Βοήθεια για την ψυχική υγεία στην Ελλάδα

Μερικοί αριθμοί που μπορείτε να καλέσετε όταν χρειάζεστε βοήθεια:

• 197 (γενική ψυχική βοήθεια) 
• 1034 (κατάθλιψη) 
• 210 72 22 333 (γραμμή SOS Αιγινήτειου) 
• 210 88 40 712 (κέντρο άμεσης ψυχολογικής στήριξης) 
• 116123 (Ευρωπαϊκή γραμμή ψυχικής στήριξης ενηλίκων)

Μερικοί σύνδεσμοι με λίστες και πληροφορίες:

• Λίστα με πληθώρα αριθμών που μπορείτε να καλέσετε
• Ερευνητικό Πανεπιστημιακό Ινστιτούτο Ψυχικής Υγιεινής
• Γραφείο Συνηγορίας
• Λίστα με συνδέσμους για την ψυχική υγεία
• Η Ευρωπαϊκή Τηλεφωνική Γραμμή 116123
• Τηλεφωνικές Γραμμές και Υπηρεσίες Ψυχολογικής υποστήριξης και συμβουλευτικής!
• Εθνικό Κέντρο Κοινωνικής Αλληλεγγύης

HSP

• A Ted Talk on HSP 
• An older video of mine on being sensitive

A must watch.

I've always said I'm an HSP and I'm proud of it.
Being sensitive isn't a flaw, it's an extra tool that helps you be in touch with your humanity.

Yes, in today's capitalist society being an HSP is hard, but only because the ones in power want to make it hard.
Sensitivity leads to awareness, awareness leads to action, and they definitely don't want you to take action. They want you to be a money making machine without further thoughts and feelings.

As an artist, being HSP has urged me to express feelings and situations that wouldn't normally be explainable.
My sensitivity has inspired me to create on another level.

As a human, being HSP has caused me a lot of trauma and grief, but it has also made me experience happiness in a way that most people can't.
It has also advanced my emotional intelligence, to the point where I can look at someone for 5 seconds and tell you how they feel.

Throughout my life, I have helped numerous people. I have helped them with specific situations; I have helped them discover themselves; I have helped them identify the source of their true problems; I have helped them open their horizons and be more accepting...
And that I could do due to my sensitivity.

Invisible Disabilities

If someone tells you they suffer from a disability, please believe them.

There are many invisible disabilities affecting people's lives and wellbeing (both physical and mental), so diminishing and devaluing someone's suffering can cause severe trauma.

I myself am a person who suffers from certain things that cannot be seen, and many times even medical professionals did not believe me because I looked "fine."

Looking "fine" and being "fine" are worlds apart.

So if you're gonna do one thing today, let it be googling and reading about invisible disabilities for 5 minutes.

Φεστιβάλ Υπερηφάνειας Αθήνα 2017

Θα ήθελα να κάνω κάποια σχόλια για αυτά που συνέβησαν στο Φεστιβάλ Υπερηφάνειας το Σάββατο.

Δεν ήμουν εκεί, οπότε η εικόνα που έχω είναι καθαρά βασισμένη σε όσα διάβασα στο διαδίκτυο και όσα μου είπαν οι γονείς μου ότι άκουσαν στο ραδιόφωνο.

Καταλαβαίνω ότι ειδικά για μεγαλύτερης ηλικίας ΛΟΑΤΚΙ+ το να δουν την αστυνομία να παρελαύνει είναι trigger. 
Κι αυτό γιατί πολλές φορές, όταν χρειάστηκαν τη βοήθεια της αστυνομίας, αυτή τ@ς χλεύασε, και πολλές φορές τ@ς κακοποίησε περαιτέρω, είτε λεκτικά, είτε και σωματικά.

Καταλαβαίνω ότι μία καταπιεσμένη κοινωνική ομάδα χρειάζεται χρόνο για να εμπιστευτεί και να δεχθεί μία ομάδα ανθρώπων που την έχει καταπιέσει, ή έχει συμβάλει στην καταπίεσή της. Ακόμη κι όταν η ομάδα ατόμων δεν αποτελείται από τα ίδια άτομα που μας έχουν καταπιέσει, και μόνο το τι συμβολίζει η ΕΛ.ΑΣ για τη ΛΟΑΤΚΙ+ κοινότητα δημιουργεί πολλά αρνητικά συναισθήματα.

Όλα αυτά είναι λογικά, και αναμενόμενα.

Όμως, σε μία χώρα τόσο συντηρητική και τόσο οπισθοδρομική γίνονται κάποια βήματα προς την εξέλιξη επιτέλους!
Σε άλλες χώρες είναι σύνηθες η αστυνομία να παίρνει μέρος στο Φεστιβάλ. Πχ. το έχω δει να συμβαίνει στο Φεστιβάλ Υπερηφάνειας του Λονδίνου.

Το να δεις την αστυνομία να παρελαύνει στο Φεστιβάλ Υπερηφάνειας, με χαρά και δική της βούληση, και με κίνδυνο της ζωής της (δείχνοντας δημόσια στήριξη στη ΛΟΑΤΚΙ+ κοινότητα), είναι κάτι το οποίο θα μπορούσαμε να εκτιμήσουμε. Και φυσικά να σκεφτούμε πώς αντιμετωπίζονται οι ΛΟΑΤΚΙ+ που είναι μέλη της ΕΛ.ΑΣ. Όπως είπε κάποιος από τους αστυνομικούς "Γιατί κι εγώ να μην μπορώ να πω ότι είμαι gay στο σώμα;"

Άκουσα ότι κάποι@ αστυνομικ@ που ήθελαν να παρελάσουν ήταν ΛΟΑΤΚΙ+. Και τελικά δέχθηκαν επίθεση -όχι σωματική- και άσχημες συμπεριφορές και απορρίφθηκαν από πολλά άτομα που συμμετείχαν στο Φεστιβάλ.

Το να φέρεσαι σε άτομα που προσπαθούν να σε βοηθήσουν όπως σου φέρονταν/φέρονται οι καταπιεστές σου, ΔΕΝ είναι λύση.
Γιατί στο τέλος θα γίνεις σαν αυτούς.

Καταλαβαίνω το θυμό των παρεβρισκομένων, και προφανώς δεν μπορώ να απαιτήσω ή να επιβάλλω καμία συμπεριφορά απέναντι στ@ν οποι@νδήποτε.

Αλλά όταν η συμπεριφορά μας είναι επιθετική όταν δε μας επιτίθενται καλό είναι να προβληματιστούμε.

Το Φεστιβάλ φέτος είχε τον τίτλο "Θέμα Παιδείας."
Αλλά αυτό δεν αφορά μόνο τα ετεροφυλόφυλα και cis άτομα.
Αυτά μας αφορά όλ@ς.

Cruelty free makeup in Europe

Please remember that you don't have to be vegan/vegetarian to go cruelty free on your makeup.
I know that most of the major companies test on animals and it can be hard to find cruelty free companies that work for you and your budget, but animals are being tortured daily for no reason.In 2017 there is absolutely no need to test on animals.
But unfortunately, China forces any brand that wants to sell beauty/skincare products there to test on animals. And since China is a huge market and companies are greedy, they sell there and test on animals.
The more of us go cruelty free, the more affordable and available cruelty free makeup will be.
Of course you can't be perfect all the time and you may make mistakes along the way as it's impossible to always know if a brand is cruelty free or not. But making the effort to find out and not supporting brands that you know test on animals is a huge step forward!
I understand that in some countries it may be harder to find cruelty free makeup than in others, but if you look into it there are options!
Here are some cruelty free brands available in Europe:
-Gosh
-B.
-Collection
-Sleek
-Makeup Revolution (Revolution Pro & iHeart Revolution)
-Neve
-Caked Cosmetics
-Nyx
-Urban Decay
-Milani
-LA Girl
-OCC
-Gerard Cosmetics
-LA Splash
-Sugarpill Cosmetics
-Kat Von D Cosmetics
-Jeffree Star Cosmetics
-The Balm
-Korres
-MUA
-Elf
-Golden Rose
-Barry M.
-The Body Shop
- Pixi
-Anastasia Beverly Hills
-Too Faced
-Eco Tools
-Real Techniques

Here are some places where you can find them:

• http://www.feelunique.com/
• https://www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk/
• http://www.beautybay.com/
• http://www.superdrug.com/
• http://www.boots.com/
• https://buyaboo.gr/
• http://www.sephora.com/
• http://www.sephora.gr/
• http://www.debenhams.com/
• https://www.muagreece.gr/
• https://www.muastore.co.uk/
• http://www.sleekmakeup.com/
• http://www.sleekmakeup.com/eu
• http://www.urbandecay.com/
• http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/
• https://www.barrym.com/

I'm sure there are other ones as well! Feel free to leave me a comment with more sources!

Websites with lists of cruelty free and vegan brands:

• http://voodoo-blonde.tumblr.com/cruelty-free
• http://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/
• http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx
• http://www.leapingbunny.org/
• https://logicalharmony.net/
• https://veganrabbit.com/list-of-companies-that-do-test-on-animals/

There are so many other websites, but I included the most known ones and a personal blog.

Hope this helps!

x

ps. If at any point you discover that any of the above-mentioned brands aren't cruelty free anymore, please leave me a comment, to update the list. Thanks!

Financial Slavery/ News Outlets Misreporting

So, the Daily Mail just misreported an attack of a woman, making it look like a hate crime committed by muslim women.
1 day before elections.

All the sheep are commenting on fb that they're voting for May, and are making islamophobic comments.

HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU?

I'm sick and tired of ignorant people who don't check facts, follow news outlets owned/funded by conservatives and are so fucking brainwashed they can't see that their country is close to the point of no return.

Most of UK citizens aren't rich. So why the fuck are you supporting conservatives?

Can't you see they're trying to create financial slavery so they can accumulate all the power?
Is it so hard for you to figure the fucking plan?
It's simple af!

Make people as desperate as possible, take their healthcare, take their education, take their rights, take their money. Make them angry.
Say it's the immigrants' fault. Blame anyone.
The people are so enraged at this point they need anyone to make an enemy of and take their anger out on.
But because they're uneducated, they don't have any money and they don't have their health, they're short sighted, don't have time, don't have the energy to look into it, and believe anything media feeds them with.
And... boom! You did it!
You successfully completed financial slavery.
Now they're all poor and stupid and fight each other whilst you use them and make money off them.

Is this so fucking hard to realise? Is it?

Random Thoughts XXXXXVI

TV: The safest form of escapism.

I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't party, I don't go out, I literally have close to zero social life at this point...

If I didn't have TV series and the Internet, I don't know what I'd do.

Έλα στη θέση μου 2

Μηνύματα που έχει περάσει αυτή η σειρά μέχρι στιγμής:

1. Αν "αγαπάς" κάποιον έχεις δικαίωμα να κάνεις τα πάντα για να τον "κερδίσεις" (συμπεριλαμβανομένης και της σωματικής κακοποίησης)
2. Το να λες ψέμματα είναι λάθος, αλλά αν λες την αλήθεια όλοι πρέπει να σε συγχωρήσουν ό,τι και να τους έχεις κάνει (συμπεριλαμβανομένης και σωματικής κακοποίησης)
3. Το να την πέφτει ένας 29χρονος σε μία 17χρονη, να την κυνηγάει και να τη stalkάρει είναι φυσιολογικό
4. Αν πας να χτυπήσεις μια γυναίκα, μετά αυτή θα τα φτιάξει μαζί σου
5. Αν κυνηγάς μια γυναίκα, ακόμα κι αν δε σε θέλει, αν επιμείνεις αυτή θα τα φτάξει μαζί σου
6. Αν κάνεις κακό σε μία γυναίκα, σωματικά και ψυχικά, δε θα τιμωρηθείς ποτέ (ακόμη κι αν η πράξη σου είναι ποινικά κολάσιμη)
7. Γενικά οι παρανομίες δεν τιμωρούνται
8. Πρέπει να έχεις καλές σχέσεις με την οικογένειά σου, ακόμη κι αν σε έχουν κακοποιήσει ψυχικά ή σωματικά
9. Όσες μαλακίες και να κάνεις, αν είσαι άντρας οι δικοί σου θα σε συγχωρήσουν και θα σε έχουν στα ώπα ώπα (ακόμα κι αν οι πράξεις σου είναι παράνομες και έχουν δημιουργήσει τραύματα, ψυχικά και σωματικά, σε άλλα άτομα
10. Το να ουρλιάζεις, να φωνάζεις, να προσβάλεις το άτομο που "αγαπάς," ακόμη και το να πας να χειροδικήσεις εναντίον του είναι αποδεκτό

Έχω δει πάνω από 130 επεισόδια, ελπίζοντας να δω κάποια στιγμή να αποδίδεται κάποιου είδους δικαιοσύνη.
Αυτό που βλέπω είναι ανακυκλωμένα σεξιστικά πρότυπα σερβιρισμένα μέσα από μια κρυόκωλη "κωμωδία."

Και τρομάζω με το ότι κάποια άτομα θα δουν τη σειρά, και θα νομίζουν ότι αυτά που βλέπουν είναι φυσιολογικά και λογικό να συμβαίνουν στην πραγματική ζωή.

Κρίμας, είναι και νέοι άνθρωποι που συμμετέχουν στη σειρά, δεν μπορούν να προσπαθήσουν για κάτι καλύτερο;

Why I will never order from Colourpop again

A few weeks ago Colourpop offered free international shipping.

Since I've heard so many good things about this company I decided to place 2 orders.
One for Greece and one for UK.

I kept both orders under £15/€22 so that I wouldn't have to pay customs, Vat or any other charges (as stated by EU law).

It took them 4 days to ship my Greek order and 6 days to ship my UK order.
My Greek order arrived 5 days after being shipped.
My UK order arrived 10 days after being shipped.

Weirdly enough, my Greek order arrived in Athens first.
My mother received it, no issues.

My UK order on the other hand...
First of all the USPS tracking service showed the order as delivered, when it was not. Secondly, Royal Mail showed the order was held at customs. I contacted Royal Mail and they said the order was going through customs.
I thought, hold on, why is this happening?

I will not go through the details, as you can imagine there was a lot of phone and email ping pong to find out what was going on.
Colourpop did not respond to my emails, and when they did it was either automated emails, or their attitude was informal, and not responding to my questions.
Unacceptable.

In the end, I found out they put the wrong price on the parcel. I had paid $18 for my parcel, but they put $24 not including the discounts that I got.

So, I had to pay £14 for Royal Mail to hand me my parcel.
Needles to say this is the price of the actual parcel, so I had to pay twice!!!!

I cannot begin to tell you how upset, how enraged I am!

I did all this to make sure I wouldn't have to pay any customs, played by the rules, kept my orders under £15/€22 and due to Colourpop's incompetence I was charged in the end!

It goes without saying that I will try to get a refund from customs, but Colourpop is not co-operating and getting a refund is a long and very complicated procedure. Which I shouldn't have to go through in the first place!

I will never order from them again, and I am completely put off from using their products.

Also, one of the lipsticks I had ordered had been opened and used. You could tell if you compared it to the other ones....

Coincidentally, Colourpop has made the comments on their facebook page hidden, but if you manage to find them, all of them consist of complaints...

I'm blaming myself for falling into the trap of IG products and buying from them.
But I will never make the same mistake again.

Frustration

Why can't I have a fucking break of bullshit happening to me?
Seriously, even when I seclude myself and don't step outside the house for months, shit still happens to me continuously!
What am I supposed to do, live in a fucking cave without any type of communication?
But I'm sure that even then something bad would happen!

I don't know for how long I can remain sane if things don't change.

Target audience

Who is my target audience?

For anyone who follows me on social media, you know I'm on blogspot, youtube and other social media platforms.

But who do I aim to reach with my pictures, articles and videos?

Mostly lgbtqai+ persons, persons with disabilities, persons who suffer from mental health, and other marginalised social groups.

Every person who is on social media with the intention to reach people has a target audience in mind.
E.g. a youtube channel on video games targets mostly white or asian males.
A beauty blog targets femme persons.
An instagram account about fitness targets people who go to the gym and enjoy exercising.
Etc.

So, my channel, blog, and other social media profiles are aimed towards those who are open minded, who aren't judgmental and who are accepting of others.

I talk a lot about body issues, about human rights, about mental health; I also discuss the news sometimes; I even create beauty videos; and of course, I share my art in different forms (image, sound and writing). There is variety.

But all of my social media profiles and all of the things I have shared have always had one thing in common: Trying to inform, and promote equality and acceptance.

Therefore, if you're someone who discriminates against others for any reason, if you bodyshame people, if you're a misogynist, sexist, racist, bully, cyberbully etc. please, do not follow me on social media, and stay away from my posts.

In the past, unfortunately, I had been targeted by people who had no place on my social media accounts. Thankfully, the police were very helpful and collaborated with me on the matter.
These days there are laws in place to protect us from cyberbullying. And even though police may not take immediate action against a cyberbully, they start keeping an eye on them, and the websites that allow them to thrive.
And once you're on their list, well, you just don't want to be on their list.

To sum up, I hope that one day my social media accounts will be able to reach more people (people who belong to my target audience) and make a positive change in the world.

Finding a safe space for the things you love

Anyone else who gets discouraged from certain things due to the people supporting them?
E.g. I was a member of a fb group for Atheists, and some people were such bullies, lgbt+phobic and misogynistic that I could not be a member anymore. And that put me off trying to find fellow Atheists online for good.
Another example is the anime community (especially online) which consists of a lot of bullies, ignorant bigots and misogynists. I'be had so many cyberbully me on anime websites and that put me off watching anime altogether...
Or for instance the rave/dnb scene or the tattoo scene... They're both filled with machismo, misogyny and sexism. Which of course put me off going to events relevant to either.
Even within feminist circles I have been attacked viciously -by feminists- and had to stop following most relevant pages and block certain people to protect myself.
I have yet to find a community/scene where I feel safe, comfortable and accepted.
And I wonder if I ever will...

Random Thoughts XXXXXV

Life is way too short to care what other people think about your life and your choices.

Every spring I try to let go of all that which isn't good for me. Including withered relationships, bad habits and toxic situations.

Why spring you may ask...

Not sure.

Maybe because the blossoming of flowers marks a new beginning.

Don't fall into the illusion

Always remember: Don't base your self image on what you see online and on the media. Those images are edited, hence not real. Also, many of the people on those images have spend thousands, if not millions, on looking the way they are. Breast implants/lifts, nose jobs, cheek fillers, chin fillers, lip fillers, fat transfers, butt lifts, ab implants, ass implants, botox, etc... Which is fine, no judgment at all, but it means they weren't born looking 'perfect.' So don't feel bad for not looking like them. They also have teams of people to make them look good. Nutritionists, personal trainers, stylists, hair stylists, makeup artists etc. If you're the average person you cannot compete with that, nor should you try to. Don't waste your time and money into chasing the illusion. Do what you want to do, for you. Don't try to look like anybody else. Fuck what society tells you. Fuck what society shows you. Fuck those who try to force their validation upon you.
Peace.

Headphone Reviews

I've been throwing away faulty headphones without ever reviewing them, but I think it's time to start keep a 'headphone diary'. Every time I'm ready to throw headphones away, I will write a review here.

This way I may be able to help one of you as well.
I will keep updating this post.

So here we go:


Volcom Posso (2017 review)

I got these a long time ago. Probably around 2014.
This isn't a picture of my pair, as they're worn out and not pretty at all anymore.
I ain't getting technical on characteristics.
Imma keep it simple.
They're good looking, stylish, have decent sound, do alright with bass, but don't last long.
In less than a year I started having problems with them, and the shop I got them from was super sketchy and didn't replace them, even though I had a 1 year guarantee.
I don't recommend them at all.








Skullcandy Hesh (review 2017)

 

I've had these since 2008/9 and they still work!
Not picture of my ones as they're quite rough.
They even survived a stupid girl who was lapdancing and decided to use them as nipple covers, twisting one headphone and breaking it.
Ever since, I got tape around it, but somehow it still works.
Good sound, awesome design, does alright with bass, but after a long time sometimes the sound flakes. Not sure how else to explain it. I just think it's a cable issue, which happens to most headphones, but it took a pretty long time to happen to these ones.
I definitely think they're worth buying.