Ziv
PokéManiac
.....am... am I suddenly going to have to be really worried about the ID bracelet idea that I'd mentioned earlier in the thread? I mean, I was under the assumption that warning people that I have something where they might need to get clear (I have heard some REAL horror stories of how meltdowns can go, as some of my other recent posts can attest, and I STILL haven't got a full idea how bad mine can get as I've learned a little about withdrawing if I get overloaded) might very well be something important - am I going to have to worry about shunning?
And actually, you know what? Time to take a chance.
Speaking of discrimination, one of the ones where I can REALLY get into trouble in modern society unless I learn to get this right now: is it really weird of me that I literally have trouble making heads or tails of derogatory terms (or slang in general) unless I make a complete workaround with a dual-meaning - or more horrifyingly, wordplay? Or is this actually something that's relatively common to autistic people? Or, heck, is that actually a neurotypical thing that I'm overestimating?
I kind of figure it might be important to know how much I need to worry about preparing ahead of time and KEEPING THAT @$#% SILENT... especially given one of the other major components of this fandom.
(I kid you not, there's one that actually kept me up at night and obsessed for DAYS. I will not be repeating it here but I can DM someone on it if it's really necessary.)
I actually do wear buttons displayed prominently that I'm bipolar and autistic, so I guess my answer is no? But maybe I just don't care what people think of me. I think it's a good idea, honestly, if you're in a situation similar to mine, where things can get out of hand. But to give context, I've been hospitalized inpatient 18 times and I have definitely been verbally aggressive to strangers (especially those who work in pharmacies, it seems...) as well as threaten to strangers that I'm going to kill myself.
I think it's common to autistic people actually! And it can be the source of some A+ humor.
EDIT: My buttons also function as medical alert bracelets, just like for diabetes etc, as you were saying. Since I'm on 7 different meds, all of which are heavy-duty (Thorazine, Zyprexa, Valium, lithium, lamotrigine, Adderall... am I forgetting one?) and absolutely need to be known in an emergency medical situation. For example, I could get NMS which is a life-threatening condition caused by Thorazine and Zyprexa, but it's similar to several other syndromes and you likely would not be able to confirm it without seeing my bipolar button. Also, if I were to have a seizure that turned status epilepticus, they would need to give me a much higher dose than usual on the benzos because I'm on them long-term and I have a tolerance. And many, many other such situations.