hopeful respect for others' memories

[kossai]

crosspost from tumblr . ( original post )

dreamwidth preface : kossai tumblr audience is largely physical nonhumans , and supporters of physical nonhumans , who can safely navigate exposure to experiences that fall outside modern ideas of objective reality . this post in particular is about language that aim to not trigger unreality by way of question and deny experiences as personal truth .

these points can be useful in cases other than physical nonhumans , such as plural and religious aspects , but please be mindful of this main context if this might trigger .

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kossai do not like to approach memories of other folks as false memories , unless that is how individuals personally explain , no matter how far these memories fall outside ideas of objective reality . have some thoughts on language and mindsets to actually put to use in respect .

 

one thing which kossai pick up because of plurality is not to name memories or experiences as " real world " and " unreal world " . among courtiers of kossai , prior memories and prior worlds just as real as this current one , and many here come from this world anyway . find more useful , when distinction is necessary , to make these distinctions in time periods :

• distant memories / recent memories
• before life in court / here and now
• memories before / after X event
• and so on .

while adopt this for plurality , this is not just applicable there . phrases of preference can vary , but hopefully this is alright start .

sometimes , can still be useful to talk about theories that no doubt consider these to be false . prefer where possible to phrase this as things like approach , framework , or understanding of X theory , rather than refer to X theory as one and only possible truth .

quick and dirty example : there can be common threads between memories of clinical zoanthropes ; to approach as false memory , must first understand stigma and social trauma of schizo-spectrum diagnoses .

hopefully that make sense - not to dictate that false memory is always explanation , but that this is one approach , and that usefulness is conditional .

as well , kossai try to be clear that psychiatric labels not immutable objects so much as what doctors decide to name experiences , which can be wrong . not all folks who receive diagnosis of clinical zoanthropy consider experiences to be delusion or memories to be false , and experiences that line up with particular diagnoses may be result of how humans react , rather than inherent truth of self .

this one is not so much change of words as change of mindset . but very much worth note that that last part is true in so many contexts - whether or not someone can be considerable as mentally unstable to start with , cruelty and lack of choice both massive triggers to send downhill .

why do this at all ?

reminders that others consider memories and life experiences to be unreal can be unreality trigger . to recognise this much is good step , but some folks can be sort of lost how to go from there , and how to distinguish time and memories in ways that explicitly respect as reality .

as well , again , these points have use in other contexts , such as with plural folk , religious experiences , parallel lives , and more . to push all under umbrella of delusion , and give identical " delusional treatment " , is hurtful to everyone .