Growing Up, My Mum Always Told Me, Whenever I Went To The Doctors Or Any Sort Of Health Professional,

growing up, my mum always told me, whenever i went to the doctors or any sort of health professional, that it was important that i told them that i was hypermobile. she'd done the tests with me (herself being hypermobile and disabled in large part because of it) and though she didn't know the details, she knew that hypermobility was important to have in my health record.

so it was to my great surprise and displeasure that, whenever i told doctors i was hypermobile, it was skipped over. never addressed, never touched on, not even a comment to belie what that meant for me. i myself didn't know the impact hypermobility could have on a person, but my mother had been insistent about that fact. it was important, so why did no one else seem to think so?

i grew up with kids in school who were on the extreme ends of hypermobility. i knew a boy in middle school who could put both feet behind his head. i knew a girl in high school with long, spindly fingers who showed me how far backwards her arm could bend.

both of them had health problems, which became more profound as they aged. i never knew the details, but it stuck out that they were hypermobile, and so was i, and with my own health declining there HAD to be a connection.

common knowledge gives the vague definition of hypermobility as extra stretchy muscles, of being double-jointed. it comes with warnings not to push your hypermobile body into the extremes. don't overextend, you will hurt yourself.

the warnings are warranted. the importance isn't overplayed. these things i knew, but i didn't know why. and without knowing why, they were warnings that i could never truly obey, despite how conservative i became with my movements in a vain attempt to protect what little ability i had left.

hypermobility is NOT stretchy muscles. muscles are supposed to stretch. in fact, it's important to their health (those conservative movements prolly hurt more than helped!). hypermobility affects connectives tissues, and lands under the umbrella of Ehlers-Danlos Sydromes (there are a few) which can range in severity from affecting skin and tendons to affecting blood vessels and organs.

severity is rare, and much easier to catch. this post is for the people who are "a little hypermobile" so that they can understand what makes their body different.

a muscle and its associated tendons are like a hammock. the muscle is the fabric you lie in, stretching to accomodate the load. tendons are the rope that attaches the fabric to the trees, providing a secure anchor for the muscle to operate.

so, what happens when the ropes on the hammock are also stretchy? well, you sit in the hammock and your ass hits the ground.

now imagine that the fabric of the hammock has the ability to clench like a muscle. a normal hammock doesn't need to work that hard to stop ass from meeting ground, because it has sturdy anchors. a hammock with stretchy rope, however, must exert several times more effort, because the more the muscle pulls, the more the tendons stretch.

in short, hypermobility forces your muscles to work harder, because they must first pass the threshold of stretch the tendons are capable of before it can actually do the task it's meant to do. the stretchier the tendons, the harder the muscle needs to clench, the easier it is to overwork.

this info reframed everything i was doing with my body. small tasks of strength required the effort of much larger tasks, and larger tasks ranged from extremely difficult to impossible. holding my arms up so i could work above my head required monumental effort. with an anatomical peculiarity of the feet, i needed to use several muscles in my calves and hips just to stand without losing balance.

so no fucking wonder i crashed and burned in my 20s, when everything i did took all of my strength to accomplish. no wonder i would contort myself out of shape, so flexible that i could anchor myself into extreme poses just to give my muscles a moment of relief, overstretching myself without ever realizing why, and what damage i could be doing.

so, some things to remember:

overextending isn't good for you, but it shouldn't be your biggest concern. instead, be aware of overexertion, both how LONG you are using a muscle without breaks and how HARD you are using it.

small, frequent breaks are your best friend if you need to do something for awhile.

when you take breaks, stretch the muscles you'd been using.

if you need to exert effort to maintain a pose (whether it's sitting, standing, etc) examine whether you need to be clenching those muscles, and why.

actually whenever you are using muscles, try to train yourself to use as few as possible. you can practice by sitting or standing, and relaxing as many muscles as you can before you tip over. finding a sense of balance can make your life so much easier.

become acquainted with what relaxed muscles feel like. chronic tension can distort your perception of this, and result in habitual tension.

so yeah. if you're hypermobile, that's important. don't let a doctor's dismissal make you think otherwise. take care of yourself and know what you are and aren't capable of.

Tags

reference hypermobility

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quandrixing

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quandrixing

8 months ago

It's so weird talking to people who's view of "here's the way life is for everyone" is shattered as soon as they talk to someone with disabilities (physical, mental illness, any). Like you'll say you'll have a problem and instead of helping you they'll argue with you about how you're not actually facing that problem. Like,

Me: Hey, I'm really struggling to find a job and a part of it is my resume. I was depressed & psychotic during highschool so I didn't do anything to gain skills or achievements to put on my resume. I also don't have anyone to put as a reference. What can I do?

Them: You can add your skills, hobbies, clubs you're in, and different volunteer work you've done! You can also get your teacher as a reference.

Me: I already know what to put on a resume, my issue is that I don't have things that I can use. Also, I'm in my mid 20s so I don't know if I can put my highschool teacher as a reference.

Them: Well if you're a part of a church or an activity group, you could add that. Also, think of any projects you've worked on in the past.

Me: I already know you can put these things on a resume. I'm not looking for suggests of things I've already done, I'm looking for what I can do now if I haven't done anything.

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Me: I spent all of highschool either in modified classes or in bed doing nothing - not even hobbies, what about that do you not understand?

And then you talk to someone who's also disabled and they're like "Here's a bunch of jobs you can do from home that don't pay much but look good on a resume, here's some free online courses that also look good on a resume, here's how you can be making small amounts of money in the meantime, here's some things you can put besides a professional reference, and here are your rights if your future employer tries to take advantage of your disability - which you probably shouldn't tell them about unless you need accommodations."

And suddenly my will to continue trying returns!

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quandrixing

4 months ago

could I possibly request black and grey themed dividers? something dark, kind of misty maybe? Just kinda of late night cemetery vibe if that's alright!

hi! here are some dividers with those vibes. I've also made them to be light & dark mode friendly!

◦˚~ DARK CEMETERY DIVIDERS ~˚◦

Could I Possibly Request Black And Grey Themed Dividers? Something Dark, Kind Of Misty Maybe? Just Kinda

Info: these were all drawn & made by me. please reblog/like if use!

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quandrixing

8 months ago

Context: this is a very common viewpoint on the ao3 subreddit which I very recently stumbled upon, but most people i’m friends with in danmei fandom (twt, discord etc) don’t agree and think negative bookmarks are rude.

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reblogging for the skins info

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quandrixing

7 months ago

Balls and Strikes

Republican AGs Issue Unsettling Demand For More Pregnant Teens

A group of Republican AGs asserted an unsettling right to pregnant teens in a new filing in their ongoing mifepristone lawsuit.

3 state attorney generals are suing the federal gov’t, arguing that mail-order abortion drugs cause teenage girls to have less babies, which loweres how much congressional representation their states can have as well as lower tax funds to the states.

Furthermore, they argue the state is a stand-in for parents and can control foster care AND juvenile detainees medical care. Which means they can take children from their parents and force them to go theough with unwanted pregnancies. The state can force teen girls to become breeders for the state.

Tags

jesus fucking christ

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quandrixing

6 months ago

fifty questions for rook

(no spoilers!)

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2. How did Rook get the nickname? What do they think of it?

3. What was Rook’s life before their faction?

4. Which faction did they join, and why? How long has it been?

5. What was life like for Rook before joining the Veilguard?

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13. Did Rook bring any trinkets/sentimental items to The Lighthouse?

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26. Rook is in charge of the grocery list. What’s on it?

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28. Does Rook have any pets/animal companions?

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33. What do fear demons look like to Rook?

34. How does Rook begin their day?

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37. Does Rook ascribe to a faith?

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+1 What does Rook smell like?

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quandrixing

4 months ago

2024/11 Bedroom Set - My Room

26 items

5-30 swathes

Base game compatible

I originally planned to create a little life series, but I have been really homesick lately, and for some reason, I won't be able to return to my own home for a short period of time. So I made this bedroom set based on my own room at home.

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

Public on 2024/12/09

Preview on patreon

>>>Eearly access<<<

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ts4 cc

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8 months ago

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quandrixing

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Pull Me into Orbit - Chapter 1 - SockoDot (Dotzilaa) - Mass Effect Trilogy [Archive of Our Own]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 2/36 Fandom: Mass Effect Trilogy Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Kal'Reegar/Female Shepard (Mass Effect), Female Shepard & Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Female Shepard & Garrus Vakarian, Kal'Reegar & Tali'Zorah nar Rayya Characters: Custom Shepard, Kal'Reegar (Mass Effect), Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Garrus Vakarian, Normandy Crew (Mass Effect) Additional Tags: Dual POV, Canon Divergence, Dialogue Heavy, Friends to Lovers, horny to friends to lovers, Literal Sleeping Together, Sharing a Bed, vision angst, Reanimation Angst, Angst, descriptions of violence, Canon Typical Violence, Gore, Horror aspects, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Getting Together, Explicit Sex, No Shepard Without Vakarian, earthborn/war hero, No beta we die like Nihlus, no formal beta at least, do not copy to another site, I MEAN THE ANGST, shepard cannot catch a break, which is kinda the point Series: Part 1 of The Kal Project, Part 1 of Jenn Shepard Summary:

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quandrixing

3 months ago

Just a quick note from your friendly neighborhood bookworm/indie author

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to do

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