First off, for these disorders, your character needs to have gone through a traumatic event (or multiple ones).
Note – there are two different sets of criteria for PTSD. One is for adults and children older than six; the other is for children 6 years and under.
These are the adult criteria:
A trauma is defined as being exposed to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, in one or more of the following ways:
Directly experiencing it
Witnessing in person the trauma as it happened to someone else
Learning that the trauma happened to a close family member or friend. If the person dying or nearly dying is the traumatic event, it has to have been violent or accidental
The character has been repeatedly and excessively exposed to awful details of traumatic events. This is typically seen in first responders, police officers investigating child abuse, etc.
So your character has, in some way, been through something pretty hellish. What comes next? As I discussed in one of my earliest posts, not everyone going through a traumatic event gets PTSD. There are a lot of factors involved.
But your character is one of the unlucky ones.
There are few clusters of symptoms the character needs to have experienced some of to get a diagnosis of PTSD.
Intrusion (1 or more of the following):
Repeated, unwanted, inescapable and extremely stressful memories of the trauma
Frequent nightmares about or similar to the trauma
In children above 6, the nightmares may not seem related
Dissociative reactions / Flashbacks – the character feels or acts as if the trauma is happening again. Flashbacks range from relatively mild to severe (to the point where the character loses all awareness of their present surroundings)
Children above 6 might reenact the trauma in play
Severe stress when the character is exposed to internal or external cues that are similar to the trauma
An example would be someone who nearly died in a car crash freaking out when riding in a car and someone slammed on the brakes.
Bodily reactions to internal or external cues that are similar to the trauma
Such as someone’s heart pounding and feeling like they’re going to pass out when they’re being followed
Avoidance (1 or both of the following):
The character avoids (or tries to avoid) memories, thoughts, or feelings related to the trauma.
The character avoids (or tries to avoid) external reminders (such as people, places, objects, situations) of the trauma.
Negative Cognition / Mood (2 or more of the following):
The character can’t remember an important part of the trauma
The character has enduring, strong negative beliefs / expectations about people, the world, or themselves
Ex – “No one can be trusted,” “I’m tainted goods,” “I am a bad person”
The character’s thoughts about what caused or resulted from the trauma are distorted, leading the character to blame themselves or others
“It’s all my fault – I brought this on myself”, “This would never have happened to me if you hadn’t…”
Persistent negative emotional state (fear, horror, anger, guilt, shame)
The character can’t experience positive emotions, such as happiness, or love
The character isn’t as interested in activities they used to like
The character feels distant or estranged from others
Arousal and Reactivity (Not that kind of arousal. Seen through 2 or more):
The character is irritable and angry
This can be seen through verbal or physical aggression towards people or objects
Exaggerated startle response – when the character is surprised, they flip out
Problems concentrating
Trouble sleeping / insomnia
All of these symptoms have to have been experienced by the character for more than 1 month.
These symptoms cause the character stress and seriously makes their life more difficult.
PTSD for children under 6
Alright, now PTSD for children 6 or younger is slightly different.
A trauma in this case is defined as being exposed to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, in one or more of the following ways:
Directly experiencing it
Witnessing in person the trauma as it happened to someone else, especially caregivers
Learning that the trauma happened to a parent or caregiving figure.
Again, there are clusters of symptoms required.
Intrusion (1 or more of the following):
Repeated, unwanted, inescapable memories of the trauma
These memories may not always appear distressing, and may be shown through play reenactment of the trauma.
Frequent nightmares that may or may not be related to the trauma
Dissociative reactions / Flashbacks – the character feels or acts as if the trauma is happening again. Flashbacks range from relatively mild to severe (to the point where the character loses all awareness of their present surroundings)
Children above 6 might reenact the trauma in play
Severe stress when the character is exposed to internal or external cues that are similar to the trauma
Bodily reactions to internal or external cues that are similar to the trauma
One or more of Avoidance OR Negative Cognition / Mood
The character avoids (or tries to avoid) activities, places, or physical reminders of the trauma.
The character avoids (or tries to avoid) people, conversations, or social interactions that remind them of the trauma
The character is much more frequently in a bad or sad mood
The character isn’t interested in activities they previously liked, or don’t play very much
They’re withdrawn socially
They don’t seem to experience positive emotions frequently
Arousal and Reactivity (Not that kind of arousal. Seen through 2 or more):
The character is irritable and angry, resulting in extreme temper tantrums
The above details were taken from Harrison (1995) pp 24 & 33, with Harrison attributing her information to Hall, EG & Skinner, N (1980) Somewhere to turn: strategies for parents of the gifted and talented children. New York: Teachers College Press.
It is in the cognitive and social areas of giftedness that some of these milestones are often more difficult to assess.
For those who, like me, find that they’re writing about babies/toddlers/kids and need some guidance.
Hi guys. I’m going to piss off a lot of YA writers (and possibly
readers) today, so hang onto your hats.
Mainly, if you’re in love with the idea of a high schooler
with no strategic or combat experience heading up a revolution or war because
they’re “so dedicated and determined,” don’t read this. Please, don’t. You’re
not going to see anything you like. Go ahead and keep enjoying your guilty
pleasure – that’s fine. I’m not going to own up to some of the guilty pleasures
I love in fiction but don’t buy for a second in real life. That’s chill. Go for
it, man.
But there are just things that I – and readers like me – are
tired of seeing. If you’re sick of that trope, then keep reading. If you’re
open to the idea of ditching that trope in your writing, then I really
recommend reading.
This assessment/collection of tips on why teens shouldn’t run
revolutions – and if you’re going to make them, how they CAN do it well – will
include comparisons to history, other fiction (Unplugged), and Black Butler.
Plus swearing and a range of incorrect capitalizations, because it’s fun.
They’re more comfortable, still form fitting, and best of all: THE POCKETS. THEY HAVE ACTUAL POCKETS.
don’t believe me? look:
these are boys pants, and they look just as good on me as any other skinny jeans I own
See that phone? I’m going to put it in the pocket. Must be so small right??
Ah yes, girl pants length. Probably can’t fit any further than that-
what? what’s this?
Good god. Oh good lord in heaven. This is blasphemous.
Look at how much room is still there. There’s chaos in the streets. Babies are crying. Fashion designers are screaming out of fear of the unknown.
Buy your pants in the boys section, girls. Live in the beautiful world you deserve where you can fit shit in your pocket.
Curvy ladies: Men’s dress pants have more room in the butt. I don’t know why, I only know that all my dress pants for work are off the rack in the men’s department in Target. Literally nobody has noticed, except a couple of my younger coworkers who’ve asked me–you guessed it–”oh my god, where did you find pants with pockets?”
Tall ladies: men’s pants are easier to find in longer lengths than women’s pants are.
Trans ladies: Wanna get on this gravy train, but afraid people will misgender you for wearing clothes off the men’s racks? Step one: tell me who these people are and I will punch them in the face. Step two: if it doesn’t make you dysphoric, please don’t feel obligated to wear pants off the women’s racks if pants off the men’s racks are more comfy/useful to you. I’m a cis woman who’s been wearing pants from the boys’ section and, later, the men’s section, ever since I hit puberty and in thirteen years maybe, maybe half a dozen people have noticed. And it’s always women asking the oh-my-god-pockets question. You’re all good. ❤
Fat ladies: you will pay the same for a pair of 42×32 jeans as for a pair of 34×32 jeans, instead of having to pay some kind of Fat Penance Tax by way of being in the “plus size” section. Also, did I mention more room in the butt?
Ladies concerned about modesty: For obvious reasons, there is more crotch space in men’s pants. Embrace it and enjoy a life free from cameltoe worries and spontaneous labia-wedgies when you squat down.
All ladies: I swear to god the waists in women’s pants these days are made specifically to fit exactly nobody so that no matter what you do, your underwear will show. Men’s pants do not do this. The waists sit where they’re supposed to and will actually lay flat against the small of your back instead of flopping open to show your unmentionables to the world. If you want hiphugger jeans, buy one leg-length too small and one waist-size too large and let them hang, and they still won’t accidentally show your undies. Men’s pants will last longer. They cost less, in a lot of cases. Embrace the men’s jeans. Buy the men’s jeans. Stop buying shitty flimsy women’s jeans that wear out in six months.
AND FINALLY: to determine your size in men’s pants, take a tape measure around your waist at its smallest point. This is your waist size and will be the first number in a pair of men’s pants. Next, take the tape measure from about an inch below your no-no squares parts, and run it to your ankle. (You may need a friend or parent to help with this.) This is your inseam length, and will be the second number on a pair of men’s pants. Men’s and boys’ pants are tailored the same way, so if you have trouble finding your waist size in men’s, hop over to the boys’ section. Feel no shame. If they’d give us decent fucking pants we wouldn’t have to steal theirs, right?
Listen you guys, I am SO MAD ABOUT THIS. I’ve seen this first post before, and recently my mom said, “Hey, did you see that post on Tumblr about shopping for jeans in the men’s department?”
And I said yeah, I’d seen it, I’ve been through the Trying To Fit Clothes On My Stupid Body wars, and this post really only applied to skinny jeans because they’re so stretchy. It couldn’t possibly work for regular jeans! I have TRIED SO MANY TIMES. I’ve always shopped in the men’s department because women’s clothes are like 90% bullshit and 10% fake pockets.
But I hadn’t seen the second addition, which gave me more hope, and I decided to just try on a few pairs when I was at Old Navy the other day. They have some “classic” jeans with no give to them at all, which is what I was trying on years ago that convinced me it just wasn’t possible. (Jeans in my price range didn’t really come with any form of stretch back then, as I recall. Textile technology is bad-ass.) But these days they mostly have “flex” jeans that have some give to them. (Women’s jeans are usually labeled “stretch” but apparently men’s have to be “flex” like they need stretchy garments so their HUGE MUSCLES don’t just TEAR THEIR CLOTHES!)
This was totally an impulse decision so I couldn’t measure myself, but I grabbed a few sizes based on what I vaguely thought my measurements probably were and decided it couldn’t possibly be worse than the endless cycle of regret, dissatisfaction, and recrimination that is trying on women’s clothing.
The first pair I tried on fit like a DREAM. I’ve been gaining weight lately which is a whole separate nightmare (mainly centered around “but I don’t WANT to buy new bras, this is bullshit!”) and the reason I need to buy new jeans because nothing freaking fits me, and I was sure these wouldn’t either, but DAMN. They’re the best pair of jeans I own. Twice as thick, pockets twice as big, legs nice and loose (they don’t even sell women’s jeans with a cut remotely similar to this), and contrary to my super dumb opinion from before this experience, they’ve got my plenty of room for all my womanly curvey bits. AND because they’re actually a relaxed fit instead of trying to cling to every inch of me, they don’t show my weight nearly as much as my women’s jeans do, they’re easier to move in, they’re not constantly inching down my hips with every move I make, and overall they just make me feel GOOD about how I look which is a strange new sensation I could definitely get used to.
It’s like a miracle. I want to cry both out of joy and because of all the shitty jeans now filling my closet when I could have been buying comfortable, relaxed, pocket-having men’s jeans all these years. Many blessings to the posters above, may your crops grow and your cows give milk and your jeans hold all the gadgets you desire.
Also: men’s pants have constant sizes that are based off of actual measurements instead of the women’s whatever-the-company-wants-to-make-the-size sizes. They’re far more reliable and your size will translate to other brands.
@get-dunkd-on help me remember this for our next Goodwill run lmao
I HAVE to try some men’s jeans. Sick of these super skinny show everything always having to be hitched up no pocket crap jeans!
Honestly signal boost. Because imagine this actually starts some kind of ludicrous pants revolution that ends up causing women’s pants fashion company’s sales to tank, absolutely forcing them to realize men’s pants have always had the right idea and start doing that instead of this bullshit. Like just imagine. And don’t just signal boost this. Tell every woman you know. Tell every trans friend and every curvy friend out there. You see a lady down the street, stop her and tell her you’ve discovered a new gospel and it’s purchasing men’s pants. With the way women spread information when we’re excited, the mentioned scenario could actually be hella achievable
PRAISE THE UNIVERSE I FOUND THIS POST AGAIN
Guys. Gals. Non binary pals. As a trans ftm person who just recently started shopping in the men’s department and has gigantic hips full of dysphoria let me tell you a thing.
Athletic cut jeans have more room in the butt. I repeat. Athletic cut jeans have more room in the butt. You don’t need to go to the dress pants to fit your lovely curvy self in there. Go to the regular section or big and tall if you’re a bit taller and/or wider, and there’ll be a little section of athletic style jeans. They’ve still got the giant blessed pockets and the room in the crotch and if you’re really curvy with a large bone structure like I am you can get yourself some quality pants.
This has been an addition by your local nb trans dude. Thank you for your time.
Reblog to save a fucking life
Reblogging because most women jeans are stupidly cut, uncomfortable, overpriced, don’t fit anyone and don’t look good on anyone, even the models. Just look at the GAP website. I used to buy GAP, then something happened, and – blerh. Try the men jeans, then report back please!
Dear jeans-for-women makers… WHERE ARE MY FUCKIN’ FRONT POCKETS?!
♥ Let’s all get some cute jeans!
I don’t normally reblog long posts like this but it’s so helpful I couldn’t resist!
I know I’ve built a follower base around drawing ship art for a specific fandom, but it’s time I finally pivoted and announce my new fanzine shipping the bois from chinese/russia propoganda posters
the only family AU that matters
unfollowing me is counter-revolutionary
OTP
Bonus points:
Second poster, 中苏人民的友谊万古长青，translates as: Everlasting friendship between the citizens of China and the Soviet Union.
I mean yeah if your parents are together you’ll want to be friends.
Third poster (this is where you can really tell its age, they’re still using the traditional script), 我们的目的是共产主义: We share the aim of Communism.
i was looking through medieval drawings of demons the other day and i found the demons that make you gay
Look at these friendly and kind boys! The mlm demon with his overly fashionable haircut and the wlw demon with such big ears to listen & be supportive. They’re both so glad you’re happy together.
FantasyBoudicca 