Blue Hackers Seattle Meet Up, Sunday 5/13
Posted by robindebates on May 9th, 2012
Blue Hackers MeetUp
Sunday, May 13th
Jigsaw Renaissance
(at the Inscape Building, 815 Seattle Blvd S, 98134)
Frank and open discussion about mental health in hacker/maker communities. Join us to get or give support, or just to know you are not alone with your challenges (mood and anxiety disorders, ADHD, Asperger’s/PDD, suicide, self harm, and more).
Homeostasis Check: HALT
Posted by robindebates on April 28th, 2012
The OS works best when the hardware has stability within certain environmental parameters… not to hot, not too cold, not too many yaks yodeling in the alleyway outside.
This is as true for our bodies as it is for computers.
HALT is a handy mnemonic I learned when I was working with kids in a residential treatment program to check parameters of their operating environment. It works by noticing that you feel dysregulated, down, or otherwise kind of out of sorts or off kilter. Then asking yourself:
- Am I HUNGRY?
- Am I ANGRY?
- Am I LONELY?
- Am I TIRED?
Trouble shooting these four items can solve a significant amount of distress.
A mentor of mine also added some other basic functions like
- Do I need to pee or poop?
- Should I drink some water?
- Do I need to take a break from what I’m doing right now?
- When was the last time I moved my body?
Those questions still get at the same basic principles as HALT. They just don’t fit as nicely into the mnemonic.
But I think you get the idea.
Humans don’t come with indicator panels, or alarms that go “bing” when we get low on fuel or full of information. But with a bit of practice, we can learn to recognize the early indicators of dysregulation to prevent a full-scale meltdown.
Especially when at hack-a-thons, all night coding parties, or other projects where you are working intensely for long periods of time, having an easy way to remind yourself about basic needs can be a lifesaver.
So make time to check in with yourself. Scan the environmental parameters of your operating system. It will function a lot more smoothly when you pay attention to it.
Brand Substitutes
Posted by arjen on April 13th, 2012
Pharmacists tend to ask if a substitute or generic brand is ok for a prescription. While I’m generally for that as it tends to save money, I’d recommend against saying yes when it comes to depression-related medication. As you know, getting the dosage right is tricky enough. From my past personal experience, substitutes didn’t work or at least worked differently, thus messing with my head – so basically, once you get to something that works for you (whichever brand that might be), don’t risk messing with it for the sake of saving a few dollars. You can also ask your doctor to put a tick in the “no substitutes” box on the prescription, then the pharmacist won’t even go there.
Hello, Computer
Posted by robindebates on April 8th, 2012
Hi there.
My name is Robin.
I hang out at a Seattle, WA, US maker space called Jigsaw Renaissance. I’m a geek-girl, hobby scientist who likes to put pointless LEDs in clothes, make stars in the microwave, and grow bioluminescent algae in her free time. I’m a social worker by training.
But I’m writing here at Blue Hacker because I don’t want anyone to die.
Yep. That’s it.
That’s the sum total of my investment in Blue Hackers.
When any of us decides to end our lives, we do so because we believe it is the most effective means to end pain and suffering. I don’t fault anyone for that. And I also know that its incredibly difficult to openly discuss depression, suicide, self harm, addiction, and other things that make us feel crappy in the context of hacker and maker culture.
Hackers see things differently than many people. This is a dark gift. On one hand, we have the opportunity, sometimes with blinding brilliance, to make great leaps in our chosen areas. Yet on the other hand, its challenging to find others who share our interests and abilities and connect with those others in meaningful ways.
The world needs all the creativity, skill, and perspective hackers can bring to bear on the problems and challenges we currently face.
I want to be part of the solution. Part of what works. Part of people feeling accepted, seen, acknowledged, validated, cared about in my community.
Once or twice a month I’ll be posting some things here. If you have ideas or questions about mental health, please leave a reply to this post or shoot me an email. I’ll do my best to give you a response that reflects the current best knowledge and practices from a professional mental health perspective as it applies to hackers.
I hope you are kicking ass, and not getting your ass kicked.
Robin
February Blue Hackers Meetup in Seattle
Posted by robindebates on February 16th, 2012
Seven humans and one dog attended the first Seattle area BlueHackers Meetup.
Through a “guided conversation” attendees discussed their own struggles and successes with ADHD, Asperger’s, depression, self harm, and trauma.
During our 2 hours together, we:
- elaborated the ‘why’ of Blue Hackers–the need and benefit of identifying mental health issues openly in hacker/maker culture.
- entertained some pros and cons of vulnerability.
- touched in to a resource Robin made, “How to Stay Alive when Your Mind/Brain Thinks You Should Die.”
We ran out of time to talk about surviving someone else’s crisis without making one of your own. And we decided another meetup would be grand.
To that end, the next Seattle Blue Hackers meet up will be Sunday, March 11th, from 4 to 6pm (come and go as you need to). Location: Jigsaw Renaissace, 815 S Seattle Blvd, Seattle WA 98134. For more info on this meetup, email robin (at) jigsawrenaissance dot org.
Second Guessers Question Their Way to Depression – Sara Novak
Posted by arjen on February 8th, 2012
You surely know someone like this or maybe that someone is you. Second guessers research and research decisions before hesitantly stepping forward only to wonder whether they made the right decision in the in.
Navigating Love and Autism
Posted by arjen on December 26th, 2011
Navigating Love and Autism (NY Times)
Jack Robison and Kirsten Lindsmith, two college students living in Greenfield, Mass., discuss how aspergers/autism affects their lives and relationship.
There’s Never a Justification for Bullying
Posted by arjen on November 7th, 2011
I posted a reference on G+ to an article about a Michigan anti-bullying law (named after a boy who committed suicide) where republicans effectively provide a loophole if the abuse happens on the basis of “genuine moral or religious conviction”. The text is:
“This section does not prohibit a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or a pupil and parent or guardian.”
One comment approached the issue by questioning the definition of bullying and tying their position to their religious beliefs, and that’s prompted me to post this blog entry. I reckon the definition of bullying is fairly clear and simple. I phrase it something like this:
Bullying is ongoing psychological, verbal and physical abuse against a person and their environment and property.
I didn’t look that up anywhere, it’s just loosely based on my own experience. I think this sums it up concisely, but feel free to comment with improvements!
Even if you don’t agree with people being gay, or atheist, or you reckon reds look funny, or whatever, I’d urge anyone to think long and hard before being in favour of laws like the Michigan one – you’re as different as the next person, and one day you’ll become the victim yourself.
Unlikely? Let’s look forward a bit: considering the current Christian fundamentalist extremism in the US, I consider it quite likely that at some point there’ll be a backlash and Christians will find themselves persecuted – let’s please have laws in place that protect them then as well as other people now. So even on a purely selfish level, you don’t want to gamble on this.
Someone’s right to expression and beliefs have nothing to do with it. We simply don’t want people (kids or adults!) persecuted in their school, work, sport, home or social environment whether they’re black, gay, use a wheelchair, wear glasses, have red hair, are socially awkward, believe in a god or faeries, or in fact happen to not believe in something someone else does believe in.
What’s the point of being different if we can’t live together?
R U OK day
Posted by arjen on September 15th, 2011
Today is “Are You OK” day in Australia. A day when specifically you ask those around you. Of course you should always do that, but just as a reminder. And remember that if you just ask “how’ya doing”, the answer tends to be “fine” regardless, it’s empty interaction. “Are you ok” or “tell me how you are doing” is significant and let’s the other person know you’re interested in hearing the real “status”.
Put-Down Humour
Posted by arjen on August 19th, 2011
http://lentz.com.au/blog/putdown-humour
[...] It appears to me that a lot of American sitcoms and also cartoons base their “fun” almost entirely on putting down fellow cast members. [...]