persianmom-deactivated20251026:

up at 3am googling how do i break out of a repetitive cycle that both comforts and harms me

(via bicreature)

rizaoftheowls:

kayvsworld:

my body, tearfully: when sleep???

me: my dude we just woke up!! It’s time for wakefulness and doing things and Productivity

my body, weeping: but???? when sleep?????

me: okay, finally now is sleep

my body: no. wrong.

(via ginevra17)

iatrophilosophos:

iatrophilosophos:

One of the things that it would be nice for me if more people understood is that the way most people speak about The Past, Generally, and about medical history, specifically, is incredibly biased by the stories which people chose to tell.

This is a known methodological issue with anthropology generally and medical anthropology specifically. If you ask people to tell you stories, hell, even just look at what people bothered to write down, you will get data skewed towards what is most interesting. Things stick out when they are RARE or exceptionally strange/gruesome.

If you already have a pretty dim view of the people in question or of the subject matter (“olden times Stupid” “medicine Yucky”), you will be further drawn to the most compellingly lurid facts.

Medical history is full of gross Yucky stories that are interesting and sexy. It’s also very, very full of “we gave a sick person a lot of vitamin c and water and micronutrients and love, and they got better” and “someone got really weirdly sick so we made sure everyone caring for them had a lot of fresh air and cleaned their hands and clothes with agents like vinegar and antimicrobial volatile oils, Because You Don’t Need To Have Germ Theory To Observe Transmission” and “the monestary doctor wanted to do something really fucking weird to me from his old books so I fucked off and packed my wound with yarrow and im good now 👍”. When you actually take a view of the banalities of medical history you start to notice Some Shit about under what conditions the ugly stuff usually happens.

+ you fundementally cannot trust ~content creators~ who are trying to GET VIEWS to give you an actually rounded perspective on any topic + medical licenses =/= medical history scholarship (DIFFERENT! FIELDS!)

Similarly its worth noting that medical professionals, who theoretically know what the term “selection bias” means, are perhaps the singular worst source on outcomes for DIY and “alternative” medical interventions.

Which is not to say that a good understanding of outcomes isnt a big issue in outsider medical fields or that some products and schools of thought on the market have pretty horrible results that are worth looking into.

However, if you work in a hospital, and are not exposed to much non-industrial-western medicine outside of work, you are ONLY going to see people who WENT TO THE HOSPITAL! This might give a view of SOME worst-case scenarios but you will simply never have an opportunity to see anything else.

(via butchfeygela)

molsno:

molsno:

the fact that estrogen can just make the penis act like a clitoris will never fail to impress me because it shows just how much of an effect hormones have on our bodies. however the fact that hardly anyone talks about this and instead expects all girl dick to act like cis guy dick is very bleak. it’s also exactly in line with how misogyny demands the mystification women’s genitals and bodies in order to strip women of their own autonomy and subjectivity more generally, because that’s exactly what it is. you aren’t supposed to acknowledge the biological realities of transfeminine bodies, because in order to benefit from transmisogyny you must deny us our humanity by living in ignorance about us and casting us strictly into the realm of “sex object”

ALT

I don’t recommend asking about trans women’s genitals unprompted for obvious reasons, but it seems like you’re asking in good faith on a post lamenting TME people’s ignorance on this subject, so I don’t mind elaborating. be aware that I’m not a biologist and most of this information is anecdotal because there are very few (if any) studies about the effects of HRT on genitalia. if anyone knows of such studies, please let me know. for now, most of the information I’m about to share comes from personal experience, things I’ve heard from other transfems, and the gender dysphoria bible’s section on genital changes from feminizing HRT

all human genitalia are made of the same tissues, but hormones influence how they’re configured during gestation, and how they behave thereafter. so, if you replace testosterone with estrogen in the body of someone with a penis, that penis is going to start behaving differently. what I’m about to describe are generalizations, and you shouldn’t assume any given transfeminine penis is going to act exactly how I describe. any number of factors can influence to what degree it changes and what specific changes occur, but some change is inevitable

in general, the penis and testes shrink in size. the skin on the glans and shaft becomes thinner and more fragile, which can make it painful to stroke and penetrate. erections can feel more concentrated in the glans (analogous to the clitoris), which becomes more sensitive to touch. this often also means that vibrating is more pleasurable than other forms of stimulation. erections also become less common in general, and without regular stimulation, erectile tissue can atrophy, which makes erections more painful when they do happen

when aroused, the penis will often self-lubricate the way a vagina would. during orgasm, ejaculation either doesn’t happen, or the only thing that comes out is a slimy, completely clear fluid. also, it becomes possible to orgasm multiple times in a row with little or no refractory period

I haven’t seen much discussion on this topic until recently, but several trans women I know have reported the bladder becoming weaker, which sometimes results in urine leakage, a problem that seems to affect women more often than men

again, I feel the need to emphasize that every body is different, and how genitals behave and respond to stimulation can change over time. please don’t assume that every single possible change I’ve described will happen to every feminized penis at the same time or to the same extent. the point of this post is to highlight how transfems are denied sexual autonomy and subjectivity, so the best way to interact with a trans woman’s genitals is to ask her what she finds pleasurable, and negotiate with her to do something that satisfies all involved parties

(via certifiedsexed)

memories-of-ancients:

Jan de Doot posing with the bladder stone he surgically removed from himself in 1651

emeraldincandescent:

Post on my dash about medical debt reminded me of the time tumblr saved me two grand. I don’t think I told y'all about it because I am out of the habit of posting everything I do on tumblr lol

So. Last December, I had a bad cavity filled, and about a week later, I woke up with half of my face paralyzed. Which, as I’m sure you can imagine, freaked me the fuck out. Fortunately I had some level-headed Discord friends who a) told me what Bell’s palsy was so I could look it up and b) reminded me to call my dentist for an emergency appointment. Dentist was also pretty sure it was Bell’s palsy, but urged me to go to the emergency room to get checked out, because one-sided facial paralysis is also a possible indicator of a stroke. And you don’t fuck around with strokes.

Bell’s palsy, if you, like me of 6 months ago, don’t know, is a harmless paralysis/muscle weakness on one side of the face that can be caused by a variety of things. It usually goes away on its own after a few weeks but also you can speed up the process with steroids.

I was pretty sure I was not having a stroke, because I’m Red Cross first aid certified and I know the symptoms of a stroke, and while one-sided facial paralysis is one of them, I didn’t have any of the others. Also, I had quit my shitty job in October, which meant I had a shiny new marketplace health insurance plan and hadn’t even touched my deductible. But I called my parents from the car and they urged me to get checked out and promised to help me pay off the emergency room bill if I needed it, because they’re good people and they love me even if they drive me crazy sometimes. So off I went to the nearest emergency room.

Emergency room staff also didn’t think I was having a stroke, because I waited ALL AFTERNOON, periodically having a new person come up to me and ask me to smile, hold both arms out to the side, press down on their hands, and tell them what month and year it was. (They don’t ask who the president is anymore. Hmm, I wonder why.) One guy had me drink a cup of water while he watched. I cannot stress enough that I did not have any medical tests other than a physical examination: no CT scans or MRIs, no IV drugs or blood draws, nothing.

I get diagnosed with Bell’s palsy and given a prescription for Prednisone. And then they give me a phone number and tell me to talk to this person about administrative stuff. So I call, and the dude on the phone verifies my name and date of birth and insurance information, and then he says, “It looks like your copay today is going to be $2400. How would you like to pay?”

I am, to this day, kind of impressed that he didn’t even stutter over that number, but I assume working in a medical call center drains your entire soul. At this point, it’s about 7pm, and I’ve been in the hospital since 2pm, and I’m stressed because half my face doesn’t work, and I know that I can’t afford $2400 because I quit my shitty job with nothing lined up back in October. But, I still remember every tumblr post I’ve ever read about health insurance and the medical system and how you can negotiate down a bill. I am not looking forward to this process, it sounds like a pain in the ass, but the alternative is paying $2400, so I say the magic words: “Send me an itemized bill.”

I kinda expected the guy to try and get me to pay up front, but he just says “Ok” and finishes up the process. I get discharged, go to the only open pharmacy at that time of night to get my Prednisone, have the pharmacist tell me the prescription isn’t written right and he can’t fill it, go home, and have a screaming sobbing meltdown because I have used up every single milligram of cope in my entire body. (I got my steroids eventually, and the Bell’s palsy cleared up in a couple weeks.)

A few weeks later, I get the bill in the mail. I brace myself and open it…

$300.

Turns out, after going through insurance and processing and everything, they couldn’t actually find $2400 worth of stuff to charge me for. Shocking! Who could have predicted!

I might have been able to argue it down even more, but I was fed up with entire thing, so I paid the $300 just to be fucking done with it. Sometimes the cheapest way to pay is with money.

What if I had paid that $2400 up front? Do I think they would have been like, “Oh, oops!” and refunded me $2k? Well, possibly, but I am not optimistic.

So, thank you to everyone who has ever posted about navigating the US healthcare system on tumblr. Because of you, I knew how to handle this situation even when I was tired and stressed.

Don’t forget to ask for an itemized bill, folks.

(via cbrownjc)

intersex-support:

Intersex Support FAQ

1. What is intersex?

Intersex is an umbrella term that describes people who have variations in sex characteristics that fall outside of the sex binary. This includes variations in genitals, internal reproductive organs like testes and ovaries, chromosomes, secondary sex characteristics, and/or the way that your body produces or responds to hormones. Some examples of intersex variations include AIS, CAH, PCOS, Klinefelters, hypospadias, and more. 

The three main factors that define intersex variations are: 

• Variation in sex characteristics 
• The variation falls outside of the sex binary and is different from what is considered typical “male” or “female” development. These variations in traits might often be stigmatized and discriminated against for being outside of the sex binary.
• This variation is either present from birth or develops spontaneously later in life. It is not caused by transitioning or by something temporary like a medication side effect, tumor, or other medical diagnosis. 

(This definition is inspired by InterACT).

2. Does ____ count as intersex? 

There are around 40 different intersex variations that are currently known. InterACT”s intersex variation glossary lists out those intersex variations and gives a brief description of each one.

However, we know that isn’t a complete list. People have intersex variations that haven’t been medically researched yet, or might have a rare variation that the intersex community isn’t aware of yet. 

There are also some variations that might seem on the border between perisex and intersex. Some types of hormonal or reproductive diagnoses might not have a clear answer on whether they’re intersex or not. 

Ultimately,  intersex is a social/political identity rather than a strictly medical one. Increased research and changing social attitudes can cause the definition of intersex to expand over time. Regardless of whether someone has a confirmed intersex variation or an “intersex adjacent” diagnosis, if intersex resources are helpful to you, we hope that you continue to use them and act in solidarity with the intersex community. 

On this blog, we do include PCOS with hyperandrogenism as part of the intersex community. Check out our PCOS tag for more posts about our reasoning, and PCOS specific resources.

3. Am I intersex?

We cannot diagnose you with an intersex variation over the internet. We can share resources such as the intersex variations glossary, share tips for navigating the medical system, and share information on other non-clinical signs of being intersex. 

Some questions to ask yourself that can help you start the process of intersex discovery:

• What do my sex traits (genitalia, secondary sex characteristics, hormone levels, etc) look like? Does this seem like it lines up with the “typical” descriptions of those sex traits? 
• Do I have any information about my birth? Were there any complications? Did doctors do extra testing at birth? Did doctors take me away from my parents for long periods of time? Did it take me longer to have my sex assigned at birth?
• What was puberty like for me? Did I have early or late puberty? Did I have to go on hormones to start puberty? Did I have any variations in puberty, such as unexpected breast growth, irregular periods, or other changes? Did I go through puberty at all?
• If you’ve tried to have children, are you infertile or struggling with fertility?
• Did I have any unexplained surgeries or medical procedures as a child? Was I ever told I had to have organs removed and was told it was because of a cancer risk? Did I have to be on specific medications or hormones throughout my childhood? Did I have to go see a doctor more frequently? Did I go to an endocrinologist or pediatric urologist as a child? 
• Do I have surgery scars or scar tissue? Do I have more frequent UTIs than typical?
• Do I have access to my medical records? Is there records of hormone panels, ultrasounds, physical exams, surgeries, or other medical procedures? 

This kind of information can help you start to piece together if you think you might have an intersex variation, or if you think your intersex variation was hidden from you. 

If you’re sending in an ask trying to figure out if your symptoms line up with a specific intersex variation, please share as much information as you’re comfortable with so that we can answer with the most helpful resources. 

4. Can I self diagnose as intersex? 

It’s complicated! Intersex is different from other LGBTQIA identities, in that it’s not only about self determination, but also about our embodied experience in a very specific way. In order to be intersex, you have to have an intersex variation. And there are many intersex variations that can only be confirmed through medical testing, so it’s not something that is easy to self-diagnose.

However, we recognize that the medical system is expensive, discriminatory, and often actively hides information about people’s intersex variations from them. (it wasn’t even until 2006 that the AAP stopped recommending that doctors lie to their patients about intersex status, so many intersex adults were born before that policy change!) Considering all that we know about intersex oppression, curative violence, and medical abuse, it feels incredibly cruel to tell people that they have to force themself through that system in order to seek answers. 

So, we understand that there are ways of finding out that you are intersex without having a specific, confirmed, medical diagnosis. Many of us might find out that we’re intersex because we realize that our genitalia visibly looks different, and we can tell that we are intersex, even if we don’t know our specific diagnosis. Others might find out that we’re intersex because of strange discrepancies in our medical record. We might find out through discovering surgery scars on our body. We might go through puberty and realize that we’re developing in an atypical way to our peers. We might do a lot of research into intersex variations and have a pretty good guess into what variation lines up with our experiences. We might have some test results that help us understand we have intersex traits, even if we don’t know our specific diagnosis.  

Before self diagnosing, we think it’s important to do thorough research into intersex variations, so that you truly understand what intersex means, what intersex variations exist, and understand how that information applies to yourself. It’s also important to be considerate of how we interact in community spaces, and respect other intersex people’s boundaries as you engage in a questioning or diagnosis process. 

5.  Are intersex people trans?

Some intersex people are trans, and some aren’t. Most intersex people are still assigned a gender at birth, and many intersex people who are raised as one gender and then later identify as another gender identify with the label trans. Intersex people can be cis or trans just like any other group of people. 

Many intersex people have complicated relationships with gender, and don’t feel like labels like cis or trans really fit their experiences. For this reason, terms like intergender and ipsogender were coined.

6. Are intersex people LGBTQIA?

It’s complicated! The “I” in LGBTQIA stands for intersex. Intersex history is intertwined with other parts of queer history. For example, the very first protest for intersex people in the United States was organized by Hermaphrodites with Attitude and Transexual Menace. There are intersex inclusive versions of community pride flags. Many intersex people view their intersex identity as a queer identity. Intersex oppression overlaps in many ways with homophobia and transphobia. 

However, not all intersex people think that intersex should be included in the LGBTQIA community. Sometimes this is for bigoted reasons, with intersex radfems who use this stance as a way to be transphobic. But there are also intersex people who think that the “I” should only be included in the acronym when intersex people are actually meaningfully being included in queer spaces and resources. Many of us feel frustrated when people put “LGBTQIA” on a resource but then don’t actually have any intersex specific information in those resources. 

In general, this is an ongoing intracommunity discussion where we don’t have a consensus. 

7. Are intersex people disabled? 

It’s complicated! Intersex is an umbrella term for many different experiences, and there is not one universal intersex experience. Some intersex people identify as disabled. Some intersex people do not.

Many intersex variations do cause disabling impacts in our bodies and lives. Some intersex variations are comorbid with other health conditions. Other intersex people become disabled because of violent normalizing interventions we’ve survived, such as forced surgery or other types of medical abuse. 

Intersex people are also impacted by many of the same structures of oppression that harm disabled people. Both intersex people and disabled people are harmed by ableism. Both intersex people and disabled people are harmed by pathologization. Both intersex people and disabled people are harmed by curative violence. 

In the book Cripping Intersex, Celeste Orr explores all these concepts and creates something called “intersex is/and/as/with disability,” which is a model to think about all these different and sometimes conflicting relationships with disability. Some intersex people might identify directly as disabled. Others might sometimes think about the way that intersex is treated as a disability. Other intersex people might think about intersex and disability as a way to have solidarity. All of these relationships with disability are meaningful parts of the intersex community. 

8. What is intersex oppression/intersexism/interphobia/compulsory dyadism? 

Intersex people face a lot of oppression in many ways in society. At the core, intersex oppression relies on the idea that the only acceptable sex traits are sex traits that fit into the sex binary. Intersex oppression relies on mythical ideas of the “ideal male or female” body, where someone’s chromosomes perfectly line up with their genitalia and internal reproductive organs, with perfectly normal hormone levels and perfect secondary sex characteristics that don’t have any variation. When people don’t fit into that “perfect” sex binary, they are seen as less valuable, abnormal, and threatening. There is then a societal pressure to eradicate any traits and people that fall outside of the sex binary, which causes a lot of targeted discrimination of intersex people. This form of oppression is called “compulsory dyadism,” and was coined by Celeste Orr. 

Compulsory dyadism is also rooted in, overlaps with, and is the foundation for many other types of oppression. For example, ableism is another form of oppression that creates ways of harming people whose bodies and minds are labeled as less valuable for societally constructed reasons. Check out Talila Lewis’s definition of ableism for more information. Another example is how racialized people are targeted by sex testing policies in sports–both intersex and perisex women of color are consistently targeted by sex testing policies designed to exclude intersex people from sports. Another example is that homophobia and transphobia contribute to why intersex bodies are seen as threats that need to be eradicated–society views existing with intersex sex traits as a slippery slope to growing up as a gay or trans adult. Compulsory dyadism is also at the root of a lot of transphobic rhetoric about how transitioning “ruins” people’s bodies. All these forms of oppression are connected. 

There are a lot of ways that compulsory dyadism causes intersex people to be targeted and discriminated against. A huge issue is nonconsensual surgeries at birth, that attempt to “normalize” ambiguous genitalia, remove intersex people’s gonads, and otherwise alter genitalia or internal structures. These surgeries are often referred to as intersex genital mutilation, or IGM. These surgeries do not have any medical necessity, but doctors lobby to continue to be allowed to perform them anyway. These surgeries can sterilize intersex people, cause lifelong trauma, and also cause many disabling medical complications. Alongside IGM, intersex people also face a lot of different types of medical abuse. 

Besides curative violence and medical abuse, intersex people also face discrimination in our schools, jobs, and public places. We face legal discrimination in changing our names and sex markers. We face discrimination from institutions like CPS, which often target parents, especially people of color, that refuse to put their children through intersex genital mutilation. Many intersex people survive targeted sexual violence. We have a widespread lack of resources, visibility, and representation. Many people still have prejudiced ideas about intersex people and call us slurs. These are just a few examples of the many way that interphobia/intersexism show up in our lives. 

9. What is intersex justice? 

Intersex justice is a framework created by intersex activists through the Intersex Justice Project as a way to fight for intersex liberation. 

“Intersex justice is a decolonizing framework that affirms the labor of intersex people of color fighting for change across social justice movements. By definition, intersex justice affirms bodily integrity and bodily autonomy as the practice of liberation. Intersex justice is intrinsically tied to justice movements that center race, ability, gender identity & expression, migrant status, and access to sexual & reproductive healthcare. Intersex justice articulates a commitment to these movements as central to its intersectional analysis and praxis. Intersex justice acknowledges the trauma caused by medically unnecessary and nonconsensual cosmetic genital surgeries and addresses the culture of shame, silence and stigma surrounding intersex variations that perpetuate further harm.

The marginalization of intersex people is rooted in colonization and white supremacy. Colonization created a taxonomy of human bodies that privileged typical white male and female bodies, prescribing a gender binary that would ultimately harm atypical black and indigenous bodies. As part of a liberation movement, intersex activists challenge not only the medical establishment, which is often the initial site of harm, but also governments, institutions, legal structures, and sociocultural norms that exclude intersex people. Intersex people should be allowed complete and uninhibited access to obtaining identity documents, exercising their birth and adoption rights, receiving unbiased healthcare, and securing education and employment opportunities that are free from harm and harassment.” (Source: Dr. Mel Michelle Lewis through the Intersex Justice Project.)

There are seven principles to intersex justice: 

Informed consent

Reparations

Legal protections

Accountability

Language

Children’s rights

Patient-centered healthcare

10. What is intergender? 

Intergender is a gender identity for use by intersex people only. It doesn’t have one specific definition-it is used by intersex people to mean a whole variety of things. It’s used to describe the unique ways our intersex experience intersects with and influences our gender.  Some people use it as a modifying term, such as calling themselves an intergender man or woman, as a way to explain the way being intersex affects their identity. Other people identify solely as intergender, and have that be their whole gender. 

11. What is dyadic/perisex/endosex? 

All are words that mean “not intersex.” Different groups will have different preferences on which one they like to use. 

12. Is hermaphrodite an offensive term? 

Yes. It is an incredibly offensive slur that perisex people should never say. Many intersex people have a very painful history with the slur. Some of us reclaim the term, which can be an important act of healing and celebration for us.

12. Can perisex people follow? 

Feel free, but understand that questions by intersex people are prioritized! Anyone is welcome to follow.

13. I’m writing a character who’s intersex…

Check out this post:  https://trans-axolotl.tumblr.com/post/188153640308/intersex-representation. If you’re writing about intersex people for a paid project, you should pay an intersex person to act as a sensitivity reader before publishing. 

Check out our Resources and Intersex Organizations pages as well!

(via certifiedsexed)

Anonymous asked:

You can catch herpes without having ever done anything???? okay now I'm literally so scared bc I've had these weird mostly painless bumps on my vagina for literal years that come and go. If I go to a doctor what could they do? Sorry for the panicked writing but oh my gosh I'm kind of terrified. I've never done anything.

roseintherainforest:

certifiedsexed:

tucsonhorse:

certifiedsexed:

Without having done anything sexual, is what I said specifically, but yeah. That’s the case with quite a few STI/Ds because they spread through bodily fluid, which includes saliva and blood!

Herpes is most commonly spread through sexual activity, as far as we know, but there are other ways too. Like kissing, touching someone else’s cold sore (and then touching your mouth/genitals/anus) or even, though this is very rare, sharing things that involve saliva with someone who has herpes, even asymptomatic herpes.

As for whether those bumps are herpes, it could be. It’s rarer for someone to have genital herpes without sexual activity with others but you can catch oral herpes and then give yourself genital herpes.

(I’d check this out for more information on catching and dealing with herpes, if you’re interested, Anon!)

Also, the bumps that herpes cause are blisters and usually painful. They usually have fluid in them as well!

As for going to a doctor, they can test you (though some think herpes is so common they don’t need to if the sores you have match herpes sores), they can offer you medicines and tips to help with the sores if you actually have herpes.

But its not a death sentence or anything. Herpes is permanent, yes, in the same way chicken pox is permanent but it won’t kill you and if you’re already dealing with pretty minor symptoms, its not likely to get worse.

Yes, it’s something you should mention before having physical sex with others but it also doesn’t mean you can’t have sex.

Hopefully this helps? Let me know if you have any other questions, Anon!

There are also other things the bumps could be! Which makes it even more worth it to see a doctor.

I have had painless bumps that come and go on my vulva before and they have been pimples/clogged pores. It’s an area that gets sweaty and has lots of potential irritations, even more so if you wax or shave, so there are a number of things it could be.

As always, it’s best to ask a medical professional ☺️

So true! It can even be cysts! There are a lot of options.

Also anon, when you say vagina, do you mean your vulva (external genitalia) in general, or specifically labia?

If the bumps are firm, tiny, and mostly on the labia minora (the smaller, wetter, inner flesh flaps), there’s a good chance they’re just fordyce spots! Fordyce spots are benign enlarged oil glands, and they’re pretty harmless.

As everyone else has said though, if you’re concerned, speak to your GP or gynaecologist. I promise they won’t think it’s a stupid question. A big part of their jobs is educating patients on what’s normal & not normal. Bodies are weird and confusing, and they’re there to help.

Also, if you want a good reference for the wide range of normal vulva appearances, I would highly recommend checking out The Labia Library, which has an educational image gallery (warning: it contains photographs of actual vulvas). They also have recommended resources for references on what various skin conditions look like on the vulva.

airmetsierra:

Tumblr is now giving me ads for trepanning

(via monsterboyfriend-deactivated202)

chronicillnesshumor-deactivated:

I don’t think my body realizes how healthy my labs say I am

(via mareebird)

plaguedocboi:

I got stung by a jellyfish today and it didn’t feel at all how I expected. I thought it would be similar to a wasp; an initial sharp stabbing pain that faded gradually. But instead I barely felt it at first, and then it turned into an itching, and gradually intensified into a deep burn over several minutes. I was very surprised by how unusual it was.

I started thinking about it and that actually kind of makes sense. A bee or wasp uses its sting defensively. It’s supposed to hurt right away, to tell whatever is bothering it to Fuck Off. But a jellyfish isn’t defending itself, it’s hunting. And once something is tangled in its tentacles, it’s already done for. The venom doesn’t need to have an initial punch of pain, it can take its time. The prey isn’t going anywhere. Obviously this depends on species but yeah it does make sense that jellyfish stings feel very different than wasp stings.

The sheer diversity of ways that animals can hurt you is beautiful and astounding.

jamierthanyou:

(guy who literally has easy access to painkillers voice) ough,,, everything aches,,, ouch, if only,,, there was something i could do to stop this,,,,,, guess ill just put up with it,,,,

(via butchfeygela)

covington-shenanigans:

couriers-mile:

derinthescarletpescatarian:

crippled-peeper:

if you’re a baby trans and you haven’t started smoking cigarettes or vaping yet don’t. it’s actually not that hot or interesting. It will just cause you ungodly frustrations and suffering and cost you a bunch of money and be next to impossible to quit

Also nicotine fucks up your circulation and depending on your general health, your doctors, and what specifically you want done, it can complicate or disqualify you from some surgeries until you quit, because smoking while healing (which takes a long time) can harm you. So it you think you might want delicate surgery someday, taking up a nicotine habit is shooting yourself in the foot.

This is entirely a subjective take but I’m gonna tack it on because it’s the line of thinking that helped me finally quit after a pack a day for over 10 years (started at 19):

the cigarette company is your fucking enemy.

the cigarette company is a soulless corporation that wants you to be hopelessly addicted to a product that does nothing but kill you, but slowly enough that they can wring a meal’s worth of money out of you every day that you could have spent on something more vital to your existence and happiness, but you won’t, because if you have $10 in your pocket that’s cigarette money before it can be anything else.

No one gets anything out of this exchange but some dickweeds getting richer and making you sicker.

I tell this story to everyone who will listen, but I smoked Pall Mall menthols and for a while there I noticed a piece of paper stuck to the back of the pack under the plastic that I kept not reading.

I assumed it would just be like, “cigarettes are addictive and cause cancer” etc etc and that had never deterred me yet so I didn’t care. whenever people told me “those’ll kill you” I’d do a big sarcastic “oh my god why didn’t anyone ever tell me before?!” and take another drag.

One day I read the paper out of boredom. Paraphrased, it basically said “we were caught adding more nicotine to our products for the purpose of getting you more addicted and a judge ordered us to notify you so here you go.”

They stuck the glue on the text side and slapped it on the pack so some of the words would rip off if you ever actually read it.

Up to this point the company had been an incidental non-entity in the margins of an exchange between me and the gas station clerk. Suddenly they were a very real player in my life with a vested interest in destroying my health and wallet at the same time until I die.

I felt like the company had just looked me directly in the eye while giving me the finger. They said FUCK YOU, ADDICT, GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY AND THEN PERISH with their entire chest.

And I was paying them over $7 a day to kill me

That’s what made me mad enough to quit. And it still took me 2 years to actually achieve it.

I tried EVERYTHING. Nothing could make the cravings go away. Weaning yourself off is a joke, you never get to 0. I had to just stop cold turkey and suffer through it for a few months. And for a lot of that I wanted a cigarette every second of every day, until I didn’t anymore.

And the way I managed that was by realizing that buying cigarettes is something I had to actively go out of my way to do, and if I didn’t have any cigarettes I couldn’t smoke them. Ergo, all I had to do was NOT buy any cigarettes.

It hurt like a motherfucker but it was still immensely easier for me to stay off them when I framed it that way: Making it through another day required me to simply do nothing instead of something. I’ll take any excuse to do nothing, most of the time.

If nothing else, either quit smoking or choose not to start because fuck that fucking corporation

also, young baby trans person: if you ever want bottom surgery you will have to quit smoking anything for several months around your surgery, before and especially after. smoking fucks up your healing so severely that many surgeons will not perform bottom surgery on you if you’re smoking actively. just don’t start, it’s expensive and not worth it

(via lesmandposting)

ltwilliammowett:

Ship’s medicine chest, 19th century

(Source: invaluable.com, via literarydeor)

mythtakens:

drinking beverage. having to pee. drinking beverage. having to pee. what’s next? drinking beverage and then having to pee? fucking endless

(via mxjackparker)