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Jemma Pollari

@jemmapollari

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💛 Adventures in writing. Photographer, educator, designer, co-author of Code Bravo. PPPD recovery. Publishing editor Holometabola 👇👇👇

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Day 815 of training my brain to stop treating every sensory signal as a dire threat to my survival

These are VRT (vestibular rehab therapy) exercises to train my brain not to panic when I move my gaze or my head.

I have PPPD - a functional neurological disorder / neuroplastic condition - a software issue (not a hardware one) where my brain makes prediction errors based on incoming sensory info.

My goal is to turn down the volume on my brains sensitivity to stressors: at the moment the dial is so high almost everything is interpreted as a threat.

These are just some of the exercises that I do each day. Last month I started working through a course by Dr Yonit Arthur @therealsteadycoach who has adapted brain rewiring tools for chronic pain to work for a whole host of chronic dizziness disorders as well as conditions like fibromyalgia, tinnitus and migraines.

Even though I've been doing different sets 9f these exercises for over two years, it's only in the last month that I've understood how I need to mentally approach them.

I have to allow the dizziness and visual symptoms to get worse to teach my brain they're not dangerous. The goal is to find a neutral way to relate to the symptoms, to turn down the threat level dial.

Wish me luck!

#pppd #neuroplastic #chronicdizziness by @jemmapollari

Fully funded in five hours: Holometabola is a fantasy and sci-fi anthology featuring 16 award-winning and dedicated emerging authors, in a broad range of speculative genres!

Inside you'll find...

🕰️Steam punk
🤖 Slice of life sci-fi
🧚Fairytale fantasy
💀Dark cults
💃Mythology fantasy
💘Romantasy
💔Longing
🧝High Fantasy
🎓Dark academia
💢Angst
🧑‍🚀Near future sci-fi
💪Power struggles
🏚️Dystopia
🥷Vengeance

... and more!

Themed around the lifecycle of insects (but not about insects), these stories will enthrall with characters you'll fall in love with.

16 authors, 16 stories, authentic vintage illustrations: one compelling collection.

Join the clade: find us on Kickstarter to back the campaign!

#bookstagram #readersofinstagram by @jemmapollari

Oh, what's this?! A book by myself-truly in the GenreCon popup shop!!

Adventure YA: Will and Eliza race against the clock to save their city from a nuclear bomb. All the feels, all the drama, and a little bit of subtle mathematics.

I wrote this with Michael J Milford for MathThrills as a project to make maths for entertaining for high school kids. It was a great experience. It was released in Oct 2016, one month after the release of my first child (aka his birth), so I was otherwise occupied for any of the hype. It is super fun to see it on the stand for sale now. If you get a copy, come find me for a signature!!

#amwriting @qldwriters @genrecon_ #genrecon2025 by @jemmapollari

Why did I fight the "it's anxiety" explanation for my PPPD for so long?

I've been thinking about this a lot recently as I've started to finally feel some improvement after 2.5 yrs of constant dizziness, disassociation, visual symptoms and panic attacks.

If you've got a FND like PPPD you've probably been told the "it's anxiety" explanation too.

I think this feels so insulting and difficult to accept because it triggers this "yeah, but if I didn't feel so s#!t I wouldn't feel so anxious" fury.

And my problem was no one gave me the other half of that sentence. "It's anxiety" was true but not in the way it sounds.

For me, anxiety was just another sign of a brain with all the dials turned up too high. Hair triggers on everything: migraines, vestibular, respiration, digestion, life.

And it wasn't until I understood it properly that I could do something about it.

#functionalneurologicaldisorder #chronicdizziness #pppd #fnd by @jemmapollari

Tag your WFH girlies who're struggling to see the point of getting dressed today, because I'm so comfortable, so why would I?

#bookstagram by @jemmapollari

Take nothing for granted, that's what this year is teaching me. And overstretching yourself while your body screams for you to stop will only make it scream louder until you can't ignore it anymore.

If you're interested in reading the background of my PPPD condition - and what changed to make everything collapse in July this year - comment BACKSTORY and I'll send it to you.

#chronicdizziness #chronicillness #pppd #functionalneurologicaldisorder by @jemmapollari

I'm sending myself videos from the past and responding to them when they arrive, to see if Future Jemma has solved the problems Past Jemma wants her to solve.

The first video arrives tomorrow. The longer we do this the longer the time jump gets.

This is the Past Me Project. Follow along for the ride.

#pastmeproject #bookstagram #amwriting by @jemmapollari

Send to the one writer who's always there in the trenches with you cheering you on ❤️❤️❤️

#amwriting by @jemmapollari

I am so nervous to share this but here we go 😂

This is my pitch for ASA's Literary Speed Dating for the October 2026 round - I'll be finding out Wednesday next week whether my work results in a request or not!

To get it, comment EEEK - note the three Es for extra dRaMa 👐 *jazz hands*

#bookstagram by @jemmapollari

Here's how to object to Meta using your content to train AI. Let's keep human creativity by humans. Just four clicks to get your objection honoured ❤️ Save and share, let's spread this as far as we can! by @jemmapollari

Comment LIST and I'll send you the info. I'm making a list of submission opportunities, prizes, grants, open agents and scholarships for Spec Fic authors.

Featuring @bernadette.and.books - the wizard of finding what open, what's happening, who's taking what, the GOAT of being across everything writerly, always, everywhere!

We're adding things to it as we find them - sometimes we're the genre that gets the "no thanks" from opportunities, so we're finding the ones where we're welcomed.

Want in? Comment LIST to get it! 👌

#authorsofinstagram by @jemmapollari

Comment HOLO and I'll send you the link to check it out ❤️ Copying the link takes 1 second and costs zero dolla 😍 Help us bring our collection of sci fi and fantasy stories from 16 emerging authors to a wider audience!

Late pledges still open until Sunday 25 October - last chance to get your name inside the book in the thank you pages as well as exclusive merch and access to the Hardcover copy 📖🎁

#bookstagram by @jemmapollari