Reposted by Vanessa Smithapricot @areyoshi.bsky.social · 2hLooking for tips for managing autistic burnout, asking for a friend (no, seriously! I'm having trouble articulating to them how I manage my own.) This is for a fellow creative and comic artist, so please feel free to share your experiences ❤️ #autism #burnout #disability #artist #comics #comicoop 73525
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 4hI’m not all that happy with the changing of the months. It just reminds me how hard this year has been and how little I have to show for it. Oh, and that I still have no income. 120
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 18hI’ve been feeling sad today because I haven’t been writing and I know it’s not my fault because I can’t do it when under stress, but I miss it. 040
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I have forced myself to do a lot of necessary, boring, and difficult things today so I’ve pulled some cookie dough balls from the freezer and now I get fresh cookies for afternoon tea. 290
Reposted by Vanessa SmithDianna Gunn Does (Fictional) Murders 🇨🇦 @diannalgunn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Staying housed is essential, especially when you're disabled, and October first is just two sleeps away Please help El get their rent paid - donate if you can, share if you can't. It all helps 269
Reposted by Vanessa Smith💜 phonakins 🍉🌲 @phonakins.com · 29/09/2026Thank you Kim for using my link to order a free box of EveryPlate! I got $25 credit for you doing that. I hope you enjoy your meals! www.everyplate.com.au/gw/share/C55...everyplate.com.auSelect Plan | EveryPlateGet meal kits delivered with EveryPlate and our affordable meal delivery plans! Quick & Easy ✅ Premium Picks ✅ Meat & Veggies ✅ Veggies ✅ Family Friendly ✅ 132
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 29/09/2026My inbox is exceptionally quiet today and it’s making me feel sad. Honestly, I kind of want to see a rejection at least 😂 I’ve been living in this limbo since mid April and it’s so challenging to take care of yourself and do everything necessary. 150
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 29/09/2026If the king threw a tanty when he didn’t like a pen, how mad do think he’d get if you asked him about that time he crashed a plane? 020
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Library Murphy’s law: Book 5 becomes available before book 4. Book 4 is scheduled to become available in 25 days, and book 5 is on loan for 20 days. 030
Reposted by Vanessa SmithMike Honey @mikehoney.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I took a look at the data on #ME/CFS for Australia. Hospital separations for "G04 Encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis" have been growing strongly since around 2015. Growth slowed in the early years of the pandemic and then accelerated from 2023 onwards. 48635
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 28/09/2026It has been a bit of a morning so far. Day so far? {period of time} and today = a bit eh. Good bits but also some shitty bits. Anyway, I’m settling in to watch a long video as a kind of background to a future fiction series I have planned. 030
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Working on it today but I think I’m going to give up. It’s a weird situation so I’m just going to see where it pans out as it happens 🤷♀️ Some things are too unclear to prepare for. 030
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 26/09/2026I have some stuff I need to do this weekend in preparation for Monday morning.Feeling a bit ugh towards anything I need to do. Was debating a “do it now & get it out of the way” solution. Thankfully, the library intervened with the last book in a series becoming available. Choice made - book first! 050
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Apparently I was half asleep earlier and shared the wrong post. That was last weeks. This is this weeks - an unusual edit round I'm working on. The Punch Edit thechronicallycreative.substack.com/p/the-punch-...thechronicallycreative.substack.comThe Punch EditBeing someone who has no household income right now, editing my own books is a compulsory fact of life. 031
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 25/09/2026No podcast today (obviously). Other stuff took priority. As always, I’ve got some stories to tell when the right time has passed. 030
Reposted by Vanessa SmithGeorge Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Here's today's column on the astonishing, ongoing mistreatment of people with #ME/CFS. Please spread it far and wide: the only thing which can break the media's wall of indifference is seeing an article about the issue go viral. Thank you. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comAbandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed | George MonbiotChanges in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a social crisis playing out behind closed doors, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot 17925181713
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 25/09/2026What I Did On My Summer Poorcaytion explores the inane thoughts of a person who has actual time off for the first time in a long time. payhip.com/b/MZHRh 000
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Well that appointment was a lot of nothing. A 6 minute phone call. Keep meds as is. He understands I’m mostly housebound but hopes I’m “better” in 6 months to come to the hospital in person for review. I’m unsure how I will just magically not have MECFS in 6 months time. 3191
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 25/09/2026The first time they confirmed the appointment they said the call could be an hour before or after the scheduled time. The second confirmation said it could be 2 hours before or after. So apparently all I am permitted to do today is stare at my phone. 182
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 24/09/2026And I’m pleased to see Australia shamed in here for still being on the outdated guidelines. Even the clusterfuck that is the US right now doesn’t promote the outdated rules. 186
Reposted by Vanessa SmithJosh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026If ultimately there's no criminal responsibility for this incident here then FOI just became a lot easier if we ask AI agents to go find those documents for us. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...theguardian.comAlbanese says OpenAI hacked Medicare and told Australia months later via email to generic inboxPrime minister says he told Sam Altman he was disappointed it had taken OpenAI ‘way too long’ to disclose breach 7338127
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Capacity building being unsuitable isn’t “being negative” normalness.com/2025/05/21/c...normalness.comCapacity building being unsuitable isn't "being negative" - Normal NessWhenever I advocate for a system of supports that don’t focus on capacity building, I get told I’m being negative. Even within disability circles I’ve had this said to me. As I say in the post I lin... 042
Reposted by Vanessa SmithDianna Gunn Does (Fictional) Murders 🇨🇦 @diannalgunn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Bibi makes SUCH good stuff. I sleep with the wrist braces w. Support plates every night and they're way comfier - and of course prettier - than the drug store ones. I love the compression gloves too & my spouse swears by her compression socks 1107
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Can I Meet Your Dog? Tote Bag www.redbubble.com/i/tote-bag/C...redbubble.com"Can I Meet Your Dog?" Tote Bag for Sale by normalnessCan I Meet Your Dog? Let your items ask what you KNOW you always want to ask! • Millions of unique designs by independent artists. Find your thing. 011
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Writing new creative works when you're going through stuff is hard. Here's what it has looked like for me recently: 16th August: 656 words 18th August: 315 words 19th August: 399 words 21st September: 87 words Small steps are still steps. 030
Reposted by Vanessa SmithGeorge Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Thanks so much everyone for a massive response. I've now had as many emails as I can cope with, so no more please - thank you. They paint a really grim and heatbreaking picture. The neglect and abuse of patients goes on and on. I hope to try to do the issue justice. #ME/CFS 28769201
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Good news! Hospital texted me to say my appointment can be done via phone. Phew. Still on careful balancing act this week with flares so the last thing I wanted to do was sit on painful seats in bright and loud places. 290
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Me: I’m gonna take the day off World: here, have a call where someone hasn’t read your resume and then gets cranky and defensive about disability 250
Reposted by Vanessa SmithGeorge Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Intending to write another column about the treatment of #ME/CFS patients this week, pegged to new research findings on the biological basis. My question for sufferers: Are any of you still being offered inappropriate (psych/GET etc) "treatments"? Please email george at monbiot dot info. Thanks. 130710287
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I’m trying to find a quote from a tv show and the Google AI thinks I’m insulting it specifically 🤦♀️ 160
Reposted by Vanessa SmithVanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 20/09/2026inclusion in the workplace. For example: How does your judgementalism impact recruitment when disabled people apply? 032
Reposted by Vanessa SmithVanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The fact the iced coffee debate has blown up so much goes to show how little people can handle difference in the workplace. Instead of focusing on something unimportant like coffee, use it to ask yourself questions about 133
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I managed an hour and twenty six minutes of spamming the shit out of applications before I got too sad to continue. It’d be so nice to stop. To know one of the many processes I’m already in will turn into a role. But I don’t trust until I’ve signed a contract. 2102
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 21/09/2026“Press one to have our staff call you back in your queue order. Please note it may take 24 hours for us to call you back”. Does that mean I’m going to be on hold literally all day? 180
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 21/09/2026The Secret Ingredient Of If you take either Instagram or Celebrity Chefs seriously, you'll hate The Secret Ingredient Of. So please buy it! payhip.com/b/E2cwC 011
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 21/09/2026After staring at a wall for over two hours, I’ve dragged myself to my desk to do … something. Job applications, I guess. I don’t know what to do when everything I do fails. Nor why I should feel good about this and how hard it is to make myself do it day in day out. 051
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 20/09/2026I thought of a good name for a book, only it doesn’t sound like a book I want to write. (And I don’t need any more book ideas, my ideas notepad doesn’t have many pages left in it.) Thinking I can use it by having a character read it in a book. 050
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The fact the iced coffee debate has blown up so much goes to show how little people can handle difference in the workplace. Instead of focusing on something unimportant like coffee, use it to ask yourself questions about 133
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Decided I can’t cope with an in person hospital appointment this week (difficult on a good day, and I just can’t face it with the painful week I’ve had). 170
Reposted by Vanessa SmithMx. Fee @mxfee.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Folks asking for help often feel a lot of guilt about needing support in the first place and the feeling of "I shouldn't be asking because others need it more" can be incredibly hard to overcome. It's fine to just say nothing. Boost the fundraiser! It costs nothing. Keep scrolling if it bothers you. 1173
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 19/09/2026“Disabled adults can't find jobs that will accommodate them.” Me and my apparently terrifying “I just need to do my desk job at my desk not your desk”. 073
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Less nuanced = even more abelist than a doctor, if that’s even possible. 020
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 19/09/2026What would the scam be if I saw a 6TB external drive for $45? It sounds extraordinarily cheap. Especially given current costs. I’m not sure what the scam is, and I also don’t trust it. 530
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Today I’d like to rip the arms off whoever is constantly dropping metallic tools onto a hard surface. I guess my head is taking a few days to recover… Also stop dropping your tools, you fucking tools. 050
Reposted by Vanessa SmithJD Rivers | Otar 3 coming Oct. 15 @jd-rivers.com · 18/09/2026"If someone’s natural writing style hews closer to that of Claude or ChatGPT, their work will show a higher rate of AI-generation. Not because you used AI, but because AI, in the actual sense, used you." I will never abandon the em-dash. 073
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 18/09/2026My head isn’t too bad from yesterday, but someone nearby is honking a horn with a weird sound, and I’m fantasising about having enough strength to rip their arms off so they can never honk again. 041
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 18/09/2026The Second Time Podcast Episode 16 - Week 22 This week is about rejections, blame, and confusion. normalness.com/2026/09/18/t...normalness.comThe Second Time Podcast Episode 16 - Week 22 - Normal NessImage description: The words “The second time podcast” in black text on a purple background. There is also a sketch of a computer and mouse. You can listen to this podcast in a number of places: S... 111
Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 18/09/2026If you've ever wanted to try journaling but also have a bit of an eye roll attitude towards such things, I'm kindly bridging the gap for you. YES, I HAVE MADE A SNARKY GRATITUDE JOURNAL. payhip.com/b/TinUXpayhip.comThe Ultimate Snarky Gratitude JournalOn January 22nd I had a bright shiny idea because I am good at those. (I have them on days that aren't January 22nd as well. That's how good at them I am!) After some delays due to migraine, a burning hot pain flare, leaving my 002