i am a professional artist (and maybe this makes me a bit out of touch,) assuming that it's for personal use and not for profit at all, i would rather have someone take my work into photoshop/gimp/krita/whatever and trace it near directly or make edits to it to fit their vision than have that person go spend money to further refine The Slop Machine. other artists may have differing opinions on this but since generative AI has gotten popular i just simply do not care anymore as long as my work isn't being fed to train image models. hell, if you're tracing someone else's work using tools on paper, that's still building muscle memory and linework skill and while not the ideal scenario it's doing more for you than you might think. with generative AI you are paying to generate an image based off countless images that already existed from artists that were not paid for their work to be included in the model. is that...not capitalistic or not at the very least exploitative?
sunshinesoul
not a stupid suggestion at all and once i have the finances i will most likely be getting my hands on one. i ran into a super cool cane a few years back at a thrift store that was wood-carved, but it was way too tall for me and i've been wanting a similar one ever since haha. a lot of my shame around my cane usage just stems from self-invalidation and feeling like i'm "not disabled/in pain enough" to justify using a mobility aid, which is something i've been trying to address and work through but i still have a long way to go. i appreciate the kind words and advice!
there's some nice parks around me but not within walking distance unfortunately! i drove to one today and it was nice, couldn't tolerate the heat for too long though so i didn't stay for as long as i wanted to. not super into podcasts, but if you have any suggestions on what to listen to on a walk i'd try some out!
haven't been doing too hot for the past week or so. had a few sober days, won't get into specifics, but i definitely am capable of better. i've been going to my IOP program consistently without missing days this whole month so that's a win in my book
my plan for this week is to spend more time out of the house. i am unemployed and in between semesters which has kinda been an excuse to just... rot forever for the past 2 1/2 months. not sure what to do specifically (walk, go for a drive somewhere, etc) but regardless it'll be a change.
i know that at least with my friends who are non muslim a lot of the time its in reference to this
leg pain has been pretty bad lately aggravated by the weather so i'm stuck using my cane more than i've had to in almost a year :') also having to deal with a lot of brain fog from my mental health medication and it makes me feel like i can't type a coherent sentence so there's that too. we push through i guess
not sure how to tag this but could be needed? a lot of self-loathing/invalidation ig
ive been dealing with this issue for 9 years and i still havent mentally accepted that its going to affect my everyday life at least through the near future. i walked in to my psychiatric IOP program the other day with my cane (the first time i ever used it there, short walk from the parking lot means i dont need it 95% of the time in that building) and the looks i got from the other clients ive come to trust just made me ... embarrassed? i guess it was just jarring for people to see for the first time but i cant help but shake the fact that they think less of me now or that they think i'm doing it for attention? a couple of my ex long-term friends used to poke fun at my cane usage and call me a "grandpa" etc so that experience definitely hasn't helped idk.
its been a while since ive posted in one of these threads (and on hexbear in general) and... whew what a time it has been not just for me but with the Everything
my goal this week is to pick back up on self-care and stop immediately going back to bed and subsequently bedrotting every time im in the house... maybe do a little cleaning, etc. ive fallen off the wagon but am trying to give myself some grace and work back up to sobriety, i'm in therapy so i have a lot of help in that corner.
it was a few hours before they announced it otherwise i would have thought it was for the pope 1000%
i live in a very densely populated suburb and i don't believe i've heard any in previous years either so i honestly think it was just a conservative 'Murica Hell Yeah thing. or for 420. or honestly could be both
i’m not super familiar with services in the UK but i know that things like this aren’t an uncommon occurrence there. i hope that all of this becomes more manageable for you soon and that you’re eventually pain free. if you have the ability to do small exercises at home there’s a ton of online resources for ones that would benefit the achilles/whatever would work for you the most that might be helpful in between those physiotherapy appointments.
one of the therapists i saw this year mentioned their faith to me in the middle of a session (without any indication of it on their website or any time before) in an attempt to provide comfort with something i was dealing with and i immediately noped out lol. it’s surprisingly hard to find a therapist in my area that’s not christian counseling or otherwise faith-based. only vaguely related, but i once came across a page for a therapist who was only accepting new clients with family in/ties to israel 
this might be more vent-ish and long winded than i intended it to be so i might eventually delete but i desperately need to get it off my chest somewhere and to people who might Get It ? 
general cw for topics of mental health and suicide (i’m not sure what else to tag specifically!)
i previously saw the same therapist for 2 years straight and i’ve been bouncing around different ones ever since. i’m on my fourth one since then and it’s probably been the worst experience i’ve had with a therapist yet.
i’m bipolar 2 with adhd, and our latest appointment was the last straw. i was hypomanic this time, but very low and suicidal in the last appointment, which prompted her to oh-so-kindly tell me “thank god you’re feeling better, if you were still suicidal i’m not sure i would be able to keep you as a client because its not something i can deal with.” this was a therapist who advertised herself as specializing in bipolar.
i absolutely should not have done this in hindsight but i couldn’t keep my mouth shut at the time because, well, hypomania and impulsivity and whatnot, but later on in the session i mentioned that i was worried about immigrants in the US and mass deportations and Evil and Doom and that a lot of my friends were scared too. my therapist replied with, word for word, “well, if you and your friends aren’t illegals there’s nothing to worry about right?” i was so dumbfounded i just did not answer for a good 10 seconds and then changed the subject. there was nothing to say. i felt genuinely sick afterwards. i guess it was on me for bringing it up to someone whose opinions i wasn’t familiar with, but when would anyone be familiar with their therapist’s political opinions ??? isn’t that an ethical boundary or something
TLDR needless to say i am once again looking for a new provider. i’ve tried pretty much every website for finding people in my area. i dont like online stuff/zoom meetings so that severely narrows my options. i guess i’d like to know what sort of questions i should be asking people? to narrow out the Weird and Offputting providers if there’s even a way to do that? i don’t know. im just tired bros. any input on how to make things not suck would be appreciated because im just so disillusioned with the whole Mental Health System at this point. thanks for reading this far. 
same cw’s as post, spoilering just in case
To start, I am not a professional, I have just been on the receiving end of a lot of crisis-related psychiatric care.
From my own personal experience, it may be worth it to consider writing down a safety plan with your loved one if this hasn’t been done already. Usually when I’ve done it in the past it’s consisted of ways to keep myself safe (which you are already tackling,) reminders of distraction methods and coping skills, a list of trusted people to contact in a crisis situation, and reminders of why life is worth living (i.e, i am loved, i need to outlive [hated politician or public figure,] etc.) this may not be for everyone however.
Is there a cabinet in the kitchen you can secure with a lock? I am not sure if it would be enough to deter breaking the whole cabinet open in this specific case, but you could keep knives in there and even the medications if you wish. Maybe even put the meds in a small safe inside the locked cabinet for an extra layer of security if you end up getting one. I obviously don’t know the specifics of what’s accessible in your home, but it’s also worth thinking about securing objects that aren’t necessarily the preferred method of harm but could be used to achieve the same outcomes (i.e, if you are locking up prescription medications to prevent abuse or an overdose, are there any over the counter medications that are around that could still be used in a harmful manner?)
I am glad your loved one is on the path to healing, collaboration is key and it seems like you’re already doing a great job of it.