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As the holidays approach a lot of people experience higher levels of stress or other issues and need someone to talk to. And a lot of people would rather not verbalize what they are feeling or going through. You can text HOME any time day or night 365 days a year and someone will text you back to talk. From their site: "How it Works Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the United States – 24/7, free, confidential. Crisis Text Line is here for you. A live, trained volunteer Crisis Counselor will receive your text and respond with care and compassion. They’re here to listen, support you, and help you move from a hot moment to a cool calm." https://www.crisistextline.org/ I also read if you text HOLA the counselor will be fluent in Spanish. If there are other services like this where you live please let me know so we can share them. US: Text 741741 CA: Text 686868 UK: Text 85258 Ireland: 50808

@MissNMTX @RoseyLittle @NickyMoon @kimmybunny @Zina @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny Ohhhh things are getting so good!!! The two have finally met and can you say TENSION?!?!!? Ugh I can already see the spice is gonna be good. I am however worried for how intense the third act breakup may be. That being said yall are free to read chapters 17-21!

@RoseyLittle @MissNMTX @Zina @kimmybunny @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny Hello all sorry this is a few hours late!!! A nap may have tried to claim my soul 🤣 We are a good 35% into the book so be on the lookout soon for a pole for our midway discussion!!! I usually have a hard time getting folks together but I know we can do it if we set our minds to it. The being said feel free to read chapters 27-31!!! Happy reading 📚

Hey… I’m really glad you wrote. I know that voice that says “don’t bother people,” and I just want to say gently: you are not a burden for asking this. Nightmares—especially trauma-related ones—can be absolutely exhausting and scary, and it makes sense that you’re worn down by them. I’m really sorry you’re going through this right now, especially feeling so alone in the middle of the night. Wanting comfort and a hug is such a human thing. You deserve that care just as much as the people you’re usually there for. A few things that sometimes help after a nightmare (take or leave anything): Grounding in the present: quietly naming things you can see, hear, or touch to remind your body that you’re safe now. Gentle sensory comfort: wrapping up in a heavy hoodie or multiple blankets, holding a pillow or stuffed animal, or even placing a hand over your chest and breathing slowly. Slow breathing (nothing fancy): in through your nose for 4, out through your mouth for 6, just a few rounds. Letting the emotion pass without judging it. Crying doesn’t mean you’re going backward—it often means your body is trying to release something. If rocking helps soothe you, that’s okay. If you notice scratching starting, sometimes switching to something neutral (like holding fabric, a smooth object, or pressing your feet into the floor) can help redirect without shame. I’m really glad you have a therapist, even with the limits right now, and I’m sorry that support feels uncertain. You’ve been carrying a lot for a long time, and it makes sense that you’re tired. Also—this wasn’t TMI. This was honest. Thank you for trusting us with a piece of your mind. You don’t have to apologize for existing, for hurting, or for asking for help. Feel free to reach out anytime. I’m sending you a big, steady, non-awkward hug through the screen. You’re not alone in this moment, even if it feels that way. 💛

Don’t be sorry when you’re looking for guidance. That means you’re smarter than many that would never try to fix themselves. This community is for ppl to either learn or to mentor, as they fit in. Use it. Nightmares are common and unfortunately brutal. I had a lg that stayed here a while and during that time she had some nightmares too. Talking helped but since you have nobody to talk to, that makes it difficult, unless you have access to someone via PM, DM or something. But there is good news! There are some things that work! Even though the nightmare feels real, you are safe now. Even though you feel alone, with communities like this, we are here wjth you. Just reach out! Whatever you do, do not think your feelings do not make sense, as they do. Reach out to me or someone to talk through them. Don’t be shy about talking. You don’t need to reveal your personal traumas. To help you feel better, and without thinking or talking about your trauma, try playing the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding game. It will help your mind switch from the nightmare, back to the present. To play this, try to name: 5 things You can see 4 things you can touch 3 things you can hear 2 things you can smell 1 thing you can taste It’s a simple game that is playful but still powerful. Another thing I’ve seen used successful is to take deep breaths and then exhale slowly and pretend you’re blowing out a candle. Do it several times and in the end, take in a deep breath and slowly let the air out like you are slowly blowing up a balloon, and then let the balloon float away. Finally, since you don’t have a heavy blanket, find a stuffed animal or soft blanket or even a small item of your choice and let these act as a protector in your mind. Hold the item close, whisper to it, love it, then it will love you back and protect you. They also love it when you sing to it. I know these may seem like easy things you can do, but they work. I wish I could give you a hug.

We would like to welcome everyone that reads this to our home and family. We know there are other places you can go and groups you can join so we do appreciate you choosing us. It is an honor and a privilege to be allowed to share this journey with you. We understand how important the people you surround yourself with and the environment you hang out in is to your development and growth as a person. These things help to shape you and can either be a blessing or a mistake, we wish to be the former. So we are happy you are with us. You will see us refer to this place as our home, our village, and the members as our family quite often. That is because that is what this place and these people mean to us. This is not just a site we log into to kill time and escape for a few minutes. And by us I do not mean the staff, I mean each and every one of us that shares a love for our community and our extended family. This is our home and we care about it and those that are with us. So to all of you we say hello and welcome and enjoy your time with us, you are home.

Reader, I'm just curious, how do we feel about book series? I'm great with interconnected stand alone, duets, and even a trilogy as long as each book matters. But somewhere deep down inside of me I get agitated having to read book after book for just one story! Sometimes, all these series just annoy me. Especially, when I've read several that could be much shorter.

Ok love this question because we are all soooo different. I am almost exscluviely a series reader, the one I am on now is 6 books and like 3000 pages. Personally if the story is done well (I read alot of fantasy with world building and such) I will enjoy keeping on reading. I like a largely over arching plot and to me a book or even three isnt always enough. That being said I have read books where I just wanted it over and the occasionall stand alone or duet is a nice pallet cleanser

@RoseyLittle @MissNMTX @kimmybunny @Zina @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny Hello friends!!! As prommis3d here is your questions from chapters 22-26! The book is getting very very good and even I am having a hard time stopping from reading ahead 🤣. As usual make sure to post in the correct topic posted below! Post here: https://www.ddlgforum.com/topic/64956-nocticadia-question-answers-spoilers/?do=getLastComment

So lately I keep having the same nightmare over and over and I wake up and I feel disoriented like I can't escape the nightmare as if I'm still walking in it Sometimes it's hard to ground yourself especially when you're still in the nightmare you can't see five things you can't hear four things you can't smell three things and you definitely can't touch two things you just feel so lost and helpless. So for me I talk to myself and I start singing, I start singing all kinds of different songs and just whispering that I'm okay. And by doing that it doesn't make the nightmare any less real, it doesn't make the storm suddenly pass away or erase the panic attacks blooming in my chest. It just gives me a calm moment of clarity to know that I am okay and that I can go back to sleep. And yes sometimes I can't go back to sleep so I sit there staring out the window, it's also thankful for this form because when I can't sleep there's always someone there that will respond and say hey it's okay. Sending you lots and lots of hugs

Hello all! Pigtail book wurm extraordinaire again! So my sub club The NNC is bustling but the main club here has been a little dead. Soooo I am hoping to bring a little life to it. I am going to do some more posting and such but I would love any suggestions yall would like to see! Also please comment here if you are jyst in support or interested in general! Let's make this the year of reading because I know we all have reading goals we want to make!!! Pigtail

Looking for a reading buddy! It is a new year and I want to hit even more of my reading goals this year!!! I have had some exspress interest but never have gotten DMs on it so I am really hoping to find a long term buddy for reading and hoping it turns into genuine friendship because I dont have many close friends. I am really hoping to also maybe buddy read. My Genres: So my main type of book is Romantasy (fantasy romance) but I do some other types of romance too especially dark kinds like monster or villian or stalker. Pretty much anything fantasy or romance I will be into reading. Reading Speed: Just depends on alot of things but I read like 20 large books last year and it was a slow one for me. If I have a set goal with a person for pacing I always make it a priority to hit it. I also have a Goodreads abd many suggestions I can give. Looking For: A kind thoughtful person just to talk books. I would probably use here for our discussions but cpuld also use Discord for our discussions and whatnot which also makes read together possible. Not looking for one word conversations or folks who are judgy. This is just for fun to do together. This could be a anyone: male, female, younger (18 and up of course), older, honestly jyst want someone to be friends with who is also respectful of the fact I have a Daddy. If this appeals please comment or friend/message (I usually let the person DM first to maje sure they are still interested)! Pigtail

Yayy ready to carry on reading I loved spending time with family and friends without work getting in the way 🥰

I’m still here! 🙋🏽‍♀️ I enjoyed using our new mixer to bake sugar cookies with my baby loves for Santa. 😋 I hope your holiday was wonderful! What was something you enjoyed? ☺️

@RoseyLittle @MissNMTX @kimmybunny @Zina @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny Its Wednesday so you know what that means!!!! New assignments. If you are anything like me then the book is getting good and you cant wait to read nore so go ahead and read chapters 22-26! Hope yall had a wonderful Christmas and have a lovely New Year.

Sooo I got some fantastic toys for my littlespace time. I feel kinda shy about actually playing with them. I regress sometimes and sometimes not, but still go pretty smol in littlespace... I really wanna play with my toys, but I'm super overwhelmed at the thought... sooo I thought maybe if I shared what I have and invited my little friends to share too, I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed... Ok... *deep breaths * I got 2 small doll houses (I already have a small bunny family to put in the houses) and a small 3 bears to use in the houses... the doll furniture is on it's way.... I already have 2 baby dolls (twins) with bottles and diapers and baby blankets... they each have a new outfit.... I got new stuffies... Hello Kitty and friends. I got a new Barbie doll too! I'm still earning all the prizes from the box, but she has a skirt, purse, sunglasses, sunscreen and another bottle of something...hehehe I have several craft sets, beads, diamond art, perler beads, coloring books, and a recipe book (not for littlespace) I also have lotsa new fuzzy socks strawberry shortcake and pacis! My thoughts are I need a designated space to place and a tub to keep my toys in... I would love to have a permanent space with purple lights and a fluffy rug or cozy chair, but I'm not sure I'm ready yet... What do other littles have for littlespace?

I love fuzzy socks!! Strawberry shortcake ones sound adorable My bedroom is my little space. I still have to be kinda incognito when it comes to my little stuff. I have my plushies and coloring books out, but I keep my pacifiers and such outta sight. I really really would like a fort of some kind. I have the room for it but I think it would be too conspicuous. I would love to put some fairy lights up. I would love to have a miniature doll house.

Spoiler page 140

Question 17: Question 18: Question 19: Question 20: Question 21:

@marshmalloww Thank you so much for sharing this, it takes a lot of courage to put words to something that feels so heavy and confusing. What you’re describing makes so much sense, and you’re definitely not alone in this. That moment of realizing “oh… this isn’t how everyone feels” can be both relieving and deeply painful. Feeling calm for the first time and grieving the years you didn’t have that is a very real and valid response. Nothing about that makes you crazy, it makes you human and aware. It’s also incredibly common for anxiety to spike when you start therapy and begin working through trauma. You’re loosening long-held coping mechanisms and your nervous system is learning new ways to exist, which can feel overwhelming and exhausting. The shoulders-up-to-your-ears feeling is such a familiar sign of how much your body has been carrying for so long. Being competent, decisive, and high-functioning at work while feeling undone by “small” things at home is something so many people with GAD experience. It doesn’t mean you’re weak or inconsistent, it means you’re using a tremendous amount of energy to hold things together during the day. Decision fatigue is real, and it’s okay to need softness and simplicity when you get home. Accepting the label can feel frustrating, enlightening, and grief-filled all at once. That tension you’re feeling around acceptance is part of the process, not a failure of it. You’re learning how to meet yourself with more honesty than you ever had space to before. As for “toughing it out,” many people find that the real shift comes when they stop trying to be tough and start practicing gentleness instead, letting rest be productive, letting emotions exist without fixing them, and speaking to themselves the way they would to someone they love. Progress isn’t linear, and the days that feel harder don’t erase the work you’re doing. You’re doing something incredibly hard, and you’re doing it thoughtfully and bravely. Please know that many of us have walked this path and recognize exactly what you’re describing. Be patient with yourself, healing is slow because it’s deep. And you’re already moving forward, even on the days it doesn’t feel like it. Keep up the good work and best wishes!💛

@MissNMTX @RoseyLittle @NickyMoon @kimmybunny @Zina @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny Alright as promised here are questions for chapters 12-16. Per usual remember to spoil them and post in the linked topic below. Post here:

@MissNMTX @SquirtleSquad @Zina @kimmybunny @RoseyLittle Checking in! Are you still with me friends? If so what page are you on?

Spoiler quote from page 97

@MissNMTX @RoseyLittle @NickyMoon @kimmybunny @Zina @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny Alright friends it is assignment week!!! It is our first week doing 5 chapters so let me know what yall think. That being said feel free to read chapters 12-16! Can't wait for our main folks to meet!!!

@MissNMTX @RoseyLittle @NickyMoon @kimmybunny @Zina @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny Alright all here are questions for chapters 9-11! Per usual make sure to spoil them and post in the topic linked below. Post here: https://www.ddlgforum.com/topic/64956-nocticadia-question-answers-spoilers/#comment-369768

I don't have this but my twin does (I got the Persistent Depressive Disorder from my mom and he got her GAD). I asked him your question of "How do you tough it out and still be kind to yourself?" and his answer was "You don't. Sometimes you just have to feel it and not be tough in order to be kind to yourself". I know for him a big help has been channeling that anxiety after work into something creative. Lately he has been sewing but before that it was poetry and making bracelets. Pretty much anything that doesn't require serious decision making and lets him focus on something else. It sounds like you are doing the work by doing therapy and recognizing when your anxiety is building though. Just remember to make space for yourself to not be perfect and to feel your feelings. We are all here to remind you how awesome you are when you need reminding 🫶

I love this! I have a little fox necklace that I use like this as well! I don't go into unknown situations without it. For Sanctuary, mine would be my blue couch in my room. I call it my reading couch and I have my pillows and blankets on it so when the world is too much I can go hide in my little cozy corner.

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I like stand alone books better generally but, some series I get hooked in. It's more a tone and subject matter thing for me. Some ideas come across better over multiple books I think.

Movie Night begins in 5 hours. Hope you can make it!

I am a 46 year little/ middle from Indiana. I've never been in a dynamic because I didn't really know what was going on with me until a few years ago and I am happily married to a man who loves and understands big me. He doesn't really get little me but, he tries. I just want to find some friends who get little me.

@DaddyDoes69 @MasterPhotog @MissAnna thank you so so much for you guys taking the time to read this and provide your advice and input. I really really appreciate it! Like seriously. I it will take all of these advice notes and keep them with me. Big hugs to all of you!

@RoseyLittle @MissNMTX @kimmybunny @Zina @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny I hope you all enjoyed the time off!!! I certainly did which is why these took a bit longer. But withput further delay here are questions from chapters 17-21. Remember to post in the link below with spoilers. Post here:

I have a kiddo, too, so having a specific space is hard, but I thought maybe my closet... the only other thing is that I rent through an income based program... if they come in to do maintenance, which is allowed on the lease, and tell others what they see, will it compromise my job and my housing status? If I put my stuff in a closed bin/tub then no one knows what I'm doing... I'm very careful with most of my little stuff, the bottles, pacis, sippy, washable, reusable diapers, all get put away, to protect my kiddo and my houding status... I do keep coloring pages and supplies our since I share them, stuffies stay on my bed since my kiddo gives them to me... and soft cute cloths are just part of teaching 4 year olds... I can dive in and play toys with my kids at work or at home super easily, but like @RoseyLittle said by myself feels different... I really want to, but it's different. What I've noticed as my kids get older is that I play with their toys longer than they do... they are ready to move to different toys, but I still want to play with a certain age group of toys... my little age would love to have all the Little People and Weebles spread around the house (3 giant Christmas tree sized totes overflowing without lids)... but my teenager thinks I'm crazy for keeping these toys... I have to be in big space to be interested in hair, make-up, nails, clothes... since my littlespace is normally so smol... So maybe a few questions for everyone... What kinda toys do have/play with in your littlespace? What kinda toys do you want to add to your littlespace? What kinda decorations do you want in your littlespace?

There’s no words I can add to the group wisdom here which is so beautiful - so I just wanted to take a moment and just let you know what a gladiator you are. And not from a place of toughing it out, we are sometimes our most courageous when we our vulnerable and when we allow ourselves grace and compassion. You are being so brave and kind to yourself. A colleague once showed a spoken word poem about anxiety group by Catalina Ferro (hilariously in our group therapy program) and it always stuck with me even years and years later. The reminder that the crushing driving force behind anxiety is the desire to be okay, to live, to be accepted, to do a good job, to be safe. And the way those who walk with it in their every single day are such warriors. I’ve put it in a spoiler box because it has swear words in it, and dark humour in terms of anxiety, therapy, and other various mental health struggles. So I wanted folks to have trigger warning on that. But it’s also powerful at the end. ♥️

I’m still here and caught up - and loving the delicious tension between them! I’m glad we increased chapters because it’s hard to stop reading now 💕

Movie Night starts in 5 hours, hope you can make it

The weather here has become beautiful and cool. I am really happy. 💙🤍🍃🌥️

Question 13: Question 14: Question 15: Question 16:

Question 9: Question 10: Question 11: Question 12:

Questions and new assignments are up!!! Please check in here by telling me something you are excited to learn of see possibly happen in the book in coming weeks.

Hi 👋 I made this bracelet I think its really cute and wanted to show someone its got a bunny bead, a tiara bead, a happy cloud bead, a flower bead, a m bead and a letter p bead which stands for princess! I made it with pink/white/red beads and I tried to make it little themed

I don’t think anyone, not a loved one, friend or even a therapist, has the right to tell you how you “should” heal. If someone is telling you shoulds or musts, you don’t need to let that in. YOU are the expert of your own experience. You lived it, you survived it and you still carry the scars of it. You are the one who knows your body and self the best. Your own intuition to what your healing needs will always be stronger than anyone outside you. Can people act as guides and helpers, absolutely! But even as a trauma therapist I never speak like an expert to someone I’m working with. I never tell them “this is needed to heal”. I offer that healing is different for everyone, and these are some options or things some people connect to or find helpful in their journey. What I will offer, is that for some people forgiveness is part of the journey. And for others not. There’s no right or wrong here. I absolutely do not think you have to forgive someone who was abusive. And you certainly don’t need to forgive someone who created harm for you and your tiny humans. You are allowed to be protective mama bear for life!!! Instead of forgiveness, I find some survivors find it helpful to actually fully feel and lean into their anger, process it. Allow it. Anger is a cue for boundaries. It can motivate us to create change. It’s a powerful voice in healing. Sometimes I like to remind people that feeling anger is really good. Because it means a part of you recognizes that crap was so not okay and that part of you is wanting to protect you. And for many of us, we didn’t get to do that when we were younger. Anger can be a step towards empowerment. I find, sometimes people who push forgiveness (not always, some there is genuine care there) can be uncomfortable with the truths of trauma or anger. They sometimes want you to “forgive and forget”, move on. But what they really mean is, “please make me less uncomfortable by hiding your truths better because I don’t know how to emotionally handle them”. So if you need alternative voices, I say, screw forgiveness if that is what you want! I will say that alternative work to forgives is letting go of resentment. We can’t do this though until we fully process the hurt and the anger. We in no way need to forgive, but for many, if we don’t process the feelings of resentment, that feeling can hurt us. I once had resentment described as holding a burning hot coal for years, waiting to throw it at the other person. That stuck with me. So for some of the people I work with, and for myself, we learned how to drop the coal. Does that make sense? Anyway, you go ahead and feel exactly how you feel, and heal however works for you ♥️

I like taking random snapshots on walks or even when cooking, then uploading them to my frame from nixplay.com. It sits on my nightstand and loops those little everyday pics so they don’t get lost in my phone gallery. Makes things feel more cozy and personal, especially on tougher days.

It’s so nice to have found you and this forum! After 30 years of marriage and 25 years of wondering why D/s didn’t “quite” work for us in the way we thought it should, my husband finally figured out that he’s a nurturing dom (we use the term “Daddy Sir” as neither of care for alliteration- LOL!). And we also figured out that I am very happy as a little/middle (kind of both depending on time/day/mood). My anxiety was so bad it was affecting our marriage and two weeks after discovering what might finally be the right fit, I am SO much calmer and there is almost no anxiety yelling on my part anymore. It’s like a third honeymoon!

@Lil_Bear That's quite fitting for the first post in this thread. Thanks for sharing. It also reminded me of the pottery practice of 'kintsugi', which means something like 'gold patchwork'. Katakana: キンツギ Hiragana: きんつぎ Kanji: 金継ぎ This is when broken plates, pots, and others are reassembled using melted gold or silver. It creates a unique aesthetic where the cracks are highlighted with gleaming precious metal. The idea is that the pottery was once shattered but is now whole again, and that its exposed flaws make it more beautiful than ever. I feel that's something that many people here will appreciate.