bisofcolour:

The pic above are a few of the editors of Purple Prose.

Purple Prose is a UK guide to bisexuality.  That in itself is pretty unique, as it often feels like any literature on bisexuality in the UK is at least 20 years old.  Another unique thing is that People of Colour in the UK have not been ignored!  Jacq Applebee edited a large chapter on the experiences of bisexual people of colour.  Five talented writers of colour tell of their experiences of being an invisible minority within a minority.  Other topics include faith and ethnicity, how research often lets us down, how dress codes make it difficult for people of colour to fit in spaces, and how unwelcoming and outright racist the UK bisexual communities can be.  There is also a list of resources for bisexual people of colour in the UK.

Purple Prose also contains chapters on Disability, Non-Monogamy, Gender, Faith and Religion, Ageing, Bi Myths and Legends, and Fictional bisexuals!

There is currently a crowdfunder for Purple Prose: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/purple-prose-bisexuality-in-britain#/  Please support it, as this book is desperately needed.  There is sadly very little for people coming out as bisexual.  Biphobia in lesbian and gay communities mean the spaces we thought would welcome us, turn out just as bad as the straight communities many of us have fled.  Just the fact that none of the lesbian and gay publishers in the UK wanted to be involved with this book, speaks volumes (no pun intended).  So support your local bisexuals, and start supporting Purple Prose!

Purple Prose will be published by Thorntree Press

callistomist:

I decided to create a masterpost that would help you with what you are struggling with. Hopefully any of the links below will help you!

Reminder; You’re going to be okay. What you are going through will pass, just remember to breathe. 

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Distractions;

Here are some distractions to help keep your mind occupied so you aren’t too focused on your thoughts. 

• -Draw something
  
• -This website translates the time into colours.
  
• -Create your own galaxy.
  
• -Play flowing.
  
• -Make a 3D line travel where ever you like. 
  
• -Listen to music.
  
• -Calm.
  
• -Ocean mood, do nothing for two minutes.
  
  
  

Sleep issues; 

• - 8 hour sleep music.
  
• -Rainy mood. 
  
• -Meditation.
  
• -Coping with nightmares.
  
• -How to cope with nightmares, 11 steps.
  
• -Calm
  
• -Foods that can affect your sleeping, both positive and negatively. 
  

 

Uncomfortable with silence; 

• -Rainy mood.
  
• -10 hours of rain and thunder.
  
• -3 hours of rain and thunder.
  
• -Human heartbeat.
  
• -Rainforest.
  
• -Sound of rain on a tin roof.
  
• -Autumn wind.
  
• -Rain on a tent
  
• -Traffic in the rain.
  
• -Soft traffic. 
  
• -Fan.
  
• -Train.
  
• -Simply noise.
  
• -My noise.
  
• -Rainy cafe.
  
  

Anxiety; 

• -How to stop worrying. 
  
• -Tips to manage anxiety and stress.
  
• -The 10 best ever anxiety management techniques. 
  
• -Self-help strategies for anxiety. 
  
• -Helping a friend with anxiety. 
  
• -All about worrying.
  
• -8 myths about anxiety. 
  

Sad, angry and depressed/depression; 

• -“I’m always sad”
  
• -Feeling sad.
  
• -Going through trauma.
  
• -“I’m always angry”.
  
• -Anger management. 
  
• -All about anger.
  
• -National helplines and websites.
  
• -Self-help strategies for depression.
  
• -Dealing with depression at work.
  
• -Dealing with depression at school.
  

Isolation and loneliness; 

• -Pets and mental health.
  
• -All about loneliness. 
  
• -“I feel so alone”
  
• -10 more ideas to help with loneliness. 
  
• -How to deal with loneliness.
  

 

Self-harm;

• -Alternatives to self-harm and distraction techniques.
  
• -146 things to do besides self-harm.
  
• -More alternatives to self-harm.
  
• -Self-harm alternatives.
  
• -How to take care of self-harm wounds/injuries.
  
• -Getting rid of scars.  
  

Addiction; 

• -How to help a friend with a drug addiction.
  
• -What is addiction?
  
• -All about alcohol and addiction.
  
• -The facts about drug addiction.
  

 

Eating disorders; 

• -Helping a friend with an eating disorder.
  
• -Eating disorder treatments. 
  
• -Support services for eating disorders. 
  
• -Self-help tips with eating disorders.
  
• -Eating disorder recovery. 
  
• -Recovering from an eating disorder. 
  
• -100+ reasons to recover. 
  
• -Understanding and managing eating disorders. 
  

 

Dealing with self-hatred;  

• -3 ways to ease self-loathing. 
  
• -How to turn self-hatred into self-compassion.
  
• -Self-hatred resources.
  
• -10 step plan to deal with self-hate. 
  

 

Suicidal; 

• -International suicide hotlines (1)  (2)
  
• -Preventing suicide. 
  
• -Reasons to stay alive.
  
• -Dealing with suicidal thoughts and feelings.
  
• -Coping with suicidal ideation.  
  

 

Schizophrenia;

• -All about schizophrenia.  
  
• -Helping a person with schizophrenia.  
  
• -Understanding and dealing with schizophrenia.  
  
• -Delusions and hallucinations.  
  

OCD;

• -Managing your OCD at home. 
  
• -Overcoming OCD.
  
• -How to cope with OCD. 
  
• -Strategies for dealing with the anxious moments. 

Borderline personality disorder; 

• -Helping someone with BPD. 
  
• -All about personality disorders.
  
• -Treatment for BPD.
  
  
  

Abuse; 

• -Healthy relationships VS abusive relationships. 
  
• -Emotional abuse
  
• -Overcoming sexual abuse. 
  
• -Hotlines services. 
  
• -5 ways to escape an abusive relationship. 
  
• -Domestic violence support. 
  
• -Signs of an abusive relationship. 
  
• -What do to if you’re in an abusive relationship. 
  
• -Surviving abuse. 
  
• -What you can do if you’re sexual harassed. 
  
• -Sexual assault support.
  
• -What to do if you’ve been sexually assaulted or abused. 
  

 

Bullying;

• -How to stand up against bullying.
  
• -How to protect yourself when it comes to cyber bullying.
  
• -How to help stop people bullying you. 
  

 

Loss and grief; 

• -How to cope with a suicide of a loved one.
  
• -Grieving for a stranger. 
  
• -Common reactions to death. 
  
• -Working through grief.
  

(Other loss and grief)

• -Moving away from friends and family. 
  
• -Coping with a breakup.

 

Getting help; 

• -Seeking help early. 
  
• -All about psychological treatments. 
  
• -Types of help.
  
• -All about age and confidentiality. 
  

Things you need to remember; 

• - Don’t stress about being fixed because you’re not broken.
  
• -Remember to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Tell yourself that you’re proud of yourself, even if you’re not. 
  
• - This is temporary. You won’t always feel like this. 
  
• -You are not alone. 
  
• -You are enough. 
  
• -You are important. 
  
• -You are worth it. 
  
• -You are strong. 
  
• -You are not a failure, 
  
• -Good people exist. 
  
• -Reaching out shows strength. 
  
• -Breathe. 
  
• -Don’t listen to the thoughts that are not helping you. 
  
• -Give yourself credit. 
  
• -Don’t be ashamed of your emotions, for the good or bad ones. 
  
• -Treat yourself the same way as you would treat a good friend. 
  
• -Focus on the things you can change. 
  
• -Let go of toxic people. 
  
• -You don’t need to hide, you’re allowed to feel the way you do. 
  
• -Try not to beat yourself up. 
  
• -Something is always happening, you don’t want to miss out on what’s going to happen next. 
  
• -You are not a bother.
  
• -Your existence is more than your appearance. 
  
• -You are smart. 
  
• -You are loved. 
  
• -You are wanted. 
  
• -You are needed. 
  
• -Better days are coming. 
  
• -Just because your past is dark, doesn’t mean your future isn’t bright. 
  
• -You have more potential than you think. 
  
• - Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.
  

Please remember to look after yourself and know that you are more than worth it and you deserve to be happy. Keep smiling butterflies x

 

It’s October, so that means in the U.K it’s Black History Month.  http://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk

Have a look at LGBT History website, and spot all the bi-erasue on it: http://www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk/history/blackhistory.htm

I’m quite disappointed by the lack of LGBT+ content this month, but there are a few queer things happening. 

LGBT Foundation in Manchester are celebrating http://lgbt.foundation/bhm

And you can always read about the experiences of Bisexual people of colour here: https://bisexualresearch.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/bis-of-colour-survey-report.pdf

What makes me particularly sad is that due to illness & clashes, there won’t be a Bi’s of Colour meetup this month.  In Black History Month queer people are often ignored.  In LGBT History Month, Black people are often ignored.  LGBT People of Colour deserve better than this.  Our lives matter too.

PS- Something I left off the illustration, but is important to know: Black Lives Matter OUTSIDE of United States too!