Elementation now with new cover

Thanx to Christina Christidou, Elementation is now irresistibly adorable. Spread the word. And, don't forget to hug a tree.

         

Elementation: Hug a Tree https://amzn.eu/d/9xbrOwS 

Lexi-Crisis goes to the Theatre

 Lexi-crises: Neurodiversity

Script by Lotous Michalopoulou

 

 

Characters:

Neurotypical

ADHD

Autism

Struggling with my Muse

‘Write. All rooms are quiet now. Only the moon light. No one will call. Get up, turn on the laptop, and write.’ 

‘I’m sleeping.’ 

‘You’re talking guff.’   

Spoiler Alert Black Mirror

 Dear Future Historian,                                                                                 06/07/2023 Canterbury UK

I am so depressed today. Let me rephrase that. I feel so depressed today. The attention to detail in language, especially the written one I suppose, is crucial. I do not identify with my depression. Thus, it is not that I am, me personally, depressed as a state of being. Depression is an add-on. Something that I feel, but it’s not me. Like a smell. Like a thought. This is what meditation and mindfulness are teaching. Detachment from negative thoughts and feelings. You cannot make them disappear, you cannot pause them, you cannot mute them. Still, when you realise that you can just let them be as a noise in the background, then you can just continue your life—almost as if—they’re not even there.

However, you should never try to shut them up. There comes a point where, you realise that the background voices aren’t your enemy at all. They are just super anxious and over-conscious guards. Warning systems. But, not like a bot (no offence my dear Bots). Or, if like bots, then like the ones in the Black Mirror episode, the one that you got a conscious and sentient bot version of yourself, to set up the thermostat in your house and make your toast.

A short spiritual bio

The other day, one of my friends on Facebook was trying to introduce to me a 'new' miraculous way of thinking that will help me: overcome the health problems that (according to my social media feed) I have been accumulating, due to my 'wrong' way of thinking! This made obvious to me that most of you do not really know who I am, and it is understandable to make wrong conclusions, when all I’m giving you is random posts, connected to my here-and-now, unrelated with my story thread. So, let me introduce myself.

Fighting for a medical appointment

Dear future historian,

I am, as I’m writing this, number 18th in the medical centre's phone queue. I'm waiting 45 min already. I was number 30 in the queue when this call started.

Let me introduce you to the story:

Finally today is the day

 Dear future historian,

I know I have been missing for months, but we both know that (time gaps in the past) for you is not even a thing; at least not a thing that has time separating my last post from this one. For you it's just a turn of the page, or a keep-scrolling kind of thing.

The distance to walk between the Parthenon marvels and the Benin bronzes in the British Museum. (Are these still there? A topic for another day, maybe).

Back to us. Is there a 'we', my dear future historian?

Am I just imagining a relationship, a dialogue, between us, all these years? Or am I facilitating (creating actually) a Parasocial relationship, * in which our time distance makes the possibility of our relationship ever becoming a two-way one impossible? And, if that is the case, is that OK, or not?

New writing club anthology

Hello :-) 

New anthology from my university's writing club.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this amazing collective project.

This is going to be a real treasure for the dear future historians.

You can check my entry here.

And, you can order your copy here. 

Time flies in the sky of Procrastination-Planet

 05 December 2021, UK

Dear future historian,

 

What was I thinking??

How on Earth did I expect to write another book by February.

My ancient history

(I wrote that story about 20 years ago. Soon I am turning 40 and I thought it's a good time to return to my-ancient-history, so I translated it from the original Greek to share it with you, my only-English-speaking dear future historian and contemporary reader.) 

Inner Dialogue

Dear Future Historian,

Today I was informed indirectly, by her psychologist, that I don't exist cause she's not crazy enough! I believe the way it was phrased was: It’s time you admit the fact that even you know that she does not exist… because you aren’t schizophrenic; you're just autistic with big imagination. 

How my Flare Audio Hero saved me from the Dragon of the washing machine!!

Before my late diagnosis in the autism spectrum, I had no idea about my sensory issues. And no amount of observational skills could help me realise my sensory sensitivity with only myself as a reference. 

‘Writer’s Block’

Dear future Historian,

I could swear that I won’t make it. But why would I ever swear such a thing? It is funny what words are coming out of people’s mouths. Heavy words. Words that fall down on them like sticky honey, only to attract bees and… what am I even saying? (Have bees survived in your time?)

My sunflower scheme interview is on YouTube

 Dear future historian,

I have an assessment left in a couple of days, and some other stuff I must first do, before I can enjoy your company again; but.. my sunflower scheme interview is on YouTube, and I thought to share the links with you here.

Quick question (20 seconds) :

https://youtu.be/siw55r89JCs

Chat (4min 31sec) :

https://youtu.be/gULy0edpxZE

#raiseawareness

Autism parenting stories

Dear Future Historian,

I had two home labours.

Not really because I am brave, but because I was with my sister when she had her baby, in a private posh clinic. She was induced, but then they didn't let her push because her doctor was late, and the happy ending of a beautiful, healthy boy distracted us from the fact that that night, her first night as a mum, she didn't stop crying on my solder, after 26 hours in a labour that could last much less. I was 19 then and didn't pay much attention to the underlying PTSD that I also got that night.

Tough love

3:23 Μ.Μ.

Dear future historian,

 

I still can't really swim. Born and raised in Greece, where almost everyone knows. When I was 6, I had a panic attack, when the military-minded dad of one of my peers tried to teach me how to swim using tough-love methods. He just left me where I..

My self-diagnosis notes

Dear future historian,

I decided to take the risk and announce that I will try -just try for now- to write every other day, actually every even number date of the calendar, at least by midnight. At least till uni starts.

Today I thought to share with you the list that I mentioned** I did, b4* my diagnosis, of 'why I think I am autistic.' 

Post-diagnosis (the official one) is a time for re-telling -without any doubt anymore- my whole life's story for me now, so I am in a reading-old-files/diaries mode.

Post-diagnosis

Dear future historian,

There is a tiny numbness, after my diagnoses. But it is not caused by it. Quite the opposite. I feel like if the un-officiality of my self-diagnosis (not to mention the years of ignorance b4* that,) had deeply affected my understanding of myself and my needs.

Many people don’t understand the reason to seek a piece of paper to make it official. Others don’t even understand why someone would get to the trouble of research to self-diagnose. And all reactions are valid. I am only sharing my story, in the hope to help create, for you my dear future historian, a more inclusive world.

My autism diagnosis is finally official!

Dear Future historian,

It is finally official! Today was my assessment and I can now declare myself as proudly autistic, with a diagnosis.

Wow! About 3 years in a w8ing* list, 2 years before that till I actually take the courage to get in that list, and b4** that 34 years of ignorance.. of not knowing why I am so different from most people, and so similar to a few.

What's wrong with me?

Dear future historian,

 

There is something very weird going on with me. I don’t know if it’s my neurodiversity or whatever.. but I noticed it yesterday.

So, I was reading a small thought experiment, not designed to make you decide or question something, just asks you to focus on you bodily sensations, as you hear a story you are supposed to star in.

It's your birthday, and the whole day is a disaster, from one unpleasant surprise to the next, but at the end your friends through you a surprise party. And.. how did each incident made us feel, in our body.. specifically. The practice required very detailed attention on sensations.