Buy Claire Time to Heal

Hey, I'm Claire.

I'm asking for these funds because, well, I am struggling and I've been struggling for a long time.

But I have good news! Very recently I got some answers that I have desperately needed.

After years and years of effort, pain, confusion and struggle, I now know that I am Autistic (AuDHD flavored) (Yes really.) And, I have been struggling with a low-level fungal overgrowth problem for a while (Candida).

As a side effect of these things I've become nearly bedridden several days of the week in the last month or two, my memory and cognitive function have been thrashed for a long time now, and I have been and am stuck in unhelpful loops of socially isolating (even worse then usual) for weeks and weeks, and having no interest in most of life most of the time.

This has all been true for a long time, but it all cumulated recently in a long burnout/meltdown phase over the last 7-9 months that I have been unable to recover from on my own. I am just now coming out of over a month of viral sickness that I could not heal as I used to, and I have manifested oral thrush, a painful fungal mouth problem, due to imbalances in my body. These imbalances are, it turns out, quite common for autistic folks, who are much more stressed out than neurotypical folks, far more often. That stress and the resulting coping behaviors often lead to imbalances, as it has for me.

My recent Autism/AuDHD diagnosis, coupled with learning about candida, answers a MASSIVE number of questions around why I haven't been able to just push through or heal like I used to, why I haven't been able to job hunt, why I've been losing my ability to move and think. It's a massive, massive relief to have these answers.

But here's the kicker...I need more time. If I want to not go straight back into burnout loops, meltdown and burnout territory I *need* time to implement new patterns and plans. I need time to process and use the life-shifting research and advice I'm finding around my neurodivergence. I need time to change my diet and schedule and go to medical appointments. I need time to slowly add exercise back into my life in a way that *actually works*. I need serious time to rest and work through extreme adrenal fatigue from pushing through, not knowing all of this, for so incredibly long.

To buy that time, I need money. The amount I've asked for should cover these things for a few precious months (2-3):

Anything I make on this fundraiser will contribute heavily to my current plan to implement all of this get back on my feet in a few months/by the end of the year. If I can reach this fundraising goal I should be able to focus solely on healing at this critical time, and that is what I really, desperately need. If I get under it, I will still be doing all this, it will just take much longer. If I go over my goal it will, simply, buy me more needed healing time.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

If you want to learn more about me and what I do, you can check that out here: https://linktr.ee/ClaireDanielleCassidy

Quite a few people have benefited from and enjoy my free, mutual aid guide to learn about addressable LEDs, as well as my other mutual aid shenanigans and anti-gatekeeping projects.

If you are curious what I have learned about Autism, and how I figured out my late-stage diagnosis as an easily overlooked high-masking queer woman, I made a document about my journey and what I have learned so far: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17m4gYJAEssfiTO_9ekQw0s16rwr9WbC1EAnLfJvTgd8/edit

If you prefer, you can venmo me: (at)claire-cassidy-2) or Paypal: [email redacted] instead of donating here to subvert gofundme fees.

SUGGESTED DONATION SLIDING SCALE GUIDELINES:

IF YOU:

- Frequently stress about meeting basic needs and don’t always achieve them

- Have debt that sometimes prevents you from meeting basic needs

- Rent lower-end or have unstable housing

- Do not have a car or have limited access

- Are unemployed or underemployed

- Qualify for government assistance

- Have no access to savings

- Rarely buy new

- Cannot afford vacation or time off

PLEASE, SERIOUSLY DO NOT FEEL ANY PRESSURE TO GIVE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IF YOU:

- Stress about meeting your basic needs but still meet them

- Have debt but it does not prohibit attainment of basic needs

- Own or lease a car

- Are employed

- Have access to healthcare

- Have some expendable income

- Are able to buy new and still thrift

- Can take vacations and time off annually or every few years

PLEASE ONLY GIVE IF IT FEELS COMFORTABLE, IN A COMFORTABLE AMOUNT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IF YOU:

- Can comfortably meet all of your basic needs, and assist your loved ones

- Have some debt but it is not a bother

- Own property or rent higher-end

- Own or lease a car

- Are employed or do not need to work to meet your needs

- Have access to savings that brings security

- Have expendable income (might mean you can afford coffee or drinks,

go to moves or concerts, buy new clothes, books, etc)

- Can take vacations and time off regularly

PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING GENEROUSLY TO OFFSET OTHERS, AND TO

MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE SUCCESS OF THIS CAMPAIGN

Sliding scale pulled from here: https://www.rootedheart.ca/blog/2018/3/17/accessibility-sliding-scale-pricing-and-energy-exchange