Sometimes you don’t need a philosophy. You need a next step.
Stimpunks is built by and for neurodivergent and disabled people. We believe disabled people have human needs, not special needs — and that real help should be practical, mutual, and dignity-first.
This page is a set of clear doors. Pick the one you need.
Help in 30 Seconds
If you’re overwhelmed, in crisis, or just trying to get through today — start here.
You are not broken. Needing support is human. Start with one door.
🚨 If You Need Help Right Now
If you are in immediate danger or need urgent emergency support, contact your local emergency services.
If you are safe enough to keep reading, Stimpunks has grounding resources and community-oriented next steps below.
🆘 Crisis Mode: Small Steps, Right Now
If your brain is loud, your body is shaking, or everything is too much: you’re not failing. Systems are heavy. Sensory life is real. Start with the smallest next step.
I need help today
- Get Help — fastest paths and next steps
- Coping — survival resources and grounding
- Mutual Aid Grants — real help against the onslaught
My sensory system is on fire
- Burnout & Sensory Safety — reduce load, reduce harm
- Neuroception & Sensory Load — what’s happening in your bodymind
- Sensory Checklist Gallery — quick environment fixes
Words are hard / people are hard
- Communication & Interaction Access — connection without pressure
- Situational Mutism
- Glossary Map — find language that fits
Permission slip: you are allowed to stop. you are allowed to need help. you are allowed to be a real human with real needs.
🪜 Crisis Ladder: One Step at a Time
If everything is too much, don’t solve your whole life. Don’t “push through.” Just take the next rung down the ladder.
One rung is enough.
1) Reduce Sensory Load (2 minutes)
Lower input first. Your nervous system can’t think while it’s under attack.
- dim the light
- turn down sound
- leave the room
- get under a blanket or add pressure
- drop one demand
2) Find One Stabilizer
Pick one basic support. Water counts. Food counts. Rest counts.
- drink something
- eat something easy
- warmth or cooling
- sit or lie down
- one comfort object
3) Switch to Low-Pressure Communication
Talking is not the only way to be human. Written beats live. Short beats perfect.
- text instead of phone
- use scripts instead of improvising
- ask for fewer words, more time
- it’s okay to go quiet
4) Reach Another Person (If You Can)
You don’t have to do this alone. Support is not a reward for functioning.
- message one safe person
- ask for presence, not fixing
- use one sentence: “I’m overloaded. Can you stay with me?”
→ Get Help
5) Material Support Is Real Support
Human needs are not special needs. Sometimes the next step is money, food, tools, or infrastructure.
- mutual aid is dignity, not charity
- care is infrastructure
- you deserve help without performance
6) Immediate Danger
If you are in immediate danger or at risk of harm, call your local emergency number or reach a trusted crisis service in your area.
Permission slip: one rung is enough. Rest is allowed. Survival is work. You are not a problem to be solved.
🧰 Start Here: Coping Resources
If you are overwhelmed, in burnout, in crisis, or just trying to get through the day, start with our Coping resources. This is the most direct help page on the site.
- crisis and warmline resources
- disability and mental health supports
- community survival tools
- location-based resource lists
- online communities
📍 Find Resources Near You
Looking for help by region? We maintain location-based coping and support directories, including U.S. state-by-state resources.
🌈 Sensory Overload, Shutdown, or Panic
If your nervous system is on fire, it might not be “anxiety.” It might be sensory load, neuroception, or overwhelm. Start with the pages that name what’s happening and offer practical ways to reduce harm.
🫂 If You Need Dignity, Not Compliance
You deserve environments that don’t punish your bodymind. Access is infrastructure — not a favor, not an afterthought.
🔥 If You’re Being Harmed by Systems
Sometimes the problem is not you. It’s the system. If school, policing, institutions, or compliance culture are injuring you, start with the pages that name power and harm patterns clearly.
🌱 If You Want Community (Not Isolation)
You don’t have to do this alone. Stimpunks is a commons built through mutual aid, collaboration, and neurodivergent-led care.
📚 If You Want to Learn in Plain Language
If you’re new to neurodiversity, disability justice, or Stimpunks concepts, start with our simplest entry points.
✍️ If You Want to Contribute
Sometimes helping others is part of surviving. If you want to contribute writing, resources, research, design, or code, start with the Field Guide and our accessibility-first style practices.
💛 Mutual Aid and Direct Support
Stimpunks supports disabled and neurodivergent people through care infrastructure.
One More Thing
You are not broken.
Surviving bad systems is not a personal deficit. Needing support is human. Access is punk. Help should be real.
Start here: https://stimpunks.org/fieldguide/coping/
