Are you bothered by particular stereotypes?

[Lichi]

^^^ all of this.

I have a friend I'm helping out of addiction at the moment. Their life was totally falling apart and they relapsed. I'm glad to say they are doing really well at the moment. Wouldn't be an issue if they could moderate their usage but, as its an addiction, they find that impossible and it completely consumes them.

I'm glad you're helping out this person. Having just one person who is there, who is not encouraging your use, but still not brushing their hands off of you. Someone who doesn't say "why can't you just quit", but instead shows you they're there just because they want to. That can mean a world of difference or a person in addiction to be able to get out.

To an outsider it seems so easy to see the addict and their addiction as nothing but continuos use. In the end it is as simple as to stop using, except that it isn't. You want to stop, you want to be able to engage with everyone else. You know your friends and family want the best by telling you to stop and you want to do that too, but you can't because you don't understand how. There are too many feelings here guilt, shame, pain, you don't even want to be around yourself. Your drug is your best friend because it will never judge you and you will never have to explain yourself. You become sad when you fail at things so you go and use, then you're sad beause you used or what you had to do/avoid doing in order to use so you use again. It's a cycle you're stuck in and you can't really tell anyone. No one trust you anyways because they see you as nothing but a junkie.

 

[GrownupGirl]

The stereotype that all Canadians love hockey and think it's the greatest sport in the world drives me nuts. Especially when it's other Canadians who are being that way. I guess it's still all right for me to not like it because I'm female, but I heard at least one story about a guy who claimed he nearly got killed all because he admitted to his so-called friends that he hated hockey. But it's like saying all Americans love baseball and we all know that isn't true.

 

[Mary Anne]

I second everything ksheehan88 posted. I also detest how it’s “aspies versus NTs” and how there seemingly is such massive, collective, ongoing stereotyping, hatred, and judgements against so many people in society (as I continually read on these forums). We would never do this encouragingly against people of color, or Muslims, or from a certain country...so why is it so rampant here amongst so many people? It’s the same thing! Judgemental stereotyping and hate is just plain wrong.

 

[Mary Anne]

. But it's like saying all Americans love baseball and we all know that isn't true.

I utterly DETEST baseball, and I am an American. I detest it so much that recently, upon being hired for my new job in a mental health agency, I told them that I really cannot take the clients to baseball games! I cited “sensory issues” (which indeed are enormous) but besides that, I detest every single thing about baseball, the culture, and generally most sports. People here consider me a heretic or something.

 

[HidinginPlainSight]

I utterly DETEST baseball, and I am an American. I detest it so much that recently, upon being hired for my new job in a mental health agency, I told them that I really cannot take the clients to baseball games! I cited “sensory issues” (which indeed are enormous) but besides that, I detest every single thing about baseball, the culture, and generally most sports. People here consider me a heretic or something.

Baseball is fantastic. Watching it has all the things I enjoy.........paying attention, strict order, statistics, calculating probabilities in my head, pointing out when the manager plays against them...etc

Oh, and the diamond is aesthetically pleasing. Of course the diamond is really a square, but from most perspectives it does look like a diamond. The number 9, and multiples of 9. 9 batters, 9 innings, 90 feet to first, 90 degree angles, √9 = 3 outs, 27 outs, 162 games (162/9 = 18 turned inverse = 81 home games, 3 strikes........the only thing that bothers me is the 60 feet to the mound, I realize that it cuts the square into triangles but I would prefer it was 63; it's not too much to ask.