dancing in the faerie ring

crosspost from tumblr - original post .

this is not and never will be full guide to every possible medical reason , but , want to share some of discernment practises and questions for those who might have less experience .
as well , kossai write this as guide for one to evaluate self - not as tool for others to armchair diagnose . please do not harass strangers with these questions .

for any shift type .

• think about what possibly trigger . maybe that is very clear , or maybe need to retrace steps . is this trigger consistent ? keep log if necessary . if there is no consistent trigger despite reoccurrence , or only ever come on once , please treat this as yellow flag . 
• second , how much is this experience comfort , and how much is this experience stressful ? if stress equal or outweigh comfort , why is this ? sometimes experiences can be stressful for outside factors , like worry of others witness in mental shift , but other times that stress is directly from experience . 

mental shifts .

• do this state of mind bring total emotional crash at any time before , during , or after ? 
• if this state of mind cloud judgment and/or impulse control , how severe is this ? if potentially fatal impulses enter mind , how high is chance of follow through ?
• if ever experience loss of language or comprehension during state of mind , what is chance this was some form of stroke ? some strokes can be fairly silent , but still leave with big problems .
• stroke risk or not , big red flag if come out of experience with new cognitive difficulties , especially without recovery or improvement .
• is there any yellow or red flags in family medical history , such as bipolar disorder , schizophrenia , or anything which impede blood flow and function ?
• is there any yellow or red flags in personal medical history , such as brain injuries , or anything in previous point ?

phantom shifts in general .

• where and what is this phantom sensation ? how real do this sensation feel ?
• what is impact of this phantom sensation ? is this comfort ? why or why not ? 
• is there any visual component to this sensation ? what type , and how strong ? some folks do go through visualisation work , but if this come without prior experience in visualisation , consider this yellow to red flag .

phantom shifts with pain .

• how strong is this pain ? often phantom shift is not source of pain , but may seem to explain by coincidence - especially true if this pain is strong .
• do this pain correspond with current medical diagnoses or known family history ? for example , phantom wings , back pains , and family history of scoliosis . 
• sometimes pain is ambiguous in origin , or refer in other places entirely - organs especially can be hard , since there is no way to see these . is any of this pain coincidentally around organs , or refer in ways organ pains might ?

sensory / perception shifts . 

• these shifts do not necessarily mean literal change in sensory ability - rather could be another form of mental shift , changes in how mind categorise and react . for example here , scent shift is not literal super smell , but rather mind seek out and tune into scents that might normally gloss over . 
• still , sometimes there is ambiguity , or difficulty rather than apparent gain . in these cases , would say treat any changes in sensory ability as yellow to red flag . this means any new difficulties in ability to see , hear , smell , taste , or feel physical sensations . tragedies like brain tumours do not play around , even if this is least likely of causes . 

to bring this all around with example …

kossai have periods of " low human filter " , which might consider cousin term to mental shift . kossai can purposefully induce this , and help to release stress . still hold onto judgment and impulse control during these , bar some minor social impulses , and slightly more wacky artistic endeavours . there is no crash at any point , and experiences relieve rather than bring stress - so overall , this is pretty safe . 
someone who feel distress during or after experiences , though , might want to look into triggers more carefully and find ways to manage . especially true if these experiences bring feelings of inability to hurt or to die , lack of appetite , impair vital judgment or impulse control , or otherwise feel likely at risk of injury or death without management . 

finally , please note .

some of these questions come from roots in mental health , others come from physical problems , and some even can be either or . kossai is not doctor of any sort and can not say what best management is , not even if give full details of personal experience . still , if nothing else , please reach out to friends and communities and get more opinions . 

as for fellow community members , if someone reach out with experience that is potentially of concern , for either physical or mental health , please treat with kindness - and once again , do not use these questions to harass others . hostility and refusal of autonomy still will not help .