The news cycles are chaotic. This overwhelming feeling can’t be handled alone. Last month, we tapped into somatic exercises to ground ourselves. This time, we’re offering you a few thought exercises to cope with yet another iteration of unprecedented times —because you deserve tools that actually work for your nervous system, not against it ❤️‍🩹!

• Your parts deserve acknowledgement

Ask internally: "Which part of me is holding this overwhelm?". And if a part of you emerges saying, "I have to fix everything now!", thank it for its role and reassure it: "We’re safe to slow down."

If another part of you is making you feel you need to overwork because there’s a belief that overworking will somehow prevent more chaos, ask them: “What are you afraid will happen if we pause?". Reassure that part of yourself by saying: "We can handle things in small steps."

When a criticizing part of yourself arises, ask: "What are you trying to protect me from?" Often, you’ll find fears of failure or rejection. This is very human and valid. Give that part of yourself grace by saying: “We are not hard to love; we deserve care.”

If a lonely part of you fears abandonment, offer it compassion: "You don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”

And if you catch yourself going into flight mode by dissociating, gently ask: "What do you need to feel safe enough to come back?"

• Prioritize Care with a Trauma-Informed Approach & Community

As multiply-oppressed individuals, we face chronic stressors (microaggressions, financial precarity, discrimination), making traditional "urgent vs. important" frameworks insufficient. A systemic view on our challenges and externalizing blame from self to oppressive structures can offer relief and clarity.

Ask yourself: "What is survival-critical right now?" (e.g., safety, basic needs)"What can I delegate to my community?" "What systems are failing me?"

Many of us have betrayal trauma from unsafe systems (medical, psychiatry, legal, family). Trusting support is complex, and not all support services are created equal. It might help to pose the following questions to guide our decision-making:

"Who has earned the right to hold my pain?" - Not everyone deserves access.

"How can I ask for help in a way that feels safe?" (e.g., written requests vs. verbal).

Speaking of which, check out the info for our Care Practice Collective: a customized private peer support session just for you, in the Highlights section below.

NEUROMANCERS Mental Health Survey

As part of our research efforts, we are conducting a survey to assess the impact of both traditional/mainstream and peer/community mental health care offerings. This aligns with our commitment and accountability to the wider neurodivergent+ community.

This survey will enable us to implement your feedback into our programs and contribute to the landscape of peer-led mental health care.

After submitting your survey, you will have the chance to win 3 free months in NEUROMANCERS membership community! Alongside this, to express our appreciation, EVERYONE who completes our survey will receive a 10% discount for their first month of membership.

Click here to complete the survey before 31 July

In the last couple of months, we’ve had transformative workshops that made us feel held by community and expanded our creativity and pride:

🤪 Crazy’s in the cracks: This is a discussion based on observations from @drrckqvdo’s experiences as a Mad and multiply marginalized bodymindspirit within various spaces of identity and leftism / radical liberation / social justice.

📝 Non-Linear Poetry: Throughout the workshop, we explore how to de/lineate our writing to create works that break beyond the bounds of traditional writing and embrace alternative ways of thinking, writing, and being. This workshop focuses on each poet considering the idea of identity and community, and will encourage participants to explore these through a work of non-linear poetry.

ONLINE WORKSHOPS

In our own words: finding language outside the DSM

DATE: Saturday 5th July 2025

TIME: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM UK TIME / 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM ET / 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM PT

Facilitator: @embracing.ambiguity

The language we use to describe our experiences is critical in shaping our understanding of ourselves and others. Psychiatric survivors and Mad/“mentally ill” folks are so often left without words to communicate our experiences outside of the pathologizing/psychiatric paradigm.

The first portion of this workshop will be dedicated to exploring how limiting language is used as a tool of oppression, and why it’s critical to reclaim linguistic agency. The second portion of the workshop will feature a guided and communal activity encouraging attendees to rewrite their own stories in language that feels most affirming and accurate to themselves.

For access to the recorded session AND a discounted ticket price, become a member.

Death to the DSM

DATE: 24th July 2025

TIME: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM UK TIME / 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PT

This project is a community-driven initiative where we collaborate on a peer-led zine that explores the diverse experiences of the neurodivergent+ community. Each monthly session focuses on a different neurodivergent+ 'trait' or experience. 

You do not need research experience to join us. We just need you, the trust to share your experiences, and an interest in discussing neurodivergent+ and disability theory!

For access to the recorded session AND a discounted ticket price, become a member.

Care Practice Collective

The Care Practice Collective is a group of neurodivergent+ people with lived experience of mental distress or difficulty, who align with NEUROMANCERS’ values.

A Care Workshop is a space where neurodivergent+ peers come together to offer support to a single human (or system for our plural fam!).

When you apply, we’ll ask you to share some information about what you’d like help with. We’ll get in touch if we can offer you a Care Workshop.

Your Care Workshop will be led by you. We will provide practical support to help you identify areas in your life where you can make beneficial changes. You can invite a support person or friend, just keep in mind the session will focus on your care needs, not theirs.

We could…

• brainstorm solutions and co-think through problems

• Research and gather resources

• Help with life and disability admin

• Hold space for your emotions and feelings

• Watch a film or YouTube video together

• Share in our despair and exhaustion about the world and its problems

• Sit quietly together and do nothing

It’s truly your space!

Applications are open from the 1st to the 8th of each month.

To apply, you need to be 18+, neurodivergent+, and have access to the internet.

So what are you waiting for? You DESERVE care and community!

Body doubling: Focus Sessions

DATE: Every Wednesday

TIME: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM UK TIME / 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PT

Messy room? Unfinished art projects? Nappy hair? No problem! Our focus sessions will help you clean, colour, and comb your way to success.

Focus Sessions are encouraging and empowering weekly events for NEUROMANCERS members only. Through body-doubling, you will boost your productivity and celebrate your wins, big and small! ✨ We centre what productivity means to YOU.