Through the recommendations by the YouTube algorithm I “stumbled” upon another self-help resource that can help me with my mental health challenges. And I want to share that resource with the rest of our community here, since so many have expressed their personal struggle with mental health challenges.
Today one of the “Random Solo” recommendations was Touch Starved by Bailey Summers (her main story content page is here). We would all do well read this powerful, raw and painful story. Despite the “Adult Oriented” rating this story is absolutely NOT erotica, graphic sex or porn, but just pure emotional pain and desperation, that fortunately ends in a glimmer of hope.
I have been struggling for a long time on how to formulate this post on a deeply personal issue. While sharing this personal struggle that is affecting my own mental health, it is also a request (maybe even a cry) for help to members of this community located towards the north-west of Germany.
Many of us who struggle with gender identity also struggle with many other emotional issues and even neurodivergence. There is PTSD, ADHD, OCD, autism spectrum, depression and anxiety, to name some of the heavies. That list is most definitely not exhaustive, but it contains the issues that are most prevalent and/or that cause the most collateral issues for us.
I had a very interesting video recommended to me by the YouTube algorithm. The video “Top 5 Benefits of Crossdressing in Public 2024” looks at both directions of cross-dressing, It also explores the individual and societal benefits of cross-dressing.
If you like “slice of life” stories, you might want to take a look the series Standing Up To Life by Tiffany Shar. The first book has already earned the “----------=BigCloset Retro Classic!=----------” status.
As I mentioned in my last post Thank you for a blast from the past to Tiffany Shar I am currently re-reading some of the stories posted many “turnings of the seasons” back. Some of these I not read in over a decade. On re-reading them now, I remember having read them in the past. This fact is also confirmed by the fact many of parts have a Kudos registered to my user ID.
Thanks to a recent story chapter post by Tiffany Shar I started re-reading her previous contributions and got a serious blast from the past! After re-reading Suddenly Royal from a contest in 2020 in order to establish context for the sequel that Tiffany just recently started to post here on BigCloset TopShelf.
The Deutsche Welle [DW] (literally “German Wave”, the German equivalent of the British BBC) just published a documentary on trans life in Germany. It covers the lives of three different people at three different ages.
After having shared on one of the first “BCTS Recommends” at the start of this year (2024) among others the Opus Magnus of Teddie S. with the title Tommy - The Trials and Tribulations of a Girl?, I decided to dig up this story and re-read it. It is truly a Opus Magnus, counting 253 chapters and approximately 1,400,000 words. So buckle up for the long haul!
After enjoying the regular Sunday afternoon/evening Zoom chats hosted by Wendy Jean, I got to thinking that my trip to Canada in July could be an opportunity to meet with a few BCTS members. My main reason for the trip is a conference regarding the use of [Mennonite] Low German in media and the process of documenting and formalizing the grammar and orthography, as well as developing the corresponding writers utilities as open source software tools. This conference is scheduled for 12-14 July in Aylmer, Ontario. I will have some down-time on the Saturday and Sunday.
How a psychopath is using the internet and social media to carry out gang stalking and no touch torture against creators, as well as supporting threats, harassment, trespassing and surveillance of creator families with children: https://youtu.be/brbT7flR1xU
Please share this video while it is available on YouTube with others to raise awareness and [if possible] catch the perpetrator.
The Slow Mo Guys just published an interesting video on YouTube https://youtu.be/HDzVD-cqiWM about filming electrical arcs at 1.750.000 frames per second!
Something that the geeky nerds and/or nerdy geeks might enjoy.
By the way, some of their other experiments are plain weird, while others discover some pretty fascinating insights.
I have found that MedCircle is serious and scientifically based channel with very good insight and suggestions on many different issues of mental health, and relationships as it relates to mental health.
I just have to share this video titled The History of Banning High Heels by fashion historian Nicole Rudolph about all the different reasons that society tried to ban high heels from the 1850's to the 1920's. The reasons, from our point of view, are so silly that they are hilarious.
Spoiler alert: Back then a high heel was defined as anything higher than about 1.5 inches!
Some of you authors might be interested in The Writing Excuses Conference 2019 to happen from 13 to 22 September 2019 on a caribean cruise departing from Houston, Texas.
Thank you to the BCTS moderators for re-posting this retro classic once more.
I want to encourage all readers here to read and kudo this nice cronology by Tammy Fairbanks. Unfortunately Tammy has only posted this one story. But never the less, let us all show our appreciation for a well crafted tale.
Lovers of ghost / curses / halloween stories should find a special enjoyment of this story.
Last week I found an interesting movie on rarelust dot com, that I downloaded and watched over the weekend. The movie is called "I want what I want" and was released in 1972.
It is the story of a young man and his struggle of finding his own identity. How his domineering, womanizing, ex-military and abusive father threatens to kill him, but refuses to report his running away to the police for fear of losing face in society. The overcompensating girly-girl, the insecurities and struggles through transition that happened in the late 1960's to very early 1970's.
After reading the story A Love Like No Other by Little Katie, I started reading the stories she linked to. Two of those stories, A Different Kind of Life and How Life Can Change, are very similar as to the circumstances that befall the main protagonist (in both cases a 9 year old boy). But the behaviour of the respective parents are exactly oposites of each other.
For those of you who do not yet know me: I live in a small country in the heart of South America, about 500km away from the Capital (about 7 hours bus trip, and if you are really suicidal about 3 hours by car). Even though both of my parents and I were born and raised here, we are still considered foreigners and unfortunately of the rich sort. Considering my cultural roots in a very conservative cristian religious community (were I still live today), that is not so far off since my community and several others of the same background in this country are a big powerhouse in the agribusiness.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
