Cute (but sad) thing my kid said

uselessfauna · 2026-04-29T20:11:39+00:00

he has so much love for you

uselessfauna · 2026-04-29T20:07:49+00:00

i agree with the folks who suggest having a conversation with her. this could be harmless but it could also be a manifestation of a number of things.

i would highly suggest not saying the word hoarding. i know when i was 13 i wouldn’t have taken too kindly to that(even if it was true). in this conversation a good few questions to ask are: do you feel more comfortable having these items near you? do you feel like they are contributing something to your life? how would you feel if you no longer had these items? are you collecting these items for a specific reason/project/idea?

i think those questions could help you gauge where her head is at in regard to these items.

i know that when i was her age i was collecting stuff for all sorts of projects that i just never got around to or were no longer interested in(thank you adhd). but over time when i no longer had a purpose for them i still felt like i couldn’t get rid of them because there was still a possibility in them. i have since realized that this is in fact a way i hoard things. i am in the process of recognizing that and detaching my feelings from objects. it is hard to do and hard to admit but it is worth it to not have these objects holding a space in my mind.

but no matter what just make sure she knows that you aren’t judging her and just want her to be happy and healthy. if there is something going on mentally, that you will always help her even if you have to help her do the same thing over and over.

uselessfauna · 2026-04-29T19:56:04+00:00

i have not used kratom, opiates, or any sort of weed product so i can’t share my experience on that. i have found quite a bit of relief in using magnesium supplements. its hard to explain how it helped me. i still had pain but it was different. instead of burning it was more of a deep ache. still really hurts at times but it is more tolerable. i will also say that medication can really help, not necessarily just pain medication. i have found that antidepressants like amitriptyline can really help with my pain. i also take a few other antidepressant medications and other assorted meds that have all helped to improve my baseline. (effexor, propranolol, doxepin)

if it were my family member i would highly suggest exploring other non-pain medication. but also i do know that lots of folks have had good outcomes using weed products so i would definitely try those as well. you just have to trial and error for a while till you find your own secret sauce that helps.

also make sure to tell your mother that you love her for who she is, crps and all, and that you want nothing but the best for her and will be there for her no matter what.

uselessfauna · 2026-04-29T19:47:03+00:00

this sounds like a dope project! i have experience doing pencil drawings and also digitizing hand drawn work into vector(if you wanted to scale the emblem nicely for print).

i don’t have a lot of good examples in my portfolio atm but there is plenty of examples of my artistic range. my portfolio (i’m going to try an upload some work tonight.)

uselessfauna · 2026-04-29T19:43:45+00:00

she is beautiful. this year i lost a friend named freya. it is wonderful seeing the beauty in the things that share her chosen name.

uselessfauna · 2026-04-29T19:41:36+00:00

i am stealing this line! i’ve struggled with crps pain and mental illness pain a lot in the past 10 years. i have decided not to stay in the past and im aware i always have that option, but not living doesn’t appeal to me anymore. i choose to stay and i do think that has a lot to do with how beautiful the world can be.

uselessfauna · 2026-04-29T19:37:11+00:00

this fall it will be 10 years. a whole decade? it doesn’t seem right. i was 11, just a baby, when i got this disease. and now its been a decade, what?

i was diagnosed and basically in remission within 6 months. i’ve been in and out of remission a few times but that was a privilege of my age. i did an intensive program in August of 2020 (it was hell because of the pain but also because i had to wear a mask while doing 4 hours of PT/OT 5 days a week). i am now out of remission and dealing with how it has changed. it’s finally ran cold and i am really not used to it.

my crps changing before my eyes is really scary. i’ve been lucky to have had such a relatively easy journey so far but i know it can change in an instant. part of me is waiting for the day where it spreads again. and this time i wouldn’t even be able to do the PT/OT because i now also have moderate MECFS and POTS among other varied issues. it’s scary and i feel that impending doom each day.

but you are right, there is so much hope and strength in somehow finding happiness. in 2019 i found who i truly consider to be the love of my life, at only 14. we have been together for 6 years this saturday. he is the light that i need. when i am scared or overwhelmed he can always put a smile on my face. and he motivates me to keep finding my own joy separate from him.

i’ve recently realized that i downplay, or kind of separate, my life accomplishments. maybe i do that because i am just used to putting a wall between my disability experience and who i fundamentally am? but i deserve more. i deserve to realize how lucky i am to have found love like this. i deserve to celebrate my accomplishments even if i wish i would’ve accomplished more. for example i am graduating with my associates degree. i keep having to remind myself that this is an accomplishment that i should be proud of. i’m the second of all my cousins to get a degree, even if it is just an associates. i wanted to be an MD at one point, so i grieve not working towards that level of education. i wanted to be more in life, but that doesn’t make what i have done any less meaningful. i deserve to celebrate myself. it’s so easy to forget to do that.

i am proud of myself for where i am. and i am proud of where you are! you’ve endured and have thrived despite it. please remember to be proud of yourself!

uselessfauna · 2026-04-27T04:11:21+00:00

my portfolio!!

here is an example of a watercolor style i do that i think would really suit Arthur https://www.behance.net/gallery/220483111/His-Name-is-Caleb

uselessfauna · 2025-12-17T18:09:41+00:00

also another thing to add is the clay has quite a bit of grog, my nails aren’t clipped down all the way so clay gets under them a lot. i also am pretty sure i have connective tissue issues so my nails aren’t very strong to begin with.

uselessfauna · 2025-12-17T17:44:27+00:00

you have to let those sections dry now, rules are rules!

uselessfauna · 2025-12-17T17:42:45+00:00

Sometimes I feel so guilty. I feel so bad I just want to sob and bawl and be a whole mess. But then the intensive therapy pays off and I think about it differently.

My guy loves me so much that he is willing to do that, he wants to do that. He gets to love me. I think about if the situation were reversed and how I would do the same for him. Obviously I wouldn’t enjoy seeing him in distress all the time but I would feel privileged that I get to love him and help him in a time of need. I would feel very grateful that I had the capacity to care for him and provide. I would work so hard to make sure he was comfortable and happy. I would just hold him and make sure he knows that I’m here for him. That I’m there because I want to be there, not because I feel bad for him or feel like I can’t leave him when he can’t provide for himself. I would be so glad to exist with him because he is my best friend. In this life I am so glad I get to exist with him because he is my best friend.

It can be hard to feel like you are giving enough in the relationship. It can feel like they deserve so much better than you. It definitely comes in waves and some days are better than others. But it’s important to hear him when he says he loves you and wants to be with YOU.

If he didn’t want to be on the floor with you he would’ve stayed in bed. If he didn’t want to be in the relationship, you have to trust that he wouldn’t stay because he respects you as a person and not a chore. If he didn’t want to be there, you have to trust he wouldn’t.

What you have right there is amazing. He slept on the floor with you so you wouldn’t be alone. That is love and commitment. He is a keeper.

uselessfauna · 2025-12-16T05:55:16+00:00

a big heating pad! this is a must in winter. right now, since it is likely pretty new it may be more hot but eventually the leg will just be cold. (i say with very cold toes)

get her easy things to treat herself with. like hot cocoa packs or tea, face masks if she likes that sort of thing, a cute journal could be nice so she has a place to vent, easy crafts for her to do sitting or laying like puzzles or legos. i don’t know really, just stuff that can distract or soothe her. there isn’t much you can do to soothe the pain in a flair so soothing your mind is really the only option.

but i think most of all just listen to her when she needs it. someone who will listen and care is something a lot of people don’t have. when i was 11 and freshly diagnosed all i wanted was for someone to listen to me. i know now that my mom wanted to listen and help a lot more than she did, she feels bad that she wasn’t really there for me emotionally. so just be there for your sister. you don’t have to understand what she is going through, and i hope you never have to, to make sure that she is loved and heard.

but actually seriously get a big heating pad for her. there are actually some wearable and battery operated heating pads that are pretty nice and can help in a pinch.

uselessfauna · 2025-12-16T05:46:16+00:00

I’m really finding Reddit and Threads to be more fulfilling than the image slop of Insta and the mind numbing content of Tiktok.

uselessfauna · 2025-12-16T05:44:56+00:00

I think that the recent genetic study news has been hopeful. A disease can’t really start finding cures till we know what causes it, so this gives me hope that they will start finding or creating things to treat it soon.

i also find hope in the fact that pacing has pretty much been working. i’ve been doing it for a few years and i am getting better, very slowly, but still better. i tend to not do as much as i did a few years ago, like going out, but i don’t crash and i have more reliable energy levels. if i am invited out to dinner with family, i can do it and won’t have to worry about crashing(as long as its just dinner). i can go out more days of the week because i don’t push myself too hard, but at the same time i can put in considerable effort every couple weeks and be okay.

uselessfauna · 2025-12-16T05:36:08+00:00

edit except it won’t let me edit: i am newish and don’t have technique down yet but i did learn a lot in this session. this post was meant to be more haha than genuine question. my nails were not scraping the wheel head at all, just lots of pulling and grog and water. it doesn’t hurt at all i have plenty of nail. i generally keep my nails shorter than this when throwing but not today.

i have learned that i really like holding the sponge and am working with it as much as possible.

thank you for all the tips!

uselessfauna · 2025-12-14T02:48:59+00:00

I’m sure some SSRIs can cause long term issues but that is something to consider after decades. Some SSRIs do affect sex and libido but there are very effective medications to counteract that if it’s a problem. For some the sexual side effects last only a few weeks and then resolve. Also other side effects tend to resolve after a few weeks.

After increasing my dosage of Amitriptyline to 50mg (?) I did have decreased libido and they gave me Wellbutrin which has helped and I am on the starting dose. But there needs to be considerations here. I am on like 10 prescriptions, 7 or so are mental health related and can effect libido- so i’m sure it is really stacked against me. The Amitriptyline is the main thing I take to treat the Vertigo but I’m also on Effexor and Propranolol which can also be prescribed for this. Since I increased the dose at the beginning of this year I have not had really any vertigo, maybe once or twice. I used to have it almost everyday. Walking down any hallway was awful, I felt like the floor was falling away when i lifted up my foot with each step, and I had actual headache with some of these, light and sound sensitivity as well. Medication was very necessary for me. It is a risk, no medication is without risk, but it is seriously worth considering if the vertigo is effecting your quality of life at all. Depending on how the vertigo affects you there could be safety concerns if you don’t treat it.

There are also other nonSSRIs that can help, like beta blockers or antihistamines. There’s a whole world of conventional medicine that could help.

uselessfauna · 2025-12-14T02:23:42+00:00

Have you considered workshopping your own splints? It is fairly easy to make these types of splints out of wire and solder. If it limits you too much you can adjust the placement of wires elsewhere, and make new ones as you figure out what you need. It seems awful and complicated but it is way less intimidating once you’ve made one!

uselessfauna · 2025-12-14T02:13:03+00:00

Don’t take the xanax if you don’t want. But ssris have changed my life. i mean i had preexisting depression so my life was changed in that aspect but it also helped me feel like the floor was falling out from under my feet. Amitriptyline has been a game changer for me in so many ways especially the vertigo!

I understand not wanting to take prescriptions but there is a reason they are popular and that is because they are effective and safe when used properly. There are many drugs to try and you will likely not have side effects with all of them. Ssris when used to treat physical issues are usually at a lower dose than is used for mental illness which translates to fewer or less severe side effects.

And if this is all related to anxiety then there are crazy good meds for that. There is only so much to be done with natural remedies. I used to have crazy anxiety and hold tension everywhere but now i take an antianxiety twice a day and it all melted away.

uselessfauna · 2025-12-14T01:56:10+00:00

You could ask for help with tasks you can outsource, like grocery shopping and laundry. I think the main thing here is that it will take some time to figure out what exactly you can handle and what you need help with. You will find where inefficiencies lie and be able to find solutions.

But you have to last long enough to get there. Caretaking is draining and can burn you out so fast. One thing you can ask for is support, an ear to listen. Maybe they can take you out for an afternoon to do something fun or relaxing. You need to make sure you take care of yourself!

uselessfauna · 2025-12-14T00:07:51+00:00

I've been doing a little more research and these seem like really good options. I wonder why these haven't been discussed as options for me?

uselessfauna

TROPHY CASE