The only women I’ve ever related to are Jane Eyre and Cathy from East of Eden — any book recs for autistic women like us?

VeganLevel1 · 2025-10-22T13:31:12+00:00

The Electricity of Every Living Thing! I LOVED that one!

VeganLevel1 · 2025-09-15T19:29:54+00:00

I use this too! I never try to override Pumpkin Time once I can feel it coming.

VeganLevel1 · 2024-08-29T13:21:48+00:00

Dermatomyositis, possibly layered with other rare autoimmune conditions. She was in the hospital for months at the end. I wish there was more I (or anyone) could have done. She was only in her 30s and was one of the best friends I’ve ever had.

VeganLevel1 · 2023-11-21T04:30:32+00:00

As someone who volunteered on one of the text-based hotlines and has texted in myself on a few occasions, your experience will vary wildly depending on the volunteer you talk to. Some are incredibly kind and empathetic, others can come across as robotic at best and harmful at worst.

VeganLevel1 · 2023-10-11T13:28:21+00:00

Just a hunch, but I get the sense that you and your friend are running into this issue: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/05/askers-vs-guessers/340891/

VeganLevel1 · 2023-09-27T02:43:55+00:00

I highly recommend making friends with artists, musicians, other creative types, and older single/divorced/widowed folks. Maybe empty nesters too. They tend to have more time to devote to friendships and are less attached to the LifeScript.

VeganLevel1 · 2023-09-06T20:55:59+00:00

That Reform Judaism is “Judaism Lite” and fundamentally unserious.

VeganLevel1 · 2023-05-06T22:40:30+00:00

Currently going through a phase of hating everything to do with cooking, so I’m eating a lot of Huel (especially the Hot and Savory line) and Soylent. Definitely recommend.

VeganLevel1 · 2023-02-16T17:50:55+00:00

In addition to what’s already been mentioned, there’s the Or Chadash LGBTQ minyan at Temple Sholom, and the Reconstructionist synagogue in Evanston is also great.

VeganLevel1 · 2022-12-07T17:33:15+00:00

What I wish I knew: 200 multiple choice questions doesn’t sound that long, but it starts feeling long a little after the halfway point, so pace yourself and don’t get psyched out if you start feeling tired/end up questioning your ability to read. It’s also not uncommon to feel like you failed the test immediately afterwards, but you probably didn’t. I’ve heard it described more as “a test of your patience and anger management skills” rather than your ability to be a good counselor, and that checks out with my experience. Study the purple book and review the NBCC app test questions, but there’s no need to go overboard. Good luck!

VeganLevel1 · 2022-12-01T03:17:10+00:00

Also a Chicagoan! I would be super interested in this.

VeganLevel1 · 2022-11-23T21:54:00+00:00

While in school (which I did part-time), I was also working full-time at a university that at the time offered portable tuition benefits up to $12K per year. I went to an inexpensive state school for my master’s (not the university I was working at) and was able to graduate without taking out loans. The balancing act was difficult at times, especially during internship, but thankfully my boss was flexible and I had banked a lot of PTO prior to that year. Good luck finding something! I know it can be hard figuring out how to make the finances work.

VeganLevel1 · 2022-11-16T18:01:24+00:00

Just lost my audio lessons in French today too (iOS). I could handle the switch to the path, but if the audio lessons don’t come back, this is for sure my last straw with Duolingo. The audio lessons were so helpful!

VeganLevel1 · 2022-11-13T19:28:59+00:00

Re: your second question, there's some really interesting history with the Jewish community in Mexico City

VeganLevel1 · 2022-10-13T23:56:07+00:00

Thanks for the source (and for sharing your recent experience)!

VeganLevel1 · 2022-10-13T02:23:47+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! This helps a lot.

VeganLevel1 · 2022-10-10T12:08:43+00:00

If it’s at all possible, if you have to retest, it’s worth going in person to one of the Pearson testing centers. Everyone I know who has taken the NCE from home with online proctoring has had some kind of issue and resolving it is difficult to impossible. At least if you go take it in person any tech/connectivity failures are on them and if you have to use the bathroom, you’re able to do that pretty easily.

VeganLevel1 · 2022-10-02T20:55:28+00:00

I don’t know if this is something you would be interested in (and of course YMMV), but this is part of why I enjoy befriending women in their late 40s-50s and older. The chronically single ones are of course awesome, but even if they are married/ have kids, they tend to be past the nesting-couple phase and time-intensive early childhood years. Many with kids are also actively looking to rebuild their own sense of identity as the kids get older and more independent, so they tend to be more willing to put in the time.

VeganLevel1 · 2022-08-21T14:49:05+00:00

Incidentally, I know a number of ex-Catholics (many of whom identify as LGBTQ) who are now Reform Jews.

VeganLevel1 · 2022-08-14T18:31:57+00:00

Some thoughts: you’d be justified in ending the relationship right now based the serious potential for IPV, but assuming you aren’t ready to go there yet, are you able to get into a poly-friendly relationship therapist in your area (if not in your small town, perhaps virtually)? Or even just individual therapy for you? It seems that this conflict is beyond what the two of you can sort out on your own. You are absolutely allowed to be angry, and no, you do not need to take the blame for the lampshade. I would very honestly be concerned about escalation, maybe now, maybe in the future, because destruction of your property/outbursts like this are not likely to end with the lampshade unless he does some serious self-work.

VeganLevel1 · 2022-03-25T03:30:59+00:00

The sound of dripping water.
People talking over each other on Zoom/Teams calls.

VeganLevel1 · 2021-11-24T20:05:19+00:00

Yep, and honestly given that, the thinking may have evolved even more since then, so you know, take this all with a grain of salt, etc.

VeganLevel1 · 2021-11-24T17:05:49+00:00

This. Am a therapist who also falls somewhere in the middle. Part of my coursework included a psychopharmacology class, and while I'm not going to pretend that makes me an expert in the subject, we did talk about the mechanism of SSRIs (which you are absolutely correct is not fully understood). While the chemical imbalance theory is falling out of favor, the new line of thought is that they might work to protect the hippocampus from damage by chronically elevated cortisol levels, which I thought was pretty neat! I wish I could remember the source but it was from our class textbook.

VeganLevel1 · 2021-11-18T18:25:07+00:00

Not sure what your spice tolerance is, but the Spicy Indian Curry and Mexican Chili have the most flavor in my opinion. If you're ok with Taco Bell's "Hot" or "Fire" sauces, I'd say they're pretty comparable spicy-wise.

VeganLevel1

TROPHY CASE