Down Syndrome

To help encourage us to remember that we are more than our chronic illness(es) or any diagnosis, and to remember that we Are building friendships right here -

In the spirit of the current, Biggest, Buzz-Worthy, Trending Topic, MOVIES awards show airing Sunday night the Oscars🙌🤩🏆🍿🎥🎬

Let’s use this post all weekend Starting Now And And Into Next Week to connect through the art, power, storytelling, …and your particular views on any film. I will keep it as wide-ranged as that for a fun, varied, connecting conversation back and forth below 👇 in the comments!

#Loneliness #Grief #DistractMe #FamilyAndFriends #Relationships #IfYouFeelHopeless #Depression #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #DepressiveDisorders #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #MoodDisorders #MDD #Agoraphobia #MentalHealth #MightyTogether #ADHD #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ChronicIllness #IntellectualDisability #AutismSpectrumDisorder #MyCondition #RareDisease #ChronicPain #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #ChronicFatigue #Migraine #Selfharm #Selfcare #Mindfulness #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #Suicide #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #PTSD #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #PsoriaticArthritis #Trauma #Cancers #AlopeciaAreata #AuditoryProcessingDisorder #CerebralPalsy #BipolarDisorder #DownSyndrome #Addiction #Lupus #HashimotosThyroiditis #AutoimmuneThyroidDisease #BipolarDepression #HypothyroidismUnderactiveThyroidDisease #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #AutonomicDysfunction #ParkinsonsDisease #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #POTS #EatingDisorders #AnorexiaNervosa #BingeEatingDisorder #Dyspraxia #BrainInjury #MotorDisorders

🙌 Yes!!

Yep, I am Also your confidence booster!
&
Your cheerleader ( 📣 🙃🤭🙌🙌 another fun fact about me - I was the first freshman in my high school to make the Varsity football cheerleading squad And I Also was a cheerleading coach in high school for junior high school kids And I did all of that while also teaching dance and helping to run a dance school in high school too, while also continuing my own dance training daily because my first love since the age of 3 has always been the beautiful art of dance- or like one of my all time favorite Professional dance companies that I paid to see live in NYC was called- “Shaping Sound”.

Yeah, I Really miss those days of Energy.

These days, if I have any energy or let’s say the infrequent but still a huge gift of having more than a little energy, it’s funny in that I can recognize the immense difference in a blink of an eye.

Oh, yeah, and about the badass part of this quote image 👆
Not having energy and still doing all that I do, That is what makes me Badass, is how I look at it- after straightening out my Perspective and Reframing my Headspace.
And honestly without my onset of major depressive disorder at age 34 (I am now 52), I would never have really achieved Becoming Badass! And, I always admired Badass people of all kinds.

Always remember this whole hard thing called life and life transitions requires us to take on new, healthier Perspectives Always, And this is what I learned from the Headspace app is also called “Reframing” (best app in the world, at least when I used it daily in 2017 - 2019)

And I have specific, Large, photo album folders on my phone - 1 titled “Reframing Headspace” from my saved key takeaways from each Headspace course lesson I took (that Of Course I will be sharing with you in my group Resilience and Mindfulness) and I have another specific, Large, photo album folder titled “Perspectives” that Of Course I will be sharing with you in my group titled Resilience and Mindfulness)

To anyone seeing this post outside of my group - here is the direct link Resilience and Mindfulness and Join Us for So Much & because literally Everyone needs to learn both Resilience and Mindfulness (and, I don’t stop there with what goodies I share To Help YOU 😁🙃)

#MightyTogether #MentalHealth #ChronicFatigue #ChronicIllness #Disability #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #DepressiveDisorders #Selfharm #SocialAnxiety #ADHD #Agoraphobia #MDD #MoodDisorders #MultipleSclerosis #IfYouFeelHopeless #MyCondition #CheerMeOn #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #OtherMentalHealth #MotorDisorders #ChronicPain #Mindfulness #Selfcare #FamilyAndFriends #Relationships #AnorexiaNervosa #EatingDisorders #BingeEatingDisorder #Arthritis #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #Fibromyalgia #Caregiving #Cancer #CrohnsDisease #DownSyndrome #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #Epilepsy #Addiction #Lupus #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #CerebralPalsy #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder

There is More talk about Self-Care than the Most Critical Key to Happiness and Great Relationships of all types——-“SELF-LOVE”.

With this in-depth look at what Self-Love looks like-for your own personal growth, I would like you to take an honest look inwards and determine if you Practice Self-Love.
If you’re not, or if you’re not doing all of the bullet points given below, don’t worry— “Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”

As always, let’s have a great conversation about this topic below 👇 in the comments where you can use this space for your own place in your mental wellness journey. Not your mental illness journey— I am here as a friend to guide you through to the other side as much as possible—yes, that is where I stand, and the magic only happens if you let me—so how about more group members join in for your sake.

The Mighty friends that have opened themselves up to this opportunity are telling me and showing me that they are really starting to get it, and they are taking bigger, new, determined steps in their lives.

"Self-Love" refers to a deeper internal state of accepting and valuing yourself unconditionally, while "self-care" focuses on taking practical actions to maintain your physical and mental wellbeing, like getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and engaging in activities you enjoy; essentially, self-love is the mindset that drives you to practice self-care. Self-Love is the mindset too that heals the pain and keeps you in the light, Determined to keep pushing away any darkness and to stop doubting yourself.

Key points to remember:
* Self-love:
* A feeling of intrinsic worth and acceptance, regardless of circumstances
* Becoming your own best friend - treating yourself with the same respect and understanding you would give a close friend.
* Be the love you never received.
* Includes embracing your flaws
* Foundation for setting healthy boundaries and prioritizing your needs
* learn to say no when needed and clearly explain why
* Don’t seek Anyone’s validation
* Positive self-talk: Use encouraging language to speak to yourself, focusing on your strengths and accomplishments.
* Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings, recognizing negative self-talk and actively replacing it with positive affirmations/relabel upsetting thoughts
* Say something nice to yourself in the mirror — looking into your eyes & smile at yourself & say “I love you”and your name. (Yes, I actually stop myself to do this & it’s Wonderful)
* cultivate self-compassion
* Encourage Yourself
* Talk to someone you trust who *Has The Capacity To Listen*-and, Another Big Key Here is that ***Being vulnerable - completely honest and thorough- about what you’re going through with someone else is a major form of self-love because you’re taking the time to dig deep, regardless of how uncomfortable it is, And, on top of that, you’re showing yourself that you want to work out whatever’s going on with you***
* avoid comparing yourself to others
* practice gratitude
* Seek out opportunities for growth
* Creating a safe zone all your own is an act of self-love because it gives you a designated area where you can focus on your needs and emotions instead of other people’s. The key here is creating a space that feels good and peaceful when life is neither of those things.
#MentalHealth #Mindfulness #Selflove #Selfcare #Selfharm #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #Suicide #Trauma #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #Depression #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #Agoraphobia #BingeEatingDisorder #EatingDisorders #EatingDisorder #ChronicIllness #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #LymeDisease #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #PTSDSupportAndRecovery #PTSD #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #AutonomicDysfunction #AuditoryProcessingDisorder #Deafness #ADHDInGirls #ADHD #AspergersSyndrome #AutismSpectrumDisorder #Addiction #CerebralPalsy #IntellectualDisability #Disability #Blindness #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorderBPD #Fibromyalgia #ChronicPain #Migraine #IfYouFeelHopeless #BrainInjury #MotorDisorders #MultipleSclerosis #RheumatoidArthritis #Arthritis #Grief #Loneliness #AnorexiaNervosa #Relationships #SocialAnxiety #FamilyAndFriends #Caregiving #CrohnsDisease #CysticFibrosis #AlopeciaAreata #Cancers #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #ParkinsonsDisease #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #POTS #Stroke #Diabetes #SelfharmRecovery #RareDisease #DownSyndrome #AddisonsDisease #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ObsessiveCompulsiveandRelatedDisorders #ObsessiveCompulsivePersonalityDisorder #DissociativeIdentityDisorder

Dear Elon Musk,

As the father of a young man with Down syndrome and the leader of a business where more than half of our colleagues have differing abilities, I feel compelled to address your recent comments using the R-word.

There is no denying your place in the world. As an entrepreneur, you employ thousands of people and serve as a role model for millions. As the owner and one of the most prominent voices on X, you influence millions of people. That power and influence comes with a greater sense of obligation. Your statements matter. Your words matter.

Which brings me to your use of the R-word. You have used that term repeatedly over the last few years, most recently when insulting another user on X. There was a time when using that term was acceptable. Yet in those times that word dehumanized people with differing abilities, people like my son John. That term denied people a sense of dignity and a place in our society.

That word gained prominence during a period when people with intellectual development disabilities were often shunned, relegated to institutions, denied an education, barred from employment and rejected by society. They were treated as sub-human.

Thankfully, times have changed. People with differing abilities have become full members of our society, many playing a prominent role. My son John is an entrepreneur like you and has co-founded the world’s largest sock store. And John is only one of a growing number of entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists, actors, athletes, and political activists with a differing ability. At our business, more than half our colleagues have a differing ability, and we succeed because of the excellent work they do.

People with differing abilities have been patient waiting for the rest of us to catch up, to recognize their strengths and ability to contribute to our society. We need them. We need them in our schools, our businesses and our communities. Terms like the R-word have faded away as people learn how much it hurts, see the negative impact it has and, most importantly, how wrong-headed the description is.

I urge you to consider how your words and actions might advance this progress rather than hinder it. Language has the power to uplift or harm, to unite or divide. You have the opportunity to champion a vision of inclusion, where every person—regardless of their abilities—is treated with respect and celebrated for their unique gifts.

I invite you to visit our business, John’s Crazy Socks. Come meet John and our colleagues with differing abilities. Come see first-hand the potential and humanity that outdated stereotypes obscure. As someone who has defied expectations and pushed boundaries, you have the ability to model a future that leaves no one behind.

This moment can be a turning point, not just for you, but for the millions who look to you for leadership. By choosing compassion, understanding, and inclusion, you can inspire others to do the same and help build a world where dignity and opportunity are extended to all.

Will you join us in this mission? Your voice could be a powerful catalyst for change.

Regards,

Mark X. Cronin

Father, Advocate, and Co-Founder of John’s Crazy Socks

#Inclusion #inclusionmatters @downsyndrome