A Small Edit:

Hello all!

I've found that my experiences with kin don't quite seem to align with a lot of other people's, and, while I know that this is a subjective experience, I was wondering if detailing my experiences might help to elucidate what is going on for me. Even if there isn't a label, I'm still comfortable under the otherkin and alterhuman umbrellas ✨️

I don't quite feel the same level of identification that others feel with their kintype. I don't see him and feel a response of recognition - it feels less that I am him, but more that he is me. My kin is primarily psychological, and I later adopted the more spiritual side of the beliefs here. I do possess memories, but they are very brief snapshots in time of events - walking down a hallway and trailing my fingers along the wall, vague recollections of what flight felt like, nothing highly specific. I do have a sense of longing for the location he lived in, but not for anyone he knew (with the homesickness of sorts being attributed to a personal trauma response as I've discussed this in therapy, but it feels worthwhile to mention in this discussion).

Something also worth mentioning - while I do not have DID, I did (and potentially still do?) experience dissociation. The very first experiences I had were quite intense and I likened them to feeling possessed, though with less loss of control and more experiencing thoughts and emotions that did not belong to me. As time went on, I became more acquainted with this part of myself and the episodes became a lot less distressing as time went on. My analogy is that, if I were driving a car, the first episodes felt like me controlling the gas and brakes while someone else tried to take the wheel from me, while now they feel like I'm taking driving directions from a trusted friend.

At some point in the turmoil, I recognized the bundle of thoughts and feelings as the kintype I currently identify with (as?). I use his name offline in my life and feel a euphoria I cannot fully name when I am in full cosplay as him. He has insect characteristics (antennae and butterfly wings) and I notice a lot of the euphoria fades when I'm not wearing them, though in canon he was certainly nothing short of a misanthrope who took great pride in his insect nature.

It also feels worth mentioning, I am a semi-active member of the self ship community, and had been shipping with my kintype (as the human I currently am) for what had initially been coping purposes.

I suppose I feel less personal recognition, and almost as though I possess two souls, his and my own. What I had later called kinshifts had been so clearly delineated to me at first, but now I feel a sort of harmony with this.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm open for questions, if need be.

This can be such a funny way to go about my life because sometimes he's here and I know exactly why, and it just feels like we're commiserating.

Alterhuman ID cards that were posted at othercon! Idk who originally made them, if someone does know let me know! @thetrashduck

Needing to do a deeper dive into my mental state, he briefly said hello on Sunday, while I was driving, at that. I'm exhausted and the dreams are creeping back in, something is triggering something in me and I haven't been able to find what it is yet, though I have a few hunches.

I need to sit down, light a candle or my tea lights, and think. To think and ask, to tease apart what it is that he's trying to tell me.

Overworked? A non-zero chance. 6 days on my schedule but not exceeding 40 hours; still, the constant workplace presence is a drag and keeps me from my hobbies. Housing concerns? The idea of a new place to live with other queer people has been raised to me, it could concern my finances if I were to move, and that's always been a concern as well for me. Finances always concern me, having grown up with so little and the current inflation crisis, not wanting a single penny to be wasted or out of place. I am certainly seeing some improvement, but the question of my ultimate financial goal always lingers over me.

Hobby engagement could also be a factor. I'd attempted an art challenge, day by day, and fell off when I no longer had the time or energy for even smaller sketches. I am attending a large con next month and have only barely started my second outfit, still not even having bought the con tickets. Maybe the goals feel too large? Too nebulous?

I have been invited to a potluck to speak with a myrmecologist, a dream scenario for me and a potential foot in the door to the career I've wanted to pursue. I feel too exhausted to want to go, even though I know I'll enjoy the conversations and I know that entomologist was excited to know I would be meeting him.

I feel drained, so consistently drained, the rapidly setting sun and accrual of unused ideas taking their toll over me. I am hoping to take some strain off of myself after this week, resuming a normal work schedule, mapping out more of the outfit, keeping a clean living space, small indulgences and typical careful planning.

A few off days doesn't undermine my progress, and an off week doesn't undermine it either. This feels, no, is, symptomatic of something larger, and I will work to find out where it stems from to give myself some peace.

I crossed paths with a fe.itan! The internet is truly a magical place

Thinking about my love for categorization in terms of my altar, all my gemstones and incense and candles and how they all must mean something to me

Since I've used this blog to talk about a lot of mental health aspects, heavily regarding my sense of self and identity, I'm thinking of talking about other aspects of my recovery and health here as well. Talking about the body the self must inhabit, a body which has long been afflicted with pain that is being resolved.

I self-tested for POTS, and with a 63 bpm difference, I more than qualify; I still would like to see it formally charted by a physician however, not just for the purposes of insurance, but for the personal validation of confirming suspicions held over a number of years. I am currently being investigated for Ehler-Danlos Syndrome, of which I appear to meet roughly 90% of the criteria for. I have been recommended a clinic to speak with, but I currently cannot afford the sessions; I will likely be diagnosed with either Hypermobile EDS, or Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, which will also allow a lot of pieces to come together for me. Once I receive a diagnosis from the clinic, I will return to my primary care physician to seek a diagnosis for my digestive issues. My therapist (who had initially mentioned EDS and POTS to me, before my PC also strongly suggested them) brought up the idea of gastroparesis, something which I feel inclined to lean towards once I spent a day consuming nothing but liquid and, for the first time in a while, had no stomach issues. Receiving a diagnosis from this clinic will help pave the way for me to be examined for other conditions that tend to be comorbid.

I do have an appointment for two EMG tests next month, regarding the way my limbs tend to go numb, as well as a spinal MRI I have yet to schedule.

It feels overwhelming to be told that my conditions will likely be something I will carry with my for the rest of my life, but having answers is already giving me some solace. Being close to answers, at any rate.

I've joined the server and oh, it is so busy-

I must say, being involved with the kin community on a genuine level is still something I value, but I am not certain how much I still identify with it. This blog will remain standing of course, but I may discuss spirituality on a more general level.

Am I host to the world's most half-assed fictive..