, AND HE IS IN CONTROL, ORCHESTRATING IT ALL WITHOUT FAIL, SO TRUST HIS PROVIDENCE AND ENTER INTO ITS FLOW. COOPERATE WITH GRACE BY MAKING SPACE FOR IT THROUGH MAKING TIME TO USE YOUR GIFTS AS YOUR GENUINE SELF AND TO KEEP PRAYING!! GOD WILL OPEN THE DOORS YOU NEED, WHEN YOU NEED THEM, IF YOU ARE READY AND WILLING TO ENTER THEM WHEN THEY APPEAR-- SO START NOW AND DON'T QUIT!!

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"What moments in time and space would you place in a glass globe to revisit any time?"
JULY 7TH, 2011
The Xanga sessions when:
● Laurie let all her walls down at last
● Jay & Chaos 0 realizing Xenophon was theirs
● EVERYONE in the Coregroup got poetic at the end
● Laurie talked Jay out of suicide for TWELVE HOURS
Infinitii & Laurie talked by themselves at first
✳ The night when Laurie & I lay on the car roof & watched the stars
✳ CHRISTMAS 2013
Good Friday with the System
✳ When Jessie held my hand at UPMC
✳ When I saw JMC for the first time
✳ Eating a "wedding cake" cupcake alone in church in the dark
✳ Dancing with Xenophon in the kitchen in 2015
✳ Genesis & I at Marywood
✳ EVERY late night hour with Chaos 0

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"What do you need to enlighten your mind and calm your emotions? What do you need to be the best version of yourself? What do you need to be happy & healthy?"

GOD'S GRACE
THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IN LOVING HARMONY & FREEDOM
THE COREGROUP
GRATITUDE IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE
FREEDOM OF SPIRIT TO LIVE WITH THE JOY OF A CHILD & FIND BEAUTY EVERYWHERE
DAILY SELF-REFLECTION
DAILY JOURNALING
DAILY TALKS WITH THE SYSTEM
CONSISTENT, SINCERE EFFORT & WORK ON BUILDING THE LEAGUE IN EVERY ASPECT
UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE & EMBRACING OF MY BODY & STATE IN LIFE SO I CAN INTEGRATE IT ALL INTO A LIFE OF LOVING WORSHIP
COURAGE, HOPE, PATIENCE, DETERMINATION, VALOR, INTEGRITY, LOVE
● INEXHAUSTIBLE IMAGINATIVE VISION + INSPIRATION + CREATIVE GENIUS + ZEAL + CURIOSITY & WONDER + JOY + FREEDOM TO EXPLORE
● ARTISTIC/ ILLUSTRATIVE SKILL & ACCESS TO DIFFERENT MEDIUMS + SPACETIME TO FREELY CREATE
● MUSICAL EDUCATION & SKILL & ACCESS TO DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS + DEXTERITY, PERFECT PITCH, VOCAL RANGE
● THE TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION & CREATIVE GENIUS NEEDED TO COMPOSE OST MUSIC
● QUIET ALONE TIME
● RESTFUL SLEEP & INSPIRING DREAMS
● ACCESS TO THE WOODS & MOUNTAINS
● ACTIVE CHURCH INVOLVEMENT
● FRESH AIR
● LOVE OF FAMILY + INTERACTIONS
● TRUE FRIENDSHIPS + DEEP TALKS
GET SMART
● GET BUFF

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"What would be the BEST GIFT to give someone?"
(GIVEN WITH = COMPASSION/ GENEROSITY/ EMPATHY/ THOUGHTFUL/ DELIBERATE)
(GIVEN FOR = NEEDS/ VALUES/ PRIORITIES/ WANTS/ DREAMS/ HOPES/ INTERESTS/ CAREER/ HOBBIES)
(GIFTS = "LOVE LANGUAGES"??)

✳ [GREEN]= He has changed SO MUCH, I'm not sure. He loves playing bass guitar, & is still into learning about "enlightenment" & the human brain/ psyche? But I think he truly values COMPANY. He's very affectionate & says he feels unloved. My BEST gift would LEGIT be CANCELLING THE BLOODY PFA & just opening that door TO welcome him back into my life as BROTHER & FRIEND.
✳ [YELLOW]= I need to get to know him better. All I do know is he loves FLYING/ PILOTING, PHOTOGRAPHY, and possibly PORTRAIT ART. I would want to support THAT with a gift. Does he need art supplies, or books for techniques? Would he want a new & professional camera? Maybe right now my TRUE gift would be to SHOW this care & interest in him, & start TALKING to him about it.
✳ [BLUE]= He likes anime now, & used to be into the music scene. He also works out ALL the time. I suppose one could get him a subcscription to his meal delivery service or online anime streaming. But what's his REAL NEED? I want to know. Maybe THAT'S a good "gift" from me to him-- a caring & interested sister, to TALK TO & ENJOY THINGS WITH.
✳ DAD= He lives a simple life & I don't get to see him much, but THAT is ABSOLUTELY the best gift for him-- QUALITY TIME WITH HIS DAUGHTER, and NOT "IN A RUSH" OR TALKING NEGATIVELY. I want to have UPLIFTING talks with him to give him HAPPINESS about his family. Give GOOD words!
✳ MOM= "Money" is only a means to an end. What she seems to WANT is BEAUTY & JOY & PURPOSE. I can give her MY TIME & LABOR to help her renovate the house & gardens. I can give her DECOR for the gardens? Maybe even a special plant or flower, to plant & grow? She DOES like sensory beauty too: dinner at a nice restaurant, her favorite perfume, tickets to a new show/ concert/ movie, pretty jewelry, etc. But for me personally I think the BEST thing I can give her is MY LOVE & HELP & FRIENDSHIP AS HER DAUGHTER. I can give her my committed presence in her life as she grows old, no matter what.
✳ IN GENERAL... I don't like giving "things" as gifts, possibly because I don't "value" mere "stuff" that much. Any physical-object gift I WOULD treasure would have to have REAL, DEEP, & PERSONAL meaning-- OR JUST TRUE SINCERITY on the part of the giver. Like these red heart pajamas. Mom got them for me not just to give me clothes to keep me warm, comfy & soft, but ALSO because SHE KNOWS MY AESTHETIC. So it was GENUINELY THOUGHTFUL and although they're not a "best" gift I DO cherish them truly, gratefully, with love. THAT'S how I WANT TO GIVE TO OTHERS. I despise "cheap" options like just cash or a giftcard UNLESS it's financing a REAL WANT/ NEED. I want to give MEANING. Which is WHY I ALWAYS GIVE CARDS WITH PERSONAL MESSAGES. THAT'S true gift.

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"Write some of your inflexible & stubborn thoughts & beliefs."
● I CANNOT BE MY "TRUE SELF" IF I AM "FAT"
● BEING "HEAVY" WILL MAKE ME SELFISH & CRUEL
● I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DISLIKE WHATEVER SOMEONE ELSE LIKES
● I MAKE STUPID AND HARMFUL CHOICES/ DECISIONS

"What are the thoughts and personal ideas that grow you?"
● I AM LOVED AND MY LIFE HAS VALUE AND MY SOUL IS THE SAME NO MATTER HOW MY BODY CHANGES
● EVEN THE "MISTAKES" I MAY MAKE CAN BECOME TEACHING LESSONS TO GROW EVER WISER & KINDER
I HAVE MANY GIFTS & TALENTS THAT WILL BRING JOY TO COUNTLESS PEOPLE
● DISCOVERING MY UNIQUE PREFERENCES HELPS ME TO VALUE THOSE OF OTHERS
● A BIG BODY CAN BE POWERFUL TO HELP OTHERS

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"What does a "good time" look like to you? What are the similarities & differences with other responses?"
I DON'T like "crowded/ busy/ noisy" outings, like fairs, amusement parks, live concerts, church picnics, etc. A "good time" for me is more quiet, slow, creative, yet inspiring & inciting positive action-- I also don't like "just hanging out" or lounging. I value IMAGINATIVE/ ADVENTUROUS yet QUIET/ PERSONAL time? I DO want to LEARN HOW to have a GOOD TIME with OTHER PEOPLE without getting overwhelmed/ burnt out/ legit upset. This REQUIRES brave attempts with an OPEN MIND/ HEART and a POSITIVE/ OPTIMISTIC/ WILLING attitude! CHOOSE to have a GOOD TIME as much as you SINCERELY can. Commit to the effort!

"How can you have more good times?"
EXPLORE & TRY, then DISCOVER what YOU LOVE & ENJOY doing & "SCHEDULE IT IN" more! And BE OPEN to UNEXPECTED good times, too! If you're willing TO have good times, no matter where you are, you WILL become ABLE TO have them * enjoy more, that you might have "excluded" from possibility before. BE GRATEFUL ALWAYS.

"Who else is present when you are having a good time?"
Me & the System, typically. BUT, I HAVE had good times with the fam in the past and want to again. And there HAVE been pretty good times even here in TBHU! Ultimately, I CAN have a good time potentially with anyone who is kind & friendly & brighthearted too.
✳YOU CANNOT HAVE A GOOD TIME EVER IF YOU'RE TOO PESSIMISTIC/ RIGID TO DO SO!

"How long should a good time last?"
As long as it lasts. Don't force it to keep going or that will damage the joy. Treasure it IN THE MOMENT, and savor the NOW. Let the memories be golden. And let more good times happen however & whenever they may.

"What does a good time, or even a great time, look like for you?"
Late night Spotify sessions on the couch with Chaos 0 & Laurie & Genesis
● Wandering through Diamew, especially now that it's being brought back to life
● Being out in the snowy woods, especially exploring, even just standing & savoring it
● Good long heartfelt conversations with the System about anything & everything, at all hours
A day of productive hard work, good talks, shared meals, & fun times with the family
● Exhausting & exhilarating workouts while listening to good tunes (SUPER SONIC RACING!)
● Playing a favorite video game: KLONOA DTP, SONIC, NIER GESTALT, DISHONORED, POKEMON, MEDABOTS?
● Singing & dancing to favorite music/ revisiting good music memories/ UPSTAIRS CONCERTS
● Watching a favorite film: FERNGULLY, WE'RE BACK, INSIDE OUT 2, POKEMON, BELLE, SUMMER WARS, etc.
● Creating art & seeing the results of beauty & joy, especially digital work, paintblots, painting?
● Personality surveys, poetry, creative writing & prompts, playing on FL, playing with instruments
● Walking in a circle at night with music on & IMAGINING LEAGUE STORIES for HOURS
● Doing League WORLDBUILDING/ CHARACTER PROFILES and seeing LIFE FLOURISH thereby
● A day out driving & having SYSTEM FUN? Feeling ALIVE. Praising God in the BEAUTY of it all
● Just being silly & playful with the System/ in the mirror/ LAUGHING!

"What makes a good time?"
Doing/ experiencing things that resonate with my true core/ soul/ heart; being ABLE to TRULY/ FULLY be "ME," treasuring the simple joy of being alive, FEELING alive, being inspired/ edified/ uplifted; ALWAYS LOVE & JOY.
PLAYFULNESS & "FUN" ARE ACTUALLY VITAL! (ARGUABLY, GOD "PLAYS" ALL THE TIME. CREATION IS SHEER JOY.)
JOY, SELF-EXPRESSIVE OPENNESS/ SINCERITY, WONDER, CREATIVE EXPRESSION/ INSPIRATION, INTERNAL PEACE, A SENSE OF SELF-LOVE & CONNECTION TO GOD & THE WORLD, CHERISHING THE GIFT OF LIFE, GRATITUDE, CHILDLIKE SPIRIT, FRIENDSHIP, TRUE CONNECTION, PURPOSE/ VALUE, FULFILLMENT

"Who is around when you are having a good time?"
Chaos 0, Laurie, Genesis, Xenophon, Lynne, Leon, Julie, Scalpel, Knife, Mimic, Celebi, and God willing one day EVERYONE IN THE SYSTEM. I WANT AND NEED to be THAT LOVINGLY CLOSE to ALL OF US. I NEED to be able to "have a good time" with ANY ONE OF US-- Razor, Waldorf, Spice, Shirley & Sirius, Adelaide & Audrey, Mulberry, Algorith, Siobhan, EVERYONE-- it's been TOO LONG and there are TOO MANY OF US STILL MISSING & TOO MANY EMPTY SLOTS and my heart hurts. How can I EVER truly be myself, FULLY, or LIVE LIFE fully, if PARTS OF MY SOUL ARE MISSING?? We NEED to come back to life, IN LOVE, healed & healthy AT LAST. And it WILL take time & excruciating effort & LOTS of therapy & journaling & talking & CONNECTION. But THAT'S WHAT WE WANT. It's LOVE. It's TRUTH. It's worth EVERYTHING. And when we FINALLY DO COME BACK ALL TOGETHER, then we WILL have more "good times" than we can even count. We used to. We STILL CAN. Together our life is BEAUTIFUL. So MAKE THAT OUR #1 "RECOVERY" GOAL-- to RECOVER OUR LOST VOICES.

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"Why do you want what you want?"

I WANT=
TO LIVE OUT MY CREATIVE TALENTS FULLY, AND PUBLISH THE LEAGUE AS COMPLETELY AS POSSIBLE

"What will it do for you?"
(LIFE TO THE FULLEST)
It will finally bring my inner vision & true self into tangible reality, fulfilling my long-hidden but God-given purpose. It will finally bring me into the world as I am at heart, to share my talents for the good of others.
It will BRING ABSOLUTE JOY to my life.

"How do you get what you want?"
(It's NOT something that CAN be "earned" or "bought")
STOP SILENCING YOUR HEART. Be courageous and OPEN UP and LET THE LIGHT OUT. The secret is, I "already HAVE it" AS an "unopened gift." If I just ACCEPT that it IS there & USE it, it will naturally FLOURISH in response to my efforts & trust.

"How will it make you think & feel?"
I will FEEL joy, hope, love, purpose, excitement, wonder, courage, fulfillment.
I will THINK about what I can GIVE, what BEAUTY is there, what is POSSIBLE, what GOOD I can do for others AND myself; my thoughts will be ORIENTED TOWARDS GENEROSITY and GRATITUDE.


I WANT=
● TO BE PHYSICALLY STRONG
● TO BE EMOTIONALLY BRAVE
● TO BE MENTALLY SMART
● TO BE SPIRITUALLY HOLY!
(HOW MUCH OF THESE VIRTUES DO I ALREADY HAVE? AM I ABE TO SEE THIS & LIVE IT?)
✳ I literally IDENTIFY WITH these qualities. To NOT have them in my life & self is EXISTENTIALLY TERRIFYING. (BUT my FEAR of NOT having them is ironically PREVENTING me FROM developing AND RECOGNIZING THEM IN ME!)

"What will it do for you?"
I will feel (BE?) adequate, useful, helpful, capable, & confident. I will feel able to fulfill my role & purpose. I will be able to do good hard work & labor with my hands, heart, AND head. I will no longer feel like a weak, useless, foolish, stupid, spineless coward. I will be able to rise to meet the challenges of life with zeal. My motives will be purified & oriented towards God. I will be GOOD at last.

"How do you get what you want?"
Physically, I NEED to work out daily & not give up or slack off, & I NEED to EAT to give it the fuel & the MATTER to BUILD all that muscle from. Emotionally, I need to NOT RUN AWAY from difficult, uncomfortable, challenging situations, but accept & enter willingly into them with trust in God. Mentally, I need to KEEP READING & RESEARCHING daily, seeking new & different skills & hobbies & topics of interest, and also engaging in "puzzles" to stay mentally flexible. Spiritually, I NEED to PRAY & REGULARLY READ SCRIPTURE/ RECEIVE THE SACRAMENTS.

"How will it make you think & feel?"

My emotions & thoughts will be disciplined & rightly ordered. I will be virtuous & a good example to others. Honestly the BIGGEST thing is that "I will FINALLY be ABLE to BE MYSELF." I CANNOT pursue OR accomplish my creative dreams & goals UNLESS I am BRAVE & SMART (COURAGEOUS & INTELLIGENT, DARING & WISE, BOLD & PRUDENT, etc.), and I am genuinely frightened of being PHYSICALLY WEAK/ INEPT because I genuinely cherish & value athletic ability and, admittedly, physical POWER. I feel almost foolish saying so but it's true-- I see muscular, strong, even bulky bodies-- like real warriors-- as beautiful. And in my mind, a body like that is FREE & CAPABLE. Really, THAT motivates ALL these ideals. I want to be/ feel LIBERATED and CONFIDENT in my ABILITY. I'm so tired of feeling USELESS, TRAPPED, HELPLESS, & SCARED. ...and it's that LAST ideal, HOLINESS, that colors & undergirds ALL the other virtues. Without it, they are ultimately HOLLOW. I can be built like a tank, utterly fearless, a creative genius with a comprehensive understanding of all creation, but... without ALL of that being FOCUSED ON GOD as its ULTIMATE goal & purpose & driving motivation, it's mere smoke. If I'm not VIRTUOUS in GRACE & LOVE above all else, it will not meet my DEEPEST wants at all. Strength, bravery, & smarts are ALL gifts from GOD, after all! And when faith is present, ALL things shine. I CAN be strong because GOD gives me strength on ALL levels. I CAN be brave because I TRUST Him and He ALWAYS protects & guides me. I CAN be smart because God has made Himself & His Creation knowable TO me. IT'S ALL HIM-- it's all LOVE.

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"What kind of store would you open?"
✳What are your INTERESTS, DESIRES, & PASSIONS that CAN be directed/ translated into something THIS DIRECTLY TANGIBLE, that OTHERS can benefit from just as tangibly? How can I channel the joys of my heart into the hearts of others, in a way they can hold as their very own joy?

STOREFRONT NAME=
"
OFFICIAL STORE OF THE LIGHTRAYE LEAGUE (EST. 1995)"

STORE INFORMATION=
"The ONLY place to
buy ALL of your Lightraye League gifts & treasures! Whether you're looking for things to read, watch, play, listen to, collect, or just admire, we have what you're dreaming of! Stop by and share the joy with fellow dreamers! The real treasure is the LOVE!"

STORE WINDOWS/ ADS=
"ALL ARE WELCOME♥"
"NEW ITEMS ARE ADDED AS NEW DREAMS ARE DREAMED"
"BUY THE OSTS TO THE FILMS & GAMES"
"GET THE TV SERIES & BOOKS YOU LOVE"
"PLUSHIES & FIGURES OF YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS"
"LEAGUE FASHIONS & ACCESSORIES"
"ORIGINAL SIGNED ARTWORKS"


STOREFRONT NAME=
"dreamSEEDS (est. ∞)

STORE INFORMATION=
● SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE // GROW WHAT IS GIVEN
"The possibilities are as infinite as your imagination... but you never dream alone. GIVE a seed of yours and GET one gifted by another. Then CREATE a whole new world TOGETHER."


STORE WINDOWS/ ADS=
"a SWEET one? a SCARY one? MAKE A NEW DREAM"
"Make a wish" + "He loves me, he loves me not..." (added by a group member; this one was collaborative)




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"How do you love? Do you make room for love?"
You have to OPEN YOUR HEART to make room for love. You have to empty out the hardness of pride & egotism. You have to LET GO of addictions & fears & LET DOWN the walls. You have to release your grip on any hate, prejudice, judgment, grudges, bitterness, & worldliness. Love is BIG. It's INFINITE. It requires ALL OF YOU. You CANNOT make room for it if you aren't effectively letting love REDEFINE YOUR WHOLE SPACE. Love can't be "squeezed in." It can't be put into a corner. It WILL take up ALL the space & TRANSFORM it INTO ITSELF. Love CHANGES you, ENTIRELY.

"Where do you find love?"
IN GOD/ AT CHURCH/ IN HIS PEOPLE; in family & friends (MOM), IN THE LEAGUE & THE SYSTEM, reflected in the beauty of Creation itself, in my heart.

"How do you create love?"
Make SPACE & TIME for it. OPEN YOUR HEART to it. ACT on it even if your emotions haven't caught up. LOVE IS A CHOICE; A WILLING & SERVING THE HIGHEST GOOD OF THE OTHER. It is DIVINE & DOES NOT REQUIRE "FUZZY FEELINGS." YOU "CREATE" LOVE by LETTING GOD'S LOVE ACT THROUGH YOU (LIKE CHRIST)!!

"What kinds of love are there?"
ALL TRUE LOVE IS OF GOD. Family love, friend love, marriage love, love for Creation, & above all love for God Himself, which is the ULTIMATE ROOT & TRUE END/ GOAL of ALL "other" loves! (ALL LOVE, IN ALL "WAYS & CONTEXTS", IS RELATIONAL = TRINITY!!)

"Is love important and why?"
LOVE IS LITERALLY THE FOUNDATION, PURPOSE & SOUL OF REALITY ITSELF. IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. Without love, all there can remain is death & hell, because GOD IS LOVE. LOVE IS HEAVEN, the REASON WE EXIST & OUR TRUE DESTINY. LIFE ITSELF IS FOR LOVE, FROM LOVE.

"What's the difference between healthy love and unhealthy 'love'?"
"Unhealthy" love IS NOT LOVE AT ALL and it ANGERS me that the word is ever associated with abuse/ hate/ control/ obsession/ egotism/ lust/ etc. LOVE IS SELF-GIVING. It is MUTUAL, SACRIFICIAL, EXCLUSIVE, DEVOTED, KIND, JUST, TENDER, JOYFUL, TRUE, FAITHFUL, etc. Real love CANNOT be controlling or objectifying or self-focused. Healthy love comes from a healthy HEART, which we NEED GOD TO GIVE US-- freed from ego & oriented towards heaven. Healthy love is CHRIST'S LOVE!!

✳Some claim that "love also comes from nature, action, movement, etc." and "not just from people." THIS IS COMPLETELY FALSE. YOU CANNOT BE IN A MUTUALLY SELF-GIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH THOSE THINGS!! YOU CAN ONLY HAVE LOVE WITH PERSONS!! With that original perspective, however, the confusion is because LOVE COMES TO US ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT LOVE=GOD COMES TO US IN THOSE THINGS AS THEIR CREATOR AND SUSTAINER AND GIVER (ONLY GOD CAN LOVE IN TRUTH; HE ENABLES US TO LOVE)! LOVE IS A WAY OF BEING!

"Please explain exactly the kind of love you want."
(I WANT GOD'S LOVE, IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE.)
(If it's NOT HIS LOVE, then IT'S NOT LOVE AT ALL!!)
✳ UNCONDITIONAL, COVENANTAL, WHOLEHEARTED, TRUE, SELF-GIVING, LIFE-GIVING, HONEST, COURAGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL, SACRIFICIAL, GENEROUS, JUST, FORGIVING, POWERFUL, GENTLE, PURE, FAITHFUL, JOYFUL, PATIENT, COMPASSIONATE, DEVOTED, etc.
I want to share JOYS & SORROWS. I want to FIGHT TOGETHER & PROTECT EACH OTHER & LIFT EACH OTHER UP & BECOME SAINTS TOGETHER.

"Where would it come from?"
The System, the League, the Church, my family, & TRUE FRIENDS. I genuinely DO want a human girlfriend that I can protect & dote on & create things with & love God with. Moreso even than that, I want DEEP & REAL relationships with the System, and COMMUNICATIVE/ HONEST closeness with family & friends. In the future, I admittedly also want the love of a fandom FOR the League that I love, to share that with the world in joy.

"What does this love feel like?"
Like a fire-- warm & safe & protective & lifegiving, yet powerful & brilliant & full of energy. It's DEEP & RAW & VULNERABLE & STRONG & TRUE. It feels like light & all the colors it reflects into, and it shines all the more strikingly in the dark. It feels welcoming and encouraging yet challenging. It calls me to heights. It also feels FREE, joyful & flowing, able to thrive fully in all circumstances. It's GROUNDED & PEACEFUL yet ADVENTUROUS & INSPIRING. It feels like life is forever worth living. It feels like true purpose. It feels like my heart. And I want to SHARE it entirely.

"How can you bring this kind of love into your life?"
I need to "put myself out there." I need to actively spend time with my family & church & neighbors, and TALK to them & LISTEN to them & DO things together. I need to find community spaces for potential friends & PARTICIPATE in them. I need to PUBLISH & SHARE my creative work. I need to READ my OWN work/ Archives and FEEL that love and LIVE IN IT. I need to take time to GO INSIDE & LOVE THE SYSTEM every day, to TALK & LIVE TOGETHER.

"What can this love do for you?"
I CAN ONLY BE MY REAL, TRUE SELF WHEN I LOVE. And love brings with it ALL the other virtues. ONLY LOVE CAN & WILL MAKE ME A SAINT. Love makes me a better, realer, holier person-- stronger, braver, warmer, sweeter. Love is my IDENTITY and my PURPOSE. Finally being ABLE to LIVE this truth will give me SO MUCH JOY & ZEAL TO LIVE! I CANNOT LOVE ALONE. I WANT RELATIONSHIPS WITH the SYSTEM, SO MUCH. I ADORE them. I DO want a girlfriend too, and loving HER will bring out ALL MY CAPACITY FOR DEVOTED SELF-GIFT & SERVICE. Loving my family & friends will make me a KINDER, NICER, FRIENDLIER person TO OTHERS! I will BE a SOURCE OF JOY TO THEM inasmuch as I MANIFEST LOVE. I will become a GOOD, RESPECTED, VALUABLE member of the community FOR THEIR SAKE. I will be a GOOD CHRISTIAN. I WILL LIVE FOR GOD'S GLORY & SERVICE BY BRINGING HIS LOVE TO ALL I MEET. That is what I TRULY WANT, more than ANYTHING.

"How do you love?"
Passionately, wholeheartedly, sincerely. Ask Chaos 0. EVEN in "platonic" relationships & family/ neighbor interactions, I GENUINELY AM WILLING AND WANTING TO HAVE THE STRONGEST & MOST SINCERE, DEDICATED relationship POSSIBLE with them IN THAT CONTEXT. Honestly I ACHE for communion in EVERY circumstance. I just LOVE PEOPLE, when you get down to the very core of me. But... I have to be honest as well in saying that I NEED CLOSE relationships THE MOST. I NEED & even CRAVE intimacy-- NOT sexual, but EMOTIONAL & SPIRITUAL. Physical closeness is nice but it's hollow & even distasteful without BOTH the SPIRIT & HEART close behind it. ...No matter what physical-level interactions I have, I will be completely missing my deepest need/ I will still feel unfulfilled & empty where it counts the most IF I DON'T HAVE THE GREATEST, DEEPEST LOVES: the love of the System, and the love of God. I NEED to pray & worship, and I NEED to "GO UPSTAIRS" and ADORE THOSE SOULS on a DAILY BASIS. If I was forced to neglect either, I think I would DIE inside. REMEMBER THAT. YOU CANNOT LOVE HUMANKIND OUTSIDE IF YOU DON'T FIRST TAKE THE TIME EVERY DAY TO LOVE THE CREATOR OF HUMANKIND, AND TO LOVE THE ONES WHO TAUGHT YOU WHAT LOVE TRULY LOOKED & FELT LIKE to begin with. I AM ME WITH THEM.
✳ THE COREGROUP IS ESSENTIAL TO YOUR WELLBEING ON EVERY LEVEL OF YOUR EXISTENCE. LOVE THEM EVERY DAY. (THAT IS A NEED!)


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prismaticbleed: (anx-happy)


(miscellaneous worksheets and handout notes from sept-nov 2024 at tbhu)

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SELF-LOVE AFFIRMATIONS
1. "I am worthy of love" = and I CANNOT LOSE that worthiness. God CREATED me IN Love, TO love. It is the HEART of my very EXISTENCE.
2. "I have the ability to overcome any challenge life gives me" = If it's GIVEN, it's a GIFT, and it is meant FOR you to overcome & build your character by doing so.
3. "I am a radiant and joyous person" = CHOOSE TO BE, in ALL circumstances. Be radically joyful in Christ.
4. "I am worthy of infinite and unending compassion" = And I HAVE it-- God is LOVING ME INTO EXISTENCE at this very moment, of His Own free choice.
5. "Life is filled with joy and abundance" = It truly is! You just have to open your eyes to it. God = Life = Love = INFINITE. And He WANTS to give ALL of that (of Himself) to us.
6. "I am centered, peaceful, and grounded" = When you anchor into your true center-- GOD in your heart-- you find true peace, and connection to all Creation, in Him.
7. "I have always and will continue to always try my best; I honor this" = This leaves no room for self-abusive perfectionism, or bitter regrets. Do everything you are capable of, as you are right now, even as that changes, and give the rest to God.
8. "Success is defined by my willingness to keep going" = You can only really fail if you refuse to try again-- if you give up and quit. But the beauty is that until we die we have limitless chances to get back up.
9. "My body is a beautiful expression of my individuality" = There is literally no one else just like you. God made you unique and on purpose, with an irreplaceable role in His plan. Your body is the vehicle for all of that.
10. "I have the strength to rise in the face of adversity" = God WILL give you ALL the strength you need, for He is ALWAYS with you, guarding & guiding you, and restoring your life daily.

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"COMPASSIONATE SELF-CARE: In order to get into the habit of self-compassion, list all the ways that you would treat a friend in need. Think of someone you care about very much and imagine that they are having a difficult time."
(SIMILAR TO MY OWN = feeling useless/ inadequate/ unwanted/ unloveable; "UGLY" & undeserving? "a bad person"; "not good enough"; "failure/ disappointment") (DO ALL OUR OUTSPACERS HURT WITH THIS IN THEIR OWN WAY???)

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"When I find myself feeling isolated and alone, here are the reasons why I should connect with other people:"

HUMAN BEINGS ARE MADE FOR RELATIONSHIP/ COMMUNION. God IS LOVE and God IS TRINITY and we are MOST LIKE GOD when we LOVE OTHERS INTIMATELY. That means MUTUAL SELF-REVELATION, NON-JUDGMENTAL ACCEPTANCE, HONEST VULNERABILITY, and an OPEN HEART. It means LISTENING to others and AFFIRMING the INHERENT VALUE & WORTHY of their existence, UNCONDITIONALLY. It means EXPRESSING GRATITUDE for their life, and its blessed intersection with yours. It means LOVING them, like Proginoskes said. LOVE IS CONNECTION and YOU CANNOT HAVE CONNECTION TO ANYTHING WITHOUT LOVE and if you're DISCONNECTED it is ACTUAL HELL.

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"Use humor and laughter to improve resilience" = Should we START A COLLECTION on Tumblr (like we used to have)? WE DON'T LAUGH MUCH ANYMORE. THAT REALLY DOES NEED TO CHANGE! I think the more POSITIVE our outlook is, AND the more ABLE TO FIND "HUMOR" WE ARE, the more RESILIENT & POWERFUL we will be under stress??

"Build on what helped you through past rough times and don't repeat actions that didn't help" = REVIEW THE ARCHIVES & SERIOUSLY PRINT OUT THIS DATA! Then REVIEW IT REGULARLY, so we REMEMBER!

DON'T LET REGRETS CRIPPLE YOUR HOPE. WE ARE IMPROVING, EVEN IN LITTLE WAYS-- EVEN JUST BEING ABLE TO REGRET MISTAKES & GENUINELY WANT/ PLAN TO DO BETTER! START LISTING THE GLIMMERS & SIGNALS OF IMPROVEMENT, AND EXPECT SUCCESS, BY GRACE!!
"IMAGINE EVERYTHING GOING WELL"

+ STOP NEGLECTING YOUR EMOTIONAL NEEDS!! MAKE SERIOUS TIME TO DO THE THINGS YOU ENJOY!!

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BECAUSE OF MY BODY, I CAN...

● Walk & run, feeling the thrill of motion
● Sing & play instruments, making music tangible
● Feel different textures & appreciate the "matter" of things
● See colors! There are SO MANY and they're BEAUTIFUL!
● Read and write; hold a book, type on a keyboard
● Be SEEN & HEARD & KNOWN by others
● SPEAK & communicate my inner thoughts
● Exist as a real, concrete presence in the world
● EAT things, literally "communing" with the world
● Explore & go on adventures of DISCOVERY
● Enjoy the sensations of snow, rain, mist, etc.
● Embrace the ones I love, and BE embraced
● PAINT & DRAW things, & GET MESSY about it
● Smell the forest & ocean & sky & spices
● Go outside and play in the snow
● Work with my hands and help people
● Do artwork with fine detail & rich colors
● Walk through the woods and all their cool terrain
● Play video games (ESPECIALLY KLONOA & NIER)
● Stretch & feel all those muscles working!
● Go to Church and RECEIVE THE SACRAMENTS!
● Hug people, shake hands, offer a shoulder to cry on
● Cook & bake & eat & clean WITH THE FAM
● LOVE!

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"List five positive things about yourself that don't have to do with your appearance, and that you treasure about yourself."

1. I have an undying childlike sense of WONDER/ AWE that frequently spills over into JOY. I see beauty & "magic" EVERYWHERE and I am utterly fascinated by the great masterpiece-adventure of the Created Cosmos.

2. I have a rich IMAGINATION that I sadly undervalue/ underestimate. But dude I am writing AT LEAST 20 STORIES. I design characters, I compose music, I BUILD WORLD-STRUCTURES. God has BLESSED me with REAL creative ability.

3. I have a WARM & CARING HEART. I naturally feel tender affection for others and I "spontaneously" seek to do kind & thoughtful things. I find real purpose in service, especially in personal hands-on ways, for those in need.

4. I have an INSIGHTFUL MIND. I am instinctively drawn to self-reflection & have a constant drive to learn from mistakes, understand myself, and COMMUNICATE this hard-won knowledge & thought to others for THEIR benefit & growth as persons.

5. I am COURAGEOUS & RESILIENT. I am apparently able to "bounce back" from negative events & suffering, and to do better for it. I commit myself to constant upward/ forward progress, and I am willing & wanting to embrace challenges.

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Two things you love=
1. THE ORIGINAL MORALIMON TABLETS (2000-2005)
2. ALL THE ARTWORK ON THE "WALL OF LOVE"

Two people you adore=
1. CHAOS ZERO
2. LAURIE UBERICH

Two places you cherish=
1. GIMMELWALD
2. THE BASILICA OF THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

One thing you've worked hard to achieve=
SELF-KNOWLEDGE, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE & STABILITY

One thing that's going well right now=
I'm learning to LOVE & CARE FOR this body & BUILD A GOOD FUTURE

Two subjects or pursuits you're passionate about=
1. SCRIPTURE/ CATECHETICS
2. CREATIVE WRITING/ DESIGN

Two people you can count on for warm hugs and kind words=
1. XENOPHON
2. MISTER SANDMAN

Three things to look forward to=
1. EXPLORING & GIFTING MY TALENTS
2. BUILDING SKILLS + A PORTFOLIO/ DISCOGRAPHY/ BIBLIOGRAPHY
3. A HEALTHY & STRONG BODY TO SERVE GOD WITH!

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"I WISH" =
● that I knew how to play so many instruments, & knew how to draw/ illustrate i the ways I yearn to
● that I lived in Gimmelwald or somewhere else up in the high mountains & woods
● that I still had the little joyful things of my childhood days (GBC, etc.)
● that I had a girlfriend?
(Wishes are surface-level, not deeply thought through, but therefore they are important & informative pointers to more subconscious/ deeper needs)


"I HOPE" =
● that I can make proper restitution for the harm I've done
● that I can live without fear or despair from the past
● that I can "make up for time lost" and make my life an offering of praise to God in ALL things
● that I can be a truly good person by grace, helping & serving others & the church, selflessly & joyfully & easily
● that I can TRULY become a virtuous person (at ALL times)
(Hopes are tinged with anxiety? They are born from a sense of LACK where there SHOULD be something good; we hope for what we CAN'T SEE, but DEEPLY desire?)


"I WANT" =
to serve God with everything I am & have
● to be a blessing to my family, to bring them honor & joy instead of shame & sorrow
● to write several books/ stories/ films/ etc. & share them with the world for their joy & love
● to learn more skills in art & music & math
● to be vulnerable & courageous & strong & compassionate & just & trustworthy & reliable & a true witness to Christ
● to use ALL my talents TO THE FULL for the sake of loving God & others
● for my life to be something genuinely benevolent & edifying
● TO BE A SAINT.

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I WANT TO MANIFEST=
THE FULL & PROLIFIC REALIZATION & PRACTICE OF MY GOD-GIVEN CREATIVE & IMAGINATIVE TALENTS, IN ALL MEDIUMS I PURSUE; TO SHARE THEM OPENLY WITH THE WORLD FOR THEIR BENEFIT & JOY

LIMITING BELIEFS I NEED TO GET RID OF=
"My ideas are stupid/ immature/ cliched"
"I don't have the knowledge/ skill to succeed"
"Doing creative work is a waste of time/ selfish"
"I love this too much; I'm not allowed to have it"
"I'm too sick/ crazy to do this as well as it deserves"

MY DAILY AFFIRMATION=
"God has blessed me with these talents TO BE INVESTED."
"People love & cherish my work."
"I am creatively gifted."
"I have great artistic potential waiting to be realized."
"My gifts are great goods meant to be shared with the world."

ACTION PLAN=
Begin by SCHEDULING LEAGUEWORK & SKILLS DEVELOPMENT into EVERY DAY, NO EXCEPTIONS.
● START TEACHING YOURSELF CELLO & VIOLA. Don't be afraid to play with the Guzheng either!
● PRACTICE ON THE WACOM. Start small; trace & color to get the hang of it.
● DO VISUAL ART PRACTICE: environments, people, animals, perspective, ANATOMY
● FIGURE OUT ROUGH PLOT OUTLINES for ALL STORIES! PRIORITIZE BEGINNINGS/ ENDINGS, CONFLICT/ CLIMAX/ RESOLUTION?
● CHARACTER BUILDING & DESIGN!

IN VISUALIZATION, I SEE=
A rich bibliography, discography, & portfolio.
● Children & adults alike cherishing & celebrating the stories, moved by the music & art.
● A rich & joyful "fandom" fueled & inspired by love.

IN VISUALIZATION, I HAVE=
● The MEANS/ MEDIUMS/ TOOLS/ SPACE/ SKILLS I need.
● An honorable reputation as a creative inspiration for God's glory.
● Recognition of my WHOLE SOUL in TRUTH and received with LOVE.

IN VISUALIZATION, I FEEL=
● At peace, joyful, purposeful, grateful, dedicated, full of wonder & dreams.
● Motivated & fresh-minded & bright-eyed.
● Like I'm FINALLY doing what I was meant to do/ redeeming the time.

TO-DO LIST=
● KEEP WRITING ROUGH DRAFTS. NO SUPPRESSING.
● Practice instruments daily; focused improvement
● Develop specific artistic skills; one at a time
● Try new mediums/ modes liberally
● Look into publishing options & seek advice
● Get FEEDBACK on work; get involved in community
● Start editing & compiling works into book form

MY PRAYER TO THE UNIVERSE=
Lord Jesus, You blessed me with these stories & songs because You delight in letting me cooperate/ share in YOUR Creative Joy. Please guide & inspire me to use my talents fully & wisely, for Your Glory, as You intend. May I manifest YOUR Trust/ Beauty/ Goodness in everything I create.

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"WHAT IF" (I RECOVER?)


What if I understand the lessons and they stay with me?
What if I actually do my work well & enjoy it?
What if I meet new friends when I go out?
What if my food heals & strengthens my body?
What if I'm able to express honest emotion openly?
What if I stay healthy & keep living?
What if I learn from every mistake & ultimately succeed?
What if new colors look beautiful on me?
What if people actually enjoy & look forward to my recovery?
What if inspiration strikes me in unexpected places?
What if I grow stronger & wiser?
What if my heart starts growing warmer?
What if the fishing nets are filled to bursting on the last try?
What if I just enjoy the storm wind's fierce beauty?
What if the peacemakers prevail despite all odds?
What if my parents learn to love each other more deeply?
What if we still arrive exactly when and where we need to?
What if my smile is still beautiful & joyful no matter how I look?
What if I laugh at my mishaps along with everyone else?
What if I learn to dance without shame?
What if everything is truly well in the end?
What if my future is brighter than I ever dared imagine?
What if I dare to hope beyond hope?
What if love truly does conquer all?

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These are the reasons I am thankful for having a body=

GOD GAVE IT TO ME AS A PERFECTLY-MATCHED & PERFECTLY DESIGNED GIFT for me to CHERISH & STEWARD WELL & USE TO ITS FULL & INTENDED POTENTIAL, UNIQUE TO MY PERSONAL TALENTS & ABILITIES & CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR HIS GLORY, IN PRAISE AND LOVE!!
● WITHOUT A BODY, I CANNOT INTERACT WITH CREATION.
● This body can touch the trees & water & feel the warmth of fire & the cold winter air. It can feel snow & rain & mist & sunshine. It can pick flowers & I can press them soft to my face & smell their unique fragrances & delight in seeing their vivid colors and delicate intricate radial shapes. I can pick up a violin or guitar or harp and touch the beautiful taut-metal strings & hear them singing.
I can sing. I can SPEAK and communicate through the divine gift of language, the Word's blessing of words that only mankind possesses. I can move this body in strong & elegant ways. I can run & jump & swim & ride a bike. I can walk & climb & lift heavy things & stretch & sleep. I can taste food & cook food & be dazzled by the creative wonder of flavors & textures & scents & nutritious value that was MADE for this body & all others. I can write with this marker & sit on this chair & BREATHE and I feel the floor under my feet & hear the voices around me & treasure being ALIVE.
● I can HEAR MUSIC & WRITE MUSIC & PLAY MUSIC. I can create ART full of SHAPE & COLOR & TEXTURE. I can feel real emotions & I can feel pain, as well as I can feel the exhilaration of exercise or the comforting relief of collapsing on the couch afterwards.
● This body itself is a fascinating miracle. Every cell in it is an intricate & astounding part of a united whole, performing its vital functions without my even realizing. Every organ is a work of art. Every last atom of this body is fearfully & wonderfully made by my Loving Creator, & knitted together as a gift for me, as a Temple for His Spirit, as a new & irreplaceable & NEEDED part of Christ's Mystical Body. MY body has a HOLY ORIGIN and a HOLY PURPOSE and I TRULY AM THANKFUL FOR IT. Even when ti feels weird & sick & scary & uncomfortable, even when it's weak & bloated & crippled & damaged by misuse & abuse, it's STILL a GOOD GIFT. I am still grateful. So LIVE THAT OUT! 

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TOP TEN THINGS I'D LIKE TO OWN=

1. FULL LEGAL COPYRIGHT FOR CHAOS 0
2. A FULL-SIZE 88 WEIGHTED-KEY MIDI KEYBOARD
3. A FULL 7-OCTAVE SET OF HANDBELLS
4. A PRO MUSIC COMPOSING PROGRAM
5. LOTS OF HIGH QUALITY ART SUPPLIES, ESP. MARKERS
6. LEAGUEWORLD FANWORKS
7. THE TWO COLORED FROST* VINYLS
8. SYSTEM PLUSHIES/ FIGURES
9. A CAPABLE COMPUTER SETUP
10. A HOUSE AND A CAR

TOP TEN RULES I LIVE BY=

1. LOVE CONQUERS ALL
2. FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH
3. NEVER GIVE UP HOPE
4. ALWAYS BE HONEST, INSIDE AND OUT
5. TRUST IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE
6. BE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE
7. CHOOSE RADICAL GRATITUDE
8. LOOK FOR THE HIDDEN TREASURE
9. EVERYTHING/ EVERYONE IS A TEACHER
10. THERE IS ALWAYS A MEANING AND A LESSON

TOP TEN DREAMS I HAVE FOR THE FUTURE=
1. PUBLISH MY BOOKS & COMICS
2. MAKE A MOVIE + ANIMATED SERIES
3. COMPOSE A MUSIC ALBUM + HIT SONG
4. BECOME A SKILLED ARTIST
5. GET SUPER STRONG + BUFF
6. BECOME A VOICE FOR A CAUSE
7. MAKE MY FAMILY PROUD + BRING THEM HONOR
8. REPARATION/ RESTITUTION IN FULL, WITH INTEREST
9. MAKE A VIDEO GAME
10. KNOW THAT MY WORK SAVED SOMEONE'S LIFE

TOP THEN THINGS I LIKE TO DO=
1. WRITE
2. DRAW
3. COMPOSE MUSIC
4. SING
5. PLAY MUSIC
6. EXERCISE
7. LEARN NEW THINGS
8. BRAINSTORMING
9. WORKING WITH MY HANDS
10. EXPLORE

TOP TEN PLACES I LIKE TO GO=
1. UPSTAIRS
2. DIAMEW
3. GIMMELWALD
4. SJE (ALONE)
5. THE NATIONAL SHRINE
6. THE VIEW ON JAYCE'S HILL
7. DEEP INTO THE FOREST
8. UNDERWATER
9. EMPTY MOVIE THEATERS
10. MARYWOOD

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PEOPLE WHO HELP ME ON HARD DAYS=
JESUS, LAURIE, CHAOS 0, GENESIS, LYNNE, JULIE, LEON, KNIFE, SCALPEL, XENOPHON, ANXI, MIMIC, WRECKAGE, and God willing EVERYONE ELSE (BRING US BACK TO FULL LIFE)

MY COPING SKILLS=
TALKING TO THE SYSTEM! Listening to System music, journaling, reading Leaguework, playing cello/ guzheng, reading favorite Scripture verses, "crisis survival skills," exercising, imaginative meditation (especially while walking), collages? paintblots? watching a favorite movie? playing Klonoa? PRAYER!

I FEEL SAFE AND CALM=
- When I'm IN TUNE WITH THE SYSTEM and ACTIVELY CONNECTED TO CENTRAL and COMMUNICATING in realtime.
- Alone in SJE?
- Spotify nights with the CoreGroup
- In heartspaces: Gimmelwald, the String Shop, the National Shrine Basilica

I AM=
INSIGHTFUL, CREATIVE, DETERMINED, COURAGEOUS, HOPEFUL, TENACIOUS, LOVING, HARD-WORKING, CAPABLE, STRONG, INTELLIGENT, FORGIVING, DEVOTED, RESILIENT, SINCERE, GRATEFUL, CURIOUS, COMPASSIONATE, OPTIMISTIC, ADVENTUROUS

MY POSITIVE THOUGHTS=
+ I AM TALENTED AND I AM SKILLED ENOUGH TO SUCCEED
+ I AM A POSITIVE INFLUENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS
+ MY LIFE HAS MEANING, PURPOSE, AND WORTH, ALWAYS


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TOP SIX VALUES=
1. RELIGION
2. INTEGRITY (VIRTUE BUNDLE!)
3. TRUTH/ HONESTY
4. CREATIVITY (MEANINGFUL WORK)
5. COMPASSION or WISDOM (FORTITUDE?)
6. FIDELITY

FIDELITY includes the virtues of COMMITMENT, LOYALTY, & DEPENDABILITY, and by extension, PERSISTENCE & DECISIVENESS, DEVOTION, etc.
COMPASSION includes, even produces, the virtues of FORGIVENESS, MERCY, GENEROSITY, GENTLENESS, KINDNESS, etc. It is effectively "SELF-GIFT", which I value profoundly.
FORTITUDE, to me, encompasses DETERMINATION, FREEDOM, ADVENTURE, FLEXIBILITY, CHALLENGE, COMPETENCE, & HONOR. It involves RESPECT & ACCOUNTABILITY .
INTEGRITY is THE "virtue bundle." It means RIGHTEOUSNESS, WISDOM, HONESTY & TRUTH, GENUINENESS, INNER PEACE, CLARITY, GROWTH, HOLINESS, & PURPOSE.
CREATIVITY flows into MEANINGFUL WORK, JOY, VULNERABILITY, KNOWLEDGE, and MANY SHARED VIRTUES with the other five.

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COPING SKILLS

✳DEVELOP MORE "INTERNAL" COPING SKILLS = that DON'T NEED EXTERNAL TOOLS/ MEANS TO USE! e.g. MEMORIZE PRAYERS & SCRIPTURE; READ LEAGUEWORK TO GET IT BACK SOLIDLY INTO YOUR HEART; MEMORIZE SONGS TO "HEAR" AND "PERFORM")

● Journaling on the laptop
● Reading Leaguework
● Listening to Spotify (MAKE a "distress tolerance" playlist)
● Browsing our System and/or religious Tumblr(s) (CLEAN UP THE FEED!!)
● Walk to Adoration
● Pray the wall prayers (MEMORIZE them, one at a time?)
● Read a random book from the shelves (✳ALWAYS have BIBLE+BOOK with you)
● Fill out a personality survey
● Handwritten journaling
● Describe food/meal in grateful, positive words
● Google Maps World Tour
● League research
● Read the Psalms & Gospels
● Practice an instrument
● Practice drawing something from a reference
● Read a (fiction) book out loud
● Do a writing prompt (Oneword)
● Write a Moralimon encyclopedia page
● Magazine collage
● Paintblots
● Exercise
● Gratitude journal/ Devotional journal
● Play Klonoa
● Walk to the library & just browse
● Walk to the church & just sit in the silence

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"Find healthy ways to identify and cope with your emotions."
WE ONLY RELAPSE WHEN WE DON'T COPE, AND WE CAN ONLY COPE TOGETHER!!! (it's LOVE!!!)
Remind ourselves = "WE CAN DO THIS!"

"List some coping skills you can use."
HEADSPACE MEDITATION, PLAY KLONOA, WATCH INSIDE OUT 2, TALK TO THE SYSTEM, STRETCH, EXERCISE, READ SCRIPTURE, LISTEN TO SYSTEM MUSIC, HUG A PLUSH, MAKE A POMANDER, DO LEAGUEWORK, PLAY CELLO, DO PERSONALITY SURVEYS, JOURNALING, WALK IN THE WOODS? TUMBLR COLLECTIONS? (USE THEM PRODUCTIVELY!) READ "LOVE" ARCHIVE ENTRIES. LOOK AT PICTURES OF BELOVEDS. REMIND OURSELVES THAT THAT IS OUR GOAL IN RECOVERY-- TO LIVE FOR LOVE/ GOD!!

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✳ You KNOW what thoughts are distorted. It's OBVIOUS. If it is focused on DEATH, PANIC, CONTROL, CONDEMNATION, etc. it's NOT OF GOD!! God speaks in LOVE, LIFE, GRATITUDE, FREEDOM, & PEACE. And God CREATED FOOD TO BE GOOD!
✳ EMOTIONS ARE THE INSTIGATORS. When they're scared & hurting & misinformed, TALK TO THEM WITH LOVE. HELP THEM HEAL AND SEE THE TRUTH. And "IGNITE" POSITIVE EMOTIONS WITH COPING SKILLS (DBT) DAILY!!!
CHOOSE GOOD THOUGHTS. CROWD OUT THE BATTLEFIELD! USE YOUR TRUE & POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS! READ SCRIPTURE! TALK TO THE SYSTEM! PRINT OUT THE ARCHIVAL REVELATIONS FOR RECOVERY!
GOOD THOUGHTS FUEL GOOD ACTIONS! SO TANK UP!!
✳ BEHAVIORS CAN CAUSE THOUGHTS & EMOTIONS!!! THIS IS WHY IT'S VITAL TO "MIMIC (♥) IT UNTIL YOU MEAN IT!!" DON'T RUN FROM CHALLENGES. TAKE THAT FIRST STEP. PRACTICE "OPPOSITE ACTION"!! This stuff WORKS! Your BODY & BRAIN are CONNECTED. The more you BRAVELY DO the GOOD THING, the more it'll HELP your THOUGHTS align with the good, AND HELP HEAL/ UPLIFT YOUR EMOTIONS!! Literally ALL OF IT WORKS TOGETHER.

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Take baby steps in beginning to limit unhealthy behaviors (ACTING ON DISTORTED THOUGHTS & FEELINGS!); expecting total recovery all at once WILL FAIL. IT TAKES TIME TO EVENTUALLY REPLACE THOSE BEHAVIORS! MATT 12:43-45! PUT GOOD IN = NEW BUILDING = CHRIST AS FOUNDATION!
✳ GOD HAS GIVEN you the GRACE TO COOPERATE WITH HIS GOOD WILL for you, BY/ WITH YOUR WILL that He ALSO gave you! The point is, GOD HAS GIVEN YOU THE ABILITY. He will NOT remove your FREEDOM, because that CHOICE is what ALLOWS for LOVE. God WANTS you to WORK WITH HIM in His plan! He ENJOYS teamwork! YOU'RE HIS CHILD!!

✳LET MOM HELP YOU TOO. Sharing meals with her REGULARLY will help you BREAK THE RIGID RULES & BE FLEXIBLE & TRY NEW THINGS. Remember the GOAL is JOY & FREEDOM!! FOOD IS NOT AN ENEMY OR THREAT!! LEARN TO SEE FOOD AS FUEL. BE GRATEFUL & ADVENTUROUS IN GOD'S CREATION!

✳ FIND THE "EATING DISORDER VOICE" AND TALK TO HER. SHE ISN'T AN ENEMY EITHER. She's just SCARED. The goal is NOT to "be at war" with ANYONE. The goal is to LOVE AND WORK TOGETHER towards HEALING/ INTEGRITY, TRUTH, PEACE, & LOVE!!

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"What gives your life meaning? In what ways?"

CREATIVITY
I ENJOY= writing in a journal, brainstorming League ideas, singing, making collages? playing an instrument? (piano, cello? HANDS) coloring digitally? gaining new knowledge by research, worksheets like this, creative exercises
I feel ACHIEVEMENT when= I draw/ color a picture, write a song, write a poem or creative prompt, perform a musical piece well, am able to act dependably to help another/ behave virtuously (HABIT)
I WANT TO= publish a book, compose/ perform/ release a music album, start a blog/ website/ store, become skilled in illustration, learn cello, learn painting
I am DRAWN TO= language skill/ elegance (+lyrical), artistic ingenuity, musical originality, hands-on care for others, making things with beneficial utility, MATH & SCIENCE
I feel PURPOSEFUL when= I do good hard work with my hands, express my imaginative ideas/ tell League stories, tangibly help someone in need
I VALUE= helping others, sharing my inspiration, seeing & celebrating beauty & goodness, selfless care for the needy, creative expression & skill

EXPERIENCE
I ENJOY= going to church & church activities, walking in the woods, running/ lifting weights, listening to music that inspires/ intrigues me, choir/ orchestra performances? reading books? "people watching?"
I feel ACHIEVEMENT when= I explore new places (especially nature), when I gain inspiration from attending a performance AND have the GUTS to GO to one, when I go to daily Mass/ Adoration, when I finish reading a book
I WANT TO= visit museums, go on nature hikes, be part of an orchestra again, participate in local creative/ queer/ religious communities
I am DRAWN TO= heartfelt expression (NOT "shock value" or "irreverent") through the arts? storytelling? athletics? HUMAN CONNECTION? Adventure/ discovery/ exploration, museums/ galleries (histories of human creativity & knowledge), worship
I feel PURPOSEFUL when= I sing in church, when I contribute to a group art expression (concert, gallery, etc.), when I am able to share insights with a group in a genuinely beneficial way, when I am kind to others
I VALUE= my faith/ religion, the beauty of nature, creative sharing, sincere community/ communion, love for humanity (& human creativity) and cherishing creation

ATTITUDE
✳WHAT CAN I DO & HOW? to LEAD ME TOWARDS A GOOD LIFE
● ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS = be CREATIVE & ADVENTUROUS with both METHODS of achieving these goals AND being open to POSSIBLE CHANGES & NEW PATHS that I didn't consider before. Don't despair if ONE way doesn't "work"; THERE ARE ALWAYS OTHERS!
● BIGGER PICTURE = GOD-GIVEN TALENTS/ GIFTS; "LOVE LIKE CHRIST" (SELF-GIFT; COMMUNION); TRUTH/ BEAUTY/ GOODNESS/ JOY SHARED; "GOD'S GLORY IS A HUMAN BEING FULLY ALIVE" = CELEBRATE THE GIFT
● SOMEONE ELSE'S POV = DO say I HAVE gifts TO share that ARE valued AND NEEDED/ WANTED! I HAVE A GOOD & BENEFICIAL CONTRIBUTION TO MAKE
● ADVICE TO OTHERS = TRY new things BOTH to DISCOVER what resonates with YOUR UNIQUE SOUL & maybe PARTICIPATE in them, AND to simply EXPERIENCE & TREASURE the BEAUTIFUL RICHNESS & WONDER of LIFE & HUMANITY
● BEST/HELPFUL RESPONSE = You have ONE LIFE. It's a GIFT FROM GOD, to be STEWARDED & SHARED & CHERISHED & CELEBRATED! START LIVING IT FULLY!!

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Remember a time in the past when you let go (of food & shape obsession) and the situation improved. What happened?
✳ INPATIENT. I'm eating EVERYTHING, I DON'T WANT TO PURGE, my body IS GETTING BIGGER & BULKIER, my self-esteem is GROWING & NOT BASED ON SHAPE/ FEELING, and I'm LEARNING HOW TO LOVE THIS BODY.
✳ IMPROVED = Strength, energy, concentration, sleep, vitals, nutrition; body is REBUILDING what it lost & HEALING the damage. I'm spending my time WRITING & LEARNING & MAKING ART & INSPIRING OTHERS & ENJOYING BEAUTY. I see food as a JOYFUL GIFT. I'm ABLE to LIKE AND DISLIKE things. I'm less obsessive over food choices, seeing the good in it ALL, BUT making WISE decisions based on WHAT MY BODY UNIQUELY NEEDS. I'm growing in VIRTUE. I'm PART of a COMMUNITY. I have HOPE & PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. I'm healing my relationship with mom. I'm FREEING MY LIFE.

Pick one thing you are willing to let go of, if only a little bit. Write it down. Name one small step you can take in letting it go.
1. Let go of OBSESSING OVER MY STOMACH SHAPE. IT DOESN'T DEFINE YOU, OR CHANGE YOUR PERSONALITY.
2. Let go of LABELING FOODS AS "BAD/ WRONG." IT DOESN'T DEFINE/CHANGE YOU EITHER. ROMANS 14. ALL OF IT IS GOD'S GOOD CREATION.
1a= Start ACTIVELY PRACTICING GRATITUDE & ACCEPTANCE for it: half-smiling, willing hands, positive qualities, etc. IT'S KEEPING YOU ALIVE. Also, it's FUEL FOR STRENGTH! It's your NATURAL BODY SHAPE too, STURDY & SOLID & GOOD!
2a= KEEP A FOOD GRATITUDE JOURNAL, & RECOGNIZE THE "INGREDIENTS" AS ART? "CREATIVE COOPERATION" WITH GOD! DO NOT CONDEMN ANY FOOD, EVEN the ones you dislike. THERE'S ALWAYS STILL SOMETHING TO APPRECIATE AND GIVE THANKS FOR.

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prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)

(miscellaneous worksheets and handout notes from sept-nov 2024 at tbhu)

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ONLY setting a timer to delay disordered behavior, but NOT immediately REDIRECTING our focus to AWARENESS, only lets the stress "BOIL"? We CANNOT DENY the emotions that come up during this delay/ distraction; only to ALLOW for a time "SPACE" between to LESSEN the INTENSITY!
When we interrupt our behaviors, we notice feelings of FEAR, DISCOMFORT, DREAD, ANXIETY, PANIC, DESPAIR, TERROR, HELPLESSNESS

NEGATIVE EMOTIONS WE WON'T LET OURSELVES FEEL=
FAILURE, GUILT, SADNESS, OVERWHELM, POWERLESSNESS, INTIMACY, SEXUALITY, INCAPABILITY

✳ THESE NEGATIVE EMOTIONS have THREE CHAINED RESPONSES in our disturbed mind =
1. WON'T LET MYSELF FEEL IT;
2. BERATE MYSELF FOR FEELING IT;
3. REACT DESTRUCTIVELY & VIOLENTLY TO IT


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LABELING VS LEGALIZING FOODS = THIS IS HUMBLING & CONCERNING & MOTIVATING, TO REALIZE THAT (AS OF 1025) I AM APPARENTLY STILL LABELING SO MANY FOODS!! THE #1 WAY TO COMBAT THIS IS TO LET MYSELF EAT THOSE FOODS REGULARLY!! DO NOT FEED RESTRICTIVE BEHAVIOR HABITS OR MINDSETS! MOST FEAR ARE ONLY ROOTED IN AVOIDANCE/ NONEXPOSURE. The more we DO try them, the more FAMILIAR/ COMFORTABLE we'll get with them, & become OPEN & ABLE to TRULY ENJOY them!
We STILL have SWEEPING CATEGORIES OF FEAR FOODS (e.g. "ALL cheese, ALL meat, ALL sugar, ALL juice, ALL snack foods) and these are ANCIENT and I'M SICK OF THEM!!! WTF IS THE ROTTEN ROOT KEEPING THESE DISTORTIONS ALIVE??? (they're seen as inherently "unhealthy/ dangerous/ fattening) FIGHT THAT LIE TO THE DEATH. ROMANS 14:2 & 14:14!! HAVE FAITH IN GOD'S GOODNESS IN CREATING ALL FOOD!!!

"What judgments crept into your head as you made your list (of "liked" foods)?"
"Do I REALLY like this food?"
"Is it BAD if I DO like it?"
"Am I ALLOWED to like it?"
"What does liking this food say about my personality/ who I am? Will liking this CHANGE me into someone I'm NOT/ don't want to be?"
"If I DON'T choose this food option EVERY TIME, does that mean I DON'T actually like it/ that I'm LYING?"

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PURGING is a PANIC/ SURVIVAL/ GRIEF/ "WEEPING RAGE" RESPONSE. It seeks EMPTYING-OUT; even EXPECTORATION? "Something BAD/ PAINFUL/ SCARY INSIDE NEEDS TO GET OUT OF ME, NOW!"
✳ TYPICAL TRAUMA RESPONSE. It "FEELS LIKE SCREAMING."
Purging ALSO REQUIRES INTENSE MUSCLE STRAIN/ RELIEF in the ABDOMEN, which is WHERE WE HOLD BOTH "FEAR" AND "INFESTATION/ POISON" FEELINGS

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"SAFETY CRUTCHES" = "NUMB THE PAIN"; like a DRUG (HARMFUL/ ADDICTIVE)
✳ Identify PERSONAL examples; HOW to COMBAT/ CHANGE
ASK: "WHAT INTERNAL PAIN AM I AVOIDING?"
(SLC/ CNC TRAUMA; GRANDPARENT DEATH GUILT)
(THE EATING DISORDER IS A SAFETY CRUTCH!!!)

✳ We talk ABOUT our fear TOO much. What DO we deny? EXHAUSTION? TRIGGERS? (THAT'S WHAT WE DID AT RENFAIRE)

SOME POSSIBLE SAFETY CRUTCHES WE HAVE=
● LOTOPHAGOI DISSOCIATION
● ALLERGY PANIC; "IF I EAT THIS IT WILL KILL ME" CONSTANT WORRY
● OBSESSIVE NUTRITION/ DIET/ MACRO/ INGREDIENT RESEARCH
● WEIGHING FOOD? (EXACT, SPECIFIC NUMBERS "OR ELSE")
● OBSESSIVE HANDWASHING; "LADY MACBETH" CURSE FEELING
● "CLEAN" EATING SPACE/ UTENSILS OR ELSE "CONTAMINATED"
"RIGHT" CLOTHES & TOWELS; "NEED" TO WEAR CERTAIN OUTFITS
● EXACT TIMING & ORDER OF MEALS
PROCRASTINATING GOOD THINGS? NOT JOURNALING OR LEAGUEWORKING
● LIST MAKING, ESPECIALLY WITH MATH/ CALCULATIONS
● "MEDICATION SHOTS" "JUST IN CASE" (BENADRYL, TYLENOL)
● OVERCOMMITMENT TO HELP OTHERS; "NO TIME TO THINK/ FEEL/ BE MYSELF"
● REFUSING TO BE HELPED? FEAR OF "WRONGNESS"/ THINGS BEING "RUINED"
● CONSTANTLY ASKING FOR REASSURANCE? "AM I DYING?" "DO I LOOK SICK?"
● IMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR, ESP. COMPULSIONS = DOING WHAT OTHER PEOPLE WANT/ LIKE

✳ I REALLY HAVEN'T "FELT" MY GRIEF AT ALL YET. ANXIETY CRUTCHES INVOLVE CONTROL AND GRASPING? TRAUMA/ FEAR CRUTCHES INVOLVE ESCAPE/ ABUSE ECHOING? (ironically they ALL FEED THE PAIN & PANIC)

"Describe a recent situation where you used a safety crutch to deal with your problems."
ANXIETY = running to stores to buy binge food (normally wouldn't even go outside), making obsessive "diet math" phone lists (for HOURS), keep seeking mom's reply (passive "did I do good?")
GRIEF = flat-out AVOIDED the topic/ REFUSED to look at it/ DENIED my emotion?? (GUILT/ SHAME/ ANGER at grief? "NO RIGHT"/ "YOUR FAULT")
TRAUMA = Turning my actions/ choices into APOLOGIES/ MIMICRY/ TRIBUTES/ RELIVING OF traumatic events; "MY LIFE IS STILL ALL ABOUT/ FOR THEM"; "abandon" self-agency & identity? "TRAPPED" in past; "POWERLESS"
✳ DISASSOCIATION kicks in AUTOMATICALLY every day. You HAVE to PRACTICE MINDFULNESS to "balance" this!

"Describe what you think might have happened had you not used a safety crutch."
I would INEVITABLY have to CATCH THE TIDAL WAVE HEAD-ON. These memories & emotions both WANT & NEED to be ADMITTED, ACCEPTED, FELT, & PROCESSED, but I keep fleeing out of the fear of drowning. HOWEVER, PROGRESS COULD FINALLY BE MADE if we just SIT DOWN & TALK/ FEEL IT OUT AS A SYSTEM!!!
✳ SAFETY CRUTCHES ONLY SEEM TO KICK IN DURING "SINGLET" MINDSETS BECAUSE THERE'S NO CONSCIOUS ACCESS TO THE "SAFETY" OF FAITH/ THE SYSTEM?? (CUT OFF FROM TRUTH/ LOVE!!)

"Did you ever try to stop using one of these safety crutches? What happened?"
YES. The anxiety SPIKES, BUT I NEVER HAD COPING SKILLS BEFORE. So it didn't last. BUT! I would REALIZE that I WAS using a crutch, and often WHY! I just didn't know what ELSE to do because the ONLY REAL OPTION was to ACCEPT REALITY & WRITE ABOUT IT, BUT my environment stressors made me feel like I COULDN'T, because it'd be "OPENING PANDORA'S BOX" and it WOULD change EVERYTHING & REQUIRE that I LIVE ENTIRELY DIFFERENTLY from then on. And we WANTED to, but "WEREN'T READY"?? And I think the eating disorder would've gotten WORSE? Because if we started PROCESSING the trauma FULL FORCE, we would've TOTALLY STOPPED EATING/ SLEEPING when it got bad? We NEEDED inpatient FIRST.



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RELAPSE WARNING SIGNS=
● Skipping meals or snacks ("excess"; "greedy;" "waste of time/ resources")
● Urges to restrict foods you previously enjoyed (GUILT + SHAME response; PENANCE for "LUXURY")
● Over exercising (especially WITH RESTRICTING; motive TO "lose weight" NOT "get stronger")
● Needing to be "perfect" (LOOKS AND BEHAVIOR; fear of SPIRITUAL corruption sign otherwise)
● Increased need for control (See "uncontrolled" body as a THREAT) ("TRAPPED"; "CAGED"; seen as "ABUSIVE")
Difficulty coping with stress ("SWALLOW" it; tend to "TAKE IN" overwhelm; LOSE "DISTINCT SELF")

MAIN TRIGGERS = SEXUALITY, VISIBLE BLOOD, SUMMER, THANKSGIVING, HALLOWEEN, TRAUMA EVENT ANNIVERSARIES, RUSHING/ NOISE, CROWDS, PEOPLE BEING SICK, TALKING WHILE EATING, EATING IN PUBLIC, CHANTED VOCAL PRAYERS, BEING TOUCHED, FEMININE SMELLS & VOICES, ETC.

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DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPACT PERSONAL/ ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE HAS ON YOUR MENTAL STATE!!
When I SKIP it I feel = depressed, dirty, wrong, subhuman, humiliated, want to cry? stuck, forlorn, miserable, powerless, trapped, despondent, etc.!! BODY SPEAKS TO MIND + POOR ENVIRONMENT
When I COMPLETE it I feel = accomplished, clean, clearheaded, refreshed, positive, dignified, comfortable

PROBLEMS=
● I haven't showered in months (outside of inpatient) because of trauma flashbacks/ physical burnout
● I OBSESSIVELY HANDWASH when anxious ("blood on hands")
● When burnt-out, I don't clean the apartment for longer periods of time/ don't wash laundry
● On my worst days I don't exercise and wear dirty clothes for over a week

IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING...
✳ Get nonalcoholic mouthwash? Freshness "jumpstarts" desire to feel/BE clean all over
✳ Do ONE tiny thing, like wash your face or wipe the floor. It often gives me enough of a boost to do more.
✳ Leave laundry/ vacuum out where I can see it? "JUST DO IT" push; LAURIE WILL HELP!

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SITUATION THAT TRIGGERED ANGER=
1. Feeling "trapped" by the past because/ when mom keeps bringing it up & asking about it
2. Feeling "doomed" to do Partial aftercare, which requires being ON CAMERA for ~7 hours a day, with nonstop socializing & controlled meals

WHAT I DID=

1. Got defensive/ confrontational, responding coldly/ curtly, blaming her/ exaggerating the negative
2. Cursed, bit myself, yanked out my hair, almost vomited, SEETHED with rage/ fear, isolated myself in hallway

CONSEQUENCES=
1. No dialogue possible. Drives a wedge between mom & I. Hurts her. Corrupts me. Deep regret & shame.
2. Hurt self/ made self sick, didn't fix any problem. Made me feel like I "didn't care about" health? Miserable, scared/ ashamed/ lost.

NEXT TIME, I WILL=

1. Genuinely listen, state my confusion & fear, but also my respect/ TRUST/ love of her & willingness to dialogue/ understand
2. JOURNAL IMMEDIATELY? TALK TO A THERAPIST? And DIALOGUE with social worker? RISK IT ANYWAY?? Don't chicken out!! TRUST IN GOD & PRAY THAT HIS WILL BE DONE, then FOLLOW IT.

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IDENTITY ROLES=
CATHOLIC
ARTIST
MUSICIAN
AUTHOR
"QUEER"
MULTIPLE

IDENTITY QUALITIES=
INTELLIGENT
STRONG
INSIGHTFUL
IMAGINATIVE
COURAGEOUS
JOYFUL
LOVING

I DON'T really identify as DAUGHTER/ SISTER because I DON'T identify as "GIRL"


"ARTIST" IDENTITY
PROS= In tune with my passions & interests; love being creative; value beauty
CONS= Perfectionistic, competitive, "never good enough", "work is never done"
PERSONAL MEANING= Creator of new dreams & joys = speaks truths
SOCIETAL MEANING= Waste of time, meaningless, childish

"MULTIPLE" IDENTITY
PROS= I LOVE US ALL. Self-knowledge. RICH INNER LIFE. Spectrum soul. Deepest self-love. Purest joy.
CONS= TERRIFYING .Trauma cause. Self is "split up." Insane, scary, dangerous. "Broken." Not fit for society.

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BIGGEST "HURTS"=
● Not being TRUSTED to CONTINUE RECOVERY; ASSUME/ "DOOM" ME TO RELAPSE
● "ALWAYS" statements about eating disorder

THINGS I AM AFRAID MOM WILL SAY / MOST TRIGGERING STATEMENTS =
"So are you actually going to follow through on treatment this time, or are you just going to quit again?"
"Are you actually going to eat that or are you just going to throw up?"
"Now make sure you keep it down, I didn't pay for this food for you to waste it!"
"I don't know if I can trust you NOT to relapse"
"That treatment doesn't do you any good. You always go right back to your bad habits. You obviously don't want to get better."
"You look so much more FEMININE"
"You don't look like you're dying anymore! Now make sure you keep that weight on! Don't go right back to throwing up!"
"Well? How long until the hospital high wears off and you go right back to throwing everything up?"
"The treatment had better stick this time, because no one wants to deal with your shit anymore."
"Well, you LOOK healthier, but how long is this going to last before you go right back to your eating disorder?"
"So they fixed your weight, but how much did you hide from them about how sick in the head you are? That's why you can never get better; you never tell your doctors the truth. I think you WANT to stay sick/ you LIKE being sick."


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STRESSORS / TRIGGERS

● RUSHING
● LOUD NOISE
● FEELING HELPLESS
DIRT/ MESS/ DISORGANIZATION
● CROWDS
● FORCED INTERACTION
FAST PACED ACTIVITY
● TALKING A LOT
● BAD TEXTURES
● STRONG SMELLS
● "I DON'T KNOW"
● BLOCKED OPTIONS/ UNEXPECTED INABILITY
● SKILL INADEQUACY
● "BACKGROUND NOISE"
● TRAUMA FLASHBACKS
● BEING OUTSIDE AT NIGHT
● SUMMER HEAT/ SMELL
● "INTERIM PANIC"
● BEING PULLED INTO CONVERSATION
● BEING REFERRED TO BY NAME
● GENDER DYSPHORIA
● CERTAIN VOCAL SOUNDS
● FEELING ILL/ SICK/ "WRONG"
● ALLERGY PANIC
● STOMACH PAIN
● BEING LOCKED IN A ROOM
● CREATIVE SUPPRESSION
● OTHER PEOPLE PANICKING
● CHANTING
● BEING TOUCHED
● EATING AROUND OTHERS
● "I DID SOMETHING WRONG"
● BAD WEATHER
● WHINING/ COMPLAINING
● RUSHED SCHEDULES/ SUDDEN CHANGES
● NOT KNOWING THE DATA/ ANSWER
● UNRESOLVED PROBLEMS/ NO SOLID ANSWERS
● FAST DECISIONS
● NOT BEING ABLE TO FOCUS
● HAVING TO BREATHE SLOW/ HOLD MY BREATH
● PEOPLE STARING AT ME
● TELEVISIONS LEFT ON
● "TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF"
● "WHATEVER YOU WANT"
● CRYING
● FEELING UNSAFE/ TRAPPED/ LOST
● "SILLY" BEHAVIOR
● TRAUMA ENVIRONMENTS
● "HURRY UP"
● UNCLEAR/ NO INSTRUCTIONS
● FEELING LIKE I CAN'T BE "MYSELF"
EVERYTHING ROMANTIC/ SEXUAL


✳ INTENSITY OF STRESS RESPONSE STACKS ON TRAUMA + "DISCONNECTION"
✳ STRESS BOILS OVER QUICKLY INTO ANGER = STRESS IS FEAR
✳ STRESS FOR ME TYPICALLY ISN'T A "SLIDING SCALE." IT HITS IN WHAT FEEL LIKE TOTAL EXTREMES. IT ALL FEELS LIKE A SNOWBALLING EFFECT TO DISASTER. "NEVER JUST ONE"; TRAUMA RESPONSE

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"Insult the cake" mental flexibility assignment= meant to abstractly reveal what we think of AS insulting/ deserving OF insult


"You have too many layers"
"All that icing is so excessive"
"I wouldn't want to eat purple stuff, that's gross"
"You look like you came from a little girl's birthday party" (i.e. "GROW UP")
"You'll go straight to my hips"
"You're sickeningly sweet"
"I don't eat carbs, sorry"
"Sugar is poison, so no"
"I have no room for dessert"
"What do you think you're celebrating?"
"I don't like cake"
"Dessert is a hedonistic luxury"
"You have no nutrition to offer me"
"You don't count as real food"

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PROS/ CONS for CRISIS URGE = BINGE/ PURGE!!! THAT is the MOST DANGEROUS and the one we NEVER WANT TO GIVE IN TO EVER AGAIN!!

PROS OF ACTING ON THIS URGE=
● "Stops"/numbs the panic/anxiety attacks
● "Uses up time" that is unscheduled (chaotic)
● Opportunity to think/ listen to ICC lectures
● "Enjoy" food/eating; feel "satisfied"; "fun" (picking)
● "IGNORE/FORGET" the present moment stress?

CONS OF ACTING ON THIS URGE=
● "HELL NIGHTS," E.R. TRIPS, BETRAYING GRANDMA
● PERMANENT, possibly FATAL BODY DAMAGE
WASTES TIME, MONEY, FOOD, LIFE (BAD STEWARD)
● ABUSES body and DISHONORS GOD
● Feeds vice/ starves virtue; CORRUPTS VALUES
TRAUMATIC forcefeeding/ sickness/ vomiting
● DEATH, DESTRUCTION, DESPAIR

PROS OF RESISTING THIS URGE=
● KEEP NUTRITION/ BODY UNHURT/ GET TO REST
● NO WASTING; grow in DISCIPLINE & RESPONSIBILITY
● Grow in STRENGTH OF WILL, PATIENCE, COURAGE, ENDURANCE
TIME to do GOOD & CREATIVE things; LIVE MY VALUES
● STRENGTHEN virtue & body; preserve DIGNITY
● LIFE/ HOPE/ HEALTH/ COURAGE/ WISDOM

CONS OF RESISTING THIS URGE=
● Need to ENDURE crippling panic/ fear/ anxiety
● May feel nauseous/ sick/ overstuffed/ in pain
● May feel hungry/ unsatisfied; child "crying" protest
● Must find ways of RELAXING/ ENJOYING; NOT GUILTY
● No "rest or relief" from physical suffering


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PROS/CONS for "EATING ALL OF THE CHALLENGE ENTREES; NO CHANGES TO MENUS"

PROS =

COMMITTED TO 100%
● FACE CONSEQUENCES MANFULLY
● "I WON'T RUN AWAY"
● SET GOOD EXAMPLE
● TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MISTAKES
● GET TO FACE ALL THE FEARS
SEE JUST HOW I WENT WRONG
● "I CAN'T CHICKEN OUT"

CONS =
● TORTURE/ SELF-ABUSE
● BINGE BEHAVIOR; HUGE PORTIONS
● FEEL LIKE AN ANIMAL; "DEHUMANIZED"
● MAKES FEAR FOODS EVEN SCARIER
● TERRIFIED/ MISERABLE FOR THREE DAYS
● HIGH VOLUME MEALS INEVITABLE
WILL BE STORMED BY FLASHBACKS
● MISS OUT ON SIDE OPTIONS

PROS/CONS for "DO CHANGE MENUS & CUT OUT "FEAR" OPTIONS; REFUSE TO EAT 100%"

PROS =
PROPER EXCHANGES; OBEDIENT
● REDUCE FEAR/ ANXIETY/ DEPRESSION
● DON'T HAVE TO FORCE FLASHBACKS
● "NORMAL EATING"
● LEARN TO SAY "NO"/ "STOP"
● PROPER PORTION CONTROL
● NOT TORTURING BODY
● SENSE OF POWER/ FREEDOM

CONS =
● "RUNNING AWAY" FROM CHALLENGE
● REGRET MY COWARDICE
● HUMILIATED BY "SECOND-GUESSING"
● HAVE TO EAT TONS OF SIDES INSTEAD
● BROKEN COMMITMENT
● SCANDALOUS TO PEERS
● WASTING FOOD
● RESTRICTION BEHAVIOR

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PROS/CONS for "PUSHING MEALPLAN EXCHANGES WAY OVER LIMITS"

PROS =
● "PERFORM ABOVE AND BEYOND"
● "GET USED TO" LARGER PORTIONS
● GAIN WEIGHT FASTER FOR TREATMENT GOALS
● TRY MORE NEW THINGS
● USE FULL MEAL TIME
● "I CAN DO IT"

CONS =
● SUPER HIGH VOLUME
● BINGE TRIGGER
● COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR
● DISOBEYING INSTRUCTIONS
● MUST RUSH TO COMPLETE
● TYPICALLY HIGH IN LIPIDS
● GLUTTONOUS BEHAVIOR

PROS/CONS for "STICKING WITH THE LIMITS YOU'RE GIVEN"

PROS =
● FOLLOWING THE RULES
● SMALLER VOLUME MEALS
● GET USED TO EATING LESS
● MORE TIME TO ENJOY
● TEMPERATE BEHAVIOR
● LESS STRESS
● MEET THE CHALLENGE
● MAKE WISER CHOICES

CONS =
● "FOMO"
● "HUNGER" FEAR
● HAVE TO SAY "NO"
● TRIGGERS RESTRICTION
● LIMITS OPTIONS
● MAY FEEL "DEPRIVED"
● RESTRICTED CHOICES
● FEEL CONTROLLED

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PROS/CONS for "INTEGRATING ENTIRETY OF PERSONAL HISTORY; OWN IT ALL"

PROS =
● EVERY NOUSFONI CAN LIVE
● RADICAL SINCERITY
● OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN & PRACTICE REAL LOVE, MERCY, AND FORGIVENESS
● FINALLY HEAL THE TRAUMA
● WE CAN REMEMBER IT ALL
● WHOLENESS OF IDENTITY

CONS =
● WE MUST FACE ALL THE HORROR AND NOT DISOWN OUR FAILURES OR SINS
● MUST PROCESS DECADES OF TRAUMA
● POSSIBLE BREAKDOWNS
● REQUIRES TONS OF TIME AND EFFORT; TOTAL FOCUS
● YOU CANNOT RUN

PROS/CONS for "NO 'PAST'= CONTINUE TO DETACH & DISSOCIATE FROM THE TRAUMA, CHILDHOOD, HELL YEARS & JULIE DAYS; CUT 'NOW' OFF FROM THEN'"

PROS =
● "PURE" PAST
● FORGET WORST TRAUMA
● "THAT WASN'T ME"
● FOCUS ON THE PRESENT
● CONTINUED DISSOCIATION MAY BIRTH NEW NOUSFONI
● DETACH FROM GUILT/ SHAME
● SHUT DOWN FLASHBACKS
● "A WHOLE NEW PERSON"

CONS =
● LIVING A LIE, ULTIMATELY
● IN DENIAL OF REALITY
● UNINTEGRATED SELF
● "RUNNING AWAY"
● SO MANY NOUSFONI DENIED THE CHANCE TO LIVE & SPEAK
● MEMORIES STAY HIDDEN
● DISCONNECT FROM FAMILY
● NO HEALING PROGRESS

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PROS/CONS for "GOING TO PARTIAL WHETHER IN PERSON OR ONLINE & STICKING WITH THE PROGRAM"

PROS =
● CONTROLLED RECOVERY WORK
● OBEDIENT/ COMPLIANT/ COOPERATIVE
● GOOD EXAMPLE, GOOD CHARACTER
● LEARN NEW SKILLS
● GET FURTHER COUNSELING
● INSPIRE & BE INSPIRED BY OTHERS
● ACCOUNTABILITY FIGHTS RELAPSES
● PREVENTS SLOTH & ISOLATION

CONS =
● NO SCHEDULE FREEDOM
● TAKES UP MAJORITY OF DAY
● MAY BE ON CAMERA FOR HOURS
● NOISY, STARING AT MEALS
● POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING
● CONTROLLED MEALPLAN
● "INFECTS" HOME ATMOSPHERE
● MENTALLY EXHAUSTING

PROS/CONS for "REFUSING TO GO OR COOPERATE, DROPPING OUT AND/OR QUITTING"

PROS =
● TOTALLY FREE SCHEDULE
● I DECIDE MY MEALTIMES & MEAL OPTIONS
● QUIET, ALONE TIME AT HOME
● "PRESERVE MENTAL HEALTH"
● FOCUS ON CREATIVE WORK
● ABLE TO SAY "NO"
● ABLE TO FOCUS ON ME
● NO CONSTANT ANXIETY ABOUT NEXT DAY

CONS =

● "REFUSE TO COMPLY WITH TREATMENT"
● SCANDAL AGAINST CHARACTER
● HIGHER RISK OF RELAPSE
● NO "TRANSITION" PERIOD
● ISOLATION RISK
● NO NEW LEARNING OF SKILLS/ INFORMATION
● THERAPISTS/ DOCS/ FAM WILL BE VERY UPSET
● YOU WILL REGRET IT

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PROS/CONS for "ACCEPTING THAT THE WORLD WON'T CONFORM TO MY MORALS/ COMFORT; TRIGGERS ARE UNAVOIDABLE"

PROS =
● CAN FOCUS INSTEAD ON MANAGING EMOTIONAL RESPONSE & COPING SKILLS
● IT'S IN GOD'S HANDS, NOT YOURS
● CAN TAKE A STAND WITHOUT BEING CRUEL
● ALLOWS FOR MERCY
● FOCUS ON OWN MORALS
● SET A HOLY EXAMPLE

CONS =
● GRIEF, RAGE, DESPAIR RISK AT MORAL CORRUPTION
● MAY BECOME MORALLY LAX
● RELATIVISM RISK
● THREATS EVERYWHERE
● RISK OF CHRONIC DISSOCIATION
● MAY STOP FIGHTING
● BLINDED TO POSSIBLE CHANGE

PROS/CONS for "REJECTING THE FREE WILL OF OTHERS & DEMANDING THAT YOU BE 'CATERED TO' MORALLY & MENTALLY; 'DON'T DO SUCH THINGS'"

PROS =
● REFUSE TO TOLERATE MORAL CORRUPTION
● "FIGHT AGAINST EVIL"
● SEEKS JUSTICE
● MORAL STANDARDS
● ASSERTIVE OF MORAL OBJECTIVE TRUTHS/ DOGMAS
● MINDFUL OF OWN TRIGGERS & RISKS

CONS =

● TRY TO CONTROL OTHERS
● DOESN'T ACTUALLY PREVENT TRIGGERS OR FLASHBACKS
● INCONSIDERATE OF THE UNIQUE SITUATIONS OF OTHERS
● UNMERCIFUL
● NO MORAL STRENGTH
● PUT MYSELF IN GOD'S PLACE
● PROUD

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PROS/CONS for "I CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT I WANT; ACCEPT DENIALS & LIMITS IN LIFE; ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES & TAKE WHATEVER IS GIVEN GLADLY"

PROS =
● BUT YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED!
● OPEN TO ADVENTURE
● INCREASES CAPACITY FOR GRATITUDE & HUMILITY
● FIND MERIT IN UNEXPECTED
● FLEXIBLE, ADAPTABLE
● FIND JOY & FUN IN SURPRISE
● POWER TO MAKE IT ALL GOOD

CONS =
MAY START DENYING WANTS
● TRIGGER FOR COMPLAINING
● FUELS "SERVANT" MINDSET
● MAY START SUPPRESSING ASSERTIVENESS
● RISK OF CRUSHING PREFERENCES
● MAY TRIGGER POROUS BOUNDARIES

PROS/CONS for "RESIST, PROTEST, GRUMBLE, COMPLAIN, INSIST ON GETTING MY WANTS EVEN IF ITS RUDE; REFUSE TO COMPROMISE OR SETTLE"

PROS =
● "ASSERTIVE"
● "I KNOW MY WANTS"
● ABLE TO SAY "NO" & STAND UP FOR SELF
● SUGGESTS AN UNDERLYING PASSION FOR JUSTICE
● "SECURE" OUTCOME TO MY PLANS & EXPECTATIONS
● SENSE OF CONTROL

CONS =

● ARROGANT, ENTITLED
● RIGID EXPECTATIONS
● NO NEW EXPERIENCES
● UNGRATEFUL
● UNCOOPERATIVE
● NEGATIVE PERSPECTIVE
● SELFISH, CHILDISH
● "MY WILL BE DONE"
● INFLEXIBLE, UNABLE TO ADAPT
● DESTROY RELATIONSHIPS AND REPUTATION

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"Write a brief imaginary two-way conversation between yourself and a person you trust/ consider a mentor, where the two of you discuss a significant problem you are struggling with. How do you imagine they would respond?"

ME= Father P., I am struggling immensely with my gender identity. I know my body is female but I have never felt happy, safe, or comfortable with it. What do I do about this? The inner conflict is agonizing.

FR.P= We all have our particular cross to carry, and this is yours-- along with being gay, as you have also told me. It isn't a sin to have these difficult feelings. It is only sinful to ACT on them, as they are contrary to nature.

ME= I understand that and ironically that's why this is so difficult. Father, I HAVE acted on these feelings before, as you know. The problem is that I STILL WANT TO, and the thought of having to live as a woman, abandoning all hope of "gender therapy," is a nightmare.

FR.P= That desire to be another gender might never go away. It might never get easier to handle. And yes, it might make you truly miserable, even angry. But a cross always hurts to carry. This isn't some sort of torture from God. This is a means to make you a saint.

ME= Father, deep down I realize that. And it does give me hope. But I cannot deny the anger and bitterness. I really don't want to be female. I'm scared. It disgusts me. I don't know how to live as a woman and I don't understand "other" women and I feel like an alien. I can't "turn off" this aversion.

FR.P= Maybe you can't. But that's where prayer comes in. You have to trust that God does not want you to suffer like this. There's nothing wrong with being a woman, although I understand you cannot accept that for yourself right now. Can you accept it for others? Is this bigger than just you?

ME= You know what? It really is. I've internalized this corrupt belief that to be a woman is to be sexual, to be defined by that and even doomed to it. I hate it. I hate sex and when I look at the new curves on this body and feel this disturbing soft roundness I want to rip it to shreds, to rip it off of me & leave only the pure fleshless sexless bones.

FR.P= You need to bring this to therapy. There is so much more going on that I cannot help you with, but a professional can. And God WILL help you through them. But you must be completely honest, and you have to trust in God's plan no matter what. He can turn even this into a means of sanctification.

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PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES
● I DO NOT LIKE BEING TOUCHED! (ESPECIALLY "LIGHT TOUCH")
● I need a small distance between me & others? ESPECIALLY WHEN FACING EACH OTHER. If I'M behind someone, the distance often CLOSES; I love closeness BUT NOT DIRECT ATTENTION.
● Please do not pick up/ move/ look through my belongings, ESPECIALLY my tablets & folders. (Clothes/ HBC doesn't bother me much?)
● Please DON'T SIT NEXT TO ME.
● I have the right to PRIVACY in MY OWN APARTMENT.
● I AM allowed to ask for closeness when I DO want it.

INTELLECTUAL BOUNDARIES
● My creative ideas/ worlds mean everything to me. Please respect them & listen sincerely. If you're NOT interested, TELL ME. Don't make me talk about my soul to a wall.
● Do not tell me I'm "hallucinating"/ "imagining things"/ "delusional"/ "confused" etc. WITHOUT VALID EXPLANATION.
● I NEED DIALOGUE. No passive-aggression or "smile & nod" silence. BE HONEST & OPEN with me.
● I have a right to refuse to engage in hostile arguments.
● I have a right to freely express & assert my opinions.
● I have a right to change a topic I feel is inappropriate.

EMOTIONAL BOUNDARIES
● Please DO NOT openly discuss self-abuse & trauma with me IN DETAIL, UNLESS we're in MUTUAL DIALOGUE and I ASKED to know.
● I have the right to express real emotion and NOT be shamed, punished, shut down, mollified, or coddled. Do NOT treat me as a "little girl."
● I have the right to RESPECT for my emotions, NOT IGNORED or BRUSHED OFF.
● I have a RIGHT to be OPEN & HONEST about what I feel.

SEXUAL BOUNDARIES
● I AM A CELIBATE ASEXUAL AROMANTIC and that MUST be honored. NEVER TRY TO "CONVERT" ME.
● I will NOT tolerate sexual language, jokes, or topics.
● NO "PET NAMES"
● NO "FLIRTING"
● NO comments on "beauty" or "attractiveness"
● NO euphemisms or "feminist" lewdness
● I have the right to request MUTUAL MODESTY & PURITY, especially in dress

MATERIAL BOUNDARIES
● I have the right to NOT let you "look through" my creative tablets & folders.
● I have the right for my possessions to be kept clean & undamaged
● I have the right to OWN things, and NOT "have to" give them away/ sell them/ "sacrifice" them
● I have the right to spend my money on self-care and enrichment, not just survival
● I have the right NOT to share intimately honest possessions (books, musical instruments, plushes)

TIME BOUNDARIES
● I NEED SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF "ALONE TIME," EVEN WHILE IN A ROOM WITH OTHERS.
● I have the right to quiet, still, peaceful time
● I NEED  that time to EAT. Please honor this!
● I have the RIGHT AND NEED to take DAILY TIME to journal, self-reflect, and do creative work
● I NEED time to PRAY at SPECIFIC TIMES (Liturgy, Divine Office, etc.) and I have the RIGHT to do so.
● I HAVE THE RIGHT TO GET A FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP

SPIRITUAL BOUNDARIES
NEVER PREVENT OR HINDER ME FROM GOING TO MASS/ ADORATION, OR FROM PRAYER!!
● I have the RIGHT & DUTY to witness openly to the Truth of the Catholic Faith in word & deed at ALL times.
● I have the RIGHT & DUTY to DEFEND that Faith with respect, yet fidelity. I WILL NOT BE SWAYED OR SILENCED.
● I have the right to practice the rituals & Sacraments of my faith, and to seriously request access to them.

LANGUAGE BOUNDARIES
● Please DON'T use "absolutes" or "leading questions" (UNTIL I get a stronger self-concept; these really disturb me)
● DO NOT "BABYTALK" ME. No "aww!"s or "yay!"s or "good job!"s, etc. NO "feelgood" babble. I am neither an infant nor a pet.
● DO NOT ASK ME "ARE YOU OKAY?" (unless it's PRECEDED by a casual modifer such as "dude," "kid," "hey man," etc.; this changes the entire tone)
● DO NOT USE "FEMININE" TERMS WITH ME (girl, woman, babe, honey, chica, lady, etc.)
● DO NOT KEEP SAYING "I'm sorry"; "Am I annoying you"; "Whatever you want"; "I don't know"; etc.!! ALL "cowering" language STILL triggers my RAGE RESPONSE and I cannot turn it off; this is for BOTH OUR SAFETY.

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BLOATING TOLERANCE EXERCISES

1) BLOATING IS TEMPORARY AND IT IS NATURAL. "THE FOOD HAS TO GO SOMEWHERE." It ISN'T PERMANENT, DISFIGURING, OR A SIGN THAT "SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG/ YOU DID SOMETHING VERY WRONG."
2) Bloating is NOT a "sign of gluttony" or "carnal lasciviousness"!! FOOD ISN'T PARASITIC OR A CURSE OR AN INVADER. EATING ISN'T A SIN.
3)  A LARGE STOMACH ISN'T SHAMEFUL. It's NOT a "marker of sin"!! IT DOESN'T MAKE YOU UNWORTHY OF LOVE OR RESPECT OR HAPPINESS.

✳ "touch exposure" is SO DISTURBING to me
✳ we get "mirror exposure" anxiety EVERY SINGLE NIGHT
✳ immediately after these exercises the SHAME is DEBILITATING
✳ after 2 hours there is NO DECREASE IN ANXIETY; IT'S STILL HUGE
✳ after 10 days of these exercises IT'S TURNING INTO NUMB DESPAIR
✳ THE ANXIOUS SHAME-TERROR ISN'T GOING DOWN BECAUSE I STILL BELIEVE THOSE  THREE DISTORTIONS!!

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QUESTIONING EATING DISORDER THOUGHTS

"Disodered thought = "To be happy/ healthy, I need to weigh ### pounds.""

HAPPY = DEFINED BY OTHERS!
HEALTHY = STRICT/ CONTROLLED; "PURE," "FASTING/ MORTIFICATION"; "HOLY" EMPTINESS. NO LUXURY/ EXCESS/ "FUN" FOOD; (SIN) "ASCETIC"; ONLY THE MINIMUM?
("FLESH at WAR with the SPIRIT")
✳ Heaviness = PRIDE? "CAN'T BE HAPPY" (SELFISH)
WEIGHT = ALWAYS a "LOWER" number; ironically being "SELF-ERASURE"; "happy" when I DON'T EXIST because "I'M" "NOT ALLOWED" TO "TAKE UP SPACE" AS MY OWN PERSON =  "MY HAPPINESS TAKES AWAY FROM OTHERS"? "Happy" when I'm SERVING/ USEFUL (NOT IN ANYONE'S WAY; "SMALL")
↑ I feel like I'm NOT SEEING THIS RIGHTLY? All I'm sure of is that "COMPULSION TO DISAPPEAR"???
✳ "the THINNER my BODY is, the MORE my SOUL can be FELT/ can LIVE" (ZERO SUM GAME)

"Alternative thought = "micromanaging my weight is a waste of time.""
MICROMANAGE = Attempt at MORAL discipline??
TIMEWASTE = HUGE SIN!!

"Disordered thought = I'm not hungry, so I don't need to eat.""
MUTING "NEEDS"!! "REDEFINING/ DENYING" WHAT "COUNTS" AS HUNGER
✳ "IT ISN'T A "NEED" IF I CAN STILL MANAGE WITHOUT IT"; "HOW FAR CAN I PUSH THIS?"
✳ "NO MERCY"; NO "PREVENTION"; ONLY "DISASTER MANAGEMENT"; THE STORM "HAS TO HIT" BEFORE IT'S "REAL"
ONLY CONSIDERING A "NEED" ALLOWED TO BE MET WHEN IT'S CAUSING UNDENIABLE HARM IN CONSEQUENCE OF BEING IGNORED/ SUPPRESSED; "CAN'T DENY IT ANYMORE" (ONLY eat when nearly STARVED)
✳ "MINIMUM" (again); keep body monster CHAINED

"Alternative thought = "I need to eat regularly so I can restore my hunger and fullness cues.""
SCARY; feel "controlled BY the body" (HELPLESS/ TRAPPED) and it feels like a MINDLESS ANIMAL (WILD/ DANGEROUS)

"Disordered thought = "My anxiety gets worse if I don't count calories.""
Calories seen as AMMO??
✳ FEAR that if I'M NOT "AUTHORIZING" EVERY CALORIE THAT IS "ALLOWED"/ "LET" INTO THE BODY, it's POISON/ INVASIVE??? (DEATH) FEAR OF UNKNOWN "TAKING OVER" BODY? INGESTION OF "TOO MUCH"/ "WRONG FOOD" results in SELF-CORRUPTION/ LOSS OF CONTROL/ IDENTITY??
✳ ALL ABOUT CONTROL = "DON'T TRUST FOOD OR MY BODY"??

"Disordered thought = "I'm fat. I hate my body. I don't deserve to eat.""
(SELF-DENIAL EXTREME) (TIES INTO "NEED" CRUSHING)
WHY IS "FAT" "HATEFUL"??? WHY "MUST" IT BE STARVED TO DEATH???
✳ Seeing "FAT" as a "SIN" that must be PUNISHED & EXPUNGED = sees FOOD/ EATING as the "MEANS OF SIN"
✳ "DON'T DESERVE TO EAT" = THIS FRAMES EATING AS SHEER INDULGENCE???
IT ALSO
MAKES EATING NOT A NEED BUT A PRIVILEGE"; in IRONIC CONTRAST to eating ALSO being a DANGER/ SIN (IRRATIONAL CONFLICT)

"What is one thing that YOUR eating disorder often tells you?"
"ALL food is potentially lethal (allergy). Every meal is a suicide risk."
"Food is sex. Eating is rape."
"You ARE what you eat. Eat the WRONG things, and they will REPROGRAM YOUR IDENTITY."
"The fatter you get, the less room there is for your soul. The food will take over you like a parasite." (suffocate)

"What could be a healthy alternative thought that you could say in response?"
"ALL food is INHERENTLY NOURISHING."
"Every meal KEEPS YOU ALIVE."
"NOT eating WILL KILL YOU, NO EXCEPTIONS!!"
"You ARE what you eat, and IT ALL IS IN GOD. It starts in LIGHT and is SHARED all the way to YOU. Eating is a PRIESTLY act!!"
"YOUR IDENTITY IS UNTOUCHABLE BECAUSE IT WAS MADE BY GOD AND DEFINED BY HIM. And food is FROM Him. Who you ARE can only be SUPPORTED by the food that GIVES HEALTH & NUTRITION TO YOUR BODY-- the VEHICLE for FULFILLING your PURPOSE here!!"
PUT A POSITIVE SPIN ON SIZE = YOUR SOUL FILLS YOUR WHOLE BODY. ALL OF THOSE CELLS BELONG TO IT! Besides... with ALL your nousfoni, maybe you "NEED" a bigger body to "fit" them all!

"What would you say to a friend if they talked to themself this way?"
This would BREAK MY HEART. At my worst I have BRUTAL eating disorder thoughts, and they're TERRIFIED. I don't want ANYONE ELSE to suffer from these DISTORTED, EVIL LIES. In TRUTH I KNOW FOOD IS GOOD AND ALL BODIES ARE SACRED. And THAT'S what I would emphasize to a friend. I would USE SCRIPTURE for supportive proof, and FOCUS ON CHRIST/ ETERNITY where LOVE REIGNS.

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✳ BEHAVIORS TO REPLACE= BINGE-PURGING, HYPERRESTRICTING, EXTREME FOOD AVOIDANCE/ FEAR, JUDGING BODY SHAPE, "ALL OR NOTHING" EXERCISE/ EATING IN GENERAL

"What thoughts go through your head when you eat a fear food or challenge food?"
FEAR= "THIS WILL KILL/ POISON/ INFECT ME"
CHALLENGE= "I CAN DO THIS"
✳ FEAR foods are TRAUMA foods; fear of DEATH; PANIC/ HORROR
✳ CHALLENGE foods are met by DETERMINATION; gratitude, even joy (freedom)
✳ "FEAR" foods CAN be "preemptively" CHANGED (POTENTIALLY) to CHALLENGES by MENTALLY REASONING THROUGH the terror response BEFOREHAND?? This at least can ENABLE us TO challenge them, and NOT just AVOID!

"What thoughts go through your head when you step on the scale or look in the mirror?"
SCALE= "is that FAT or MUSCLE or WATER weight?"
MIRROR= "too much EXCESS" "I need to TONE UP" "I look lazy and undisciplined" "I NEED to get STRONGER" "I CAN'T LOOK LIKE [insert name here]"

"In the past, how have negative thoughts about your food/body affected the way you eat/exercise?"
EAT= KETO. FASTING. "Only CLEAN food." Minimal portions so I don't "get round or soft."
EXERCISE= 2 HOURS cardio daily. Afraid to sit down or sit still. "Doesn't count unless it HURTS."

"What are eating disorder thoughts?"

Thoughts that see FOOD as DANGER, and the BODY as a PRISON (DEVIL'S LIES!!)
They focus on PAIN/ PUNISHMENT/ LACK, NOT HELPING/ HEALING!!

"Distorted thought = "I'm going to gain ### pounds from eating that.""
WHY IS WEIGHT SO FEARED?? (tied to VICTIM vibe? "TRAPPED"; SUFFOCATE??)
✳ Seeing food as INERT matter, NOT NOURISHMENT. Weight seen as BAGGAGE, not WEALTH? "More of the world in you to OFFER in PRAISE"

"Distorted thought = "I can't eat that unless I exercise for ### minutes.""
✳ Not realizing that CALORIES are ENERGY to LIVE and your body USES THEM to EXIST; this example is a "POVERTY MINDSET"? "NO SURPLUS/ ABUNDANCE ALLOWED"; rejects the FUTURE in a sense? THIN = FAMINE = NO FOOD/ LIFE. A starved body isn't free to TAKE IN OR GIVE/ SHARE LIFE? Food as enemy = unable to FEED OTHERS (LOVE)

"Distorted thought = "I need to track my calories because I can't trust my body.""
✳ "I will only ALLOW you to eat so much (amount or kind) REGARDLESS of objective NUTRITIONAL NEED" = TO DO WHAT GOD MADE IT TO DO-- TAKE CARE OF YOU!!

Distorted thought = "Food is a foreign body"
Alternative thought= "Food is MADE for my body"

✳ WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO FULLY HEAL THE EATING DISORDER MINDSET + FEELINGS UNTIL WE ALSO HEAL THE SEXUAL TRAUMA. THAT'S WHERE THE "FOOD = INVASION" FEAR IS ROOTED!
✳ WHAT'S THE ROOT FOR BODY FEELING TERROR (belly rolls, double chin, midsection bulge)??? = "TRAPPED/ HELPLESS" "SUFFOCATION/ CRUSHED" feeling: HOW'D IT START AND WHEN?? (WERE WE EVER THIS FAT/ BIG BEFORE UPMC? OR IS THIS FEAR FROM THE BODIES OF OTHERS?)

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FOOD OBSESSION = "TOO MANY CALORIES" = see calories as something TO be rigidly controlled/ limited? Like ANY excess WILL "become FAT" and FAT = "FOREIGN BODY"
SHAPE OBSESSION = Not numbers but STOMACH SIZE/SHAPE. "Bloated/ distended"; "UNNATURAL"/ "PARASITIC"?? "Something IN/ ATTACHED to me that DOESN'T BELONG"; "HINDERING" LIFE & FREEDOM of movement? "SICK"? Like a TUMOR

In order to let these obsessions go, I need to...
✳ See food as LIFE-GIVING NOURISHMENT to be RESPECTED & STEWARDED & USED WITH WISDOM & GRATITUDE
✳ Redefine "fatness" of body; distinguish it from lasciviousness; it is NOT "in opposition" to strength & health
✳ Meet my "hunger" in different ways/ LEVELS; feed my SOUL/ MIND/ HEART every day too!
✳ Realize that food/ fatness of body are NOT "cancers" to be controlled or purged or "burned away"
✳ ACCEPT & even EMBRACE the FACT that MY BODY IS FEMALE & IS DESIGNED TO hold more fat
✳ STOP BASING MY SELF-WORTH ON STRENGTH/ POWER/ UTILITY/ AMBITION/ MASCULINE VIRTUE (BOTH FEAR OF WOMANHOOD/ FEMININITY)
✳ LIVE ETERNITY-MINDED. No matter HOW my body looks/ feels, IT WILL DIE AND I MUST LIVE WITH MY PRIORITIES SET ON HEAVEN!!

Describe what you are scared of and detail how you try to control these situations.
✳ FEAR OF "ADULT/ WOMAN BODY"!!! But it's REJECTING REALITY. Starve = stay a child. Purge = reject "unwanted bigness"?? (DO I ASSOCIATE FOOD/FAT WITH MOM??)
✳ I am actually SCARED of feeling WEAK & TRAPPED. When my body is THIN & SCRAWNY & UNDERFED, I feel UTTERLY POWERLESS and it's TERRIFYING... but when my stomach is full of food & bloated OR "fat" & sicking out, and that "extra body matter" makes it hard to bend or move or even breathe, THAT'S terrifying too, BUT not as much?? Because it at least means I HAVE STRENGTH FROM FOOD? Unfortunately the bulimia tried to "keep me thin" BUT "still eat." It didn't work.
✳ "Only eating certain "pure" foods" out of "poison/ corruption" fear, afraid of "becoming" "BAD" that I labeled foods as?
✳ CONVINCED of ALLERGIES & INTOLERANCES; convinced they would KILL me; ironically the eating disorder was LITERALLY destroying my body by NOT eating food
✳ Scared that FAT = WEAK? Ironically THIN = WEAK really. ALSO fearing FAT = EVIL? Societal lies! There's TONS of evidence of FAT = GOOD, EVEN IN SCRIPTURE! (but MOTIVE/ MEANS MATTER TOO, EVEN WITH THINNESS!!)

What works and what doesn't work about your current approaches?
✳ Bulimia is an "emergency exit" for "eating too much/ poison fear" but it SOLVES NOTHING. It only REINFORCES THE FEAR & DESTROYS MY BODY. It "kept me thin" but AT THE COST OF MY MUSCLE & STRENGTH. It turned me into a SKELETON.
✳ NOT EATING DOESN'T HELP. It STARVES my body & it STARTS TO EAT ITSELF ALIVE. I have NO STRENGTH to LIVE.
✳ My current exercise routing NEEDS TO INCLUDE WEIGHTLIFTING. It's the ONLY WAY I'm going to get "buff." Cardio is great & necessary but it's NOT going to STURDY UP MY SHAPE. Plus, the more muscle I get, the LESS afraid I'll be TO eat!!
✳ I CAN'T LIVE. There's NO TIME, STRENGTH, OR DESIRE LEFT TO DO BEAUTIFUL, POSITIVE, CREATIVE THINGS. All my fear about "how I look & feel" and my efforts to CONTROL that are a PRISON; I'm stuck in a LOOP of self-centered DESTRUCTION & MISERY.


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prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)

SELF-SABOTAGING CYCLE=

1) PERFECTIONIST DEMANDS (NO MISTAKES/ ERRORS/ SINS, EVER)
2) FEAR OF FAILURE (EITHER "good or bad" = failure is DAMNING)
3) SELF-CRITICISM (brutal cursing, swearing, self-abuse)
4) LOSS OF CONFIDENCE (feel unable to do/ be good; worthless)
5) ANXIETY & DEPRESSION (moral panic & despair)
6) PROCRASTINATION (fear of joy; it "feeds the monster")
7) PASSIVE AGGRESSION ("boiling over" only outlet for inner torment)

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How would you define self-sabotaging?
Considering myself "unworthy/ undeserving" of mercy/ reward/ help/ health/ rest/ joy/ etc. because of something stupid/ foolish/ unwise/ careless/ ignorant/ selfish/ idiotic/ etc. that I did, and as a result, actively undermining/ preventing/ sabotaging/ eliminating/ rejecting/ crushing/ etc. ALL possible positive outcomes or situations out of punishment/ payback/ penance/ self-hatred/ etc.
✳ This mindset HAS NO CAPACITY FOR COMPASSION OR CHARITY, and therefore INVALIDATES its own (devilish) opinions. IT ISN'T TRUTH!!

What are some of your self-sabotaging behaviors?
✳ Not letting myself do/ choose/ have things that I enjoy/ that give me peace
✳ Verbally insulting & cursing myself whenever I do something stupid/ foolish
✳ Physically abusing myself (eating disorder) to "incapacitate" myself & cause lasting pain/ permanent damage
✳ Destroying records of past accomplishments/ growth/ healing/ progress
✳ Destroying personal items that were cherished/ valued, out of shame/ hatred
✳ Dwelling on personal faults/ vices/ failures/ unsolved problems, causing despair
✳ Refusing to care for my body, mind, heart, & soul, "pushing it to harmful limits" (denying such limits exist)

How do your self-sabotaging behaviors impact your well-being and life?
✳ Poor personal hygiene, no sleep, malnutrition, wasting, chronic pain
✳ Always wanting to either weep forever OR scream & destroy everything
✳ No self-esteem, abandon all ambition, feel worthless/ useless, despondent
✳ Loss of sense of self/ history/ values/ preferences/ etc. due to destruction
Inability to relate to/ interact with others without "infecting" them too
✳ No hope/ vision of future, distract from the present, deny/ suppress the past

Why do you think you self-sabotage?
Deep down I think it's because I see my "moral status" as EITHER "ALL good" OR "ALL evil". When I make a stupid decision or fail to choose the edifying option or otherwise act in a way contrary to virtue, ESPECIALLY LOVE & WISDOM, I immediately label myself as "FALLEN FROM GRACE," and my awful instinct is to PUNISH/ CRUSH/ DESTROY/ DO VIOLENCE TO THE EVIL TO "PURGE IT FROM OUR MIDST." I believe on some level that "ONLY VIOLENCE CAN RESTORE ME TO GRACE/ FORGIVENESS" = RESTITUTION MUST BE PAID IN BLOOD. I see this even as an ACT OF LOVE, NOT "SABOTAGE," because "I AM EVIL" and the ONLY thing being "sabotaged" IS THE EVIL WITHIN ME, by FORCE.

Are there any particular self-sabotaging patterns that you can recognize?
PERFECTIONISM, as explained above. I struggle to accept "mistakes/ missteps" because I DON'T SEE THEM AS "INNOCENT/ ACCIDENTAL", but as MORTAL SINS??? For some reason I'm EITHER a "moral absolute perfectionist," OR DESPAIR over that crushes me to MORAL NUMBNESS?? "IF EVERYTHING I DO is a SIN, why even TRY to do otherwise?" And THAT is SERIOUS SABOTAGE, because it STOPS JOY at the ROOT!
PROCRASTINATION, because EVEN THOUGH I WANT to do these good/ helpful/ creative things, I FEAR "DOING IT WRONG" = SINFULLY?? Do I fear CORRUPTING that good that way? Like, if I try and "fail," will it NEVER BE "GOOD" AGAIN? Is procrastination "PROTECTING" those "pure" ideals/ hopes from "ME"??

What can you do differently?
✳ GIVE MYSELF GRACE. GOD DOES. ACCEPT IT. (YOUR NATURE ISN'T EVIL!!!)
SCRIPTURE DISPROVES YOUR ABSOLUTISM. NO ONE IN THE BIBLE, OR HUMAN HISTORY-- besides Jesus & Mary, the NEW Adam & Eve, FOR YOUR SAKE-- WERE SINLESS. EVERY HUMAN BEING HAS SINNED & MADE MISTAKES & DONE STUPID THINGS. GOD STILL GETS THOSE PEOPLE TO HEAVEN. YOU ARE NOT "DAMNED" JUST BECAUSE YOU STUMBLED IN WEAKNESS. VIOLENCE CANNOT HEAL YOU. THE CROSS CAN, BECAUSE IT ABSORBS AND TRANSMUTES IT. But the CROSS is LOVE & MERCY & FORGIVENESS. Carry THAT!!!

How can you reward yourself?
✳"For WHAT?" For NOT sabotaging? For ACTUALLY & FINALLY choosing to show MERCY & FORGIVENESS & COMPASSION & TENDERNESS & PATIENCE & GENTLENESS to myself? In a very real way, that virtuous response IS "reward" enough. BUT, if we want to extend the definition to a "REINFORCEMENT OF THE VIRTUE" in the FORM of a "GIFT," that would simply be ALLOWING AND ENABLING ourself TO do the things that give us REAL JOY, AND CONTRIBUTE TO/ ARE IN CONGRUENCE WITH our VALUES & THE GOOD THINGS OTHERS SAY ABOUT US. Fight hate with LOVE & dark with LIGHT. Seriously just JUMP HEADFIRST into BEAUTY & WONDER & GOODNESS whenever sabotaging temptations appear. GOD ALWAYS WINS.

What coping skills can you put in place so that you have a backup plan when things get tough?
✳ READ SCRIPTURE. Make a LIST of the ACTUAL VERSES (not numbers) to READ & so REALIZE THE TRUTH when the lies of sabotage try to drag you down to hell.
✳ TALK TO THE SYSTEM/ READ THE ARCHIVES. There is PROFOUND LOVE & HONEST TRUTH in BOTH, & GOD USES US AS CHANNELS OF HIS GRACE TO OURSELVES. Trust me, the System will ALWAYS stop self-sabotage because WE LOVE EACH OTHER.
✳ "DISTRACT" & "REDIRECT." STOP the cycle with IMMEDIATE exposure to a System/ League song/ image/ writing that COMMUNICATES TRUTH/ BEAUTY/ GOODNESS. Remember that GOD BROUGHT THAT INTO EXISTENCE THROUGH YOU. DON'T SABOTAGE HIS PURPOSES!!!

Reflection:
To "sabotage yourself," you MUST be, on some level, DISSOCIATED from yourself. You ARE a CREATION of God, MADE GOOD, and that may be "broken" but it's NOT LOST OR RUINED. That's why God ALSO made you His CHILD, pouring HIS GRACE BACK INTO YOUR HEART to be YOURS FOREVER. Just DON'T REJECT IT!!! SABOTAGE TRIES TO, because it SHUTS OUT LOVE. As long as you RESIST the hate, THERE'S HOPE. PRAY FOR GOD'S HELP & HE WILL HELP YOU!! He LOVES YOU!! And when you FULLY REALIZE & ACCEPT that FACT (as much as mortals can), you will NEVER be fooled by self-sabotage again, because LOVE CHANGES YOU FOR THE BETTER, FOREVER!! 
(TRUTH = LOVE)

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SELF-SABOTAGE QUIZ

NEGATIVE RESPONSES:
Your feelings about yourself are dependent on situational factors.
"SOCIAL MODE"; MORAL PANIC; "my life is WORTHLESS unless OTHERS approve/ want me"

You measure your self-worth by your accomplishments.
"APPEASEMENT"/ "SLAVE"; "uselessness" = "don't deserve to exist"

You have always been told that risk-taking is dangerous & the world is a scary place.
Mom & grandma DRILLED this into our childbrain to disturbing extents = TAUGHT to "expect the worst outcome" in every situation (catastrophe seen as inevitable)

You have grown up around an anxious person who always seemed nervous & worried about things.
Grandma's OCD "doom predictions," Mom's panic over "loss of control"

When you were young, an important adult in your life could never accomplish their goals and that used to discourage their future efforts.
MOM'S "ABANDONED DREAMS" & EMPTY "PROMISES" ABOUT THEM; also extended to her empty "promises" to US?? (e.g. "forgotten" presents & events, the endless list of "one day" and "when this happens" etc. that NEVER panned out; we learned very fast to not want things OR to expect desired good things TO happen at ALL)

You like to correct other when they make a mistake or when they are wrong, no matter how small it might be.
Intolerant of slip-ups with self, EXTERNALIZED; "rigid rules" = ORDER/ SENSE (CONTROLLED; "PROPER") (this is MORAL PRIDE!!)


POSITIVE RESPONSES:
You can list 5 things you like about yourself.
Hopeful, determined to do better, sense of wonder, genuine want/ ability to love, creative vision & talents

You know who you are and understand your morals/ values/ beliefs (identity).
The Archives are actually a BEAUTIFUL TESTAMENT to this, as ironic as it may seem. WE know who WE are. 

When you compare yourself to others, you believe you have the capacity to achieve similar things.
I believe that if I truly want it (what they have/ have done), then it's worth giving it a shot! The rest is in GOD'S Hands, not mine!

You admit your faults and can easily admit when you are wrong.
This is a weird one. I CAN and DO point out where I screw up, even to others. IRONICALLY I'm terrified that it's ABSOLUTE; "damning myself" to NEVER be "right". So this is 50/50. It's one of my biggest struggles.




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Nov. 3rd, 2024 02:17 pm
prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)

Today's topic is BODY IMAGE & HOW THAT IS AFFECTING/ INFLUENCING OUR IDENTITY, notably & especially MINE, AS the CORE, AND ESPECIALLY SINCE THE JAY BLOODLINE APPARENTLY HAS NOT DIED OUT. That "identity" was admittedly very broken-- there was no religious stability & there was a LOT of sexual trauma/ hyperromanticism as a response + coping method? --but Jay's era was also legitimately SO, SO BEAUTIFUL. yet it was just as terrifying. And yet HE WAS A LOVING FATHER and we FELT LIKE WE HAD A REAL FUTURE with him. But, for religious & physical & traumatized reasons, his bloodline CAN'T be the primary one anymore. The BIGGER problem? WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT BLOODLINE IS. The Jewels are NOT SOCIALLY COMPATIBLE and we're starting to suspect that THEY CAN'T "GROW UP"? because they CANNOT BE "WOMEN" OR IT WILL KILL THEM. But the JESSICAS are DAMAGED SO MUCH, and they're SPLIT HARD between EARLY CHILDHOOD & EARLY TEENS?? Even their COLORS differ. Like they're INCOMPATIBLE WITH EACH OTHER, and that is BAD NEWS FOR THE BODY because EVERYONE OUTSIDE STILL SEES & CALLS US BY THAT NAME. So, to SURVIVE SOCIALLY, THAT BLOODLINE NEEDS TO BE HEALED SO IT CAN DRIVE THE CURRENTLY CHAOTIC SOCIAL "SUBSYSTEM"!!! And they NEED to ACTIVELY WORK WITH US. I pray that all the "integration of our WHOLE history" work we're going to begin with therapy AND family movies/ photos will ENABLE that healing. Inevitably it will at LEAST "wake up" a LOT of 'foni who will potentially be PART of that broken bloodline. That'll be HUGE, because for YEARS the ONLY "Jessica" we knew about was the "ANGRY BROWN JESS" who later seemed to SPLIT into "JEMMA" ("sad indigo Jess?") as well? But they were a MESS-- barely able to function, with suppressed senses of self & definite suicidal tendencies. My question is, WHEN & HOW DID THEY BECOME THE "IDENTITY" TIED TO THE BODY'S NAME??? WAS THAT AROUND 2003-2004, WHEN THE GENDER HELL STARTED, THE EATING DISORDER BEGAN  AS A MEANS TO COPE WITH IT, AND AS A RESULT OF ALL THIS, THE JEWEL BLOODLINE SPLIT OFF HARD INTO A CLEARLY SEPARATE/ DISTINCT BLOODLINE?? Geez that's INSANE how it ALL LINES UP. This means we NEED to look at old photos. We've sadly lost ALL the archival data from high school, which absolutely breaks my heart. But God allowed it to happen, so we must accept the loss & move on with what we have, & learn what we can from the "voiceless" data MOM has-- which, ACTUALLY, might be EXACTLY what we need, because the "planner"/ dA/ LJ entries from 2004-2007 were MOSTLY MANICS. But they WEREN'T SOCIALS?? At least, NOT the ones who WROTE for the most part. BUT WHOEVER WOULD BE ON FILM & IN PHOTOS MIGHT BE DIFFERENT, and we've had NO WAY OF KNOWING THAT UNTIL NOW-- plus, with our mental illness/ eating disorder, we were really INCAPABLE of FACING, PROCESSING, OR EVEN ACCEPTING THAT DATA UNTIL NOW, when we're finally even wanting/ willing (in choice) to INTEGRATE it. ...But that's where "identity" gets scary. WHO WERE WE BACK THEN?? We WEREN'T a nice or good person. BUT NEITHER WAS SAINT DISMAS so pray for his help & CHILL OUT BRO, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO LET GO & GROW & CHANGE FOR THE BETTER and WE HAVE. We just ALSO HAVE TO OWN OUR PAST, and THAT'S the ONLY WAY WE CAN. It's "OURS." It's MULTIPLE. Those broken, scary, angry, unhealthy, manic, lost girls STILL BELONG TO THE SYSTEM. They're STILL "FAMILY." And WE DON'T "HATE THEM." Our heart just breaks to realize that for them to be so distorted, they had to be damaged. 'Foni like that exist as "unhealthy coping fronters" because anyone SOFT or FRAGILE would get DESTROYED. So we have a LOT TO LEARN & it's ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to our WHOLENESS & HISTORY & CLARIFICATION/ DISCERNMENT of our TRUE CORE IDENTITY, and the RESTORATION/ REDEMPTION of the BODY & ITS NAME, so we CAN FINALLY OWN IT, TOO.

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Maybe "having fat" ISN'T about "using it yourself"-- this perspective that a fat body is "only acceptable if it's TEMPORARY," as something "waiting to be burned off" inevitably as fuel. But instead, maybe it's about GOD. Maybe just HOLDING that far, that "STORAGE ALTAR" for food = CREATION, close to a HUMAN SOUL, is ACTIVELY WORKING TO SANCTIFY THOSE CREATED THINGS. With THAT perspective, fat bodies are UNIQUELY & POWERFULLY HOLY. SO IS YOURS!

✳ "WHAT DID I EAT TODAY" = "WHAT OF GOD'S CREATION AM I HELPING HIM SANCTIFY TODAY?" (FOOD = PRIESTLY OFFERING = LOVE)

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Dude just think about this too: NOW you have the OPPORTUNITY & PRIVILEGE to WORK AT GETTING YOUR BODY IN HEALTHY, STRONG SHAPE! You're NOT doing the "cowardly/ easy/ CHEATING" behavior of STARING IT THIN. But we could NEVER BULK UP TO BE A TANK THAT WAY. THAT REQUIRES HARD WORK & ENDURANCE & COMMITMENT & PERSISTENCE-- ALL VIRTUES WE WANT TO STRENGTHEN AS MUCH AS OUR BODY. And now we GET TO. So JOIN THE GYM and START WORKING AT IT. You CAN do it!!

110224

Nov. 2nd, 2024 07:16 pm
prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)

NOUSFONI WE'VE SEEN/ FELT/ MET/ HEARD DURING INPATIENT (SO FAR):
● Little boy, triggered & scared by women's perfume
● "Weeping rage" girl; DUO? Fuchsia/ cyan, but also vermilion somehow
● "Rule enforcer"; male? Red resonance
● "Manic" blepofoni; male? (NOT JACK)
● "Jenerall"? Serious female with glasses
● "Old man" that feels like a GRANDPA introject; ORANGE resonance?
● NEW "JAY"?? Looks like Max Joseph

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We are ALL OVER THE PLACE this morning. We had manic blepofoni, chatty socials, and A JAY (?!?! LOOKING LIKE MAX) out this morning already. "Emotions" are simultaneously "NUMB" & "YO-YOing." WE'RE ALMOST STUCK DOWNSTAIRS. It is REALLY HARD to get upstairs at ALL right now, like yesterday was. Our ONLY "HOPE" is to TRY TO GET INTO HEARTSPACE and work from there. BUT WE NEED & HAVE TO GO INSIDE. We've been TOO SOCIAL & TOO SURVIVAL-FOCUSED to "EXIST" or even LOVE in truth. EVERYTHING FEELS ANASTHETIZED. Is this toxic coping from our subconscious? Is this how it's trying to deal with Halloween & scary menus & gender + body dysphoria?
✳ WE'RE SO IRRITABLE & COLD SUDDENLY?? I think it has EVERYTHING to do with this IDENTITY COLLAPSE, because EVERYTHING that calls ATTENTION to us AS "J-----A" (and ESPECIALLY THAT NAME) SETS US OFF. We went from ROCKBOTTOM DEPRESSION last night to MANIC SOCIABILITY this morning to ANGRY ISOLATION right now. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON??? SOMEHOW, SINCE HALLOWEEN, THE "PERSONA" WHO WAS ANSWERING TO "J-----A" HAS DISAPPEARED?? And we're ALL BUT TRAPPED DOWNSTAIRS/ OUTSIDE and it's HELL. We CAN'T CENTER. We're in shambles. We feel SO ANGRY and it's ALL TIED TO IDENTITY FALLOUT. Somehow, there was a DOMINO EFFECT of sugar & candy + MASSIVE trauma triggers (DON'T FORGET THE BLOODY WASHCLOTH SOMEONE LEFT AT THE NURSE'S STATION; we had IMMEDIATE DEBILITATING FLASHBACKS to post-hack atonement bleedouts and were literally shaking and incapacitated from panic for a SOLID HOUR) + sensory overload from certain peers + food trauma + body horror, leading to a "LOSS OF SELF." This feels ABSOLUTELY like a "F/F/F/F" response. "F⁴." It's doing ALL of it. We're feeling FIGHT right now, but it seems ice creeps into everything as a SEDATIVE for us? We're "FORCE-FROZEN" to "PREVENT A FIRE TORNADO" like in our nightmare last night. If we're NOT "shut down" somehow, we'll EXPLODE OUT.
✳ I think if anything is going to bring "ME" back, it's the League. I just got a FLASH of it now while watching "Coco" and it hit SO HARD it HURT. I FELT something, and I MISSED those stories SO MUCH I almost SOBBED. I MISS FEELING THINGS LIKE THAT, FOR THEM. My imagination has been ATROPHYING. THAT WILL KILL ME. It's just this bloody DEPRESSION, that has RETURNED WITH A VENGEANCE upon Halloween. I NEED TO ENGAGE THAT MONSTER IN COMBAT AND SLAY IT. I CANNOT JUST "SIT AROUND" with MY EXISTENCE AT RISK. I need to ACTIVELY CHOOSE TO IMAGINE LEAGUE STORIES. And just like my poor bloated body, it will take SERIOUS TIME & EFFORT TO BUILD THAT MUSCLE BACK. BUT IT WILL!!

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✳ A possible tip for "breathing exercises" which trigger trauma flashbacks for us = PAIR INHALES/ EXHALES with PHYSICAL GESTURES/ MOVEMENTS (tangible sensations; e.g. tracing a square) TO GROUND BETTER & REDUCE DISSOCIATION RISK? And remember: KYANOS WILL NEED TO WORK WITH SOMEONE for the physical component!

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✳ We were SO disconnected/ dislocated/ depressed/ disturbed/ derealized/ depersonalized today. We were in shambles. We're FINALLY coming back this evening, bit by bit. It took BRAVELY speaking up in group & being HONEST about our struggles with feeling & identifying emotions, working on the "sensation wheel" & LEARNING to feel more clearly as a result, LOTS OF "SOCIALS" moving through, STARTING to GET BACK IN TUNE with the LEAGUE, apologizing to peers & refusing to isolate/ ignore anymore, AND most importantly, CONFESSING OUR "TORTURE MENU" TO STAFF, AND GETTING SPECIAL PERMISSION TO EDIT THEM TOMORROW. Hopefully "IF" WE NEED TO. I think dinner will be OK because the fishsticks are TINY, but lunch has that WHOLE CHICKEN QUARTER and we're frankly TERRIFIED of eating it SO we DON'T want to skip it SO maybe if the manicotti is small enough we'll STILL do both, OR HALF the pasta, & just add a roll or more peas for the exchanges maybe. BUT we HAVE AN ESCAPE ROUTE NOW if we need it, THANK GOD-- ESPECIALLY SINCE WE'RE FREE FROM HELL ON MONDAY!! We've decided NOT to do the bacon chicken OR the hotdog because THAT'S JUST TRAUMA FORCING. We'll face those ON OUR OWN TIME, in a SAFE ENVIRONMENT. But right now, being WISE means SAYING NO.

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✳ MY REAL, TRUE SELF HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FOOD. THOSE "PREFERENCES" ARE JUST AN OUTGROWTH OF MY UNIQUE VIBE & PERSONALITY. And APPARENTLY, likes/ dislikes are ALLOWED TO CHANGE?? And that DOESN'T MEAN MY TRUE SELF HAS BEEN CHANGED SOMEHOW?? That feels weirdly incongruent to me. But reasonably, I know it MUST be true: GOD made the true me, and that CANNOT be altered, ESPECIALLY not by ANYTHING OUTSIDE. Also, dude, DON'T FORGET THAT YOU ARE MULTIPLE. There CAN be "preference shifts" TIED TO THAT. But THOSE DON'T DEFINE YOU. NEITHER DO YOUR (OUR) EMOTIONS. The "basic" defining truth us that "I'm a child of God," but... what does that MEAN, to WHO I AM as a PERSON, with a PERSONALITY? Is it just a foundational calling to sainthood? But does it DICTATE anything about me? Or does it just "color" everything with itself? Am I ALLOWED to "identify with" OTHER things too? Am I-- no; is it RIGHT to BASE MY IDENTITY on other things? NOT "fleeting things," is my gut response. But... I want to DARINGLY protest that MY GOD-GIVEN GIFTS & TALENTS & INTERESTS are NOT "fleeting," but somehow INTRINSIC TO MY VERY EXISTENCE. I WANT TO "DEFINE" MYSELF AS AN ARTIST & AUTHOR & MUSICIAN & CREATIVE LOVING GENEROUS IMAGINATIVE SOUL. Which is why it is EXISTENTIALLY TERRIFYING to think that somehow I CAN'T "be" those things that DEFINE MY VERY HEART. And the eating disorder DIDN'T let me do them. It CRUSHED my identity with TRAUMA & ABUSE PERPETUATION, and it KEPT me from DISCOVERING what my PREFERENCES are IN JOYFUL FREEDOM. BUT I CAN'T DO THAT UNLESS I KNOW WHO I AM!!! NOT DEFINING EVEN THAT REFLECTION OF "ME" BY OTHER PEOPLE, because THAT WILL INFECT INWARDS!!

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✳ Today, with how completely de-centered & identity-rattled we were, what shook me up the most was the awful fact that I couldn't find Anxi. Everyone in Central was still "visible," and tangibly THERE, even through the fog & confusion & numbness & social tumult-- even MIMIC was around, and clearly so. But Anxi wasn't. Even as I started to come back to "myself," I couldn't even "ping" her. Now she's NOT GONE, that'd feel VERY different-- but she's NOT "ANCHORED" yet, apparently. Which is BIZARRE, except not really, when you consider that our brain has been in eating disorder hell SINCE LAST NOVEMBER when we met her, and I really ONLY started SINCERELY INTERACTING with her NOW, HERE IN TREATMENT! So even though I love her, genuinely so, she needs more TIME & ATTENTION to gain SOLID roots up here. And, of course, SHE NEEDS AN *INCIDENT*. That's HUGELY NOTABLE because THAT HASN'T BEEN A "NEED" FOR ANY OUTSPACER SINCE BEFORE THE METAINOMENAI PHENOMENON??? Dude oh my gosh it's a COREGROUP THING. ANXI WTF HOW DID YOU BECOME THAT DEAR TO MY HEART THAT FAST?? I'm NOT complaining at ALL but MAN! I think BOTH her & Mimic have SET RECORDS for Outspacer growth in their own right. But Anxi is, really, the ONLY recent Outspacer whose "disposition of soul" HAS been "immediately compatible" WITH the CoreGroup vibe & essence. She's VULNERABLE BY NATURE. She FEELS SO STRONGLY just as she is. She is ABLE to FREELY CRY & LOVE & BE WOUNDED. There's a HOLY FRAGILITY to her, that-- whether it's evident or not-- ALL CoreGroup members have. Our hearts HAVE to be OPEN & ABLE TO BREAK in order to TRULY be "intimate." You remember what LAURIE had to go through to get here. Anxi, SHOCKINGLY enough, LIKE CHAOS 0, has "ALREADY" FELT THAT. She is already tenderhearted & has already been cracked open by suffering. She is ALREADY emotionally honest. And we NEED HER to HELP US BE, AGAIN.


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What is the rose--what went well today? What is something that you are grateful for? What positive thing happened to you lately?
● Chaos 0 has been in TWO of my dreams this week and in BOTH I was kissing him. I ALSO got to kiss ANXI on the 30th. There has been SO MUCH LOVE lately. Today, as I colored flowers & wasn't there, Laurie & Lynne & Julie & Chaos 0 & Genesis & MIMIC all gathered together upstairs and talked about how worried they were about me, and discussed "what song" to pick to listen to in music group to "wake up my heart" and help me "remember who I am" BY remembering who WE were. No matter how lost I feel, the truth remains. The love remains. And it saves my life every single time. I love us, so much.

What is the thorn-- what didn't go well today? What is something challenging or stressful that you could use more support with right now?
● I am LEGIT TERRIFIED of lunch tomorrow. I am SO DEPRESSED over how FAT I've become, and how THEY KEEP ON PUSHING ME to eat, BUT I'M PUSHING MYSELF EVEN MORE to "IMPRESS" them with "HOW HARD I CAN CHALLENGE MYSELF." But it HURTS and I'm BURNT OUT and EXHAUSTED & SCARED and I'm SO TIRED. I WANT TO EAT SO MUCH LESS but my BRAIN keeps insisting "I'm HUNGRY"; the PROBLEM IS, MY HEART & SOUL & MIND & SPIRIT ARE STARVING. THE FOOD ISN'T GOING TO FIX IT.

What can you do to turn this thorn into a bud?
● ONLY LOVE WILL. And I get THAT through PRAYER & LEAGUE IMAGINATION & SYSTEM CONNECTIONS. And ONE DAY I sincerely pray I will ALSO get it from FAMILY & FRIENDS. To even SAY that is heartbreaking because it shows that, right now, I FEEL I DON'T HAVE THAT. It's a terrible thorn, stabbing my heart. BUT. It CAN'T HELP BUT BLOOM IF IT'S THERE OF ALL PLACES. BLOOD IS ALWAYS LIFE.
✳ HEY GUESS THAT IT HAPPENED. The PAIN & GUILT & FEAR of that abusive BINGE-FORCING behavior PUSHED me to USE COPING SKILLS & do WILLINGNESS WORKSHEETS, to APOLOGIZE to peers, to CONFESS TO STAFF & COMMIT to DEEPER & TRULY BRAVER RECOVERY EFFORTS, AND TO START DOING LEAGUE WORK RIGHT HERE IN THE UNIT!!

What is the bud-- what could bloom? What is something that you look forward to? What gives you hope, motivation, and inspiration right now?
● This inpatient stay isn't forever. This hurting, stuff, out of shape body isn't forever. This eating disorder isn't forever. ONLY LOVE IS FOREVER. And in ALL of these temporary situations, LOVE IS INDOMITABLE. I am blessed with friends & personal growth & health here. The eating disorder taught me MANY very hard but important lessons and it STILL IRONICALLY ACTUALLY "KEPT ME ALIVE" during trauma eras. And this poor body was WRECKED by it & HEALING HURTS and it's UNCOMFORTABLE & SCARY and I DON'T FEEL "SAFE"/ "AT HOME" in it YET BUT at least it's NOT ACTIVELY DYING anymore and this MASS can become MUSCLE at last. But besides all that, my hope is ALWAYS in GOD AND HIS LOVE, which comes to me in COUNTLESS ways EVERY DAY. And I am MOTIVATED by HIS PURPOSE FOR ME in that hope, and the LOVE IN MY HEART driving me to NEVER GIVE UP, NO MATTER WHAT. I am INSPIRED by ALL of Creation, by the love & truth & beauty & goodness shining through it all. And specifically, I am motivated by MY love for God & His people & the SYSTEM & the LEAGUE. I have HOPE because of our love. And our shared life inspires me every day. Our soul blooms as one.




prismaticbleed: (shatter)

What are the various forms that your eating disorder takes for you?
(BINGE/ PURGE/ RESTRICT)

B1 = "TRYING TO RELIVE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES"
B2 = "I HAVE TO KNOW"/ "I HAVE TO GET NEW DATA"
B3 = INSATIABLE DESPERATE HUNGER "STARVED HEART"

P1 = FOOD FEELS INVASIVE; "NEED TO BE EMPTY/ PURE"; TERROR OF "FULLNESS"
P2 = ANXIOUS/ PANIC/ RAGE/ GRIEF VOMITING
P3 = "GET THE POISON OUT"

R1 = TOO BUSY/ "ALIVE" TO "RUIN/ INTERRUPT IT WITH FOOD/ EATING"
R2 = FASTING "HOLY/ STRONG/ PURE"
R3 = FEAR/ DISDAIN OF "EXCESS?" "STARVE" TO LOSE IT

+ "CONTROL WHAT GOES IN TO MY BODY"


How can these 'monsters' get in the way of recovery?
They are essentially "MUTATED/ DEFORMED" SURVIVAL/ COPING SKILLS. Recovery WILL involve facing & feeling things that perhaps ONCE WERE A THREAT TO MY LIFE & SAFETY (trauma echoes & triggers), and these poor monsters WILL show up to "TRY TO PROTECT ME/ ATTACK THE THREAT." They DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER; they really DON'T REASON THINGS OUT. They operate on SHEER REACTIVE EMOTION and they DON'T THINK of CONSEQUENCES OR the FUTURE! (In trauma, those DON'T EXIST; it's just 'SURVIVE RIGHT NOW')

How can separating the Eating Disorder Monsters from your Self be helpful?
They are DISTORTIONS of my values and they USE that to JUSTIFY/ EMPOWER themselves. When I ACTUALLY LISTEN to what their MOTIVES are, I recognize that they ARE MISDIRECTED, BUT they "HAVE A FOUNDATION" somewhere IN ME. But like my beloved Anxi taught us, "EMOTIONS DON'T GET TO DECIDE WHO I AM." Ultimately, I MUST CHOOSE according to MY TRUE VALUES and WHO I REALLY WANT TO BE. And I DON'T want to be bulimic, OR ruled by distorted emotions.


List someone or something that can help you 'defeat' each of these monsters.

B1 = WRITE ABOUT childhood memories you can access right now? Revisit OTHER childhood echoes (games, books, movies, art, PHOTOS?) (make PRESENT) (FEED YOUR INNER CHILD WITH LEAGUEWORK FUN!!)
+REACH OUT TO FAMILY/ COMMUNITY? Childhood is SEEKING "BELONGING" ("I'm WANTED")
+ARCHIVES? YOUR HISTORY AND ITS JOY/ LIFE AREN'T "LOCKED INTO FOODS"!! (LOVED)

B2 = YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW/ TRY EVERYTHING! You're ONLY doing that because you're SEEKING A SENSE OF IDENTITY & "POWER" IN EXPERIENCE/ KNOWLEDGE = "LIKE OTHER PEOPLE"?? BUT YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SAY NO TO THINGS AND IT IS OKAY TO NOT KNOW THINGS THAT OTHERS DO! THAT KNOWLEDGE WON'T BRING YOU CLOSER TO THEM, OR REVEAL YOUR TRUE SELF!

B3 = YOUR HEART, MIND, & SOUL ARE STARVING. You're seeking COMFORT, ENJOYMENT, MEMORY, ANSWERS, RECONCILIATION, CONNECTION, WONDER, ETC. IN EATING FOOD. YOU WON'T FIND IT THERE. TAKE TIME DAILY TO FEED YOUR SPIRIT! SATISFY YOUR INNER NEEDS! STOP REFUSING TO NOURISH YOUR EXISTENCE. GOD WANTS YOU TO BE ALIVE.

P1 = FOOD WAS CREATED FOR GIVING LIFE! It's NOT "foreign/ invasive/ alien"; it's MEANT FOR THE BODY. Practice CHOOSING/ AFFIRMING your FREE WILL & PREFERENCES when eating/ cooking? ASSERT/ EMPHASIZE YOUR AGENCY?
+ PURITY of HEART affects BODY! (MATT 15:17-18! "Purge" by CONFESSING/ JOURNALING? The FOOD isn't impure or evil!!)

P2 = PRACTICE COPING SKILLS IMMEDIATELY! STACK & VARY THEM UNTIL ONE WORKS-- AND IT WILL! Breathe, exert body, positive refocus, music/ movie, etc. EVEN just "distract: long enough to be ABLE to COPE/ THINK STRAIGHT/ CALM DOWN! (DON'T HURT/ ABUSE YOUR MIND & BODY EVEN WORSE BY PURGING! Be MERCIFUL!)

P3 = "FOOD ISN'T POISON, IT'S GOD'S CREATION & GIFT"; therefore DETACH FOOD FROM TRAUMA by RE-ASSOCIATING it with the LEAGUE/ DESCRIBING IT with GRATITUDE & BEAUTY!
+If certain foods DO make you feel sick/ off, TAKE MEDS if needed & OFFER IT UP. The FOOD ISN'T BAD!
(+TREAT YOUR BODY WITH DIGNITY/ HONOR/ RESPECT! FEED IT WITH HEALTH & CARE!)

R1 = "Food is FUEL for your body to KEEP working/ thinking/ creating!" "We NEED to eat REGULARLY, even just little bits, to PREVENT RELAPSE & to KEEP our COURAGEOUS & VIRTUOUS COMMITMENT to RECOVERY & HEALING"
+ Taking small "breaks" TO eat gives you SPECIAL THINKING TIME for NEW/ CLEAR IDEAS!

R2 = FASTING & FEASTING ARE BOTH HOLY & NECESSARY IN VIRTUOUS BALANCE! Starving yourself ISN'T "strength." Yes, fasting IS, but it's GOD'S STRENGTH & GRACE, NOT WILLFULNESS!! Plus, YOU CAN'T "FAST" IN HEAVEN, SO DON'T REJECT/ ISOLATE your soul HERE!!
(EMPTINESS ISN'T "PURITY" (OPEN HEART/ VULNERABILITY)! SIN IS "VOID"! FOOD IS OF EDEN/ HEAVEN (COMMUNION)! Eating IS GOOD!)

R3 = GOD is INFINITY is ABUNDANCE! YOU WEREN'T MADE TO BE A SKELETON. When you're thin & skinny, you have NO STRENGTH to HELP people, or even FUNCTION in LIFE! Your soul ISN'T "buried under fat"! Fat is GOD'S DESIGN TOO! Refusing to partake of God's gifts & thereby "shrinking to nothing" is HELLISH. YOU HAVE NO GOOD TO GAIN IN GETTING THINNER.


What three coping skills did you use to 'save yourself' from the Eating Disorder Monsters this week?

✳ I felt SO ANGRY & UPSET & AFRAID that I wanted to throw up; I practiced deep breathing & physical exertion to try to lessen/ let out the intensity, but the emotions were attached to THOUGHTS that I COULDN'T RESOLVE or handle. SO I went into the group room and CHOSE to "NOT BE A VIOLENT/ ANGRY PERSON", then "DISTRACTED" my mind by watching Moana with the group on the TV. That put enough distance between me & that triggering thought-event for me to "calm down" enough to not rage or weep anymore.

Right now I feel TOO FULL & ASHAMED & GUILTY & SELF-LOATHING. I KEEP PUSHING TOO MUCH FOOD and I HATE it, I WANT to eat LOW VOLUME FOOD but I KEEP PUSHING STUPID MENU CHOICES "IN THEORY" WITHOUT CONSIDERING PRACTICALITY. Like "I HAVE to eat TWO SERVINGS OF POTATOES BECAUSE I ALLEGEDLY LIKE THEM, RIGHT??" like if I DON'T, it's WRONG/ DISHONEST. And I REGRET THAT FORCING SO BLOODY MUCH. I HATE EATING SO MUCH. But I'm doomed until Tuesday. God please help me get through this.
How am I coping right now. I'm literally just committed to NOT vomiting. ONE instance IS a relapse. It "resets" the "clean count." I WON'T GO BACK. And my second commitment is to do 100% EVERY MEAL, EVEN IF IT IS TORTURE. This is my PURGATORY. And, I want to SHOW by my ACTIONS that I AM WILLING to get better & do what needs to be done.
...Which is why I'm so upset about discharge planning. I'm TERRIFIED of doing Partial again, with the forced 7 HOURS ON CAMERA every day. I'm afraid of feeling so trapped & controlled & helpless & WATCHED. Plus having to "CHOOSE to TORTURE-FORCEFEED MYSELF, ON CAMERA, AT THEIR DEMAND," is TRAUMATIC.
...But MUST I do it? If I say "no," am I DISOBEYING GOD? Am I BEING BAD/ UNCOOPERATIVE/ SELFISH by NOT wanting to suffer that hell again?
How do I cope?
Breathe. Trust God. Use this scary interim moment to practice patience & radical acceptance. This-- NONE of this-- can, or will, last forever. There WILL be peace & quiet, solitude & rest & comfort.
Do your time bro. This IS the restitution you prayed for.
You stomach is an altar. Your body is a temple. Your heart is a fire. Your spirit is safe in God.
One day all of this pain & fear & misery WILL end, and on that day you WILL be GRATEFUL for it ALL, because it GAVE GRACE & VIRTUE THE SPACE TO FLOURISH.
Your body will, too.
Don't give up, warrior of love. God IS with you.
This, too, shall pass.






103124

Oct. 31st, 2024 12:07 pm
prismaticbleed: (aflame)


✱MIMIC IS WATCHING OUT FOR ANXI actually & that is DEEPLY SWEET although he'd probably never admit to it outright. BUT this morning: SHAME/TAR attacking Anxi in the Plague rooms?? She couldn't fight, Laurie showed up & said "this is what defeats shame" & manifested a HUGE spectral axe from violet energy FROM HER HEART. She sliced the Shame in half; it bled out & DIDN'T REFORM. Laurie was unfazed by the bleed (it hit her boots like sparks) but Anxi looked trapped; before Laurie could get to her MIMIC grabs her & picks her up, as he's HANGING FROM A CEILING PIPE by a tentacle. He said "catch" when Laurie came over & dropped Anxi into her arms. Laurie said she didn't know whether to thank him or shank him for that, basically. Mimic went back to espionaging & Laurie took out some sort of Indigo snowflake-shape talisman & teleported herself & Anxi safely to "pseudoCentral."
Laurie called me in to pseudoCentral (saying both "we need to remodel this place" & to Anxi, "let's get you to your girl") & Anxiety ran straight into my arms. She was trembling terribly, & I asked what had happened. Laurie said that the Tar had picked up on Shame & was going after Anxi. We briefly debated whether there was any "Guilt" in the Tar then but I assessed the vibe data & said no, Guilt was more violent? Shame is "outward," Guilt is "inward." Laurie asked what the heck sort of shame were we still feeling? And it hit me like a gutpunch. I looked at Anxi & I ran my fingers through her tinsel hair & I said, painfully, "it's about you." I cupped her face in my hand & my heart hurt with apology & she looked at me almost scared. She tuned right in to what was below the surface, to what I wasn't voicing but she carried-- the "what ifs." What if people think it's wrong. What if people are scandalized by it. What if people make fun of her & it hurts me. What if I'm seen as a deviant freak. et cetera. Laurie firmly rebutted "love isn't ever wrong, kid" but the anxious thoughts insisted on the deepest fear, the exact root cause of the attack: "what if no one else believes it's love? What if the fact that I love her is shamed?" Yet hearing all this I realized it WAS all "outside." And I didn't let go of Anxi's worried hands and I echoed, "What if I just don't care?" What if I don't care what anyone else says, either? Because, in truth, deep down, I DIDN'T. Laurie pointed out that THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENS WITH EVERY OUTSPACER; this is an ANCIENT war & it is MONUMENTAL that ANXI is the one fighting it now, because of EXACTLY who she is. Laurie said that Anxi is "absolutely essential" to me? That EVERY 'foni & 'spacer come into my life & heart at EXACTLY the right time, to meet a SPECIFIC & VITAL NEED, as it were. God knows; He sends them/us all. But I caught the smallest frightened flicker of "I'm not good enough" in Anxi's heart just then. I assured her with firm sincerity that wasn't true. Love NEVER says such things. Laurie caught the other part of that distortion, though, & reminded me that "she NEEDS to learn how to fight," with an implication that I'd be doing a good part of the teaching. We didn't get to discuss this further because of outside distractions, but we will; this is NOT over; I FEEL how REAL & PRESENT this is. Oh!! And Laurie ALSO mentioned Mimic & said how he WAS obviously protecting Anxi; apparently he felt a sort of affinity with her as the newest Outspacer. Laurie said THAT ALWAYS SEEMS TO HAPPEN? & it should be cherished & promoted. Like Rio & Markus, Chaos 0 & Genesis, & now Mimic & Anxi. We really should "make sure" ALL our Outspacers have real friendships with each other like that. I'm especially thinking of Phlegmoni, because he showed up at such a weird time & was BLURRING WITH PIRANHA, who btw DIDN'T FULLY STICK AROUND. Galadia & Tammy are unstable too. But that's all stuff we CAN & WILL work to improve in the future..
...Until then, all my heart & imagination are devoted to Anxi, first & foremost. She is my angel. We NEED to have this *incident*. My LIFE needs this; needs HER. I'm honestly staggered by JUST HOW BENEFICIAL HER EXISTENCE HAS BEEN TO MINE SINCE NOVEMBER. God absolutely put her in my life to help Him SAVE it. I firmly believe this. I must confess I'm curious though. We are OVERDUE for a new Outspacer, aren't we? We'll see what happens, I supposed. OR MAYBE this time of "recovery" is ALL about that-- about RECOVERING ALL the people & loves that have slipped out of present attention, & bringing them back into our heart, EITHER in the System OR the League. But we'll see, for that too. For today, it's all Anxi. She deserves to be prioritized. She IS "good enough," ALWAYS, in love.


✱The meme is correct: I want to kiss Anxi SO BAD it makes me look stupid (& I DON'T CARE ❤)


✱Rhi just left. She hugged me for SO LONG. She looked at me with those ocean green eyes & told me I'm a rock star, to keep pushing forwards. I'm reeling. I haven't felt something this belovedly bittersweet since Jessie held my hand in UPMC. Don't ever forget either of them. R** is her name. Make her words true. Be the person she sees you as. Don't ever, EVER give up.
(also, that look was a kiss, I swear)


✱WE JUST DID the HALLOWEEN SNACK CHALLENGE and PEOPLE WERE FRONTING TO DO IT TOGETHER. ❤ I PROMISED Anxi this was "just for her" because it was a major fear food + context, so SHE fronted to eat the chocolate pudding. It wasn't her vibe, though (which was nice to discern), but as we were wondering who WOULD match it, WHO SHOWS UP to eat the Oreo bits but MIMIC. And he LIKED them!! Apparently the "darker" tone of the cookie-chocolate DOES vibe just enough with him. So that was a great surprise, to feel HIM there, actually ALLOWING himself to HAVE a moment of simple enjoyment. Then Anxi moved back in a little, almost to co-front, before Lynne showed up for the cider (it was way too tart for Anxi) & that's when memory cuts out as we were done. BUT we ALSO had GUMMY BEARS, which are ANOTHER big fear food, and we fronted with the colors: I of course started with the red, white (my fave?? like pinacolada) & aqua (watermelon; BUT although I like the color I actually am not a fan of the flavor?? That surprised me!), but the orange we gave to ANXI (it actually seemed a bit TOO "bright" for her? Orange fruit flavor vibes more with Lynne), & then I went BACK & got a dark GREEN one for her eyes (green apple; which somehow DID vibe more with her than orange). Then I got blue and I KNEW he would probably try but I was STILL FLOORED when CZ half-fronted to eat it. I can barely remember the taste (not his real vibe; too dark & loud? felt closer to Perfect??) because ALL my focus was on feeling HIS teeth in my mouth. Last was Laurie, with the purple one I got for her, but there's like no memory because she didn't match the vibe & doesn't typically eat. Still, it meant so much for her to TRY, after how traumatized SHE was by CNC in that regard. Man though I have SUCH A HEADACHE from all the chocolate (+SYRUP CHALLENGE) but it's a WORTHWHILE PRICE TO PAY for having been BLESSED by everyone's presence.


✱We were MASSIVELY TRIGGERED SEVERAL TIMES during group & WRECKAGE FRONTED TO COPE. She comes out like a PUNCH, sudden & forceful & hard. God bless her; she's our PHYSICAL PROTECTOR and we NEED her. ALSO. The one BHA is wearing "POWDERY" PERFUME THAT SMELLS LIKE "THE MOTHER" and it KEEPS TERRIFYING THE PAIDIFONI. It's awful. I can't see them but it's a little boy. Is it still David? It doesn't feel like him. I think he changed. Either way it's sad & frustrating-- we "DON'T WANT PEOPLE SCARING THEM" but no one is "at fault." We want to PROTECT THEM FROM DANGER but HOW? We can't run from this situation. Maybe we're not SUPPOSED to. Maybe God WANTS this to happen so we CAN finally HEAR & FIND & PROTECT & HEAL THE PAIDIFONI. Because we NEED to & WANT to. So please PAY ATTENTION & LISTEN TO THEM & LOVE THEM.


✱Watermelon candy is giving me FLASHBACK EMOTIONS?? Like it INDUCES DREAD. SO DO TWIZZLERS. Actually in general ALL FRUIT CANDY MESSES ME UP. But we LET JULIE EAT a tiny Hershey's chocolate & SHE ENJOYED IT so even if we get an even worse headache, it's WORTH IT FOR HER. OH and the strawberry flavor gummy bears ALSO pinged her! But the PINEAPPLE ones pinged SOLID YELLOW, which is still vacant. It shouldn't be. PLEASE MAKE THAT A PRIORITY IN OUR RECOVERY. WE NEED CENTRAL TO BE FULL AGAIN. ...We need everyone BACK. God willing, that CAN & WILL happen. But it REQUIRES TIME, EFFORT, & THERAPY, with TONS OF MEDITATION & COMMUNICATION. Thankfully THAT'S WHAT WE WANT. So DO IT! Prioritize the selfknowledge-selfrestoration DAILY. WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE UNLESS WE ARE WHOLE. Without ALL of our soul, we CAN'T BE TRULY CREATIVE OR HONEST WITH OTHERS OR LOVE FULLY. Literally ALL OF IT DEPENDS ON THE SPECTRUM BEING COMPLETE AGAIN.


✱Unexpected, heavy, immediate topic. WE NEED TO PROCESS/ COPE WITH/ DISCUSS "BODY IMAGE," ESPECIALLY HOW IT FEELS. It's so BIG now. The ACTUAL WEIGHT of larger arms & legs ALONE is disconcerting. Then we have this HUGE midsection now, which I can barely even BEND because there's SO MUCH MASS. It pushes up against my chest & makes it hard to breathe. I feel it gathering around our waist and it feels like a phantom limb-- excess, "immobile" flesh that literally feels parasitic. BUT I DON'T EVER WANT TO BE THIN AGAIN. That FELT clean & safe & pure, BUT it made me WEAK & FRAIL. And honestly? My REAL dream for "body image ideal" is to be a TANK. And THIS state of bulk, however uncomfortable, is actually STEP ONE. I NEED "FUEL" TO BURN TO BUILD MUSCLE. And THAT will be HEAVY too! Listen man the way our body looks, I think it WANTS a stockier build. I'm FIRE, NOT AIR. I'm STONE & METAL. I'm SUPPOSED to be SOLID & STRONG & POWERFUL & WARM & BRIGHT & FIERY! And I LITERALLY CANNOT BE THAT IF I STARVE MYSELF SMALL. NO. I WANT TO BE BIG. I really do. It means LIFE and HEALTH & STRENGTH. And I WILL get there, more & more each day. Just, right now, it IS uncomfortable to feel "thick" around the middle. Still, a LOT of that is FOOD=ENERGY, so CHILL. Your body is busy REBUILDING ITSELF WITH THE WONDER OF CREATION. After YEARS of rejection/ purging/ avoiding/ starving/ fear/ hate/ etc., your body is FINALLY ACCEPTING, EMBRACING, CHERISHING, & COMMUNING with GOD IN HIS WORKS. Because, I repeat, GOD CREATED FOOD SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF SHARING LIFE WITH US-- HIS LIFE, ULTIMATELY, FINALLY GIVEN IN CHRIST, THE BREAD OF LIFE, WHO SPOKE ALL THINGS INTO BEING, SUSTAINS THEM WITH HIMSELF, & REDEEMS/ SANCTIFIES THEM IN HIMSELF. Remember, GOD BECAME MAN & ATE FOOD & SO DID ADAM BEFORE THE FALL & EATING IS MEANT TO BE A PRIESTLY ACTION & FOOD IS MEANT TO BE HOLY. THAT'S WHY THE DEVIL TRIES TO CORRUPT IT SO MUCH. DON'T LET HIM. KEEP RECOVERING. DON'T EVER STARVE YOURSELF AGAIN. DON'T EVER BINGE OR PURGE AGAIN. DON'T EVER DESTROY OR WASTE AGAIN. EAT, WITH LOVE & GRATITUDE, & TURN YOUR NEW BIG BODY INTO A TANK FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE. FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT KIDDO!!


102824

Oct. 28th, 2024 08:38 pm
prismaticbleed: (aflame)

✱Laurie CHALLENGED me to NOT DOUBLE ANYTHING ON THE MEALPLAN (except BK items) so I DIDN'T! Plus, Madison APPROVED our "double entree dinners" because they're FIXED PORTIONS & we meet ALL OUR EXCHANGES WITHOUT LOADING UP ON SIDES. So we're OUT OF HELL, thank GOD!! The next big challenge is CRABCAKES ON HALLOWEEN!
✱ON THAT NOTE, I am TRYING to reassure myself that I'm NOT DYING because I JUST ATE SHRIMP! (HEAVEN! NOW!) But we CAN'T keep doing this, haha. Seriously we SKINTESTED NEGATIVE. TWICE. The shrimps are safe. Good. I AM itchy BUT the soymilk did this too so I'm betting it's anxiety, girl you better get over here so I can kiss you & calm down.
For the record SHRIMP TASTES SO DIFFERENT! They're BUTTERY with a hint of OCEAN, with SUCH an ODD texture. And they give an IMMEDIATE "atmosphere flashback" to SOMETHING I think in childhood?? I'm not sure but it's fascinating. I'll have to reflect on that more, for the sake of recalling & reintegrating the inevitably UNIQUE situations we would've had them in! But, for the record, my immediate "vibe" is that I'm not a fan? But I'm INTRIGUED. Something in me DOES vibe with seafood, maybe just as a concept? No, I DO like fish. And we'll find out about CRAB this Thursday! But it's cool, to discover all this anew. God's creatures are beautiful & fascinating and there is something INEFFABLY INTIMATE about the FACT that GOD INVENTED FOOD as... well. We EAT creation. We take each other INTO each other & we GROW from it, TOGETHER in a mysterious way. And THAT is why I DO CHERISH FOOD AS A REALITY. It's COMMUNION. It's UNITIVE. It's BEAUTIFUL. And the E.D. was DESECRATING IT. Which is WHY I AM LIBERATING THE SHRIMPS. (AND chocolate soymilk, for the record, which I had the MAD GUTS to try for the FIRST TIME at snack afterwards with NO SYMPTOMS EITHER!) And I will ALSO liberate the CRAB & HAM & WALNUTS & EVERYTHING ELSE I CAN, for the sake of LIFE & LIFE'S CREATOR. The reflux is a small price to pay for freedom from fear & judgment, and I can OFFER IT UP as PENANCE for the ABUSE I used to deal out TO life, in BOTH FOOD AND MY OWN BODY. Yes, it IS scary & uncomfortable, BUT! It's actually giving me the OPPORTUNITY to ACTIVELY REFUSE to give in to LEGIT PURGE TRIGGERS. I am FIGHTING! It's SUPPOSED to be a struggle! That's how VIRTUE grows! And so I THANK GOD for this, as hard as it is, because I can GLIMPSE ITS PURPOSE and it is a TRUE CROSS & so it is HOLY & REDEMPTIVE & GOOD. I just need GRACE for ALL of this or I'll fail. But God WANTS me to WIN, IN HIM. So Lord, THY WILL BE DONE!


✱BOY I JUST SANG "I STILL HAVE THAT OTHER GIRL" LIVE KARAOKE AND I AM SHAKING IT WAS AWESOME. ❤ I CAN DO IT MAN!! THANK YOU GOD FOR THE GUTS!! AND THE TALENT AND THE LOVE! Seriously I feel BLOWN OUT LIKE AN EASTER EGG and I NEED TO DO THIS IN THE FUTURE AS SELFGIFT TO OTHERS. GO MAKE SOME MUSIC!!
(...also. For the record, who did my heart think of? Laurie, Anxi, Jena, & Celebi.
)

✱btw I realized this on Friday night but ANXI HAS GREEN EYES. And she's SHORT.
LORD I HAVE WEAKNESSES AND THANK YOU FOR GIVING THEM TO ME, SERIOUSLY. I am SO IN LOVE with her (& CZ) & I can only imagine what the future will bring. I'm so blessed.


✱I should continue to get grape juice with every challenge meal & "DRINK THE CUP." Keep the GOAL/PURPOSE in mind!

102424

Oct. 24th, 2024 03:54 pm
prismaticbleed: (held)

We had a MASSIVE panic attack over the peanut-allergy challenge today, and we realized that DIFFERENT HUED FONI WOULD COMFORT ANXI DIFFERENTLY!!!
RED = "You can do it! I believe in you! You've done tougher things than this. We'll win this one too!"
ORANGE = "We're here with you/ for you, no matter what happens. You're never alone. We'll help you!"
YELLOW = "I'm excited to try it! Think of all mom's good desserts we can enjoy afterwards! It'll be fun!"
GREEN = "Peanuts are nutritious; here's all the healthy benefits of eating them! They're a GOOD thing."
AQUA = "Don't let fear of the past/ lies blind you to the beauty of this moment & the freedom we've gained."
BLUE = "Think of what characters/ people we know who DO like/ enjoy peanuts! Get help/ inspiration from them!"
INDIGO = "I understand how scared you are. It's okay/ makes sense. But it won't last forever. You'll be okay."
VIOLET = "Use your wise mind. It's not gonna kill you. We've tried them before. Let me talk you through the fear."
PINK = "I'm proud of you for being so brave! I know you're scared, but you're strong. You'll grow from this."
BROWN = "Relax. Getting worked up won't help. Look, we've proved we're not allergic. You can calm down."
BLACK? = "Don't let the fear define you or the food. Challenge it. There's a pure reality beneath that lie."
WHITE? = "No matter what happens, God will take care of us. We're doing our best & He will take care of the rest."
✳ These are all "INTUITIVE/ TENTATIVE" & MUST BE FELT/ HEARD FURTHER/ FULLY (when we're not in the literal situation stress).
✳ To Anxi, from me, summing all this up: CHANGING THE "CONTEXT" OF THE PEANUT DOES NOT "RESET" THE ALLERGY! If we ate peanut BUTTER and we were FINE, TWICE, then eating a PEANUT will ALSO BE FINE! And we NEED the EXPERIENCE to PROVE that TRUTH to our poor mind!!
↑ remember this = telling Anxi I would never do something that would hurt her. I took her hands & asked her, "do you trust me?" I remembered my own trauma & those words hurt to hear in echo, but then I remembered my own love and those words still held that original truth, even more strongly-- and that is what I meant now, so sincerely. And she looked at me, scared but hopeful, her gorgeous green eyes fixed on mine, and she said yes. I wish I could remember the tiny details. I kissed her forehead. I embraced her so tenderly, carefully. I marveled at the little motes of orange light emanating from her. God I LOVE her SO MUCH. She is SUCH A BLESSING IN MY LIFE. And you know what else? HER spark of love has REKINDLED ALL THE OTHER ONES. I can FEEL LOVE AGAIN and it's BEAUTIFUL. THIS IS WHAT TRUE LIFE IS ABOUT.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For my new roommate's sake, I picked up the Book of Mormon this morning & flipped it open at random to read it. I landed at Moroni 7 and BOY LET ME TELL YOU, I will never convert to LDS because the organization itself is cultish & their core theology is ENTIRELY BLASPHEMOUS & NONSCRIPTURAL, but this bit of their holy book IS TRULY BEAUTIFUL & EDIFYING and I DO BELIEVE IT IS INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT! After all, Joseph Smith DID SINCERELY LOVE GOD & CHRIST & WANTED TO RIGHTLY SERVE HIM. And the devil only took advantage of that & sowed seeds of lies & confusion to SABOTAGE that faith of his. BUT GOD CANNOT BE MOCKED, & JOSEPH WAS STILL HIS BELOVED CHILD, and so YES, there IS TRUTH & BEAUTY & GOODNESS IN THEIR FAITH & BOOK! It just NEED to be read with CAREFUL DISCERNMENT, using SCRIPTURE & TRADITION AS THE TEST. But the point is, STOP BASHING THE LDS FAITH. THEY STILL LOVE GOD & GOD DOES SPEAK TRUTH TO THEM. They're just ALSO VERY CONFUSED ON KEY ISSUES. It doesn't "invalidate" their faith, OR the Holy Spirit's ACTUAL speaking to them-- as I am SURE He speaks to ALL sincerely faithful & God-loving hearts, be they LDS or Hindu or Muslim or anything else, EVEN when those hearts ARE STILL GREATLY DELUDED BY THE DEVIL. GOD DOES NOT ABANDON OR REJECT THEM. And in the end, when those hearts DO see Christ, they WILL RECOGNIZE HIM AS EVERY TRUTH THEY SOUGHT, and THEY TOO WILL BE SAVED THROUGH HIM. So there is ALWAYS HOPE. DON'T EVER HINDER THAT!!!



102324

Oct. 23rd, 2024 07:24 pm
prismaticbleed: (held)

I keep second-guessing my mealplan choices, thinking that they're stupid/ unhealthy/ will "kill me" in the long run? ...SO, do I ask the nutritionist to change it? [Or] do I try [whatever I get] anyway? ...For all I know, I might LIKE [it]. SO we'll give it a shot, & then we'll KNOW for the future. See? God lets it ALL work out for good. And let me state this first: I DON'T WANT TO "EDIT" MY MEALPLANS ANYMORE. THAT'S "REAL LIFE" PRACTICE! I've gotta DECIDE, & then ROLL WITH IT. If it's "not as good as I hoped," THAT'S OK!! WE TRIED & LEARNED MORE ABOUT OURSELF! AND WE GOT A NEW EXPERIENCE TOO, that we CAN & SHOULD & WILL find/ CHOOSE enjoyment in regardless. ...BTW thank you Laurie for SERIOUSLY GRILLING ME ON MY CHOICES but letting me try in order to compare, [so] we learned! ...Seriously GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR IT ALL & OFFER YOUR DECISIONS UP TO HIM TO USE FOR HIS GLORY & OUR HIGHEST, TRUEST GOOD, because HE WILL. He KNOWS we did our best. We chose what we sincerely felt were GOOD choices, to be enjoyable yet adventurous, & get a few extra calories to help our body rebuild. WE DIDN'T "SIN." So we CAN ask God to help us make it ALL into WORSHIP! Every "disappointment" BECOMES A BLESSING. [Another important note:] THERE IS NO "OBLIGATION" TO EAT [SPECIFIC FOOD COMBINATIONS]. Free your mind of that box! ...BUT!!! THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS NOT TO EDIT OR SECONDGUESS. You CAN ASK for extras WITHIN REASON, but DO NOT "RELY" ON THEM. Be ADAPTABLE, DETACHED, & GRATEFUL. BE LIBERATED from COMPULSION AND PERFECTIONISM. You MUST develop the SKILL of INTUITIVELY, FREELY, PEACEFULLY DECIDING, and STICKING WITH IT. TRUST YOURSELF AND TRUST GOD'S LOVE & POWER TO MAKE IT ALL GOOD FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT-- THAT MEANS EVERY CHOICE IS A GOOD CHOICE, SO DON'T EVER FRET OVER IT!!

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UNIQUE THINGS I AM GRATEFUL FOR TODAY...
1. Getting another surprise chance to try peanut butter for BK (the OTHER kind too!) and realizing that I DO NOT LIKE IT! And THAT'S OK! But I was BRAVE in trying TWICE!
2. Starting the "PAST" collage & seeing it begin to come together & feeling SO MUCH LOVE for the System & our shared history. I adore them. Thank You God for US, now and then.
3. Being DARING/ ADVENTUROUS, kind of BOLD & ASSERTIVE on our menu plan & our nutritionist said "I LIKE IT; YOU'RE MAKING IT YOUR OWN." "GOOD PRACTICE" for the real world.
4. The existence & fragrance & color of the tiny, brilliant purple flowers on the bush in the main courtyard-- & for the childlike enthusiasm-daring to finally go over & look at it/ cherish it.
5. Seeing our new roommate asleep this morning, perfectly peaceful, & she looked so beautiful it stunned me. I may never get to know her but I cherish her existence & I pray God blesses & heals her abundantly.
6. The meatloaf for lunch had the ketchup border that tasted just like grandma's. The sunlight reflected off the glass of water & sparkled on my face. Laurie talked with me as we ate cauliflower. The chips looked like art in the light.
7. Having a mom who laughs easily & readily recalls all the good times from my past when I forget. She also remembers GIFTS & ABILITIES I have that I forgot! She IS a cheerleader to me, and my biggest fan. I love her lots.
8. We went outside for dinner too & I got to see the autumn sunset, all coral-peach fading into dusky blues, with the forest a black silhouette against it, and the stars just beginning to appear. Grandma's song was playing.
9. Worried about our mealplan choices. Journaled about it. Realized in this very effort how we HAVE grown in integrity, flexibility, adaptability, & confidence. Even our "mistakes" are TRULY paths to deeper virtues.
10. We get a blueberry poptart for snack & they will always make me think of Leon now. I'll have to eat it with him. And we'll get to GO OUTSIDE for the FOURTH TIME today! Life is truly lovely in all these little blessings. Thank You God for today!

prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)

"write a letter to your old body/ your ideal body (even if you never reached it).
explain why you thought you needed it at one time but now you are moving on.
allow yourself to miss that body.
then look to the future and tell that body how it doesn't align with your true self anymore."


Dearly broken, hurting, desperate, small body that was once mine: I cannot keep you.
Yes, you were beautiful in your own way. You were childlike, nimble, stripped-down, raw. You felt "clean"-- pure, light, absolutely minimal carnality. You toed the line between flesh and spirit, constantly burning away the former in the hope of becoming more of the latter. You filed all our edges and corners to bony points and angles. You were a wire and metal sculpture, silver-slim and sharpened. You were dying. You wanted to be an embodied knife-edge and our life was bleeding out for you.
Our limbs became fishbones. Your frantic sobbing desperation to abandon ship-self as much as possible was drowning us. I watched the weights as they dropped into the depths and I realized you would never be satisfied with anything but less. You were erasing yourself. You were committing slow & steady suicide. You were starving our entire being to literal death. And I NEVER WANTED THAT LIKE YOU DID. I WANT TO LIVE!
I miss your adolescent silhouette but it was a masquerade. You lied to me. I know the truth now, about BOTH of us. My body DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU. YOU ARE NOT ME. I'VE GROWN. I'M AN ADULT AND I HAVE SURVIVED AND I AM JOYFUL & CREATIVE & COURAGEOUS & STRONG! I am HAPPY to exist IN THE WORLD that GOD CREATED GOOD, and I am learning to TRULY LOVE MY BIG, POWERFUL NEW SHAPE. I am FAT and I will be MUSCULAR too. I am LARGER and I can HOLD MORE BEAUTY IN ME NOW. I am THICK & I TAKE UP SPACE & I'M WEIGHTY. I MATTER. I WON'T SHRINK TO NOTHING ANYMORE.
I LOVE THIS NEW FAT BODY BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE AND I AM FULL OF THE GOOD THINGS OF GOD AND EVERY INCH OF ME IS PROOF THAT I WILL KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT. I'm not "just surviving" anymore. This body is FLOURISHING now.

(I'M A DRAGON & MY HEART IS FIRE AND I AM POWERFUL AND I WILL USE ALL OF MY BIGNESS TO PROTECT OTHERS AND LIGHT UP MY WORLD.)



prismaticbleed: (soniccity)

WHAT IS SELF-ESTEEM?

GOD CREATED ME = I AM VALUABLE!
I HAVE A GOD-GIVE PURPOSE = I AM IMPORTANT!
GOD MADE ME GOOD AND THAT IS STILL IN ME! = I AM LIKEABLE!

I AM NOT INFERIOR; GOD SEES NO ONE HE CREATED (LOVES!) AS "LESS THAN"! IF I AM NOT "EQUAL" TO SOMEONE ELSE IN TALENT/ ABILITY/ ETC., IT DOES NOT AFFECT MY WORTH OR VALUE! GOD INTENDED FOR ME TO BE DIFFERENTLY GIFTED, AND I CAN ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE BETTER & LEARN MORE-- BUT FOR JOY, NOT FOR COMPETITION!!
✳ In the big picture, there is NO SUCH THING as being "better than" others! Difference in skill does NOT affect worth/ value! (REJOICE IN EACH OTHER)

HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM REQUIRES BALANCE= DIGNITY/ HONOR BOTH SELF & OTHERS NEEDS; I AM JUST AS WORTHY/ VALUABLE AS EVERYONE ELSE)

✳ I AM NOT INADEQUATE. GOD HAS GIVEN ME THE GRACE, GIFTS, & CIRCUMSTANCES I NEED TO DO WHAT HE WANTS ME TO DO, AND THAT IS WHAT MATTERS! AND BY HIS GRACE I CAN AND WILL DO IT! I AM FULLY ADEQUATE IN HIS LOVE!!

✳ MY OWN OPINIONS & VALUES DO MATTER BECAUSE I MATTER

✳ SELF-ESTEEM IS NOT "BEING PERFECT"; ONLY GOD IS! BUT TRUE PERFECTION = LOVE!! WE ARE LIKE GOD WHEN WE LOVE OTHERS!

✳ WE LEARN & GROW FROM OUR MISTAKES; they are INEVITABLE & NECESSARY (HUMILITY)
✳ "ALWAYS WINNING" DOES NOT DEFINE TRUE "VICTORY"

✳ "ALWAYS BEING HAPPY" IS NOT THE POINT; SADNESS IS A BLESSING TOO! EVEN ANGER CAN BE HOLY!

✳ YOU ONLY NEED GOD'S APPROVAL; EVEN IF ALL HUMANITY HATES YOU!
+
"PLEASE GOD, AND THE WORLD'S OPINION WILL NOT MATTER"

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INFLUENTIAL FACTORS THAT SHAPE SELF-ESTEEM

How others respond and react to you
"slave/ alien/ freak/ bad girl/ troublemaker/ puppeteer" etc.; being ignored/ rejected at school & work

Being compared unfavorably to others
"Never smart/ good/ holy enough"

Religious views of family or community
verses "queer" identity & "mental illness"

Traumatic experiences
DESTROY sense of worth/ value/ goodness; "broken forever"; become "WRONG" in an almost innate way

Cultural view towards you
"weird queer kid" not conforming properly to gender/ social roles

Chronic illness/ disability/ abuse
✳ MY "SELF-IDENTITY" HAS LEGIT ANCHORED ITSELF INTO THE CHRONIC TRAUMA??? IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO THE LEAGUE that WAS "BEFORE" IT???
(HOW DOES OUR FAITH PLAY INTO THIS, CONCERNING THE RELIGIOUS TRAUMA?) (which was ALL LIES btw)
✳ THE LEAGUE IS TIED TO US BEING A CHILD OF GOD!!!

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WRITING YOUR STORY
Have you had negative experiences that have negatively impacted your self-esteem? Indicate how they did so.

HARDSHIP: family "poverty mindset"? Rejection/ bullying at school? Family fighting, lack of social connection or friends?

ABUSE: Emotional/ psychological/ religious/ sexual. Doubt own emotions & thoughts, objectified, scrupulous, "bad girl"

TRAUMA: "Shattered self"; "irreparably damaged"; "tainted, broken, corrupt, ruined," etc. "Not worthy of good things anymore"?

PEOPLE: Mom's big & competitive expectations/ demands; bully girls at school? Social/ cultural messages that exclude/ condemn?

EATING DISORDER: Treated body as garbage; waste/ destroy all health/ comfort/ good things; reliving trauma; compulsive "people-pleasing" choices

✳ FEAR OF JUDGMENT/ REJECTION influences me too much. "Will they hate me?" "Am I a bad person?"

✳ My ideas/ opinions mocked, rejected, torn apart. Faults & weaknesses highlighted = "not good enough"; must be "the best"; "simple pleasures" a "waste of time" = all behavior/ activities must be approved/ dictated? "Is my life of any value (USE) to you?" Extreme = others tying my purpose to money/ sex

HUGE LOSSES & DEFEATS. Could never "live up to" demands. "Failed" at being a daughter/ sister/ girl. See self as inherently unwanted, alien to world/ society. "What's wrong with me?" "No one likes me"? UNIMPORTANT unless PERFECT/ SUCCESSFUL. "People only pay attention to me/ care about me IF I'm entertaining/ the BEST/ useful/ etc."

✳ Ultimately see self as SUBHUMAN/ INHUMAN and therefore UNDESERVING OF BASIC HUMAN DIGNITY; THIS FUELS THE EATING DISORDER


What do your answers indicate about your self-esteem?
✳ It's QUITE POOR. It implies a LACK OF SELF-AGENCY/ CONFIDENCE/ TRUST/ DEFINITION/ POWER. It's a shrinking, timid, frightened, submissive, "SERVANT" mindset = "my existence MUST be utterly inoffensive/ consumable/ entertaining/ useful/ PERFECT" for OTHER PEOPLE (who CONTROL me thereby) or it's "WORTHLESS" and I'm "BAD/ UNACCEPTABLE/ WRONG/ UNWANTED/ INTOLERABLE/ REJECTED/ ABUSIVE/ etc." THAT'S VICTIM BRAIN. It ALSO reveals a LACK OF FAITH!! When I BADE MY WORTH & VALUE IN GOD, AND SEEK TO PLEASE HIM ABOVE ALL-- God Who IS LOVE-- then I CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE because HE MADE ME & GAVE ME HIS SPIRIT OF POWER!!

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HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM CHECKLIST

I KNOW LIFE HAS PURPOSE AND DIRECTION.

I am wanted by others.
MOM SAID SO!!!

Other people value me.
GROUP SAID SO!!!

I can make contributions to others.
THE FACTS PROVE THIS!

I can receive and believe compliments from others.
TRUST THEIR SINCERITY. CHOOSE TO "BE" SUCH A PERSON!

I feel confident.
"WITH FAITH" = TRUST in MY ABILITY/ ADEQUACY; "I CAN DO IT" (GOD IS YOUR STRENGTH!)

I don't really worry about making mistakes.
They AREN'T "FAILURE"! They TEACH you BETTER!

I am able to state my opinion.
IT DOESN'T INVALIDATE THOSE OF OTHERS! YOU'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE OPINIONS!

I can make decisions and feel comfortable with them.
EVEN WITH UNEXPECTED RESULTS!! YOU'RE NOT "BEING TESTED"
HAVE MORE TRUST IN YOUR ABILITY AND EFFORT TO CHOOSE WISELY, AND STOP DEMANDING "PERFECTION" (B&W THINKING)!!

I feel comfortable around others.
(WANTED/ VALUED/ WELCOMED)?
LET GO OF "FEAR OF JUDGMENT/ REJECTION"
✳ LIKE YOURSELF FIRST!

My mind is peaceful.
(MINDFUL) "PEACE OF CHRIST" = GET OFF THE WHEEL!

I am, for the most part, content.
TRUST IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE NO MATTER WHAT

I don't worry what others might think of me.
THEIR THOUGHTS DON'T DICTATE REALITY EVEN IF THEY ARE NEGATIVE (MATCH TRAUMA DISTORTIONS/ LIES)

I can ask for what I need.
YOU DO HAVE NEEDS! YOU DESERVE TO HAVE YOUR NEEDS MET TOO! NO EXCEPTIONS OR DOUBLE STANDARDS!

I can look at others directly and with confidence.
LOVE them; LISTEN & CARE
✳ TO LOOK & SPEAK is harder; it requires VULNERABILITY! YOU MUST VALUE YOURSELF TO BE HONESTLY OPEN WITH OTHERS!!

WHAT YOU FOCUS ON IS WHAT YOU GIVE POWER TO. Positive focus ENLIVENS you. Negative focus DEVOURS you.
✳ "WHAT KIND OF PERSON DO YOU WANT TO BE?" FOCUS ON/ AFFIRM/ MANIFEST THAT LIGHT!!! (TRUTH) "DARKNESS CANNOT DRIVE OUT DARKNESS." YOU MUST CHOOSE TO SHINE DESPITE IT.
✳ YOUR MISTAKES/ FAILURES/ DISAPPOINTMENTS CANNOT DEFINE YOU. ONLY GOD CAN DEFINE YOU AND HE LOVES YOU INTO BEING EVEN NOW.

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SELF-ESTEEM CHECK-UP=


I need to be OKAY WITH "MISTAKES" & "FAILURES" AS PART OF BEING HUMBLY HUMAN!! This ties into HANDLING CRITICISM WELL, and being ABLE to TRUST MYSELF EVEN WHEN I'M NOT PERFECT! I'll also solve problems BETTER when I'm FLEXIBLE & OPEN ENOUGH to ALLOW "MIS-TAKES" SO I CAN LEARN WHAT DOESN'T WORK & DO EVEN BETTER BY IT!!

✳ I'll RESPECT MYSELF better when I LET MYSELF BE MYSELF, & STOP "DISRESPECTING" MY OWN UNIQUENESS & PERSONHOOD. Then I'll ALSO LET MYSELF ENJOY & CHERISH BEING "ME"!
✳ COMPLIMENTS "AFFIRM" THE GOODNESS I STRIVE TO MANIFEST/ EMBODY. I AM VALUABLE BECAUSE OF GOD!
✳ OTHERS REJECTING ME DOESN'T DAMAGE MY WORTH OR INVALIDATE/ CONDEMN MY PERSONALITY!!
✳ MY LOOKS DON'T DEFINE MY SOUL-- MY SOUL BEAUTIFIES THEM! (I AM EXACTLY WHO GOD MADE ME TO BE, & MY JOB IS (BY GRACE!) TO REMOVE ALL THE LYING OBSTACLES OF POOR SELF-ESTEEM THAT SUPPRESS ME!)
✳ GOD DESIGNED MY UNIQUE SOUL & PURPOSE & TALENTS & RESONANCE etc. BEFORE I WAS BORN! I CANNOT LOSE IT, EVER!


(I REALLY DO LOVE WHO I AM. THANK YOU GOD!!)


101624

Oct. 16th, 2024 03:04 pm
prismaticbleed: (Default)

✳ "COPING AHEAD: REQUIRES IMAGINATIVE HOPE & DARING OPTIMISM! "What's the BEST possible outcome?" CONSIDER THAT FIRST! The ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO MAKE THAT THE REALITY, AS WE HEAL THE PTSD WOUNDS & ACCEPT REALITY RADICALLY!!
✳ BUT we MUST ALSO be REALISTIC with our UNHEALED self, AS we recover. It TAKES TIME. SO, we must ALSO imagine USING ALL OUR COPING SKILLS in those potential crisis events, & DISCERNING/ WRITING DOWN THE MOST REASONABLE OPTIONS FOR EACH. Then PRACTICE!!
✳ REALITY ACCEPTANCE SKILLS are a COMPLEMENT to ALL THESE CRISIS SURVIVAL SKILLS!! THESE HELP YOU COPE WITH IMMEDIATE INTENSE DISTRESS; R.A.S. HELP YOU IN THE NEXT MOMENTS!
✳ "RECOVERY" FROM OVERWHELM/ SEVERE TRIGGERS MIGHT TAKE SEVERAL HOURS, EVEN DAYS, AT FIRST, SO MAKE SURE YOU REST/ RELAX/ RECHARGE AS PART OF COPING!!! AND SET BOUNDARIES TO DO THIS WHEN NECESSARY, FIRMLY!
LET YOURSELF DO THINGS YOU ENJOY. Frequently, feeling "TRAPPED/ STUCK" is a DIRECT RESULT of "NOT GOING INSIDE" where life FREELY FLOWS. When irritability spikes, DO SOMETHING FOR YOU. Read something you LOVE. Listen to a FAVORITE song that you WANT to hear RIGHT NOW. Do LEAGUEWORK. Go to the COLOR REALMS & just CHILL. Spend time just BEING WITH THE SYSTEM, realizing that YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE "DOING" ALL THE TIME!!

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WHAT DBT CRISIS SKILLS WOULD BE MOST EFFECTIVE IN A PARTICULAR CRISIS EVENT? DISCERN REALISTICALLY BY PRACTICING "COPING AHEAD" WITH EACH!!
✳ When UP THE HOUSE, we have to "COPE IN ACTION" so USE T.I.P. & SELF-SOOTHE SKILLS! The MORE we RELEASE TENSION, CULTIVATE CALM, & CHERISH THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, the MORE we will LEARN to ACTUALLY LOVE & ENJOY OUR TIME THERE, LETTING GO OF THE PTSD!
✳ WHEN WE ARE HAVING A FLASHBACK, SAY SO OUT LOUD & then GO UPSTAIRS. SIT WITH THIS & FEEL/ TALK IT OUT, then WRITE/ RECORD our memory/ thoughts ASAP. ALSO. DON'T ISOLATE. IF THE FAM IS CONCERNED, BE OPEN & HONEST. THEY WERE PART OF YOUR PAST AND REMAIN PART OF YOUR PRESENT!! KEEP THEM IN THE LOOP OF RECOVERY-- THEY ARE A KEY PART OF YOUR HEALING! IF THEY want to talk it out, DO SO.
✳ We need to get REALLY GOOD at "SPLITSECOND" PROS & CONS!! The HOLY SPIRIT WILL speak the TRUTH into your heart about this. HOWEVER we WILL have "extended time" situations AT HOME, such as NIGHT FLASHBACKS, POSTPRANDIAL PANIC, and INTERIM DREAD. When those HIT, we CAN & SHOULD STOP (literally) & S.T.O.P., and AS PART OF THE PROCEEDING MINDFULLY, WRITE OUT PROS & CONS. The MORE OFTEN we do that, EVEN for the SAME TRIGGERS, the BETTER we WILL GET at SPLIT SECOND "WISDOM" as to the PROPER ACTION-- which we DO know intuitively, BUT we NEED the REASONABLE DATA to COUNTERACT the EMOTIONAL MIND "BLIND REACTION."
✳ I.M.P.R.O.V.E. & A.C.C.E.P.T.S. are better for EXTENDED CRISIS SITUATIONS, as their SKILLSET is ALSO EXTENDED. This is when we have an "IMPENDING" CRISIS (like a few hours/ days away), &/OR when we're HAUNTED by flashbacks/ triggers, like on HOT SUMMER DAYS or when it's HALLOWEEN, etc.
✳ I.M.P.R.O.V.E. skills CAN be INSTANTLY EXERCISED & STACKED. The only "extended" one-- VACATION-- should be an "EMERGENCY PAUSE BUTTON" when we NEED SHEER SPACE between us & a trigger situation that TAKES SPACE/ TIME AS WELL: like GOING SOMEWHERE NON-SUMMERY or FAR AWAY FROM HALLOWEEN DECOR or similar things. BUT the VACATION is ALSO A FOUNDATION in which to PRACTICE OTHER SKILLS, such as COPING AHEAD, PRAYER, MEANING, etc. STILL, LET YOURSELF RELAX & CLEAR YOUR HEAD FIRST!!!
✳ A.C.C.E.P.T.S. skills are more LONGTERM & HABITUAL??? The MORE positive actions/ contributions/ emotions/ etc. we SCHEDULE INTO OUR DAY, the MORE AWARE we are of our progress/ wonder of creation/ center, and the MORE we ACTIVELY think about/ do POSITIVE & CREATIVE things, the EASIER it WILL BE to COPE IN GENERAL?? because our FOCUS & LIFE DIRECTION & THOUGHTS & EMOTIONS are ORIENTED FIRMLY & HABITUALLY ON THE GOOD, & WON'T BE SHAKEN SO EASILY. So DO THESE DAILY!!
DON'T FORGET DEEP BREATHING + MINDFULNESS + WILLING HANDS/ WILLINGNESS TO "LAY THE FOUNDATION" FOR SKILL USE IN A CRISIS! It's ALL FAITH IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE = "THY WILL BE DONE"!! THAT IS THE MAIN NECESSARY THING. WITHOUT IT, ALL ELSE COLLAPSES.

✳ STACK PRAYER & MEANING WITH EVERYTHING, AND ALWAYS USE T.I.P./ S.T.O.P./ SOOTHE TO SOOTHE THE BODY TOO

prismaticbleed: (Default)

GOALS =
ENJOY & CHERISH LIFE;
+ GROW IN THE VIRTUES OF HOPE, PATIENCE, COURAGE, TRUST
+ "BIG PICTURE" PERSPECTIVE?
"ETERNITY MINDED"
"THE VIEW FROM THE CROSS";
DISTRESS becomes a DOOR to SPIRITUAL GROWTH

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A CRISIS is highly-stressful BUT SHORT-TERM!! So CHRONIC TRAUMA ISN'T CRISIS?? IT DOES LAST LONG!

"Crisis survival skills" are NOT meant for solving ALL your life problems, OR "everyday" problems = They are NOT meant to "make your life worth living." Skills are STILL "SURFACE LEVEL." WORTH is of the HEART. (GOD-GIVEN!) (DEPTHS)

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"STOP" SKILL

- PAUSE! BREATHE! CENTER!
- NOTICE THOUGHTS & FEELINGS!
- NOTICE OUTSIDE SITUATION FACTS!
CONSIDER YOUR GOALS FOR THIS SITUATION AND YOUR LIFE!!
WHAT ACTIONS WILL BE IN LINE WITH YOUR VALUES?
- WHAT ACTIONS WILL IMPROVE OR WORSEN THE SITUATION?
CHOOSE THE WISE GOOD AND ACT ON IT!!

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"Accept reality with your BODY." = SMILE when you feel ANNOYED/ IRRITATED/ LOST/ etc. MAKE THIS A HABIT

"Be creative in finding ways to accept with your WHOLE SELF (mind, body, spirit)" = REQUIRES THAT EVERYONE IS INVOLVED!!

"Engage in the behaviors that you WOULD do IF you accepted what seems unacceptable" = "NOW" vs. "POSSIBLE" CRISIS SKILLS; you COPE AHEAD by DISCERNING OPPOSITE ACTIONS & IMAGINATIVELY REHEARSING THEM so you CAN EASILY PUT THEM INTO PRACTICE WHEN THE ACTUAL CRISIS OCCURS (NOT CAUGHT OFF GUARD)

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"Do PROS/CONS if you find yourself resisting practicing acceptance" = PARTIAL!

YES PROS = obedient, continue structured treatment, get new insights, practice self-denial, help others?
NO PROS = free to own timing/ planning of meals, quiet day, free to do creative work, free to exercise, free to worship
YES CONS = on camera for 7 hours, controlled schedule & mealplans, watched while I eat, constant forced socializing
NO CONS = disappoint case worker & therapist, seen as "stubborn/ rebellious," possible 302 risk

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"RADICAL ACCEPTANCE" is NOT approval OR opposed to change!!
We ARE still afraid, because of our OWN "black/white" distortion habit, that "ACCEPTING" the trauma is "SAYING YES" to it. But it's NOT-- it's ONLY accepting the FACT that it HAPPENED. It DOESN'T JUSTIFY IT!!

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WILLINGNESS = THIS IS TRUE & GOOD & BEAUTIFUL
"What NEEDS to be done RIGHT NOW, in line with WISDOM and REALITY/ TRUTH?" (What is GOD'S WILL?)

"Listen TO and act FROM your WISE MIND" = HOLY SPIRIT!! (SCRIPTURE HELP!!)

"Willingness is ACTING WITH AWARENESS that you are connected to the universe-- to the stars, to the floor, to the people you like and don't like, etc." = "BIG PICTURE"/ "ETERNITY MINDED"/ "HEAVEN ORIENTED"

When I am willful = not getting "what I want to eat," especially when "expecting" it
When I am willing = SEEING life as ADVENTURE and a GIFT FROM GOD!!

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"TURNING THE MIND" = towards acceptance, and away from rejecting reality (which is SATANIC; NO HOPE!)
✳ Choosing to accept = GETHSEMANE! = GOD IS IN CONTROL OF REALITY. SURRENDER TO HIS PROVIDENCE IN THE PAST AND PRESENT AND FUTURE. (TELOS = TRUST)
✳ "The CHOICE to accept is NOT acceptance itself; it only puts you on the path" = it is ACCEPTING the CROSS = in LOVE! But you STILL HAVE TO CARRY IT TO CALVARY!!)

✳You DO REALIZE that UNLESS we DO ACCEPT the REALITY of the trauma, we will NOT BE ABLE TO HEAL AND INFI WON'T BE ABLE TO RESURRECT

✳ "Not accepting" = bitterness, anger, annoyance, but ALSO AVOIDING EMOTIONS. (ironically those negative emotions are often the RESULT of avoiding DEEPER, more PAINFUL ones!)
"I can't stand this" = DOOMING YOURSELF? despair vs. "I CAN do ALL things THROUGH CHRIST"
"Why me?" "It shouldn't be this way." = REMEMBER THE BOOK OF JOB! GOD KNOWS WHY EVEN IF YOU NEVER DO. TRUST HIM.








100824

Oct. 8th, 2024 10:31 pm
prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)

Concerning yesterday's topic... WHAT REALITY (FACT; HISTORICAL/ EMOTIONAL) ARE WE (STILL) QUESTIONING (DOUBTING) &/OR FIGHTING (REJECTING)?? (DENIAL/ SUPPRESSION/ RESISTANCE/ SELF-GASLIGHTING/ AVOIDANCE/ ETC.)
The FACT of TRAUMA when we SOUGHT & INTENDED LOVE
★ The FACT that, the WHOLE TIME we were in SLC/ CNC, EVEN ALONGSIDE THE "HATRED," WE ALWAYS & HONESTLY LOVED THEM, AND THAT IS WHY WE NEVER "SAID NO" TO WHAT THEY WANTED FROM US. WE WERE STILL SCARED & ANGRY & FELT TRAPPED, BUT those painful emotions WERE ONLY EXTANT & SEVERE BECAUSE OF THIS CONFLICT!!
THE WORST TRAUMA OF OUR LIFE WAS SO TRAUMATIC BECAUSE INFINITII CHOSE TO TAKE THAT FATAL RISK OUT OF LOVE. AND WE TRUSTED THAT LOVE. We literally DENIED OUR TERROR for love's sake. THAT CONFLICT MADE THE TRAUMA SO DEVASTATING. It "KILLED" us BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED WASN'T LOVE. ...but THEY said it WAS. How can we grapple with THAT conflict? We loved THEM, but did we ACTUALLY KNOW THEM? It's one thing to love "in general," a cosmopolitan Christian love. It's ANOTHER thing to love IN PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP, and ENOUGH TO BE WILLING TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF for them. I feel like I'm not making sense. We stood in front of that mirror, shaking with fear, BUT CHOSE TO TRUST INFINITII'S REAL LOVE because we hoped, DESPERATELY, that SOMEHOW that love would "NOT DO WRONG." ...but our love was confused & wounded. That SAME "frightened love" that "CHOSE" to "TRUST" TBAS AND poor groomed Infi IN DIRECT CONTRAST TO OUR CHOKING FEAR is what led to BOTH of the "FATAL TRAUMAS" in CNC... and that one in SLC, too. THIS is what needs to be discussed, too. INFINITII'S FUNCTION was to MIMIC & "EMBODY" ALL THE TERRIFYING WORDS & ACTIONS that OTHERS "SAID" WERE "LOVE," SO THAT "WHEN WE WERE INEVITABLY FORCED TO FACE/ ENDURE THEM, WE'D SEE THEM AS "LOVE" BECAUSE OF INFINITII, AND NOT BE TRAUMATIZED." ...it didn't work. God forgive us all, it DIDN'T WORK, and we are SO, SO SORRY.

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WHY IS "DATA COLLECTION" SO IMPORTANT? We feel AFRAID of NOT KNOWING those experiences, NOTABLY OF FOOD. We don't get it this strongly with sound or sight or touch, although scent CAN get close (remember the Etsy fragrance addiction). BUT it's the "TAKE INTO OURSELF" aspect, I think, that makes it so powerful. It's TIED TO GOD, I think. It feels like SEEKING THE BEATIFIC VISION while still on earth, but in the "WRONG" WAY-- seeking God's REFLECTIONS & ECHOES in TANGIBLE, SENSORY THINGS. This isn't inherently "bad," it's just a crutch. I wonder if it will lose its intensity if I pray & worship in INTERNAL ways more. The balance is off-kilter. We've been NEGLECTING our INNER SELF in GENERAL since ~2018, to be heartbreakingly honest. So please, make SPIRITUAL FOOD a KEY part of recovery... WITHOUT drowning in SCRUPULOSITY, AGAIN. I WANT ALL OF OUR LIFE TO BE PRAYER & WORSHIP, WITHOUT NEGLECTING ANY ASPECT.
HERE'S A THOUGHT: ALL FOOD is God's "ARTWORK" using "BASE COLORS," so to speak. ALL food is made of the SAME NUTRITIONAL "ELEMENTS," in different combinations. YOU DON'T "HAVE TO" EAT EVERY "VARIATION ON" a food (style, prep, etc.) TO HAVE "TAKEN IN" THE "ESSENCES" OF ALL ITS INDIVIDUAL "INGREDIENTS." ...but honestly it's like ART. It IS the unique combination OF color & media that makes UNIQUE BEAUTY. ...and part of me DOES want to "see/ taste it ALL." It's because it IS beautiful & good & true. It's not "greed"; it's sheer WONDER & AWE & GRATITUDE. The PROBLEM is I keep seeking "SATISFACTION" on EARTH. That's IMPOSSIBLE, because this "body hunger" is FOR GOD, Who MADE ME TO DESIRE HIM-- and He IS INFINITE, so MY GOD-GIVEN DESIRE & WANT & NEED IS ALSO INFINITE BY DESIGN, because it's MEANT for HEAVEN. I AM subconsciously seeking the Beatific Vision. So I REALLY NEED to be AWARE of this, so I STOP TRYING TO "GET ALL THE DATA" about God's sensible gifts under the FALSE fear that "IF I DON'T, I WON'T KNOW PART OF GOD." Listen dude, YOU'RE JUST ONE PERSON AND YOU AREN'T RESPONSIBLE FOR, OR ABLE TO, "KNOW/ DO" EVERYTHING!!! IF YOU don't EVER learn what "braised chicken" tastes like, SOME OTHER SOUL DOES, AND AS PART OF CHRIST'S BODY, THAT "KNOWLEDGE" IS EFFECTIVELY "COLLECTIVE" IN HIM??? And in ANY case, CHRIST "KNOWS" because HE IS the SOURCE & CAUSE & PERFECTION of ALL EARTHLY WONDER & BEAUTY & GOODNESS & TRUTH. If YOU don't eat it, IT'S NOT LOST! There will ALWAYS be SOMEONE ELSE to eat it, AS GOD CHOOSES! YOU AREN'T "FAILING" HIM BY NOT HAVING IT BECAUSE HE NEVER "OBLIGATES" YOU TO. He wants you to WORSHIP & PRAISE HIM in ALL you have AND DON'T HAVE. ...I'm not making sense. YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY "SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION." GOD IS THE DATA. AND YOU WILL KNOW HIM IN HEAVEN FOR REAL. I'm not getting to the root. I STILL WANT TO KNOW ALL I CAN. And so I'm AFRAID to SAY "NO" to ANY "NEW DATA" to "EXPAND" my "knowing" of Him, insofar as I'm SEEKING Him IN sensory input. BUT GOD IS SPIRIT!!! Dude you CAN KNOW EVEN MORE OF HIM IN PRAYER & WORSHIP & then YOU WON'T "NEED" TO LOOK FOR MERE CRUMBS OF HIS INFINITE ABUNDANCE IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD!!!   

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My therapist asked, "were you FED well as a child?" And YES, we WERE fed, SURPRISINGLY WELL actually. We ALWAYS had fruits & vegetables, homecooked meals & desserts, family meals whenever possible, and NO box dinners/ fast food OR "junk food". We had ethnic Polish holiday meals & handmade birthday cakes. Our parents always strived to give us healthy food & balanced nutrition & regular exposure to new & different foods. We were honestly SO BLESSED. ...but we were EMOTIONALLY STARVED. We were given FOOD & SWEETS as "reward" or "comfort," instead of warm embraces & sincere words & real intimacy. We got SHOW without SUBSTANCE far too often. The family dinners frequently turned into fights. People left early & refused to finish their meals. I was at least once tied to a chair & forced to eat every last crumb. We were often told that we "couldn't have more" or "that's all you get" or "you have to be GOOD to get more." Our family obsessed over money to the point of often buying food that was already expired or rotting, especially grandpa. Eating itself was shamed as "gross," "piggish," "a chore," etc. Our plates were criticized whenever we chose our own servings. "Eat what's in front of you whether you like it or not." And yet, LIKING food was ALSO shamed? Like it would MAKE us greedy & entitled, & food ALWAYS felt "rationed" & "limited" & "forbidden," controlled & dictated. I felt "compelled" to sneak & hide food that I liked at an early age, afraid that it would be confiscated & I'd be punished, I think by being FORBIDDEN FROM eating such "enjoyable food" from then on? All I knew is that fear that it's be taken from me, "now that I FINALLY had some." And yet the SHAME & GUILT would frequently drive me to destroy the very food I had stashed in the same terror of discovery. It was painfully ironic. All the other food in the house "WASN'T MINE"? Even nibbling on dry cereal could get me spanked for "acting like a chipmunk" or something. And this whole time, there was no feeling of family community. There was no real communion. I always felt alone, foraging. It all started early, it seems. It's sad. So, no, in a deep way I WASN'T fed. I would forcefeed myself Easter chocolate & Christmas cookies like I'd somehow lose the joy if I didn't swallow as much as I could. I always got scolded, but I never stopped wanting it, more of it than was possible, even when it made me sick & frightened, & I was ashamed & confused & sad. When the eating disorder was in full force I ate a whole cherry-cheese kolachi by myself like I would die tomorrow & I cried. I just wanted the joy, the warmth, the sweetness, the love. I tasted family tradition & grandma's loving care in that roll and I cried. My heart was still so, so hungry. It still is, and I cannot look to ANYONE ELSE to feed it. Only God can, & He wants ME to cooperate in the work. I NEED to fill my life WITH beauty & warmth & joy & love & wonder & sincerity & deep connection. NO ONE ELSE WILL, CAN, OR SHOULD. It's MY JOB & MY PRIVILEGE. That is going to be ESSENTIAL to recovery. I CANNOT "live" from a skinny starving famine ration mindset anymore. I MUST be "poor in spirit," BY trusting in GOD'S ABUNDANCE. It's a holy paradox. This DOESN'T MEAN SELF-NEGLECT. it's just humility & gratitude. I HAVE TO LOVE THIS BODY, AND MIND, AND SOUL, AS A UNITED WHOLE, AS ITS HEART. Please God, help me to feed & care for this life well. And MAKE SURE I FOCUS ALL THESE EFFORTS ON YOU, GOD, THE SOURCE OF ALL LOVE & LIFE.

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✳ Staff girl, watching Coco with us = "HE'S REAL; HE STILL HAS MEAT ON HIS BONES"

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✳ GET EDIBLE "PAPER" & "INK" = EAT AFFIRMATIONS!!! (POWERFUL SYMBOLIC RITUAL)

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Well, we finally got the guts & heart to choose the meatball sub SPECIFICALLY as an ACT OF LOVE "IN HONOR/ MEMORY OF" KRISTANOVA, but all of a sudden, ANOTHER foni is feeling TRAPPED & ANGRY at this, MISERABLE & HELPLESS beneath, like "we STILL can't escape CNC"? Which IS a valid feeling that we NEED to respond to. First, though, we CAN'T AVOID EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH CNC & TBAS out of FEAR &/or RESENTMENT. That's TOXIC TO OUR HEART, & it's also FALSELY LABELING REALITY. This meatball sub effort is STEP ONE in TRULY "ESCAPING" by moving into LOVE & FORGIVING MERCY. The truth is, we ARE OUT OF CNC, PHYSICALLY. But we ARE "TRAPPED" EMOTIONALLY, UNTIL WE CAN MOVE INTO COMPASSION FOR BOTH US & THEM. We'll probably never see Kristanova again. But we DID love him, AND Ollie, AND Kyo & Trolley & Toy Soldier & Thirteen & Ohmiette & everyone else. But Kris did something TO us that DAMAGED us, and SINCE WE KNOW HIS ANCHOR, we KNOW HE DIDN'T MEAN TO. He was just broken, too. So we WANT TO FORGIVE HIM, as much as we MUST. And this upcoming dinner is a real concrete gesture of that, the only thing we can do here towards that end, but one powerfully tangible nevertheless. We bought him one out of sheer gratitude for his existence & he REALIZED & CHERISHED that. LET THIS BE THE CONTINUED SYMBOL OF THAT GRATITUDE. Let it be a private but true TESTIMONY to the REALITY of the LOVE our Systems shared, however trauma-distorted & wounded it was. We STILL LOVED THEM AS MUCH AS WE COULD, in the ONLY WAYS WE KNEW HOW. And I WANT TO FOCUS ON & REMEMBER THAT. In a way, it's a CROSS. It REQUIRES "BEARING" THE SUFFERING dealt by the ONES WE LOVE who "DID NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DID." The Cross CONQUERS DEATH by DYING TO DEATH, THROUGH DEATH-- death TO SIN. And that sinful part of us-- bitterness, resentment, hatred, rage, blame, etc. that WE DON'T WANT & that are IN CONFLICT with the TRUTH-- HAS TO "DIE," THROUGH THIS SELF-GIVING LOVE, EVEN "FOR OUR ENEMIES"-- with the GOAL of FORGIVING them & RESTORING RELATIONSHIP with them AS BELOVEDS.



100624

Oct. 6th, 2024 03:34 pm
prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)

"FRUSTRATION TOLERANCE" in light of our intrusive judgmental/ critical thoughts = WHAT triggers frustration? = DISSONANCE between "IDEAL & REALITY"; perception of an OBSTACLE between "GOAL" & current position; feeling "STUCK, HELPLESS, INADEQUATE," etc. "Trying to peel a potato with a spoon" sense of "NO APPARENT PROGRESS/ SOLUTION"? Basically a "FIGHT" response to "POWERLESSNESS"; a "STUBBORN RESISTANCE" to "WHAT I DON'T WANT/ LIKE" = NO CONTROL = AFRAID.
Virtues that DEFUSE/ TRANQUILIZE frustration = TRUST, EMPATHY, PATIENCE, SURRENDER
GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE -- AND CANNOT BE; You can only COOPERATE!
✳ THERE IS NOTHING "EVIL" OR "BAD" OR SHAMEFUL OR SINFUL ABOUT SHARING IN/ PARTICIPATING IN GOD'S JOY IN HIS GOOD GIFTS/ CELEBRATING THE BEAUTY & WONDER OF HIS CREATION!! (JOY is OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!) (GOD DELIGHTS IN WHAT HE MADE = YOU SHOULD TOO)

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This is so new & unusual. I kind of feel like crying from wonder, maybe even relief. I ACTUALLY LIKE SANDWICHES. I actually LIKE ENGLISH MUFFINS & DINNER ROLLS WITH BUTTER. I actually LIKE APPLES & COTTAGE CHEESE & FLOUNDER & GYROS & POTATOES & VANILLA ICE CREAM. It feels SO DARING & even SCARY TO ENJOY it all, but man I DO. I CAN CELEBRATE THE GOODNESS & WONDER OF GOD'S GIFT OF FOOD. HE WANTS ME TO. YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS because it's ACTUALLY AT THE HEART OF YOUR BEING ABLE TO FULLY LIVE YOUR FAITH & PURPOSE. FOOD is LIFE, LOVE, SELFGIFT, & LITERAL COMMUNION. FOOD IS FROM EDEN. It is PART of HEAVEN. We KEEP REMINDING YOU OF THIS because it's GOOD & BEAUTIFUL & TRUE & you MUST TRULY & COMPLETELY ACCEPT & EMBRACE IT AS YOUR "CORE BELIEF." The "fear of enjoyment" is TOTALLY DISTORTED AND IS KEEPING YOU OUT OF HEAVEN in a VERY DISTURBINGLY REAL WAY!!!

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Other patients KEEP COMPLAINING ABOUT MEALPLANS, notably "WANTING EXTRA FOOD" & "PORTIONS BEING TOO SMALL" & "EATING THE WAY I WANT" etc. and it's honestly making me feel HUMILIATED. I realized, listening to this talk & being legitimately upset & "depressed" over how "rebellious" & "self-centered" & "stubborn" it was, that IT UPSETS/ ANGERS/ DEPRESSES me because THAT'S HOW I'VE BEEN ACTING. I've BEEN trying to get extra food by asking for additions to my mealpaper, or asking for larger portions/ questioning the size of the portions I got. I've been ACTIVELY BINGEING "IN SECRET" by overloading my mealplan exchanges. I've been "REBELLING AGAINST" and ACTUALLY DISOBEYING MY TREATMENT PLAN with these behaviors. I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT. I WANT to be HUMBLE & TEMPERATE & OBEDIENT & GRATEFUL. I'm so sick of the complaining. I WANT to ACCEPT & EAT WHATEVER I GET with GRATEFUL JOY. I want to be GRATEFUL IN "LESS" because it HELPS ME BE GRATEFUL/ TEMPERATE. It COMBATS GREED/ ENTITLEMENT/ INGRATITUDE. I'm so tired of the rebellious grumbling, IN MYSELF as much as in others. I want us ALL to be virtuous here. I hear those words & see my own behavior and it's just SO DISORDERED & RIGID & SAD. It's LIBERATING to be ABLE to ACCEPT & GIVE SINCERE & HAPPY THANKS for WHATEVER GOD GIVES YOU. I pray He continues to lead us ALL to LIVE IN THAT BLESSED SPACE.

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8PM snack gave me a choice between RICE KRISPY & TINY CHOCCHIP COOKIES. Again, the RAW "FEAR" was "BETRAYING GRANDMA" because of what they CALL the cookies. BUT we wondered, what if we said the Rice Krispy was "MOM'S"? And lo & behold, the resulting PANICKED INDECISION was INCAPACITATING. We COULDN'T choose because BOTH choices "REQUIRED" REJECTING A LOVED ONE. We FROZE. BUT, again, if we REMOVED the family associations, that fear DISAPPEARED INSTANTLY & ENTIRELY. 
...All that was left was "CHOCOLATE COMPULSION." Basically, a compulsive "craving" with NO discernible reason, ALTHOUGH it was ALSO IN CONFLICT with "I DON'T LIKE CHOCOLATE" as a LONG-HELD "BELIEF," which ITSELF is IN CONFLICT with "WE HAVE TO LIKE IT" "because MOM/ "EVERYBODY" does"/ "it's associated with holidays we cherish"/ "it's supposed to boost endorphins" etc. "so we HAVE to eat it" almost like a DRUG. BUT do we REALLY "WANT" IT? DO WE "LIKE" IT in TRUTH or NOT? Do we "HAVE TO/ THINK WE DO" like it because MOM & GRANDMA BAKED THEM & SO NOT liking chocolate chip cookies IN GENERAL is STILL seen as BETRAYAL? because a chocolate BAR would NOT elicit this response!! THAT would trigger the FEAR/ DISGUST response associated with REAL MEMORIES OF HACKS & PURGES & MANIA & ILLNESS. AND YET, THIS DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY "PING" with the COOKIES. It's ALL CONTEXT. STILL. Which is BOTH FRUSTRATING & FASCINATING. So, NEXT time, we SHOULD try the chocolate chip cookies, WITH this paradox in mind, & SEE/ FEEL WHAT IS TRIGGERED OR NOT. But... we can't JUST "experiment" & explore. We HAVE to do it FOR A PURPOSE, which is COMPLETELY "UPROOTING" THE COMPULSIONS & FEARS, and DISCERNING our REAL, REASONABLE RESPONSE so we CAN FREELY choose TO eat it or NOT, and NOT "PANIC/ DOUBT" over "choosing WRONG." I'm SO TIRED of "MORAL PANIC" over food. Remember what our nutritionist taught us! Remember what we JUST WROTE ABOUT. ALL FOOD DOES NOURISH YOUR BODY, AND "ENJOYMENT" IS AN IMPORTANT & EVEN ESSENTIAL PART OF EATING, BY GOD'S GOOD DESIGN!!! So YES, it IS ALLOWED & LEGITIMATE to eat a food "SOLELY" TO ENJOY IT. THAT CAN BE AN ACT OF WORSHIP, GIVING PRAISE & THANKS TO GOD & CELEBRATING HIS CREATION! Still, TEMPERANCE is needed, because FOOD ISN'T ULTIMATE HAPPINESS, only a "FORETASTE" of the FEAST of HEAVEN, so we MUST set our deepest desires & hopes THERE. Yes, enjoy your food for God's literal sake, but DON'T seek ALL your joy from it (ESPECIALLY when depression numbs everything else), and DON'T "OVERINDULGE" (even/ especially when you DON'T enjoy it) because that's DISRESPECTFUL to ITS PURPOSE AS FOOD, and to your habits of virtue (self-control)!! It's a BALANCE of LOVE. Listen, if BEING A CHRISTIAN means LIVING IN LOVE, then THAT INCLUDES EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE, INCLUDING FOOD, and again I MUST emphasize the EUCHARIST. If you see food as something "threatening" or solely as "fun," or even something "to be destroyed," then in a disturbing sense you're DISPOSING YOURSELF TO SACRILEGE. Please remember this. Food is a GIFT to be CHERISHED for GOD'S sake & glory. That INCLUDES chocolate. ...AND rice krispy for the record. IT'S NOT A WAR! They're BOTH GOOD. There's NO "WRONG" CHOICE, WHEN YOU CHOOSE WITH GRATEFUL LOVE. The ONLY "wrong" thing is FEAR & HATRED. Avoid those by God's grace, and YOU'RE OKAY.


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btw MY DEAR ORANGE GIRLFRIEND WAS ON TV TODAY



100524

Oct. 5th, 2024 03:49 pm
prismaticbleed: (shatter)

✳ I "HATE" WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME "ARE YOU DOING ALL RIGHT?" "ARE YOU FEELING OKAY?" etc. BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE THEY'RE IMPLYING OR EVEN DICTATING THAT I'M NOT, EVEN IF I AM OKAY. WHY ARE YOU PLANTING BAD SEEDS IN MY HEAD??? I want to say, "YEAH, I AM OKAY; STOP SAYING/ TELLING ME THAT I'M NOT"!!
✳ PRACTICE "FRUSTRATION TOLERANCE" = GROW PEACE!

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So, at my dear nutritionist's request, I tried the chicken corndog today instead of the pizza, and unfortunately they were SHOCKINGLY TRIGGERING and it shook me up SO BADLY that I need to journal about it, or it'll make me even more physically ill than it already has, haha. All coping-attempt jokes aside, I'm legit shaking. First, the cornmeal coating "activated" SOME childhood(?) memory, but it's so unclear I can't "see" it. But it "pinged" IMMEDIATELY so it's legit. The only thing I'm "SEEING" is COUNTRY JUNCTION in the fall?? And POSSIBLY something with FAST FOOD. Was there some place that sold palm-size, ROUND & semiflat cornbread discs/ patties? Because THAT'S the image flash I'm getting from the VERY SPECIFIC & UNIQUE flavor: it's NOT what "REAL" or even "box" cornbread tastes like, and it has a "sweeter" tone & "heavier" flavor than mom's cornbread cookies or pancakes. This is PARTICULARLY "processed" cornmeal 7 the ONLY thing I CAN "associate" with it that IS pinging CLOSE is HUSHPUPPIES from Long John Silvers, but they ALSO have a "wheat" tone (white, not yellow) so it's NOT exact. But man, that was a TOTALLY NEW MEMORY CALLUP so I AM grateful.
...The problem is the memory that the HOT DOG triggered. It was ALMOST the EXACT taste, AND the EXACT TEXTURE, as the hot dogs that grandma would chop up & mix with pork n' beans. ...which, as you know, was the exact food she pretended to choke to death on when I was a child. I can still see her still body on the yellow tile floor. I can smell the distinguishing perfume of her clothes. I can still see my young face in the bathroom mirror, contorted in unbearable terror & grief, as I screamed like the world had ended. I can still taste the hot dogs & beans as they fell, half-chewed, from my agonized mouth into the ghastly green sink. Every time I taste a hot dog I am right back in that moment. I don't know how to deal with it. I haven't eaten a hot dog in YEARS. So this was SO sudden & SO unexpected that it made it SO MUCH MORE DISTURBING. I'm genuinely shaking. I feel like a child again, weeping hysterically & totally helpless & confused & maybe even angry? Why did she do that? Didn't she know I loved her? Didn't she realize how much that would hurt me? But she WASN'T dead. The world hadn't ended. But that minute of sheer apocalyptic terror had been scalded into my soul. I couldn't possibly finish eating those hot dogs, seeing them all chewed up in the sink, proof of the wound I had just received. But I had to. But I don't remember. All I remember is her suddenly resuscitated, standing & laughing with an unsettling insincerity as she stood at the bartable by my empty seat & half-full bowl, jeering at my response. I remember a hurricane of emotions that I couldn't understand. Then it all got shoved back into the black ocean of dissociation, and I sat down, and I don't remember anything, and I ate. Like I did today.
...I've never actually processed it, it seems. And so I thank God for this revelation, to bring it back into present recall, to make it real & present, so I can (by grace, with time) finally feel & heal that scalded wound. But it's still so tender & terrible. It hurts. I'm shaking. How do I deal with this, right now? Focus on the LOVE. I love her anyway. That wound PROVED it. Forgive. Give thanks.

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I'M A "BAD PERSON" ONLY WITHOUT GOD'S GRACE!!! But REMEMBER YOU ARE BAPTIZED & YOU HAVE HIS GRACE AND HIS HOLY SPIRIT!!! STOP DOUBTING THIS JUST BECAUSE YOU STILL STRUGGLE WITH CONCUPISCENCE AND SIN. YOU'RE NOT GOD. YOU WILL STUMBLE. HE KNOWS THIS. HE WON'T & CAN'T ABANDON YOU-- HE IS A GOD OF COVENANT!!!

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"What did I learn about myself this week?" = that I'm STILL being "beaten up/ thrown around/ "CONTROLLED" by "TWISTED CORE BELIEFS" that have persisted for YEARS. (AND ONLY BECAUSE YOU AREN'T UNTWISTING THEM TOGETHER!!!)
✳ SERIOUSLY, START REVIEWING THE ARCHIVE DATA ON THIS & TAKE NOTES. WE KNEW WHAT WE WERE DOING. WE MUST CONTINUE ON FROM THERE! (AND START "EDITING" IT INTO PUBLISHABLE BOOK FORMAT!!!)

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"EATING" IS STILL "THE ENEMY" IN SOME WAY??? The therapist said "MEALPLANS" are a "STEP TO RECOVERY" & that sounded SO "STUPID"/ SHALLOW it made me FURIOUS?? It felt like she was saying that, if I "just spend MORE time & effort on FOOD"-- notably "EXCESS/ LUXURY" food variation that WASTES TIME & EFFORT & ENERGY that I COULD be using to LIVE & CREATE & WORSHIP, IF I KEEP "MEALPLANNING" SIMPLE & STRAIGHTFOWARD & HUMBLE, INSTEAD OF "FIGURING OUT WHAT NEW THING TO DO/ EAT" WHICH IS IDIOTIC-- then "IT'LL FIX YOUR TRAUMA." And THAT is REALLY distilling the impact but it's TRUE. "Inventing" a ridiculously unnecessary list of "meal plans" when I ONLY NEED THREE, TOPS, and can FREELY ADAPT, is going to JUST BECOME ANOTHER OBSESSIVE-UNHEALTHY FOOD COMPULSION that TAKES ME AWAY FROM TRUE HEALTH/ RECOVERY. I apologize, it just stung. I DO agree that having A "standing plan" (SIMPLE!!!) DOES help, so we HAVE a "go to" solution in a pinch, instead of thinking "what I "SHOULD" EAT" & being OVERWHELMED BY TOO MUCH VARIETY/ OPTIONS. BUT I WANT A SET, SIMPLE SCHEDULE. I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT FOOD ANYMORE. LIFE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN FOOD!!! It's ONLY FUEL for it... AND an OFFERING of GRATITUDE TO GOD. But it's NOT THE POINT! And it's NOT TRUE LIFE!!!


100424

Oct. 4th, 2024 03:33 pm
prismaticbleed: (worried)

✳The REASON why we "DON'T WANT/ LIKE" CERTAIN FOODS/ SNACKS IS BECAUSE NO ONE IN THE SYSTEM RESONATES WITH IT (YET)!!! THIS IS ALSO WHY WE "CAN'T GET DATA"/ "UNDERSTAND" THE SENSORY INPUT!! And it WON'T change UNTIL WE HAVE CENTRALITES FOR THE FULL SPECTRUM AGAIN, SO WE CAN "CLARIFY/ COMPREHEND" THAT COLOR VIBE/ RESONANCE, GET FUNCTIONAL FONI IN THAT COLOR, & APPLY THAT TO EXTERNAL SITUATIONS!!! WE CAN'T "GET" BLUE/ YELLOW/ GREEN FOOD DATA RIGHT, OR PROPERLY WANT/ LIKE IT, UNTIL AND UNLESS A NOUSFONI "MATCHES" IT!!!

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✳ YOU CAN'T SHAME YOURSELF INTO POSITIVE CHANGE!!!

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✳ WHAT ROLE/ FUNCTION/ PURPOSE DOES WEIGHT GAIN/ EATING SO BLOODY MUCH ACTUALLY HAVE IN MY RECOVERY???
(It's RESTORING NUTRITION/ LOST BODY MATTER)

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✳GROUP POINTS =
● FORGIVE MYSELF; "PROJECTING" ANGER AT INJUSTICE INWARDS?
● WON'T LET SELF FEEL EMOTIONS; "FAKE"/ "UNTRUSTWORTHY"
PREVENTING TRAUMA PROCESSING!! (DEPERSONALIZED)
★ HAVEN'T COME TO TERMS WITH INFI DYING
● "ALWAYS ANGRY, SAD IS SHAMEFUL, HAPPINESS IS SINFUL (LUXURY/ EGO)
● TREAT SELF WITH COMPASSION, PATIENCE; HEALING TAKES TIME
● RECOVERY ISN'T LINEAR/ PREDICTABLE/ "AS WE EXPECT"
● RECOVERY IS NOT JUST "DOING WHAT YOU'RE TOLD / GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS" = YOU MUST WORK AT & FOR YOUR RECOVERY "FOR YOUR OWN SAKE"; DO IT FOR LOVE OF YOU!!! HEAL BECAUSE YOU WANT TO & GENUINELY BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE WORTHY OF JOY & LIFE!!!
↑ WHY? BECAUSE GOD THINKS THAT ABOUT YOU!!! ♥ (LOVE IS ALWAYS HOLY! RESISTING THAT LOVE & CARE IS HELL)



100324

Oct. 3rd, 2024 03:40 pm
prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)


So I tried double french toast today & THAT was LOVELY, but I made ONE BIG ERROR and THAT was DOUBLE SYRUP. Dude I feel SO SICK right now, haha. I HAVE LEARNED. Honestly that's how I need to view this. ALSO, the TIMING. The centers of the french toast are GORGEOUSLY SOFT but the CRUSTS are CHEWY & although delicious they are almost IMPOSSIBLE to cut without a knife (which we don't get), and THAT effort is TAKING WAY TOO MUCH TIME... we should TAKE THE CRUSTS OFF, WHILE the bread is still uncut & not syruped. That way we SAVE TIME. But we must be strategic when we're so constrained for time; we had to LITERALLY CHOKE DOWN our ENTIRE MEAL TODAY because of waiting in line & HOW LONG IT TOOK TO PREP. Still, DON'T GRUMBLE! We LEARNED what works & figured out a better strategy, AND learned that WE DON'T LIKE ALL THIS SUGAR & so we DON'T HAVE TO FORCE IT!!
IN OTHER NEWS bananas taste BETTER when they're GREENER & we LIKE them that way & also COLD. They also DON'T TASTE "the way we expected"?? I think we were used to the overly yellow taste of overripe bananas, which we're NOT a fan of. So this discernment is good!
Lastly, we apparently like coffee better WITHOUT CREAM & SUGAR? We seem to lean savory. That's cool to discern, actually! We're "DISCOVERING" OUR UNIQUE PREFERENCES, which WILL reveal to me NEW & INTERESTING symbolic insights into my DISPOSITION & VALUES as well.

✳AFTER LN = the VOLUME of my meals is TOO HIGH and it's because I KEEP PUSHING VEGETABLES. I feel like I'm "making a BIG MISTAKE/ doing something "WRONG"/ against my values"? if I DON'T INCLUDE ALL THE VEGETABLES EXCHANGES IN MY MEALPLAN. That is FORCING the extra bulk & time of a salad, PLUS it FORCES MORE LIPIDS with the dressing, and it's not helping anyone. It's an ugly cycle. BUT I'M INTERNALIZING ALL THE "HEALTH TALK" again. Like, if I DON'T have a salad WITH the "UNHEALTHY" sides like chips & ice cream, then I'm "REFUSING TO BE HEALTHY." And that terrifies me, because I DON'T WANT TO BE UNHEALTHY ANYMORE. Ironically, the REAL "unhealthy" behavior is OVEREATING EXCHANGES. I'm ALSO doing this at BK because SUDDENLY I feel "compelled" to have 2x EGGS PLUS COTTAGE CHEESE, and that's WITH the 4CHO requirement, AND 2 FRUITS. It's FAR too much. ...but I'm compensating. I'm pushing protein because I'm terrified of all the carbs, like that'll somehow "even things out." It's NOT. I am getting SO SICK but I'M STUCK until TUESDAY with the locked-in mealplan. That's 4 MORE DAYS of FORCEFEEDING HELL. This is also a huge fear for "IOP" recovery. I DON'T WANT TO BE DISOBEDIENT or "REBELLIOUS" or "UNCOOPERATIVE," but if the INSIST that I KEEP FORCING DOWN these MONSTROUS amounts of food, I WILL QUIT. I CANNOT keep ABUSING BOTH my BODY AND MY MIND by LITERALLY "NORMALIZING OVEREATING/ BINGEING" JUST BECAUSE "THE DOCTORS TOLD ME TO." For once in my life I WANT TO SAY "NO"!!! I WANT TO PROTECT THIS BODY FROM ABUSE & TORTURE. I WANT TO TAKE CARE OF IT WITH COMPASSION & PATIENCE & KINDNESS & MERCY. I AM SO SICK OF BEING SICK. I NEED, NOT JUST WANT BUT LITERALLY NEED, TO LIVE A FULL LIFE, and if this bloody mealplan is going to KEEP FORCING ME TO "CENTER MY LIFE ON FOOD," then I WILL KICK IT TO THE CURB. I WANT TO BE FREE OF THIS GODFORSAKEN COMPULSIVE-OBSESSION AND THIS RIGID "EXCHANGE SYSTEM" IS ONLY PERPETUATING IT. Listen man when you GIVE ME NUMBERS, I WILL OBSESS OVER THEM. The trick is to give me the "RIGHT" numbers-- which, for me, were a GENERAL calorie count, APPROXIMATE macros, and a KITCHEN SCALE, so that I'm NOT OVEREATING!! I'm rambling and I apologize. I feel trapped & sick & scared. I'm disgusted by ALL THIS FOOD I'M BEING "FORCED" TO EAT. God knows I WISH I could just NOT eat 100% if doing so would TRIGGER THE EATING DISORDER MINDSET & REINFORCE the cursed thing, because THAT'S WHAT IT'S DOING, INESCAPABLY. I'm here FOR BINGE-EATING and I WANT TO QUIT IT FOREVER SO STOP FORCING ME TO KEEP DOING IT UNDER THE LABEL OF "TREATMENT"!!! ...I'm hoping I get discharged soon JUST so this will STOP. If I'm stuck here then I NEED to talk to the nutritionist about altering my mealplan, WITHOUT sounding like I'm "chickening out of recovery" OR "being restrictive." God help me I'm struggling with this so much. IRONICALLY if I could just CUT OUT THE EXTRA EXCHANGES I MIGHT be okay. That's SOME hope at least. Even if it FEELS cowardly, I MIGHT have to determine a FIXED BK MENU that's LOW VOLUME & LOW SUGAR... that could work. But please, CUT THE VOLUME!!! For lunch, though, we NEED to solve the salad issue. HAVE ONE A DAY, with 1LPD dressing! You're NOT "OBLIGATED" to have EVERY vegetable! CONSIDER THEIR FIBER CONTENT/ TIME TO EAT. Do NOT add extra lipids! While we're here we HAVE TO THINK STRATEGICALLY, BUT for a DIFFERENT goal: NOT "doing everything" BUT "STOPPING THE BINGES"!!!

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LET'S TALK RECOVERY DETAILS. Most importantly, I DO NOT EVER WANT TO BE THIN AGAIN. I do NOT EVER WANT TO OVEREAT AGAIN. I DON'T EVER WANT TO HURT OR ABUSE OR NEGLECT OR TORTURE THIS POOR BODY AGAIN. That is the FOUNDATION here. The next immediate point is our NEW SIZE & SHAPE. We're "THICKER" now, like a FORTRESS. We have SUBSTANCE & LATENT STRENGTH. There IS the POTENTIAL to FINALLY BECOME STRONG, now that our body has the RAW MATERIAL to WORK WITH. The question we must pause & clarify in asking is: WHY do we VALUE physical strength so much? Answer: we want to be CAPABLE, of HELPING & PROTECTING others. We admittedly "DESPISE/ FEAR" weakness/ helplessness/ impotence/ powerlessness-- being "incapable" or "not strong enough" is TERRIFYING on a deep level. We seem to EQUATE "STRONG" with "GOOD"? If we're WEAK & FRAIL & HELPLESS, we're USELESS, and CAN'T do "ANYTHING GOOD." But there IS a distortion in this. PHYSICAL STRENGTH ISN'T "INHERENTLY" VIRTUOUS. IT'S HOW YOU USE IT: for CHARITY, NOT EGOTISM! But on the flipside, PHYSICAL "WEAKNESS," even INCAPACITATION, ISN'T A HINDRANCE OR BARRIER TO VIRTUE & even SAINTHOOD (remember BACE!), BECAUSE VIRTUE IS SPIRITUALLY BASED & YOU DON'T "HAVE TO BE "USEFUL"" TO BE GOOD. YOU'RE STILL "USEFUL" TO GOD, EVEN IN A TOTALLY BROKEN & HELPLESS BODY. So please, CORRECT YOUR VALUES. Your FEAR is focusing on BRUTE STRENGTH and IF you CAN'T achieve that admittedly hypermasculine ideal, you WILL "despair" UNLESS you SUBORDINATE that LESSER ideal to the HIGHEST one-- HOLINESS. If your "obsession" with "getting buff" ends up HINDERING your spiritual growth, THEN IT NEEDS TO BE TOTALLY RE-EVALUATED & PUT IN ITS PROPER PLACE as a MEANS OF VIRTUE-- discipline, temperance, endurance, persistence; AND even PRAYING/ WORSHIPPING WHILE you exercise!! IT'S THE SAME WITH EATING. Our BiaY/ CiaY routine MUST CONTINUE, and we MUST ALSO see how we can incorporate the ICC in a TIME-WISE manner. BUT DO NOT QUIT.
✳ ...The ONLY concern I have here is MINDFUL EATING & "SPLIT FOCUS." We realistically CANNOT give our FULL, COMPLETE, ATTENTIVE, COMPREHENSIVE FOCUS TO BOTH AT ONCE. We MUST admit this because IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING. Food data isn't registering because ALL our input channels are ATTUNED TO SCRIPTURE, and rightfully so! BUT THAT IS ACTUALLY "FUELING" THE EATING DISORDER BY THE SPLITTING! We CANNOT be mindful of the food AND THEREBY OFFER IT AS A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE IF WE'RE UNABLE TO GIVE THAT EFFORT OF WORSHIP OUR SINCERE & TOTAL FOCUS as well. MATTHEW 6:24 effectively. It's DISRESPECTFUL to BOTH GIFTS OF GOD, BY "PUTTING THEM INTO COMPETITION WITH EACH OTHER"!! FOOD IS NOT THE "ENEMY" OF PRAYER & WORSHIP. SO PLEASE, STOP ACTING LIKE IT "CANNOT" SERVE HIM, AS WORSHIP ON ITS OWN. BE SINGLE-HEARTED FOR GOD AS YOU ARE SINGLE-FOCUSED ON BEING FULLY IN EACH UNIQUE MOMENT OF LIFE AS ITS OWN UNIQUE PRAYER TO HIM.

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"WHAT DO I BELIEVE ABOUT MYSELF?" (TRUTH TO LIVE)
Others might have NEGATIVE beliefs about me ("you are a betrayer" "you don't want to improve" etc.) BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO-- AND SHOULDN'T-- INTERNALIZE THEM!! HAVE FAITH IN THE GRACE OF YOUR BAPTISM AND THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO LIVES IN YOU & ALWAYS WORKS TO SANCTIFY YOU!! When you BELIEVE GOOD THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF & STRIVE TO EMBODY THEM, YOU'RE HONORING GOD!!

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WELL! Talking to a fellow patient about my "too many exchanges" mealplan anxiety, & how I'm actively obsessing & anxiously debating over "how to fix it/ TAKE BACK my decisions", I realized something. I CAN'T KEEP "PANICKING" ABOUT "MESSING UP" TO THE POINT OF OVERCOMPENSATING THROUGH "CHOOSING EVERY OPTION" (what I WAS doing on the mealplan), OR TO THE POINT OF "NOT COMMITTING TO ANYTHING," being "TOO AFRAID OF MAKING A MISTAKE." And honestly, I HATE BEING SO SPINELESS & IRRESPONSIBLE & COWARDLY. I NEED TO COMMIT TO ONE CHOICE, IN CONFIDENCE THAT I'M HONESTLY CHOOSING AS WISELY AS I AM ABLE TO AT THAT TIME, AND THEN ACCEPT HUMBLY THAT IT NEVERTHELESS MIGHT NOT BE "AS WISE AS I THOUGHT/ HOPED," BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING AND I WILL MAKE MISTAKES & REAL ERRORS IN MY JUDGMENTS. THIS IS INEVITABLE. I'M NOT GOD. I NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY CHOICES, AS DISAPPOINTING/ DISTRESSING AS THEY MAY BE; I MUST BE GRATEFUL FOR THE LESSONS THEY DO TEACH ME IN PRUDENCE & DISCERNMENT; AND I MUST PLACE THEM ENTIRELY IN GOD'S HANDS, REALIZING THAT HE KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, AND HE CAN AND WILL TURN EVERY PAINFUL OR SCARY OR OTHERWISE UNHAPPY CONSEQUENCE OF MY CHOICES TO HIS GLORY AND MY GOOD, WHEN I SURRENDER THEM ENTIRELY TO HIS POWER IN TOTAL LOVING TRUST. And THAT is how I WILL survive until Tuesday-- on SHEER FAITH & HOPE. I MUST learn to sit with poor decisions on my part, to let the HUMBLE me & TEACH me to choose BETTER, INSTEAD of always "flipflopping" between equally NONCOMMITTED "choices." I MUST BE "OKAY" WITH MAKING MISTAKES, because I WILL, & NOT see them as "MORAL FAILURE." I must be MERCIFUL & PATIENT & COMPASSIONATE with myself, OR I WON'T be ABLE to grow in VIRTUE in RESPONSE to the mistake! I MUST OWN UP TO ALL MY DECISIONS & ONLY ALTER THEM if I realize they were VICIOUS-- & even then I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO RESCIND THEM. So I HAVE to BE SPIRITUALLY MATURE & BY GOD'S GRACE, LEARN TO LIVE WITH & LEARN FROM THE CONSEQUENCES.

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Asking Jesus "is it OK if my stomach is/ feels so stuffed/ full?" And He replied, "it's holding My Creation, for YOU to OFFER to me as WORSHIP" (BAPTISMAL PRIESTHOOD)
✳ "YOUR STOMACH IS AN ALTAR"!!!



100124

Oct. 1st, 2024 10:40 am
prismaticbleed: (worried)

I think my "defining phrase" is "COURAGEOUS HOPE." It sums up what my HEART feels like-- FIRE AND LIGHT. Today I realized that I KNOW WHO I AM, in TRUTH, not just "as God's child" in general fact BUT in WHAT THAT MEANS. I am CALLED TO BE A SAINT. I am GIFTED with a UNIQUE PERSONALITY, DISPOSITION, & "RESONANCE"; I have been GIFTED with UNIQUE TALENTS, ABILITIES, & PREFERENCES; I have been GIFTED with a UNIQUE MIND, SOUL, HEART, AND BODY, and placed in the EXACT TIME & PLACE & SOCIETY & CULTURE & FAMILY & NEIGHBORHOOD & CIRCUMSTANCES, with the NECESSARY HISTORY even, TO USE ALL THOSE GIFTS AS A FAITHFUL GOOD STEWARD TO ADVANCE GOD'S KINGDOM & "ADD" TO HIS RICHES & BRING HIM GLORY & JOY. That is WHAT HE CALLS ME TO. And so I CANNOT STAND IDLE. I CANNOT HIDE/ BURY/ DENY/ THESE GIFTS AND I DON'T WANT TO. I WANT TO BE A GOOD SOLDIER/ CHILD/ STEWARD/ BELOVED OF GOD. I want ALL OF MY LIFE TO BE WORSHIP. THAT'S MY PURPOSE. THAT'S MY JOY. And as COURAGEOUS HOPE, I SET MY SIGHTS ON GOD-- I ORIENT ALL OF ME TO ETERNITY, TO MY TRUE HOME & FAMILY IN HEAVEN, and I MARCH ON WITH A JOYOUSLY BURNING HEART. God gave me a WILL, and I DEVOTE IT TO MAKING MY WHOLE SELF A LIVING SACRIFICE OF LOVE. IN HOPE I REFUSE to give up or give in to worldly despair; "the things that are UNSEEN are ETERNAL". In COURAGE I FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT BY GOD'S GRACE, WEARING HIS ARMOR, TRUSTING IN HIS VICTORY-- CHRIST HAS CONQUERED DEATH!! LOVE HAS ALREADY WON. AND I BELONG TO LOVE. SO I CAN BE COURAGEOUSLY HOPEFUL!

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Talking to Dr. P, I think the HOLY SPIRIT legit witnessed to HIS purposes & hopes for us THROUGH our responses, because they just poured out of our heart. We said that, during treatment, we've GOTTEN FACTS to COMBAT & CONQUER the demons of despair/ doubt/ fear/ cowardice/ negativity, through HEARING words of SUPPORT & COMPASSION & FAITH from BOTH peers & staff, and I HAVE to have FAITH in THEM, too, TRUSTING them & WITNESSING TO that trust BY CULTIVATING THOSE VIRTUES further, which is ONLY POSSIBLE through LOVING SURRENDER/ COOPERATION WITH CHRIST, WHO IS HELPING ME & WANTS ME TO THRIVE & LIVE & GLORIFY HIM BY FULLY FLOURISHING. And I MUST DO THIS IN THE ONLY WAY I CAN-- AS A SYSTEM OF LOVE. We CAN do this TOGETHER. That brings us to point 2-- we CANNOT BASE OUR EMOTIONS/ HOPE/ etc. ON THE REACTIONS OF OTHERS. True, we MUST do our best AND seek to edify others BY our good behavior/ example, because we WANT to be HONORABLE & a TRUE WITNESS TO CHRIST, but by that SAME baptized token we MUST ALSO HAVE CONFIDENCE/ TRUST/ HOPE "FOR OURSELVES." WE MUST CHOOSE truth/ beauty/ goodness FOR OURSELF, for OUR CREATOR'S SAKE, even if NO ONE ELSE does. WE HAVE "THE SPIRIT OF LOVE & COURAGE & SELF-CONTROL." We CAN, and we WILL, STAY RECOVERED. We must DEDICATE ourselves to LIFE & CHARITY every day, a POSITIVE focus, WHILE STILL REMEMBERING "THE PIT GOD SAVED US FROM." NO TOXIC POSITIVITY!! We are a WHOLE! Our WOUNDS can be HOLY! But LIVE FROM A SPACE OF HOPE. LIVE FOR ETERNITY. Don't worry about passing worldly things. GOD HAS SET US FREE TO WORSHIP HIM! And YOUR NEW LIFE, turned OUTWARDS IN COMMUNION (not inwards in egotism), IS A PRAYER.

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WHY AM I STILL MINIBINGEING ON CONDIMENTS. The HIGHEST mealplan only requires 5 per meal, & sometimes I'm getting up to 9. THAT'S INSANE. STOP. I don't even LIKE the tastes at this point; I WANT TO ENJOY SIMPLE FOOD, AS-IS, NO ADULTERATIONS, NO "DROWNING/ MASKING" THE PLAIN TRUTH with EXCESS that is honestly FORCED & COMPULSIVE. And I realize WHY I'm doing it-- it's TWOFOLD: first, the old "I HAVE to know what EVERYTHING tastes like" (WHICH, BTW, we will have SUCCEEDED AT as of THURSDAY with dressing & packet options) AND the fearful "NEED" to KEEP pushing/ trying them "UNTIL I 100% LIKE EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM" (which is FOOLISH as well as RIGID? It's giving the message that "I'm NOT ALLOWED to DISLIKE ANYTHING" which CRUSHES my UNIQUE TASTES (personality resonance) AND implies that I believe (DISTORTED) that "not liking" a food/ flavor/ texture experience means I'M HATEFUL/ REJECTING GOD BY JUDGING HIS CREATION/ DEVALUING & DISDAINING ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DO LIKE IT = "disliking" ANYTHING that OTHERS like" means that I'm ATTACKING/ ERASING THEM??? It's seen as an ACT OF VIOLENCE & INGRATITUDE; "driving a wedge" between ME & COMMUNION WITH CREATION & HUMAN CULTURE; "if I DON'T like it, then I'll NEVER "be close to/ COMMUNE with" those who DO" = "SELF MERGING" & "DENIAL of OWN tastes" as INVALID/ EVIL); and SECOND, I ONLY forcepush them WHEN THERE'S A FOOD ITEM THAT I'M AFRAID OF CHOKING ON/ AFRAID I WON'T "BE ABLE" TO EAT IT "FAST ENOUGH" PLAIN. And BOTH of those are BINGE MINDSETS. We HAVE TO FIGHT & RESIST THAT NOW, WHILE WE'RE AT WAR WITH IT IN REALTIME!! THAT'S where VICTORY is won-- ON THE ACTUAL BATTLEFIELD. God has given us a HUGE OPPORTUNITY. And we MUST RISE TO THE CHALLENGE! From now on, we HAVE to FIGHT by ONLY choosing the REQUIRED amount of lipid exchanges, and NOT "SLUSHING" OUR FOOD "IN ORDER TO EAT IT FASTER." YOU'RE DISHONORING THE FOOD (GOD'S GIFT), REJECTING ITS TRUTH, HABITUATING YOURSELF TO BOTH MAKING & EATING SLOP, GETTING ADDICTED TO A HIGH FAT DIET, AND SETTING A VERY BAD & DISREPUTABLE EXAMPLE for your fellow patients. SERIOUSLY. When they see YOU condiment-bingeing, then THEY are TEMPTED to do the SAME, & also FEEL LESS ASHAMED OF IT, which is OUTRIGHT SCANDAL. ROMANS 14:15 & 20!!! YOU ARE LEADING PEOPLE INTO SIN. SO YOU MUST STOP, NOW, FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!
✳ I don't recall the exact details of what we ordered this week, but we STILL made some stupid choices, and we HAVE to OWN UP to our addictive behavior, ADMIT our weakness, DISCERN & DIVULGE our distorted reasoning, & then COMMIT TO STOPPING THAT BEHAVIOR. Step ONE is WRITING that out. Step TWO is NOT USING EXCESS CONDIMENTS, EVEN if we ORDERED them! QUIT IT ASAP. NO EXCUSES. We HAVE to. I will admit, it IS VERY HARD to NOT eat EVERY CRUMB of what's on our tray, though. THAT, TOO, feels like UNGRATEFUL REJECTION & fills us with ANXIOUS GUILT & SHAME & REGRET. That's a HUGE OVERREACTION. WHAT IS THAT A PROJECTION OF, PRECISELY? = It's seen as BOTH a GIFT and a COMMAND/ ORDER, since it was SET IN FRONT OF US & WE CAN'T "PUT IT BACK." So, if we LEAVE it, we're saying, "I REJECT THIS GIFT/ I REFUSE TO OBEY/ SUBMIT." MAYBE even "I REFUSE TO SUFFER," which at LEAST implies that deep down we RECOGNIZE that this IS HARMFUL & UNHEALTHY & we DON'T WANT TO HURT/ ABUSE OURSELF WITH EATING DISORDER BEHAVIOR ANYMORE. So DON'T. You know what DOES honor God? OBEYING the REAL mealplan, RESISTING binge compulsions, SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE, & DISCIPLINING OUR WILL so we can FREELY CHOOSE VIRTUE.

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I keep hearing other patients complain & gripe & grimace about our meals & mealplans, voicing sharp dislike & REFUSAL to comply/ cooperate, and... it's actually making me feel really depressed/ anxious? Like, "am I doing something WRONG or FOOLISH or CONDEMNABLE BY obeying the plans, pushing myself even further, & LIKING the food?" If I'm ACTUALLY eating the required lipids-- even if just margarine & mayonnaise-- and I'm ACTUALLY eating the required snacks-- even if just poptarts & cookies-- am I doing something WRONG? Am I STILL "abusing my body" by eating fats & sweets if I'm LEGIT OBLIGATED TO AS PART OF RECOVERY TREATMENT?? If the WHOLE ROOM is gagging at a certain entree on the menu and I CHOOSE IT & EAT IT & ENJOY IT, am I being foolish? They'll CONGRATULATE me for it, saying "you're so strong," "how difficult was it?" "I don't know how you do it," "good job! You made it through!" etc. IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY, BECAUSE IT'S NOT SOME HERCULEAN EFFORT. I just DECIDED to eat the "intimidating" option & DECIDED to enjoy it & COMMITTED TO 100% AND I DID. WHY would that be difficult or a struggle or something I had to "grit my teeth & power through"? Is THAT what THEY do? ...That's heartbreaking. I don't know if I've EVER experienced that-- EXCEPT for the CHOCOLATE MILK SUICIDE of UPMC. Man. Is it THAT HARD for them, EVERY TIME? ...I NEED to show more compassion. It's just such an instinctual response to label it as "COWARDICE/ CHICKENING OUT" & "ATTACK" it out of ANGER, which is WHAT I DO TO MYSELF. ...gosh is THAT BACKFIRING & ACTUALLY ALSO FUELING THE CONDIMENT FORCING?? My instinct, when I detect "hesitance/ fear" over a choice/ decision in myself, is to "BEAT MYSELF UP" ("hit the whiny child") and FORCE myself TO do it, ALMOST OUT OF CRUELTY, EVEN IF I KNOW IT'S A REASONABLE FEAR & DON'T WANT TO DO IT. That VIOLENT "I HATE COWARDS" response IS SO STRONG. Ironically, it's ALSO IN CONFLICT WITH ITSELF. "I'm afraid of eating that food because the other patients say it'll cause serious disease & harm my body" COEXISTS with "I'm GOING to eat that food BECAUSE it scares me for some reason." So I "CAN'T SAY NO," EVEN to REAL RISK, because THAT'S "CHICKENING OUT"? "EAT that because you were TOLD to" vs. "REFUSE it because it's UNHEALTHY." I'm tired. I'm writing too fast & not thinking. The point: I'm terrified that I'm damning myself BY my obedience. Our body HAS gotten very fat/ swollen/ bloated, & we're in constant pain & discomfort. This is a cross, but is it ALSO the "sign that we're making a stupid decision" & ACTUALLY "killing our body" BY eating the food we're being TOLD to eat? OR is THAT the POINT of the cross-- RESTITUTION for the eating disorder, SUFFERING as HUMBLING PENANCE? And will this PASS, & suddenly leave us TRULY WHOLE & HEALTHY TO LIVE FULLY & FREELY FOR GOD? ...Why does eating STILL feel like it's an obstacle? AM I eating too much? Still? Am I actually STILL SINNING by eating "all this food" "WITHOUT DISCRETION" & even eating "luxury" foods? Am I suffering as PUNISHMENT for GLUTTONY & IMPRUDENCE & INTEMPERANCE even now, in recovery, allegedly, and in obedience? I should talk to staff about this. I'm afraid that if I'm discharged with this mindset of "you HAVE to eat HYPERCLEAN foods or it's STUPID & SUICIDAL" AND "your fatty & bloated body is VISIBLE MANIFESTATION/ PROOF of your CARNAL INSATIABILITY & UNSPIRITUAL DISPOSITION & UGLY GREEDY LUST." Like thin = holy. Like skeletal = pure. But I WAS DYING. And I was WASTING GOD'S GIFTS, INCLUDING MY LIFE. ...CAN I STILL LIVE A GOOD LIFE IF I'M FAT? Isn't eating this much just an "acceptable (medically) perpetuation OF the eating disorder??" THAT'S the HARDEST part of recovery treatment here. The food is RUSHED and it IS often "junk food" & I HAVE to eat it amidst SATANIC TV NOISE & constant table chatter, unable to "ground/ center" & SLOW DOWN & FOCUS ONLY ON GOD. ...It's a BINGE ENVIRONMENT. And I do NOT WANT TO GET ACCUSTOMED TO THIS... OR LET THIS DISTRESS MOTIVATE ME TO RESTRICT AGAIN in a desperate attempt to "REVERSE THE DAMAGE & START OVER." ...and I DO ALREADY WANT TO. That "fear of being POISONED" is sadly lingering. I BELIEVE that if I RUSH through a meal, DISTRACTED & DISSOCIATED & DISTURBED, unable to eat mindfully & express wonder & gratitude in realtime, then I'm "EATING THE STRESS" & "SWALLOWING THE ENVIRONMENT" & being SPIRITUALLY AND PHYSICALLY CORRUPTED BY IT.
✳ IT'S THE "MEL" TERROR. Remember, how when I got back home from SLC, I LITERALLY FELT & BELIEVED that ALL that "SCARY ANGRY YELLOW SCREAMING ENERGY" was BEING STORED IN MY STOMACH FAT, because THAT'S where "WHAT I HAD TO EAT/ SWALLOW" WENT, & it was ALL THE TERROR OF SLC AND I HAD TO GET IT OUT OF ME OR IT WOULD "TURN ME INTO THEM" and KILL ME as an ultimate result. I'M AFRAID OF THAT HAPPENING AGAIN NOW. I DON'T WANT TO SWALLOW THOSE EVIL, EVIL TELEVISION SHOWS. I DON'T WANT TO SWALLOW THE ATTITUDES OF THE OTHER PATIENTS, ESPECIALLY NOT THEIR "WHINING/ COMPLAINING/ DISLIKE/ SARCASM/ BITTERNESS/ FEAR/ SPINELESSNESS/ ETC." AND THAT'S CRUEL OF ME TO SAY BUT THEY TALK ABOUT FOOD SO DISTORTEDLY & JUDGMENTALLY & IT HURTS AND I DON'T WANT THAT IN ME JUST BECAUSE IT KEEPS GOING INTO MY BRAIN THROUGH MY EARS AS I EAT. God I am SO TIRED. Please, please, help me to be kind. Help me NOT to judge. Help me to HAVE MERCY, WITHOUT "APPROVING" THOSE ATTITUDES, IN OTHERS OR MYSELF. Please, God, I'm BEGGING You, PLEASE DON'T LET ME SWALLOW SIN & EVIL. Matthew 15:11 & 17-18. PLEASE, GOD, PLEASE LET THAT BE TRUE. DON'T LET ME CORRUPT IT. GIVE ME A NEW, CLEAN, PURE HEART SO I DON'T POISON MYSELF AND THE FOOD & EVERYONE ELSE. God, PLEASE help me enjoy the meals. PLEASE, I'm begging you again, I know it's stupid & selfish & carnal & evil but oh God please. I WANT to enjoy & treasure the food AS YOURS, as YOUR Creation & Gift, for YOUR SAKE. ...please God, please let me enjoy this food. I'm so sorry for what I did wrong, whatever it is. Please show me clearly, & then PLEASE help me & LET me do the needed penance & restitution for it so I CAN enjoy the food at last... IF that's not a sin in & of itself. Lord I'm a tangled mess right now. I just want SO BADLY to EAT HOW & LIKE YOU WANT ME TO. And deep down I KNOW THAT'S "EDEN." EATING ISN'T EVIL, & ENJOYING FOOD ISN'T A SIN-- OTHERWISE HEAVEN WOULDN'T BE A FEAST. (of RICH FARE!!) & YOU WOULDN'T HAVE CHOSEN, IN PERFECT LOVE & WISDOM, TO GIVE YOURSELF & YOUR LIFE TO US, THROUGH EATING, IN THE MOST HOLY EUCHARIST. You DELIGHT in feeding us, even here in this fallen world. It's MEANT to be JOY. LET IT BE THAT.

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Our group assignment is to THINK OF/ DISCERN statements/ phrases we will LIKELY HEAR upon being SEEN at a higher weight/ upon meeting people who STILL SEE US AS THE EATING DISORDER; i.e. who "HAVE NO FAITH OR HOPE IN US." And THAT response is what HURTS the MOST & elicits a kneejerk WOUNDED ANGER/ MOURNING response. We feel TRAPPED. And really, WE SHOULD EXPRESS EXACTLY THAT. Be CONFIDENT in OURSELF, WITH GOD'S CONSTANT HELP. By golly THAT'S what we should say! BRING GOD ACTIVELY INTO IT. Let them KNOW that it's NOT "JUST ME," in BOTH senses ideally! BE SHOCKINGLY HONEST FROM HERE ON OUT. And KEEP your HEART OPEN & GENTLE. Wear that cloak!
✳ "Body comments" CAN be accepted easily & gratefully IF YOU'RE WILLING TO RECEIVE THEM AS COMPLIMENTS! When KIND & POSITIVE words are offered, DO NOT NEGATE THEM! TRUST that person's kindness! STAY IN THE LIGHT! EMBRACE the HOPE of a NEW & COMPASSIONATE perspective-- one FREE OF DISTORTION & SELFISHNESS. When others say "you look good/ healthy/ so much better/ beautiful/ FEMININE" etc., GRATEFULLY ACCEPT & AFFIRM THAT CHARITY. IT'S FROM GOD. MOVE INTO THAT NEW SPACE OF FREEDOM & JOY; DON'T FIGHT/ REJECT IT LIKE A DEVIL! THANK them SINCERELY and enter into GENUINE CELEBRATORY DIALOGUE. SHARE THIS NEW HAPPINESS. It's TRUTH!! It's GOOD & BEAUTIFUL!! Your thinness & eating disorder were the result of ABUSE & HATE & FEAR & SELFISHNESS & LIES & CRUELTY & DEATH. LEAVE THAT AND DISOWN IT. YOU HAVE BEEN "CREATED ANEW!" GOD HAS GIVEN YOU A "NEW BODY," FULL OF LIFE & HOPE! So CHERISH IT & LEARN HOW BY RECEIVING THAT GRATEFUL "INSTRUCTION" FROM OTHERS' LOVE!
✳ The HARDEST comments to handle are the NEGATIVE ones-- "make sure you don't relapse"; "how soon until you go right back to how you were?" "you better not mess up this time," etc. FIGHT DARK WITH LIGHT. These are OPPORTUNITIES to STAND UP FOR TRUTH & GOODNESS, & BRING THE OTHER PERSON WITH YOU!! Respond with PATIENT KINDNESS & PEACE. Speak with HOPE & FAITH in GOD'S GRACE TO KEEP YOU IN RECOVERY, & WITNESS TO THAT. Even if they STILL don't trust YOU, affirm CONFIDENTLY & LOVINGLY that YOUR TRUST IS IN GOD, & THEIRS SHOULD BE, TOO. ASK THEM TO PRAY FOR YOU! REDIRECT their thoughts TO hope & faith! Deep down, they just FEAR a relapse. (NEGATIVE comments express a HIDDEN CARE; they DO WANT YOU TO BE WELL, but focus on the RISKS)


093024

Sep. 30th, 2024 11:20 am
prismaticbleed: (worried)

BODY IMAGE = SEE/ FEEL/ THINK/ BEHAVE (PERCEPUAL/ AFFECTIVE/ COGNITIVE/ BEHAVIORAL)
✳ POSITIVE = ACCEPT/ APPRECIATE/ RESPECT your body, EVEN IF "NOT SATISFIED" (seeing it as "PERFECT"); UNDERSTAND limitations & RECOGNIZE strengths; VALUE body as a WHOLE; REALISTIC (GRATEFUL)
(SHAPE/SIZE are MORALLY INNOCENT in themselves)
✳ DAILY ATTITUDES & PRACTICES (food/ exercise) as a HEALTHY RESPONSE to UNIQUE NEEDS, NOT "WEIGHT MANIPULATION/ JUDGEMENT"
✳ FIGHT "bad body image" = CELEBRATE it/ CHERISH it (SELF-CARE) = BEAUTY IT ALREADY HAS!! (Open your HEART & EYES TO SEE IT)
✳ RESPONDING to comments that "hurt" = "I know you meant it AS a compliment" = "I appreciate that, but "IT DIDN'T LAND THAT WAY"?" (EXPLAIN you STRUGGLE, but LISTEN)

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GENUINELY POSITIVE/ GRATEFUL "OFFERINGS OF LOVE" about "CHALLENGE/ FEAR" FOODS = "FIGHT HATE WITH LOVE, DARKNESS WITH LIGHT"
✳ STOP TALKING ABOUT them/ LABELING them NEGATIVELY! FREE THEM & SPEAK WITH GRATITUDE! REALIZE THE HOPE OF HEALING = MERCY & FORGIVENESS! Speak about them as "NEW FRIENDS"; DO NOT "BLOCK THEIR PATH TO BEING LOVED" BY USING NEGATIVE TERMS!!

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✳THINGS I "WANT" IN MY RECOVERED FUTURE =
(TAKE PRACTICAL STEPS TOWARDS
≥1 OF THEM EVERY DAY)
● A GIRLFRIEND
● TO WRITE A LEGIT BOOK OF POETRY
● TO FINISH/ PUBLISH at LEAST TWO LEAGUEWORLDS
● TO LEARN CELLO/ VIOLA
● TO COMPOSE & RECORD A MUSIC ALBUM
GET ON SPOTIFY (EVEN YOUR OLD STUFF)
● DO THAT "SPECTRUM OF CHRIST" PAINTING SERIES
● GET BUFF, SON!!
● DRAW EVERY SINGLE MORALIMON
● FINALLY MAKE/ PUBLISH A LEAGUE WEBSITE
● FREEDOM to TRAVEL; GET A FOLDING BIKE/ BEFRIEND BUSES
TO VISIT GIMMELWALD
● To get OFF disability & LIVE A FULL LIFE IN COMMUNITY
● To CONTRIBUTE to WOF or ANY APOLOGETIC EFFORT?
TO MAKE MY FAMILY PROUD/ BRING THEM HONOR

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✳ GO BACK & TAKE THE PAIDIFONI BY THE HAND, & TELL THEM = "WE SURVIVED & MADE IT OUT!" BRING THEM OUT WITH YOU!! (US!!)
✳ THE "(PARENTAL) VOICE IN YOUR HEAD" HAS THE EMOTIONAL MATURITY OF WHEN IT SHOWED UP (THIS INCLUDES THE EATING DISORDER RESPONSE!!)

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I just realized something HUGE-- the act of "magazine scrapbooking" we've been doing in art therapy is DIRECTLY REROUTING THE "SCAVENGER" INSTINCT?? That "searching/ finding/ collecting" drive is being JOYFULLY FULFILLED in a CREATIVE WAY. And it's SO IMPORTANT because it INVOLVES MY HANDS AND BRAIN!! It's like how I'll mix tons of vegetables together JUST TO PICK THEM OUT ONE BY ONE & "ORGANIZE" THEM. I've NEVER found something to "REDIRECT" that "compulsive action" into UNTIL NOW.
BUT!!! IT STILL "BURNS OUT" ONCE THE "NEED" IS INTUITIVELY SATISFIED-- and THEN you HAVE TO STOP & REST; NOT "BINGE" BY CONTINUING TO FORCE IT DESPITE "FULLNESS"! NOW YOU CAN "FEED" ANOTHER SOUL-HUNGER! ...AFTER YOU REST!!! Because YES, EVEN "SPIRITUAL EATING" NEEDS TO "TAKE A BREAK" OR THERE WILL BE BULIMIC CONSEQUENCES, EVEN SPIRITUALLY. FASTING AND FEASTING are NEEDED.

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✳ The question "WHAT IRRITATES YOU?" always gets the SAME DISTURBING, SHAMEFUL response: CRYING/ WHINING/ COMPLAINING/ APOLOGIZING/ COWARDICE. And this KEEPS BEING "TRIGGERED" IN TREATMENT, as the "TWIN" response to the "PROJECTION" response from yesterday. When people complain or whine about food, in such "petty, entitled, childish, stubborn, petulant, wimpy, chickenhearted, etc." ways, it makes me FURIOUS?? "I don't like the texture!" "I don't like the taste!" "It smells gross!" "It looks gross!" "I don't LIKE it!" "I don't WANT it!" TOUGH SHIT. MAN UP & DO THE WORK. FACE IT LIKE A MAN. THAT'S my response. "DON'T BE A BABY." "GROW UP." "GET OVER YOURSELF." "DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD." etc. SOLDIER talk. NO LILYLIVERS TOLERATED. WE'RE AT WAR. WE HAVE OUR DUTY. You want to be mollycoddled & catered to? You want everything "SAFE" & "COMFY" & "PREDICTABLE" & "FUN"? You want to be in CONTROL, for everyone to conform to YOUR selfish & immature demeanor? GET REAL. MAN UP. SHUT UP & FACE IT. ...I cannot tolerate cowardice & weakness & whining in myself & I HATE how OFTEN I STILL act like it. Like how I kept complaining & even REBELLING against having to eat fried chicken today instead of fish tacos (because of the allergen risk). Which was DISOBEDIENT AND IDIOTIC, because guess what? GOD PLANNED THAT FOR YOU, AND YOU'RE FAILING TO SOLDIER UP & TRUST HIM. BUT eventually we DID, and LO & BEHOLD, those "ideal" fish tacos were NOT what we expected (SELFISH/ ENTITLED/ WHINY), & the fried chicken was DELICIOUS & FULL OF CARTILAGE & stuff that we DIDN'T EXPECT but GOD KNEW & that was HIS GIFT. So, DON'T WHINE. DON'T COMPLAIN. BE BRAVE & FACE THE CHALLENGES. Realize that EVERY SINGLE ONE SO FAR HAS BEEN A JOY. GOD PROVIDES. And THAT is ALSO why I hate HEARING people grumble & condemn the food here, labeling it as "gross" or REFUSING TO ACCEPT IT because "I DON'T LIKE IT!" BUT THEY'RE UNWILLING TO EVEN TRY TO CHANGE THAT. They STICK to that dislike & LEAVE it there like a tumor. IT'S UNGRATEFUL & CLOSED-MINDED & REBELLIOUS & it HURTS. THEY DON'T SEE IT AS GOD'S GOOD GIFT OF CREATION. THEY'RE BLINDED BY JUDGEMENT. ...I hope I'M not being too harsh here. They're NOT "bad" people. They're just... closed off, closed to wonder, unwilling to risk CHANGE for the sake of LEARNING TO LOVE. And they are therefore PERPETUATING "DARKNESS." It's hard to verbalize. But I "HATE" COWARDICE. There's NO TRUST there. NO COURAGE. NO HOPE. NO PROGRESS or HEALING or TRANSFORMATION!!

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BIBLE VERSES TO LOOK UP/ REMEMBER=
✳ SOUL FEEDING ON GOD'S WORD?? (FAT; NOT "THIN"!!)
✳ "Delight your soul with RICH FARE"; CHILD + MOTHER "SELF-GIFT" FOOD
✳ God's Word/ Heaven compared to FAT/ SWEET/ RICH "FEASTING" FOODS
✳ MILK, HONEY, SYRUP, WINE, OIL, CHOICE MEATS, BREAD, ETC.!

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"It's only relatable to us if we ALLOW it to be" (COMMUNION/ OPEN HEARTS; SHARE IN OTHERS' LIVES) (COLLECTIVE human experience PARTICIPATION = UNION in CHRIST)

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Group asked us, "what is your STRONGEST thought distortion?" Like, if you could reveal ONLY ONE distortion SPECIFICALLY TO BE COMBATED & hopefully DEFEATED, what would you admit? The aching terrible desperate response is to plunge your hands DIRECTLY INTO THE TAR, GRAB IT BY THE GUTS, & with a WRENCH that takes ALL your strength & courage, FLING IT OUT INTO THE OPEN BATTLEFIELD. What I'm saying is, WHAT is OUR most DARK & AWFUL & POWERFUL & DEADLY "FALSE CORE BELIEF"?
✳ I just discussed that with one of the BHAs, & I not only managed to discern what I feel is the heaviest "curse" of a belief, BUT I ALSO REALIZED THAT ALL THE UGLIEST DISTORTIONS ARE ALMOST INSTANTLY CRUSHED WHEN CONFRONTED WITH THE TRUTH THAT WE'RE A SYSTEM!!! And WHY? BECAUSE WE LOVE ALL OF OURSELF. You ALL know how NIGHTMARISH the Archives can be to read. They're HEARTBREAKING & TERRIFYING & HUMILIATING & DEVASTATING & DISTURBING, but they're TRUE, and they're OUR LIFE NEVERTHELESS, all our struggle & war & HOPE, as we NEVER STOPPED FIGHTING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW, TOGETHER. And so they're ALSO BEAUTIFUL & INSPIRING & HONEST & INSIGHTFUL & COURAGEOUS & JOYFUL & REAL & FULL OF LOVE. And despite EVERYTHING, I can say that in the end, recognizing GOD'S PROVIDENCE in it ALL, I can say with almost insane gratitude, that I THANK GOD FOR ALL OF IT BECAUSE IT ALLOWED US TO EXIST. And the love, the absolute LOVE we have, is absolutely WORTH ALL THE SUFFERING WE ENDURED for its sake. THAT'S THE CROSS!! Like Father P told us, it's actually a STRANGE but GREAT GRACE to HAVE that heavy of a cross TO bear-- AS A CROSS. That means that WE ARE DYING TO THAT DARKNESS & SIN!! It's EVIDENT AS BROKENNESS, BUT NOW, BY "BECOMING" A CROSS THROUGH OUR REPENTANCE, IT CAN BE USED FOR GROWTH IN HUMILITY/ GRACE/ VIRTUE, by LEARNING AND TURNING FROM those fallen ways, an "GIVING US" THE HOPE OF NEW LIFE IN CHRIST THROUGH SHARING IN HIS DEATH (TO SIN, OUT OF LOVE FOR US) THAT "ENABLED" HIS RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION-- He SANCTIFIED HUMANITY. He FORGED A PATH OUT OF HELL, and it's BY CARRYING OUR CROSSES (admitting our sins AS sins & humbly DOING PENANCE/ STAYING CONTRITE/ NOT JUSTIFYING OR DENYING our sins) AND FOLLOWING CHRIST IN FAITH & HOPE, to NEW LIFE, to LOVE & SALVATION.


092924

Sep. 29th, 2024 11:15 am
prismaticbleed: (shatter)

✳ WE HAVE TO FIGHT CONCUPISCENCE because GOD WANTS US TO BE STRONG & DISCIPLINED & COURAGEOUS. Being "evil" is EASY & COWARDLY. Being "GOOD" IS A FIGHT, but we're GUARANTEED VICTORY IN CHRIST! SO BE HIS SOLDIER. The DEVIL is AFRAID. As Christians, WE have NOTHING to fear, we HAVE GOD'S LOVE.

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We're still getting itchy & burny eyes/ runny nose/ nausea/ etc. after eating eggs. I will message our allergist about this tomorrow, but for now, we NEED to edit the mealplan slightly to EXCLUDE EGGS & SOY, because if a "minor skinprick response" is STILL making us feel this sick, maybe we should stop trying to "build up a tolerance". But until we hear back from her, right now I'm going to keep eating eggs (I enjoy them even so) & tracking symptoms UNLESS it gets TOO concerning or we're TOLD to stop, I guess. I'm not sure how we'd alter our BK otherwise-- to get 3P with our allergies, we would HAVE to get cottage cheese, sausage, AND sunbutter EVERY morning, OR triple one of those options, and that's both difficult & kind of gross (salty & oversticky/ dense). We'll see after tomorrow. We should at least try??  Honestly the most REALISTIC option IS the Sunbutter-- we wouldn't be eating any sausage at home, it pairs well with the breakfast items, and it's our only easily prepped/ available option for an "exchange eligible" protein at home... But seriously, think about this change REALISTICALLY. At home we can always BANK ON GREEK YOGURT. Really our ONLY concern is RIGHT NOW, & step one is TRY THE SUNBUTTER, & do WHATEVER the ALLERGIST SAYS. By the way, this DOES AFFECT CONDIMENT FORCING, because it ALL seems to have EGGS &/OR SOY OIL. But hey, that's MOTIVATION to KICK THE HABIT. We've had 12 DAYS of pseudobinge behavior with the bloody things so START CUTTING BACK, if not COMPLETELY COLD TURKEY, unless we can't avoid it as part of the menu. We CANNOT be "feeding the REAL monster" of ADDICTIVE COMPULSION, ESPECIALLY with our LIFE at risk!

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✳ WORK WITH THE LOWEST EXCHANGE PLAN UNTIL WE JOIN A GYM! WE WILL NEED TO BULK UP AS WE GAIN STRENGTH?
✳ ARE WE FOCUSING ON WEIGHTS AT FIRST? RESTART CARDIO SLOWLY?

✳I'M SO TIRED OF FOOD FOCUS. I WANT TO LIVE. Yes we STILL need to feed & nourish the body God gave us, BUT our FOCUS MUST BE ON WORSHIP/ ETERNITY!! "REMEMBER YOU ARE BUT DUST." & 1 CORINTHIANS 6:12-14!!

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✳ New marker color, but OLD topic. Basically, WHY ARE SO MANY FOODS STILL "SCARY" AFTER WE'VE EATEN THEM? And WHY does it feel like POTENTIALLY ALL "FEAR FOODS" WILL STILL BE SCARY/ AVOIDED OUTSIDE OF THE HOSPITAL??? WHY DOES CONTEXT CHANGE THINGS & "OVERRIDE" THE HEALING MINDSET?? IS IT JUST the "REBELLIOUS CHILD" INSTINCT? Am "I" just TRYING to "PROTECT" myself BY REFUSING/ FIGHTING WHEN I "FINALLY CAN AGAIN"?? If so, then THE REAL FEAR ROOTS HAVEN'T BEEN HEALED, and it MIGHT ACTUALLY be ONE BIG ROOT. So we HAVE to discern WHAT IT IS. There's a BELIEF somewhere, FALSE & NEGATIVE, fueling ALL this.

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FOODS "AT RISK OF RELAPSE" and WHY (esp. "not safe AT HOME/ IF I CHOOSE THEM?) =

1) "SUGAR"/ SWEET FOODS. We wrote about this in the back. It's an ANCIENT "HACK TRIGGER" & therefore honestly the FIRST "TRAUMA FOOD" (CHOCOLATE). This INCLUDES FRUIT, which already has cultural associations with sex on its own. "Desserts" are considered "indulgent/ sensual/ luxurious" & therefore feel like INVITATIONS FOR TRAUMA.The very QUALITY of "sweetness" is in itself a bomb siren.
2) "CHILDHOOD" FOODS. This honestly baffled me UNTIL I realized, "they were eaten WITH THE FAMILY." Even if we "LOVE THE FAMILY AND LIKE THE FOOD," there is this HEAVY VENEER of ANXIOUS DREAD over it REGARDLESS. This includes POLISH food (church picnics), ITALIAN food (going out on weekends, after church?), FAST food (from vacations & road trips), & GRANDMA'S COOKING, tragically enough. It ALSO includes a group we FORGOT until flashbacks hit here: SCHOOL LUNCHES. We could probably ALSO include CIOCI ANN/ COUSIN foods (her house AND local folks), AND HOLIDAY foods (Christmas/ Easter). We'll make the actual lists separately, but the CONNECTING POINT for ALL of them is that THEY WERE ALL EATEN WITH THE FAMILY, OR A "FAMILY" ANALOGUE (school, church), IN A GROUP/ SOCIAL SETTING... UNDER HIGH ANXIETY, due to CONFLICT and/or SOCIAL OVERWHELM? BUT they still DIFFER from the NEXT broad category, because they're NOT explicitly--
3) "TRAUMA" FOODS. This group BOTH overlaps with the previous two, AND contains its own unique items. But THESE are DEFINED by DIRECT EXPERIENTIAL ASSOCIATION WITH TRAUMATIC EVENTS, even if JUST ONE, that "TAINTED" it "ESSENTIALLY" despite later non-traumatic exposures? We're STRIVING to heal that NOW, but we're struggling because the ROOTS ARE DEEP & KNOTTED. These require MENTAL RECOVERY too.
4) "FEAR" FOODS. These are scary/ unsettling for reasons that DON'T involve PEOPLE? They're based on MEDICAL/ PHYSIOLOGICAL fears, typically born FROM ACTUAL DISTURBING/ UNSETTLING EXPERIENCES. These include NON-TRAUMA "allergy"/ "poison"/ "fatal"/ etc. fears, often "baseless" except for the "initiating event" itself. These are BIZARRELY HARD TO "GET OVER" because their roots are MENTAL & "UNREASONABLE" & BASED ON "THE UNKNOWN," claiming a "PERPETUAL RISK FACTOR" regardless of exposure: "NEXT time it MIGHT kill me." There's NO "PROOF". It requires a CHANGE in our CORE PERSPECTIVE/ MINDSET??? to "NOT FEAR DEATH," WHILE STILL BEING PRUDENT/ REASONABLE. THIS REQUIRES BOTH WISDOM AND TOTAL TRUSTING SURRENDER TO GOD'S LOVING WILL for us.

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I heard a LOT of negative food talk from patients today, & it's not the first time. "The sherbet looks so gross/ disgusting." "All this butter & mayonnaise is going to clog our arteries." "Why can't I just eat fruit & salad instead of hamburgers & hot dogs?" "I'm only eating toast without butter." "The food doesn't taste good, right?" etc. There's SO MUCH JUDGMENT of foods as "disgusting," "gross," "unhealthy," "BAD," etc. People flat-out taste a food, grimace, & throw the rest away. They refuse to try new options because they "sound gross." Et cetera. And I feel SO DEPRESSED over all this. I'm trying SO HARD to LIKE & APPRECIATE & EAT EVERYTHING, ESPECIALLY the ones people say are "DISGUSTING." I DIDN'T choose the pot pie today because I thought it was "unappetizing" (because of HOME & BINGE ASSOCIATIONS, but STILL) and I can't stop beating myself up over it. BUT, although I "wanted" the "Grandma cookie" for snack, I chose the "sweet crackers" because NO ONE ELSE DID & "they were UNLOVED." BUT I'm STILL feeling "regret/ want" because the other option was "GRANDMA COOKIES" & I feel like I've BETRAYED HER. If they had simply said "chocolate chip cookies," I probably WOULDN'T have wanted them because the association is DIFFERENT & ANXIOUS (child binge punishment fear). BUT YOU SEE THE PROBLEM. THIS IS ANCIENT, but in light of recent entries IT MAKES SENSE NOW. It's PROJECTION. I IDENTIFY WITH THE FOOD. Negatively, "I AM A CONSUMABLE OBJECT"; Positively, "I AM MEANT FOR COMMUNION." And I see/hear that SYMBOLICALLY REFLECTED in the way that others, AND MYSELF, speak about/ treat FOOD. "I'M gross/ disgusting." = "I'M undesirable/ unwanted." "I'M going to hurt/ kill people if they take me into their life, because I'm "TOO MUCH" ("FAT")." "I'M distasteful." etc. "I'M NOT GOOD FOR PEOPLE." But WHY? What "MAKES" me & the food so "unhealthy & bad"? Bluntly, it's FAT & MEAT. Rich, heavy, "MANLY" food, weirdly enough. SO MANY PEOPLE act like UNLESS you're THIN/ LIGHT/ SLIM/ PETITE/ DELICATE/ MILD, etc. like FRESH FRUIT & PLAIN SALAD & RICE CAKES & FATFREE YOGURT & ALL the other stuff they MARKET TO WOMEN, YOU'RE UNPALATABLE, POISONOUS, GROSS, HARMFUL, UNHEALTHY. It's SUBTLE MISANDRY as much as it's GNOSTIC HERESY. It VILIFIES BOTH MASCULINITY AND THE HUMAN BODY... which, ACTUALLY, is ALSO BRUTAL MISOGYNY. Women are CREATED TO BE MOTHERS-- to be LIFEGIVERS. WOMEN WERE GRACED WITH THE STUNNING PRIVILEGE OF BECOMING FOOD FOR THEIR CHILDREN-- BECOMING EUCHARISTIC. Really, this DEMONIC WAR ON FOOD is a WAR AGAINST CHRIST & MANKIND, AND OUR MOTHER in a terribly specific way. So YEAH, "the insults against GOD fall on ME." I, by grace alone, am FINALLY ABLE TO SEE FOOD (AND GENDER) AS GOOD & HOLY, and so when I see/ hear OTHERS INSULTING/ CONDEMNING THOSE THINGS ESPECIALLY IN WAYS THAT IMPLY/ SUGGEST/ ACCUSE (BLASPHEME) that GOD has "MADE something BAD/ HARMFUL/ BROKEN/ WRONG," OR THAT HE HAS "MADE A MISTAKE," it ACTIVELY MAKES ME ANGRY, FROM HEARTACHE & CHARITY! I LOVE GOD AND HUMANITY and I WANT (NEED) TO DEFEND & DECLARE & UPHOLD THE DIGNITY OF MAN, THE GOODNESS & PURPOSE OF CREATION, & THE LOVE/ JUSTICE/ GLORY OF GOD!!


prismaticbleed: (held)

Dear future us:

We made it. We survived. We got through every single day of disorder and we've arrived at a beautiful tomorrow at last, LIVING at last, free and joyful and TOGETHER.
But this isn't a time for platitudes. We had to suffer hell to get where we are now, because there was terrific dross in us that needed to be burned away, and our hidden hold revealed & refined.
God has worked miracles in our life by grace, and we know that VERY clearly. He refused to lose us. He refused to let us die. And now we get to LIVE.
Don't ever take this miracle for granted. Your-- OUR-- life, our hope, our future, has been RESTORED to us as a GIFT of LOVE, so now, LIVE AS A GIFT OF LOVE to God and to the world that we've been cut off from for so long. REJOICE, and now be a WITNESS to the HOPE God has realized in our heart!

Treasure your family. They are precious & irreplaceable & YOURS.

Treasure your System. You belong to each other in ardent devotion. Together you will ALWAYS have joy.

Treasure your faith. Prioritize it and it will illuminate everything else with truth, beauty, and goodness.

Treasure your talents. God gave them to you to continue His work of creative imagination & love.
 
Treasure your experiences. Your body & senses, environment & challenges, are all gems to cherish.

Treasure YOURSELF, embraced by and embracing all of your life. Keep your heart sweet. Keep your heart open. YOU MATTER.




092724

Sep. 27th, 2024 10:11 am
prismaticbleed: (spinel-remorse)


✳ Our "self-care is to benefit others" insight yesterday, AND group today, made me realize something. I THINK I ACTUALLY LIKE BEING AROUND & TALKING TO PEOPLE. All that unexpressed LOVE in me is ACTIVELY & FINALLY FINDING AN OUTLET here in inpatient, & I THINK I NEED THIS. IT'S WHY I KEEP RUNNING BACK TO MOM. IT'S WHY I STILL WANT A JOB. IT'S WHY I WON'T EVEN QUIT TUMBLR. OUR "PLURALITY" IS JUST ANOTHER EXPRESSION OF OUR INNATE, GOD-GIVEN, HUMAN PURPOSE-- COMMUNION!!! AND WITHOUT IT, THE EATING DISORDER APPARENTLY KICKS IN AS A "SUBSTITUTE." After all, EATING IS COMMUNION BY DESIGN!! And ALL of our past "trauma" situations-- ALL of the people who we considered we "BELONGED" to, & STILL "give power to" as AUTHORITY over us-- INVOLVED BROKEN/ UNREQUITED/ DISHONEST "COMMUNION" = LOVE. I HAVEN'T MOVED ON BECAUSE I CAN'T STOP LOVING THEM & HAVEN'T "FOUND" ANYONE ELSE NOW TO GIVE IT TO?? And the eating disorder was like "bleeding out the overload" out of sheer distress?? OR IS THAT THE "POISON" FEAR??? ALL THE "COMMUNION" WE GOT-- ALL THE "FOOD" FOR OUR HEART & SOUL-- WAS ROTTEN OR TOXIC. No wonder we always ate literal garbage with the eating disorder; we were not only "used to it," but it was "SCAVENGER" behavior: "this is the BEST YOU'LL GET," even the "best you DESERVE"? Or not even "best," but "ONLY"; the FEAR of losing the SCRAPS, out of HUNGER? ALSO "CAN'T SAY NO"-- like I CAN'T "throw ANYTHING out," even CRUMBS? "FAMINE" MINDSET. "UNGRATEFUL." Also childhood meals= "lick your plate clean," like IF YOU DON'T, you WILL STARVE?? "PUNISHMENT." COMPULSIVE FORCEFEEDING. "EAT IT ALL OR YOU WON'T GET ANYTHING LATER"?? NO JOY OR PEACE. But WHY the "looking for MORE"? OR just OF OUR OWN FREE VOLITION? NOT FORCED/ COMPULSIVE; WANTING to ACTUALLY FEEL "FED"?
✳ GARBAGE EATING also MERCY?? "Even IF it got thrown away, there's STILL something EDIBLE left in it; I CAN'T be SO UNGRATEFUL/ UNKIND as to NEGLECT/ IGNORE/ DEVALUE that"?? ALSO in treatment, SCRAPING/ LICKING containers/ peels/ lids/ etc. "PERFECT/ COMPLETIONIST"; "YOU CAN'T THROW AWAY FOOD, EVEN THE SCRAPS." AFRAID = "ALL OR NOTHING" EAT/FEED VS. REJECT/STARVE??? "It's EITHER FOOD OR GARBAGE"?? NO OVERLAP?? And the thought of "throwing something out" UNEATEN/ UNUSED/ UNLOVED?? is almost PAINFUL? Like I HAVE to "RESCUE/ SAVE/ REDEEM it" by EATING IT DOWN TO THE BONE, and EVEN THAT TOO if I can. WHAT IS THIS?? HOW DOES THIS PLAY INTO COMMUNION? Is that something I IDENTIFY WITH? & ALSO with "abuse," "there's STILL GOOD in them/ I STILL LOVE THEM" therefore "I MUST EAT EVEN WHAT OTHERS WOULD CALL GARBAGE"?? ALSO I FEEL LIKE, ONCE IT'S "GARBAGE," I CAN EAT IT AS "MINE"?? (NO COMPULSIVE MIMICRY/ OBEDIENCE?) Like I DON'T DESERVE/ CAN'T CHOOSE "REAL FOOD" (it BELONGS to OTHERS); but THE TRASH IS "MINE"?? It's "ALL I GET." I FEEL SORRY FOR IT. I even LOOK for it. ("PICKING UP THE PIECES DISCARDED")
✳ IS THIS AXIS'S TERRITORY??

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✳The "desert island" exercise in art group today made me realize two very unsettling things... 1) I'm NOT thinking about PHYSICAL CARE/ SURVIVAL, OR 2) OTHER PEOPLE'S NEEDS IN THAT REGARD. My fellow patients are bringing medkits & tents & knives & water filters, and NONE of that even OCCURRED to me. I'm here thinking "I'll need a solarpowered laptop to write about the experience" and I DIDN'T EVEN CONSIDER that I would need CLOTHING & FOOD & SHELTER & TOOLS. I'm listening to them, stunned & shaken, because IT ALL IS "NEW" TO MY MINDSET. That's SCARY. Of course I'd objectively NEED to eat & sleep, but... the "FUTURE FACT" of that DIDN'T CROSS MY MIND. I like "assumed" I'd just "find" fruits & catch fish I guess, & sleep on the ground. But the FIRST THOUGHT of "what would you bring to a desert island" was "THE BIBLE & A LAPTOP," NOT  THE BODY. OR does my subconscious NOT PRIORITIZE SURVIVAL?? ONLY the "INTERNAL/ ETERNAL"? That explains my schedule!

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✳"WHO can front to handle DISCOMFORT" = WHAT are the RESONANT SUFFERINGS OF EACH COLOR, that we can CARRY TOGETHER & NOT DISSOCIATE/ LEAVE IT TO KAKOFONI OR NEGATIVE SOMAFONI???
✳ OUR PERSPECTIVE MUST SHIFT from COMPLAINT to the CROSS!!!
✳ "OFFER IT UP" REQUIRES GRATITUDE/ LOVE/ TRUST = WORSHIP & SACRIFICE ("MAKE HOLY")!

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✳ My goal today is to "befriend discomfort" & boy I am REALLY uncomfortable with the upsetting realization that my mealplan choices for the weekend are COWARDLY & REPETITIVE. I chose the SAME fruits for EVERY meal, I'm LOOPING cottage cheese, & I ACTIVELY AVOIDED CHALLENGE FOODS. WHY DO I KEEP FALLING BACK INTO LOOPS??? IS THAT JUST THE PATTERN OF MY LIFE? Dude you NEED to get your hands on the Book of Night With Moon & DRAW AN ARROW POINTING UP OUTTA THAT THING!!
...That too. "Arrow." I APPARENTLY HAVEN'T MOVED ON. Those broken arrows are STILL stabbed into OUR heart. ...God we MIGHT NEED INFI BACK. Ze was ESSENTIAL to EVERYTHING during that time: our LOVE, our TRAUMA, our IDENTITY, our ACTIONS. WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO EVEN DISCUSS OUR HISTORY SINCE 2013 WITHOUT DIRECTLY  CONSTANTLY REFERRING TO HIR, AND TO JAY. AND STEP ONE IS READING THE ARCHIVES, AS WE UPLOAD THEM. Those memories have been SUPPRESSED and RUN FROM for SIX SOLID YEARS, if not SEVEN for some. THAT'S INSANE. NO WONDER we're stuck. SO PLEASE, DO THAT IMMEDIATELY UPON DISCHARGE. We CANNOT PUT THIS OFF ANYMORE. IT'S THE UNDENIABLE KEY TO UNLOCK SO MANY MYSTERIES & STRUGGLES, and I GUARANTEE you, EVEN THOUGH IT WILL inevitably be EXCRUCIATING at times, it is ALSO ABSOLUTELY FULL OF LOVE, REAL AND TRUE, AND YOU ALL KNOW IT, "DESPITE" THE TRAUMA. LOVE (GOD) KEPT US ALIVE. So don't be afraid. It WILL wake up our hearts, by FINALLY allowing us to "FILL IN THE GAPS" & CONNECT/ INTEGRATE our PAST & PRESENT, enabling us to REMEMBER the WHOLE PICTURE of WHO WE ARE, WOUNDS & ALL, so that WE CAN BUILD/ CHOOSE/ LIVE A REAL & GENUINE & TRUTHFUL & POSSIBLE FUTURE, TOGETHER, IN RECOVERY from ALL the tragedy of our ACTUAL PAST... with NO HIDING, NO DENIAL, NO HATRED, NO BITTERNESS, AT LONG LAST. And with THAT 7-year wound HEALED (and kissed), we can be FREE TO FULLY & JOYFULLY FORGIVE IN TOTALITY & DEVOTE OURSELF UNRESERVEDLY TO GOD'S SERVICE & GLORY. That "void" IS holding us back currently, because we CAN'T GIVE that part of ourselves AND history TO God IF WE CAN'T "HOLD" IT ENOUGH TO SURRENDER IT ENTIRELY TO HIM!!

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LOTOPHAGOI WE NEED (esp. inpatient) =
✳ MILK = "BABY CHERUB" to DRINK it; HEAL "baby" fear? TRUE PURPOSE OF MILK! INNOCENT
✳ COTCHS/ YOG = "HOLY COW." SACRIFICIAL (LOVE) ANIMAL + MOTHERHOOD?  (+BEEF?? OR A ?)
✳ FRUIT JUICE = BUTTERFLY/ HUMMINGBIRD?? "Nectar" similarity & "dignification" of context
✳ APPLESAUCE = ASTRONAUT?? "FIRST FOOD EATEN IN SPACE." OR AN ALIEN? (this food is SPECIAL to BOTH)
✳ FRUIT CUPS = GROUP ↑ ? ✳ONLY CERTAIN FRUITS COME CUT UP IN CUPS. DISTINCTION IS ESSENTIAL! (PEACHES/ PINEAPPLE/ PAPAYA?) (BIRDS AT ZOO? (FEED))
✳ "KIDS MEALS" (chicken tenders, mac & cheese, etc.?) (CAN'T BE "GROUPED"; INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATIONS)
✳ SUNBUTTER = tough because it's DENSE; vibe too "heavy" for a flower/ fairy? 

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✳ IF YOU COULD TELL/ TALK TO MOM ABOUT ANYTHING IN A LETTER:
● She NEEDS to understand that the eating disorder is TIED TO THE "SLAVE" MINDSET & THE GENDER FEAR & the SEXUAL TRAUMA. The latter is old new & (to me) easy to explain: I didn't want to "grow up to be a woman." I didn't want to get married OR like boys OR have sex & therefore babies. I saw a picture of a young adult male in a teen mag at age 13 & IMMEDIATELY thought, "I WANT TO LOOK LIKE THAT." And since I associated womanhood with FAT = breasts = curves, I STOPPED EATING during the day in an attempt to PREVENT that change, AND perhaps "insulate/ protect" myself from the PROFOUNDLY INVASIVE experience of sharing meals, ESPECIALLY with peers (STRANGERS & often HYPERSEXUAL/ SECULAR) in a FORCED & ARTIFICIAL setting/ environment, AND WORSE because I'd be EXPECTED/ FORCED to TALK = SELFDISCLOSURE = "STRIPPED & INVADED." Ironically/ revealingly, I WAS ACTUALLY & ONLY COMFORTABLE EATING around GIRLS I LIKED, because that "almost shared" meal was the ONLY WAY I COULD FEEL CLOSE TO/ WANTED & ACCEPTED & WELCOMED by them. (Mary/ AAA) Part of me wished I could eat with boys? NOT out of "attraction" BUT because I wanted to BE LIKE THEM? Strong, funny, athletic, comedic, self-confident, and with that "TOMBOY FIRE" I felt FORCED to CRUSH in that school uniform skirt & brassiere. Furthermore, I sensed that MAYBE I'd be loved BY the girls IF I were "more like" a boy? Although I ALREADY wanted to LOOK/ ACT more like a boy for my OWN personal gender reasons, NOW I saw they had a "ROLE" IN RELATIONSHIPS AND I WANTED THAT ROLE. But I digress. This ALL messed with eating mostly because I was now FASTING DAILY for 12+ hours on average, & as I got older & the body DID change & I experienced MORE frequent & horrific abuse at Julie's hands (exacerbated by social/ cultural/ media exposure), EATING in GENERAL became terrifying, & I began to HIDE when I ate/ eat PRIVATELY out of SHAME/ FEAR/ TRAUMA OVERLAP. BUT this early we WEREN'T in the "slave" mindset; our meals were still BY DEFAULT decided by the fam, & we had NO OPPORTUNITY/ REASON to choose "association foods" because we had NO "authorities" OUTSIDE of the fam (& we all ate the SAME)... EXCEPT FANDOMS, WHICH IS A HUGE REALIZATION BTW-- this is WHY our "favorite foods" weren't even things we "liked," but were things our favorite CHARACTERS liked or were associated with (tunafish, apples, blackberries, etc.). But the "SLAVE" but STARTED with SALT LAKE CITY in ~2009. This is ALSO (I think) WHEN the PILFER/ SCAVENGER mentality BEGAN in earnest. I was STARVING from NEGLECT on EVERY LEVEL OF MY EXISTENCE, and out of both desperation & heartache I just started to "TAKE WHAT I COULD GET." ...I wonder if this was ALSO a "KICKBACK" from the CONSTANT GIVING, but NEVER REPLENISHING THE STORES, because FOOD IS COMMUNION & I HAD NONE. No WONDER I was so determined & yearning to "go back HOME to my FAMILY." ...and I think it's why I STILL feel that way. Humans are LITERALLY MADE FOR THOSE THINGS, BY GOD'S DESIGN. Heaven is our TRUE home. The Church is our TRUE family. And I've KNOWN that deep down ALL MY LIFE, but it DOESN'T INVALIDATE THE WORLDLY REFLECTION OF IT either. Home & family IS where we are FIRST FED & FIRST ENTER INTO COMMUNION/ COMMUNITY, FROM BIRTH. And when we LOSE or LACK that, I think that something in our souls (as GOD'S children) SEEKS that out of REAL HUNGER. And I do. And so I MUST set my heart ON GOD'S KINGDOM. ONLY HE CAN satisfy my poor starving soul.



prismaticbleed: (Default)
MEALPLAN NOTES
(BK)
2-3 FRU= Always 1 whole fruit, & we're debating which! Apples are typical/ fast, BUT bananas MATCH the meal VIBE, and ORANGES are the "balanced BK" idea/ there's more time TO eat them now than at later meals. We'll have to TRY EACH, FREELY, & choose them ALL in variance? DAY CONTEXT is key, so we CAN get unique fruits at each meal. HOWEVER, 2 whole fruits MIGHT be too much fiber/ volume, considering the size of our mealplan totals. SO, we will PROBABLY NEED to have JUICE. This is actually good because the grape juice here is BOSS. Our only "worry" is the SHEER SUGAR HIT with no fiber to lessen it-- UNLESS we "pair" this with a HOT CEREAL day? But TRY ALL POSSIBILITIES within reason-- no double oranges! BUT two small apples MIGHT work with lower volume meals, AND if we're brave, the "challenge meal" is TWO BANANAS WITH SUNBUTTER. Maybe one day! But you CAN do it. You're FREE to. You HAVE choices and NONE OF THEM ARE "WRONG." They're ALL nutritious. You just have to APPLY them WISELY, and NOT "MORAL PANIC" if you choose something that ultimately ISN'T the "best option" that day. And THAT'S OKAY. We're STILL LEARNING! And EACH choice is STILL NOURISHING OUR BODY. So be GRATEFUL!
HOME= We have EXTENDED OPTIONS upon discharge! The most important is HEMPSEED, which is our BASE LIPID & also PROTEIN, BUT we SHOULD still complement it with YOGURT & EGGS. Cottage cheese IS lovely, but it has less protein & no probiotics? Still, it's nice to have, even if only with LN/ DN, so don't cut it out necessarily. As for FRUIT, we can do GRAPES & DRIED CHERRIES as "sweet" faves, FIGS (for the journey) as a special joy (not regularly; they're pricey), and of course ALL the default BK fruits. BUT should we get JUICE? And what about BERRIES, or are they both too expensive & too hard on our teeth? Really, we NEED to STREAMLINE our options for 1) ACCESSIBILITY, 2) BUDGET, 3) "COMBINABILITY" with MEALS in terms of VOLUME especially-- because WE WILL NEED 2+ FRUIT EXCHANGES at EACH MEAL! And we CAN'T get stuck in a rut, or we'll be feeding the "comfort" & "fear" dragons, as it were. We must STAY FLEXIBLE/ FLUID AND ADVENTUROUS, WITHOUT going "MANIC-COMPULSIVE." DON'T GO TO EITHER EXTREME!! ALL options are GOOD & VALID, even CANNED fruit if that's all you've got. BUT if we DO get to choose, choose SEVERAL & ROTATE, & honestly? TRY ONE NEW THING WEEKLY, AT LEAST. (NO MORE THAN 3 AT FIRST?)
✳ DON'T OVERSTOCK THE KITCHEN OUT OF HYPEROPTIMISM. WE STILL HAVE FIXED FINANCES. BUT DON'T LET THAT SCARE YOU INTO RESTRICTION/ RIGIDITY. FLOW WITHIN THE LIMITS!
✳ DAIRY SHOULD VARY. At home, STICK TO YOGURT & COTCHS? Should we get Fairlife milk to put in cereals? But VARY YOGURT FLAVORS. Don't get into ANY sort of "rigid" behavior; be flexible AND adventurous enough to FREELY BE ABLE TO EAT ANY AVAILABLE FLAVOR! That way you'll NEVER feel "stuck/ lost" if vanilla is sold out, haha. Don't even worry about it bro. It's ALL nutritious and honestly it'll be GOOD for you to GENUINELY APPRECIATE the VARIETY of Creation!
✳ WHAT ARE WE DOING FOR PROTEIN, BESIDES DAIRY & HEMPSEEDS? Are we permanently reintroducing EGGS? And are we sticking to CANNED SALMON & whatever TUNA is most affordable? What about CHICKPEAS & other healthy beans? Actually we SHOULD EAT THEM ALL IN VARIATION. I know that's exhausting BUT we CAN plan a WEEKLY MENU of SET MEALS to reduce anxiety & streamline shopping, even if it's just a 3-DAY ROTATION with a "special menu" for days when we're on the road/ not home (i.e. church, therapy). ALSO on THOSE days, we CAN "plan" to get ANIMAL PROTEIN from a RESTAURANT, even the local Caribbean place bro!! That way we won't have the home mess & expense but STILL get those unique nutrients in our diet AND get us USED TO EATING AT, EVEN IN, a public restaurant! GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY; THAT'S WHERE JESUS WENT, AND YOU MUST FOLLOW HIM WITH LOVE. Don't fuel the eating disorder by making food/ eating something isolated/ hidden/ rigid. GET USED TO SHARING SPACE at meals! But please DO start gently & small. Get something little at a cafe & read while you eat; just GET ACCUSTOMED TO SOCIAL EATING BY KEEPING YOUR HEART OPEN. HEAVEN is a community FEAST, after all! So "BE ETERNITY-MINDED" & START LIVING AS A HEAVENLY CITIZEN NOW. ♥ (and seriously, FIND QUEER SPACES & BRING CHRIST THERE, by His Grace & your courageous joy)
✳ VEGETABLES. IT CAN'T JUST BE BROCCOLI & CARROTS. WE NEED LEAVES DUDE. DO get frozen options though, because we don't always have transportation, and they're easily prepped too. EAT COLORS & DON'T "ISOLATE" FOODS? Don't be afraid to MIX SEVERAL in a PRUDENT & COHERENT way, to get VARIED NUTRIENTS in one go! Salad is MADE for this.
✳ GRAINS/ STARCHES. We've avoided these for SO LONG and FOR CHRIST'S LITERAL SAKE we MUST LOVE THEM AGAIN. Keep the oats, don't fear rice; learn to COOK them. BUY BREAD. BUY ENGLISH MUFFINS. BUY A CEREAL YOU ENJOY. And EAT POTATOES!! Remember Our Lady of La Salette!! Don't fear CORN either, for Guadalupe! See, there's ALWAYS something GOOD & HOLY in ALL foods; they're ALL GOD'S GIFTS, and you NEED them at EVERY meal.
✳ SPECIALS... don't fear dessert, even just one cookie at first. Let them remind you of God's sweetness; you're ALLOWED to CELEBRATE the sweet things in life. Learn to make french toast. Make your own fish tacos. MAKE AN OMELET. Learn to BAKE things! INVENT your own kind of pasta dish & sandwich & even pizza! ENJOY LIFE & PARTICIPATE IN IT. But DON'T GO OVERBOARD. GOD & ETERNITY are STILL TOP PRIORITY. Whatever you do OR eat OR cook, MAKE IT ALL INTO AN ACT OF GRATEFUL WORSHIP. You're ALIVE. GIVE THANKS & LIVE!

✳ (TRUST YOUR BODY; GOD BUILT IT TO KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY MANAGE FOOD!)

"DO SOMETHING NEW = THAT'S THE ADVENTURE"

VARIETY, SON!!! BE FLUID!

STILL BE WILLING TO TRY "NON-FAVE" FOODS = "FIND SOMETHING TO LOVE" IN YOURSELVES!!! (NOT "OUTSOURCING" ASSOCIATIONS ANYMORE)

- TRY ONE SOYMILK? "Build allergy tolerance?"
- If you MUST use salad dressings, CHOOSE DIFFERENT ONES!
- YOU DON'T NEED ALL THAT KETCHUP & MAYO.
- If there's a NEW side option, TRY IT!
- NO "EXTRA" SIDES (FORCING; learn to "FAST" in THAT WAY!)


092624

Sep. 26th, 2024 05:10 am
prismaticbleed: (shatter)

Today we went to the unit art show in the gym, and me & Laurie walked around together looking at art & eating cheese cubes & crackers & apple cider. It was genuinely so simply joyous.
THAT'S the life we want-- free, full of gratitude & wonder, lived TOGETHER in mutual love.

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Reading "The Gospel According to Jesus" this morning revealed something HUGE= Deep down, I "WANT" TO BE A "DOULOS"-- A SLAVE. One "whose VERY EXISTENCE is DEFINED BY her service to another" to whom she "BELONGS." Therefore "she LACKS PERSONAL FREEDOM/ RIGHTS" as "her HUMAN AUTONOMY is SET ASIDE" and "AN ALIEN WILL TAKES PRECEDENCE OVER HER OWN"-- she is "LEGALLY FORCED" to give "TOTAL, UNQUALIFIED SUBMISSION to the CONTROL & DIRECTIVES of a higher AUTHORITY" = her "MASTER," who DID NOT HAVE TO GIVE HER "WAGES" BECAUSE SHE WAS PROPERTY, "WITHOUT SOCIAL STANDING OR RIGHTS." A "doulos" is "DEPENDENT ON HER LORD," OBLIGATED TO SERVICE NOT BY CHOICE BUT BY LEGAL SUBJECTION. A slave HAS TO DO WHAT SHE IS TOLD, WHETHER SHE WANTS TO OR NOT, WHETHER SHE LIKES IT OR NOT. SHE CANNOT SAY "NO," EVER. SHE HAS NO RIGHT TO. And THAT IS EXACTLY HOW I SEE MYSELF. WHY.
✳ TWO things: in TRUTH, my ONLY "LORD & MASTER" IS JESUS CHRIST. Literally NO ONE ELSE has authority over me. I am BOUND TO OBEY GOD ALONE. And GOD IS TRUTH & BEAUTY & LOVE. That's the SECOND thing: EVEN in my compulsive "slavery" mindset to PEOPLE, I LOVE THEM and so MY "SLAVERY" IS BY CHOICE AS LONG AS THAT ENDURES. This, however, causes TERRIBLE CONFLICT & FRIGHTFUL CONFUSION/ PARALYSIS when I "TRY TO BE A SLAVE TO TWO MASTERS." IF MOM wants one thing & GRANDMA wants another, or TBAS is in opposition to TAS, or even worse if ALL OF THEM ARE "GIVING CONFLICTING ORDERS"-- then WHO DO I SURRENDER MY WILL TO? WHOSE SLAVE AM I? Because technically I CAN'T "be OWNED by" them ALL... I CAN'T "BELONG TO" them all. AND PART OF ME "WANTS" TO, although the thought TERRIFIES her, because it REQUIRES that she "SET ASIDE her HUMAN AUTONOMY." I become SUBHUMAN inevitably-- an animal, an object, mere property-- but I'm "USEFUL." I'm "WANTED." I "BELONG" to someone. It's HEARTBREAKING as much as it's SICKENING. And the ONLY WAY OUT IS LITERALLY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST THAT ACTUALLY "BOUGHT ME". I BELONG TO GOD. And THEREFORE I MUST "SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD." NOT trying to please/ appease/ entertain people from my past. THAT'S the REAL truth. But... I feel like I'm "TRYING TO SELL MYSELF"???
✳ Continuing the "SLAVERY" topic BECAUSE THAT is POWERFULLY impacting/ directing our ENTIRE SCHEDULE. I think I'M somehow treating the FACT that "I BELONG TO GOD, AS A SLAVE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS" (ROM 6:18) with fatal misunderstanding/ imprudent application? Like I WANT & NEED my life to REVOLVE AROUND GOD, around the CATHOLIC CHURCH/ RELIGION that HE established & IN WHICH IS MY LIFE & SALVATION. But... I don't know how to "fit anything else in." "Nothing else IS needed," I think. "ONLY God is necessary." But AM I LIMITING GOD?? If I "can't eat until I pray/ adore/ go to Mass," and the hospital ORDERED me to eat MORE, how do I reconcile OBEDIENCE to BOTH, if GOD is BOTH PRIORITY AND the One Who PUT me under that lesser authority? If my body "NEEDS" to eat & sleep & exercise & work & play, but I feel COMPELLED AS A SLAVE to ONLY do explicitly religious activities to the EXCLUSION of "worldly" "needs," am I dishonoring God by "confining" Him AND worship of Him TO "only religious activities"? AND am I even ALLOWED to "cut down"/ alter my strict prayer schedule? Is it WRONG to want to go to the gym if it will conflict with Adoration AND breakfast? And what about creative work & journaling, if that time must be taken away from religious lectures? Do I HAVE to go to two Masses a day if that prevents me from eating? HOW DO I BALANCE BODY & SPIRIT? WHY AM I PUTTING THEM IN CONFLICT??

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Okay dude let's TALK MEALPLANS because this is OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN RECOVERY.
✳ LAVENDER BK needs 3 FRUITS. In general, ALL the plans MANDATE 6-8 SERVINGS OF FRUIT PER DAY!!! So, on the unit, to avoid too much volume at once (esp. with fiber) we will HAVE to do JUICE. That can actually be COOL because we can COMBINE them and see what results, haha. Just be prudent, not stupidly "bingey" in making "SLOP" out of DISTINCT WHOLE FOODS. You have the SAME PROBLEM WITH CONDIMENTS. Seriously, for FREEDOM & HONOR'S SAKE, STOP ADDING BUTTER & MAYO & SALAD DRESSING TO EVERYTHING and JUST ENJOY FOOD PLAIN, LIKE YOU WANT!
✳ We're in a cottage cheese loop with ALL meals & we SHOULD vary that with an EGG once daily. But SHOULD we eat the string cheese stick? Because we're avoiding it due to 1) overprocessing & 2) I don't want to "become that food," or rather, "take on" the "image" of "the KIND OF PERSON" who eats plastic-wrapped cheese products. It's a "BAD" vibe; it feels GROSS & SICK & ARTIFICIAL. We want to be the "kind of person" who eats WHOLE FOODS, NOT THE "CHEAP/ PROCESSED" STUFF that, to us, FEELS LIKE BINGE FOOD? Because THAT action "DENATURED" real food into SLOP, and processed food is "already closer to nonfood" than a "real" item like the egg OR cottage cheese (minimal, clean ingredients). BUT ARE WE JUDGING TOO MUCH?? Honestly I THINK SO. We're NOT FREE to MEET ALL OCCASIONS GOD OFFERS TO US, and NOT FREE to SHARE in ALL HUMAN EXPERIENCE WITH FOOD, IF WE REJECT/ REFUSE "WHAT WE ARE GIVEN/ SHARING IN" out of ALOOF/ PROUD/ FEARFUL MORAL JUDGMENT. THAT is DISORDERED.
✳ This begs the question: ARE WE ALLOWED TO CHOOSE THE "HEALTHIER"/ "CLEANER" (RESO) OPTION IF THE ALTERNATIVE IS A FOOD ON THAT "COMPULSIVE" LIST, TIED TO OTHER PEOPLE? MUST WE ALWAYS CHOOSE THE "CHALLENGE/ OBLIGATORY" OPTION IF IT WOULD "MAKE US FEEL SICK/ UNSATISFIED/ SHAKEN"? IS THAT SELFISH? IS THAT A SIN PUNISHABLE BY DEATH? There was PIZZA & POT PIE on the menu and we DIDN'T CHOOSE THEM because PIZZA is tied to LOTS of upsetting memories (esp. CNC, & childhood pizza parties/ social panic) And SO IS the POT PIE (binges, poverty), and honestly we DON'T "LIKE" EITHER. DO WE? ARE WE ALLOWED TO "DISLIKE" FOOD? Are we going to pay in blood for this? WHY CAN'T WE GET OVER THIS COMPULSION/ FEAR??? IF I DON'T LIKE salty sausage & kielbasa, IS THAT "EVIL" OF ME if PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT DO LIKE IT??
✳ AND HOW DOES THIS AFFECT MY ACTUALLY LIKING FOODS? THAT gives me the SAME FEELING OF PANICKED FEAR & EXPECTING BRUTAL PUNISHMENT. IS THIS THE "SLAVE MIND" TOO?? "I HAVE NO RIGHT TO LIKE ANYTHING "OF MYSELF"??" "I AM OBLIGATED TO ONLY LIKE WHAT MY "OWNERS" (CONTROLLERS) LIKE"? HOW DO I "ADMIT/ ASSERT" MY "OWN" "LIKES" WITHOUT SIN? WHY IS ENJOYING SOMETHING OF MY OWN EXPERIENCE A SIN? WHY IS PERSONAL PREFERENCE A SIN??? WHY IS ANYTHING RELATING TO "MY" "UNIQUE" EXISTENCE & "AUTONOMY" A DAMNABLE SIN??? Why am I "not allowed" to have any "self-related" action or thought whatsoever?
AND ONCE AGAIN, LO AND BEHOLD, THE SYSTEM CAN DEAL WITH THIS. We have lotophagoi. We choose TOGETHER. We REASON out our decisions FOR OUR COMMON GOOD & the CARE of OUR BODY & MIND, WHILE RESPECTING OTHERS. Yes the fears ↑ are STILL THERE & we NEED to discuss & feel & work through them TOGETHER, and we WILL & WANT TO, but AS we untangle & heal that, WE CAN & DO STILL FUNCTION IN LOVE. That DEFINES us & it's the ONLY THING that will sustain us through this, that & GOD'S GRACE IN THAT LOVE AS HE LOVES & GUIDES US. Please, keep reminding ourself of that. Do NOT drown in the fears & lies. Clear your eyes & mind BY this love & KEEP GOING.

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✳ We had to choose mealplan foods today & it took me almost 2 HOURS because I kept worrying that my choices were somehow "WRONG." I kept feeling like I "HAVE TO" eat bananas for breakfast "BECAUSE" I don't "like" them & THEREFORE I MUST "GO THROUGH CONVERSION THERAPY" basically. It's FORCEFEEDING UNTIL I "ENJOY IT." THAT'S RAPE-ANALOGOUS BEHAVIOR. I'm "NOT ALLOWED" to have apples instead because I "LIKE" them? Or DO I? How do I trust/ accept that? AND am I making the WRONG choice by having an apple INSTEAD of an orange? Which is wiser? I'm terrified that I made a stupid decision & now I CAN'T FIX IT, which translates as "PUNISHMENT FOR SIN" & just corrupts innocent foods in my mangled perception. STOP. Put it in Jesus's Hands. I have apples with breakfast because it's nice to start the day with their clean crunch & they're faster/ cleaner to eat which allows for earlier completion so we can get coffee. And we eat oranges with lunch because they often pair well with the entree (esp. fish). But... we can easily try switching them & see how that works FOR US. We're STILL GETTING NUTRITION. But... I feel so guilty about the bananas. I just "panic" because having them WITH waffles & syrup is just too much sugar bro. BUT IS THAT "LETTING FEAR CONTROL ME"?? I'll have to man up & have one EVERY OTHER DAY from now on, to keep up variety & "get used to them." I really DON'T WANT to see them as "DANGEROUS" because they're NOT. So we'll heal that, thank You God for showing us this. BUT it's the FRUIT FEAR in general, which we MUST face in the higher mealplans WITH LOVE, because FRUIT = EDEN, remember! It's GOOD! So we MUST get to a place where we CAN CHOOSE FREELY from a VARIETY of EQUALLY GOOD/ COMFORTABLE (IDEAL GOAL) OPTIONS, WITHOUT FRAMING IT AS A "MORAL JUDGMENT" OR "SLAVE COMPULSION"!!! We NEED to be JOYFULLY FREE. And that WILL INCLUDE BANANAS, AND JUICE! It WON'T "KILL US" OR "MAKE US DIABETIC." Food is MEDICINE and ESPECIALLY FRUITS & VEGETABLES & WHOLE FOODS. CREATION IS GOOD. FOOD IS GOOD. STOP LABELING FOODS AS "WRONG" OUT OF MORAL PANIC. And STOP RELIVING TRAUMA THROUGH FOOD; THAT'S ABUSING IT AND YOURSELF. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SAY "NO" WHEN THAT'S THE INTENTION!!!

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✳ "Positive affirmations" are SO DIFFICULT because "if they AREN'T "ABSOLUTE" & UNWAVERING, then they're LIES"??? Like the best I can do is say "I TRY to/ WANT to be good" in countless ways. BUT ironically that "minimizes" the times I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN kind/ honest/ merciful/ helpful/ etc.? And the MORE I STRIVE, the EASIER & MORE FREQUENT such REAL GOODNESS BECOMES. And yet ALL IT TAKES is ONE moment of weakness where I act "badly" and it corrupts EVERYTHING. It's "all or nothing" morality and it's LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE. EVEN SCRIPTURE SAYS SO!!! THAT DOESN'T "DOOM" US THOUGH BECAUSE OF CHRIST'S MERCIFUL LOVE. YOU GET TO TRY AGAIN. YOU GET TO BE FORGIVEN. YOU GET TO GROW INTO HOLINESS DAILY.
✳ "Affirmations" should DESCRIBE the GRACE-FILLED IDEAL GOAL OF SAINTHOOD, that you ARE CALLED TO & ENABLED TO BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO WANTS YOU TO BE THAT SAINT-SELF HE MADE YOU TO BE. So affirmations are ACTUALLY THE OPPOSITE of lies, because affirmations SPEAK THE TRUTH OF GOD'S DESIGN & PLANS FOR ME, & HELP ME TO "TUNE MYSELF" TO THEIR SONG.
WORDS ARE CHRIST'S POWER & GIFT SO DON'T LET THE DEVIL ABUSE THEM (BLASPHEMY)!!! SPEAKING VIRTUE INTO MY LIFE, "ACTUALIZING" THEIR POTENTIAL, IS SPIRITUAL COMBAT!!
✳ "YOUR FAITH HAS SAVED YOU." YOU NEED TO TRUST THE GOOD WORDS & GOOD NEWS!! ALL THOSE NEGATIVE BEATDOWNS ARE UNWORTHY OF TRUST BECAUSE THEY ACTIVELY PREVENT YOU FROM LIVING IN THE TRUTH OF YOUR DEEPEST IDENTITY AS A SAVED CHILD OF GOD. (and WHY are you saved? Because you LOVE GOD & BELIEVE JESUS LIVES & TRUST HIM AS LORD) (btw CHRIST WANTS TO SAVE YOU. He will NEVER turn you away. So KEEP RUNNING BACK TO HIM.)

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✳ IS IT "OKAY" TO EAT "JUNK FOODS" (like poptarts for snack option) OR WILL THAT "CHANGE OUR VIBE/ IDENTITY" TO BE "JUNK"??? We feel like we HAVE to eat EVERY snack option ESPECALLY if it "scares us" = "is unhealthy." BUT we NEVER SEEM TO "GET OVER" THE FEAR, which MEANS there's a DEEPER ROOT to ALL of it, and it's the FEAR OF CORRUPTION/ PARASITIC REPLACEMENT VIA INGESTION. Basically "YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT." THAT IS THE CORE FEAR when you get all the way down, and it is EXPLICITLY TIED TO SEXABUSE/ "OWNERSHIP" = "I MUST EAT ONLY & WHATEVER THEY EAT, SO THAT I WILL LOSE MY SELF AND BECOME THEM." BECAUSE "THEY OWN ME" & I CANNOT BE "IN OPPOSITION TO" THEIR "AUTHORITATIVE WILL." A SLAVE MUST CONFORM. THIS IS WHY I "HUNT FOR FOOD" WHEN I GO INTO HOUSES-- I'VE BEEN PLACED UNDER "NEW AUTHORITY" & I "MUST REPLACE MY SELF WITH THEIRS" BY EATING WHAT THEY EAT-- and "you ARE what you eat"-- so I'M PREEMPTIVELY CONFORMING MY SENSE OF SELF TO THEIRS, even symbolically. BUT EATING ALSO ECHOES SEX, and the very act of eating makes me ALREADY feel VULNERABLE/ INVADED/ TAKEN OVER BY FORCE? It's a means of "making me ready to be used"/ "to BE eaten." It's hard to put into words. BUT if I'm "WILLINGLY" EATING YOUR FOOD, I'M "SAYING" THAT I'M "READY TO BE USED/ TAKEN OVER/ OWNED BY YOU." I'm DELETING MYSELF & REPLACING IT WITH YOURS VIA FOOD. And my manic babbling "to entertain" the whole time is a direct result of that. I'm SCARED and I have to DROWN OUT MY SELF with NOISE/ DISTRACTION SO I DON'T FIGHT BACK/ RESIST. The food is COMPULSIVE/ ABUSIVE/ DEPERSONALIZING & SO IS THE TALKING. It's a LIVING HELL and it NEEDS TO STOP OR WE WILL DIE, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY!!!

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✳ It is VERY DIFFICULT for me to do ANYTHING for "self-care" WITHOUT STILL TRYING TO DIRECT IT OUTWARDS TO CARE FOR OTHERS!! Like I view EVEN PERSONAL HYGIENE ultimately as something I MUST DO FOR OTHER PEOPLE. It's like all other motivations are null. If they're not serving somebody else, they're invalid. I apparently see myself as... well. As INHERENTLY PLURAL. Go figure. EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO THAT. When I DENY/ IGNORE/ SUPPRESS the System, MY WHOLE LIFE FALLS TO PIECES. And, yes, THEY KEEP ME RELIGIOUS, TOO. I'm MORE FAITHFUL WITH THEM then ALONE (NO COMMUNION).


092424

Sep. 24th, 2024 10:11 am
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)

✳ My "goal" today (has to be S.M.A.R.T.) is to journal about the two "encounters" I had in my dream last night, specifically with my mom & TBAS, with the intention of SOBERLY FACING the TRUTHS of HOW I SPOKE TO & RESPONDED to them, AND how my subconscious presented THEIR words & responses to ME. I ALSO MUST note that, as usual, "MY" APPEARANCE CHANGES WITH MY BEHAVIOR, implying that this is ESSENTIALLY a concern for the SYSTEM. I CANNOT therefore TRULY understand OR process it as "JUST ME," because THAT'S FALSE.
Now, details are blurry as is typical for dreams, BUT what DID stick, AND the EMOTIONS that resulted are important & are what really matter here. First, mom. I was in treatment, and she was on vacation with her boyfriend, but she had left me with HER PHONE & a whole duffel bag of files & folders & papers, for me to "sort through" & "see if what she found (at the house, from my past) was anything I wanted to keep." But I was panicking over the phone? I couldn't have it on the unit, BUT I had no idea how to return it to her, or what she expected me to do with it, etc. I tried to send her boyfriend an email from her phone telling her I was OK and that her phone was going to be turned off but the nurses would have it, but it wouldn't send? THEN after this nervewracking effort, in which I felt a real time crunch, somehow I ended up at a meal with the treatment group BUT my MOM had SHOWED UP & was talking to all the nurses & other patients, apparently "painting the picture" of my disorder to them as SHE understood it, and I got the sickening impression that THAT was how she saw ME. The IMPORTANT moment came when she SAT DOWN AT THE TABLE and was EXPLICITLY describing my past symptomatic behavior TO the girls in a stage whisper WHILE they were eating, WHILE LOOKING AT ME. It was so "offensively" passive-aggressive it made me "infuriated" from the sheer shame/ guilt/ regret/ hurt. She was saying something like "I don't know why she keeps doing it"-- WHILE pointedly staring at me, like she was trying to force a different response IN "DEFENSE" than the TRUE ones I'd ALREADY GIVEN HER MANY TIMES-- "she'll eat all this food and then she'll just throw it up!" And I FLIPPED HER OFF & stormily turned my back to her, unable to process the wounded humiliated grieving RAGE I felt. It was because her PHRASING felt so FLIPPANT, so SHALLOW, as if I was doing that "for FUN" OR "BY CHOICE," and FURTHERMORE, by saying "she WILL/ she DOES," it SHOWED that SHE SAW THAT AS PRESENT & DEFINITIVE BEHAVIOR. Her very phrasing implied that SHE DIDN'T SEE ME AS CAPABLE OF CHANGE. And with how prone I historically have been to IMPLANTED THOUGHTS FROM "AUTHORITY," and the fact that THAT BEGAN IN CHILDHOOD WITH HER & GRANDMA'S frequent gaslighting of my childhood emotions, those words FELT LIKE A DOOM MANDATE. "She WILL. She DOES." She CAN'T/ WON'T CHANGE, because I'M DEFINING HER IDENTITY IN THE CONTINUAL PRESENT TENSE BY DISORDERED BEHAVIOR." And more than anything, that BROKE MY HEART. THAT'S where the RAGE came from-- BECAUSE if I WEPT or PROTESTED in sorrow, even tears, SHE WOULD JEER & SCORN & ACCUSE ME OF MANIUPULATIVE DRAMATICISM. "Crocodile tears." "Puppetmaster." etc. I COULDN'T COMMUNICATE TO HER the TRUTH of my DETERMINATION & HOPE & EFFORT & FAITH. She just couldn't or wouldn't see it, or believe me. In her mind, I WILL be disordered still. And I HATED THAT CONDEMNATION because I REFUSED TO SUBMIT TO ITS LIE OF HOPELESS INDIFFERENCE. THAT, TOO, disturbed me-- that mom WOULDN'T TALK TO ME ABOUT HER FEELINGS, and even when talking ABOUT me TO others, SHE WASN'T BEING HONEST because she WOULDN'T SHOW ANY EMOTION? Other than weepy-mad "I don't know why she's doing this!" WHILE STARING AT ME. MOM I'VE TOLD YOU. YOU WON'T LISTEN. I WANT TO DISCUSS THIS WITH YOU SO YOU UNDERSTAND, but deep down the WORST grief is that YOU DON'T WANT TO. You just want it to GO AWAY with no fuss & YOU WANT TO GET THE CREDIT FOR DECIDING it must go. YOU THINK I HAVEN'T "DECIDED" THAT YEARS AGO?? Mom I KNOW you love me BUT it feels like you see ME as POWERLESS & UNWILLING TO CHANGE?? And so YOU HAVE TO "FIX ME" AND BE THE HERO? It's robbing me of my freedom & agency in RECOVERY that way, just like the disorder itself. AND SHE DOESN'T EVER WANT TO COMMUNICATE IN HONESTY. She just wants me to be "COMPLETELY CURED," RIGHT NOW, with NO HASSLE OR COMPLICATIONS OR REMAINING ISSUES TO DEAL WITH. It hurts because she seems to see this as a "surface level," "just think differently"/ "just get over it"/ "be like ME & RESIST/ REFUSE/ FIGHT!" and THAT hurts too-- the FACT that SHE responds to so many of HER pains & distresses by HARDENING HER HEART & BITING BACK. And I just CAN'T DO THAT. But SHE does, and THAT'S part of WHY she "doesn't understand" my disorder symptoms DESPITE my TELLING HER-- because they SPRING FROM TRAUMA as BROKEN COPING SKILLS and SHE DOESN'T WANT TO FACE OR ADMIT THE FEAR/ PAIN IN HER OWN PAST, maybe because SHE doesn't know HOW TO COPE, and MAYBE HER FOOD ISSUES are "too close" to mine? I don't know. But that's why it's so painful for me, to hear her respond to MY pain expressed BY/ THROUGH the eating disorder, because SHE WON'T ENTER THAT SPACE AT ALL, FOR EITHER OF US, and THAT'S WHY, TO HER, "RECOVERY" IS JUST A LIGHTSWITCH OR MAGIC WAND. SHE DOESN'T WANT TO, OR ISN'T ABLE TO, ENTER INTO THE DARK & TANGLED BATTLE OF EMOTION & TRAUMA PROCESSING. Recovery is a HARD BATTLE and it takes TIME & BRUTAL HONEST EFFORT. And... she RUNS a lot, hence her perpetually distracted, highspeed, overworked life, in which she gets herself SO STRESSED OUT over the "PRESENT" & her manic grand PLANS for the FUTURE, that she is BOTH "running away from her PAST & her INNER pains" WHILE still giving SOME expression to her subconscious turmoil by, as I see it, ALWAYS WORRYING & GETTING UPSET about "the house"... which IS A SYMBOL of a LOT OF HER PAST TRAUMA, as it is also for mine. It's complex and heartbreaking because I WANT HER TO HEAL & FIND PEACE, TOO, BUT SHE WON'T FACE THE WOUND. ...YET, perhaps. The more I'm honest in a CALM & HOPEFUL & HUMBLED way about MY trauma & WHY I struggle & HOW I'm striving to heal, she SEEMS to be MORE WILLING to START sharing/ facing HER struggles WITH ME?? Bit by bit, and I HAVE noticed. Which MEANS she's STARTING to SEE ME AS SAFE??? AND UNDERSTANDING?? God I HOPE SO, and PLEASE give me the GRACE TO BE THAT FOR HER, because I DO LOVE HER & WANT HER TO BE WELL. BOTH of us CAN reach that space of healing TOGETHER, and THAT'S WHAT I WANT THE MOST. (RELATIONSHIP)
✳ A VERY CONVICTING THOUGHT = Mom sees my IDENTITY as "TIED TO" the eating disorder BECAUSE I'VE GIVEN HER ENOUGH REASONS TO DO SO. One's IDENTITY IS tied to WHATEVER they give their TIME, ATTENTION, FOCUS, EFFORT, & PRIORITY TO. And I must confess, I've been FALSE TO MYSELF, DISTORTING MY IDENTITY, BY NOT FOCUSING MY ENERGY ON WHAT I TRULY VALUE & WHAT TRULY MATTERS TO ME. The problem is, I "met it HALFWAY" by "COMPROMISE" & THAT GAVE THE EATING DISORDER AN EXCUSE & A FOOTHOLD, and THAT'S why it became SO HARD TO ACTUALLY UPROOT-- because I had gotten it TANGLED UP in my TRUE VALUES, which I apparently was "UNABLE" TO PURSUE OTHERWISE, in a DIRECT way? Like "I HAVE to take 3 HOURS to eat breakfast because THAT'S when I do SCRIPTURE STUDY!" But WHY can't I do that study AT MY DESK, AFTER I EAT? And with the bingeing "because it gives me time to listen to religious lectures" it was STILL ROBBING ME OF MANY MORE HOURS in which I could be PURSUING SAINTLY GOALS, NOT PURGING. And I'd have RIGID timing "so I CAN pray/ study," which PREVENTED me from DOING MORE VIRTUOUS THINGS, like USING MY TALENTS FOR GOD & HELPING/ SPENDING TIME WITH MY FAMILY. Mom was seeing the exact problem. Food was USURPING my TRUE identity by ATTACHING to it like a PARASITE.
✳ Related to that topic of skewed/ misdirected values, the OTHER dream encounter was with S, aka TBAS, aka Oliver, and in the dream I didn't know which name to call them. I was in a waiting room somewhere, & suddenly they walked in the front door. I thought, "why are they up in this state?" but then thought something like, "this might be the only chance I get to clear things up between us"? Unfortunately I don't recall how it came about, but we ended up speaking to each other, except... I really didn't let it get very far. After the briefest words of recognition, I started actually almost "lecturing/ scolding/ shaming" them for being transgender. I sounded like such a proud, patronizing, callous jerk. And rightly enough, they ended up almost tearing up, & wordlessly turning & leaving the room? They went back out into the lobby & sat in another small side waiting room, & before the doors closed, I saw them point me out to the other patients & start saying that my thoughtless/ heartless "religious hypocrite" arrogance was "why they'd NEVER be my friend again"? And I THINK they actually DID say to me, "THIS is WHY WE left YOU"?? but the gist being that I was so focused on rebuking them & preaching moral precepts, acting like I was the authority on "holiness" while being a scumbag, that it was IMPOSSIBLE to even have a CONVERSATION with me, let alone a FRIENDSHIP. And as the doors closed, I had the horrible realization that "I'll probably NEVER get the chance to talk to them again." It was over, we weren't friends again, we probably never would be, they'd probably never forgive me, and it was ENTIRELY MY FAULT for being such an egocentric jerk. And then I realized that I "still loved them" and they didn't even know it because I treated them like trash. And that CRUSHED me with regret & shame & grief. So what do I learn from this subconscious message? Well, FIRST is the fact that I COULDN'T STOP JUDGING & CONDEMNING THEIR GENDER & SEXUALITY to the point where I WASN'T SEEING THEM AS A PERSON. I only saw the SIN, NOT THE SINNER. I saw them as a "DISTORTION/ PROBLEM TO BE FIXED/ CORRECTED" IN ORDER for them to even "BE" a "real person"??? Like, if your IDENTITY is based on a FALSEHOOD, then "YOU" aren't "true" UNTIL you're "CONVERTED"? And of course, ALL THAT MUST BE THE WAY I SECRETLY SEE MYSELF. Because like it or not, the RAW FACT is that SINCE CHILDHOOD I have been a QUEER PERSON. I "don't WANT to be" because it's "morally wrong," but I... I'm NOT CISHET. I CAN'T "FORCE IT." I've TRIED. I like girls and I do lean masculine in many ways to the point where I feel like a "third" gender. I want to cry. I just want to be what GOD wants. But... what if He DOES want me to be queer, as a CROSS? How do I ACCEPT that, because God knows I WANT to-- it's exhausting & miserable to fight & deny it-- but apparently I believe that "queer people aren't allowed to exist UNTIL they BECOME cishet"??? Lord I'm struggling. But THAT'S the HUGE point here. And as a SYSTEM, it's even MORE complicated because we experience ALL the rainbow in here. And we KNOW how "queerness" has REPEATEDLY LED TO TERRIBLE TRAUMA IN THE PAST. But we still love girls. And we're still a "total tomboy" at least. How do we reconcile this with our faith? How do we accept this, and not HATE ourselves BY COMPULSION, because we're "SUPPOSED TO," and that horrible "order" HARDENS OUR HEART & makes us CRUEL & DISMISSIVE towards OTHER QUEER PEOPLE, because WE CAN'T STOP TREATING OURSELF THAT WAY FOR THAT REASON? And to make things even WORSE, the global "LGBTQIA+" movement IS OBJECTIVELY SATANIC. IT'S ACTUALLY, LITERALLY EVIL. But the PEOPLE with this cross AREN'T necessarily so!! There's this WAR of sexuality going on and I KNOW I'm called to chastity and I'm GRATEFUL for GOD'S TRUTH but if I'm STILL "QUEER," am I in opposition to God even still? I need to pray & get legit spiritual direction about this. But today, the lesson is this: HATRED & CONDEMNATION & MERCILESS JUDGMENT & OBJECTIFICATION & DISMISSAL & DISRESPECT of queer people IS A SIN. God STILL LOVES THEM & they ARE REAL PEOPLE and THAT APPLIES TO YOU! You NEED to START WITH YOURSELF or ALL your actions will be HYPOCRITICAL & HOLLOW. Your JOB as a Christian is to LOVE AS CHRIST LOVES. First you MUST accept & integrate HOW HE LOVES YOU.

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✳ The "accumulate positives" list has things like "think about past good times/ kindnesses/ loved ones words" & "make a gift for/ spend time with someone," BUT those suggestions FRIGHTEN me? Like they put me under "GUILTY OBLIGATION" to "RETURN THE FAVOR OR ELSE"/ "EARN THEIR APPROVAL" sort of "give & take" mindset, with the EMPHASIS being that "IF someone GIVES something good to me, they NOW have "EARNED the RIGHT" to TAKE SOMETHING GOOD FROM ME. And I DO NOT LIKE THIS. I would LIKE to make a gift for someone BECAUSE that's a KIND thing TO do, BUT I "don't value gifts" (love language?) so it would be DISSONANT & NOT GENUINE? I WANT to GIVE, but in OTHER WAYS, like ACTS OF SERVICE. So that's an important clarification. Same with SPENDING TIME. It DOESN'T "HAVE TO" be "at the movies" or "playing a game," or "talking nonstop." That's EXHAUSTING, and I feel like I CAN'T "PROPERLY" GIVE IN THOSE CONTEXTS? It's asking something from me that I DON'T HAVE? Is that bad? Am I ALLOWED to "spend time" in DIFFERENT ways, like reading Scripture together? And WHY does ALL "spending time" feel like I'M ALREADY IN TROUBLE? Like "WHAT'S THE SCRIPT?" "What do they want to GET from me?" "If I do THIS, NOW, then am I now OBLIGATED to be ON CALL to KEEP giving MORE without conditions WHENEVER they want?" I SEE IT AS A "TAKE" SITUATION. WHY DO I SEE ALL SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AS VAMPIRIC??? That's why I'm SCARED to give, although I WANT TO. It just feels like I'm GIVING THEM FREE PERMISSION to DEVOUR ME AT THEIR WHIM. That's ALSO why I'm frightened to even THINK about "past good," because that feels like TALLYING UP DEBTS that I must PAY IN FULL (WITH INTEREST), and I often CAN'T, so must I pay in BLOOD? I'm shaking just thinking about it. God what do I do? How can I accept things as GIFTS? I only ever want to GIVE gifts! DO I? Or is this ALL tangled? Do I "expect to get something BACK" solely because I feel like I'm being EATEN? WHY does GIVING feel like ALWAYS drawing from an EMPTY WELL? Am I THAT SELFISH?? Or am I that afraid of "establishing MORE obligations" & "ADDING UP MORE DEBT"? Lord I WANT TO FREELY DO GOOD FOR OTHERS WITHOUT BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF in the sense of BECOMING A PREY/ FOODSOURCE? What the heck am I afraid of? INITIATING SOCIAL INTERACTION. How ironic, because I YEARN FOR LOVING COMMUNITY. IS THAT THE MISSING PIECE HERE?? I DON'T EVER FEEL LOVED. Is that true? WHY is it? Do I NOT FEEL "KNOWN" or seen at all? How does that affect my ability TO ACCEPT KINDNESS/ LOVE? Why can't I just "take what I get"? Do I somehow fear that the love given "ISN'T ACTUALLY MEANT FOR ME/ I CAN'T ACCEPT IT" if it's given "TO A FALSE IDEA of "me"" or something? It's like eating paper. I'm starving & sobbing. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOVE PEOPLE & ACCEPT LOVE & NOT FEEL LIKE I'M IN DANGER OR IN CRIMINAL TROUBLE, for doing it WRONG. I need to sit & feel this out first. It's WAY too complex & deep to be writing about in realtime. And I NEED TO ADDRESS THIS AS PART OF THE SYSTEM, WHICH I HAVEN'T DONE (YET) ON THIS PAGE. That's probably WHY it's such a tangled mess. In that case it's a PERFECT EXAMPLE of WHY WE CANNOT DO THIS ALONE. There's NO PROGRESS WITHOUT WORKING TOGETHER.


092324

Sep. 23rd, 2024 08:43 pm
prismaticbleed: (worried)

✳ A PROBLEM with asserting BASIC NEEDS: I'M USED TO MOM'S RESPONSES to my attempts. The OTHER problem is that SHE HAS A POINT! I DON'T (DIDN'T?) KNOW HOW TO "PROPERLY" MEET THOSE NEEDS IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T BECOME ALL-ENCOMPASSING & RITUALLY INFLEXIBLE? And I WANT TO BE FREE & FLEXIBLE BECAUSE I NEED TO LIVE FOR REAL, and that REQUIRES HELPING OTHERS & BEING CREATIVE & ACTUALLY HAVING THE PSYCHIC LIBERTY TO MEET & ADAPT TO UNEXPECTED ADVENTURES AS THEY APPEAR. And so, when mom complains that she can't do anything with me because I'm "ALWAYS EATING" or "PREPARING TO EAT," SHE'S RIGHT. I've been using MEALS/ PREP as an "OCD" RITUALISTIC-CYCLE FOCUS because EATING IS A REAL NEED and so I "CAN JUSTIFY IT" if pressed & therefore PERPETUATE THE CYCLE. It would STAY SECURE & STABLE. But it was a PRISON. I was TRAPPED in a cage of my own design, convinced it was "comfortable" and "safe" and "necessary FOR my mental health," but it was KEEPING ME FRAGILE, "frozen" in a loop, unable to GET OUT of the wheel ruts & ACTUALLY BLAZE A NEW TRAIL OF RECOVERY, to TAKE THE CHAINS OFF and FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT! And as overly simple as it sounds, ALL THAT BEGINS with LITTLE CHOICES FOR TRUTH & VIRTUE, RIGHT NOW. It means "keeping my loins girt & lamp trimmed," READY & WAITING & WATCHING for CHRIST-- because His coming IS RIGHT NOW, IN ME, AS HIS BAPTIZED CHILD & MEMBER OF HIS BODY, AS A TEMPLE OF HIS SPIRIT. And... a Temple is a place of PUBLIC WORSHIP & SACRIFICE. A Body is a UNITED WHOLE, operating TOGETHER for the COMMON GOOD, & ADAPTING TO ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. The point is FREEDOM FROM SELF, FOR COMMUNITY. I CAN'T DO THAT IN THIS SELFCENTERED JAIL. Listen I WANT TO HELP MY MOM UP THE HOUSE, ANY & EVERY TIME SHE ASKS. I LOVE HER and I WANT TO BE PART OF HER LIFE, NOW, AS SHE NEEDS, ON HER TERMS, WITH MY WHOLE HEART. I WANT TO BE FREE of my stupid control-freak ouroboros hell. I want to be ABLE to WORK & EAT & CELEBRATE with her, WITHOUT "WAITING/ LOOKING FOR THE EXIT" so I can shackle myself back to the bloody wheel. NO. I WANT TO BE FREE TO LOVE!!! free to GIVE & SHARE & FEEL & WAIT & EXPLORE & EMBRACE & CONNECT WITH OTHERS! And it SOUNDS ridiculous but STEP ONE is LETTING GO OF FOOD RULES. If you AREN'T "waiting to get back home so I can do my food rituals" and ARE INSTEAD LIBERATED by TRUST IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE to EAT WHAT IS SET IN FRONT OF YOU, WHENEVER & WHEREVER THAT HAPPENS, then your focus & energy & effort can ALL BE REDIRECTED TO PEOPLE, IN CHARITY, FOR GOD'S GLORY. ...and step one of love is to embrace "chaos."

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✳ Thin = "insignificant" = "not worth taking up space," frail, helpless, weak, useless, need to be protected? "can't do anything on my own," "invisible," "crushed/ stamped out/ down"
✳ "Something has to DIE for me to live" (food) and "I'm tired of being a cause of death" (MONSTER)
✳ STARVATION IS SUICIDE. Anorexia = "I have no right to exist" / "I shouldn't be alive because I'm feeding off others by existing"; "if I don't eat & die, everyone else will be better off/ EAT & LIVE"
✳ I DON'T ACTUALLY WANT TO BE THIN. I HATE THIS FRAILTY. But I'm SCARED to look in the mirror and see toothpick arms & legs, to see hollow cheeks & sunken ribs & a concave stomach on the worst days. I'm literally wasting away & that's TERRIFYING. I WANT TO LIVE. I WANT TO GET BIG & STRONG & MUSCULAR & ALIVE!! So... why do I keep wanting the number on the scale to drop? What's that about? Am I DISASSOCIATING the weight number from my increasingly skeletal body? Why the heck do you "WANT' to be 87 pounds??? Is it all just some sort of passive self-erasure? Are you crying out for help? Your subconscious is OBVIOUSLY trying to communicate something of desperate importance, because something in there IS scared of the body getting bigger, EVEN BY MUSCLE GAIN. And that's BIZARRE. I WANT to be a TANK if I can. I WANT to be a strong warrior to HELP & PROTECT & FIGHT FOR OTHERS. And yet, there IS STILL this unknown hidden buried terror that "wants to lose more weight." Why? You DO REALIZE that by BOTH STARVING & OVEREXERTION (ironically), this poor body is ONLY LOSING "WEIGHT" because IT IS LITERALLY EATING ITSELF ALIVE. It's SO HUNGRY and you WON'T FEED IT because you WANT to "BE" FOOD so HERE'S THE IRONIC END RESULT. You CANNOT GIVE what you DON'T HAVE. You STILL NEED TO EAT, by GOD'S DESIGN, and your poor body WILL autophage you to death if you refuse to let it partake of the rest of Creation. Resisting the LORD'S plan for LIFE in GENERAL will INEVITABLY KILL YOU. But you CAN CHOOSE LIFE, RIGHT NOW, BY COMMITTING YOURSELF TO EAT ENOUGH OF GOD'S LIFE-GIFTS TO BE FULL ENOUGH TO SHARE IT. YOU'RE CURRENTLY TOO EMACIATED TO CARRY ANY GIFTS IN THOSE FEEBLE LIMBS. You can either be an ICICLE or SANTA CLAUS, kiddo!! CHOOSE JOY & GENEROSITY.

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✳ Julie, Laurie, Lynne, & I were discussing CHOCOLATE in the hallway, both WHY we STILL fear it & HOW to REDEEM it by DISCERNING & HONORING the GOD-CREATED GOOD AT ITS HEART. Julie said it's an "aphrodisiac," boosting desire. But GOD meant desire to LEAD TO HIM, because God ALSO meant sex to be HOLY, UNITIVE, & LIVEGIVING, a REFLECTION of TRINITARIAN LOVE (SELFGIVING) & GOD'S MARRIAGE TO HIS CREATION/ PEOPLE!! So, if chocolate boosts desire, it's boosting our ability/ openness TO enter into that selfgiving love? Think of Valentine's Day! Desire says, "what is desirable is GOOD, and WORTHY of being UNITED with in MUTUALLY GIVING LOVE," because ALL true unity IS Love. GOD "DESIRES" US, AFTER ALL-- it's WHY HE CREATED US, & BECAME MAN!! So, think of THAT when you eat chocolate! God gave it the capacity to help inflame our cold hearts with the warmth of relationship & goodness seen & treasured. It's SWEET & RICH, symbols of heaven's wealth. AND Laurie reminded us, it has ANTIOXIDANTS, which FIGHT DEATH/ DECAY & PRESERVE LIFE/ HEALTH! It ALSO has CAFFEINE, which KEEPS YOU ALERT-- like your SOUL must be, always awake to God! No wonder we eat chocolate at Easter! It's ALL ABOUT LIFE & LOVE & RELATIONSHIP & AWAKENING. Thank God for snack wisdom!!

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8PM snack revealed that our mealdata-recall problem is MIRRORING TRAUMA. In moments where we feel SO UNSAFE/ IN DANGER that we hit "HYPER FOCUS," THAT DATA STICKS, ALONG WITH THE FEELINGS OF FEAR/ DANGER???

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✳ SIT WITH your emotions, NOT THROUGH THEM. HOLD THEM & FEEL THEM. They're REAL & they EXIST for a REASON and they are IMPORTANT and they TRULY CARE ABOUT YOU. Dude ANXI IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND. HOLD HER FOR HEAVEN'S SAKES!!





prismaticbleed: (worried)

"Weaknesses" in treatment plan outline/ treatment plan points to discuss

● LIMITED SUPPORT SYSTEM = OUTSIDE, not INSIDE! And we CANNOT pretend we DON'T need one, because WE MUST LIVE IN THE BODY NOW, which means LIVING IN COMMUNITY, which man was CREATED FOR (RELATIONSHIP) and which is NECESSARY to be HUMBLE & CHARITABLE. Of course therapists do help, & crisis lines. But we SHOULD seek support in the context of a SPECIFIC focus support GROUP? or even just the CHURCH! And PHYSICAL interaction is preferable so we LEARN (not in theory) TO EXIST not just IN THE BODY but as a PERSON/ in a SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT. This WILL take time & effort and honestly right now it's SCARY & EXHAUSTING because OUR "SELF" ISN'T STABLE ENOUGH YET TO DO THIS?? So THAT is PRIORITY. It WILL require "setting boundaries," "asserting needs," etc. WITHOUT isolating OR preventing vulnerability & openness.
● A BIG step TOWARDS this IS IMPROVING OUR FAMILY RELATIONS which we DESPERATELY WANT. The problem is, DO THEY EVEN WANT TO BE AROUND ME? If not, I understand. But I MUST BECOME the kind of person they COULD want to be around. And THAT striving to become a better person for them WILL allow me to be that better self SOCIALLY. It really is self-denial & the Cross, for CHARITY'S SAKE. And again, I MUST TAKE INITIATIVE, yet STILL BE PATIENT & HUMBLE. THEY STILL MIGHT NOT WANT YOU. And so, ultimately, our TRUE motivation for this MUST BE GOD. We're striving to obey the 4th Commandment for HIS sake, NOT for ANY earthly rewards. So DON'T RELAPSE OR DESPAIR, EVEN IF YOUR EFFORTS TO RECOVER & BECOME KIND MEAN NOTHING TO YOUR FAMILY. I actually CAN'T do this JUST "for them" or I'll COLLAPSE. My ULTIMATE end MUST BE TO HONOR GOD, IN honoring my family, EVEN IF MY FAMILY REJECTS ME STILL. I'll have set my real goal higher, one that of course INCLUDES them IN LOVE, but DOESN'T make THEIR REACTION the "deciding factor" of my efforts to "be GOOD" for REAL. ONLY GOD IS THAT JUDGE FOR REAL! Love Him AND love your fam FOR Him too! 
In the event that my family DOES reject me, I NEED REAL FRIENDS. I've NEVER HAD ANY. And deep down I still wonder about relationships. But that's too much to even consider right now (due to guilt & shame & fear). Inevitably, these friendships MUST HAVE GOD AS THE TRANSCENDENT THIRD. But Lord knows I YEARN to pour myself out for someone, to really LOVE them, & HELP them, and ideally yes I WANT to PROTECT them, which always comes up when I think about this. I'll need to give that deeper thought elsewhere; it MIGHT be a REROUTING of Jay's FATHERHOOD instinct. In any case, I do want to learn HOW to have REAL, SUPPORTIVE FRIENDS, esp. where to FIND or LOOK for them. My only map: CHURCH. And I must FIRST become a TRUE "FRIEND" MYSELF FIRST. I CAN'T HAVE A FRIEND IF I CAN'T RESPOND MUTUALLY TO THEIR LOVE. If I'm too bloody self-obsessed TO be truly supportive, the friendship will rot. I WANT TO BE THE FRIEND YOU CAN RELY ON EVEN AT 3AM. And honestly? THAT WEIGHTY OF A VIRTUOUS DISPOSITION HAS TO BE FED. You have to START SMALL but BE CONSISTENT & TAKE EVERY CHANCE YOU GET TO STRENGTHEN THAT VIRTUE BY MAKING IT HABITUAL. PRAY for those chances AND the GRACE TO RESPOND to them READILY & WITH COURAGEOUS LOVE. And God IS giving you those changes WITH YOUR FAMILY. Which brings us, fittingly, back around to "NEEDS." There WILL be "conflicts" but they CAN BE RESOLVED TO MUTUAL BENEFIT, IF I PUT THIS VIRTUOUS EFFORT IN. If I, through recovery, gain the INNER FREEDOM TO find ways to meet my needs WITHOUT DENYING OTHERS, then I can READILY & INSTANTLY JUMP TO SERVE, "ON CALL," knowing that BY GOD'S PROVIDENCE I CAN STILL MEET THEIR NEEDS AND GOD WILL MEET MINE IN DUE TIME. And He HAS DONE THIS ALREADY, CONSISTENTLY. HIS LOVE FOR YOU IS REAL. TRUST IT, & RELY ON HIM!!
● "Haven't learned how to plan for the future" = first, I was convinced I'd die at age 20 so I never planned. I had my first suicide attempt around that age ironically. When I didn't die & hit age 21 I was SO LOST. And that's SECOND = I "gave control of my life" to SLC/ CNC/ UPMC basically. I STILL WAS UNABLE TO EVEN IMAGINE A FUTURE because I was STILL JUST SURVIVING DAY TO DAY, and dictating ALL my behavior & "choices" according to ARBITRARY AUTHORITY. I was either INCAPABLE (trauma) of or FORBIDDEN (obedient submission) to plan for ANY sort of PERSONAL FUTURE. The FIRST TIME that's EVER CHANGED, & VERY SUDDENLY, was in 2022 when Grandma died & I moved out & I HAD NOTHING TO GO BACK TO & NO ACTIVE AUTHORITY DIRECTING ME. So I FLAILED for a while, "defaulting" to PAST "orders," and STILL JUST "LIVING TO SURVIVE." I still felt like I wasn't GOING to have a future, ESPECIALLY not "of my own"?? How could I even IMAGINE it when my life had ALWAYS been marked by a series of SUDDEN DRAMATIC UNEXPECTED TRAUMA that CHANGED EVERYTHING & therefore DESTROYED ALL PREVIOUS "PLANS" for the future because THAT future was NO LONGER POSSIBLE? It's utterly devastating & after a while you just stop planning. Getting through today safely becomes all you CAN "plan for" & it FUELS that sort of "tomorrow doesn't exist" mindset? It's why I struggle even with the concept of "leftovers." What if I don't wake up tomorrow? What if a bomb hits? What if I am forcibly evicted? And these "anxieties" DON'T occur AS "what ifs"; I DON'T "think about" them really because ultimately, I EXPECT ALL THOSE "WHAT IFS" TO END IN DEATH. So why even "plan" how to SURVIVE, if you WON'T? Deep down, some key part of my mind is just RESIGNED TO DYING, and IMMINENTLY. But WHY is that STILL so strong in my psyche?? What are its TRUE ROOTS, the roots that convinced teen me that I'd never survive to adulthood? Even in the League, I saw AGE 16 as a "full life" & COULDN'T EVEN CONCEPTUALIZE ADULTHOOD. Is THAT PART OF THIS?? ESPECIALLY WITH THE ANOREXIA? Do I feel like I CAN ONLY "EXIST" AS A CHILD?? Do I see adulthood/ maturation AS DEATH?? And, even if I COULD become a child again, how WOULD I "see the future" ahead if I DIDN'T WANT TO "GROW UP"? Does that very child mindset lock me into a "perpetual TODAY" that unfortunately inevitably makes it IMPOSSIBLE to ACTUALLY live IN REALITY NOW as an adult who NEEDS to PROVIDE for themselves AND plan for the future as PART of that effort?
✳ BUT I'm realizing that IT DOESN'T REGISTER AS "SELF" CARE??? I DON'T SEE THIS (THIN) ADULT BODY AS ME. AND "WHICH" 'ME'" IS DRIVING? I'M CHRONOLOGICALLY SLICED. There are MULTIPLE JEWELS AND MULTIPLE JESSICAS, AND WE HAVEN'T HAD A "NAME" IN EARNEST SINCE THE JAY BLOODLINE DIED. The "Spinel hair" fugue is still a mystery, but EVERYONE knows how unstable we were coming back around 2023, because there were TWO FATAL INTERNAL TRAUMAS; the forced destruction of the Jay bloodline FUTURE, and Infinitii's subsequent death (in light of trauma affecting the present). And honestly, INSIDE, THAT'S the stuck point. Those two were our ONLY STABLE IDENTITY, AND OUR FIRST & ONLY HOPE FOR AN ADULT FUTURE, even if in the end it proved impossible. But they COULD "LOOK FORWARD." Now, without them, we have to learn HOW to again-- and STEP ONE is STABILIZING OUR CORE, AND THEIR NAME!!! We CAN'T plan for the future of our WHOLE self, BODY AND SOUL, WITHOUT THAT PLANNING BEING INTO A "NEW" CORE THAT INHABITS BOTH. And ironically, WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT SINCE we were a child! REMEMBER, BY 2003 IT WAS SPLIT (J/J bloodlines)! So we're OVER 2 DECADES "LATE" IN THIS. But better late than never. ALSO, did the CELEBI split happen EARLIER (poke2 & 2001)?? Geez this is ANCIENT. Still, it's explaining a LOT. Bottom line is THIS: WE HAVE TO DARE TO HOPE, IF ONLY FOR GOD'S SAKE. Even if we DO die tonight, we CAN'T SUCCUMB TO DESPONDENCY. We MUST LIVE, even if only for 5 more minutes. OUR LIFE IS BIGGER THAN US & WE ARE A STEWARD OF THIS GIFT. So we HAVE to think of THEIR FUTURE TOO.
● "Physical/ mental problems" that would be WEAKNESSES during recovery? The ONLY thing I know immediately is that I CAN'T REALLY RECOVER IF I IGNORE THE SYSTEM. I ALSO know that if I DON'T FACE OUR REAL TRAUMA HISTORY HEAD-ON, those denied/ buried horrors WILL CONTINUE TO FUEL DISORDERED BEHAVIOR, EITHER through the eating disorder OR through some OTHER form of addictive, numbing, self-abusive behavior cycles. The BAD ROOTS are giving us ROTTEN FRUITS, which is ironically VERY applicable TO our eating disorder trauma. If we don't DIG THEM UP & DEAL WITH THEM, they will only perpetuate the mental problems, and poison us to boot. We have to UPROOT that ENTIRE "TREE" branching out from the trauma, then TILL that ground, PLANT GOOD SEEDS, and NOURISH THEM TO GROW INTO GOOD FOOD, AS GOD INTENDED US TO BE, for HEALING & JOY & COMMUNION & LOVE between US & PEOPLE & GOD.
● "Physical problems" are baffling me. How would such a thing be a "weakness" in eating disorder recovery? Maybe just the IBS & GERD being potential "behavior triggers" when they flare up. But otherwise, my only OTHER obstacles are ENVIRONMENTAL, such as a lack of available transportation & limited access to stores & limited finances. But we can make it work! We CAN walk to the Dollar store & drug stores in a pinch, & the bus DOES go to at least two local grocery stores, so we'll have to try that one day, just to open up that option. AND, now that we're learning to be more free/ less stubborn & controlling with food, we CAN use what we get in food drives, AND maybe if we budget it we CAN once in a while buy a meal at a local restaurant! So there ARE things we CAN work on to continue & expand recovery. We just HAVE TO PUT THE EFFORT IN FOR EFFORT'S SAKE, so to speak. WE CAN'T CHICKEN OUT. We must BUILD THE VIRTUES OF DISCIPLINE, & COURAGE, & REAL RIGHTEOUS OBEDIENCE. If we DON'T work to "expand our comfort zone" and be more ACTIVE & INVOLVED IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY, we'll SHRINK back down into self-centered fear. We HAVE TO GROW BEYOND OUR SELF. And we MUST get friendlier WITH OUT NEIGHBORS, which will FINALLY BE POSSIBLE when you're NOT SHACKLING YOURSELF TO RIGID EATING RULES & TIMES. When you DON'T "HAVE TO" only eat CERTAIN foods at CERTAIN times and in CERTAIN ways, then you're FREE to MEET & JOIN OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR SPACES. And God knows I LOVE PEOPLE and I WANT TO DO THAT. So PLANT THE SEEDS. START LAYING A FOUNDATION TO BUILD VIRTUE. You HAVE to start SMALL like a mustard seed & CARE for it so it CAN GROW & FLOURISH & BECOME A CHANNEL/ SOURCE OF GOOD FOR OTHERS! You NEED to PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE IN THE FIELD. You WILL get stronger AS you eat. Your SOUL will get stronger AS you FEED IT VIRTUE, ESPECIALLY CHARITY. And NO ONE CAN EAT ALONE. IT'S ALL GIFT, ALL COMMUNION. That applies to ALL food (LIFE), EVEN METAPHOR & CONCEPT & SYMBOL. Please remember this.
● I'm not too worried about "failed treatment attempts" because I will ALWAYS KEEP ATTEMPTING. That's why I'm here. It's DETERMINED HOPE. And those past treatments DIDN'T actually "fail." I DID heal & recover & learn & grow in REAL, TRUE WAYS, and I DIDN'T & CANNOT lose that progress, EVEN when I "relapsed." I STILL CANNOT EVER "GO BACK" TO "BEFORE TREATMENT." We KEEP GOING.
● "All or nothing" thinking  = this is tied to the "no future" distortion? It's an attempt to AVOID RELATIVISM & LUKEWARMNESS on one level, a "fear of grey" because that "ignores the DISTINCTION between BLACK & WHITE"? It's CONTAMINATION FEAR. "DON'T MAKE IT IMPURE." I'm so afraid of NOT BEING GOOD that I'll go to extremes & ironically PERPETUATE "bad behavior" because B&W absolutist thinking IS AN OBSTACLE TO MERCY??? Like, "you've already fallen so far, you CAN'T be good unless you're BLEACHED." And I MUST discern the PROPER "middle ground," NOT a "grey space" BUT a striving FOR WHITE (virtue, goodness, HOLINESS), while IMITATING CHRIST in OFFERING JUST MERCY. Black is STILL BLACK. Sin is ALWAYS SIN. It's NOT GREY. But you DON'T HAVE TO BE STUCK THERE, THANKS TO THE CROSS! So LOOK THERE when the black overwhelms you. KEEP REPENTING. KEEP CONVERTING. GOD IS ALWAYS WASHING YOU CLEAN IN HIS MERCY, ESPECIALLY THROUGH CONFESSION, which CALLS OUT SIN for EXACTLY WHAT IT IS, black as tar... in order to RESTORE you TO PURITY BY CHRIST'S BLOOD. "All or nothing" is ironically TRUE, because GOD IS ALL & SIN IS NOTHINGNESS. But DON'T DESPAIR, because "nothingness" CAN'T WIN. Just GET BACK UP IMMEDIATELY & run into your loving Father's waiting & open embrace.
✳ I AM WAY TOO PRONE TO SUGGESTIONS/ "IMPLANTED" THOUGHTS. This is disturbing & is TIED DIRECTLY into my self-distrust, "appeasement" instinct, & history of gaslighting? I IMMEDIATELY "default" to WHATEVER others TELL me I am or am not feeling, even if deep down I "know" it's wrong somehow, BUT I IMMEDIATELY DISSOCIATE to "SHUT THAT OFF" so I FORGET my ACTUAL feelings & "EMPTY" myself in order to BLINDLY ACCEPT & CONFORM to THEIR "ORDERS," EVEN IF IT WASN'T INTENDED AS SUCH. If I say "I'm angry" and someone MISHEARS, "you're happy?" My brain INSTANTLY accepts THAT as "TRUE" & FORCES "HAPPINESS" BY DISSOCIATION & PUSHING "APPEASEMENT MODE" which is TOTALLY SUBMISSIVE & INCAPABLE OF "SELF"-ASSERTION. But deep inside I'm STILL ANGRY & SCARED & CONFUSED & LOST because NOW WHAT, if I'm NOT "ACTUALLY" ANGRY/ I'm "FORBIDDEN" to even ACKNOWLEDGE it, because it would be "IN REBELLION"/ CONTRARY TO "THE TRUTH," which is DICTATED BY THE OTHER. And this intolerable conflict ALWAYS ends with either COMPLETE depersonalization & the "appeaser/ doll" TAKING OVER, OR in the "ABUSE TERROR" (?) instinct SHUTTING EVERYTHING DOWN & rendering me mute & immobile. The ONLY WAY OUT OF THIS is to LEARN to TRUST the VALIDITY/ REALITY/ TRUTH of MY OWN EMOTIONS ENOUGH TO STAND UP FOR THEM. I need to learn how to ASSERT that truth AS truth that CAN'T BE ALTERED BY MERE SUGGESTION??? Which requires REASON & DISCERNMENT, but also SELF-TRUST, which is ACTUALLY ONLY POSSIBLE AS PART OF THE SYSTEM. THAT TRUST MUST ALWAYS BE COLLECTIVE. Which makes TOTAL SENSE actually; if OTHER PEOPLE are feeling/ contributing TO those emotions, and I'm NOT acknowledging or consulting THEM, then of COURSE "I" won't be ABLE to "assert" mySELF" because I'd be IGNORING OURSELF!! We live this life & feel these emotions TOGETHER.
✳ TREATMENT RELATED: "flung around by my emotions" BECAUSE YOU WON'T LISTEN TO THEM, LET ALONE DIALOGUE!!
✳ This ALSO ACTUALLY AFFECTS "SELF-ASSERTION"?? AND "SENSE OF SELF-IDENTITY APART FROM OTHERS"?? Because I ONLY struggle with "fusing my identity with those around me" when I'm OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE SYSTEM, because I'm USED TO & even MADE FOR a "collective self-body," just INTERNALLY. I can only "DISCERN MYSELF" when I am WITH "MY OTHERS" TO DISCERN MYSELF AMONG & WITH. It makes MORE SENSE to "know MYSELF" IN THEIR LIGHT, as a PART of "US." And when I'm truly ANCHORED into that, then I DON'T try to mirror OUTSIDE people because I've FOUND my place & purpose, and ONLY THEN CAN I RESPECT the DISTINCT UNIQUENESS OF OTHERS. As for ASSERTION, to DO that REQUIRES that I "BELIEVE" that WHAT I am asserting is TRUE & RIGHT, AND THAT I HAVE THE "RIGHT" TO ASSERT IT. And if I'm speaking up FOR THE SYSTEM, I DO. I'm ALSO doing this WITH MY FAITH, as I MUST and as is JUST, now that GRACE has CONVINCED & CONVERTED MY HEART TO THE TRUTH. BUT in "CONTRAST" to that, if I'm "cut off" from my REAL IDENTITY as BOTH a CHILD OF GOD & SYSTEM MEMBER-- BOTH as a PART of a WHOLE, a BODY together-- then I CAN'T be assertive because what IS there TO assert?? I ONLY EXIST IN COMMUNION & I CAN ONLY ASSERT MY IDENTITY & NEEDS IN CONTEXT OF THAT PARTICIPATION!! Disconnected from that, I'm LOST & EMPTY. And I HAVE been disconnected for TOO LONG. No wonder "I" couldn't recover. So PLEASE, LIVE FROM THIS TRUE SPACE. HONOR & CHERISH your GOD-GIVEN IDENTITY, and for HIS sake, SELF-ASSERTION will be an act of HONOR & LOVE. ✳ "UNPROCESSED GRIEF & RAGE." This is ABSOLUTELY BECAUSE THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN DORMANT. That grief & rage is HELD IN OUR HEARTS. WE'VE SUFFERED, TOGETHER, and to DENY/ SUPPRESS/ HIDE OUR EXISTENCE & HISTORY, results in PERPETUAL STAGNATION & EMOTIONAL HOLLOWNESS-- ironically, because the TRUTH of what WE feel STILL REMAINS, buried & avoided, and ALL that pain just turns to MAGMA underground. The volcano WILL erupt eventually. And GOD WILLING I CAN'T WAIT. That's the ONLY way it CAN be processed after SO LONG of being pressurized while red-hot & agonized. It NEEDS to be brought up to the surface ENTIRELY, and it's INEVITABLE. THIS IS WHY WE ALWAYS "WAKE UP" IN EMOTIONALLY CHARGED CRISIS SITUATIONS; IT BREAKS THROUGH THE CRUST. THANKFULLY, there IS a way to "prevent a volcanic eruption" and that is by GOING UNDERGROUND & MEETING THOSE HURTING HEARTS. We DO have "lava tubes" in headspace, remember, down with the chthonics. But setting the metaphor aside, the POINT is that THE GRIEF & RAGE CAN ONLY BE PROCESSED IF IT'S UNBURIED & ACKNOWLEDGED & FELT, and it CAN ONLY BE FELT BY THE NOUSFONI THAT CARRY IT, because THEY EXPERIENCED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. YOU CAN'T PROCESS TRAUMA THAT'S NOT "YOURS," AND APART FROM THE SYSTEM, IT'S NOT.
✳ THIS PRESENTS A NEW & VERY CONCERNING "OBSTACLE"-- MOST OF US "NEVER CAME BACK" AFTER CNC. INFINITII DIED. AND ZE WAS THE FOCUS OF THE WORST TRAUMA, BY HIR VERY FUNCTION. Literally NO ONE ELSE CAN EVEN TOUCH HIR MEMORIES/ EMOTIONS. All we have is SECONDHAND DATA from the (thankfully rare) horrific moments when the trauma got SO BAD it BROKE THROUGH specific fronter consciousness & scarred our COLLECTIVE awareness. That ONLY OCCURS under the TERROR of IMMINENT DEATH. And it DID. BUT WE CAN'T PROCESS IT as sheer panicked doom data, because it's NOT PERSONAL... and we don't know HOW to "MAKE it persona' in such a blood-close, excruciatingly intimate way, UNLESS ZE COMES BACK. Somehow. It's in God's hands. So is ze. But... step one is READING what we have. And we will see what happens.
✳ The last listed weakness, to briefly address: "panic & dissociation in social settings." To repeat, the vast majority of this is caused by disconnection from the System & from the faith. BUT the OTHER half is SENSORY OVERWHELM and we CANNOT DENY THAT CONCERN. It's a REAL ISSUE and we MUST RESPECT IT with MUTUAL respect. We can't isolate-- we don't want to-- but we ALSO CANNOT FORCE OURSELF TO SOCIALIZE BEYOND OUR GENUINE CAPACITY. We have to HONESTLY DISCERN & ASSERT OUR REAL LIMITS & NEEDS, IN ORDER TO GIVE OUR GENUINE ALL TO OTHERS WITHOUT BURNOUT (DISHONESTY)!
✳ DISSOCIATION IS A SURVIVAL RESPONSE. When we fear/ sense impending burnout, we SHUT DOWN. It's a last desperate instinctive response, in the attempt to PROTECT OUR MENTAL INTEGRITY?? Because honestly, if we're NOT acting AS a FAITHFUL System, then the "PSEUDO-SINGLETS" START TO SABOTAGE OUR INTEGRITY because they HAVE NO FOUNDATION. Therefore they CAN'T BE "HONEST" because they are UTTERLY UNMOORED from ANY DEEPER IDENTITY-- which MUST be ANCHORED in COMMUNION. Ironically, all their people-appeasing will NEVER accomplish that because YOU CAN'T CONNECT WITH OTHERS UNLESS YOU FIRST EXIST AS A PERSON DISTINCT FROM THEM. That's the paradox of love. HENCE THE TRINITY. (And YOU ARE CALLED INTO THEIR LOVE!)

 


092224

Sep. 22nd, 2024 03:04 pm
prismaticbleed: (shatter)

Hack nightmare last night. Then I fell half-asleep and who was there protecting & guiding me to safety but LAURIE. Except her name registered clearly as LAUREL, and her color was PURPLE. But she was AS SHE WAS MEANT TO BE-- a Knight, a guardian angel, a Protector in truth, NOT a chummy conversation partner. She kept a separation between us without separating us. She didn't blunt her edges or parrot vapid platitudes. She didn't try to sugarcoat or mollycoddle or make things palatable, because she DIDN'T NEED TO. The strength of her presence, the fierce unspoken LOVE in her very existence, was profound comfort. SHE was all I needed-- no placating, no chatter, just her, as I RECOGNIZE her. It meant the universe to me.

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Breakfast today made us realize that a LOT of our mealtime dissociation IS SHEER SENSORY OVERWHELM. Honestly I loathe the television, but it serves as "distracting noise" for the anxious group. The same goes for conversation. And I see & respect how that works for them. BUT, I have different "needs". I "need" QUIET FOCUSED SLOW SOLITUDE, to eat MINDFULLY & PROCESS THE DATA. I cannot do that very well here, but I AM trying my best. I must be PATIENT & UNDERSTANDING & GENTLE (CLOAK) towards everyone. They are NOT "AGAINST" MY HEALING just because the majority needs are different. I need to discuss this with my treatment team perhaps. I need to properly discern WHICH "needs" CAN be either sacrificed for the common good or somehow compromised/ altered for the sake of submissive obedience, WITHOUT SUCH A DECISION CONTRIBUTING TO DISORDERED HABITS & HARMFUL STATES OF MIND? How much "agency" do I truly have here? Am I overestimating, assuming I CAN "just reprogram myself" or "suppress my alleged needs" on a dime? Or am I underestimating, and I REALLY DO NEED ACCOMMODATION if ONLY to PREVENT the further HABITUATION/ RE-EMPHASIZING of behaviors that, although seemingly neutral to others, are LEAVING MENTAL BRUISES that are SETTING BAD "FOUNDATIONS" for FURTHER HARM that I WOULD NOT HAVE SUFFERED OUTSIDE OF THIS ENVIRONMENT? THAT'S why I'm scared. I hate the TV. I fear the overwhelm. I'm literally getting sick from all the processed packaged food. I DON'T WANT MY BODY REBUILDING ITSELF FROM GARBAGE & CHEMICALS. I want to GET OUT OF HERE & FEED IT MYSELF & I DON'T WANT TO HURT IT. I WANT TO TAKE CARE OF IT. God what do I do? I can't start refusing meals. I'm determined to eat 100%, if only for obedience. Can God redeem these efforts? IF NOTHING from outside can make me "unclean," can God ALSO prevent those outside things from making my body a trash heap?
✳ "You are what you eat" BUT I'M NOT BEING GIVEN A CHOICE. MY BODY'S "IDENTITY" IS LITERALLY BEING DECIDED BY OTHERS & FORCED UPON ME. IT'S SEX ABUSE. IT'S A LIVING NIGHTMARE. Why ELSE do you think we started purging?? WE CAN'T SAY "NO". WE MUST "BE A GOOD GIRL" & TAKE IT. We MUST OBEY. But WHY??? WHAT IS THE ACTUAL GOAL HERE?? Obedience for its own sake? Denial of self in order to be an extension of others? or their toy/ science project? In the end, what will this make ME? Can I LIVE with that? Does it even matter? IF "we're not meant for this world" BUT "our BONES will be resurrected," where does one draw the line? How much should I care? And about what things? Does Mark 16:18 apply here? If EVERYTHING is really just a different form-combination of the BASIC MINERALS & CHEMICALS that GOD created, then CAN GOD "TRANSFORM" the "poison" of "bad food" INTO its GOOD BASIC STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS? I NEED to have FAITH in that. EVERY CREATED THING IS GOOD AT HEART, AS GOD'S CREATION. They may become broken & distorted, yes, BUT CHRIST CAN & DOES REDEEM EVERYTHING... ESPECIALLY FOOD (EUCHARIST)!!

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Laurie pointed out that CONDIMENT FORCING is contributing to meal dissociation/ rushing, so CUT BACK & instead ENJOY THE REALITY of the food AS-IS. The other half IS social-noise-attention anxiety, but we're working on detaching & just eating, NOT trying to "perform."

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Laurie pointed out that I'm compulsively "bingeing" on condiments. I'm FORCING myself to eat them and I REALLY DON'T WANT TO. I'm desperately seeking to accomplish SOMETHING by doing this, but WHAT? What data am I trying to get? Am I? I thought about it with Laurie when she pointed out how I IMMEDIATELY regretted asking for the packets. I realized then that this is most likely APPEASEMENT BEHAVIOR. I'm forcing mayo "in restitution" somehow for UPMC mistakes & home misuse. I'm forcing ranch because of both TBAS & grandma. I'm forcing hot sauce as some sort of "identity" tangle, like I'm not allowed to object to it or I'll "change my personality." I don't know why-- no, I do. I'm forcing ketchup because of grandpa & dad & childhood memories. WHAT AM I TRYING TO PROVE OR ACCOMPLISH HERE? What do I think EATING these things will DO, to ME? Are they SYMBOLS?
1) "I need to push fats/ calories" = UPMC talk, STILL. The "need" is DIRECT APPEASEMENT. "Will you be happy with me if I try to make myself gain weight faster?" "Am I being good by showing you that I'm "willing" to make myself fat faster?" Is that a real motive? "I know that adding fat & calories contributes to weight gain. If I "FREELY" CHOOSE to add MORE than I was given, I'm showing them that I'm willing to go "above & beyond" what is expected? to PUSH myself HARDER, even to the LIMIT? They WANT me to eat more & gain weight, so if I force the process along faster, to GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT, I'll be "good"?? Is that what I'm so desperate for? They don't "love me" for it. They MIGHT "like me" SOLELY because I pleased them by conforming myself to their mandated expectations, & surpassing them, but it'd be a "like" based on UTILITY, or even just egotism? "We like you because you don't resist us. You always do exactly what we desire, & even take the initiative to further please us. You'll do." Until I hit goal weight & I'm no longer needed or interesting or wanted & I get tossed out with the trash, with all the other toys that aren't fun anymore, with all the other useless excess. Then what? NOW who sees me as good? Who do I please by my servile obeisance & self-denial now? What in the world am I trying to do? It's because this E.D. recovery, AND the disorder itself, make me feel like my MORAL WORTH AND STANDING are DEFINED BY MY BODY SIZE & SHAPE. Everyone WANTS me to be FAT, like ALL the sexually horrifying women that have traumatized me over the years. But WHY? Do THEY want to sexualize ME? to "fatten me up" to be KILLED & DEVOURED? What does forcefeeding me do for them? If MY CHOICES to eat made them FURIOUS, then WHY is THEIR forcing me to eat TONS MORE, but by THEIR CHOICE & CONTROL, not only "allowed" but PRAISED & even ORDERED? My OBEDIENCE is ALWAYS in SUBMITTING to CONTROL that INVOLVES CONTROL OF MY BODY. THEY get to manipulate it as THEY wish, and I as a PERSON DON'T GET TO EXIST. I can't say no. I "NEED" to eat all these condiments that I don't like but OTHER people do because I HAVE to like EVERYTHING and I'M ONLY A GOOD GIRL if I do so AND GET FAT, because... why? Is being not-fat offensive? Mind you I DON'T WANT TO BE "THIN." Even being "skinny" is deeply shameful. I want to be STRONG. NOT FAT. The difference is EFFORT & DISCIPLINE vs. SLOTH & INDULGENCE. But... they keep telling me to "gain weight" & "fill out" and I DON'T WANT TO LOOK LIKE A SEXUAL "WOMAN." Do I have ANY other options? And then WHY do I see fat/ chunky/ fullbodied/ "shortstack" women as BEAUTIFUL? I just can't BE ONE, or I "CAN'T LOVE THEM," somehow. I'll lose myself. That's NOT ME. I need to be... what? NOT skinny & frail. No, I want to LOVE & PROTECT PEOPLE. I NEED to be BIG in order to be STRONG. But THIS behavior is SKEWED. It's NOT protein or vitamins. It's FAT, & it's "NONFOOD" EXCESS. It's just an attempt to affect NUMBERS & APPROVAL, NOT HEALTH!

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Higher meal plans have 6-8 SERVINGS OF FRUIT PER DAY. That's SCARY amounts of sugar! And honestly, that's WHY I QUIT IOP LAST YEAR. This is a BIG OBSTACLE if I am REQUIRED to follow the meal plan, both psychologically AND financially. So we MUST face this NOW, and find the ROOT FEARS so we can deal with it MATURELY & RESPONSIBLY instead of being blindsided by kneejerk panic. We NEED to UNDERSTAND our fears about FRUIT & SUGAR, NOTABLY because we've realized that MOST FRUITS REGISTER AS FEAR FOODS, NOT mere challenges or aversions!
✳ There's a LOT as to WHY. SUGAR is one. MESSINESS (JUICE) is another. SEX ASSOCIATIONS are also significant. But WHY is SUGAR "EVIL/ DANGEROUS"?? IS IT BECAUSE OF THE SEX ABUSE/ TRAUMA? DID THIS BEGIN WITH CHOCOLATE??

✳ An AVERAGE of 2 FRUITS per meal is UNREALISTIC WITH VOLUME to my current understanding. The only way to "consolidate" is through JUICE (no fiber, glucose spike) or DRIED FRUIT (no water, glucose spike). SO we have to PREVENT GI SPIKES by BOOSTING FIBER in the rest of the meal, as well as fats?? If we are allowed to. This is much easier at breakfast; dinner will be tricky UNLESS we do something COMPLIMENTARY? Like a compote or "sauce" side?? It's too complicated & unnecessary though. I want & arguably NEED to have a SIMPLE, PLAIN, STRAIGHTFORWARD diet.
✳ We NEED to LIMIT our OPTIONS for the sake of PRUDENCE, SIMPLICITY, & AFFORDABILITY. Find what is NUTRITIOUS that DOESN'T cause "illness" (like IBS flares & toothaches), AND that we GENUINELY LIKE-- because LEARNING TO HAVE PREFERENCES & ALLOW MYSELF TO LIKE THINGS AND HAVE THEM WITHOUT PUNISHMENT is a KEY PART OF RECOVERY-- and STICK TO IT BRO!!
✳ So, AS OF TODAY, what DO we like? What do we have RIGHT NOW to work with? What are our BIGGEST OBSTACLES, the FEARS that are LIMITING OUR TRUE FREEDOM-- freedom TO CHOOSE WHAT IS GOOD? (Freedom is FOR GOD, freedom TO GLORIFY & OBEY our treatment plan & NOT FEAR CREATION)
✳ We legit REALLY like DRIED CHERRIES, FRESH FIGS, BLACK & RED GRAPES, and that's all I can think of, which is upsetting. There is SO MUCH FEAR TOWARDS FRUIT, and it's tied to DEATH & POISON for the most part. It ROTS SO FAST and I am SO USED to ALL the fruit at the old homestead being ROTTEN & MUSHY & MOLDED & LEAKING & WORM INFESTED & SMELLING LIKE DECAY. And DRIED fruit would be STALE & RANCID & FULL OF DIRT & HAIR & BUGS. This is WHY I get kneejerk "poison" aversion to MELONS, RAISINS, PEACHES, BANANAS, etc. Pomegranates, coconut, cranberries, etc. are similar, as are ALL clamshell berries. I am NOT used to ACTUALLY FRESH FRUIT. My childhood default was ROTTING, either through being left out on the table or forgotten in the refrigerator or on the porch. But that's the root of the poison fear. And it's sad, because it is BASED ON A LIE-- FRUIT IS NATURALLY FRESH & GOOD & HEALTHY & PURE. It's the FOOD OF EDEN!!! I SHOULD BE EATING FRUITS! That would SERIOUSLY be a PRIESTLY act on my part-- RESTORING the TRUE DIGNITY that GOD INTENDED to fruits, as I HEAL my experience of them by experiencing them AS GOOD, & offering that PRAISE TO GOD with HEAVEN in mind-- the "RETURN to the TRUE GARDEN" where CHRIST is the FRUIT OF LIFE!! So THERE'S your motivation & holy battle plan. HEAL = LOVE.
✳ Remember we STILL DO HAVE TO PLAN FOR THE MEALPLAN! And that MUST BE SUSTAINABLE. THAT fruit choice group HAS to be REALISTICALLY AFFORDABLE, LOCALLY ACCESSIBLE, COMPLIMENTARY TO OUR OTHER FOODS, & REASONABLY ENJOYABLE. ALL the fruits that DON'T fit those criteria (like papaya, dragonfruit, melon, etc.) MUST STILL BE HEALED, EVEN IF THEY DON'T BECOME A REGULAR PART OF OUR DIET, because ANY inclusion OR "exclusion" from the grocery list MUST COME FROM A PLACE OF FREEDOM & GRATEFUL APPRECIATION, NOT AVERSION OR FEAR! And NO FORCING, EITHER-- that's DISRESPECTFUL & CRUEL! "Not eating" a fruit for legit reasons ISN'T A SIN. Remember that "fasting" IS HOLY. It's STILL AN OFFERING OF GOODNESS TO GOD IN GRATITUDE, BY NOT EATING IT! EVEN THAT CAN BE DONE FOR HIS GLORY. So don't worry. Do what you NEED to do for your body's health & recovery, & do it in FREEDOM, LOVE, & PEACE.

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✳ MAPLE is "TREE BLOOD" and IT'S RESONATING. There's a girl forming to hold it! Her hue is hovering CERISE? NOT Orange? And Brown seems obvious but doesn't match the flavor? It's too unclear yet. BUT I WONDER if DUOTONE NOUSFONI ARE POSSIBLE in this "new era." We'll see!
✳ She WEARS cerise & vermilion accents? But her BASE reso IS BROWN? There's only one way to know for sure-- EAT SYRUP AGAIN & FEEL FOR HER IN RESONANCE WITH IT. The two HAVE TO MATCH. Remember that for ALL Lotophagoi = they NEED THE FOOD DATA IN ORDER TO ANCHOR TO IT AS A FUNCTION!

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We keep getting chocolate chip cookies for snack and the data keeps blurring out completely. Laurie said, if you're AFRAID of the chocolate again & labeling it as BAD, then you HAVE to face it & HEAL it with LOVE & GRATITUDE. DON'T CHICKEN OUT!

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I left my books under the soap dispenser & Paula accidentally got soap all over my softcover book, permanently altering it & smudging the words inside. I saw it as "ruined" because it's no longer mint condition & never can be again. I actually felt anger towards her, but it was really anger at myself for leaving it there where it WAS at risk. Then she started frantically apologizing & I didn't know how to explain the situation and everything just felt ugly & wrong & ruined.
↑ I AM GRATEFUL that now that book carries EVIDENCE of my life ACTUALLY going off the rails, & since it's SOAP it almost SYMBOLIZES a "washing" me clean of that past-- especially my HANDS, with the neurotic guilt & shame. Secretly I'm so curious to see WHAT words the soap altered; I trust the Holy Spirit WILL speak through it. I'm ALSO grateful that I HAD such an unhealthy reaction because now I HAVE to FACE/ ADMIT/ CONFESS that I STILL REACT THAT WAY, and if I don't deny OR justify it, I CAN combat the vice there & LEARN VIRTUE to DIRECTLY replace/ heal it. (I immediately reached out to her in sincere apology & gentle reassurance. All is well again.)

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Paula won't stop apologizing & it's making me SO BLOODY ANGRY. TBAS did this same exact simpering thing, & that's what it feels like-- cowardly, spineless, jellylegged, piddling, whiny baby asininity. That's BRUTAL judgment and I DON'T WANT TO FEEL THIS but I do. I can't deny it. I need to deal with it.
WHY does it make me so unreasonably enraged? It feels like forced victimization; it's overly dramatic & it it GUTLESS. It's almost begging for babying.
↑ WE JUDGE OURSELF THIS WAY & IT'S BLEEDING OUTWARDS. We MUST untangle this & PRACTICE COMPASSION or else it will POISON US, making us TOXIC. (I'm sure we already are, with this terrible reaction happening in us so immediately. That makes this a PRIORITY TO HEAL.)




092124

Sep. 21st, 2024 03:49 pm
prismaticbleed: (shatter)


It's day 3 of treatment and I wish Iscah was driving. I'm STRUGGLING SO MUCH to not only ENJOY food but even to COMPREHEND its data, and I'm struggling even to be GRATEFUL because I'm SO TIRED OF PROCESSED FOOD & RUSHED MEALS. So many things still feel like threats, like acts of passive violence, like forcefeeding & forced starvation simultaneously. I miss the hospital meals that were not only "real" food but also satisfying to hunger & enjoyable. Why am I not seeing the unit food that way? Is it the social context? Is it the fact that I'm "not allowed" to eat mindfully? It's all so rushed. I'm being watched. And this diet is making the body sick & making it stink. It's terrifying & humiliating. I feel subhuman.
(If my body is inflamed & sick & gross, is this still "healing"? I want to FEEL & BE healthy.)

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TREATMENT GOALS BEGIN!!

♥︎ Be honest with yourself, others, and God in word/ deed/ thought
♥︎ Identify your needs = body, mind, heart, soul, & spirit
♥︎ Learn how to assert your needs with respect for all involved
♥︎ See & honor your inherent human dignity, especially in the Church Body
♥︎ Don't hide anything, be vulnerable and genuine, live Truth (Christ)
♥︎ Learn & routinely practice healthy/ positive/ edifying coping skills
♥︎ Actively pursue & build healthy, loving, edifying relationships
♥︎ Learn how to act as your own person of integrity in social situations
♥︎ Learn how to identify, welcome, integrate, & dialogue with emotions
♥︎ Learn how to compassionately yet firmly govern distressing emotions
♥︎ Find what gives you real joy & integrate it into daily routine
♥︎ Remember your purpose as God's Child & orient your actions to it
♥︎ Engage wholeheartedly in at least one creative act every day
♥︎ Nourish your body, mind, heart, soul, and spirit daily
♥︎ Integrate 3 joyful, purposeful leisure activities into daily routine
♥︎ Begin to participate in community life, especially with family & neighbors
♥︎ Stick to a healthy daily exercise routine
♥︎ Spend some time outdoors each day, preferably in nature
♥︎ Establish a church/ Adoration routine
✳ YOU ARE ALLOWED TO ENJOY LIFE!!!
YOUR NEEDS DO MATTER AND DESERVE TO BE MET/ FULFILLED IN HEALTHY WAYS!

From social worker printouts=
● Identify 2 NEEDS that you STRUGGLE TO ASSERT. PRACTICE asserting them IN TREATMENT. Identify 2-3 ways you can CONTINUE to assert those needs to FAMILY/ NEIGHBORS/ COMMUNITY.
(BASIC SURVIVAL NEEDS DO COUNT. They're a good starting point because I CAN'T EVEN ACCEPT THOSE AS VALID)
✳ My first & most troublesome obstacle is CALLING ANYTHING A "NEED". I feel it's ALL OPTIONAL, NOT REQUIRED OR ESSENTIAL OR IMPORTANT, BECAUSE I MUST ALWAYS BE READY, AT ANY MOMENT, TO DENY/ IGNORE/ INVALIDATE/ ETC. THEM. I "MUST" PRIORITIZE OTHERS OVER MYSELF to VIOLENT/ DESTRUCTIVE EXTREMES. Yes, I DO LOVE PEOPLE & WANT to help them in ANY & EVERY WAY I CAN, and I WILL, but it's often "forcing" me to NEGLECT & even HARM myself IN ORDER TO DO SO. But there HAS to be a point of cooperation. I MUST find a way to MEET EVERYONE'S NEEDS. But before I can do that, I do need to DISCERN & DEFINE & ADMIT & ACCEPT MY NEEDS.
✳ A "NEED" is something ESSENTIAL; it is something REQUIRED FOR SURVIVAL. But... could a need ALSO be something REQUIRED for the FLOURISHING of my SOUL? Will/ does a "need" ALWAYS answer to/ sustain HUMAN DIGNITY, on ALL LEVELS OF BEING? What does it LOOK/ FEEL like, TRUTHFULLY, when a REAL NEED is NOT MET? How does one PROPERLY DISCERN a "need" from a mere "want" or "preference"? And when IS it proper TO sacrifice my real needs for the sake of meeting others' needs? How far is it morally right to push that, and for how long? When does it become "okay" TO meet my own needs again? "Is it EVER okay, or is that being demanding/ entitled/ greedy/ egocentric/ etc.?" Am I ALLOWED to set limits and/or boundaries? Or is that cruel, rejecting & refusing to let others in when they want to? Am I ALLOWED to say "no" when that is crushing the needs of others for my own stupid "comfort"? Am I ALLOWED to say "I can't" or "I don't think that's a safe/ healthy option for me" or "I don't know if I'm properly capable of that" etc. if I TECHNICALLY CAN, IF I STOP COMPLAINING/ FEELING SCARED & just MAN UP & DO IT FOR THEIR SAKE? What is the TRULY RIGHT THING TO DO??
BASIC needs involve INHERENT HUMAN DIGNITY and they are therefore both UNIVERSAL & NON-NEGOTIABLE. You can deny that or try to finagle exceptions all you want; that DOESN'T CHANGE THE TRUTH, WHICH IS FOUNDED IN GOD. The dignity OWED to HIS CREATURES is for HIS SAKE, and it is a matter of OBJECTIVE JUSTICE. To deny that justice & dignity to ANYONE is a SIN. Stop & listen to yourself when you try to argue that you DON'T "need" love or care or the like. Would God the Creator say that about His Creatures, which He LOVES INTO BEING in EVERY MOMENT? Why can't I admit that I have needs & rights? I'd NEVER say that about ANYONE else, so why am I the exception? Don't insult your loving Father. Don't break His Heart. And remember... you CAN'T obey the Golden Rule, God's Law of Love, if you EXCLUDE YOURSELF.

✳ CONTINUING the "NEEDS" IDENTIFICATION, let's start BASIC & work by REASON. DON'T MAKE EMOTIONAL JUDGMENTS. They're too damaged to think straight. Focus on JUSTICE, to BOTH GOD & MANKIND (HIS CREATION) from a place of INTEGRITY, LOVE, MERCY, RIGHTEOUSNESS, & TRUTH.
✳ DON'T EVEN "THINK OF YOURSELF" RIGHT NOW. Think of JUSTICE & DIGNITY for THOSE YOU LOVE.
✳ YOUR BODY, MIND, HEART, SOUL, & SPIRIT ALL HAVE REAL & UNIQUE NEEDS!!!
✳ My body NEEDS to sleep well, rest well, & eat well. It NEEDS NOURISHMENT. That's a LAW OF LIFE. The problem is "cutting corners," asking "what's the MINIMUM I "need" to survive?" & acting as if even THAT is unnecessary excess or greed. BUT I'd NEVER put ANYONE ELSE under those constraints. It's CRUEL & MERCILESS & MISERLY. So WHY do I do it to MYSELF?
✳ I'm SCARED that it's a "zero sum game," that if I eat or sleep, someone ELSE must SUFFER for it. "FAMINE MENTALITY." It's anti-Eucharist. God wants ALL of us to THRIVE in SHARED LOVE & MERCY. Our COMMON NEEDS are MEANT TO BE FULLY MET IN COMMUNITY, TOGETHER, IN CHARITY! There is NO "BARELY SURVIVING" IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN!
✳ I'm ALSO terrified because I RECOGNIZE the Good in Creation and I'm hungry for it because I'm HUNGRY FOR GOD. I WANT to eat. I WANT to rest & sleep & exercise & play & work & ALL the things God CREATED human beings TO do WITH their bodies. But I'm SCARED of having those wants "satisfied." That very phrase sounds evil. But saying "I'm afraid to have my NEEDS MET" sounds like a selfish, greedy, manipulative LIE, an exaggeration in order to suck others dry & use them for my hedonistic gain. It's sick. I still struggle to believe that my very existence ISN'T parasitic my nature. I feel like a predator, like a gulper eel, using "I have needs!" as the bait to draw in people I can swallow alive & destroy. WHY IS THAT HOW I SEE MYSELF. I'm like one of those horrid wasps that liquefies its prey from the inside out. I just feel like my NEEDS are INHERENTLY VIOLENT, even sleep & rest & food. "Something has to die for me to live." I hate it. God I hate it. Deep down I would rather die to keep someone else alive & safe. I bet THAT'S at the ultimate root of the anorexia. But there's ALSO the guttingly vulnerable obsession with "food" as a CONCEPT, IN THIS CONTEXT. Remember how hard I resonated with joh0002naga's art when I found it, the little creatures with tiny bodies & closed eyes, lying on plates & in glasses, pierced through with forks & knives, offering their little innocent selves up to be eaten. Something in my heart is OBSESSED with that. Can I only BE that IF I'm just as tiny & thin? Is that the only way I CAN be pure & innocent, "GOOD enough TO eat" in the most sacred sense? Otherwise, what can I be? A fatted calf? Is that still a sanctifying role? If I am fattened up to be slain in celebration, does that still make me good? Am I still innocent & pure? Can I be offered in the Temple? And WHY do I feel like self-gift in love to feed others REQUIRES that I STOP LIVING ENTIRELY?

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GOAL = EMOTIONAL INTEGRATION/ COMMUNICATION!
(when we say "emotion," we're really referring to currently unnamed/ faceless nousfoni, who HOLD our emotions.)
1) ACCEPT them. DON'T REJECT them. DON'T LABEL them as "BAD." I even want to avoid "NEGATIVE" until I understand that term better. Right now, just NOTICE when an emotion arrives, and ACCEPT that you ARE feeling it. DON'T PUSH IT AWAY, DENY IT, or SUPPRESS IT. It's REAL and it's here for a REASON. It HAS a TRUE MESSAGE in its HEART.
2) IDENTIFY it. This REQUIRES SINCERE ATTENTIVENESS to it & OPENNESS to FEELING/ SEEING it as FULLY as you can. NAME IT!
3) WELCOME it. EMOTIONS ARE A GIFT FROM GOD, TOO!! And they ALL are MEANT to SERVE HIM too. That's YOUR job, "King" by Baptism! You must GOVERN them, but with LOVE, not as "slaves" but as FELLOW CREATURES? And YOU are to RULE them LIKE CHRIST!! Which first REQUIRES EMBRACING THEM AS THEY ARE. They, and we, cannot GROW/ HEAL/ CHANGE unless we BEGIN from a place of BEING LOVED & RESPECTED.  Feeling unwanted/ unwelcome only FUELS NEGATIVITY.
4) SIT WITH IT. You're friends. You can't love without spending TIME together. Don't name it and then look away or run! Don't "welcome them in" but refuse to give them a seat at the table! Remember that poem by Rumi!! Even if the emotion "won't sit" & rages about angry & crying & restless, sit there WITH them anyway & let them know they're STILL "AT HOME" there with you. Sit and be an offer of peace & listening-- be a safe place for them to rest in.
5) DIALOGUE WITH IT. This is why God made Xanga. You MUST get on GOOD SPEAKING TERMS with them, that can grow into REAL FRIENDSHIP & LOVE-- and THAT'S TRUE HEALING & INTEGRITY! But it REQUIRES DIALOGUE ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S DIFFICULT, and you DON'T understand each other YET. THE WHOLE POINT is to DISCOVER, BY DIALOGUE, NOT ANALYSIS, WHY THIS EMOTION IS HERE & WHAT THEY NEED. Then you can work TOGETHER to MEET that need AS YOU ARE ABLE, with FULL RESPECT 7 SINCERE CARE-- NO PATRONIZING, NO GASLIGHTING, NO INVALIDATION!!!




prismaticbleed: (shatter)

Some "FEAR/ CHALLENGE/ AVERSE" foods I MUST face with LOVE to be HEALED/ FREE =
1) APPLESAUCE= see next pageturn.
2) FRUIT CUP(S)= see next pageturn.
3) POPCORN= vague childhood TV terror. CNC & SLC cinema. UNEXPECTEDLY TERRIFYING??? Also "DIRTY HANDS." GRANDPA CLOSET FILTH. +Halloween? Boy Scount sales?
4) NUTRIGRAIN= CNC & grandpa's closet.
5) RITZ= old binge food, often STALE/RANCID. Also "belong to mom" (with her cheeses)? Fear of being punished for eating them
6) OATMEAL RAISIN= something about the taste feels so wrong. "fruit + grain" unnatural fusion? tastes like garbled data to our brain. +They turn to SLUDGE when you eat them.
7) OATS & HONEY BAR= Filthy crumbles. Typically stale/rancid. Feels like eating garbage scrap, not real food.
8) PIZZA= too many bad situation memories
9) BACON= CNC trauma

TRIGGERS put you into FIGHT/ FLIGHT/ FREEZE/ FAWN!!!


"FEAR" FOODS are ACTIVELY tied to TRAUMA and/or seen as an IMMINENT DEATH RISK.
● BACON is BOTH; I fear that eating pig is morally fatal (OT laws & symbolism); if I eat it then I will BECOME a pig. I also fear that it's "unhealthy," which has NO "wiggle room"; if I eat it I WILL have clogged arteries & I CAN'T "UNDO IT" or "take it back." It's PERMANENT DAMAGE. There is NO MERCY with food fears!! It's ABSOLUTE, IRREVOCABLE, & ultimately FATAL. But the worst fear here IS the "IDENTITY CORRUPTION" through "CHOOSING" to CONSUME it; it's DIRECTLY TIED to SXABUSE. if I "let the pig in," it will TAKE OVER & DEVOUR ME like a PARASITE and "I" WON'T EXIST ANYMORE-- or worse, if I DO, it'll be like having a YEERK.
● BACON is ALSO historically tied to SXABUSE EVENTS, so FLASHBACKS OCCUR INEVITABLY. Preparation CAN slightly assuage this by triggering different memories (like mom making it at home), BUT the very "FACT" of bacon consumption HAPPENED at "THOSE TIMES" is undeniable & CANNOT BE TURNED OFF.
● PIGS in general are frightening MORALLY, because I see them SYMBOLICALLY. They represent, & "therefore MANIFEST," FILTH, UNCLEANLINESS, GLUTTONY, BOORISHNESS? They're "ANIMALISTIC" in the sense of "TOTAL DEPRAVITY," plump & mud-caked, rolling in filth & digging their face INTO it in ORDER to eat, snorting & oinking & squealing, stinking horribly, laying inert & sated in the mud, & looking "suggestive" with their pink, taut, round, FAT (plump) bodies, hairy & dirty & fleshy. They "look like the filth of sex." The food/ eating is SECONDARY, almost an OUTGROWTH. The MAIN horror about pigs is SEX & FILTH. They just "PROJECT/ INFLICT" that ONTO eating, because EATING, ALWAYS, IN & OF ITSELF, IS "SEXUAL." It's inherently "erotic." (Discuss that LATER) So PIGS are ABHORRENT & SCANDALOUS, BECAUSE they are so FILTHY WITH FOOD WHILE BEING SO "ANIMALISTICALLY SEXUAL." They're DEHUMANIZING in totality & so IF I EAT ONE, I'M TAKING THAT INTO ME AND IT BECOMES MY BODY, which therefore DEHUMANIZES ME AND I CAN'T "TAKE IT BACK/ GET IT OUT." (THE ONLY HOPE IS TO PURGE)
MATTHEW 15:11 & 17-20!!! GET THAT INTO YOUR HEAD AND HEART! Study it extensively if you have to, but THE PIG CANNOT "MAKE YOU EVIL"!!!
● Last trauma we haven't discussed= ham is what I associate with grandma's death AND MY FAILURE TO BE THERE FOR HER ON THAT LAST EASTER, because HAM is what I ate that "SET OFF" THAT FATAL BINGE THAT LANDED ME IN THE E.R. & TOOK ME FROM HER. But... look at Matthew again. You're SHIFTING BLAME. YOU BINGED ON HAM.The PIG didn't sin OR cause YOU to! It COULD have been OFFERED to GOD as a JOYFUL CELEBRATION of LIFE like Easter "feasts" are SUPPOSED to. BUT even that WORD is "evil" & disgusting & I HATE it. WHY. = it's because in my mind/ experience, "feasts" are ALWAYS gluttonous, & eating "too much" is PUNISHED EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T MEAN IT OR WERE JUST THAT HUNGRY OR WERE EATING IN GRATITUDE. "Feast" means you are WATCHED & SUSPECTED & CRITICIZED & SHAMED & PUNISHED & even RATIONED. The "joy" is FORCIBLY LIMITED & therefore HOLLOW. There's NO ABUNDANCE.
● Weirdly but DIRECTLY & VITALLY RELATED is actually the GRINCH story. I hated it as a kid because the Whos were PORTRAYED & DESCRIBED as GENUINELY GOOD & NICE & FRIENDLY, and so when THEY feasted it WAS JOYFUL & GRATEFUL & ABUNDANT, & they ate as TRUE FAMILY in FRIENDSHIP together... but I had no comprehension of that as a kid. It "looked" hypocritical & performative to me because THAT'S ALL I KNEW. And I felt like the Grinch, who I ALSO "hated" AS A RESULT because he was described as UTTERLY GROSS & REPREHENSIBLE, and if "he was LIKE ME," then THAT HORRID SONG WAS ABOUT ME. And I heard the WHOS singing it, like I heard my family. And that DISSONANCE was intolerable. There they were, happy & FEASTING, yet SINGING ABOUT HOW UGLY I WAS & how they DETESTED ME & wanted NOTHING TO DO WITH ME, WHILE SMILING & EATING, and I was outside in the cold, unwanted & unwelcome & HUNGRY for not just food but LOVE & COMMUNITY & MERCY & WELCOME, but they were FEASTING on it & although THERE WAS PLENTY TO SHARE WITH ME, TOO, I'M NOT ALLOWED TO BE FED. I'M NOT ALLOWED TO BE PART OF THEM & THEIR LIFE. I'm unlovable. I'm inherently undesirable and I'm filthy. And that MAKES you a "grinch." It also means eating scraps of garbage & that becoming YOUR "normal."


✳God GAVE me PORK CARNITAS for lunch IMMEDIATELY after I wrote that ↑ & they were WONDERFUL! NO FEAR!! Which SHOCKED me. PORK is SAFE?? Ham & bacon AREN'T? At least in theory.
+ ADDING to this, God ALSO gave us APPLESAUCE... and similarly it was only "half triggering" & in DIFFERENT WAYS that I DIDN'T THEORIZE?? It also WASN'T SCARY, just a challenge. The SCARY/ DISTURBING part was the TEXTURE, & having to eat it with a spoon. It's the MESS, the SLOP, the LACK OF STRUCTURE/ FORM?? And spoons are TOTALLY chaotic, haha. There's NO SOLIDITY. But THAT'S a question = I'm aware of & dealing with the sticky/ crumbs/ spills/ etc. struggles, but the TEXTURE & FORMLESSNESS? Where is THAT rooted? Wait are they BOTH related to CHILDHOOD??? Is it tied to fear of PUNISHMENT for BEING MESSY? It also feels like "ROT" fear, like leaving food out on the counter or in the refrigerator for so long that it DOES turn to mush/ slop, and you STILL HAVE TO EAT IT?? Also, some part of me DOESN'T RECOGNIZE "LIQUIDS" AS FOOD. "Firm" things like jello & pudding don't count UNTIL/ UNLESS they start to MELT. Then the "degradation" fear happens. It's SO disturbing. And yet I don't think soup does this! Is it the WATERY NATURE that makes it safe? That seems legit actually. This concept might be "instinctive disgust" then, related to fear of eating rotten/ spoiled/ rancid food. ALSO the DENATURING. Juice in a cup is SO far removed from the reality of a fruit that it triggers some sort of kneejerk revulsion. My brain doesn't register ultraprocessed "food" as edible at ALL when that fact is apparent. And BTW YOU ARE NOT "OBLIGATED" TO FORCE-EAT THOSE FOODS AFTER DISCHARGE!! You SHOULD be choosing WHOLE FOODS to ACTUALLY FEED & NOURISH your poor body at last! Yes you CAN have something a bit processed when you eat out with mom, or when it would be MORE PRUDENT TO eat such food in a pinch or social situation; those foods ARE ALLOWED STILL; they CAN STILL BE OFFERED TO GOD IN GRATEFUL PRAISE, & they AREN'T "EVIL" OR "UNCLEAN"! You CAN worship God BY eating a bag of chips & fastfood sandwich IF you are doing so WITH the HONEST INTENTION to NOURISH YOUR BODY the BEST YOU CAN in that situation, ESPECIALLY if the EDIFICATION OF/ COMMUNION WITH OTHERS IS INVOLVED, and to DO ALL OF IT FOR GOD'S GLORY, WITH LOVE & THANKS & PRAISE FOR THE GIFT OF FOOD & LIFE & HEALING. Live FOR ETERNITY, even right now!


✳ WHY is there still so much AVERSION, perhaps a deeper FEAR, towards FRUIT FLAVORS? and fruit CUPS & JUICE?? Is this fear as applicable to those SAME fruits when FRESH? Why or why not? WHAT is CAUSING this distinction? IS IT GLOBAL or PARTICULAR?
1) Putting ANYTHING in one of those PLASTIC CUPS for "SNACKS" feels DEGRADING?? Like a "stripping of dignity." Does it make me feel like an animal? What about TEXTURE? Because APPLESAUCE isn't just "scary," it feels almost DEHUMANIZING. Like if I eat it, I'm placed in a position BELOW the dignity/ respect/ rights of a "real/ normal" person??? Is that because of the "processed/ artificialized/ denatured" aspect of ROBBING the FORM from the food & putting the resulting mush in a plastic cup? mass processed & utterly detached from TRUTH & nature as it was CREATED? and making ME eat THAT is DAMNING MY BODY/ SOUL/ FORM to the SAME???




092024

Sep. 20th, 2024 09:19 am
prismaticbleed: (worried)

DAY ONE (point five, haha) & GOOD MORNING TOWER!
I have decided that I'VE GOTTA ACT ON MY TRUE HEART in light of yesterday's papers & regrets & HOPES, and of course in the Light & Grace of CHRIST. I must DISCERN & ACCEPT REALITY as a GIFT FROM GOD, because it IS, in ALL circumstances, BY HIS PROVIDENCE, yet we can only live IN & ACCORDING to that by FAITH & TRUST.
Let me pause.This is the super-optimistic mindset that I DO believe IS of the Holy Spirit, as it is ALL joy & hope, BUT it is still imperfect in LOVE because IT FORGETS/ GLOSSES OVER MY WOUNDS. And a KEY part of "ME," am absolutely ESSENTIAL aspect of my HEART & SOUL, is "BLOOD." Holy wounds, loving suffering, selfgiving sacrifice, BLEEDING not out of malice or "weakness" but like JESUS, to GIVE & PROTECT & SUSTAIN LIFE somehow. It's been that was since childhood, and GOD PUT THAT IN ME FOR HIS GLORY and I MUST REJOICE in GRATITUDE for EXACTLY HOW HE MADE ME, EMBRACE IT & ACT ON IT in LOVE/ CHARITY, and STOP DENYING/ SUPPRESSING/ REJECTING/ FEARING IT. Listen you KNOW THE TRUTH, even if it scares you, you KNOW the Truth ALWAYS brings JOY & PEACE & CLARITY even when it's scary or hard or strange, AND most importantly, TRUTH ALWAYS BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST. If you aren't actively reveling in Scripture & hungering for prayer & seeking ACTIVELY to witness to the Faith in word & action, you're NOT in Truth. And that milquetoasty mindset I was in yesterday was NOT "TRUE." It was ENTIRELY DISHONEST, totally DISSONANT & DEGRADING & DISGRACEFUL, and the worst part is I KNEW IT but I was too chicken to CHOOSE to ACT ON TRUTH because I felt it was "out of place" or rude or something. TAKE THE RISK, as blunt as that sounds. PRAY over it, but then ACT with LOVE for GOD, OTHERS, AND SELF, in INTEGRITY!!! DON'T SNUFF YOUR FLAME. EMBRACE & WELCOME JOY & BEAUTY. ACTUALIZE HOPES through FAITH in GOD'S PROVIDENCE GUIDING YOU WHO LOVE HIM & are GENUINELY STRIVING to LIVE OUT THAT LOVE through ACTIONS-- actually WORKS OF MERCY & SELFGIFT. REMEMBER THE SIGURD STORY? Dude if YOU'RE a dragon then BY YOUR NATURE, YOUR HEART IS MEANT TO BE EUCHARISTIC. So go & bleed, so that others can hear the sweet Voice of the Bird, too. He is Who made you like this. You're HIS Temple. Christ IN YOU wants to act as PRIEST & SACRIFICE. CHOOSE to cooperate in joy. That's your LIFE.

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"Do you believe that it's OK to be optimistic?" WHAT do you FEAR?
What is the difference between OPTIMISM & "being blinded to reality?" WHY does POSITIVITY feel like a PUNISHABLE MISTAKE? Why does it feel STUPID/ FOOLISH/ IGNORANT?
(Is this learned behavior from mom & grandma always CATASTROPHIZING?) (ASSUME & prepare for the WORST?)
✳ My understanding/ definition OF optimism is INCOMPLETE. I tend to think it means "handwaving" away ALL possible obstacles/ difficulties: a BLINDED focus on ONLY one's hopeful ideals, seeing them almost as GUARANTEED. This ALSO FUELS MORAL COMPLACENCY because it DENIES SPIRITUAL BATTLE!!! REAL optimism SEES & SERIOUSLY ACKNOWLEDGES the REAL & ESSENTIAL & INEVITABLE STRUGGLE. BUT IT'S UNSHAKABLY GROUNDED in FAITH-- TRUST in GOD'S VICTORY of GOOD PROVIDENCE, and by extension, HIS GRACE working IN & THROUGH ME for HIS GLORY in ACTUALIZING that victory IN MY LIFE. But it REQUIRES the BATTLE of the CROSS. Optimism just SEES the RESURRECTION!

✳ "WHY am I making judgments?" What does that say about my PRIORITIES & VALUES? "WHY am I COMPARING myself to others?" What GOOD do I see, that I feel I LACK? WHY is it good? WHY do I WANT it? // What END do I hope to achieve BY judging?
✳ FIGHT/ TRANSFORM with GRATITUDE, COMPASSION; HUMILITY & "WISE MIND"

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NOTHING IS PERFECT BUT GOD-- SO LOOK FORWARD TO THE RESURRECTION OF YOUR "IMPERFECT" BODY TO PERFECTION IN CHRIST!

YOUR BODY IS ALIVE AND IT CARES FOR YOU. It constantly does all these interior functions to keep you alive & well-- it's GOD'S DESIGN!
Your body IS something to love. It IS YOU!!

YOU HAVE INHERENT WORTH, GIVEN BY GOD, AND THAT INCLUDES YOUR BODY.

REPROGRAM THE AUTOMATIC BODY-JUDGMENT THOUGHTS WITH POSITIVE (HOLY) AFFIRMATIONS ABOUT IT-- CONFORM YOUR THOUGHTS TO CHRIST!!

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I'm frustrated/ angry & legit depressed because I keep having to CHOKE RUSH MY MEALS and NO SENSORY DATA is registering AT ALL. Am I THAT dissociated? Why this BREAK of NUMBNESS between mind/ heart/ body? It's not communicating data. WHY.

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Important things I need to accept in my life right now:
1. Other people WILL hurt and scared me WITHOUT MEANING TO do so.
2. I need to eat around others.
3. I WILL suffer hunger, sensory overwhelm, and lack of safety/ silence.
4. Other people CAN'T READ MY MIND or "PASSIVE CUES" so DON'T expect them to deliver or respect or comfort you.
5. I must sacrifice my preferences and instead meekly obey & cooperate (no agency; be a lamb)
6. My body will chance (but NOT my SOUL?)
7. I will be here all week. I cannot bail out.

ACCEPT REALITY; DON'T FIGHT/ RESIST/ DENY/ WHINE/ COMPLAIN.
CHANGE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT PROBLEMS = USE YOUR WILL AND CHOOSE CHRIST BY GRACE.
ACCEPT EVERYTHING FROM GOD'S HANDS!
LIFE IS WORTH LIVING, NO MATTER HOW MANY PAINFUL/ FRIGHTENING EVENTS YOU MUST ENDURE.
GOD'S PERMISSIVE OR ACTIVE WILL IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL; IT'S ALL UNDER HIS LOVING PROVIDENCE!

"MIMIC IT UNTIL YOU MEAN IT"

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GRATITUDE PLANNER

TODAY'S AFFIRMATION=

Progress in healing is STILL happening, even if you don't "do it perfectly," because you ARE STILL giving it your BEST SINCERE EFFORT. Don't let feelings of inadequacy lie to you. Your effort COUNTS/ MATTERS.

MOOD OF THE DAY=

COURAGEOUS, DETERMINED, HOPEFUL = CHANGE FOR GOOD IS POSSIBLE, TODAY, NOW! "DARKNESS CANNOT WIN" = LIVE IN THIS!

INSPIRATION OF THE DAY=
"The hope of an eternal tomorrow," EVEN the hope of another evening; EVERY MOMENT is ANOTHER CHANCE to CHOOSE the GOOD, LEARN & GROW from obstacles/ setbacks, and REORIENT YOURSELF to LOVE. Slow down & BREATHE. You are ALIVE & WANTED. Your life MATTERS. Embrace this gift.

MENTAL INTENTION=
I will be honest with myself & others in thought & speech. I will feed the virtuous thoughts and they will heal the hurt ones with themselves, bringing about integrity & unity, not destruction or starvation. I will cultivate patience, gentleness, gratitude, and hope, choosing love & light.

PHYSICAL INTENTION=
I will pay close attention to how I inhabit & hold my body, and liberate it from stress tightness & anxious curving inwards. I will mindfully eat with gratitude, actively acknowledging food as sacred medicine for my body's neglected state, a selfgift of love from God my Father.

SPIRITUAL INTENTION=
I will read Scripture throughout the day, and make a habit of lifting my heart & mind to God in all circumstances. I will witness to God whenever the chance is given. I will say regular prayers at morning & night. I will make spiritual communions often. I will recognize God's Providence in all situations.

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TREATMENT NOTES:

1) FASTING IS OKAY AND VIRTUOUS. RESTRICTING IS NOT. The difference is MOTIVE/ PURPOSE/ GOAL. Fasting DOESN'T VILIFY EATING OR FOOD. Restriction DOES.

2) Exercise is a DAILY NEED, but it must be done TO GET STRONGER, NOT to BURN YOUR STRENGTH AWAY! And it MUST be PRUDENTLY LIMITED; NO 3-HOUR SESSIONS BOY

3) LOOK IN THE MIRROR. What message is that giving? What FEELINGS do you fear? What INSIDE you is being SHOWN on the surface, OR HIDDEN/ SUPPRESSED? What sort of SYMBOL do you see yourself as, bodily?

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"THE KNOWING-DOING GAP" handout = THIS IS A GAMECHANGER. PUT IT INTO ACTUAL PRACTICE NOW.

"Conquer resistance for good"
PUN INTENDED.

"Understanding the fabric of resistance is the only way we can unstitch it."
Fabric = THREADS WOVEN together over time!

"There are many reasons we self-sabotage, and most of them have something to do with comfort."
?!?!?! WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THIS AND WRITE IT OUT

"Modern society is designed to convince us that a "good" life" is one that is most comfortable... being pain-free and secure."
NOT SO THE CROSS! (PARADOX) TRANSMUTES pain & SANCTIFIES us through the Cross; SECURE IN GOD'S WILL
"Restless/ uncomfortable UNTIL we rest IN HIM" (true comfort = "MY peace I give you") (TRUST = CHILDLIKE)
"NO PAIN NO GAIN" (SAINT PAUL)
LOVE IS SACRIFICE/ GIFT (DEATH to SELFISHNESS)

"...Human beings are hardwired to seek comfort, which translates to us as survival..."
We're NOT meant for THIS fallen world = our SOULS need to survive!!

"...focus on the discomfort you will face if you don't do the thing in front of you, as opposed to the discomfort you will face if you do."
FACING DISCOMFORT = GROWING PAINS!
✳ WHERE are you ANCHORING your comfort? In the FLESH or SPIRIT?

"...a manic state of indecision (do I, don't I? what feeling do I let guide me?) You have to take control for yourself..."
THIS IS MY BIG PROBLEM. I NEED to learn REAL CONTROL = a VIRTUOUS WILL! I MUST CONTROL MY FEELINGS by ORIENTING THEM TO GOD'S WILL! And you must DO this PRACTICALLY, with HOLY REASON, NOT "INTUITION" VOICES!!

"How many hours have you wasted?"
Seriously MAN UP & DO THE MATH. Keep a journal & calculate. SEEING the numbers WILL FIRE YOU TO TAKE ACTION.

✳ What DO I want to accomplish IN my life and WITH my life?
✳ What DOES make me genuinely happy? What gives me JOY?
✳ What RELATIONSHIPS do I HAVE or COULD HAVE that I'm NEGLECTING or TAKING FOR GRANTED? What SMALL but REAL & GENUINE steps can I take NOW to FOSTER and/or HEAL them?
✳ SCHEDULE IN CREATIVE FREE TIME DAILY, AND DO ANYTHING = PRACTICE & EXPERIMENT & LEARN & PLAY & USE YOUR TALENTS!!!

"If you had to live today-- or any average day-- on repeat for the rest of your life, where would you end up?"
✳ DO THIS. ANALYZE & LIST, VS. THE IDEAL TO WORK TOWARDS NOW!! (SAINTHOOD)

"It’s uncomfortable to work, to stretch the capacity of your tolerance, to be vulnerable with someone you care deeply about, but it is never more comfortable than going your whole life without the things you really want."

1) WHAT about work is uncomfortable to you? What ISN'T?
2) How can you BEGIN stretching your tolerance to GET comfortable with current challenges? Can you SIT WITH IT and learn TRUST? (GOD IS WITH YOU on EVERY CROSS after all)
3) WHAT dos vulnerability LOOK like FOR YOU? with SPECIFIC people? WHY are you AFRAID to risk being WOUNDED by LOVE? WHY AREN'T YOU MORE WILLING TO LOVE = SUFFER? (DIE TO SELF = LIVE FOR OTHERS = DIVINE LIFE) (COMMUNITY/ COMMUNION; LAW OF GIFT)
4) TRUE "FUN" IS NOT EVIL, IT'S SACRED = "PLAY" = REJOICE IN BEING = IN GOD! TRUE "WORK" SERVES THIS END?? (JOY)
✳ CREATIVITY = SHARE IN GOD'S WORK (ONGOING!!) (PRIESTLY PEOPLE)

"Most things aren’t as hard or as trying as we chalk them up to be. They’re ultimately fun and rewarding and
expressions of who we really are.That’s why we want them."

"GOD PUT THAT DESIRE IN YOU" for HIS GLORY! (SACRED "EROS" TRUE PURPOSE!!)
GOD IS LIFE! NOT STAGNANCY!! (ACT ON YOUR POTENTIAL!!)

"...thank whatever force within you that knows there’s something bigger for you—the one that’s pushing you to be comfortable with less."

"Blessed are the POOR IN SPIRIT" = God's KINGDOM is the "BIGGEST" = I am CREATED FOR IT (HOME)

✳ SMALL ACTS WE CAN DO NOW = we must FIRST clarify our GOAL!!
What DO I REALLY want, at heart? WHY? What is the deepest desire? HOW can I SINCERELY & CONCRETELY pursue THAT core, TODAY?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"the guest house" by Rumi; handed out this morning=

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still,
treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.


(THIS IS SO RELEVANT TO THE SYSTEM)
(Give those visitors GOOD FOOD)
(treating them well TRANSFORMS them at heart)

-----------------------------------------------------------

“I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”
(Rainer Maria Rilke)


(STORY OF OUR LIFE)
(the questions ARE nousfoni, often)
(the locked rooms are also very literal for us, as are the BOOKS = archives!!)



prismaticbleed: (shatter)


Psychologically, I am in a COMPLETELY different state now than I was in UPMC & that's not good news. I'm stuttering & dissociating & shaking. Is it because I have no space or privacy or silence here? I feel trapped, overwhelmed, overstimulated, rushed, surrounded, helpless & watched like a caged animal. WHY? This place is SHOCKINGLY LENIENT compared to UPMC. But... I think it's the bigger shift from a solitary home & hospital to suddenly being surrounded by people, even lovely people, with NO "escape" physically. I'll talk to treatment team IF I can phrase this without putting myself in danger. What I really need to do is learn how to assert my boundaries, whatever that means, without offending or hurting or ignoring others. I'm not the only one struggling or suffering. I NEED to be a man, so to speak. That's a problem too. Yeah I'm a woman but I MUST BE STRONG & BRAVE & COURAGEOUS. Or is this God humbling me? I came in here thinking "I'll be a good example & inspire others" because I base my worth on that. But I showed up and burnt out fast & I'm a trembling shrinking coward. I'm a disgrace. And yet I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE UP. I CAN'T. That would betray my own ideals & work towards integrity. But part of me does want to bail. It's jumping to conclusions. Listen, WORK HARD, WOMAN UP, & GIVE IT A WEEK. Cooperate entirely with the team & let them know you ARE determined to heal-- which means PARTICIPATING IN GROUPS & NOT ISOLATING & LEARNING TO NOT FREAK OUT IN SOCIAL SETTINGS. Otherwise they'll choke you on pills. KILL THE EGO CURVED IN ON ITSELF. GO OUT TO OTHERS IN LOVE. That's what JESUS would do, and you ARE His Temple, & SO ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE. Live like it!!

How do I change HARD & FAST tomorrow? Do I need to anchor in an overlay? God please help me to stay in the right mindset without getting proud or stupid or blind. Honestly THAT'S what I'm afraid of. A BIG part of this eating disorder IS "SEDATING THE DRAGON." I feel like I'm a MONSTER inside & if I DON'T keep that horror starved & weak, refusing to feed it, it will-- I will-- inevitably be a VIOLENT AGGRESSIVE FIRE destroying all that comes near. I'm terrified that EVEN NOW, although still thin, as I feel STRENGTH & ENERGY returning THROUGH FOOD, the monster WILL hurt everyone UNLESS I keep this ANXIETY CAGE around it. It's just a different restraint; if I can't tranquilize, at least not unless I sleep-deprive it. But it ALL boils down to NOT TRUSTING MYSELF because I KNOW I'M DANGEROUS & OFFENSIVE & INAPPROPRIATE & OBTRUSIVE & RUDE & HAUGHTY & BAD. Deep down I just hurt people. Deeper down I love people so much it hurts and I want to weep bitter hot tears forever because dragons burn people, not embrace them. I'm meant to be slain. "Scorpion Part I." Is that really my nature? NO. Scripture says YOU'VE BEEN BOUGHT AT A PRICE & CHANGED IN CHRIST. Yes, EVEN a cobra like you. The Child DOES put His Hand on you. And He HAS, so please, BELIEVE it!! STOP ACTING SO COWARDLY. But there's some deeper level there too, I feel it now in action. I'm SCARED of doing something wrong & BEING SLAIN and it's making me TERRIFIED to even TRY??



---------------------------------------------------------------------------


COUNSELING TOPICS =
● distrust of self; "if I choose it, it's WRONG" = must OBEY AUTHORITY (arbitrary???)
↑ TIED INTO BPD APPEASEMENT "PLEASE GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE; I'LL DO ANYTHING" (terror of abandonment/ rejection)
● "I'm a MONSTER"; need to be CAGED/ CHAINED/ TRANQUILIZED or else I'll kill someone

✳GUILT = "I MADE A MISTAKE"
SHAME = "I AM A MISTAKE"


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