My brother got braces in college and didn’t have them in HS. He also started T in college, so literally nobody thought he was old enough to be in college and led to some reeeaaallllly awkward observations of classes (because he was observing junior high and high school science classes) because the kids thought he was the same age as them despite being 20-21 at the time.
Blaine might be in jail, Ryan’s missing atm, ToeDad is in jail, and Joyce’s family aren’t villains, just kinda dicks.
Yeah actually I’m kinda with Edhead. Mary’s the only actual heel present at the moment. If Ryan or Blaine show up again, I’d amend, but so far they’re not about.
Mary has got to be one of the last threatening though. I mean 18 year old girl who says slurs can’t really compete with guy who brings shotgun onto campus.
Mary’s a result of the same toxic environment that made Ross think that his actions were a noble idea. She’s also trying her best to cause such an environment to persist and spread. So, no, she’s not Ross-level bad… but she will be, as soon as she has some kids to teach.
And, though we haven’t so much seen signs of it with this Mary, the other universe’s was an enormous hypocrite about the whole premarital hanky-panky thing. Also apparently did not understand how to operate birth control.
Is it true that she’s against pre-marital hanky panky? I can’t think of any strip where she’s ever explicitly stated it (at least in this universe).
I know Joyce is against pre-marital sex, and its common for fundamentalist christians; however, its not a universal stance, and various christian sects can pick and choose their beliefs almost at random. Certainly not out of the question for someone to be a christian, be bigoted against gays and trans, but have no problem having sex before marriage.
Yeah, they’re all pretty big heels. The difference is that Mary is very careful not to (publicly) engage in behavior that could get her punished by the authorities. Blaine, Ryan and Ross are all terrible people, but they’ve also run afoul of the legal system and/or been ostracized from their respective communities. Warrants have been issued, notices have been passed around, and punishments are, at least in one case, pending. The system has, to a greater or lesser extent, recognized these people as the threats they are, and responded accordingly.
But Mary is a problem that the system isn’t able to deal with, in part because her behavior isn’t considered particularly unacceptable. For better or worse, there are very few policies protecting trans students from bigotry, and the only person who could possibly punish her for the times where she’s gone over the line actually has violated clear policies with long-standing precedents. Mary knows this, and also knows that any retaliation against her would likely gain the support of not only the college, but also the local (and perhaps national) religious community.
In many ways, this makes Mary the most difficult antagonist to deal with, because even though she’s personally quite weak, she knows the rules and knows how to manipulate them to her ends. Blaine and Ross might get sent to Jail, and Ryan might be barred from any parties from here on out, but people will bend over backwards to accommodate Mary, and that makes her quite dangerous in her own right, especially if someone decides to retaliate against her.
MrInsecure: “Barred from parties” is not particularly severe, and really only the guy who gave the girls a ride home really knows to bar Ryan. So basically, Mary is NOT the only antagonist the “system isn’t able to deal with”. He got away with it, he’s still out there, and Joyce is afraid to leave her dorm alone. Mary still has competition as worst villain that hasn’t been neutralized.
He’s one of those heels that everybody likes and is practically a face even when I’m heel persona. Think someone like CM Punk. Or Cesaro, who was technically a heel for the longest time, with the gimmick of an evil Swiss banker of all things, but everyone loves him because he is pound for pound one of their best performers. Or Brock Lesnar. People always want to see Brock break other wrestlers.
I disagree. I think DoA Mike is the type of one-note heel that would be absolutely hated if he had been used more often. I’d say that as such, he reminds me of Drew Macintyre when he was “the chosen one”, except that unlike Vince, David Willis has the good sense of not pushing him on us over and over whether we want to or not.
Or heel Batista. Yeah, Mike is defintely heel Batista. Ignore what I just said about Drew.
Oh dang hello nostalgia. I remember “Cro”– sick theme song and interesting dual narrative. To this day if someone mentions the physics of insulation I just automatically picture a wooly mammoth explaining it to me.
I would like these two to get back together. Even though sometimes it doesn’t seem like a good idea, it is most undoubtedly the best thing for them. Come on you two, make up already <3
Billie, if you’re worried about Mary collecting evidence about your relationship with Ruth, then taking the visual communication option isn’t the way to go.
Ruth, if you’re worried about Mary collecting evidence about your relationship with Billie, then responding at a volume that can be heard down the hallway isn’t the way to go.
The really depressing part is she probably didn’t respond at a volume that can be heard down the hall. Which means Billie might be thinking Ruth just turned around and walked away while mumbling when she asked if she was going to be okay.
she really has. at the beginning, her character was “stay the hell away from me” and now shes “im gonna do what i can not to fuck things up”, compare with the other characters, who are more or less the same. billie now is a complete stranger to billie then. the same can be said for ruth.
True but in a way I’d say it was almost necessary. Billie started out pretty self absorbed, concerned with status and being one of the “cool” kids. She was shunning her actual friends, feuding with Ruth, and possibly even in denial about her drinking problems.
Don’t get me wrong she wasn’t horrible or anything but compared to her now. Trying not to screw up, recognizing the friends who actually care about her, selflessly volunteering her room for practically a stranger, and actually caring about someone else’s well being. I’d say it was worth it.
Her arc, Joyce’s arc, and Danny’s arc seem to all be centered around letting college mold them into better people through either discovering the existence of others, their own feelings, or seeing themselves through the eyes of others.
All have turned out for the better because of it.
Though on the flipside, we have Mary, resistant to the change in the way Joyce was schooled to be and clawing at anything different that would challenge her.
And it’s turning her maybe not into a worse person, but definitely one with the ability to do more real harm to people in a much more permanent way.
She definitely still has issues to work through (she still feels horribly undervalued and undeserving of a lot of other people), but yeah, long way coming.
Ruth’s alcoholism isn’t the source of her depression but it sure as hell isn’t helping it. I wonder if she’ll be able to think clearly enough to get treatment for both if she manages to clean up from her current state.
It’s because, in romcoms, the couple is literally destined to be together. So any steps taken by the (usually a) dude to woo the (usually a)girl are justified by the laws of narrative coupling.
But in real life, no one is beholden to narrative conventions. So, without the concept of fated love to enforce the happy ending, a lot of “romantic” gestures become stalking and harassment.
<3 Ruth <3
As much as she can be a jerk, I totally feel for her right now.
This was me last week. Thinking of the future was too much, just minute by minute.
I wish she would stop caring about what might happen and get help.
Pot calling kettle black, I guess.
I feel like the folks saying this dynamic is endearing might not have lived it…. Doesn’t matter if you’re Ruth or Billie here, this is pain disguised in love. Oof. One of those strips that’s a little too realistic. </3
And yet I still want it all to be ok. Some of us never learn?
Like so many things, I believe this is one of those classified as “cute, because it’s not you and you don’t fully fathom what’s happening.” Much like some things are funny when it’s not you they happen to.
I’d say it’s love that persists despite the pain, and that is what is endearing.
Yeah, I’ve been depressed. Hell, I currently take one day at a time and don’t plan about the future due to my own problems. But I still find the fact that Billie cares to be quite endearing. The strongest love is the one that can endure pain.
(And because I know no one will die in this comic, I know I can look forward to Ruth getting better. Real life has no such guarantees.)
Ruuuuuuuth, I know things are very stressful and you are trying to get to grips with a lot of things at the same time, but could you have all therapy, please?
I think Ruth resists getting therapy not because she doesn’t think she needs it (or not JUST because), but also because if she’s on therapy for severe depression, she’d probably be deemed unfit to be the RA.
From what I gather, Ruth, much like Sarah, is dependent on outside help to continue her education, so that’s something she’d understandably be reluctant to give up on.
No. The only one who’d be able to make that call would be Ruth.
If she were to see an outside therapist, it would have nothing to do with the school whatsoever. It’d be like her going to a doctor’s appointment for diabetes maintenance or a broken bone.
If she were to see a therapist at the campus, and their campus mental health department was worth a shit, she might – at worst – run the risk of someone she knows seeing her going into the mental health office. It would still be none of anyone else’s business what she was there for and if she was being treated.
I went through this. Our campus *advertised the shit* out of the mental health services, and I was afraid people I knew would see me going there and “put two and two together” via the staff chatter network. Turns out, that confidentiality paper you sign the first time you ever go there to even think about seeing someone is a gold standard – NO ONE is allowed to see why you’re there, including the receptionist. I couldn’t even leave messages with the receptionist – she knew when my appointment was, what counselor I was there to see, and that was IT. I had to talk individually with my professors about how my issues were impacting my classroom attendance and classwork, and it was at my discretion; my counselor didn’t push the issue OR say it was ‘necessary’ in any way for me to get better. *I* decided, after many sessions, that it was kind of dickish for me to just randomly leave profs wondering why I was suddenly absent for days on end or turning in half-assed work.
It’s more likely she’s internalized all the abuse she’s taken at home (and over the phone since she’s come to school) and doesn’t believe she *deserves* help. She has a mental recording going, telling her that she is an RA, she has to be strong enough to deal with this shit on her own, she has to show “everyone” (her abuser) that she’s good enough, and people who are “strong enough” and “good enough” don’t need therapy to get through it. It’s a stigma that keeps far too many people from seeking the help they desperately need.
HIPAA applies to mental health treatment. Confidentiality of communications is part of professional ethics for counselors. Ruth is pretty savvy – I suspect that her therapist sharing what she’s being treated for with the school and loosing her RAship is not the primary impediment.
depression and anxiety sucks majorly. If there was one mental illness combo I’d want to materialize into a person and shoot that personification execution-style for nothing but catharsis, it would be the depression/anxiety combo.
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I think we can all agree I had no choice.
Billie: I rigged it.
You win the comments.
Agreed
Would you smooch a cheeleader?
Yes.
Heck yes!
Very nice. TBH I expected the link to be “act with integrity” or something like that to hurt us, but no, well played
I’m cool with Dumbing of Age being a Gravity Falls AU.
That’s the only way Gravity Falls is gonna continue.
Can Galasso be Grunkle Stan?
Who could be Mabel but Joyce? And who will be Dipper?
Danny could be Dipper.
This could work, but first he needs to develop a hopeless (or is it?) crush on Sal. I mean, she’s clearly the Wendy of this AU, right?
Becky is an extroverted redhead, maybe she’s Wendy. Which sorta makes a crush on her from Danny hopeless by default.
Anyway, Mike is Bill Cipher.
I think Joe would be the best candidate for Soos.
It is peculiar that no one in DoA has braces.
Maybe someone has the clear kind, and it’s hard to notice?
In college? Most people stop needing them by high school.
I’ve known people in (and beyond) college who still had braces. Heck, in college I had retainers.
I can’t think of anyone I know in college that has braces. One person might’ve? But she also had a huge underbite and is getting surgery soon.
The director of the agency I work at has braces. I think they’re getting more common for adults.
My brother got braces in college and didn’t have them in HS. He also started T in college, so literally nobody thought he was old enough to be in college and led to some reeeaaallllly awkward observations of classes (because he was observing junior high and high school science classes) because the kids thought he was the same age as them despite being 20-21 at the time.
You had no choice.
Absolutely Brilliant
Would you like your internets mailed or sent electronically?
Great, now I’m imagining all of DoA recast with GF characters (or vice versa.)
*mouths “thank you,” hands Doctor -$12 bill*
Mary is the one heel in the entire DOA right now.
Well played.
Seriously?
Not Blaine? Not Ryan? Not the Gunman (who is, admittedly, quite out of comission)? Not Carol or John or who-knows-else from Joyce’s hometown?
She’s the one who’s most present currently, but yeah, you got a point there
Blaine might be in jail, Ryan’s missing atm, ToeDad is in jail, and Joyce’s family aren’t villains, just kinda dicks.
Yeah actually I’m kinda with Edhead. Mary’s the only actual heel present at the moment. If Ryan or Blaine show up again, I’d amend, but so far they’re not about.
Ruth: Mary is the worst person ever, no one could be shittier then her!
Billie: What about the guy who wanted to beat his daughter during the Freshman Family Weekend?
Ruth: Okay besides that asshole.
Billie: Also the guy who brought a gun onto campus!
Ruth: There is that guy…
Billie: I think someone tried to rape Joyce
Ruth: wait..WHAT!
Oh, right, nobody told Ruth.
Or really anyone outside of those who were there that night and Becky.
Well, Walky and Sal too I think. (They were not at the party, but were there the following morning.)
…Yeah, I can see that.
You are right. I am slightly drunk from watching tonight’s smackdown, and forgot about all of those guys.
Mary is the top heel right now.
Carol/John and the hometowners are a bunch of on borrowed time midcarders.
Blaine and Ryan are only part-timer heel draws.
Amber and her Amazi-girl gimmick is slowly turning heel.
Mary has got to be one of the last threatening though. I mean 18 year old girl who says slurs can’t really compete with guy who brings shotgun onto campus.
And yet, who is still here?
Just imagining Willis reading the comments and laughing diabolically while he prepares to rip all of us a new one with a great heel.
Wait, who haven’t we seen yet…
Dargon Chesterfield!
Oh god. What is the residence Manager Mary was talking about in the last comic is Daragon?
I feel like Dargon would work better as something akin to a mob boss.
I vote for the residence manager being the head Martian but no-one ever notices or reacts to it.
Mary’s a result of the same toxic environment that made Ross think that his actions were a noble idea. She’s also trying her best to cause such an environment to persist and spread. So, no, she’s not Ross-level bad… but she will be, as soon as she has some kids to teach.
Well she isn’t allowed to fornicate unless wed, and that requires someone to find her attractive… or someone that can submit to her will.
*Looks at Danny. Naw… lets keep with with Ethan
*Looks at Faz. Perfect.
The dude she married in the other universe has been in at least one comic.
And, though we haven’t so much seen signs of it with this Mary, the other universe’s was an enormous hypocrite about the whole premarital hanky-panky thing. Also apparently did not understand how to operate birth control.
Is it true that she’s against pre-marital hanky panky? I can’t think of any strip where she’s ever explicitly stated it (at least in this universe).
I know Joyce is against pre-marital sex, and its common for fundamentalist christians; however, its not a universal stance, and various christian sects can pick and choose their beliefs almost at random. Certainly not out of the question for someone to be a christian, be bigoted against gays and trans, but have no problem having sex before marriage.
She’s thew zerg creep, not the zerg
No shotgun in DoA.
Yeah, they’re all pretty big heels. The difference is that Mary is very careful not to (publicly) engage in behavior that could get her punished by the authorities. Blaine, Ryan and Ross are all terrible people, but they’ve also run afoul of the legal system and/or been ostracized from their respective communities. Warrants have been issued, notices have been passed around, and punishments are, at least in one case, pending. The system has, to a greater or lesser extent, recognized these people as the threats they are, and responded accordingly.
But Mary is a problem that the system isn’t able to deal with, in part because her behavior isn’t considered particularly unacceptable. For better or worse, there are very few policies protecting trans students from bigotry, and the only person who could possibly punish her for the times where she’s gone over the line actually has violated clear policies with long-standing precedents. Mary knows this, and also knows that any retaliation against her would likely gain the support of not only the college, but also the local (and perhaps national) religious community.
In many ways, this makes Mary the most difficult antagonist to deal with, because even though she’s personally quite weak, she knows the rules and knows how to manipulate them to her ends. Blaine and Ross might get sent to Jail, and Ryan might be barred from any parties from here on out, but people will bend over backwards to accommodate Mary, and that makes her quite dangerous in her own right, especially if someone decides to retaliate against her.
Mary is pretty much Stephanie Machmahaon and HHH in their ‘Authority’ gimmick the past few years.
Minus the nose.
And double the chest hair.
and triple the poetry?
MrInsecure: “Barred from parties” is not particularly severe, and really only the guy who gave the girls a ride home really knows to bar Ryan. So basically, Mary is NOT the only antagonist the “system isn’t able to deal with”. He got away with it, he’s still out there, and Joyce is afraid to leave her dorm alone. Mary still has competition as worst villain that hasn’t been neutralized.
Blaine is a pain, and that’s the truth!
I’m okay with it. Mary’s the only one who’s a real character. The others were just villains for an arc.
John so far is also only a single-arc villain, and neither he nor Carol are as bad as Mary. Nor would I could Mike as such.
What about Mike?
Mike is the ultimate tweener of both face and heel, but is more face leaning due to the outcome of his actions.
He’s one of those heels that everybody likes and is practically a face even when I’m heel persona. Think someone like CM Punk. Or Cesaro, who was technically a heel for the longest time, with the gimmick of an evil Swiss banker of all things, but everyone loves him because he is pound for pound one of their best performers. Or Brock Lesnar. People always want to see Brock break other wrestlers.
I disagree. I think DoA Mike is the type of one-note heel that would be absolutely hated if he had been used more often. I’d say that as such, he reminds me of Drew Macintyre when he was “the chosen one”, except that unlike Vince, David Willis has the good sense of not pushing him on us over and over whether we want to or not.
Or heel Batista. Yeah, Mike is defintely heel Batista. Ignore what I just said about Drew.
Now I kinda want to see an AU Dumbing of Age where it’s all a wrestling company.
Just imagine:
Ethan: “Danny, I want to see you in the steel cage!”
Danny: *gulp*
Carla doing a Stone Cold-esque anti-hero babyface shtick.
Sarah running riot with a baseball bat to build heat.
Now I’m picturing Joe as being a Seth Rollins style heel. Just larger and not quite as good looking. Wait, does this mean Ruth is the DoA Undertaker?
Wait, he’d probably be a John Cena style “heel who is under the delusion that he is a face”.
Amber seems to be heading into Randy Orton territory.
Joe would probably fancy himself the Godfather.
But who would be the DoA Dean Ambrose? Who? I need to know this.
I don’t know about Ambrose, but what about Becky as Bailey?
Awww.
Come on Ruth, you could have said “hi” at least.
Alt text: The future is dumb.
Me: The future is dumbing. And there’s nothing we can do to stop it.
You’ve got it right there.
Oh god I wish we could stop it.
Man, I hope these two will be alright… 🙁
Flipping several shits right now. This ship is so real, gives me the most visceral feels
It’s too real, I can’t handle it.
Too real too real, too many feels I’ve felt in real life I can’t
Ruth: part time girlfriend, part time dictator, FULL TIME GRAMMAR NAZI!
*looks for some Sex Pistols to play on the hacked Muzak*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8fLOJswWtk
*puts on Frank Turner – Imperfect Tense*
I don’t think Billie can hear you from over there, Ruth.
*sniff*
I’m really rooting for them. I hope they’re both able to get sober and find happiness. =(
…man, this one hit a little too close to home for me. I feel you Ruth. Not in a weird, non-consensual way, but like a “I get you” way
Yeah, I’ve been where Ruth is. Hell, I lived there for awhile. Finally glad to have access to the future tense again.
Too true.
I’ve been where both of them have and I don’t even know who to feel more for right now. This strip is such a conflicting gut punch.
Ow.
Ruth and Billy keep finding new ways to BREAK MY FUCKING HEART T^T
Damn you willub?
(or, I should say, DAMN YOU WILL U B)
For some reason, the alt text reminded me of this old Discovery Kids cartoon called “The Future is Wild.”
Oh hey I remember that series. I liked it.
I remember that show too! It was better than it had any right to be.
Oh dang hello nostalgia. I remember “Cro”– sick theme song and interesting dual narrative. To this day if someone mentions the physics of insulation I just automatically picture a wooly mammoth explaining it to me.
This one reminds me of this comic:
http://www.depressioncomix.com/posts/154/
also, of life. Hang in there, Ruth.
The past is gone. The future is unceratain. The present sucks but it’s all we know.
Eat Arby’s.
Burma Shave
Will U boff latr?
This. The moment by moment survival that can’t imagine a future… 😧
Yep. *fist bump*
I would like these two to get back together. Even though sometimes it doesn’t seem like a good idea, it is most undoubtedly the best thing for them. Come on you two, make up already <3
Not until Mary blackmail goes away. And before that we have Becky’s living arangements to worry about.
Billie, if you’re worried about Mary collecting evidence about your relationship with Ruth, then taking the visual communication option isn’t the way to go.
Ruth, if you’re worried about Mary collecting evidence about your relationship with Billie, then responding at a volume that can be heard down the hallway isn’t the way to go.
The really depressing part is she probably didn’t respond at a volume that can be heard down the hall. Which means Billie might be thinking Ruth just turned around and walked away while mumbling when she asked if she was going to be okay.
That first panel is wonderful.
It’s a thing of beauty.
anxious to see what happens next for them
Billie’s really changed since this comic started.
she really has. at the beginning, her character was “stay the hell away from me” and now shes “im gonna do what i can not to fuck things up”, compare with the other characters, who are more or less the same. billie now is a complete stranger to billie then. the same can be said for ruth.
She really has. If the comic had started now and we saw a flashback of Billie at the start of the semester, that would be a big plot twist.
I suppose the change has been for the better in many ways…. I just wish it didn’t have to come with a major blow to her self esteem.
True but in a way I’d say it was almost necessary. Billie started out pretty self absorbed, concerned with status and being one of the “cool” kids. She was shunning her actual friends, feuding with Ruth, and possibly even in denial about her drinking problems.
Don’t get me wrong she wasn’t horrible or anything but compared to her now. Trying not to screw up, recognizing the friends who actually care about her, selflessly volunteering her room for practically a stranger, and actually caring about someone else’s well being. I’d say it was worth it.
Her arc, Joyce’s arc, and Danny’s arc seem to all be centered around letting college mold them into better people through either discovering the existence of others, their own feelings, or seeing themselves through the eyes of others.
All have turned out for the better because of it.
Though on the flipside, we have Mary, resistant to the change in the way Joyce was schooled to be and clawing at anything different that would challenge her.
And it’s turning her maybe not into a worse person, but definitely one with the ability to do more real harm to people in a much more permanent way.
She definitely still has issues to work through (she still feels horribly undervalued and undeserving of a lot of other people), but yeah, long way coming.
On the other hand, Carla and Mike are perfect the way they are.
Ruth’s alcoholism isn’t the source of her depression but it sure as hell isn’t helping it. I wonder if she’ll be able to think clearly enough to get treatment for both if she manages to clean up from her current state.
Jigsaw is going to abduct like, this entire floor
Billie, cliche romcom bs isn’t gonna help, but it is kinda cute.
I’ve heard it said that a seemingly surprising amount of stuff that’s endearing in romcoms are in real life, creepy as fuck. I don’t like that.
It’s because, in romcoms, the couple is literally destined to be together. So any steps taken by the (usually a) dude to woo the (usually a)girl are justified by the laws of narrative coupling.
But in real life, no one is beholden to narrative conventions. So, without the concept of fated love to enforce the happy ending, a lot of “romantic” gestures become stalking and harassment.
This comment is my everything. Just sayin’.
Just lies. Lies upon lies.
Hmm. I wonder if she can get a Librium taper without being expelled/demoted?
That’s genuinely adorable how she’s still looking out for Ruth.
Ruth is on the nose. Sometimes being alive is exhausting.
As a kid, I said my dream job was to be a fossil.
Waiting to be one day dug out of the ground and spend the rest of your days as an exhibition in a museum while people are eyeballing you.
Or pumped out of the ground and used to fuel people’s computers so they can access the internet.
Tomorrow’s strip: A frowny-faced Billy changes the tense to present tense, then adds “BUSTER WOLF!” and throws the whiteboard at Ruth’s head.
Probably not, but hey, we could all use some silly hijinks right about now.
D’awwww Billie. :’)
d’awwwww <3
I’m so glad they’re talking, period. 🙁
<3 Ruth <3
As much as she can be a jerk, I totally feel for her right now.
This was me last week. Thinking of the future was too much, just minute by minute.
I wish she would stop caring about what might happen and get help.
Pot calling kettle black, I guess.
*hugs* I hope you’re in a better space now. If not, know that you’ve got this and you will get through this.
Thanks, Cerberus <3
Mostly in a better space now! Appreciative of the comment 🙂
The future may be dumb, but it is also medieval.
Aww <3. Sorta.
My squee would had gone to the moon if she gave a thumbs up, but weariness is often one rock of mess from crushing one into a pulp.
That’s pretty cute.
I feel like the folks saying this dynamic is endearing might not have lived it…. Doesn’t matter if you’re Ruth or Billie here, this is pain disguised in love. Oof. One of those strips that’s a little too realistic. </3
And yet I still want it all to be ok. Some of us never learn?
Like so many things, I believe this is one of those classified as “cute, because it’s not you and you don’t fully fathom what’s happening.” Much like some things are funny when it’s not you they happen to.
I’d say it’s love that persists despite the pain, and that is what is endearing.
Yeah, I’ve been depressed. Hell, I currently take one day at a time and don’t plan about the future due to my own problems. But I still find the fact that Billie cares to be quite endearing. The strongest love is the one that can endure pain.
(And because I know no one will die in this comic, I know I can look forward to Ruth getting better. Real life has no such guarantees.)
Also PS depression is The Biggest Asshole
Ruuuuuuuth, I know things are very stressful and you are trying to get to grips with a lot of things at the same time, but could you have all therapy, please?
I think Ruth resists getting therapy not because she doesn’t think she needs it (or not JUST because), but also because if she’s on therapy for severe depression, she’d probably be deemed unfit to be the RA.
From what I gather, Ruth, much like Sarah, is dependent on outside help to continue her education, so that’s something she’d understandably be reluctant to give up on.
No. The only one who’d be able to make that call would be Ruth.
If she were to see an outside therapist, it would have nothing to do with the school whatsoever. It’d be like her going to a doctor’s appointment for diabetes maintenance or a broken bone.
If she were to see a therapist at the campus, and their campus mental health department was worth a shit, she might – at worst – run the risk of someone she knows seeing her going into the mental health office. It would still be none of anyone else’s business what she was there for and if she was being treated.
I went through this. Our campus *advertised the shit* out of the mental health services, and I was afraid people I knew would see me going there and “put two and two together” via the staff chatter network. Turns out, that confidentiality paper you sign the first time you ever go there to even think about seeing someone is a gold standard – NO ONE is allowed to see why you’re there, including the receptionist. I couldn’t even leave messages with the receptionist – she knew when my appointment was, what counselor I was there to see, and that was IT. I had to talk individually with my professors about how my issues were impacting my classroom attendance and classwork, and it was at my discretion; my counselor didn’t push the issue OR say it was ‘necessary’ in any way for me to get better. *I* decided, after many sessions, that it was kind of dickish for me to just randomly leave profs wondering why I was suddenly absent for days on end or turning in half-assed work.
It’s more likely she’s internalized all the abuse she’s taken at home (and over the phone since she’s come to school) and doesn’t believe she *deserves* help. She has a mental recording going, telling her that she is an RA, she has to be strong enough to deal with this shit on her own, she has to show “everyone” (her abuser) that she’s good enough, and people who are “strong enough” and “good enough” don’t need therapy to get through it. It’s a stigma that keeps far too many people from seeking the help they desperately need.
Yes, this.
HIPAA applies to mental health treatment. Confidentiality of communications is part of professional ethics for counselors. Ruth is pretty savvy – I suspect that her therapist sharing what she’s being treated for with the school and loosing her RAship is not the primary impediment.
ANd now I know. Thanks to the both of you.
Either way, Ruth IS unfit to be RA. For multiple reasons. For her sake and her students.
Seriously.
https://youtu.be/IasCZL072fQ
It’s really sad how much I relate to Ruth on a really personal level. Hang in there, Ruthless, if only to see what Carla’s gonna do to Mary.
This…why…
:,(
The worst part about depression with anxiety? You’re always future tense. #emodadjokes
You, sir, win an Internet. *salutes*
– Signed, Someone With the Unfortunate Combo of Depression and Anxiety
#dadjokesingeneral
Christ, you are NOT WRONG, SC. Like it’s not even a joke, it’s fucking horrible.
depression and anxiety sucks majorly. If there was one mental illness combo I’d want to materialize into a person and shoot that personification execution-style for nothing but catharsis, it would be the depression/anxiety combo.
Yeah, no one cares if I live or die either
Billie’s body language is so cute in the first panel.