Help can somebody PLEASE give me a reality check.

[lemonbunny]

idk when or how. there's a popular book series that has somehow become a very intense trigger for me. if it comes to mind while i'm eating, i end up losing my appetite because of it. i think its about to become a tv show too, to the point where i'm scared of checking that specific streaming service i have because im scared of it popping up.

i see fanart for it while searching for something else, and i get this very sick feeling and have to close the tabs altogether. it literally has the power to ruin ANY good mood i have.

i've thought about ways to circumvent my irrational reaction to it. "it's just fiction. it's not real. you don't have to like it even though everyone else does."

but i dont think me telling myself these things is as effective as somebody else. i'm sure i'll realize how stupid this all is when the post goes up, but as a shut-in i'm currently stuck with my thoughts and dearly need a second perspective.

can someone please confirm to me that a fucking book isn't as big of a threat to me as i'm making it out to be?

 

[VampQueen]

idk when or how. there's a popular book series that has somehow become a very intense trigger for me. if it comes to mind while i'm eating, i end up losing my appetite because of it. i think its about to become a tv show too, to the point where i'm scared of checking that specific streaming service i have because im scared of it popping up.

i see fanart for it while searching for something else, and i get this very sick feeling and have to close the tabs altogether. it literally has the power to ruin ANY good mood i have.

i've thought about ways to circumvent my irrational reaction to it. "it's just fiction. it's not real. you don't have to like it even though everyone else does."

but i dont think me telling myself these things is as effective as somebody else. i'm sure i'll realize how stupid this all is when the post goes up, but as a shut-in i'm currently stuck with my thoughts and dearly need a second perspective.

can someone please confirm to me that a fucking book isn't as big of a threat to me as i'm making it out to be?

well i dont want to invalidate your feelings, especially since you didnt name the book in question. What about the book is so intensive for you?

 

[WhiteRabbit]

Harry Potter ain't gonna hurt you.

 

[lemonbunny]

well i dont want to invalidate your feelings, especially since you didnt name the book in question. What about the book is so intensive for you?

i think it embodies a lot of the tropes that i find problematic and annoying in modern YA fiction, but tries to "justify" itself via social justice themes injected later on. kind of like when celebrities do performative stuff for brownie points that you know damn well isn't part of their brand? which is a big part of its hype and bothers me a ton. i dont think it would bother me as much if it wasn't so popular and popped up in random places where i wasn't even looking for it.

Harry Potter ain't gonna hurt you.

haha thank goodness it's not harry potter levels of famous

 

[VampQueen]

i think it embodies a lot of the tropes that i find problematic and annoying in modern YA fiction, but tries to "justify" itself via social justice themes injected later on. kind of like when celebrities do performative stuff for brownie points that you know damn well isn't part of their brand? which is a big part of its hype and bothers me a ton. i dont think it would bother me as much if it wasn't so popular and popped up in random places where i wasn't even looking for it.

haha thank goodness it's not harry potter levels of famous

to me it feels like one of those things were the more you try to forget about it, the more you notice it. try not to stress out over it and don't let it control you. Occupy your mind with other things that interest you and if you happen to see what you're trying to get away from then acknowledge it but move one, don't ruminate on it because itll make you feel worse. Hope this helps

 

[lemonbunny]

to me it feels like one of those things were the more you try to forget about it, the more you notice it. try not to stress out over it and don't let it control you. Occupy your mind with other things that interest you and if you happen to see what you're trying to get away from then acknowledge it but move one, don't ruminate on it because itll make you feel worse. Hope this helps

i'll try, thank you

 

[Abandoned Character]

The reality check I can give you is that this sounds very dysfunctional. Based on what you said, your description of what triggers you seems incredibly tame too. I've been triggered by certain books in the past during a manic episode because I thought the universe was showing me signs of extra-terrestrials interacting with me. You're mad that a novel is getting attention you don't think it deserves? Based solely on what you have said in this thread, you sound ridiculous. It's my reccomendation that you either seek therapy or talk to someone close to you about working this out. Losing appetite over such triggers is not functional and you should look towards talking to someone.

/reality-check over

I am not sure if that is what you are looking for, but right off the bat those are the words that come to my head when you ask for a reality check.

 

[lemonbunny]

The reality check I can give you is that this sounds very dysfunctional. Based on what you said, your description of what triggers you seems incredibly tame too. I've been triggered by certain books in the past during a manic episode because I thought the universe was showing me signs of extra-terrestrials interacting with me. You're mad that a novel is getting attention you don't think it deserves? Based solely on what you have said in this thread, you sound ridiculous. It's my reccomendation that you either seek therapy or talk to someone close to you about working this out. Losing appetite over such triggers is not functional and you should look towards talking to someone.

/reality-check over

I am not sure if that is what you are looking for, but right off the bat those are the words that come to my head when you ask for a reality check.

thanks for replying! i was hoping to work things out in my head via simple reason, because as you said it's quite ridiculous and i've come up with a hundred reasons why it shouldn't be so serious and affect me so deeply. other "worse" things don't affect me as much; they make me sad but i dont get viscerally disturbed the way this does . i can't tell why.

currently very reluctant to go back to therapy but scheduled an online meeting anyway, i hope to bring this up with them.

 

[kyhoti]

This happens to me all the time. Something in there stuck an arrow in your very soul, regardless of how "tame" it is, or whatever. I'm glad you're going back to therapy. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest EMDR if you can get enough sessions to really do it right. EMDR doesn't help/work for everybody, but it did for me. I could dispassionately look at a traumatic experience that haunted me, and I had a breakthrough. Best of luck.

Also, fight fire with fire, just like getting a tune stuck in your head. Get into another series that can smother this problematic one. The sillier the better imo. While it's an avoidance tactic of sorts. If it works, it works. My .02.