It’s no shock that people suffer with mental and physical health. the world is, well, to put it bluntly, f*cked up. Depression, suicidal thoughts, PTSD, PND, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Autism, Anxiety, OCD and many, many more just in the mental health department. In the physical part, you have fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, arthritis, syringomyelia, PCOS, Hashimotos, Endometreosis, diabetes, and a lot more down to rare ones like Charge Syndrome. Personally I have Autism and Severe Clinical Depression, Syrinyomyelia, Hypermobility Joint Pain Syndrome, and a few more problems. Those are just the main problems I have.
Life, it can be hell. But, a few great people, they have come up with things like Mental Health monsters and Chargimals (will be explained soon), and more, to make it seem, well… Easier to deal with in a way. The 3 amazing people I thought I’d show you today are The Unchargeables, Innabox Designs and Toby Allen. ALL links to these amazing people/shops/websites and more will be at the bottom of this blog 😀 Enjoy!
Mental Health
Mental health is, well, lets face it, like the world SH*T (well, at the moment). There is Autism, depression, ptsd, PND (Post Natal Depression), OCD, which may I add isn’t all about cleanliness/Perfection, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Anxiety, Brain fog, and so many more that I wish I could list but, sadly, I cant. I think that it would just turn into me waffling on, which I am doing now. I will say though, there are some odd, gruesome diseases. But, I will not dive into the full thing of them. The weirdest and gruesome may be mentioned, but only in passing. One is Cotard Delusion. Thinking you are a zombie… Literally. If you wish to know more, Google it… it is odd, but weirdly awesome… In a strange way! Also, pretty rare! I have a weird Urge to know about the weird and wonderful! So, if you know any weird or wonderful facts, a great example: Wombats poop squares, let me know!
The Chargimals (Mental Health)
Perhaps one of the most popular mental health monsters is The Chargimals. They also do Physical health, but, for now, lets do the Mental Health side.
Run by Natalie Van Scheltinga, The Chargimals are one of the cutest sets of monsters around. All having their own names, their own super powers, their own favourite colours, nicknames, down to best friends. They have their own world called Chargieville which sounds like an amazing place! they also have adorable merch, and to be honest, even helped me with my conditions, showing that there is nothing to be really scared of, well, of course you will be scared, but, makes it that bit easier. I mean, come on, look at that face! This is Annie the Anxiety monster! More shall be said about her later, She is a bit like me, likes to see people do things first… Cant blame you girl. however, I shall only introduce to you a few! Give you more fun in meeting the others!
This is Chargieville. Consisting of:
Kuddle Kingdom
Yummy Treats
Chargemart
Canes ‘n’ Things
Trinket Inc.
Golf ‘n’ Stuff
Immiunoversity
Sweets Bakery
The Medicine Cabinate
The Viewing
Mystery Room
and last but not least, Delish Dish!
All The Chargimals live here. They make friends, and there is always a newcomer or two!
In Chargieville, there are 4 Humans that are friends with the Chargimals, and also are in the medical profession bar one person whos a bit grumpy.
Josh (Not in the medical profession)
Nurse Wonderful
Dr Gruff
and Katya, The Pharmacist.
These amazing humans help the Chargimals through their day. Dr Gruff, well, He is how he looks. He is very grumpy. However, the kindness of Nurse Wonderful (who tends to calm down Dr Gruff), Katya (who always sees how the Chargimals are) and Josh (the friend to the chargimals), always balance out his grumpiness!
Hi, I’m Stressdisorian the PTSD monster, but you can call me Petey. I wear glasses
because I see the world a little differently than most. My favourite colour is teal 
and Gia, the Fibromyalgia monster, is one of my best friends. She understands when I don’t want to go around a lot of people because I live with PTSD. It’s a mental health condition that’s triggered by either experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. My PTSD can cause me to experience flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety. I also don’t like loud noises 
and I get scared really easily.
Hi. My name is Depresosaur, the Depression monster. I just go by D. Annie and Penny are my best friends. Bright lime green is my favourite colour. You know, I get sad 
a lot, but honestly it’s really more than just feeling sad. Everyone is different, but for me it’s hopelessness, loss of interest in things I actually like to do, and an overwhelming feeling of emptiness. Not everyone understand depression 
but I want to tell you that it’s okay to not be okay.
Hi! I’m Foggosaurus, or Foggy for short. I forget things because of BRAIN FOG. 
Do you have brain fog? What’s the funniest thing you ever forgot? 
Oh yeah, I like the colour pink and my best friend is Gia. I almost forgot to tell you that! 
Hello. I’m Anxieton, the Anxiety Monster. You may call me Annie, but only if you want to. I like the colour teal best. Sometimes I freak out over nothing. 
But it could be something, so I stay awake at night thinking about worst case scenarios and silly things that don’t matter. But they could matter. 
I get really nervous around other people so I got a Therapy Cat, Luna!
That is just FOUR, of the mental health Chargimals, the physical chargimals will pop up soon! They are just having a bit of a bad day 🙂
Toby Allen
I was in college and I came across Toby Allens work after doing a it of research on mental health, how people can cope and see if there was an coping mechanisms that could help me. I saw Mental Health Monsters, and these came up as the first result.
Known as ZestyDoesThings on Tumblr, Toby is a digital artist, working on many projects such as Zelda art, creatures and many more in his own interpretation, even Pokemon (look below, they are pretty cute)!
Tobys style is very unique to himself, and his descriptions to describe his monsters, are just amazing! I found comfort in these when I was going through a tough time at college, just due to the stories of how they work, who they are, and also the amazing designs.
Also, they are really cute.
Inna Box Design
Being Cute and Quirky as hell, showing little animal butts and funny quotes. The work speaks for itself, I think. Here are they are!
My PURRsonal favourite has to be Post Pawmatic Stress Disorder (I am so sorry for the pun)!
Nikky creates these adorable characters and somehow makes it seem ok and not as scary at all. She has also done hidden disabilities, which, I shall show you after the chargimals have somehow pushed their way in.
Physical Health.
So, the Chargimals and Innabox has Physical health monsters too, and honestly, they are adorable! I have syringomyelia, but thats for another blog!
The Chargimals
Here is Gia, Zippy, Beets and Sis! The Chargimals that decided to be my volunteers for the Physical side of things.
What’s up, ya’ll?! 
I’m Fibrosaurus, but ya’ll can call me Gia. Purple is my favourite colour 
and Foggy is my bestie! Fun fact: I have Fibromyalgia and it’s what they call an “Invisible Illness”. It can be so frustrating!
Hi! My name is Chiarisaurus, the Chiari Monster, but you can call me Zippy. My favourite colour is purple and I love to eat ice cream
. I like to hang out with my friends Pod, Annie and D but sometimes I get really bad headaches and need to take a nap
.
Hi, I’m Diabeton, the Diabetes monster. Everyone calls me Beets. I love the colour 
blue and Lutes is my bestie. We love to go out to eat at new places. It is challenging though because I have to calculate how much insulin I need for every meal 
.to keep my blood sugar in check. I have to give myself insulin shots every day.
What’s up! I’m Endometrax, Sis for short. I’m the Endometriosis monster. My favourite colour is yellow like the sun. 
I absolutely love the beach! 
Sometimes my girl Patch goes with me. Did you know some people with Endometriosis have symptoms and others don’t?
So, thats just 4 of the chargimals. You can find the rest at the bottom of the blog with the links 😀
Innabox Designs
Innabox designs has also made some adorable Hidden Disabilities cuties! My favourite has to be Assthma! Too cute!
Nikky, thank you so much for letting me use these adorable illustrations! Your designs make it seem like the conditions and disabilities are not so scary! <3
Coping Mechanisms.
So, Sometimes chargimals, or health monsters can be a coping mechanism. But there are also more coping mechanisms you can use. Such as art, makeup, music, dancing, writing, going for a walk, and so much more. Personally, mine is music, art, makeup, writing, and sleeping. I mean. Sleep! Love me a good nap!
Some of these mechanisms can do really well, then some you might get bored of and have to swap for a bit, but, everyone has a coping mechanism… It is all about finding the right one.
Honorable Mentions
So, As I said, there are some weird and wonderful conditions. Here are a few honourable mentions. Just a small description though:
1: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome: Known as “Todds Syndrome”, Alice In Wonderland is a rare Neurological condition. The most common symptom is altered body image. A bit like the film, the altered body image is a confusion to the size of a body part, or even what it is.
2: Alien Hand Syndrome: thinking your hand has a life of its own.
3: Clinical Lycanthropy: Believing you can transform into an animal. Although its commonly wolves/werewolves, other animals have been stated.
4: Auto-Brewery Syndrome: basically, your gut makes alcohol. From what I can figure out, people with this, the cause of the “brewing” is eating high carbohydrates food, which in turn causes havoc with the yeast of the stomach.
5: Dancing Mania: taking place between the 14th and 17th centuries in Europe, Daning mania, well it kind of speaks for itself. THOUSANDS died just from dancing to exhaustion. however, it is now rare to see.
6: Fatal Familial Insomnia: Appearing to be genetic, it starts with generalised insomnia. and over a while, it gets worse, and the person suffering will, unfortunately, pass within 18 months or less.
If anyone wants a chat, or is down or for a moan, please contact me!!!! I shall be intouch as soon as i can!
If you need help, it is ok to get help, dont stay holding it in.
Aimee x
Links:
The Chargimals: https://www.facebook.com/thechargimals/?ref=page_internal
Toby Allen (ZestyDoesThings): https://www.zestydoesthings.com/
Innabox: https://www.facebook.com/Innaboxdesign
https://b.online.csp.edu/resources/article/10-rare-mental-health-conditions/
https://www.scoopwhoop.com/Rare-Bizarre-Medical-Conditions/