Some folks know all of what is going on with me, but I know many who do not. I am going to go out on a limb in sharing a bit of very personal info about myself here. I have Major Depressive Disorder, PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and it is probable that I am in the Autistic spectrum as well, though Autism is not mental illness, it’s a state of being. I wanna say that again for folks who do not have the mental health insight that I do, Autism is NOT a mental illness, it is simply a state of being!!!! That’s super important bc if folks are referring to it as any sort of disability, etc, that’s just a bunch of ableist hogwash right there. :B

Anyway, having most of this prevents me from working any sort of regular job. I have friggin full blown anxiety/panic attacks and flashbacks in the middle of grocery shopping. Can you imagine me trying to work outside the home? It’s a bloody disaster, believe me, I know, I’ve TRIED doing it. I tried pretending I was “normal” (what-evs tha fuck that means. :B) for years upon years and hated myself for “failing”. What I didn’t realize was that it wasn’t so much a failing on my part as it is a failing on the part of the ableist, classist assholes who design our fucking work world. >.<

I am in the process of trying to get on disability and I am on government assistance right now as well. Lemme tell you what that means in graphic detail. I have been trying to get on disability for over a year now, and it could take 2-3 more years before I ever get it. :I On my current assistance, I get $197 in food stamps per month and I get $194 in cash assistance. That $194 gets eaten up real quick! It’s absolutely not enough to live on. I am barely scraping by and have had weeks where I didn’t eat for 2-3 days bc I just didn’t have enough to do so. Yes, I am struggling with hunger and starvation at this point. My cat eats more than I do, generally speaking. It also means I get free therapy and meds for my issues, but the meds themselves, as effective as they have been, only go so far and I usually fill in the gaps with daily weed smoking. However, I am usually out of weed with no funds to purchase more by halfway through the month, and then I am back to crying and sleeping, sleeping and crying, and generally not eating enough. :/

I have been working off and on as an independent artist for the last several years trying desperately to make up for the money I don’t get. I can’t stand doing commissions for other folks, though. I hate it with every fiber of my being. People get abusive and selfish with artists and I just can’t hang, yo.

For those who don't know, Patreon is crowd funding for artists and creatives. :D

Here’s the link to my Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/artdragon Please, please, pleeaase help me get this going!!! It’s super important for me and I really would be endlessly grateful. <33