memes

There's a major differencebetween something entirely made up that your parents know is bullshit and something that's false but your parents genuinely believe, because thr delivery will be very different. Especially if even the danger of the myth is exaggerated (I was always told it's a bit dangerous and to not do it but never that it's a huge risk of death).

Though also being lied to about some dangers would make me think that everything I've been warned about is false or greatly exaggerated, and I'm very grateful that despite being quite anxious about my safety, my mom never did that. But that might be an autism thing because reportedly if she explained why something was bad I'd get it and just not do it, even when I was very young.

I do partially blame my teenage depression-fueled 2ish years of barely every brushing my teeth, the consequences of which I'm still dealing with, on being told that even skipping one day is really bad and I will probably get cavities if I do that a few times. Cue me skipping it on some days because of mental health, realizing that even after months of occasionally doing that my teeth are still fine (including the dentist saying they're doing great and no issues), and subsequently no longer being able to find the motivation to do it at all since the consequences I was trying to avoid never materialized.

I wish critical thinking were taught and encouraged, but even my school teachers told blatant lies and sent me to the principal for pointing them out. There's a systemic issue interfering with people's abilities to question what they're told (at least, here in the U.S.), and the addition of anxiety makes cracking that egg an even bigger challenge. I learned long ago not to assume that everyone else thinks about things the way I do, and unfortunately almost everyone holds some kind of belief that they've never critically examined.