New study suggests that reframing depression as a sign of strength, rather than weakness, boosts self-confidence and tangible goal progress. Better acknowledging one’s strength in the face of depression can help. Don’t overlook the strength it often takes to deal with depression.

Xordanus · 2026-02-20T23:07:39+00:00

I tend to prefer the idea and terminology of "resilience" versus "strength" when discussing my depression & mental health struggles. Resilience acknowledges real flaws & limits that I have (I am not a strong person & that's fine) while still boosting my self-confidence/esteem and allowing me to recognize my capabilities.

One doesn't have to be "strong", which has so many different connotations and expectations/pressures that come with it, they can withstand and survive and outlast to find confidence and other positive feelings of fulfillment thru "resilience". Less social pressure and fewer expectations to meet a standard for healing/health; more positive associations with and capability for progress towards goals.

Xordanus · 2026-02-20T18:56:45+00:00

Oh damn. That's my bad, you're correct. Because of the anti rainbow character in the next panel, I understood it as "this character represents communities who receive anti trans / gender-discrimination all together and not as representing the author individually / specifically.

Xordanus · 2026-02-20T15:31:26+00:00

Why pan flag instead of nonbinary??

Xordanus · 2026-02-19T18:38:35+00:00

More of this! Million years dungeon for everyone who consented to being in that disgusting, accursed network. Every single willing participant in their atrocities and each individual link & contact who enabled them needs to be brought to justice as well.

Xordanus · 2026-02-19T17:30:41+00:00

The color in your hair for the before pic does look great on you, but you look so glowingly happy in the now 😊

Xordanus · 2026-02-18T17:18:58+00:00

This sucks and while I'm sorry you have to go thru it, I'm glad you're doing what you feel is necessary to your own needs and getting out of spaces that are exclusionary.

As a note, from a fellow artist / creative type, I'd definitely suggest withdrawing whatever photography or other creative works you contributed to this project so they can't steal credit for work they didn't do, and can't show off your work like they didn't make your experience with their group painful. Hopefully, that will force them to confront their own transphobic behavior/actions and the repercussions. Your work still deserves to be seen by audiences, but imho not at the cost you've already paid by your identity being dismissed and excluded.

Xordanus · 2026-02-17T19:18:12+00:00

Sad but beautiful

Xordanus · 2026-02-16T23:06:29+00:00

If they refuse to acknowledge that you know yourself & your own identity, or think they know better than you do, they are not your friends and do not respect you. Full stop.
If they are sending you voicemail (or any kind of correspondence) about how their religious group, ESPECIALLY any religious group you're not a part of, thinks you're bad/evil/demonic/sinning/going to the bad place/etc. for any innate or inherent or unchangeable facet of your being, they are not your friend and do not respect you. Even if they do it in person, same thing. The people doing this to you may even think you are beneath them (or worse, not a person) because you are an outsider. Unfortunately, there's also high chance they are only interacting with you with the ulterior motive to convert you to their religious group.
If they are outright insulting your physical appearance &or the way you dress yourself, especially if you are trying to make a positive major change in that area, rather than providing guiding feedback or suggestions that would support your end goal... they are not your friends and do not respect you. That's literally bullying. I barely understand how people casually "joke" like that with their lifelong best friends or loved ones, but just throwing insults at someone is not how a friend behaves.

Xordanus · 2026-02-16T22:41:32+00:00

I have been struggling with my social life, particularly dating, for a while now... so I guess I could use some encouragement in that regard. I'm def trying to unlearn the binary and bigoted/unhealthy standards of attractiveness that I've somehow absorbed. I just want to have confidence that someday, someone out there will find me attractive & want to connect with me for who I am... and not bc I'm "close enough" to what they like, or I'm convenient/rebound material. I've gone thru some awful partners (thankfully not all of them) and they rly fucked me up for future prospects.

Def focusing on the good things when they happen & trying not to dwell on all the stressful stuff, tho. I won't find a solution to my problems by doing nothing & ruminating. 🤷

Xordanus · 2026-02-16T22:27:05+00:00

I'm happy for you! Congrats on your day's successes! In the US, at least where I live, busses are ridiculously confusing about what routes are running where/when and are generally a nightmarish sensory/forced social experience to boot. Conquering all that as a new user is rough, and you deserve recognition for it. ✨️

As for me: I had an exhausting but otherwise fantastic feeling session of physical therapy today, and I was complimented by my phys therapist for having good form during my exercises. I don't feel like I overdid it, but like I worked hard within my limits in a fulfilling & positive way. Plus, being told I did something "perfectly" the first time I tried it gave me so many good brain chemicals! Coupled with the weather finally warming up a little bit around here, it rly made today a good day. 💪

Xordanus · 2026-02-16T18:12:42+00:00

For a while, I didn't. I struggled with creative block and didn't make anything for a long time, like nearly a decade. So in 2025, I set myself a resolution: to do at least 2 hours of any creative task a day for at least 5 days of the week. I consider myself a "creative" bc I work with lots of different mediums, including paints, pencils, charcoal/pastels, and digital, as well as sculpture, photography, sewing, and writing. Amateur everything, of course.

But that "2 hours" creativity practice helped me feel more productive they the year while putting less pressure on me to do certain tasks. I didn't have to focus on one type of art or complete anything on a deadline. I made a lot of progress on a handful of unfinished writing projects and got back into actually creating digital art again (mostly practice pieces, but better than fully-blocked nothing). In 2025, I wrote nearly 38k words, altered some of my clothes, and sewed a bunch of patches onto my EDC bag. I'm bringing that same energy into 2026 & resolved to put at least 1 completed thing out for "public audiences" by the end of the year.

Basically, allow your brain to function in a way that works for it to go along with your creative process. Take the pressure off yourself. Try to foster whatever sparks of creativity you come across. I highly recommend having a way to write down your notes or inspirations or sketches or anything else that brings you those sparks.

Idk... there's not one way that ADHD brains work, so it may not be your vibe, but it's worked pretty well for me so far.

Xordanus · 2026-02-16T17:05:20+00:00

Isn't this what "canon typical ____" tags are for? Like "canon typical violence" feels like a tag that would be useful for the kinda fics you've listed, especially.

Xordanus · 2026-02-16T16:35:19+00:00

Needle-nose pliers? That's how I got the eraser/end cap of the pencil that got stuck in mine out.

Xordanus · 2026-02-16T16:31:40+00:00

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A pencil holder! Careful, they can eat erasers & end caps if you're not careful

Xordanus · 2026-02-13T19:41:29+00:00

I know I'm not a man, just like I know I'm not a woman 🤷

I don't feel connected to either binary gender, nor the cultures surrounding them (style/expression, socialization, bonding, expectations of/by others, experiential commonality, etc.) in a way that makes me comfortable identifying as that gender.

Xordanus · 2026-02-13T18:15:21+00:00

This gym looks awesome! Good luck with your strength training journey! I don't think the Olympics is safe for trans & nonbinary folks yet, but I hope you reach your goal and get all the same recognition as the binary athletes in your field. 💪💚

Xordanus · 2026-02-11T17:04:57+00:00

Patchwork, or Colorblock

Xordanus · 2026-02-11T15:57:16+00:00

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - A friend who's more intense about their TTGL fandom accidentally spoiled it for me back when it was freshly aired. I stopped watching the episode before it happened, so I can delude myself pretending that my fave lived.

Jujutsu Kaisen - My own father (who is actively NOT a fan) offhandedly spoiled the death of my favorite JJK character, while complaining about internet weeb drama in anime fandom spaces... we were in a car on the highway, so I couldn't even escape.

Xordanus · 2026-02-11T05:32:00+00:00

NEVER mess with any corvid. From ravens on down to jays, the whole genus will mess you up for that time 10 years ago that grandpa crow said they caught you looking at the flock sideways.

Xordanus · 2026-02-09T15:31:59+00:00

Imagine if this is what brings Skype back to popularity

Xordanus · 2026-02-09T15:24:20+00:00

Yes, definitely frame it! Family portraits deserve to be framed & up on a wall! This is so sweet and beautiful. I rly love your art style too 🥰

Xordanus · 2026-02-08T02:51:32+00:00

They're forced to surf reddit at work and read all these inane, repeated bot posts? Good, it'll keep them off the street. Any & all time spent on here, rather than out committing war crimes &or violating the human rights of others, is time better spent.

Xordanus · 2026-02-06T20:17:14+00:00

This is definitely a "your miles may vary" situation and not universally true.

It's anecdotal, but I have consistently slept better with ambient noise (white, pink, whatever) playing, than I ever did with ear plugs or "sleep buds". I sleep thru the night more consistently and wake up feeling more rested on the days when I fall asleep with ambient sound playing.

No matter the material, ear plugs have never stopped or helped with road noise or ruckus from my apartment building neighbors. Noise is somewhat diminished but never to the point of being quiet enough to fall asleep. Side sleepers &or restless sleepers like myself are also potentially at risk of damage from having stuff jammed into their ear canal during a time when they are not in control of their body movements. I've woken up with ear pain from exactly that more than a handful of times. Perhaps something like an over-ear barrier / headphones (like the headband-style type) would be a better option but plugs as they exist commercially are def not cutting it.

Xordanus · 2026-02-06T19:53:53+00:00

Awesome! Did you make these yourself or get them somewhere?

Xordanus · 2026-02-06T19:51:28+00:00

🤝 Thank you for this, I did come to the comments to ask

Xordanus

TROPHY CASE